LAB TESTS: 9 BEST-SELLING LAN E-MAIL PACKAGES Page 222 AMD's Clone 386 Page 44 MARCH 1991 A McGRAW HILL PUBLICATION STATE OF THE ART Network Manageme Taming the Ill-Tempered LAN Undocumented DOS Smart Memory Inside IDE Driv N.Wirth's"0 Sony's Unix Portable Winpro/3 Persuasion 2.0 SideKick2.0 32-bit Ethernet Cards DesignCAD Mac Newtek's Video Toaster The "Wallet-Friendly" Mac llsi 03 440235 m o' $3.50 U.S.A./S4.50 IN CANADA 0360-5280 THE NEW DELL SYSTEM 425TE 25 MHz EISA i486. • i486 microprocessor running at 25 MHz. Commercial Lease Plan. Lease for #ls low as $27S/month. 190 MR Super VGA Color System (800x600) $7,499 Price listed includes 4 MB of RAM* 80. 100. 330 and 650 MR hard drive configurations also available. THE DELL SYSTEM 320LX 20 MHz 386SX. • Intel 80386SX microprocessor running ar 20 MHz. Commercial Lease Plan. Lease for as loivas $104/month. 40 MB VGA Color Plus System $2, 799 Price listed includes I MB of RAM.* 80, 100, 190, 330 and 650 MR hard drive configurations also available. THE DELL SYSTEM 433E 33 MHz EISA i486. • i486 microprocessor running at 33 MHz. Commercial Lease Plan. Lease for as low as $307/month. 100 MR Super VGA Color System (800x600) $8,499 Price listed includes 4 MB of RAM* 80, 190, 330 and 650 MR hard drive configurations also available. THE DELL SYSTEM 425E™ 25 MHz EISA i486. • i486 microprocessor mnning at 25 MHz. Commercial Lease Plan. Lease for as loiv as $235/month. 100 MR Super VGA Color System (800x600) $6,499 Price listed includes 4 MB of RAM* 80, 190, 330 and 650 MR hard drive configurations also available. THE NEW DELL SYSTEM 333D 33 MHz 386. • Intel 80386 microprocessor running at 33 MHz. Commercial Lease Plan. Lease for as loivas $l3l/month. 40 MB VGA Color Plus System $3,599 Price listed includes I MB of RAM. 80, 100, 190, 330 and 650 MR hard drive configurations also available. THE NEW DELL SYSTEM 325D 25 MHz 386.™ • Intel 80386 microprocessor running at 25 MHz with 32 KB external cache. Commercial Lease Plan. Lease for as low as $112/month. 40 MB VGA Color Plus System $2,999 Price listed includes t MB of RAM* 80, 100, 190, 330 and 650 M B hard drive configurations also available. K THE DELL SYSTEM 316SX 16 MHz 386SX. • Intel 80386SX microprocessor running at 16 MHz. Commercial Lease Plan. Lease for as loivas $79/month. 40 MB VGA Color Plus System $2 ,099 Price listed includes I MB of RAM.* 20, 80, 100 and 190 MB hard drive configurations also available. T \ 1 j^H| •,'?.:;!, ^JEKP>ESteE*Li THE DELL SYSTEM 210 12.5 MHz 286. • 80286 microprocessor mnning at 12.5 MHz. Commercial Lease Plan. Lease for as low as $59/month. 20 MB VGA Monochrome System $1,549 Price listed includes 1 MBof RAM* 20, 80 and 100 MB hard drive configurations also available. THE NEW DELL SYSTEM 320LT 20 MHz 386SX. • Intel 80386SX microprocessor running ar 20 MHz. Commercial Lease Plan. Lease for as low as $l3l/month. 20 MB, 1MB RAM* $3,599 40 MR hard drive configurations also available. THE DELL SYSTEM 316LT 16 MHz 386SX. • Intel 80386SX microprocessor running at 16 MHz. Commercial Lease Plan. Lease for as loivas $H2/month. 20 MR, I MR RAM* $2,999 40 MB hard drive configurations also available. The Dell System 433TE and 425TE ore class A devices sold for use in commercial environments only. 'Perfoiwance Enhancement^ and433TE} of memory is reserved for use by the system to enhance performance. Can be optionally disabled on333D,325D,316SX and 210. Allsysiemsore photographed wilh optional extras All prices and specifications are subject to chonge without noKe. Dell Cannot be responsible for errors in typogrophy or photography tSource: Compaq Computer Corporation pnce lislelfective 10/15/70. Actuol dealer prices m»y vory. "Boymenl bosed on 36-monlh.openend leose. leasing orronged by Leasing Group. Inc In Conodo, configurations ond prices mov vory. Dell and DELL SYSTEM ore registered trademarks, 425E ond SmcrtVuOre trademarks of Dell Computer Corporotion. Intel is a registered trodemaik and 386. 486. and i486 are Irodemorksol Intel Corporation. Other trademarks and trode names ore used to identity the entities doiming th e marks and namesar their products. Dell Com puterCorporotiondiscloimsony propria to ry interest in trodemorksond trade nomesother than its own, On-sileservicemoy not be avoibb'eincer;oinfemotelocafians.Shippmg,hondlingondopplicoblesolesta>tnotincludedinlhepnce.Forinformotionon arnl o copy of Dell's 30-doy Total Satisfaction Guarantee, limited warranty, and Xerox's Service Contract, please write t« Dell USA Corporotion, 9505 Arboretum Boulevard, Auslin, Texas 78759-7299. ATTN: W«rr«nry 9 1991 Dell Computer Corporation All rights reserved Shelling out an extra $10,000 for a Compaq SystemPro with chancey service is appalling. With that kind of iffy support, they should be paying you the ten grand. On the other hand, Dell's i486™ servers come with the same service that's won an unprecedented 8 PC Week Corporate Satisfaction Polls for PCs, laptops and servers. Spend less. Get more. Sounds better, doesn't it? We have two new i486 EISA servers. Dell gives you a choice of the 25 MHz Dell® 425TE and the 33 MHz Dell 433TE. The 25 MHz Dell System* 425TE has up to 64 MB of RAM capacity, 11 storage bays, and a whisper- TO ORDER, CALL 800^365^1240 HOURS:7AM-9rMCTM-F 8 AM-4 PMCTSAT. Watt DOWer quiet 300 InCinaJj 800.387-5752. In the UK. 0800 414535. In France , (I) 30.60.68.00. In Germany 06103/701-0. In Sweden 0760-713 50. SUpply. We Ve also built in features such as password protection, a software controlled reset switch, and an efficient cooling system to protect component life. What's more, both the 433TE and the 425TE have the Dell designed SmartVu™ diagnostic display built in. Tliis ingenious innovation helps identify problems even if the monitor goes down. for even more performance, the 33 MHz Dell System 433TE is everything our 425TE is, with 32% more speed. The Dell exclusive memory design with a 128 KB external cache gives it maximum throughput. APPEALING. $12,199 )e)l System 43 3TE Lease : $43 8 /mo** . , P — 'TUto H iuIg g m ; < [mt ter "' ""f r ... m "■ dellI 43tTV j $9,999 Dell System 425TE Lease : $359/moT DELL I From this foundation, create a powerful PC network or UNIX* ivorkgroup. Dells new systems have more than enough performance to function as a LAN server and WAN or internetworking gateway. So they're capable of supporting the most demanding server use — a multi-function network. Of course, they're compatible with all major networks, including Novell, 3COM, Banyan and LAN Manager. HERE'S OUR NEW STORE, SO YOU'LL NEVER HAVE TO GO TO THEIR STORE AGAIN. When you buy a computer from a typical computer store, here's what you get: A beefy retail mark-up. Pressure to buy things you dorit want. That crummy feeling of not knowing what you re getting, because the salesman isn't sure what he's selling. And, when there's a problem, some guy with a screwdriver taking your computer apart. When you call Dell, on the other hand, here's what you get: A frank talk with computer experts about what you need, and a recommenda- tion about the best overall package for you. Custom configuration, with options including monitors, memory sizes, software, TO ORDER, CALL 800^365^1240 HOURS:7AM-9PMCTM-F 8 AM-4 PMCTSAT. In Canada SOO-387-5752. In the UK. 08C0 414535. In France (1) 30.60.68.00. In Germany (56103/701-0. In Sweden 0760-713 50. accessories and peripherals. Service — THE NEW DELL SYSTEM® 433TE 33 MHz i486. STANDARD FEATURES: • Intel* i486 microprocessor running at 33 MHz with 128 KB external cache. • Standard 4 MB of RAM * expandable to 64 MB (eiyht internal SIMM sockets, eachucceptinga I MB, 2 MB, 4 MB or 8 MB SIMM , installable in matched pairs). • Socketfor WEITEK 4167 math coprocessor. • II internal half-height drive bays. • Eight 32-bit EISA expansion slots (six EISA master slots and two EISA slave slots). • High-performance IDE {80 MB, 100 MB, 190 MB) and ESDI (330 MB, 650 MB) hard disk drives. 650 MB VGA Color Plus System Using 4 MB SIMMS. Price listed include 8 MB of RAM. | AD CODE 11 EC consistently voted the best in the industry— by computer experts who know our computers inside and out. A variety of financing and leasing options. A firm promise to perform a fully configured systems test, and ship by two-day air standard. A 30-day, no questions asked, money back guarantee. A one-year limited warranty. And a great price. Call us now Why waste a trip when everything you need is right in front of you? APPALLING. The 425TE and 433TE are perfect for UNIX workgroups, supporting either character-based, multi-user or graphical- based client/server environments. You can buy Dell servers preloaded with UNIX System V making them literally plug and play. Even more impressive is the fact that UNIX system administration can be done by Dell, remotely. Maintaining servers is beyond most computer repairmen* If a server goes down, your whole company can go down with it. Would you trust some unknown technician to bring it back up 1 We wouldn't. That's why we have a special advanced systems hotline so you can call us direct. Dell is an AT&T UNIX source code licensee and an authorized Novell Network Reseller. So our technicians are more than Dell experts, they're Networking experts. On those rare occasions we can't fix it over the phone, Xerox A technicians will come to your office with the solution in hand. Or, say you're pulling an all-nighter and need help. Dell has pioneered a service called TechFax. Anytime. 24 -hours a day,youcan pick up the phone and call the Dell technical support library on the automated TechFax line to get information on your Dell server faxed right back to you. There's a lot to know before you buy a senter. When you call Dell, our experts will give you the help you need to buy an advanced PC or UNIX server. Then we'll send it off with a 30-day no questions asked money back guarantee, and a one year limited warranty. So call us. Unless you find appalling appealing. DELL COMPUTER CORPORATION Circle 89 on Inquiry Card. There's An Double Your Introducing The ALR POWERPRO Strapping two traditional PCs together won't give you the dual processing power you need to keep pace with today's growing networks and multi- user environments, but the new ALR®POWERPRO will. It's the affordable, high-perform- ance alternative to the COMPAQ® SYSTEMPRO™. Whether you need a system for single or multiple users, CAD/CAM, office automation, manufacturing manage- ment systems, shared databases or a host of other applications, there's a POWERPRO that delivers. Choose be- tween one or two 33-MHZ i486 processors and up to 1-MB of cache for per- formance ranging from 14.7 to 40 VAX™ MIPS. Single CPU models can be quickly and easily upgraded to dual processing. .0/ UP TO 40 VAX™ MIPS With the POWERPRO's advanced modular system architecture, the choices you make today won't limit your options tommorrow. Additionally, all models will be able to accommodate future, faster, processors. With 49-MBs of possible RAM, twelve expan- sion slots, and accommoda- tions for up to 2.5-GB of internal stor- age (up to 10-GB of total storage utilizing an external ALR expansion chassis), the POWERPRO has the expandability needed to keep pace with your future needs. The POWERPRO also incorporates a 32-bit EISA bus, so you'll have maximum com- patibil- ity with cutting- edge enhance- ment products while enjoying the affordabil- iry of today's low-cost "AT" compat- ible hardware. SUPERIOR CACHE The POWERPRO uses . ALRs proprietary Just Upgrade the CPUF M Easier Way To Processing Power. Single or Dual Processing Performance with Prices Starting at $7495 SMP512 Single 33-MHz i486 1 2 32-bit EISA 512-KB 17-MB 330-MB <18ms 12 $14,495 PROCACHE scalable cache memory architecture. This mainframe-like read-and- write-back design is more efficient than the standard write- through architec- ture found on the SYSTEMPRO. Compaq SYSTEMPRO 486/33 Single 33-MHz i486 1 2 32-bit EISA 512-KB 8-MB 240-MB <1 9ms 11 $20,995 More importantly, this scalable archi- tecture allows you to equip the POWERPRO with up to 1-MB of cache. ADVANCED DISK PE2; fi vn v \\\ That's because write-through forces you to write to main memory much more often. And main memory is slower than the cache. This is especially important in 486 computing, where the CPU performs as many as four times the write operations as in 386. Which makes AMMAs write-back architecture, combined with the 486's embedded cache, a powerful combination indeed. But the STEP 486 machines give you more than just speed. They come with Programmable Drive Select. If your drive isn't listed on the set- up table, PDS™ lets you custom-configure the BIOS. It's good for virtually any hard drive. What's more, all STEP systems come with a one- year extendable warranty and a one year renewable on-site service contract that also covers all Everex peripherals in the system. To find out more, call 1-800-334-4552* for the name of your nearest Authorized Everex Reseller— every one a high performance expert. Then you can let the Joneses try keeping up for a change. © 1991 Everex Systems, Inc. For more information on how the above benchmarks were derived, please write the Everex Performance Test Center, 48431 Milmont Drive. Fremont, CA 94538. Circle 1 09 on Inquiry Card. BYTE EDITOR IN CHIEF Frederic S. Langa MANAGING EDITOR Anne Fischer Lent NEWS New York: Managing Editor: Rich Malloy Associate News Editor: Andrew Reinhardt Peterborough: Senior Editor, Microbytes: D. Barker, Senior Editor, New Products: Stan Miastkowski Associate News Editors, What's New: David Andrews, Martha Hicks, Carol Swartz Editorial Assistant: Amanda Waterfield San Francisco: News Editor: Owen Linderholm Associate News Editor: Jeff rey Bertolucci London: Senior Editor: Colin Barker BYTELAB Managing Editor: Michael Nadeau Technical Director: Rick Grehan Senior Editor: Dennis Allen Technical Editors: Alan Joch, Robert Mitchell, Tom Yager Testing Editors/Engineers: Stephen Apiki, Stanford Diehl, Howard Eglowstein, Stanley Wszola STATE OFTHE ART Senior Editor: Jane Morrill Tazelaar Technical Editor: Robert M. Ryan FEATURES Senior Editor: Kenneth M. Sheldon Technical Editors: Janet J. Barron, Ben Smith SENIOR EDITORS, AT LARGE Tom Thompson, Jon Udell SPECIAL PROJECTS Senior Editor: Gene Smarte SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Jerry Pournelle CONTRIBUTING EDITORS DonCrabb, David Fiedler, Hugh Kenner, Mark J. Minasi, Wayne Rash Jr. CONSULTING EDITORS Jonathan Amsterdam, Nick Baran, Laurence H. Loeb, Trevor Marshall, Dick Pountain, Phillip Robinson, Peter Wayner COPYEDITING Chief Copy Editor: Lauren A. Stickler Copy Administrator: Cathy Kingery Copy Editors: Ellen Bingham, Susan Colwell, Jeff Edmonds, Margaret A. Richard, Warren Williamson EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Office Manager: Peggy Dunham Assistants: LindaC. Ryan, June Sheldon DESIGN CONSULTANT Ken Silvia ART Director: Nancy Rice Assistant Director: Joseph A. Gallagher Art Assistant: Jan Muller Technical Artist: Alan Easton PRODUCTION Director: David R. Anderson Senior Editorial Production Coordinator: Virginia Reardon Editorial Production Coordinators: Barbara Busenbark, Denise Chartrand TYPOGRAPHY Systems Manager: Sherry Fiske Applications Manager: Donna Sweeney Typesetter: Christa Patterson ADVERTISING SERVICES (603) 924-6448 Assistant: Christine W. Tourgee Customer Service Supervisor: Linda Fluhr Senior Account Coordinator: Lyda Clark Account Coordinator: Dale J. Christensen Materials Coordinator: Karen Cilley Advertising Assistant: Roxanne Hollenbeck Creative Services Manager: Susan Kingsbury Production Artist: Lillian J. Wise Quality Control Manager: Wai Chiu Li Production Coordinator: Rod Holden ADMINISTRATION Publisher's Assistant: Donna Nordlund MARKETING AND PLANNING Director: L. Bradley Browne Marketing Communications Manager: Pamela Petrakos-Wilson Public Relations Manager: Dawn Matthews Assistant Promotion Manager: Lisa JoSteiner Marketing Art Director: Stephanie Warnesky Associate Art Director: Sharon Price Senior Market Research Analyst: Julie Perron Copyrights Coordinator: Faith Kluntz ReaderService Coordinator: Cynthia Damato Sands Marketing Assistant: Carol Pitman FINANCIAL SERVICES Business Manager: Kenneth A. King Assistants: Marilyn Parker, Diane Henry, JoAnn Walter, JeanneGatcombe, Jaime Huber, Agnes Perry CIRCULATION Director: Glyn Standen Subscriptions Manager: Paul Ruess Assistant Manager, Subscriptions: Margaret Liszka Subscriptions Assistant: Holly Zilling Newsstand Manager: Vicki Weston Distribution Coordinator: Karen Desroches Back Issues: Louise Menegus Direct Accounts Coordinator: Ellen Dunbar Direct Accounts Telephone Sales Representative: Karen Carpenter BUILDING SERVICES George Clarke, Cliff Monkton, Gary Graham, Ed Codman PERSONNEL Human Resources Administrator: Patricia Burke, Human Resources Assistant: Fran Wozniak, Receptionist: Beverly Goss PUBLISHER Ronald W. Evans BIX ADVERTISING SALES Associate Publisher, Vice President of Marketing: Steven M. Vito Administrative Assistant: Carol Cochran Eastern Advertising Director: Arthur H. Kossack (312) 616-3341 Sales Assistant: Julie Watson Western Advertising Director: Jennifer L. Bartel (214) 701-8496 Sales Assistant: Mary Lynn Heinritz NEW ENGLAND ME, NH, VT, MA, Rl, CT, ONTARIO, CANADA, & EASTERN CANADA Daniel D. Savage (617) 860-6344 EAST COAST NY, NYC, NJ, DE, PA Kim Norris (212) 512-2645 Ariane Casey (212) 512-2368 SOUTHEAST NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, TN, VA, MS, AR, LA, DC, MD, WV, KY John Schilin (404) 843-4782 MIDWEST IL, MO, KS, IA, ND, SD, MN, Wl, NE, IN, Ml, OH Kurt Kelley (312) 616-3328 SOUTHWEST, ROCKY MOUNTAIN CO.OK.TX Alison Keenan (214)701-8496 SOUTH PACIFIC SOUTHERN CA.AZNM, LAS VEGAS, UT Ron Cordek (714)753-8140 Alan El Faye (213) 480-5243 NORTH PACIFIC HI, WA, OR, ID, MT, NORTHERN CA, WY, NORTHERN NV, WESTERN CANADA Bill McAfee (408) 879-0381 Roy J. KopS (415) 954-9728 Leslie Hupp (408) 879-0381 INSIDE ADVERTISING SALES Director: Liz Coyman Administrative Assistant: Susan Boyd Sales Secretary: Vivian Bernier NATIONAL ADVERTISINGSALES Mary Ann Goulding (603)924-2664 Patricia Payne (603)924-2654 Jon Sawyer (603)924-2665 Scott Gagnon (603)924-2651 BYTEBITS(2x3) Mark Stone (603)924-6830 THEBUYER , SMART(1x2) Brian Higgins (603) 924-3754 CATALOG SHOWCASE/INT'L CARDS Ellen Perham (603) 924-2598 REGIONAL ADVERTISING SECTIONS James Bail (603) 924-2533 Barry Echavarria (603) 924-2574 Larry Levine (603) 924-2637 BYTE DECK Ed Ware (603) 924-6166 INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES STAFF See listing on page 379. BYTE INFORMATION EXCHANGE DIRECTOR Stephen M. Laliberte MANAGING EDITOR Tony Lockwood MICROBYTES DAILY Coordinator: D. Barker Peterborough, Rich Malloy New York. Nicholas Baran Sandpoint, ID, Jeffrey Bertolucci San Francisco, Laurence H. Loeb Wallingford, CT, Stan Miastkowski Peterborough, Wayne Rash Jr. Washington, DC, David Reed Lexington, KY. Andrew Reinhardt New York, Jan Ziff Washington, DC EXCHANGE EDITORS Macintosh Exchange: Laurence H. Loeb, IBM Exchange: Barry Nance, User Group Exchange: David Reed, Interactive Game Exchange: Richard Taylor, Amiga Exchange: Joanne Dow, Writers Exchange: Wayne Rash Jr., Tojerry Exchange: Jerry Pournelle, Telecommunications Exchange: Stephen Satchell BUSINESS AND MARKETING Secretary: Patricia Bausum, Marketing Services Coordinator: Denise A. Greene, Billing Services Coordinators: Tammy Burgess, Donna Healy, Editorial Assistant: Brian Warnock TECHNOLOGY Programmer/ Analyst: John Spadafora, Systems Consultant: Gary Kendall EDITORIAL AND BUSINESS OFFICE: One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458,(603)924-9281. West Coast Branch Offices: 425 Battery St., San Francisco, CA 94111, (415) 954-9718; 15635 Alton Pkwy., Suite 290, Irvine, CA 92718,(714)753-8140. New York Branch Editorial Office: 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 1 0020, (212) 512-3175. BYTEnet: (617) 861-9764 (set modem at 8-1- Nor7-1-E;300or1200baud). EdltorlalFax:(603) 924-2550. Advertising Fax: (603)924-7507. SUBSCRIPTION CUSTOMER SERVICE: Outside U.S. (609) 426-7676; inside U.S. (800) 232- BYTE. For a new subscription— (800) 257- 9402 U.S. only, or write to BYTE Subscrip- tion Dept., P.O. Box 555, Hightstown, NJ 08520. Subscriptions are $29.95 for one year, $54.95 for two years, and $74.95 for three years in the U.S. and its possessions. In Canada and Mexico, $34. 95 for one year, $64 95 for two years, $87.95 for three years. In Europe, £29 (U.S. $50) for fast surface delivery, £41 (U.S. $70) for air delivery. All other countries, U.S. $150 for fast surface delivery. Air delivery to selected areas at additional rates upon request. Single copy price is $3.50 in the U.S. and its posses- sions, $4.50 in Canada. Foreign subscrip- tions and sales should be remitted in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank. Please allow six to eight weeks for delivery of first issue. EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE: Address editorial correspondence to: Editor, BYTE, One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458. Unacceptable manuscripts will be returned if accom- panied by sufficient postage. Not re- sponsible for lost manuscripts or photos. Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of BYTE. PHOTOCOPY PERMISSION: Where necessary, permission is granted by the copyright owner for those registered with the Copyright ClearanceCenter(CCC), 27 Congress St., Salem, MA 01970, to photocopy any article herein forpersonal or internal reference use onlyfortheflatfeeof $1.50 per copy of the article or any part thereof. Correspondence and payment should be sent directly to the CCC, 27 Congress St., Salem, MA 01970. Specify ISSN 0360-5280/91, $1.50. Copying done for other than personal or internal reference use without the permission of McGraw-Hill, Inc., is prohibited. Requests for special permission or bulk orders should be addressed to the publisher. BYTE is avail- able in microform from U ni versity M icrof ilms International, 300 North Zeeb Rd., Dept. PR, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 or 18 Bedford Row, Dept. PR, London WC1R 4EJ, England. OFFICERS OF MCGRAW-HILL, INC: Joseph L. Dionne, Chairman, Presidentand Chief Executive Officer; Robert N. Landes, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary; Walter D. Serwatka, Executive Vice President; Frank D. Penglase, Senior Vice President, Treasury Operations; Robert J. Bahash, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Thomas J. Sullivan, Executive Vice President, Administration; MaryA. Cooper, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, and Executive Assistant to the Chairman; Ralph R. Schulz, Senior Vice President, Editorial. Founder; James H. McGraw (1860- 1948). %i t 'M Copyright © 1991 by McGraw-Hill, l*nti ,nc " A " r '9 nts reserve d- BYTE and ■ •nil gyj^ are registered trademarks of McGraw-Hill, Inc. Trademark registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. i© Member Audit Bureau of Circulation 6 BYTE- MARCH 1991 The Right Decision Student Body Leader T ri-CAD workstations are the hands- down choice of the world's leading CAD training schools and Universities. Schools such as the University of Texas and the world's largest CAD training center - The CAD Institute, insist on Tri-CAD quality. We designed the Tri-CAD family with one goal - to build the best CAD worksta- tions available anywhere, at any price. Tri-CAD systems from Tri-Star outper- form machines costing three times as much. And our standards of quality, relia- bility, service, and support are consis- tently acclaimed one of the highest in the industry. Tri-CAD has a CAD workstation for every level of expertise, each including everything you need to be productive with today's leading CAD software packages. Circlo 306 on Inquiry Card. Tri-CAD Workstations Expert 486/25 $5195 Ultra 486/33 $5895 Upgrades: 486 EISA Call Rendition II/256V $695 20" Color Monitor $995 12"xl7" Digitizer $245 Advanced Features Include: ♦ Intel 80486 Processor ♦ Integrated Math Coprocessor ♦ 8MB High Speed DRAM ♦ 64K Static RAM Cache ♦1.2MB 5.25" Floppy Drive ♦ 1 .44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive ♦ 200 MB Fast Access Hard Drive ♦ SVGA Adapter w/1 MB DRAM ♦16" 1024x768 Color Monitor ♦Microsoft DOS 3.0 or 4.01 ♦ 2 Serial & 1 Parallel Ports ♦ 1 2"x1 2" Digitizer w/Cursor ♦ 101 -Key Enhanced Keyboard All Tri-CAD Computer systems Include: ♦ 60 Day Money Back Guarantee ♦ 2 Year Warranty Parts & Labor ♦ 12 Month On Site Service ♦ Air Express Parts Replacement ♦ Lifetime Toil-Free Technical Support Ai! prices and specifications subject to change without notice. We accept MasterCard k Visa (No Surcharge), AMEX (3% Surcharge), or COO, University & Corporate PO's are welcome • (1%10, Net 25). Money Back guarantee does not include shipping charges. On-Site serviceavailable in most U.S. locations. 2 Year Warranty includes system and keyboard, non Tri-Star assembled items such as printers, digitizers, and monitors are covered for 1 Year. Ali systems have been verified or certified to comply with part 15 of the FCC rules for a Class A or Class B computing device. fjTR^STAR lm COMPUTER CORPORATION 1.800.678-2799 707 West Geneva, Tempe, Arizona 85282 Tech Support 1 ,800.688-TECH Telephone 602.829-0584 Fax 602.345-01 10 Monday - Friday 7:00am-7:00pm MST Saturday 9:00am-4:00pm MST Theperfect en the lazy and p wonment for ower-hungry The Microsoft 8 Windows" graphical environment version 3.0 makes it easy for you to do a lot more with your PC. That's because the Windows environment has friendly icons, menus and dia- log boxes that make its powerful features very accessible. Windows lets you work with a variety of applications on-screen at the same time. Including your character-based programs. But it's when you start using Windows applications that you get the most out of your PC. Windows applications are easy. In addition they all work essentially the same way. So once you learn how to use one, you generally know how to use them all. And they're so intuitive that experimenting with them is fun. Windows applications let you cut and paste text and graphics. And let you combine them right on your screen. They also let you print out exactly what you see. U)u can even establish links between Windows applications. Which means, if you change any numbers in Microsoft Excel for Windows, the chart you cut and pasted into your Microsoft Word for Windows document will be automatically updated. So call us at (800)541-1261, Department P31, to find out more about Windows, Windows applica- tions or the big Windows World Con- vention and Exposition coming up May 20th and 23rd in Atlanta. Because with Windows, you can start taking the work you do every day a little easier. And have more to show for it Microsoft Making it all make sense For more information, call (800) 541-1261. Dept. P31. In Canada, call (416) 568-3503. Bidside the U.S. and Canada, call (206) 936-8661. © 1991 Microsoft Coloration. All rights reserved. Microsoft and the Microsoft logo are registered trademarksand Making it all make sense and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. EDITORIAL FRED LANGA Of Hard Disks and Redesigns BYTE is a little different this month. Here's how, and why. It's an annual ritual. Perhaps not quite as colorful as waiting to see if a groundhog sees its shadow, and certainly not as festive as a First Night cele- bration. In fact, it sounds downright mundane. Early in each new year, I spend the better part of a day thoroughly reorganizing the files on my hard disk drive. Inevitably, and despite regular small houseclean- ings, I'll discover several sub- directories that I don't need anymore, several others that would be better in a different location in the directory tree, and a few holes where I should have created subdirectories but didn't. Sometimes, the changes are minor; other times, major. You've probably done the same sort of disk house- keeping from time to time. It's a hassle, but when it's done, what a pleasure. You can find everything. The disk organization makes sense. Your work is more streamlined and efficient. This year's hard disk drive reorganizing paralleled a larger and more important event that's happening with BYTE, but one that serves exactly the same purpose. As you may already have noticed, we've reorganized the magazine. The goal was simple: to give you some- thing better than before, something that will let you use BYTE more efficiently. Just as you'd do with your own information, we've reordered sections of BYTE so that like articles are grouped together and you can quickly find exactly the kind of information you're looking for. For example, all late-breaking items within BYTE— the award-winning Microbytes pages, an expanded First Impression section, and the popular What's New section— are now grouped together under a single sec- tion title: News. Jerry Pournelle, Wayne Rash, Stop Bit, Print Queue, and Letters are logically grouped under Opinions. We've also added a unique new column called Round- table. You'll find some of BYTE's most topical writing and colorful commentary in the Opinions pages. BYTE is one of the very few computer magazines to offer true feature articles, and it's the only one to de- vote 30 to 50 pages each month exploring important, forward-looking state-of-the-art technologies. So, we have grouped the Features and State of the Art sections and run them back to back after Opinions. But state-of-the-art information is only half the story, because no computer technology is worth a damn unless you can put it on your desk and use it. So, the State of the Art section flows smoothly into our "state-of-the-market" section: the reviews. Here, the BYTE Lab continues doing what BYTE has done best since 1975, bringing you unbiased, objective product analysis across all the major operating platforms. Com- bined, these sections deliver a one-two combination that will not only arm you with the information you need to make informed buying decisions today, but also prepare you for the decisions you'll have to make tomorrow. A new Hands On section rounds out the book. In this section, the popular Under the Hood will continue to help you understand the technologies embedded in to- day's shipping products, with its usual emphasis on hardware; Some Assembly Required follows a similar tack, but it emphasizes software. In the Hands On section, you'll also read the expert advice, recommendations, and operating tips of a num- ber of regular and guest columnists. This platform- or issue-specific information is the nuts and bolts of BYTE, where you can learn how to optimally use the technologies and products discussed elsewhere in the magazine. By itself, this reordering of the information within BYTE would have been good. But each issue still con- tains many hundreds of pages, and it still can take a while to find what you're looking for. To help you make the most of your reading time, we've added two new tools. First, throughout the magazine, you'll see Action Summaries that will give you, at a glance, the highlights of each article and review. Second, we've added a Topic Index and Author Guide immediately after the table of contents. It provides a wealth of detail to supplement the table of contents so you can easily find exactly those subjects you're most interested in. These changes don't stand alone: They're comple- mented by a new graphical look for BYTE that's brighter, easier to read, and "cleaner." And we've paid special attention to eye relief and clarity of layout, so the time you spend with BYTE will be as pleasant and enjoyable as possible. We hope you'll like the changes. Drop me a note and let me know whatyou think! —FredLanga Editor in Chief (BIX name "flanga") 10 BYTE- MARCH 1991 Don't miss the Borland Languages Conference. April 28 through May 1, 1991, San Francisco, CA. For information, call 1-800-942 -TURBO Borland's Turbo Pascal 6.0 is the Fastest Way from Inspiration to Application Jump-Start Your Application When you're inspired to write a program, you want to spend your time developing code that solves your problems. Not hours and hours writing common routines for event handling, data manage- ment or user interface. Now, you can jump-start your applications development by pro- gramming with the latest release of the World's #1 Pascal Compiler, Turbo Pascal® 6.0 with Turbo Vision.™ Now with Turbo Vision With Turbo Vision, the first object-oriented application framework for DOS, you get a giant head start on creating better applications in far less time. Use a Turbo Vision object and your program auto- matically inherits a hot program architecture that includes overlap- ping windows, pull-down menus and mouse support. Turbo Vision makes it fast and easy-setting you free to develop the parts of your applications that solve your problem. And Turbo Pascal 6.0 comes loaded with Turbo Vision applica- tions including a calendar, a calculator, an editor, a clock, a direc- tory browser and forms. New Turbo-Charged Environment The new Turbo Integrated Development Environment (IDE) fea- tures a multi-file editor, overlapping windows and mouse support. And Turbo Help lets you copy, compile and run an example program for every standard Pascal Horary routine so you can use it in your code. Pro Version with Turbo Drive M Turbo Pascal® Professional 6.0 also includes: a professional version of the compiler with Turbo Drive,! for compiling big appli- cations in extended memory; Turbo Debugger® 2.0, for killing the toughest bugs; Turbo Profiler™ 1.0, for eliminating bottlenecks; and Turbo Assembler® 2.0, the world's fastest, 100% MASM- compatible assembler. An Inspiring Offer REGISTERED TURBO PASCAL OWNERS: You can upgrade to Turbo Pascal 6.0 for only $69 95 * or to Turbo Pascal* Professional 6.0 for only $99 9 ^ direct from Borland. The suggested retail price for Turbo Pascal 6.0 is $14995, and $299 c ^ for Turbo Pascal Professional 6.0. To order, see your dealer To upgrade, call now: 1-800-331-0877 TURBO PASCAL TURBO PASCAL I Circle 48 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 49). BORLAND The Leader in Object-Oriented Programming CODE: MF06 ■Add S1000 lor shipping and handling Oiler expires August 31 1991 Olfeigoodin US and Canada only Mail orders 10 Borland International. Inc. PO Box 660001. Scolts Valley. CA 95067-0001 Residents rnCA. CT. GA. IL. MA, Ml. NY! OH, PA. TX.VA and WA. please add appropriate sates lax For orders outside Itie U S . call (408) 438-5300 tTurbo Onve compiler revues 1Mb extended memory Harddisk recommended Copyright ®1990 Borland Ail Birland products are trademarks of Borland International. Inc Corpoiate Headquarters 1800 Green Hills R ad. PO Box 660001 . Scolts Valley C A 95067-0001. (408) 438-5300 Olfices In Australia, Denmark. France. Germany, Italy, Japan. Singapore. Sweden and Itie United Kingdom. Porsche is a registered trademark ot Porsche BM391B DISKS? YOUR MIA/ That's because Verbatim DataLife Colors help you work a lot faster. Not to mention smarter You see, our disks let you arrange your data according to various colors. Colors that communicate brilliantly Say for example, that you have key financial data you need to keep at your fingertips. Just put that information on a green disk. You could then use our red disks for priority reports. Yellow for important work in progress. Blue for other office work. And orange for more personal things you're doing at home. In other words, whatever arrangement of colors makes the most sense for you. 90RGANZE MOTHERS WTTHENW The vivid colors of our disks make them By saving time and being more productive, incredibly easy to spot. No matter how hard you'll help your company stay in the black, they try to hide under your telephone. Or Which means you'll make more green, between all those papers on your desk. Verbatim DataLife Colors for your office So you'll eliminate the frantic search-and- and home, retrieve missions that used to have you pulling There's no better way to keep your data in your hair out. the pink. Circle 31 6 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 317). im LETTERS Relational Realities '-, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols presents an excellent and balanced summary of the advantages of relational DBMS products in "Relational Databases: The Real Story" (December 1990). I would like to offer one small addition. We have been consul- tants and contract programmers in the PC database industry for 10 years. None of our clients has ever asked whether the DBMS we used to solve their problem was rela- tional. Many of them would probably not even understand the issue. What they all have in common is some problem that needs solving. We give them solutions, not theory. Tony Lima, President Pacific System Design Workshop, Inc. San Carlos, CA I was surprised by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols' s em- phasis on null value support in his "Relational Data- bases: The Real Story." While null value support is an important relational DBMS function, it has been relative- ly easy to implement once the requirement has been rec- ognized and, in fact, is available in many DBMS prod- ucts. (Null value support is the ability to distinguish between an unknown value and a value of or blank character fields.) Edgar Codd recognized that null value support is difficult to implement at the application level but relatively simple to implement at the DBMS level. Since his popularization of the notion, many DBMS products, including several that are not based on the re- lational models, have provided this function. Vaughan-Nichols also suggests that he would like to see greater consistency in processing null values. It seems to me that it is the job of the DBMS to provide a consistent method for representing nulls in the database but that handling these values must remain at the appli- cation level so that they can be appropriately manipulated, depending on the individual application or purpose. Hedy Alban Cherry Hill, NJ Nulls in relational database theory are like the quicksil- ver flash of sunlight on water— easy to describe in gener- al, nigh onto impossible to capture in detail. While many DBMSes do indeed implement nulls at the DBMS level, no DBMS I know of handles nulls in a systematic fashion. Moreover, some DBMSes that are consistent in representing nulls misdefine them at the application WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. Please double-space your letter on one side of the page and include your name and address. Letters two pages in length or under have a better chance of being published in their entirety. Address correspondence to Letters Edi- tor, BYTE, One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458. You can also send letters via BlXmail c/o "editors. " Your letter will be read, but because of the large volume of mail we receive, we cannot guarantee publication. We also reserve the right to edit letters. It takes about four months from the time we receive a letter until we publish it. level. Even DBMSes that do represent nulls consistently and correctly are inconsistent in handling them. In relational DBMS theory, to paraphrase Codd, nulls are not just a representation issue. Null handling is an issue for the DBMS as well as for the application level. There is, indeed, still a need for greater consistency in both representing and han- dling nulls. Space considerations do not permit a full discussion of these matters here. Interested readers are directed to Ed- gar Codd's The Relational Model for Data- base Management (Addison-Wesley, 1989) for a complete discussion of these issues. —Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols Give Macs Their Due I read and appreciate BYTE for its informative, high- quality articles, but I was disappointed by David Fied- ler's The Unix /bin: "Back to the Workstations II" (De- cember 1990). Obviously a Macintosh hacker, Fiedler makes it a point to try to impress us with the Mac's capabilities. He falls short, though, of impressing anyone who knows much about networking, Macs, PCs, or workstations. I manage over 100 Suns, Macs, and PCs, and I can as- sure you that Unix and DOS networking is at least a gen- eration ahead of Mac networking capabilities. This is especially true with regard to security and availability of software, not to mention backup, network management, mail gateways, routers, and wide-area capabilities. I have to complain about this Mac grandstanding. Please don't insult knowledgeable readers by straying from your high standards of technical journalism. Roger Marquis Berkeley, CA I have to laugh at the assertion that I am "obviously a Macintosh hacker. " I do not own a Mac or even use one. In fact, I have been journalist non grata at Apple ever since I lambasted its A/UX 1. in print. However, I do give credit where credit is due. A/UX 2.0 is much im- proved, and Macs do tend to network rather easily (at least among themselves). Compare, say, setting up UUCP on almost any Unix machine to hooking up a num- ber of Macs to a laser printer. While the capabilities of PC LANs are not in question, in general it is far simpler to hook up and deal with Macs. Concerning Unix, my subject of expertise: Of course Unix LANs are more powerful than Mac LANs. But with that power, you also get complexity (although, in gener- al, Unix LANs give a great deal of flexibility for a bit more work than most PC LANs, be they ISA or Mac). I personally run Unix on 386 PC hardware and am quite familiar with all the interrupt vectors, addressing, and other problems that must be solved each time the system configuration is changed. Perhaps your system has stan- dardized each Sun, Mac, and PC so that adding new ones is simple. But if you have to deal with a completely het- erogeneous environment, you might find that things can get quite complex.— David Fiedler 14 BYTE- MARCH 1991 Perfection on display. THE IBM 8515 DISPLAY. When you're looking for the perfect display to complement your IBM Personal System/2f the 8515 is clearly the one you should choose. VGA NOW. XGA ON DEMAND. Right now you may only need VGA, but as your needs change so ,# DON'T SETTLE FOR JUST ONE. can the 8515. In fact, this display can easily handle picture * perfect high- resolution (1,024 x 768) graphics, either through XGA or an 8514/A Adapter card, depending on what suits your needs best. QUALITY BY DESIGN. The 8515 is an afford^ able 14* display that was designed to be more •*s reliable. It has fewer parts and that leads to fewer problems'-it's that simple. Add to that a striking contrast-enhancing background and you'll experience clarity and color richness like you've never seen. Plus, you'll also be looking at almost 50% more viewing area in about the same footprint as our popular 12 H display. The IBM 8515 Displays now all the reasons to choose it are perfectly clear. Find out more. Contact your IBM Authorized Remarketer or marketing representative. For a remarketer near you, call 1 800 lBM-2468,ext.913. iiiimiiiiiiiiiiiii CD rD (Actual unretouched screen.) IBM and Personal System/2 are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. ©1991 IBM Corp. Circle 1 35 on Inquiry Card. The IEF ™ can help you devel unprecedented quality, prod "The IEF is a superior tool for Implement- ing Information Engineering because it integrates the entire process from planning through code generation. We're deploying the IEF throughout the corporation." David V. Evans Vice President Director, Information Systems J.C. Penney "The strengths of the IEF are clear-cut. One obvious quality advantage is that application changes are made to diagrams, not code. This ensures ongoing integrity —the specification always matches the executing system." Paul R. Hessinger Chief Technology Officer Computer Task Group "We are using the IEF to develop a new generation of manufacturing systems replacing over 300 existing systems. We estimate that IEF will increase our produc- tivity by between 2-to-1 and 3-to-1 for new systems development.." Wal Budzynski Head of Operations, Systems/Computing Rolls-Royce "Our On-line Banking system has been in production for more than 12 months— 500,000 transactions a day— without a single code failure. And we had very few enhancements to do. Our users got what they needed the first time out." Mark Quinlan Senior Programmer/Analyst Huntington National Bank "I've seen other CASE tools fail, so I raised the bar high when we evaluated the IEF. It passed with flying colors. I could not be happier with my decision to adopt the IEF company-wide." John F. Mott President AMR Travel Services "We used the IEF to rebuild our aging Frequent Flight Bonus system. With DB2 tables of up to 52 million rows, we needed high performance. And we got it.. .98% of our transactions complete in less than 3 seconds." Cloene Goldsborough Director of Data Resource Management TWA "To meet the dramatically reduced time- to-market requirements for our products, we need high-quality systems that can be changed fast. That's why we've chosen the IEF as the CASE solution for our entire organization." John Pajak Executive Vice President Mass Mutual Life Insurance "Our users were extremely pleased when we finished our first project— a 60-trans- action system— in one-half the budgeted time. We had tried interfaced CASE tools without success. IEF integration makes the difference." Giorgio Sorani Division Head -MIS Lubrizol "Our first IEF system was completed faster, and with fewer errors, than any system I've ever seen. If I had to go back to the old ways, I'd find another job. ..outside the DP world. It means that much to me." Mogens Sorensen Chief Consultant Nykredit (Denmark) op information systems with uctivity and maintainability* The success of Texas Instruments CASE product is proven — in the field. Major companies have used ITs CASE product, the Information Engineering Facility™ (IEF M ), for everything from rebuilding aging high-maintenance-cost systems to development of new enterprise- wide strategic systems. Study shows zero code defects. The quality of IEF-developed systems is remarkable. In recent CASE research by The Gartner Group, application developers were asked to report the number of abends they had experienced. (An ' 'abend' ' is a system failure or "lock-up" caused by code defects.) IEF developers reported zero defects— not one abend had occurred in lEF-generated code. Maintenance productivity gains of up to 10*to*l. In this same study, developers were asked to compare IEF maintenance productivity with their former methods. Of those responding, more than 80 percent had experienced gains of from 2-to-l to 10-to-l. (See chart.) Specifications always match the executing application. With the IEF, application changes are made to diagrams, not code. So, for the life of your system, specifications will always match the executing application. The Gartner Group research showed that all IEF users who reported making application changes made all changes at the diagram level. IEF Maintenance Productivity Compared to Traditional Techniques. 100- I 60 ce 5 40 20- oJ-j (Source: Gartner Group, Inc., 8/9D) 2-t0-1 to 10-t0-1 Gains Less Same More Productivity Productivity Productivity Developers were asked to compare IEF maintenance to former methods. 0/ those responding, more than 80% reported productivity gains of from 2-toA to lO-to-l. Mainframe applications can be developed and tested on a PC* With our new OS/2 toolset, you can develop mainframe applica- tions, from analysis through automatic code generation, on your PC. Then, using the IEF's TP monitor simulator and the diagram-level testing feature, you can also test these mainframe applications without ever leaving the PC. More environmental independence coming soon — develop on PC, generate for DEC/VMS, TANDEM, UNIX. The IEF has generated applica- tions for IBM mainframe environ- ments (MVS/DB2 under TSO, IMS/DC, and CICS) since early 1988. Soon you'll be able to develop systems in OS/2 and then automatically generate for other platforms. DEC/VMS, TANDEM and UNIX are scheduled for availability in 1991. More will follow. We are committed to increased environmental indepen- dence in support of the Open Systems concept. We are committed to standards. IEF tools and IEF-generated code will comply with standards as they emerge. We will adhere to CU A standards and to the prin- ciples of IBM's AD/Cycle and DECs COHESION-and we will support Open Systems environ- ments centering around UNIX. In any environment, the COBOL, C and SQL we generate adhere closely to ANSI standards. Our presence on standards committees helps us keep abreast of ANSI and ISO developments affecting the CASE world. Full'service support. Of course, our technical support, consultancy, training courses, satellite seminars, and other infor- mational assistance will continue apace. We also offer re-engineering and template services. This full- service support will remain an integral part of the IEF product. For more information, including a VHS video demo, call 800-527-3500 or 214*5754404. Or write Texas Instruments, 6550 Chase Oaks Blvd., Piano, Texas 75023. Texas ^^* Instruments © 1990 Tl Information Engineering Facility and IEF are trademarks of Texas Instruments. Other product names listed are the trademarks of the companies indicated. LETTERS Software Quality Control Hear! Hear! to Brett Glass's "A Plea for Software That Works" (Stop Bit, December 1990). As com- puters get more powerful and as programs get more complex, it is imperative that software developers do a better job of quality control. One of my pet peeves is the lack of meaningful software warranties. Manufacturers routinely disclaim any responsibility for whether their programs work or not. It would be much more encourag- ing if they would simply say, "If there are problems, let us know and we will fix them." That, at least, would indicate some good faith and would be a step toward a maturing of the computer industry. So in addition to software that works, let's have soft- ware companies that work. Michael Hanson Seattle, WA For Comparisons Only Over the years, I have worked in various countries and use your excellent periodical to keep in touch with the latest developments. However, I must protest what I consider one of the most misleading benchmark comparisons ever published ("LAN Manager 2.0: A Force to Be Reckoned With," December 1990). The benchmark in question sought to compare LAN Man- ager with NetWare 386 and NetWare 286. My R&D staff was at first astonished at the difference between Net- Ware 386 and NetWare 286. We then noticed that whereas NetWare 386 used a Systempro as a file server, NetWare 286 ran on an 8- MHz 286 AT clone. To add insult to injury, even the network interface cards were different. The difference in performance is almost entirely due to the difference in hardware. Please remind the author that when testing software, the hardware should be identical; otherwise only guesses, not deductions, can be made. M. Thomas Executive Head of Information Technology Bank of Valletta, Ltd. Valletta, Malta The primary comparison was between LAN Manager 2.0 and NetWare 386. These are functionally comparable network operating systems, which I ran on identical hardware— the NE3200- equipped Systempro. I used the NetWare 286/16-bit network interface card system in the same spirit that the BYTE Lab uses a standard AT in its system benchmarks: as a baseline point of reference. While it 's interesting to read about Porsches, a lot of us actually drive Fords. Clearly, the 386/32-bit network interface card will outrun the 286/16-bit network inter- face card, software notwithstanding; I included the lat- ter results only to provide perspective. I apologize for not specifying my intent more clearly. —Jon Udell Wilted Lattice? How could you possibly have published "One-Size- Fits-All Code with Lattice C" in your November 1990 issue? Lattice is out of the compiler business. Sure, you can buy version 6.0, and the company supports it at this point, but that's the end of the road. Anyone who builds a development activity around Lattice C today is going to have to convert tomorrow, and although we thought 6.0 was a good step in the right direction, it was too little too late. I think you ought to square this away somehow with your readers because a lot of newcomers to C will see the low price for this giant package and not realize it's a closed-end deal. Donald E. Killen, President Greenleaf Software, Inc. Dallas, TX SAS /Lattice announced late last summer that there would be no new development of the Lattice MS-DOS compiler— just after I had finished my review. Certainly a case of bad timing, and one for which I apologize. Per- haps a text box next to the review would have been in order. However, the picture for Lattice is not quite as black as you paint it. This past fall, Lattice informed customers that phone support and corrections to the com- piler would continue. Present customers still have a good product in their hands. If you doubt this, join BIX and look at the comments people make about the Micro- soft and Borland C compilers. —Barry Nance ...And Hold My Calls I read with interest your Microbytes item "Monitor Noise Causes Stress, Researchers Say" (December 1990) and have to agree with the conclusions you re- port. I am a systems analyst with a large international corporation and spend most of my day at the computer. Even though I am male and have (presumably) a very low estrogen level, I find that the stress induced by my VDT is noticeable. I tried [researcher] Dow's suggestion of turning off my tube for 15 minutes, and lo and behold, my stress level went way down! Until my boss walked in and asked me what I was doing. Kevin Petersen MIS Department World Wildlife Fund Gland, Switzerland Theos Kudos Thank you for your feature about Theos ("Alterna- tive Operating Systems, Part 3: Theos: Serious Busi- ness," October 1990). I have been programming exclu- sively in Theos since 1982 and have firsthand knowledge of the system's phenomenal growth. In today's world, where networks are the de facto standard, it takes cour- age to stand by a relative unknown that outperforms and underprices the alternatives. I have bet the future of my operation on Theos and have been successful so far. Perhaps enough people will have read your article so that in the future, as I receive the never-ending stream of dealer surveys, I will not have to check "Other" for oper- ating system. Craig A. Barcus Barcus Business Systems Santa Rosa, CA 18 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Nowyaucan use the incredible power of Windows 3.0 to goof off The New Microsoft' Entertainment Pack for Windows™ gives you seven spiffy games. Each one designed for pure, unproduc- tive fun. And all accessible in seconds from any other Windows product. Which means you can go right from juggling numbers, to juggling those funny little blocks in TETRISrAnotherclickofthe mouse, and you can go from typing a letter to testing your nerves on Minesweeper. Or honing your skills onTicTactics. Or becoming seriously addicted to one of two new kinds of solitaire. Equally entertaining is IdleWild, the Screensaver with seven radical selections. From a race through space, to a pattern that slices, dices, and scrambles your screen. Nowget to work. Call us at (800) 541-1261, Dept. Pll, and ask us all about the Entertain- ment Pack. We'll do our best to give you a com- pletely frivolous answer. Microsoft Making it all make sense" For more information, call (800) 541-1261, Dept. Pll. Customers in Canada, call (416) 673-7i ofi Corporation. All rights reserved Microsoft arid the Microsoft logo arc rr^stered trademarks and Making it all make sense and Windows arc trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. TETRIS is a trademark of WO £ t ' hi s Rest rvnl. If you've read all the way to this sentence, you obviously have enough spare time to really enjoy the Entertainment Pack. Only Epson co printing this Adobe and PostScript arc registered trademarks of Adobe Systems. Inc. Apple Talk and Macirilo.sh arc registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. HP and LaserJet are registered trademarks of Hewlett-Packard, Inc. uld take laser far, this fast. $M POSTSCRIPT" All it took was a little RISC. Introducing the Epson® EPL-7500 laser printer. One of the first true Adobe® PostScript® laser printers designed around a lightning-fast RISC processor. The result is significantly faster output. It is also significantly better. Thanks to true Adobe PostScript — not a clone — the EPL-7500 is able to pro- duce razor-sharp text in 35 scalable fonts, plus equally impeccable graphics. Blacks are blacker and lines are finer, courtesy of the printer's unique MicroArt Printing technology. The EPL-7500 handles paper as well as it handles text and graphics. A 250-sheet tray comes standard, a second is optional. Also standard are serial, parallel and AppleTalk® interfaces, allowing the printer to work smoothly in both PC and Macintosh® environ- The new Epson EPL-7500 laser delivers brilliant PostScript output at blazing RISC processing speeds. The new EPL-7000 provides serious business performance at a very personal price. ments. For even greater versatility, HP® LaserJet® Series II emulation is included. Of course, not everyone needs a PostScript printer. That's why the Epson laser line also includes the new EPL-7000. Like the EPL-7500, it offers brilliant MicroArt Printing, superior paper handling and HP com- patibility. Plus a host of other serious business features, all loaded into an extremely affordable package. More- over, the EPL-7000 even allows upgradability to the EPL-7500's true PostScript and RISC processing. With the EPL-7500 and EPL-7000, the engi- neers of Epson have succeeded in raising the stan- dards for laser printing. Without raising the price. In fact, a demonstration will quickly and clearly show you why these are the most innovative printers in their class. By far. Engineered For The Way You Work" EPSON ©1991 Epson America, Inc., 20770 Maclrona Ave, Torrance, CA 90509. 800-BUY-EPSON (800-289-3770). In Canada, call -116-881-9955. LETTERS Ada Aficionado I read with interest the opinions of "63 of the world's most influential people in personal computing" ("The BYTE Summit, "September 1990). The entire confer- ence was conducted without a single reference to the House Appropriations bill H.R. 5803, sec. 8084, which says, in part, that "after June 1, 1991, all Department of Defense software shall be written in the programming language Ada." Your 63 influential people appear to have a strong aversion to the language that is also a law. I don't really like medicine being rammed down my throat either, but as medicine goes, it tastes pretty good. Ada works. I just finished a middling-size project on time, within budget, and in Ada. The university down the road is using Ada as the basic software engineering training language. My company, British Aerospace Australia, has all new work coming in with Ada as the specified lan- guage. I suspect that all this will extend to the personal com- puter. The last language that the DoD got into was CO- BOL, and I'd hate to bet against Ada right now. B. J. Chippindale The Levels, Australia Safe Data I was particularly interested in reading Jerry Pour- nelle's comments in "The BYTE Summit" (September 1990) concerning the future of computing, and also the accompanying remarks in his column. I found myself agreeing with much of what he had to say, but one as- pect of his thoughts bothered me— his law of "One per- son, at least one CPU." On the surface, it seems to be the best solution. What could be better than having com- plete control of your own computing destiny? But I started to look at the issue from my perspective, as an engineer working in a large company, and I real- ized that having my own PC or even a personal worksta- tion on my desk was not always going to be the way I would get the most work done. Perhaps my view has been warped because of the type of work I have been doing recently, large-scale computational simulations of optical systems (taking a slow Fourier transform of a 256- by 256-pixel array is a common feature of these), but I can get much more done in an hour by using any of six-odd mainframe computers that my company owns than by using the venerable AT on my desk. Indeed, many of the problems that I solve with computers can't be done by even the larger PCs. I would also extend this observation to the academic setting of the university I attend. My point is this: Sharing large computing resources among many people is still an efficient way to get work done in a large organization. In my experience, both as a user and as a provider of shared computer resources, I have had many more positive experiences with main- frames than negative ones, and I expect that many people share this view. It simply makes sense for companies and institutions to invest in centralized resources that can be shared by a great many people at one time. Besides being able to get more work done, having a centralized computer system helps a company keep its in- formation organized and safe. Even after having two jobs in MIS departments, where my only task was "disas- ter recovery operations" (more mundanely known as backups), I still have terrible habits when it comes to my own PC, and I witness this same shortcoming in many PC users— even those who have been burned by lost data and programs. I realize that fast-developing sophisti- cated PC-network programs provide centralized backups, but in my mind, they're not there yet. If a company wants to be truly safe, the only solution is to put data protection in the hands of a few employees for whom that is their only job. The other big advantage of having a centralized system is that databases are used consistently so that data integrity is always assured. Perhaps when PC-network software progresses further, this will no longer be a concern. But then again, maybe it will always be a concern. I tend to favor the latter be- cause decentralization of information, computer-read- able or not, always increases the risk of loss or damage. In the end analysis, I believe that the best solution is having centralized computing resources available for all to use for big jobs and to access important databases. Along with that, it's best to have individual PCs or work- stations that people use for smaller jobs and their own personal work that does not need to be shared with a great many people. This is my current situation, and I think it works quite well. With improvements in networking and communica- tion, data interchange between all levels of computers will soon (well, hopefully soon) be seamless and nearly effortless. And while PCs will continue to enlarge their circle of influence and power, I know that large systems will also have their place for a long while yet. Thomas G. Adams. Rancho Palos Verdes, CA Thanks for a thoughtful analysis. I'd like to have a longer discussion sometime. —Jerry Pournelle Jerry Pournelle' s September 1990 column was inter- esting, entertaining, and educational, as usual. Unfor- tunately, while discussing his First Law, he fell victim to what Dr. Stanley Schmidt calls "extrapolatio ad absur- dum." He assumes that diskless workstations are inher- ently "evil" and are perpetrated upon unwilling victims by diabolical "centralists." This position overlooks the primary reasons that most companies install diskless workstations: data secu- rity and reliability. The mere fact that potential for abuse exists is no reason to assume that the abuse will in- deed occur. If there is no disk drive, no data can be sur- reptitiously copied from the central hard disk and used in a manner contrary to the best interests of the company that owns the data. Additionally, by booting from ROM and download- ing all pertinent device drivers and user profile informa- tion, the common problem of corrupt boot disks is to- tally avoided. It should also be noted that individual users can customize their own working environment by load- ing TSR programs and utilities from the server. This method also has the benefit of allowing full compliance with software licenses, thereby avoiding potentially harmful and expensive civil penalties for software piracy. Users who have a legitimate need for data on a floppy 22 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Objects At Your Fingertips. Now, if you want to develop applications for Windows 3.0, there's a fast and easier way to do it with the premiere object- oriented programming language. Smalltalk/V* With Smalltalk/V Windows, you can explore, prototype, build finished applications and ship them runtime free. You can tap into applications using DDE so effortlessly you don't have to be a Windows expert to do it. And with one of the world's most comprehensive class libraries, you can NbB! 91 UNNgy choose our objects or easily build your own. But whatever you develop, it will be portable between the Windows, OS/2 and Mac versions of Smalltalk/V With so much at their fingertips, more people are solving more problems with Smalltalk/V than any other object- oriented programming system. At only $499.95 and no runtime charges, you can solve them, too. Just call us at (800) 922-8255. And see why programming Windows has never been easier. Smalltalk/VWindows DIGITALK 9841 Airport Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045 (800)922-8255 (213)645-1082 FAX (213) 645-1306 Smalltalk/V is a registered trademark of Digitalk, Inc. Other product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Circle 94 on Inquiry Card. Recycle Everyone wants more productivity out of their computers. But not everybody is willing to spend a fortune to get it. That's why Quarterdeck productivity software is outselling everyone elses— including Microsoft's. DESQview Multitasks and Windows on Your PC As early as 1982, computer enthusiasts found our products helped them set up their ideal working environment. Since then, step-by-step, we've improved DESQview into what some very knowledgeable people call "the best alternative to OS/2". Today's DESQview allows you to multitask multiple programs in windows side by side- text programs; graphic programs. But best of all, you don't have to buy a lot of new hardware and software to use it. DESQview works with the PC and the programs you now own. worEd Product of the Year 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 Over 1,000, 000 users multitask their programs with DESQview. QEMM Breaks the 640K Barrier Break the 640K barrier in DOS— or in Windows 3.0— and give your DOS pro- grams up to 130K more room within the first megabyte of memory, plus another 96K of video memory, in some instances. QEMM takes buffers, network drivers, TSRs and other memory-using utilities and moves them into idle areas between 640K and one megabyte. It's not complicated. It's easy. You can just type Optimize and QEMM will do the rest. QEMM 386 is incorporated into DESQview 386 to Number one. provide the optimum operating environment for productivity oriented users of 386, 386SX and i486 PCs. QEMM 50/60 is designed to work in IBM® PS/2™ Model 50 and 60 PCs with specific IBM adapter boards. QEMM is the #1 selling utility accord- 1024K System ROM ingto distri- bution sources. In fact, it was the number one selling sofware package in the PC industry in April, May and June 1990. TE6H Professional Solutions Award 1989 Best Operating Environment QEMM 386 SCORE 8.6 TJiese are some ofDESQview's most recent awards Jltese are some of QEMM's most recent awards Microsoft is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. IBM and PS/2 arc trademarks of IBM Corporation. PC Tools Deluxe is a trademark of Central Point Software. 80286,386, 386SX and i486 are trademarks of Intel Corporation. ©1991 Quarterdeck Office Systems. your PC Manifest Gives You in-Depth Knowlege of Your PC Our newest utility is Quarterdeck Manifest, the best way to discover every- thing you ever wanted to know about your PC Manifest shows you around 'under the hood 7 , pointing out how memory is used, comparing memory speeds, and indicating how you can gain more room for your programs to work. z It can point you to as'inuch as 130K of additional RAM your programs can use. It shows you which memory areas are faster. It even helps you compare add-in memory board performance. Manifest does for memory what PC Tools Deluxe does for disks. And QEMM 386 ■ -WEEK SCORE 8.6 QRAM Optimizes the Memory of 8088 and 80286 PCs Once you know where you can move those memory-hogging utilities, QRAM lets you do it. It even works on 8088, 8086 and 80286 PCs with EMS 4.0 or EEMS memory boards. QRAM and Manifest help you get every last 'K' out of the hardware you own. In fact, all our products are designed to give you more pro- ductivity out of the system you already have, whether it's an 8088, 8086, 286, 386SX, 386, or i486. Quarterdeck. Products for Everyday Heroes Our mission is to protect your investment. Whether your PC is 8 years old or fresh out of the box, our products make it more versatile, more flexible; and help deliver performance dividends from your computer investment. Our products help fine-tune your PC which helps you do your work better, which makes you look good. A Glimpse of the Future: DESQview/X We're also looking ahead to the next wave of computer development: enterprise computing. Our new DESQview/X allows different computers with different operating systems to work together. Using the advanced X-windows environment, it lets users run programs on remote computers and watch them run in their PC's windows. DESQview /X will be avalable later this year. Quarterdeck products. The best way to get the most out of your PC today. And tomorrow. ^llLl it's easier to use. Manifest has been quick to win recognition -^^=^^= < 150 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405 (213) 392-9851 Fax (213) 399-3802 Circle 233 on Inquiry Card. LETTERS disk can easily be accommodated by users (of which, typically, there will be several) who do have floppy disk drives in their workstations. Even if there is only one workstation on a network that has a floppy disk drive in- stalled, and this particular unit is controlled by the "cen- tralists," there is a wonderful opportunity to control ac- cess to sensitive corporate data while preserving the user's freedom to "liberate individual creative ener- gies." This type of procedure also ensures that corporate data is not accidentally corrupted by honest mistakes or sinister intent. I hope Jerry rethinks his position on these wonderful machines because they make the life of the network supervisor much easier. Robert Foldi Albion, NY Well, you 're probably right: I do sometimes get carried away. Thanks and best wishes. —Jerry Pournelle Zapping Disks In a letter to Chaos Manor Mail (October 1990), Frank Cross pointed out that he was careful to pass his floppy disks around the airport security x-ray machine. It had puzzled a fellow medical physicist and me as to how x-rays could affect floppy disks. Thus, we did a small experiment to determine if, in fact, there was any effect. We subjected both 5 l A - and 3 te-inch floppy disks to increasing doses of x-rays from a standard diagnostic x- ray unit. After each exposure, we tested the disks using Norton Utilities to see if any data was unreadable or if any bad blocks had developed. We were unable to detect any effects of x-rays on the disks, despite the fact that the doses administered were orders of magnitude greater than those of any airport security system. It would seem that the suspicion that x-rays will cause damage to disks is based on some sort of myth and that excessive precaution is unnecessary. T. D. Cradduck London, Ontario, Canada I gave up on special treatment for disks years ago, and so far I haven 7 noticed any problems. But I was told that the U.S.S.R. x-ray machines really zap things (so much so that the KGB agents running them get medical prob- lems). So there I did move the disks through manual in- spection. I do worry a little about EPROMs in some com- puters, but again, I have never actually had a problem. Best wishes. —Jerry Pournelle Disseminating Ideas In his September 1990 column, Jerry Pournelle re- ferred to a prediction he'd made in the past: "By the end of the millennium, any member of Western Civili- zation would be able to get the answer to any question that has an answer— and this at reasonable cost." That brought an immediate question to my mind. Since it sounds Jike such a good deal, how does one be- come a "member of Western Civilization"? It seems a pity that people not fortunate enough to be born in a Western country (or a "westernized" country, such as Japan, which I believe Jerry would include in his predic- tion) should be deprived of what his prediction means (living long and prospering, for starters). If Jerry can put a simple answer to the above question in his column, everyone everywhere could follow it and gain the benefits of his prediction. I'm thinking of places like Guatemala, for instance, which probably has a per capita income of about $250. Or Zaire, which has a per capita income of $150. Not to mention the Eastern European countries, now in the throes of applying for membership in Western Civilization (after having been held back for 40 years by the Communists). For what it's worth, I'd suggest these simple require- ments: free market economy, free flow of information and ideas, free entry and egress, and rule of law apply- ing to everyone in all classes. What do you think? Jerry could just put the recipe in his column, and the rest of us will see that it's disseminated throughout the world to those who need to pay heed. Or better yet, he could write a science fiction book about it. Timothy Condon Tampa, FL "America is the well-wisher to the freedom and indepen- dency of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own, " said John Quincy Adams; and while I might dispute that, it is still something to be thought about. Certainly the best way America can preserve Western values for the world is to retain them for herself; and per- haps , just perhaps , liberty of conscience, freedom of ex- pression, security of property— a "just and impartial gov- ernment that will not take from the mouths of the laborers the bread they have earned"— and rule of law will spread. Just perhaps.— terry Pournelle FIXES • Laurence M . Gartel is the artist who created the artwork used as a background for the collage that ap- peared on page 297 of the December 1990 issue of BYTE. This artwork was originally published in the book Laurence M. Gartel: A Cybernetic Romance published by Gibbs Smith, Publisher. Copyright 1989 by Laurence M. Gartel. • Some of the company information listed for Percep- tive Solutions, Inc., in the January Product Focus and the review of hyperStore was incorrect. The company is lo- cated in DeSoto, Texas; the correct telephone numbers are (214) 954-1774 and (800) 486-3278. • In a January Short Take (page 127), we incorrectly identified the Volante AT 1000 board as interlaced, when in fact it is noninterlaced. • In the September 1990 Ask BYTE, the phone number we gave for Spinnaker Software was incorrect. The cor- rect number is (617) 494-1200. • The correct telephone number for Spiral Software (January, page 70) is (800) 833-151 1 . • The correct telephone number for Dragon Systems, listed in "The BYTE Awards" (January, page 164), is (617)965-5200. ■ 26 BYTE- MARCH 1991 r. GATEWW2O00 "You've got a friend in the business." Some People Go To Get A : -.,*> • y f ** P 0k ■J*" mi '// GAk ^^ Mi zmrum 8 610 Gateway Drive "You 've got a friend in the business. " •523-2000 • N, Sioux City, SD 57049 • 605-232-2000 • Fax 605-232-2023 GATEWAY 2000 SYSTEMS 12MHZ 286VGA 80286-12 Processor ■ 1 MB RAM 1.2 MB 5.25" Drive 1.44 MB 3.5" Drive 40 MB 17ms IDE Drive with 32K Cache ■ 16 Bit VGA with 512K ■ 14" Gateway Crystal Scan 1024 Color VGAMonitor ■ 1 Parallel/2 Serial Ports ■ 101 Key Keyboard MS DOS 3.3 or 4.01 $1495.00 GATEWAY 386SX gjggj m 4 MB RAM 1.2 MB 5.25" Drive 1.44 MB 3.5" Drive 40 MB 17ms IDE Drive with 32K Cache 16 Bit VGA with 512K 1 14" Gateway Crystal Scan 1024 Color VGA Monitor 1 Parallel/2 Serial Ports M01 Key Keyboard MS DOS 3.3 or 4.01 MS WINDOWS 3.0 $1895.00 25MHZ386 m VGA 4 MB RAM 1.2 MB 5.25" Drive 1.44 MB 3.5" Drive 80 MB 17ms IDE Drive with 32K Cache 16 Bit VGA with 1MB 14" Gateway Crystal Scan 1024NI Color VGA Monitor 1 Parallel/2 Serial Ports 1 101 Key Keyboard MS DOS 3.3 or 4.01 MS WINDOWS 3.0 $2395.00 25MHZ 386CACHEM 133MHZ386VGA 64K Cache RAM ■ 4 MB RAM ■ 1.2 MB 5.25" Drive ■ 1.44 MB 3.5" Drive 80 MB 17ms IDE Drive" with 32K Cache 16 Bit VGA with 1MB 14" Gateway Crystal Scan 1024NI Color VGA Monitor 1 Parallel/2 Serial Ports 101 Key Keyboard MS DOS 3.3 or 4.01 MS WINDOWS 3.0 $2695.00 64K Cache RAM 4 MB RAM 1.2 MB 5.25" Drive 1.44 MB 3.5" Drive 200 MB 15ms IDE Drive with 64K Multi-Segmented Cache 16BitVGAwithlMB 14" Gateway Crystal Scan 1024NI Color VGA Mgnitor .. 1 Parallel/2 Serial Ports , 101 Key Keyboard MS DOS 3.3 or 4.01 MS WINDOWS 3.0 $3195.00 25MHZ 486™ VGA 64K Cache RAM 8 MB RAM 1.2 MB 5.25" Drive 1.44 MB 3.5" Drive 200 MB 15ms IDE Drive with 64K Multi-Segmented Cache 16 Bit VGA with 1MB 14" Gateway Crystal Scan 1024NI Color VGA Monitor 1 Parallel/2 Serial Ports 101 Key Keyboard MS DOS 3.3 or 4.01 MS WINDOWS 3.0 $3995.00 BEST BUY Same features as our 33 MHz 386 VGA system except this machine has an 80 MB 17ms IDE Drive instead of the 200 MB 15ms IDE Drive. $2795.00 STANDARD FEATURES & SERVICES . Microsoft® WINDOWS™ and Mouse with all 386 and 486 systems • 30-day money-back guarantee • One-year warranty on parts and labor ■ New leasing options now available • Toll-free technical support for the life of the machine • Free on-site service to most locations in the nation • Replacement parts sent via overnight shipping free of charge • Free bulletin board technical support • New sales hours: 7am~l0pm CST M-F 9am-4pm CST Saturdays NEW CRYSTAL SCAN 1024NI /: • Our new 14" Gateway Crystal Scan 1024NI color VGA monitor comes standard with all 386 DX and 486 systems. This monitor is non-interlaced for a flawless, flicker-free display. 1024 x 768 @ 60 Hz. 800 x 600 @ 72 Hz. 28 DP. We custom-build each Gateway 2000 computer to customer specifications. We'll gladly provide you with a quote on your configuration. 386 and 486 are trademarks of Intel Corporation. Due to the volatility of the DRAM market, all prices are subject to change. GATEWOVOOO "You've got a friend in the business." 800-523-2000 610 Gateway Drive • N. Sioux City, SD 57049 • 605-232-2000 • Fax 605-232-2023 NEWS MICROBYTES Microsoft Taps Windows to Support Pens While some tap-happy pundits predict no future for computers that use a pen or stylus, Microsoft says that portable PCs and programs that tap into its pen-centric operating software could reach the market later this year. Unlike GO Corp. (Foster City, CA), which has invented a whole new 32-bit operating system for pen-based, mobile computing (see "The Point of the Pen," February BYTE), Microsoft is building on top of Windows. The upcoming Pen- Windows, shown to developers late last month, is a set of operating-system ex- tensions designed to recognize handprinted text and accept commands from a pen or stylus. The system will also recognize gestures, or pen marks for com- mon commands such as cut, copy, paste, and insert. "Gesture support is the most important aspect of pen-based systems," said Greg Slyngstad, general manager of the PenWindows product unit. The handwriting-recognition engine is "installable," Slyngstad said. OEMs or applications developers can imple- ment a different recognizer if they want. Based on Windows 3.1, PenWindows will run any application compatible with 3. 1 without modification. It's this compatibility with current software that Microsoft is promoting as the reason developers and users will want to pass GO. For users who want to write instead of type, some developers will design versions of their software to handle pen input and take advantage of PenWin- dows capabilities. By building on a foundation of more than 600 functions in the Windows application programming interface, developers will be able to imple- ment the PenWindows environment with modest incremental effort (about 35 additional functions), according to Microsoft. Microsoft itself plans to add pen enhancements to programs such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The company released a beta software developer's kit last month. Microsoft will license PenWindows to OEMs, who will install it in new tab- let-like computers. Several companies have expressed an interest in PenWin- dows, including Momenta, Wang, NCR, and Kyocera. While GO's PenPoint system is designed for stylus input, Microsoft is betting that users of pen-based systems will want compatibility with DOS and Windows rather than a brand-new operating system. PenPoint is compatible only with the DOS file system. However, tacking pen-based features to an existing operating system may limit both the performance and flexibility of the pen-based environ- ment. For example, Microsoft's system will require translation of pen input into mouse or keyboard equivalents (a procedure that GO's system doesn't have to worry about). Some experts on pen-based computing believe multitasking will be of critical importance to ensure adequate responsiveness of the pen. Still, Microsoft has the clout of 20 million DOS users and can attract develop- ers more easily than GO. Slyngstad said that "one or more" systems— most like- ly notebook 386 PCs with a removable display— will show up this year. —Nick Baran and D. Barker Grid Will Work with PenPoint and PenWindows While some computer makers will implement GO's PenPoint and others will implement Microsoft's Pen- Windows, the first company to commer- cially provide a handwriting-savvy sty- lus-and-tablet computer will support both environments. Grid Systems (Fre- mont, CA) plans to build an industry- standard computer that can be used for either PenPoint or PenWindows, as well as programs written for Grid's own ap- plication programming interface, says N ANOBYTES Why is this man smiling? He's Robert Puette, president of Apple USA, and his company is selling its new Mac Classic computer faster than it can make them. And according to market analysts, Apple is reaching a whole new audience of computer users with its low-cost ma- chines. At a re- cent press brief- ing, Puette said that Apple's strat- egy is to be "cus- tomer driven" and provide total computing solutions in coopera- tion with reseller channels and de- velopers, the "other sides of the triangle centered around the cus- tomer that we don't and can't control." Coincidence or not, fol- lowing Puette's talk and similar briefings by fellow Apple execu- tives John Sculley and Michael Spindler, Apple's stock jumped several points. Apple's stock has risen steadily since official state- ments about gaining market share have passed reality checks with in- creases in sales. Apple officials now say that the lightweight notebook computer under development will be out by August. Word in the Macintosh community is that Sony will build the little machine, expected to weigh about 6 pounds. In a move expected to bring large profits to U.S. software manufac- turers, ministers of the Euro- pean Common Market have ap- proved new legislation extending copyright protection to software. With reports estimating that U.S. vendors annually lose up to $5 bil- lion in sales due to European software piracy, strong copyright protection is high on the compa- nies' list of priorities. The direc- tive passed by the European PHOTOGRAPHY: APPLE COMPUTER/PETER FOX © 1991 MARCH 1991 -BYTE 27 NEWS MICROBYTES company president Alan Lefcoff. Grid will basically stay on the side- lines and watch the action between GO and Microsoft, Lefcoff said. Although he thinks that GO should have based its system on Windows, Lefcoff said that he believes independent software vendors will develop good pen-based applications for the GO environment. Grid has no in- terest in building custom hardware for PenPoint and asked GO to modify its de- sign accordingly. Grid users might have to load in a modified BIOS to run GO software, he said. Meanwhile, theGridPad has been suc- cessful with truck drivers and insurance sellers, says Grid product manager Ken Delaney. The portable system (suggested price, $2370) is frequently used for cap- turing signatures, he said. However, the GridPad's handwriting recognition capa- bilities are used in only 20 percent of the applications developed for it, he said. — RIchMalloy Nutek Claims True Mac Clone; No Mac ROMs Required o one's done it yet— made a Mac clone that doesn't use Apple's own Mac ROM chips and can still get past Ap- ple's attorneys. But Nutek Computers (Cupertino, CA) says it has designed a set of chips and software that form a "legal functional equivalent of the Macintosh operating system." Nutek hopes to sell its Mac replicant technology to computer makers who want to produce Mac clones. Nutek says that it has developed a Mac-compatible operating system that doesn't infringe on any of Apple's pat- ents or copyrights. The company says that computers based on its cloning pack- age—an operating system on disk and in ROM and three application-specific ICs that mimic the Mac's internal hardware functions— will be binary and bus com- patible with the Mac. Any "clean" Mac program, peripheral, or add-in will work with systems that are based on the Nutek design, said company president Benja- min Chou. Manufacturers using the Nu- tek chip set must add the CPU, which can be anything from a 68000 to a 33-MHz 68040; a SCSI controller chip; memory; and glue logic. As for the user interface, Nutek will offer a native-language Mac version of the Open Software Foundation's Motif. This could help avoid problems with Apple's interface copyrights. Reverse-engineering a Mac clone is quite a technical accomplishment. But the fast-selling Mac Classic has changed the scenery. Now that Apple offers a real low-cost Mac, the demand for imitations isn't what it was a year ago, when the cheapest model had a price tag twice that of an IBM clone. However, Chou said that OEMs who use Nutek's core tech- nology won't try to compete "with a sin- gle, low-end product." They'll offer ma- chines that are more flexible than Ap- ple's and "competitive on a price/perfor- mance basis," he said. — D. Barker New Type of Magnetic Memory in Development The developers of a new form of magnetic memory say that their ap- proach will yield fast, nonvolatile devices that could someday replace conventional CMOS RAM. This so-called Sheet RAM could ultimately replace "any and all memory devices except things like real cheap floppies and streaming tapes," says Richard Lineau, inventor of the technology and a principal in the company commercializing it. SHRAM Memory Technologies (Los Angeles) ex- pects to have working devices soon. The first products using Sheet RAM could appear sometime this year, Lineau said. Like other forms of magnetic mem- ory, Sheet RAM is nonvolatile and rela- tively immune to stray radiation. Unlike other kinds of magnetic memory, Lineau says, it can match the speed of conven- tional CMOS RAM. Sheet RAM consists of a thin layer of ferromagnetic material put down on a neutral substrate, with a single Hall-ef- fect transistor for each memory cell formed on top of the ferromagnetic layer. Conceptually, Sheet RAM is most akin to core memory— the arrays of tiny mag- net doughnuts woven on wire that domi- nated computer memory before semicon- ductor RAM came along. Like core, Sheet RAM stores bits by changing the polarity of magnetized regions. Unlike core, the magnetized regions are not dis- crete components. Instead, they are re- gions on a chip, like the domains in NANOBYTES Council of Ministers is now in the hands of the European Parlia- ment, which should be making its decision soon. "This directive takes strong action to redress the piracy, an absolute necessity if a healthy indigenous software indus- try is to develop in Europe," said Floyd Bradley, European vice president of Ashton-Tate. The legislation sanctions reverse engi- neering under strictly limited cir- cumstances. Firms will be allowed to decompile competitors' pro- grams to ensure compatibility with their own products and will be forbidden from examining code not directly related to achieving this. Information gained from decompi- lation cannot be used for pur- poses other than ensuring compatibility. As computers get smaller, input devices are doing the same. This month, Appoint (Paso Robles, CA) expects to start delivering a trackball about the size of a Chunkie bar. Thumbelina mea- sures 1 Vi by 1 Vi inches and is 3 A - inch high. The three-button device uses what the designers call a "single point contact, friction op- erated mechanism," the same as in Appoint's MousePen. You can easily hold the trackball in one hand and control it with your thumb, a spokesperson said. The PC version has a PS/2 mouse con- nector and serial adapter. The Macintosh version hooks to the Apple Desktop Bus port. Thum- belina is priced at $99. Wolfram Research (Champaign, IL) plans to multiply the number of systems that can run its Math- ematica program. The latest ver- sion is initially coming out for the Mac, Next, Sony, and Sun plat- forms, but the company plans versions for a further 1 1 or so platforms, including Windows, 386-based DOS, DEC, IBM RISC System 6000, MIPS, and Silicon Graphics workstations. Wolfram added hundreds of math func- tions to version 2, the most impor- tant related to solving numerical differential equations. 28 BYTE • MARCH 1991 '{-2-3 works tvith either DQS^ or Windows $. Q. You don't , have tp~chan§e the pay. ■ you work\to. work with Uelea^-S.l.y -,'".v ■'.■;■ :■../ Muter data with djkeyb6a?rtj ' .'■ viailipttlateitwith ainouse^L ■Released J lets you work with - either, w;Mh. "-.'.'. : MATERIAL COLLECTION . v . • • •• • Lotus is the only . ■ software company youcanmllfor- - • support 24 hours '. /- xi day,- 7 (fays a week,, ^ t9ed 6.886.910 . 5.573.029 1 331.601 3,789.665 You can 'add words, freehand 'draunng and ' " : symbo Is to -make your v grapli$ more 'persuasive. Eight win b motions oftypefqc.es ■ ? let you create anything frOm 2% "; tall headlines to tiny footnotes. * Align titles of text— left, right oi * center— with one 'simple: command'. -. --. . Only Release 3. 1 lets you/ ' automatically wrap text- : . - ardundd' •graph, '., Our 'iinique'W design is ideal .for. organizing data and creat- ing { multi-page reports: :f/£* ■ Ma&aicotecllons increased ora Ok year. PlasScs eoncnyc la br.i:g \n fr* mos>. te-wenue sr 1.8».43C 2.6C0S84 8.C52.753 1.488.421 V6G1.763 5,120.090 $5,ri7,24S $7,039,430 $22,3*1,032 graph at sr« rieltf rjatalte our by "*asta rr.slsraj lor l*» four quitters of 1990 Trjo revsnua Tcreases shew itvu vin^.w.-c?. are bu&drng t.ieir recycling preg'a.TS beyond Just csfiacling pasties, flawed frs;r aluminum atstf glass nave Increased 39 th&r peafpaats have gsi:>&a vc'tjnie. Bus, *«'re. sm seeing price pressure as aie stippiy of rticyc&cfe rrsa^is cor:MU€3 tc exceed !r*? oemarsa We net-rf :e took lor ways to eipsrctl olt maters ar-rj iriKQAea 'he use cf recyc&d naterata. CaBecOomitJj DWrVa COLLECTIONS BY DfSTHICT C&y Certfe* 6 4018S9 Scufn Sfcere 5,175,450 Western 1 aaeaftw Total ■FflsSfSl Glass ■ 5.536,612 SoumS 5-247.930 S J.339.356 Total j Alumil um " ; 4.555,533 : , - '- Ore 3.3*1 3E& ■AV-.-^f/"! TcwfiS 2.277,34'; Tom 10.i74.150 A graphical ^WYSIW^G (what-yoM-see-is-what-you-get) environment shorn you exactly what your output mil look 'like. It's easier Xo work. with, and there's no guesswork^ : '■'■ . Mi-x bold, italics, underlines ,• \ You cm choose from over 200 >« colors.and typefaces to create graph style 'combinations— ■/ fover D ^* * v nev NewWave »/Mftlce Elements .■ies* shipp** 1 l *j££ is in Hw ver> S.V Uai vc ^ development- early Ht^^^^.prom^ -1 dont ••"*"'' ,, ( .|„ us wtft our »«»«yj* w |,„*r coin pulW« , *S!tac in Bon >*g- K,.,tL *•>«*•' ' *,\„ that DK Itf!*** ;ST«.rre.« M* \ Turbo C++ 1 Delivers Pov.-- iToProgi-awmeis T -u I B ^ice Elements r^o C++ 1 .p TWs Month Delivers Powei So what's all the hoopla about? Memory MAX,- for one thing. A breakthrough in memory management that can give you more than 620K so you can run today's memory-intensive applications, including, for example, dBASE l\4 on Novell NetWare*. In fact, John Dvorak calls MemoryMAX nothing short of "amazing" The Press goes on to mention that because DR DOS 5.0 is fully DOS compatible, you can run all your current DOS applications. And because it is easy to install and requires no hard disk reformat- w***l we make computers work (408) 647-6675 For Laptop and Notebook manufacturers, DR DOS 5.0 is fully executable from either RAM or ROM. And, it's available with BatteryMAX,., a battery-saving feature that can increase battery life 2-3 times (dependent upon OEM implementation). Digital Research is a registered trademark, and the Digital Research logo, DR DOS, MemoryMAX, ViewMAX, and BatteryMAX are trademarks of Digital Research Inc. Copyright © 1990, Digital Research Inc. Reprinted from PC Week May 14, 1990. Copyright © 1990 Zif f Communications Company. Reprinted with permission from The San Francisco Examiner. Copyright © 1990 The San Francisco Examiner. Circle 91 on Inquiry Card. ting, upgrading to DR DOS is simple. Since DR DOS 5.0 also includes ViewMAX™, a graphical interface, DOS is easier than ever to use. Now if we could just get a word in edgewise, we would simply like to add that DR DOS 5.0 is available now. Call your local dealer today. DR DOS 5.0 Digital Research ® NEWS MICROBYTES interface for store-and-forward message distribution over networks, so mail can be forwarded to or received from other MHS-compatible E-mail programs, such as cc:Mail. The program is supposed to ship sometime in this half of the year and cost between $200 and $300 for each user. A Windows version is in the works. —Dave Andrews System Lets PCs Run Mac Software I ydra Systems (Cupertino, CA) has I developed technology that lets IBM PC users run Macintosh software on their computers. The Hydra approach basically puts the guts of a Mac in the form of ROM chips and a 68000 onto a board for the PC and then adds some very intelligent software to map Mac calls to I/O devices onto existing PC hardware. Hydra claims that its Hydra One (price expected to be less than $1000) allows a standard IBM PC to run Mac programs faster than a Mac Classic. The current product maps Mac screen I/O to EGA or VGA and maps all other Mac I/O activity appropriately to the PC serial port, parallel port, or wherever. You can directly cut and paste to and from the PC and Mac screens, as well as transfer files between the two systems, the company says. DOS software controls Hydra' s board, and the software lets you split the screen and see part of both the DOS and Macin- tosh screens by sliding the Mac screen. Hydra says that it has not found any soft- ware that will run on the Classic or SE that won't run on its board. The current Hydra board, however, does not support Color QuickDraw, the 68020 or 68030, or the memory manage- ment unit. The Hydra system does not make any attempt to support the Apple Desktop Bus. Instead, it maps ADB calls to the keyboard and to Microsoft Mouse- compatible devices. Will Glaser, direc- tor of engineering at Hydra, said that the company made this decision some time ago since the majority of users would own PC hardware and not ADB devices. "There is more [in the way of I/O periph- erals] on the PC side than the Mac side," he said. —Owen Llnderholm 3Com the Latest to Drop Work on OS/2; Passes LAN Manager Back to Microsoft OS/2 is being tossed from one devel- oper to another. 3Com (Santa Clara, CA) has become the latest com- pany to play "hot potato" with develop- ment on the operating system. First, Ashton-Tate jumped off the SQL Server project and handed responsi- bility for it back to Microsoft. Then Microsoft handed responsibility for 16- and 32-bit versions of OS/2 for Intel plat- forms back to IBM. And now, as part of a major reorganization, 3Com has gotten rid of LAN Manager, tossing the trouble- some tuber back to Microsoft. 3Com has transferred to Microsoft the 3+ and 3+Open LAN Manager 2.0 tech- nology that the companies had been de- veloping together to run on top of OS/2. Microsoft will incorporate additional 3Com technology into future versions of LAN Manager; new features will in- clude Apple Macintosh and Novell Net- Ware connectivity services and X.500 directory services. 3Com continues to sell 3+Open LAN Manager 1.1 and Mac, NetWare, and TCP/IP value-added services to custom- ers who need these capabilities today. Instead of trying to provide complete networking solutions, 3Com is getting out of the software business to concen- trate on network adapters and hubs, in- ternetwork gateways (bridges and rout- ers), and multiprotocol communications servers. —Andy Relnhardt TECHNOLOGY NEWS WANTED. The news staff at BYTE is interested in hearing about new technological and scientific developments that might have an impact on microcom- puters and the people who use them. If you know of advances or projects relevant to micro- computing, please contact the Microbytes staff at (603) 924-9281, send mail on BIX to Microbytes, or write to us at One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458. An elec- tronic version of Microbytes, which offers a wider variety of computer-related news on a daily basis, is available on BIX. N ANOBYTES announcements for connecting Macs to other computers. At the recent Mac Expo in San Francisco, more than a dozen companies in- troduced connectivity products, most of them related to Ethernet. Among those companies are Asan- te Technologies, Cabletron, Dayna, Farallon, National Semi- conductor, NRC, Nuvotech, Shiva, and Synoptics. Responding to a "national need for engineers and scientists with a practical knowledge of Japa- nese," the College of Engineering at the University of Washington has established a master's program in technical Japanese. The pro- gram offers studies in engineering or science fields as well as courses in reading and speaking Japanese. The school is now ac- cepting applicants; the program is slated to begin in the fall. Elsewhere in the cyberworld, Virtual Technologies (Stanford, CA) says that it is working with another company, Beyond Tech- nology, to develop TeleCAD, a virtual design environment for creating, editing, and manipulat- ing three-dimensional virtual ob- jects. One of Virtual's products is the Cyberglove, an I/O glove with sensors for finger, hand, and wrist movement. Cyberglove comes with software for display- ing a graphical representation of the user's hand and finger mo- tions on the computer screen . The color LCD developed by In- Focus Systems (Tualatin, OR) could show up in a new Compaq computer soon. The computer maker has licensed InFocus's Triple Supertwist Nematic display technology (described in the Jan- uary Microbytes). InFocus says that its passive-matrix technology beats the active-matrix approach because it' s available now and is considerably less expensive to manufacture. Compaq officials wouldn't say if or when a TSTN LCD will be used in a Compaq computer, but other sources said that it will later this year. 40 BYTE • MARCH 1991 .++ DEVELOPER'S EDITION V2. 1 1? or total portability right now, w choices are atitliiited. «/ Only Zortech Gives You Total Portability to MS-DOS, Windows, OS/2, DOS 386, UNIX 386. And Macintosh. Right Now. What platfoph will roup. APPLICATION JS BE P.Ul Ji JJJ JG Ol I THE Tli'lE I IE/.T fP/\!<( Now riiat C++ has mado significant inroads into mainslrcam application development, you musl choose the ( !++ compiler thai is going to u"/?">\, be die perforaiance and portability " &S % leader now... and years to come. tm\ Since 1986, we; ye been testing, M refining and peufeGliing our family of C++ products tirelessly. The J t results are what you are leading )out. a fully portable family of C ul (>h- qj^ducts available right now. /VrJATE/EP PlATFOPJ'J /OU CHOOSE, Choose Zoptech PEPFOp.mj ice. With Zortech, no mailer what platform you choose to develop on, a substantial performance increase will be realized due to the quality of the original Zortech C++ implementation. For instance, on MS-DOS. your program will compile up to 35% faster with the resultant code running up to 45% faster and 25% smaller than Turbo C+^ But we don't slop there. On each platform. Zortech C++ is designed to improve your productivity where it really EMC/ To iCez? The Pace, hi the past few years. Zortech has (juicily become an industry standard earning acclaim from Byte, Computer language. Dr. Dobbs. and marry industry experts for our solid implemen- tation, market-leading peifonnauec. iind strong, relentless innovation; Zortech, InC, 4 - C Gil Ltd.. 58-60 8 e r c o f Supporteo matters... in the development cycle. For example, using the DOS/MS H Windows package, you can edit, I compile, link and debug the »xmS largest MS windows applications. ..and never once leave the Windows environment: Ail this plus complete plug-and-go to CNS C++/View and Common view If! And. of course, these advantages are also available on the OS/2. DOS 386, UNIX, and Macintosh platforms. Choices. Choices. -Q-iojcSj... If there is one constant in C++ (level opment. it's change. The Zortech "amily of products keeps your options exactly Iiqw they sho Id be. Open. To find out more, call today. QrlDEK r-JQTLIl IE; 96 FAX: (617) 937-0793 6-7777 FAX: -f44-8l- 3 16-413 8 ' % COM PAT ISLES Born not to run *$&&& :*&& ^^v «naH &$ V ^ # **«£' With water-resistant ink, the new HP DeskJet 500 printer produces very dry documents. For just $729* our 300 dpi ink- jet technology makes sure your output looks beautiful. And our new water-resistant ink makes sure it stays beautiful. Our printer is made to last, too. It has a 10-year MTBF. With reliability like that, no wonder we can offer a 3-year warranty. Despite its low cost, the HP DeskJet 500 gives you a lot of high-end features. Such as multiple fonts, scalable to 127 points through Windows support. Two print modes — portrait for letters or land- scape for spreadsheets. And industry-standard compati- bility that lets you plug in and start printing. All these features come in a conveniently compact printer that works as quietly and easily as printers twice the price. So call 1-800-752-0900, Ext. 1911 for your nearest autho- rized HP dealer. You'll see that it doesn't cost much to make even dry documents look exciting. n HEWLETT PACKARD •Suggested U.S. list price. © MHO I IcwIcU- Packard Company PE12044 NEWS FIRST IMPRESSIONS The 386 Gets a Competitor STAN MIASTKOWSKI AND RICK GREHAN Advanced Micro Devices' 386 "clone" delivers identical performance to Intel's flagship chip Despite the fact that Intel's i486 processor is the latest and (supposedly) greatest of today's CPUs, the 386 remains the workhorse stan- dard for much of today's routine computing needs. It's likely to remain that way for quite a while. The i486 is still too expensive for all but the most elite of power users, and prices don't seem to be going down. After years on allocation, the 386 is now in plentiful supply. Intel ships huge numbers of the chips (the company won't say how many) every month. And when you're the only supplier on the block (as Intel currently is for the 3 86) , you can pretty well set the price you like. Industry ana- lysts say that Intel has kept the price of the 386 artificially high and is raking huge amounts of dollars into its corporate coffers. Yes, prices of 386-based systems have been slowly falling over the past year, but that's largely a function of the falling price of RAM. The cost of the processor itself hasn't changed much. That situation, however, may change quickly. BYTE Labs has been testing the first "clone" of the 386. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has developed the Am386, and we've found that it's a virtual dead ringer for the Intel chip. Our tests findtheAm386 is 100 percent compatible withthe 386, and it has a couple of 44 BYTE • MARCH 1991 additional features that will mean some surprising developments for the ubiqui- tous PC platform. A Clone's a Clone for All That We've put the term "clone" in quotes be- cause it's been a bit overused in the PC market. The Am386 isn't a true clone of the 386, because it can't be. A clone is an exact copy. The Am386 may work exact- ly the same as the 386, but it's certainly not an exact copy, because the people at AMD wouldn't have a legal leg to stand on if they simply took a microscope and copied the 386. (The legal landscape re- mains murky, however. See below.) AMD used nearly 30 people in two different teams to develop the Am386. One team of AMD engineers dissected the 386's silicon, slowly building a road map of the chip's internals. They used this to construct a gate-level simulation of the 80386. Another team ran batteries of sample 386 code through working parts, logging incoming and outgoing signals on all the CPU's pins. Once the people at AMD had a work- ing version of the simulation, they fed it the microcode and then pumped simulat- ed input signals into it. The simulation returned output signals, and they com- pared these with the logs taken earlier. Whenever a discrepancy between the simulation and the real world showed up, the engineers dug back into the dissected chip, comparing it with their simulation in search of their mistake. They'd find the error, correct the simulation, and continue running tests. The Am386 uses the Intel microcode bit for bit. How can the same microcode run on dissimilar hardware? Obviously, the AMD engineers have altered the hardware to be compatible with the soft- ware, rather than the other way around. When the simulation was sufficiently accurate, AMD had what amounted to a logical description of the 80386. The simulation consisted of a mass of logic gates. It was during the translation of that logical description to the physical de- scription—which actually maps out how the chip is built— that the differences be- tween the Intel part and the Am386 part appeared. From there, it was a short trip to actually fabricating the prototype chips, which AMD said were running DOS, OS/2, and Windows within 48 hours of leaving the fabrication facility. NEWS FIRST IMPRESSIONS The Promise of Low Power AMD plans to release two versions of its clone. The Am386 is a simple pin-for- pin replacement for the 386. But it's the other chip that offers some interesting possibilities. Unlike the 386, which uses low-power CMOS technology in only a small part of the chip, the Am386DXL is a full-CMOS chip that uses (in its 20- and 25-MHz configurations) only one- third the power of the 386. (The 33-MHz incarnation uses two-thirds the power of the comparable Intel chip.) In addition, the Am386DXL can toler- ate clock speeds down to MHz. It ac- complishes this thanks to the static na- ture of its internal registers; they need no clock signals for refreshing their mem- ory. At MHz, the Am386DXL draws only 1 milliampere of current, resulting in a true "sleep" mode. AMD also plans to market a 132-pin plastic flat-pack ver- sion of the chip. Because it's 40 percent smaller than the standard ceramic part (and should cost less), it's clear that the era of the full-fledged 32-bit laptop/ notebook computer will soon be upon us. The Proof Is in the Testing In terms of performance, the Am386 is a clone with no enhancements. Operation- ally, it's an exact duplicate of the 386, right down to each clock cycle. We ran BYTE's low-level CPU tests on both an Am386 and a 386 in a Compaq System- pro. The tests turned up no surprises; the AMD part performed identically to the Intel version. (The results are shown in the figure.) The discrepancies between the two chips in some tests are so small that they're negligible. We also ran the Am386 in one of our lab's mongrel 386 clones for the better part of two days, allowing the lab's nor- mal activity to put the chip through its paces. It ran a variety of applications and participated as a Novell NetWare client with no problems whatsoever. We also had available a V-ATE system diagnostic board from Vista Microsys- tems. The V-ATE plugs into any ISA slot, "wakes up" during the system's power-on self -test processing, and moni- tors the bus for any anomalies. Not sur- prisingly, the V-ATE gave the system running the Am386 a clean bill of health. Up in the Air? Although AMD was careful to develop a compatible chip that's not a gate-for-gate AM386 VS. INTEL 386DX (33-MHz) < Worse BYTE CPU BENCHMARKS Better ► Word move-even Word move-odd Doubleword move-even Doubleword move-odd 50 100 150 200 300 600 Iterations per second □ AMD H Intel ' 10 5 iterations per second The AMD Am386 and Intel 386 processors are, for all practical purposes, identical in performance. (The occasional differences are too small to matter.) All units are iterations per second except integer math, which is 10 5 iterations per second. copy of the 386, Intel isn't taking the competitive threat lightly. Although the details of the legal battle going on be- tween the two companies are too compli- cated to go into here, the actual question of whether AMD will be allowed to sell its chip is still. . .interesting. But one hint that AMD may have its way is that a judge refused Intel's bid to prevent AMD from using the name "386" for its chip. At press time, AMD wouldn't release any price information or delivery dates. All a company spokesperson would say is that AMD will ship "substantial quanti- ties in the first half of 1 99 1 . " One thing's for sure: Competition fos- ters innovation, and AMD's 386 clone is sure to mean lower system prices and more powerful portable systems. For once, end users may turn out to be the real winners. ■ THE FACTS Am386 Price and availability unknown at press time. Advanced Micro Devices P.O. Box 3453 Sunnyvale, CA 94088 (800) 222-9323 (408) 732-2400 Circle 1 1 2 on Inquiry Card. Stan Miastkowski is BYTE 's senior editor for new products. You can contact him on BIX as "stanm. " Rick Grehan is techni- cal director of the BYTE Lab. He can be contacted on BIX as "rick_ g. " MARCH 1991 -BYTE 45 NEWS FIRST IMPRESSIONS Sony's Portable News BEN SMITH An 18-pound workstation Reviewing the history of Unix workstations, I see cabinets getting smaller, processors get- RlSC-bdSed graphics ting faster, and prices going down. There is one constant: the massive high-resolution screens. A graphics workstation's color moni- tor can easily weigh 60 pounds; even a mono- chrome screen can weigh 30 pounds. Moving the CPU cabinet may have become easier, but moving the whole assembly— including moni- tor, network interface, and cables— takes at least two strong backs. As a result, workstations have become furniture. Taking one into the field has been out of the question. . .until now. Portable But Not a Laptop Even though the product literature calls it a laptop, the Sony RISC-based portable News 3250 workstation weighs 18 pounds and requires standard AC current and an external transceiver to connect into a network. You need space to operate the mechanical mouse. This workstation is designed to be set up on a desk and plugged in. Its label says "Network Station." The network connection and power cable will easily fit into a pocket of the case. The entire workstation now is portable, mean- ing that it isn't too heavy to carry the length of an airport concourse. And when you set it up wherever you arrive, you have a serious monochrome graphics workstation. The back of the base has an Ethernet port, a SCSI port, a (nonstandard) paral- 46 BYTE- MARCH 1991 lei port, and a serial port. A 3^2 -inch floppy disk drive is on the right of the base. The base is crowned with the 11- inch display, 1 120 by 780 supertwist ne- matic LCD pixels, evenly backlit with good contrast. The keyboard lowers from the base, providing a comfortable typing angle on the 75 full travel keys. The keyboard lay- out is a little strange, particularly for a portable, since it includes some dummy keys and only 10 function keys, a stan- dard on Sony News workstations. The mouse plugs into the right side of the key- board; an array of miniplugs for the input and output for audio processing plug into the left side of the keyboard. An anomaly is the recessed membrane switch on the upper left of the keyboard, which is labeled "Power On." Unlike the Next computer, you do not press this switch to power off the system as well; youjustuseitto power on the system. On this machine, the Unix administration program, shutdown, is responsible for killing the power, after it has stopped all the processes and unmounted the file systems. Packed Inside As you've probably surmised, this is no ordinary portable computer. Central to the design is a 20-MHz MIPS R3000 RISC CPU joined by a MIPS R3010 floating-point coprocessor, 32,000 bits each of data cache and instruction cache. The net result is a computer that per- forms 17 million integer instructions per second and 1.8 million floating-point in- structions per second. The basic RAM (in the U.S.) is 8 megabytes, expandable to 36 MB. The single-in-line-memory-module (SIMM) slots are accessible through a simple slid- ing panel below the screen. The internal hard disk drive (either 240 or 406 MB) is manufactured by Hitachi. The SCSI port lets you add any of the Sony News exter- nal SCSI devices (e.g., a magneto-optical rewritable drive or a 1.3-gigabyte digital audiotape drive) or just an external hard disk drive. The compact power supply is mounted above the CPU and FPU in the left rear of the base, so that they can be properly cooled by the quiet fan. The audio inter- face (16-bit and 8-bit stereo A/D and D/A processors) is squeezed in with the mouse interface on a card under the key- board. Even with all this hardware The Experts in Accessories mntm 1449/497A TVSS listed \ \ \ CO** f^4/0^- W7EP &21ffl8»sw#^£ Lifetime Warranty WBm I'm In Command! With The Curtis Command Center Take command with the new Curtis Com- mand Center. It puts guaranteed protection and complete control of your entire system at yourfingertips. The new Curtis Command Cen- ter protects your system against surges in AC power and phone lines— surges that can cause costly damage to your computer and telephone components, scramble your software, and destroy valu- able data. •Complete Control— One-touch of the Master Switch powers up entire system while discharging built-up static electricity Independent push-buttons provide individual control of computer and 4 peripherals. •Guaranteed Protection*— UL 1449 TVSS Lowest Voltage Rating of 330vf or surge suppression, CSA approved, and the Curtis Lifetime Warranty Plus EMI-RFI filtering, static electricity protection, and com- plete phone line surge protection for fax/modem/telex/etc. Don't leave your system unpro- tected—take command with the new Curtis Command Center. 'All surge protectors are not lightning arrestors and will not provide protec- tion against a direct lightning strike. © Curtis Manufacturing Company, Inc. For the Curtis dealer nearest you call (603) 532-4123 Ext. 85 Manufacturing Company, Inc. CIRTIS 30 Fitzgerald Drive, Jaffrey, NH 03452 | InSJICO Company NEWS FIRST IMPRESSIONS BITEBITEBITCBITEBITEBITCBimBITE! fnecBst - J. Bw — W/V.V..; KIM)- . z> I'-p^'-r / - 01iii l Ll™3 l "ll i Bji:iiji»j |J»| -■ I'JII. JB hi mJmJm wfciwffi>ijiWMmw«JUw^Uitw^ mm IWESWCBII' uiaiLyiJej '■f*$ja Photo 1 : The LCD has high enough resolution to run graphics applications and desktop publishing software such as FrameMaker. THE FACTS Sony News 3250 Base system (240-MB hard disk drive), $9900; with 406-MB hard disk drive, $11,900 Basic Configuration: CPU: R3000 (20 MHz) FPU: R301 0(20 MHz) Cache: 32,000 bits (data); 32,000 bits (instruction) RAM: 8 MB, expandable to 36 MB Floppy disk drive: 3 '/2-inch 1.44-MB Internal hard disk drive: 240 MB or 406 MB Display: 1 1-inch backlit STN LCD Standard interfaces: SCSI (half- pitch), serial, parallel, Ethernet Audio: 16-/8-bit A/D and D/A stereo/mono Power requirements: 1.0 ampere AC 120V Weight: 18 pounds Sony Microsystems Co. 645 River Oaks Pkwy. San Jose, CA 95 134 (408) 434-6644 fax: (408) 954-0849 Circle 1 167 on Inquiry Card. packed into such a small case, there is still room for a Sony expansion slot. It takes more than hardware to gener- ate a high-performance system: The compiler is the MIPS optimizing com- piler, one of the best in the industry. The operating system is the new Unix System V release 4, a rewrite of Unix that com- bines older System V releases with Xenix and Berkeley Standard Distribution Unix. The sound library and editor are Sony's. The system ships with the Open Soft- ware Foundation's Motif window man- ager, which is a poor choice for a mono- chrome display because it relies on a large palette of colors to create its ele- gantly designed windows and buttons. Open Look is more appropriate for monochrome, while providing more functionality without add-on packages for environment and file management. "Portable" implies "quick to start" and "quick to stop." These concepts are not part of the Unix environment; Unix does not start and stop instantly with the flip of the power switch. It takes the portable workstation a good 2 minutes from the time you press "Power On" to when you can use the ma- chine. It takes nearly 4 minutes to shut down. Even small-kernel, ROM-based versions of Unix take this long, so inertia is something Unix system users just learn to live with. Why Portable? Another price to pay for the portability of the News 3250 is display quality. An LCD is not as clean or quick as a mono- chrome CRT. There is no way to attach a better display until Sony designs a frame buffer to fit into the empty Sony bus. Another small design weakness is that the keyboard is not detachable. Those of us who like to lean back in our chair with a keyboard in our laps will have to sit up straight to use this machine. The real question is, who is this for? There are some obvious space and porta- bility advantages to the News 3250. But this machine is for people who regularly work at several different locations and need a personal system at each place: consultants, field engineers, and design- ers who could use a workstation to pre- sent their ideas. A great deal of the feasibility of a por- table workstation is derived from work- ing in a Unix network environment with the Network File System. By exporting the portable's file systems to another ma- chine, you can work on a more comfort- able workstation when one is available. Also, you don't have to worry about keeping all the systems up to date, since there is only one copy of the files, the one you see on any system that has the Sony's files remotely mounted. There isn't any loss of computing power or speed. In fact, the News 3250 is sufficiently powerful to handle CAD and desktop publishing applications with an ease that will bring a smile to any user. There is a tremendous amount of func- tionality here: a mature and robust oper- ating system running on a well-designed, high-performance machine packaged in a neat and portable case. The weakest point is the display; but even here, Sony is not using old technology. Plenty of applications are already available for this processor and the X Window System, including FrameMaker (see photo 1). Putting all this together, you will find that Sony's portable RISC-based News workstation fits so many diverse require- ments that it is a valuable machine for the office as well as the field. ■ Ben Smith is a technical editor for BYTE. He can be reached on BIX as (< bensmith. " 48 BYTE • MARCH 1991 "My Dolch 486" is awesome. . ." "Hey, I now own the perfect portable that lets me get my work done anywhere. Not just a few files . . .everything I had on my desktop!" "Powerful? You bet! After I downloaded all my desktop stuff, on it's 200 MB HD, I still had plenty of room left and it screamed through everything at 11 MIPS!" "My Dolch P.A.C. is setting new 'rules'. It's portable, fast and I still can add 4 full-size internal expansion cards. Wow!" "You have to see the brilliant display — I mean really see it. TFT is the latest color technology, that's fully VGA compatible." "Hey! Don't take my word for it. Experts like PC Magazine judged my Dolch P.A.C. to L . . . outclass all other portables' and picked Dolch three years in a row as Editors' Choice!" i m — ^ 1 | T . 1 rr.^ i i i i ■ i ■ i 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 I ■ I I 1 M ' i » ■■ -*« i — i 1 -*« f— 1 -M 1 1 M 1 1 ■■ 1 1 ■■ mmt ■ m ■ ML ■ \mm\i\i IW5W Am EDITORS' EDITORS' EDITORS' C HOICK CHOICE CHOICE 1989 1990 "Get a Dolch today, choose a 286™, 386SX™, 386DX™ or a 486™ like mine. . . clearly the best PC you can buy today, and it happens to have a handle. Get a lot more work done — where and when you want." Why Wait?. . .Call today. (800)538-7506 US; (800) 233-2077 CA In Canada call Laptech 1-800-561-4527 Dolch. ROAD-POWER FOR THE BEST OF US Dolch Computer Systems 372 Turquoise Street • Milpitas, CA 95035 • Tel: 408-957-6575 • Fax: 408-263-6305 ™286, 386SX, 386DX, and 486 arc registered trademarks of Intel Corporation Circle 98 on Inquiry Card. Programmer's Paradise ® • •• We'll Beat The Competition's Advertised Prices! LIST OURS 386 DEVELOPMENTTOOLS 386 ASM/LinkLoc 1295 386/DOS Extender 495 BlueMAX 155 C Windows Toolkit/386 200 C-Terp 386 398 Lahey F77L-EM/J2 (w/OS/3M6) 1 290 MetaWare High C 386 995 Novell C Network Compiler/3H6 995 PC-lint 386 239 WATCOM C 8.0/386 Prof. 1 295 w/ 386/DOS Extender 1 790 WATCOM C 8.0/386 Standard 895 WATCOM FORTRAN 77/380 1095 Zortech C++ Devel. Ed. 386 995 1159 439 129 179 315 1035 919 799 179 1099 1399 719 929 849 295 279 200 179 150 105 150 129 150 129 170 139 199 169 150 105 495 349 129 89 99 69 ADA Ada Assembler 395 369 Ada Scope Debugger 495 445 Ada Training Environment 895 805 Adagraphics 695 629 InlegrAda 795 719 PC Professional Devel. Kit 1995 1659 ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE Advantage Disassembler ASMFlow Professional MS Macro Assembler OPTASM RetSource Sourcer w/ Pre-Processor SpontaneousAssembly Turbo Debugger & Tools BASIC COMPILERS MS BASIC Prof. Devel. System Power Basic QuickBASIC BASIC LIBS/UTILITIES GraphPak Professional 149 129 P.D.Q. 129 115 ProBas 159 149 ProBas Toolkit 99 94 QBase 149 125 QuickComm 149 119 QuickPak Professional 169 149 QuickWindows Advanced 149 119 CASE TOOLS EasyCASE Plus 295 259 Professional Pack 395 355 Personal CASE 199 179 C COMPILERS Instant C 795 719 Intel 386 C Code Builder 695 489 Lattice C 6.0 250 155 Microsoft C 6.0 495 339 w/Objective-C 699 539 MS QuickC 2.5 99 69 MS QuickC w/QuickAssembler 199 139 Turbo C 2.0 99 69 WATCOM C 8.0 Professional 495 419 WATCOM C 8.0 Standard 395 335 C++ C++/Views Data++Windows NDPC+ + Rogue Wave Malh.h++ Rogue Wave Tools. h++ Turbo C++ Turbo C + + Professional Competitive Upgrade Zinc Library Zortech C++ Zortech C + + Database Zortech C + + Developer's Edition w/ C + + Views Zortech C++ Video Course C-COMMUNICATIONS Breakout II C Asynch Manager 3.0 Essential Communications Greenleaf CommLib Greenleaf ViewComm SilverComm "C" Async Library View-232 C-F1LEMANAGEMENT Btrieve Devel. System C DATA MANAGER w/ source Multi-user Codebase IV c-tree Plus dBC III Plus db_FILE Bundle Essential B-Tree w/ source The Toolbox - Prof. Edition The Toolbox - Special C GENERAL LIBRARIES C Function Library C TOOLS PLUS/6.0 C Utility Library Greenleaf Functions Greenleaf SuperFunctions Turbo C TOOLS/2.0 C SCREENS C-Worthy Greenleaf DataWindows Vermont Views Vitamin C VC Screen C-UTILITIES/OTHER BarCode Library "C" EMM Library C Shroud C-DOC Clear for C INTERWORK MKSLEX & YACC Objective-C PC-lint PCYACC Professional TimeSlicer 495 189 495 200 200 419 169 479 179 179 CALL CALL 300 205 I 50 200 200 300 450 945 139 179 165 255 399 595 500 449 249 189 189 139 329 259 359 279 399 319 249 215 189 149 595 479 295 259 595 522 895 785 295 219 595 475 500 439 295 249 198 149 095 799 695 509 99 79 149 109 249 199 229 179 299 239 149 109 399 CALL 395 315 495 415 395 289 149 125 389 319 149 119 198 149 189 169 200 169 189 165 249 197 249 225 139 105 495 459 295 279 LIST OURS 1800 1499 600 539 149 129 900 629 995 849 COBOL LANGUAGE Micro Focus: COBOL/2 w/ Toolset Dialog System Personal COBOL MS COBOL Realia COBOL DATABASE DEVELOPMENT Clarion Personal 79 72 Clarion Professional 2.1 845 585 Clipper 5.0 795 521 Data junction Advanced 299 269 dBASE IV 795 495 dBFast/PLUS 345 295 dGE 295 249 Dr. Switch-ASE 180 149 Facelt 99 90 FlashTools! 89 79 Flipper 195 169 Force 2.1 695 589 FoxPro 795 489 FUNCKy Library 195 179 R&R Code Generator 1 50 129 R&R Report Writer 150 129 Say What?! 50 39 SilverComm "C" Interface 99 89 SilverComm Library 2.0 249 209 The Documentor 295 245 Tom Rettig's Library 100 80 U12 Version 2 595 479 DEBUGGERS (DOS) MultiScope 179 139 Periscope Debuggers CALL CALL Trapper 200 1 79 w/optional cable 240 219 Turbo Debugger & Tools 1 50 105 DOCUMENTING/ FLOWCHARTING allCLEAR 300 229 Clear for C or dlJASE 200 169 C-Clearly 130 115 Flow Charting 3 250 199 Interactive Easyf low 150 1 25 Source Print 99 74 Tree Diagrammer 99 74 EDITORS BRIEF 3.0 249 CALL EDT+ 295 269 EMACS 395 315 Epsilon 195 159 KEDIT 4.0 150 125 MKSVi 149 129 PI Editor 19 5 175 Sage Professional Editor 295 249 SLICK Editor 1 95 169 Speed Edit 295 275 SPF/PC 245 199 SYNDIE 495 395 VEDIT PLUS 185 115 EMBEDDEDSYSTEMS C6toPROM 149 119 Link & Locate ++ 395 329 Link & Locate ++ Extended 479 389 FORTRAN LANGUAGE FORWARN 329 295 FORTRAN DEV. TOOLS 129 116 Lahey F77L 595 535 Lahey Personal FORTRAN 77 99 89 MS FORTRAN 450 299 SALFORD FTN 77/ix CALL CALL SALFORDFTN 77/386 CALL CALL SALFORD FTN 77/486 CALL CALL GRAPHICS LIBRARIES Baby Driver 250 199 Essential Graphics 399 339 Font-Tools 150 119 Graf/Drive Plus Developer's 299 269 GrafPrint Developer's 300 265 GrafPrint for Graphoria 95 85 Network version 250 225 GrafPrint Personal 75 69 GrafPrint Plus 150 129 Graphic 5.0 395 325 graphics-MENU 179 159 w/ source 379 329 graphics-MENU Data Entry 99 89 w/ source 224 199 GSS Graphics Devel. Toolkit 795 685 GX Graphics 149 135 HALO 395 279 HALO Professional 595 395 HALO Window Toolkit 595 419 Icon-Tools/Plus 150 119 Menuet 325 279 MetaWindow Plus 395 289 PCX Effects 99 89 PCX Programmer's Toolkit 195 175 PCX Text 149 135 SilverPaint 129 109 Stork, The 175 159 189 175 395 369 395 335 495 419 249 209 295 265 495 359 LIST OURS GRAPHICS LIBRARIES (cont'd) Super Pro-Pak 899 809 Turbo Geometry Library 200 179 Z-PHIGS Lite 199 179 Z-PHIGS Professional 799 699 LINKERS/LIBRARIANS Blinker Overlay Toolkit Plink86+ Plink/LTO PolyLibrarian .RTLink .RTLink/Plus OBJECT-ORIENTEDTOOLS Objective-C 249 225 Smalltalk/V 100 85 Smalltalk/V 286 200 169 OS/2 TOOLS Brief 249 CALL CASE:PMforCorC + + 1995 1799 Epsilon 195 159 MKS LEX & YACC 349 279 MS OS/2 Pres. Manager Toolkit 500 349 MultiScope for OS/2 449 345 PCYACC 695 625 PI Editor 249 225 Smalltalk/V PM 495 369 Vitamin C (OS/2) 495 399 Zortech C++ OS/2 Devel. Ed. 600 509 PASCAL LANGUAGE Asynch PLUS B-tree Filer MS QuickPASCAL Object Professional ObjectVision Power Tools PLUS/5.0 149 109 Topaz 99 89 Topaz Multi-user 149 135 Turbo Analyst 129 99 TurboMAGIC 199 179 Turbo Pascal 6.0 1 50 105 Turbo Pascal 6.0 Professional 300 205 Turbo-Plus 5.5 199 159 Turbo Professional 5.0 125 109 PROTOTYPING DanBricklin's Demo II 249 CALL ProtoView 695 625 Proteus 249 219 SOURCE MAINTENANCE Codan 395 345 CodeCheck 495 469 MKS Make 149 119 MKSRCS 249 199 MKS Software Mgmt. Team 299 239 PolyMake 179 149 PVCS Professional 495 419 SMS 495 399 Sourcerer's Apprentice Personal 199 159 Sourcerer's Apprentice Prof. 499 399 TUB 139 109 5 Station LAN 419 339 149 115 125 109 99 69 189 109 400 CALL CORPORATE CUSTOMERS Call coRSorr —our sister company specializing in servicing the corporate community. Get quick delivery and great prices on over 5000 software titles from more than 1000 publishers. Ask about our volume purchase agreements, contracts and personally assigned sales representa- tives. Call (800) 422-6507 CORSOFTand Programmer's Paradise are both divisions of Voyager Software Corp, Shrewsbury, NJ. Guaranteed Best Prices! (?°S> 445-7899 FAXcetera Want more product information on the items in the gold box to the right? Try FAXcetera !! Just pick up your FAX phone and dial 908-389-8173. Enter the FAXc etera product code listed below each product description-information will be faxed back to you instantly! 89 149 179 719 CALL 659 WIN DOWS (MS) TOOLS 3-IN-1 C Version 99 3-IN-l C++ Version 159 3-IN-l Combo 199 Actor 3.0 895 Asymetrix Toolbook 395 Bridge Toolkit 695 Case:W 995 CALL C-DATA MANAGER 1295 1159 C-Talk/Views DbxSHIELD DemoSHIELD DitiloHCoder Drover's Toolbox for Windows w/ source InstdllSHIELD LokSHIELD MAGIC FIELDS MemSHIELD MS Windows Development Kit MultiScope for Windows ObjectGraphics ProtoView Sage Control Pak Smalltalk VA/Vindows Spinnaker Plus TbxSHlELD WindowsMAKER International Professional WmTueve WNDX GUI Toolbox XENIX/UNIX BLAST Epsilon ESIX/.UK) (2 user) Unlimited ESIX/3B6w/ Extensions Unlimited Informix Products Interactive Products MeMWare HiKh C MKS Trilogy Norton Utilities PI Editor SCO Products VEDITPLUS Vermont Views Zorlech C++ Compiler w/ source 450 595 495 499 295 885 395 395 295 395 500 379 445 695 595 500 495 295 795 995 995 395 499 495 1 95 399 665 595 825 375 549 459 435 269 799 369 369 235 369 349 289 365 625 535 395 349 275 635 899 795 339 449 395 169 349 589 535 745 CALL CALL CALL CALL 895 849 119 1 05 295 235 349 319 CALL CALL 285 249 1795 1489 495 425 595 539 ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS clBx/dBPort 600 459 Guido 249 189 Lattice RPG 1600 1285 MKS AWK 99 79 Opt-Tech Sort/Merge 149 119 PC Scheme 95 79 Personal Rexx 150 139 r Our Guarantee... "^ Products listed here Lire backed by the following guarantee*: Should you see one of these products listed at a lower price in another ad in this magazine, CALL US! We'll beat the price, and still offer our same quality service and support. Terms of Offer: • Offer hoocI through March 31,1 99 1 . • Applicable to pricing on current versions of software listed; Mar. issue prices only. • Offer does not apply towards obvious errors in competitors' ads. * Subject to same terms and conditions. LIST OURS APPLICATION SOFTWARE COMMUNICATIONS BLAST II CROSSTALK Communicator CROSSTALK for Windows CROSSTALK MK. 4 CROSSTALK XVI Procomm Plus Remote2 Call Remote2 Host Remote2 Complete MATHEMATICS Derive MathCAD Mathematica 386 250 225 99 CALL 195 145 245 145 195 115 99 63 89 55 129 79 195 115 250 495 695 OP. SYS./ENVIRONMENTS DESQview 386 w/ QEMM 220 DR DOS 5.0 I 99 MS DOS 5.0 CALL MS Windows 3.0 150 OS/286 Developer's Kit 695 OS/286 DPMI Developer's Kit 995 OS/386 Developer's Kit 695 OS/386 DPMI Developer's Kit 995 VM/3H6 245 SCIENCE & ENGINEERING AutoCAD Release 1 AutoSketch DADiSP Design CAD 3-D Drafix Windows CAD LABTECH Notebook MICRO-CAP III Oread PCB PC-MATLAB PC TEX SCHEMA 111 TECH*GRAPH*PAD T< 219 315 625 169 129 CALL 99 629 895 629 895 209 UTILITIES 3H6MAX5.0 Bootcon Cache 86 Central Point Backup FASTBACKPlus HeadRoom 2.0 Hijaak 2.0 Hold Everything InfoSpotter MACE 1990 MKS Toolkit MOVE'EM Norton Commander Norton Utilities 5.0 Paginate PC Tools Deluxe 6.0 Pizazz Plus PreCursor Sidekick Plus SpinRite II Squish Plus Tree 86 3000 150 B<)5 400 095 995 1495 1495 695 249 495 395 595 130 60 50 99 189 130 199 199 80 149 249 89 149 179 100 149 149 96 200 89 100 90 CALL 95 759 292 CALL 799 1269 CALL CALL 229 449 319 479 114 55 39 69 119 89 149 159 69 105 199 79 99 129 79 95 79 79 139 75 75 69 Programmer's Policies Phone Orders Hours Mon-Fri 1:30 AM-7 PM EST, Sat 9:30-2:30 EST. We accept MC,Visa, AMEX. Domestic shipments, please add $5 per item for shipping/handling by UPS ground. For domestic COD shipments, please add $3. Rush service available. Mail or FAX Orders POs are welcome. Please include phone number. International Service Phone number required with order. Call or FAX for additional information. Dealers Welcome! Call for information. Corporate Accounts Call CORSOFT, our corporate sales division at (800) 422-6507. Ask about volume purchase agreements. Returns Subject to $25 processing charge. * All prices subject to change without notice. WindowsMAKER™ Professional .VV'inifn The fastest way to create MS-Windows applications in C. Generates the Windows .EXE with complete source & production files (no royalties). Point & Click to define the Windows user interface. Animate your design to instantly test its look & feel. Make changes on the fly without compiling. Custom code is preserved during code regeneration. This is the power-user version of the best-seller jimipmpiiiiii WindowsMAKER with much Mf(TF?Tn?$l greater functionality. List: $995 Ours: $795 FAXietem #2602-0003 ProtoView ProtoView provides powerful graphics, formatted data input and validation/DDE, MDI, fast prototyping, quick and easy window painting, printing, animation or clipboard capabilities, customized colors and fonts, icons, bitmaps, and scrollable data entry screens. All this with the speed of generated C language code with no royalties. With ProtoView, the user interface of your application can be created by someone with no knowledge of programming. It's just point and shoot. ProtoView includes a window painter, over 175 function screen management library and source code to 1 1 new class object libraries. List: $695 Ours: $625 JROTOl 7EW FAXcetem #2553-0001 CROSSTALK Communicator CROSSTALK* Communicator is a value-rich communications package for modems and direct connections. It comes pre-configured for use with popular information services, and offers interactive setup for getting quickly on-line with any system. A point-and-shoot user interface makes it exceptionally easy to transfer files, capture data for use in reports and spreadsheets, or simply interact with another computer. CROSSTALK Communicator features a full set of terminal emulators and file transfer protocols, a password-protected "host" answer mode, a Learn utility for recording and automating operations, plus a set of Crosstalk's CASL™ scripting language commands for writing login scripts manually. List: $99 Ours: CALL FAX cetera #2744-0002 DGA. BlueMAX QUAUTAS o^-\ User's Guide BlueMAX is the only PS/2 specific memory manager. BlueMAX's BIOS compression technology increases available high DOS memory by as much as 250% over other memory managers. Featuring automatic installation and configuration, BlueMAX fully supports Windows 3.0 enhanced mode. BlueMAX's exclusive instancing capabilities allow many resident programs to run reliably under Windows. List: $155 Ours: $129 FAXcetera #1888-0006 QPMJTAS International: 908-389-9228 Customer Service: 908-389-9229 Fax: 908-389-9227 Corporate: 800-422-6507 Canada: 800-445-7899 FAXcetera: 908-389-81 73 Call or Write for Latest Free Catalog! Pcduuhbl A Division of Voyager Software Corp 1 163 Shrewsbury Ave., Shrewsbury, NJ 07791 Circle 227 on Inquiry Card. NEWS FIRST IMPRESSIONS The Tandon NB 386sx Notebook: Saving Power When You Have Little to Spare When I got my desktop SX two years ago, I thought it was a whole lot of power in a compact case. To- day, I carried home a Tandon system with exactly the same power but now in a 6 16-pound box the size of a 2-inch-thick notepad. The Tandon NB 386sx Notebook system has a 20-/8- MHz 386SX processor and comes with a 3 1 /2-inch 1.44- megabyte floppy disk drive, a 30-MB Intelligent Drive Elec- tronics hard disk drive, and 2 MB of RAM. You can in- crease memory by adding (80- nanosecond) 1-MB single in- line memory modules, for a total of 16 MB. The 80-key QWERTY keyboard has a nu- meric keypad, or you can opt to add your own full-size PS/2 or AT keyboard. The system also comes with a VGA con- nector; two nine-pin serial ports, for a mouse, a modem, or other serial devices; a 25- pin parallel port, for a printer or other parallel device; and a system extension connector, for optional expansion boxes. DOS 4.0 and Windows 3.0 are included with the system. The 9-inch monitor is a nonglare cold-cathode fluo- rescent tube, backlit, paper- white VGA (640 by 480 pixels) with 32 shades of gray. It's also downward-compatible with CGA, EGA, and MDA. The system comes with a re- movable, rechargeable nickel- cadmium battery pack and an AC power adapter that charges the battery while it's attached to the computer. The auto- sensing AC adapter accepts 90 to 265 volts AC. The battery is good for about 3 hours under most conditions, and it re- charges in about 3 hours. The adapter has two LED indicator lights. The green light shows you're plugged into a power source. The red light shows it's charging the battery, and if there's a prob- lem, it flashes red. There's the usual audible beep when the battery starts to run low. You can charge the battery when the system is on if you put it into suspend mode. The Tandon NB 386sx Notebook has no real sur- prises. Its power-conservation technology is similar to that of the Texas Instruments Travel- Mate 3000. The Tandon has three levels of power conser- vation. The simplest is sus- pend mode, which you acti- vate with the suspend/resume button— letting you shut down power, even for a minute, to save battery life whenever possible. Pressing any key brings you right back to where you left off. That's pretty straightforward and almost along the lines of a screen blanker. Doze mode and sleep mode conserve more power yet. These modes are not unique, however, because the Travel- Mate 3000 uses Traveling Software's Battery Watch and Battery Pro utilities to shift the system into various con- serving modes. On the Tan- don, doze mode reduces the CPU speed, making the sys- tem draw a little less power. And sleep mode shuts nearly everything down by putting all peripherals in their lowest ac- tive states and also reducing the CPU speed. In your setup program, you choose how much time you want to leave the system idle before one or more of these features kicks in. Setting the interval at zero minutes keeps the features from activating. Another feature that I liked is the ability to toggle specific keys and change the screen display font to boldface for easier reading. Of course, this isn't in the interest of power saving, but it does cut down on eyestrain. This little machine comes with almost everything you need, but you can get an addi- tional battery pack and auto- sensing power adapter, a fax modem, a system expansion THE FACTS Tandon NB 386sx Notebook $3495 Tandon Corp. 405 Science Dr. Moorpark, CA 93021 (800) 800-8850 (805) 523-0340 fax: (805) 529-8408 Circle 1168 on Inquiry Card. box, an 80387SX math copro- cessor, and more. The preproduction unit I tested was a standard system onto which I loaded Windows 3.0 along with all the other software I'm used to using on my desktop. It ran flawlessly. The only complaints I have are aesthetic. For example, the power switch isn't very obvi- ous, but I found it. And the carrying case (which comes with it) carries nothing but the system, so I had to haul a paper bag under my arm with the AC adapter, mouse, cord, and some floppy disks, while the system itself stayed snug in the case over my shoulder. Not a great design for such a nice system. But, as I said, these are aesthetic complaints. In the ever-widening league of SX notebooks, the Tan- don's power-saving technol- ogy and general high quality put it in a class with the Travel- Mate 3000 and the Compaq LTE 386s/20. The TravelMate 3000, for example, costs $5499 and has only a 20-MB hard disk drive. The Compaq LTE 386s/20 has features sim- ilar to the Tandon 's but costs a walloping $6499. From this perspective, Tandon moves to the head of the class when you compare features you get for the dollars spent. — Anne Fischer Lent 52 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Free i860™ Processor and i860/APX Software! By now, you've probably heard about our industry- first 4860™ MotherBoard that packs the power of the Intel 80486 CPU with the Intel 80860 RISC processor (i486™ +1860=4860). What you haven't heard is that, for a limited time, when you buy a 4860 MotherBoard with 8MB of RAM, Hauppauge will give you an i860 RISC processor and the i860/APX operating system at no additional cost. Why ghw you this capability? Because you'll enjoy a level of processor perform- ance never before seen in a PC. Our bet is that you'll be so impressed, you'll come back for more! A PC Revolution: In the PC environment, the 4860 is a 486 -based MotherBoard with the new EISA I/O bus. It runs over 2 times faster than 386 com- puters and delivers mainframe power for applications including CAD, LAN and desktop publishing. This board is fully compatible with DOS, IBM's OS/2, Novell Netware and SCO UNIX. What's more, Hauppauge's 4860 supports up to 64 MBytes of memory without'*. RAM expansion board. RISC-Y Business: The i860 processor is ideal in com- plex applications, performing up to 25 million floating- point operations per second. It adds to the power of the 486, so you can run rings around ordinary PCs. By adapting Intel's APX (Attached Processor Executive) software to our 4860 MotherBoard, we've created a way to exploit the power of the i860 to give you practical multiprocessing. In fact, i86()/APX provides a base for entirely new appli — cations made possible by the advent of the i860 RISC processor. Technical Features: 25 or 33MHZ 486/860 ■ 4 Mbytes of high speed RAM expandable to 64 Mbytes shared between i486 and i860 processors ■ Socket for optional Intel Turbo Cache 485™and Weitek 4167 • 7 EISA I/O slots- 64 -bit expansion slot for optional high- speed graphic frame buffer ■ 1 parallel, 2 serial ports and a built- in PS/2 -style mouse port. Enjoy a RISC- free investment. Our 4860 MotherBoard is designed with the world's highest performing microprocessors. So you can have the world's highest performing PCs and workstations. For more information, call 1-800-443-6284. Hauppauge Computer Works, Inc. 91 Cabot Court Hauppauge, New York 11788 Telephone: 516-434-1600 Fax: 516-434-3198 In Europe (49) 2161-17063 In Australia: (7) 262-3122 Hauppauge! Available at your local computer dealer. Trademarks: OS/2: IBM • Intel 386, i486, i860 and Turbo Cache 485™: Intel Corp. . DOS and Xenix: Microsoft Corp. • 4860, 4860 MotherBoard: Hauppauge Circle 1 30 on Inquiry Card. NEWS FIRST IMPRESSIONS A New Version of SideKick Works with Paradox It has been a while since Borland International up- graded SideKick, its premier TSR set of miscellaneous tools for the IBM PC. But the com- pany has finally done it, and, based on an early look at the product, it seems a pretty good job has been done, too. Of course, if you have already made the switch to Windows 3.0, you might not need Side- Kick. But those who are still living in a speedy character- oriented world will find Side- Kick 2.0 quite useful. The first thing I noticed was that this new version of Side- Kick has a much improved user interface. Although it still lacks a real graphical user interface (GUI), the charac- ter-oriented windows and the pull-down menus are quick and fairly easy to use, even with a mouse. Other improvements are more subtle: One is a smaller memory requirement. In TSR mode, the new SideKick takes up less than 40K bytes of pre- cious main memory. If you can't spare even that small amount of memory, you can run SideKick as a nonresident program. The individual applications in SideKick have a number of improvements as well. The notebook now has more print- ing capabilities, a spelling checker, and a thesaurus. The address book displays data in either a tabular or a simulated Rolodex-style card format. In SK File i.d i I oC*trcli fli:t;tirei:; SncctlDi.t i i hunt: Ho Tu Ue Th Fr 12 3 1 r ? 9 9 10 11 S3 14 IS 1ft 1? IB ?\ 2Z ?3 Z\ 2S E? 28 29 30 ih:; Mcu Cird re-Ed THE FACTS SideKick 2.0 Borland International, Inc. $99.95 1800 Green Hills Rd. P.O. Box 660001 Requirements: Scotts Valley, CA 95067 IBM PC-compatible system (408) 438-8400 with a hard disk drive and fax: (408) 439-9344 640K bytes of memory. Circle 1 1 69 on Inquiry Card. addition, the calculator now features a wide range of math- ematical and business func- tions. SideKick now uses Para- dox-compatible database files, made possible by using Borland's own Paradox en- gine. Data for SideKick' s ad- dress book and appointment book is stored in files that can be accessed and modified by Paradox. And thanks to the Paradox engine, SideKick now sup- ports most networks. Several people can use the same ad- dress book or appointment book file at the same time. SideKick does periodic up- dates to the file to be sure that all users are looking at the same data. SideKick now gives better support when you are travel- ing. If you don't have a laptop system, SideKick can print your address book and upcom- ing appointments in a nice typeset format, thanks to Bit- stream fonts. And if you do have a laptop, you can take SideKick with you— provided you have at least a megabyte of disk storage available. When you return from a trip, Side- Kick has a new feature that lets you reconcile the laptop ver- sion of your appointment book with the version in your desk- top system. The only things lacking from the previous version, SideKick Plus, are the outlin- ing and file management fea- tures. Outlining was probably not used very often, and the file management features seem to be usurped by the op- erating system. SideKick 2.0 will be of- fered at a very reasonable price of $99.95. Chances are, however, that Borland will continue its policy of offering steep discounts to owners of other Borland products , which should result in an irresistible price. Bottom line: There may be better programs for spe- cialized needs, such as Act! for contact management. Some users may prefer a true GUI, in which case they may want to content themselves with the utilities in Windows 3.0. But everyone else— espe- cially Paradox users— should find SideKick quite handy. —Rich Malloy Take A View into the Video World At first blush, AView Technology's Desktop- TV add-in board for PCs ap- pears to be yet another product riding the wave of that latest computer buzzword: multi- media. After all, what else would you call an add-in that lets you display a TV picture on your computer monitor? But DesktopTV is a horse of a different color in the multime- dia world. It lets you hot-key between your normal com- puter screen and a full-screen TV picture. The differences come in several areas. For one, at $395, DesktopTV is down- right inexpensive by multi- media standards. Other boards that display TV on a computer screen cost thou- sands of dollars. More impor- tant, DesktopTV is a TV dis- play system only. It doesn't digitize the TV picture; in- stead, it simply passes along a pure analog signal that your monitor displays on the screen. That means that you can't display the picture in a 54 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Windows 3.0 is a great step forward. It just doesn't go far enough. You still have to overcome barriers you thought you'd left behind. Such as DOS.The complexities of file management and application integration. And working in two environments. The solution? Simply add HP NewWave. In this one simple step, you turn your PC into the most powerful, easiest-to-use informa- tion tool in business.To prove it, we've put an eye-opening, inter- active demonstration on disk. It shows how NewWave's simple object model lets you work on one desktop, in- stead of having to use both the Program and File Managers. You don't have to under- stand the DOS file system at all. And it works with the Windows applications you already have. Integrating these applications is astoundingly simple. Just drag and drop. "Drill down" editing lets you make changes in part of a docu- ment, such as a chart, without leav- ing it. And with "hot links" your data changes automatically in all connected files. Our state-of-the-art interactive demo disk makes it easy for you to evaluate NewWave. Call (408) 376-2727 for your copy (handling charge $3.95). Then experience one of the most dra- matic breakthroughs ever brought to your screen. m HEWLETT PACKARD HP NewWave requires Windows .XOand an Intel 286 or38(i JkimkI PC with 640 Kli base and 2 Mtjcxtcndcd memory. Windows 3.0 is a prcxluctof MiemsoftCoiporation. 1991 Hewlett-Packard Com|jany NSSS016 NEWS FIRST IMPRESSIONS window, capture it, or manip- ulate it in any way. That simple display capabil- ity isn't as big a problem as it might appear, especially for the customers that AView en- visions will be purchasing the board. They see it as a "conve- nience" solution for people who spend lots of time in front of a computer and need occa- sional video updates. For ex- ample, workers can watch training videotapes or tune into the video conferences or the company wide broadcasts that some large corporations distribute to their employees. Then, too, there's that elu- sive "home office" market. And it is handy. I do most of my writing at home and often have a TV on behind me as background noise. With Desk- topTV installed in my com- puter, I could monitor the sound with the small external speaker that's shipped with the board and hot-key directly to the picture whenever I heard something of interest. (Late- breaking news, of course.) DesktopTV works in con- junction with your existing computer graphics card (EGA or VGA) and connects be- tween it and your monitor. I plugged in the external speak- er, a coaxial cable connected to the local cable TV fran- chise, and ran a setup pro- THE FACTS DesktopTV AView Technology, Inc. $395 2401 North Forest Rd. P.O. Box 50 Requirements: Buffalo, NY 14226 IBM XT, AT, or compatible (800) 866-7288 with a free 8-bit slot and a fax:(716)636-9327 multisync color monitor Circle 11 70 supporting 15.7 kHz. on Inquiry Card. gram. The one caveat is that the board I tested required a multisync monitor capable of supporting 15.7 kHz (CGA resolution). Those monitors are not that common these days, and I finally had to bor- row an NEC MultiSync 3D. (A version of DesktopTV that supports any VGA monitor should be available by the time you read this.) The setup program installs a TSR program for normal DOS use, as well as a utility program that switches from within Windows 3 .0. The pro- gram also sets the initial color, brightness, and contrast levels. (The controls on the monitor have little effect on the TV picture.) When I pressed the hot key after completing installation, the first thing that popped up was a screen that let me tune any of 1 19 channels, as well as setthe speaker volume. I could change the preset brightness, contrast, and color levels. I could then hot-key between my work and the TV. The picture is surprisingly sharp, with crispercolorsthan with a normal TV receiver. There's even a mute key that turns the speaker of f if you're interrupted by the telephone (or if someone walks in). I ex- pected that there would be in- terference on the screen be- cause of the large amount of RF energy that the board puts out. But there was none; AView has heavily shielded the TV circuitry on the board. If you're interested in true- blue multimedia capabilities, DesktopTV won't be for you. But for the more mundane uses it's aimed at, the product is an inexpensive solution. Then, too, I have toadmit that it's an amusing diversion. —Stan Miastkowski Form Follows Function with Persuasion When you're making a business presentation these days, Magic Markers and overhead transparencies just don't cut it any more. Not only does your audience ex- pect a colorful three-dimen- sional presentation with spe- cial effects, your audience probably demands it. But what if you have only a few hours to spare from your busy day to create that presentation? Using a preliminary version of Aldus Persuasion 2.0, I created in less than 2 hours a 56 BYTE • MARCH 1991 presentation that included multiple slides with organiza- tional charts, bar charts, pie graphs, and speaker and hand- out notes. Just for fun, I added transitional wipe and fade spe- cial effects. What makes the process go so quickly is Persuasion's pre- designed slide and overhead templates. The program pro- vides about 60 AutoTemplates that you use as a model for your presentation. You can create your own templates and mix different templates in the same presentation, if you are feeling particularly creative. The program also lets you modify an existing template by opening a copy of the one you want to adapt, making a few changes, and saving it as a new template. Templates take the ideas that you enter in basic text and transform them into slides that remain consistent throughout the presentation. The best way to create the presentation is to start in the Outline view. As you type the main ideas of your presen- tation in the outliner, it may appear that you're dealing with text only. But behind the scenes, you're also preparing slides. Using a combination of the Enter, Shift, and Tab keys in the Outline view, you create the text for each new slide or overhead. The program keeps a running tab in the left margin of how many slides you have in the presentation. If you want to view the slide from the Outline view, youjust click on its num- ber in the margin. continued IDEK- THE FIRST COMPLETE FAMILY OF FST COLOR MONITORS { 8£}£M& ti yam a i IDEK's MULTIFLAT Series of 21-Inch Color Monitors IDEK's MULTIFLAT Series of 21-inch Color Monitors take full advantage of the remarkable properties of their Flat Square Tubes (FST) to deliver superior resolution and a sharper image that is easier on your eyes. A glimpse at our 21" Color Monitors reveals their matchless over- scanning capability that delivers a crisp, distortion-free display across the entire screen. In addition, Automatic Frequency Scanning realizes outstanding performance for business graphics, CAD/ CAM applications as well as desk top publishing on your Mac or IBM compatible system. As you can see below, whether your requirements are simple or complex, IDEK has the Flat Screen Color Monitor that's just right for you. And priced right, too! See for yourself what a difference a Flat Screen Monitor from IDEK can make. IDEK also offers its new Model MF-5117 17" Flat Screen Color Monitor that delivers the same superior resolution and performance as the other members of the IDEK lineup. Kyama LTD. MULTIFLAT Series (21" Flat CRT Monitors) Model H. Frequency Dot Resolution MF-5021 MF-5121 MF-5221 MF-5321 (A.R.Panel) MF-5421 (A.R.Panel) 15 to 38kHz 21 to 50kHz 30 to 80kHz 30 to 80kHz 30 to 80kHz 0.31 0.31 0.31 0.31 0.26 1024 x 768 1024 x 768 1280x1280 1280 x 1280 1600x1280 IIYAMA ELECTRIC CO. Overseas Division 7th Fl., US Hanzomon Bldg., 2-13, Hayabusa-cho, Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 102, Japan Phone: (81 ) 03-3265-6081 Fax: (81 ) 03-3265-6083 IDEK Europe (Germany) Neumannstrasse 38, 6000 Frankfurt a.M. 50, West Germany Phone: (49) 69-521 922 Fax: (49) 69-521 927 IIYAMA North America Inc 650 Louis Drive, Suite 120, Warminster, PA 18974 U.S.A. Phone: (1) 215-957-6543 Fax: (1) 215-957-6551 Circle 1 37 on Inquiry Card. rarra Pretty. Mission Critical Workstation 1448: 9 option slots and 2 drive bays. A PC that looks good in your office won't look good for long out in the plant. Heat murders microproces- sors. Dust decimates disk drives. Vibration victimizes video cards. Any or all can wreck your entire operation. Texas Microsystems line of rugged, reliable ISA Bus products and systems are specifi- cally engineered for those brutal industrial environments that eat pretty PCs for breakfast. To ensure maximum reliability we design and manufac- ture from scratch practically everything that goes into our systems, like passive backplanes which we pioneered for microcomputers in 1983. These backplanes accommodate a full compliment of convenient, plug-in components, all com- patible with IBM®. They're why our Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) is a phenomenal 10 minutes. You won't find passive backplanes — or lower MTTR — in any of the leading office PCs. We also build industrial-strength option cards to handle Ultra-fast 32-bit (80386) AT equivalent CPU board B386S. Available at 16, 20, 25, 33 MHz. myriad functions, in addition to our 286, 386™ and 486™ CPU cards in a full range of processor speeds. Our CPU card designs use Very Large Scale Integrated circuits and pro- grammable array logic devices to reduce component counts by 50-60% which enhances reli- ability and resistance to physical stress. Ultimately, the design contributes to our remarkably long Mean Time Between Fail- ures (MTBF): 70,000-100,000 hours, calculated against the MIL Standard Handbook 217E. You won't find that kind of card selec- tion — or MTBF — among the leading PC makers. You won't find them torturing their systems like we torture ours, either. Not only do we perform extensive "shake, rattle and roll" tests on each new design, we pretest all our sys- tems before they leave our dock. We burn them in at 55°C/131°F for 48 hours straight just to make sure they can take the heat at your plant. Mission Critical Betichtop 2003 10 option slots and 2 drive bays. Pretty reliable. What's more, we shock-mount our disk drives to stand up to vibrations surpassing Richter scale proportions and we use only high-reliability power supplies that can go 100,000 hours MTBF. With all that reliability designed into our products, is it any wonder that we guarantee better support than the other leading PC makers? Every system we offer comes with a full one-year, on-site warranty. Theirs don't. We also offer a toll- free number for technical and sales information, a regional network of sales engineers, engineering support for systems integration and a guarantee to meet shock specs. Of the lead- It's- No- Comparison Texas Microsystems COMPAQ IBM PS/2 Passive Backplane Yes No No 100,000-hour MTBF power supply Yes No No Shock-mounted disk drives Yes No No Maximized MTBF Yes No No Positive pressure, filtration Yes No No Operation at 55°C/131°F Yes No No 48-hour bum-in at 55°C/131°F Yes No No Maximum expansion slots available 14 5 5 1-year, on-site warranty Yes No No Toll-free support number Yes No No Regional sales support Yes No No "Shake, rattle and roll" testing Yes No No ing PC makers, Texas Microsystems has the longest history of design using Intel microprocessors: 15 years in all. You' 11 find our systems hard at work in harsh operating environ- ments at 70 of the Fortune 100 companies. Granted, the leading office PCs may be prettier than ours, but our in- dustrial-strength systems are de- signed to be more reliable. That reliability makes our systems look a lot better where it really counts: Your production line . Mission Cntical Rack-mount 2001: 10 option slots and 3 dnve bays. For technical or sales information, call 1 -800-627-8700 TEXAS SYSTEMS Texas Microsystems, Inc. © 1990, Texas Microsystems, Inc. "Mission Critical Micro" is a trademark of Texas Microsystems, Inc. Other trademarks mentioned are registered, trademarked or service marked by their respective manufacturers. Circle 288 on Inquiry Card. NEWS FIRST IMPRESSIONS Once you're finished with the outline, you're ready to view the slides or overheads. You can look at thumbnail sketches of all the slides or overheads in the presentation or full-scale images of each. If you rearrange a slide while in Slide Sorter view, the change is automatically reflected in the outline. In 30 minutes, I created a set of slides with nicely formatted text. All this is well and good, but some things are best said with a chart or graph, and this is where Persuasion really helps. When in Outline view, I changed a text unit into a chart unit by highlighting the title and choosing "Chart" from the Outline menu. Two boxes appear: One looks like a stan- dard spreadsheet, and the other is the chart information dialog box. You type or import the numbers in the former, select the type of chart that you want in the latter, click "OK," and presto, you can view a chart with tick marks, value labels, and other attributes. As long as you use the same template, you can create as many charts as you desire without having to double- check that they use consistent fonts, point sizes, labels, and THE FACTS Persuasion 2.0 Aldus Corp. $595 411 First Ave. S Seattle, WA 98104 Requirements: (206) 622-5500 IBM AT, PS/2, or fax: (206) 343-4240 compatible with 1 MB of Circle 11 71 RAM, EGA, and a mouse. on Inquiry Card. A 386-based system with 2 MB of RAM and VGA is recommended. other formatting concerns. You just plug in the numbers and chart type; Persuasion does the rest. Of course, you can always create your own chart format. Once you've created your presentation images, you can print overhead transparencies or, using a service bureau or desktop film recorder, 35mm slides. To incorporate special effects, you'll probably want to create a desktop presenta- tion. The program provides a variety of transitional special effects (e.g., dissolve, blinds, glitter, and curtains). You can apply a transition effect to an individual slide, or you can ap- ply it globally. You can set up the presentation to run man- ually or automatically, with each image staying on-screen for as long as you specify. To help prevent an embar- rassing typographical error from appearing in full living color in front of 200 people, the program includes a spell- ing checker with search and replace capabilities. You can create speaker notes that in- clude a miniature picture of each slide with notes that you type or import. If you're working in Win- dows and need to create a pre- sentation, I recommend Per- suasion 2.0. Standing in front of a roomful of people is nerve-racking enough. With Persuasion, you can spend less time worrying about format and more time concentrating on content. —David Andrews A Mirror into Bigger and Cleaner Windows As I see it, one of the big- gest problems with Win- dows 3.0 (not to mention other graphical user interfaces) is that on your garden-variety VGA monitor, you get the un- easy feeling that you're look- ing through a peephole at a very small portion of a much wider world. Even a high-res- olution monitor doesn't help much. Mirror Technologies' PixelView PC changes that, opening up a huge and emi- nently more usable desktop. PixelView PC's package consists of a 20-inch mono- chrome monitor and a 16-bit add-in card customized for the monitor. The image on the screen is a sharp 1280 by 960 pixels, and because it's non- interlaced, it's rock steady. Add the 66-Hz refresh rate, and there's nary a hint of no- ticeable flicker. With an ef- fective screen resolution of 91 dots per inch, those familiar Microsoft windows are sur- prisingly sharp. I had to get very close to the monitor be- fore I was able to see the indi- vidual dots. I had the initial impression that black-and-white windows would be bothersome, but that wasn't the case at all. The high resolution and the humongous desktop made using it an ab- solute pleasure. Of course, it helped that the unit I reviewed was the top-of-the-line 4-bit system that displays 16 shades of gray. (PixelView PC is also available in a 1-bit version that's plain-vanilla black and white.) I could display two full pages of text or graphics at the same time, and there's a "vir- tual desktop" that allowed me to create a desktop that ' s twice the size of the screen. Installation is a breeze. Be- sides plugging in the board and hooking up the monitor, the only other chore needed is to install some software and (of course) a special driver using Windows 3.0's Setup utility. PixelView PC also comes with high-resolution drivers for AutoCAD, Ven- tura Publisher, GEM, Word- Perfect, Word 5.0, and OS/2 Presentation Manager. The 4-bit unit that I tested had full monochrome VGA support and sells for $1797. The two lower-end units (1- bit) both come with ($1297) and without ($997) Hercules emulation. All units use the 60 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Developers: Lock Up Your Profits The ProTech key for protecting your software profits and your copyright. Software piracy's a crime! What it can do to a developers profit margin is shameful. The cost of development and marketing products demand you receive the revenue you are entitled to. The solution, ProTech. • Custom hardware and software ' for each developer • Encrypted interrogation routines and debug disablers Available active read/write memory and on board microprocessor provide the ultimate protection • Key for PC "compatibles," Macintosh, UNIX and RS232C port • Total compatibility reliability and end user satisfaction ProTech's the key. Call us for more information or a demonstration package. 1-80034SA413 MARKETING, INC 9600-J Southern Pine Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28217 Tel: 704-523-9500 FAX: 704-523-7651 Hours; Mon-Thrus: 8:30-7:00, Fri: 8:30-5:30 ET Se Habla Espanol Circle 228 on Inquiry Card. NEWS FIRST IMPRESSIONS Hitachi HD63484 graphics processor and a megabyte of video RAM. This takes the graphics processing chore away from your main CPU and results in a fast (0.25 second) screen redraw. That's about twice the speed of a standard VGA card, and (not surpris- ingly) this results in a real per- formance plus for graph ics- and text-based applications. When you consider that full-page monitors with capa- bilities like these often tip the budget scales with prices in the $3000-$4000 range, Mir- ror's prices on PixelView PC are surprisingly low. There's a simple explanation for this: Mirror sells directly to cus- tomers. This eliminates the extra markup that takes place in the manufacturer-distribu- tor-dealer marketplace. This represents the com- pany's first foray beyond the Macintosh market, where it has earned a solid reputation for quality and 24-hour toll- free customer support. Mirror even offers a 30-day "love-it- or-return-it" policy. Pixel- View PC is truly innovative, the first affordable large- THE FACTS PixelView PC 1 -bit system, $997; with Hercules emulation, $1297; 4-bit system with VGA emulation, $1797 Requirements: IBM AT or compatible with a free 16-bit ISA slot. Mirror Technologies 2644 Patton Rd. Roseville, MN55113 (800) 654-5294 (612)633-4450 fax:(612)633-3136 Circle 1 1 72 on Inquiry Card. screen monitor system. With it, Windows 3.0 actually be- comes a useful tool. —Stan Miastkowski Thermal Printing Takes to the Road with the WSP-200 Computer Products Plus calls the WSP-200 the world's smallest printer, but qualifies it by saying it's the smallest one that prints a full page. To be exact, it's only 1 % by 6 3 / 4 by 1 1 1 / 2 inches— so small that it fits inside a carry- ing case with my notebook computer. And it weighs just 3 y 2 pounds, bringing the grand total weight of my computer and printer to less than 10 pounds. The WSP-200 uses cut- sheet or rolls of thermal (fax) paper and prints both text and graphics bidirectionally. It prints pica at 28 characters per second, elite at 33 cps, con- densed at about 50 cps, and en- larged at 15 cps. It uses an Epson LQ driver and also prints international charac- ters. It's simpler to use than most high-end dot-matrix printers, and the output is far easier to read than most faxes. To meet your on-the-road needs, the printer comes with both an AC adapter and a re- chargeable nickel-cadmium battery with a rated life of 90 minutes and recharge time of 12 to 16 hours. It also comes with a Centronics-compatible interface connector for attach- ing to your parallel port on a portable or desktop system. Indicator lights on the front include Paper Out, On Line, and Power. The battery case, also on the front, swivels for- ward and lets you simply slide the battery into position. The WSP-200 is from a company that calls itself the "armorer to road warriors" and claims to be totally com- mitted to those people who travel with computers and other electronic devices. As it comes from a company with such a creed, I shouldn't be surprised by so much quality in so small a box— but I am, and I continue to be amazedby all the tiny gadgets that let us simulate our office desktops while on the go. ■ — Anne Fischer Lent THE FACTS WSP-200 $399.95 Computer Products Plus, Inc. 16351 Gothard St. Huntington Beach, CA 92647 (714) 847-1799 fax: (714) 848-6850 Circle 11 73 on Inquiry Card. 62 B YTE • MARCH 1991 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiinH "highly recommended" by John Dvorak, Inside Thack, PC Magazine, Nov. 13, 1990 Here's what the experts are saying about the hottest high performance graphics board available - the Hercules Graphics Station Card™! "At $1,024, the Hercules Graphics Station Card is state of the art at an exceptional price." InfoWorld, Hercules' 31+010 Graphics Board is State of the Art, Eric Azinger, Sept. 3, 1990 ...1024 x 768 non-interlaced 256 colour mode is the only way Windows should ever be run." Personal Computer World, Guy Swar&ick, Hercules Graphics Station Card, June 1990, UK "If you do a lot of different kinds of graphics but don't want to spend too much, the Graphics Station Card is for you. Highly recommended." CADalyst, Ralph Grabowski, August 1990 "The Hercules Graphics Station Card combines an extraordinary set of features designed to handle your most . . .well . . . Herculean graphics tasks." PC Magazine, Ibm linger, Best of 1990, January 15, 1991 "...Hercules will have proved, twice, that you don't have to be IBM to set standards." Personal Computer World, Guy Swarbrick, Hercules Graphics Station Card, June 1990, UK To find out where you can buy your Hercules Graphics Station Card, call 800 532-0600, ext. 745. eople With High Standards! rcules Computer Technology, Inc. 921 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA 94 710. Hercules and Hercules Graphics Station Card are trademarks of ogy, Inc. All other product names are trademarks of their respective owners, who are not associated with Hercules. *24-bit color supported Jg, Hercules Art Dept, Autodesk 3D Studio. AutoCAD Rel. 11, AutoShade and Autodesk 3D Studio require GB1024+2 model. Circle 131 on Inquiry Card. NEWS HARDWARE SYSTEMS Four Notebooks to Take Note Of Astarte, Austin, and AST have recently introduced notebook computers that deserve a serious look. Astarte's 386SX Quest features integrated tele- communications, including a built-in phone, voice record/playback, and si- multaneous two-line fax/mo- dem capabilities. Quest's standard configuration in- cludes Keymouse (an inte- grated pointing device), the ability to use standard C batteries in addition to its nickel-cadmium battery pack, and a SCSI port interface. The system comes with 2 MB of RAM, a 20-MB hard disk drive, a 3 Vi -inch flop- py disk drive, a parallel port, a serial port, and a VGA backlit screen . Price: $3950. Contact: Astarte Computer Systems, Inc., 1035 Pearl St., Fifth Floor, Boulder, CO 80302, (303) 449-9970; fax (303) 449-2773. Circle ,287 on Inquiry Card. The 386/SX-20 and 286/12 systems from Austin both have a 3 Vi -inch floppy disk drive and a 20-MB hard disk drive in a 2-inch-thick chassis. The 386/SX-20 has 2 MB of RAM (expandable to 4 MB), and the 286/12 has 1MB of RAM (expandable to 3 MB). Both computers have a 10- inch diagonal backlit LCD VGA screen, a VGA moni- tor port, a printer port, two serial ports, and a modem/ fax slot. Included with both machines are suspend/re- sume and sleep modes, a vid- eo/audio low-battery indi- cator, and an AC adapter. Price: 386/SX-20, $2690; 286/12, $1890. Contact: Austin Computer Systems, 10300 Metric Blvd., Austin, TX 78758, Cardinal's PC J 0-386SX needs only a single cord to power up. A Compact PC with Built-in Features A plug-and-play, fully integrated personal computer has been introduced by Cardinal Technologies. The 20-MHz PC10-386SX has a 12-inch VGA monitor, 1 MB of RAM (expandable to 8 MB), and EMS 4.0 support. Besides one parallel port, two serial ports, and a mouse port, the system has two ISA-compatible expansion slots. It comes with the DR DOS 5.0 operating system, a graphical user interface, built-in VGA graphics, and a 3 Vi-inch floppy disk drive. Price: $999; with 40-MB hard disk drive, $1399. Contact: Cardinal Technologies, Inc., 1827 Freedom Rd., Lancaster, PA 17601, (800) 233-0187 or (717) 293-3000. Circle 1291 on Inquiry Card. (512) 339-7932; fax (512) 454-1357. Circle 1288 on Inquiry Card. AST's Premium Exec 386SX/20 features 2 MB of RAM (expandable to 8 MB), VGA capability, a 316 -inch floppy disk drive, one serial port, one parallel port, and support for an 80387SX numeric copro- cessor. The Model 23V has a 20-MB hard disk drive, and the Model 43V has a 40- MB hard disk drive. The backlit film supertwist LCD provides a black-on- white or white-on-black image. The Premium Exec runs on nickel-cadmium batteries. It also has a system backup battery and a built- in temperature monitor. Price: Model 23V, $2995; Model 43V, $3395. Contact: AST Research, Inc., 16215 Alton Pkwy., P.O. Box 19658, Irvine, CA 92713, (714) 727- 4141; fax (714) 727-9355. Circle 1289 on Inquiry Card. Modularity in an EISA Portable PC TheDolch-P.A.C.486- 33E EISA-based porta- ble computer runs at 33 MHz with 32-bit bus channel and bus-master capability. The portable is modularly expandable via four inter- nal slots. The Back-P. A. C. expansion chassis is avail- able if you need additional expansion. TheP.A.C.486-33Ehas a high-contrast electrolumi- nescent yellow-on-gray dis- play. Its two VGA-compatible display options— VGA red plasma and VGA thin-film- transistor color— can emu- late all lower display stan- dards. The video systems can drive external color monitors while providing an image on its internal screen. TheP.A.C.486-33Ehas 2 MB of RAM (expandable to 32 MB), a 100-MB hard disk drive, and a 5 l A- or 3 Vi- inch floppy disk drive. Price: Basic configuration, $15,995. Contact: Dolch Computer Systems, 372 Turquoise St., Milpitas, CA 95035, (800) 538-7506, (800) 233-2077 in California, or (408) 957- 6575; fax (408) 263-6305. Circle 1290 on Inquiry Card. 64 BYTE • MARCH 1991 NEWS HARDWARE PERIPHERALS PostScript Printing Paradise Three printers provide a range of Adobe PostScript printing capability. The JetScript-CX laser printer from the Printer Works uses QMS's Jet- Script controller card and Canon's LPB-CX engine. Designed to work with PCs, the printer includes 3 MB of RAM, a Motorola 68000 16-MHz processor, and an Adobe PostScript interpreter with 35 scalable fonts. The JetScript-CX runs under DOS, Windows 3.0, and Novell NetWare. It also supports any application that can print to an Apple Laser- Writer Plus. Price: $995 with a refur- bished engine; $1295 with a new engine. Contact: The Printer Works, 3481 ArdenRd., Hay ward, CA 94545, (800) 235-6116,(800)225-6116 in California, or (415) 887-6116. Circle 1 292 on Inquiry Card. A multiuser laser printer from Dataproducts, the LZR 660 incorporates Post- Script Level 2 software and a Weitek RISC processor. The printer provides forms handling, graphical pattern support, and new halftoning algorithms. The LZR 660 prints 6 pages per minute and mea- sures 1 1 /3 square feet. With a duty cycle of 3000 pages per month, the LZR 660 has interfaces for Apple- Talk/RS-422, RS-232C, and Centronics. Its SCSI port supports an optional exter- nal hard disk drive. Price: $2995. Contact: Dataproducts Corp., 6200 Canoga Ave., Woodland Hills, CA 91367,(800)624-8999 or (8 18) 887-8000; fax Chinon 's DS-3000 color scanner also scans 3-D objects. Scan in Color Under Windows 3.0 The PC-compatible DS-3000 desktop color scanner from Chinon America runs under Windows 3.0. It can scan full- color images and 3-D objects in 4096 colors or 256 gray levels. The scanner comes with a color converter, Colorset scanning software, a scanner cable, and an AC adapter. Price: $995; color add-on package for black-and-white scanners, $395. Contact: Chinon America, Inc., 660 Maple Ave., Tor- rance, CA 90503, (213) 533-0274; fax (213) 533-1727. Circle 1296 on Inquiry Card. (818)716-6486. Circle 1293 on Inquiry Card. From Seiko Instruments comes the 300-dpi Co- lorPoint PS for PCs, Macs, or Unix systems. This Post- Script-compatible color printer uses an Intel 80960 RISC microprocessor and prints in up to four colors. The ColorPoint PS prints images of 8.53 by 13 inches and 11.73 by 17.12 inches to provide full-page bleeds on standard and tabloid-size paper. The printer's Plug n' Play Plus feature automati- cally scans four of its five communication ports and begins printing the first available data. Price: Model 4 (letter size), $6999; Model 14 (tabloid size), $9999. Contact: Seiko Instru- ments USA, Inc., 1 130 Ring- wood Court, San Jose, CA 95131, (408) 922-5800; fax (408) 922-5840. Circle 1294 on Inquiry Card. Signs from a Desktop Plotter SketchMate, a desktop plotter that you can con- vert into a sign-making ma- chine, operates with PC Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language-compatible soft- ware programs. In addition to sign making, the machine supports CAD, business presentation, graphic de- sign, and training appli- cations. Asa plotter, SketchMate supports eight broad- or thin- tipped pens in a choice of 32 colors. It uses a variety of media, including multipur- pose bond paper and matte film. As a sign maker, the machine lets you create signs, labels, and logos with a cutting pen that cuts through vinyl or flock. Price: $695. Contact: Roland Digital Group, 1961 McGaw Ave., Irvine, CA 92714, (714) 975-0560; fax (714) 975-0569. Circle 1295 on Inquiry Card. SketchMate, more than a desktop plotter, converts easily into a sign-making machine. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 65 NEWS HARDWARE A D D - I N S Speed in a Single-Board Computer Silicon Composers is of- fering a single-board computer with a program execution speed of from 10 to 15 MIPS at 8 MHz (with burst speeds of between 50 and 60 MIPS) for stand- alone operation or embedded systems control. Designed at Johns Hopkins Univer- sity's Applied Physics Lab, the SC/FOX SBC32 is based on the SC32 Stack Chip CMOS microprocessor. The SBC32 uses the SC/Forth32 interactive lan- guage and includes a 56,000-bps RS-232C serial port, a reset switch, 128K bytes of shadow RAM, and 64K bytes of zero-wait-state static RAM (expandable to 512K bytes at 10 or 12 MHz). Included with the board are SC/Forth32, an MS-DOS shell editor, and an MS-DOS I/O utility. Price: 8-MHz system: in- troductory price until May 30 for BYTE readers, $995; thereafter, $1495. Contact: Silicon Compos- ers, Inc., 208 California Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306, (415)322-8763. Circle 1297 on Inquiry Card. A Convertible Controller from DPT The SmartCache Plus cache-convertible controller's modu- larity lets it grow to fit your needs. From Distributed Pro- cessing Technology, the basic ISA or EISA card offers bus mastering with full SCSI disk and device compatibility. Using DPT emulation technology, the controller works under all PC operating systems. Add-on modules include a cache module with an initial 512K bytes of cache RAM, 2- MB and 4-MB memory modules, and a mirroring module. A 4-MB expansion card is also available. The controller uses a 68000 CPU, a 16-bit SCSI protocol controller chip, and DPT custom application-specific IC chips. Price: $595 and up. Contact: Distributed Processing Technology, 140 Candace Dr., Maitland, FL 32751, (407) 830-5522; fax (407) 260- 5366. Circle 1301 on Inquiry Card. A Colorful Board The RVGA III adapter from Appian Technol- ogy uses a Tseng Labs ET4000 graphics controller The SC/FOX SBC 32 computer uses the SC32 Stack Chip microprocessor, which executes the Forth language in silicon. and provides a 70-Hz re- fresh rate. The board, part of Appian 's Renaissance line, is register-level compatible with VGA, EGA, CGA, MDA, and Hercules video graphics standards. Configured with from 512K bytes to 1 MB of DRAM, the RVGA III dis- plays up to 1024- by 768- pixel noninterlaced resolu- tion. It supports 16 or 256 simultaneous colors or shades of gray from a palette of 256,000 colors and in- cludes an IBM VGA bidirec- tional feature connector. Price: $349. Contact: Appian Technol- ogy, Inc., Cedar Park, 2265 116th Ave. NE, Bellevue, WA 98004, (206)646-0710; fax (206) 462-5640. Circle 1298 on Inquiry Card. Newer (and Faster) SIMMs Newer Technology's 16- MB composite single in- line memory modules use 70-ns RAM for quick data access. The units, which have the industry-standard 30-pin construction, appear to the operating system as true 16-MB increments to ensure compatibility. Avail- able for PCs and Macs, the SIMMs are useful for mem- ory-intensive applications such as graphics imaging and multiuser systems. Price: $1950. Contact: Newer Technol- ogy, 7803 East Osie, Suite 105, Wichita, KS 67207, (316)685-4904. Circle 1299 on Inquiry Card. Get the Big Picture on Your Mac Classic A clip-on video board that provides large- screen viewing for the Mac Classic is available from Mir- ror Technologies. The board, which supports Mir- ror's PixelView single- or dual-page monochrome dis- plays, attaches to the 68000 processor on the Classic's motherboard. The cables from the board exit through the Classic's security port. The board is packaged with PixelView I, a 15-inch monitor with a 75-Hz re- fresh rate, or with PixelView II, a 19-inch monitor with a WYSIWYG display and 78- Hz refresh rate. Both sys- tems include Mirror's Desk- top Designer utility. Price: PixelView I, $567; PixelView II, $897. Contact: Mirror Technol- ogies, 2644PattonRd., Roseville, MN55113, (612) 633-4450; fax (612) 633-3136. Circle 1300 on Inquiry Card. 66 B YTE • MARCH 1991 db VISTA III for Windows 3.0 T DBMS That TNI n '>V5'/$em I - < 'Wfflm ,, --M Microsoft. WINDOWS.. \wskm ?fl CnnpUibfc Produtf (tens Windows " Get High Performance Under Microsoft Windows 3.0™ With db VISTA III DBMS. Develop Windows applications that are better, faster, and more profitable. db_VISTA III combines speed, flexibility, and productivity into one DBMS tool for C and Windows programmers. Add db_VISTA Ill's high-speed SQL retrieval to your application • Speed. Benchmarks show and watch your users enjoy power dbJVISTA III significantly they've never experienced before, outperforms any DBMS under guidelines for memory use. Dynamic linked libraries (DLL), multi-tasking, and multi-user environments are all supported. For even faster development, use db_VISTA III with products like ToolBook®, Windowcraft® or Actor®. No Other DBMS Opens Windows Like db VISTA III! Built For Windows. db_VISTA III for Windows 3.0 follows all of the Microsoft db_VISTAm Database Management System Windows. • No Royalties. Increase your profits; decrease your overhead. • C Source Code Available. For total programming flexibility. • Portability. db„VISTA III supports most environments. Specif "nations: Single & multi-user. Automatic recovery. Automatic referential integrity. Relational and network data models supported. Relational SQL query and report writer. Complete revision capability. C source code is available. No royalties. Supports: MS Windows, MS-DOS, OS/2, VMS, UNIX, BSD, QNX, SunOS. Macintosh. r Special $195 Developer's Edition For a limited time only, you can get ourdb_VISTA database engine for Windows for only $195. Call today and ask about our Developer's Edition and experience how dbJVISTA EI can open Windows for you. Developer license only; not for distribution. L_______. I Call 1-800-db-RAIMA (1-800-327-2462) In Washington State call: (206) 747-5570 Ask for extension 115. Full Raima Support Services - Including Training. Develop your applications even faster with Raima Training Classes: March 18-22, 1991 April 10-11, 1991 April 15-19, 1991 April 22-26, 1991 April 22-26, 1991 Bellevue,WA United Kingdom Australia Atlanta, GA Singapore [kl RAIMA lML% CD RPORATION Raima Corporation 3245 146th Place S.E., Bellcvuc, WA 98007 USA (206)747-5570 Fax:(206)747-1991 Telex: 6503018237 MCI UW International distributors: Australia: 61 2 419 7177 Austria: 43 22 43 81861 Belgium: 32 27349818 Brazil: 55 11 829 1687 Central America: 506 28 07 64 Denmark: 45 42 887249 Finland: 358 042051 France: 33 I 46092784 Italy: 39 45 58471 1 Japan: 81 3 865 2140 Mexico: 52 83 49 53 00 The Netherlands: 31 2503 26312 Norway: 47 244 8855 Singapore: 65 298 2308 Sweden: 46 13 1 1 1588 Switzerland: 41 64 517475 Taiwan: 886 2 552 3277 Turkey: 90 I 152 0516 United Kingdom: 44 992 500919 Uruguay: 598 292 0959 USSR: 01 22 35 99 07: 812 292 7210: 0142437952 West Germany: 49 7022 34077 Copyright %I99I Raima Corporation. Ml rights reserved. dh_ix registered in the U.S. Patent anil Trademark Office. Windows 3.0. ToolBook. Windowcraft. umlActarare trademarks of their respective companies. Circle 236 on Inquiry Card. NEWS HARDWARE OTHER Power Without Interruption VIP PowerSave 500 Plus from ITT PowerSystems is an uninterruptible power supply for 386 and 486 sys- tems operating under most expanded and extended mem- ory modes. It is a more powerful version of the VIP PowerSave 500, which the company has reduced in price. When a power interrup- tion occurs, PowerSave 500 Plus immediately provides backup power, automatically saves a complete image of the PC state to disk, and shuts down the entire sys- tem. After power is restored, the device automatically re- stores the computer's state. Price: VIP PowerSave 500 Plus, $299; VIP PowerSave 500, $249. Contact: ITT PowerSys- tems Corp., 3400 East Bri- tannia Dr., Tucson, AZ 85706, (602) 889-7600. Circle 1302 on Inquiry Card. Grab a Video Frame Where You Find It A portable video frame grabber is available from Portable Technol- ogies. The battery-powered PFG-1 can digitize and store a video frame in % second. The PFG-1 provides an image with a resolution of 320 by 200 pixels with 64 levels of gray. It can grab VIP PowerSave 500 Plus does its work automatically. frames without being con- nected to a computer and transfer a stored image to any computer that has an RS- 232C serial interface. You can adjust the image dis- played on-screen for bright- ness and contrast and print it directly to Hewlett-Packard LaserJet II and compatible printers. It operates on a 9-V lithium battery. Price: $269. Contact: Portable Technol- ogies, P.O. Box 20763, Cas- tro Valley, CA 94546, (415)537-4954. Circle 1303 on Inquiry Card. View VGA Color Through Optically Coated Glass Fellowes has an optical- ly coated glass antiglare filter for use with high-res- olution VGA color monitors. The optical coating, which is on both sides of the filter, reduces glare from the ter- minal and from surrounding lights, while increasing the contrast of the monitor. You attach the antiglare screen to the top of the terminal with clips that you secure with Velcro. Price: $59.95. Contact: Fellowes Manu- facturing Co., 1789 Nor- wood Ave., Itasca, IL 60173, (708) 893-1600. Circle 1304 on Inquiry Card. An Expandable Population of Fonts Type City from Bit- stream offers expand- ability in a cartridge. In ad- dition to an expandable-base cartridge, the Type City system includes low-cost add- on fonts and screen fonts for Windows users. The car- tridge comes with 1 MB of text and display fonts on the base. To expand Type City, you insert credit-card-size fonts into slots on the side of the cartridge. You can cus- tomize the cartridge with typefaces of your choice, in- cluding logos, symbols, and signatures. Type City runs on all Hewlett-Packard LaserJet Series II and III printers and full cartridge compat- ibles. It requires a PC with a minimum of 512K bytes of RAM. A starter kit in- cludes the base cartridge, a Deli add-on card, screen fronts, and a template book. Price: Starter kit, $379; add-on cards, $99 and $129. Contact: Bitstream, Inc., 215 First St., Cambridge, MA 02142, (617) 497- 6222; fax (617) 868-0784. Circle 1305 on Inquiry Card. Computer on a Stick The Datastick One per- sonal controller lets you do computer work in places a portable PC wouldn't dare to go. Just 4 3 4 by 1 inch, this programmable computer uses add-on modules to control or measure a variety of environments. After you have attached the appropriate modules to the Datastick, you run the Datastick Connection soft- ware on your PC with the Datastick connected to your PC's serial port. Discon- necting the Datastick triggers it to function as pro- grammed. Datastick applica- tions include bar code read- ing, light-level control, atmospheric reading, ma- chine diagnosis, and accel- eration reading. The Data- stick executes programs while it's connected or dis- connected from your com- puter. When you reconnect the Datastick to your PC, the collected data is transferred and is ready for direct field analysis. Price: $245. Contact: Langley Auto- systems, P.O. Box 64591, Sunnyvale, CA 94086, (408) 773-8368. Circle 1306 on Inquiry Card. DataStick One 68 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Instant Workstation. Just Add Open Desktop. Take a look at the vast majority of graphical workstations developed over the past decade and you'll see something they all have in common: An integrated UNIX® System environment. Now take a look at the vast majority of businesses that have put computing power directly onto their office desktops over the past decade, and you'll see something they all have in common: Industry-standard personal computers. It doesn't take a computer to forecast the platform that's going to put graphical workstations on the vast majority of business and engineering desktops in the next decade: An integrated UNIX System environment for industry-standard personal computers. And that's what Open Desktop" is all about. Open Desktop is the complete graphical operating system that's built on the most popular UNIX System platform of all time— SCO". And it lets you create your own networked, icon-driven workstation environment using the industry- standard 386 or 486 computers and peripherals of your choice. i n a single, easy-to-use, fully supported— and completely integrated— package, Open Desktop delivers: • the full 32-bit, multitasking computing power of SCO UNIX System V/386 • compliance with POSIX™ and X/Open® standards • an OSF/Motif ™-based, Presentation Manager- compatible, graphical user interface • distributed SQL database management services • compatibility with existing DOS, XENIX®, and UNIX System applications and data files • NFS" TCP/IP, and LAN Manager networking facilities And all at an unbelievably affordable price. Discover the complete graphical operating system that leading companies worldwide are choosing as their devel- opment platform for the '90s— and using to turn their 386 and 486 PCs into instant workstations today. Open Desktop from SCO. □ OPEN [desktop. The Comtek' Graphical 0/wnitiug System SEE US AT CEBIT '91 HANNOVER, GERMANY STAND E10, HALL 3 SCO THE SANTA CRUZ OPERATION For more information, call SCO today and ask for ext. 8400 (800) SCO-UNIX (726-8649) (408) 425-7222 FAX: (408) 458-4227 E-MAIL: ... !uunet!sco!info info@sco.COM SCO. lilt SCO |nj>n. Open llesktnp. and the Open Desktop liif;o are trademarks ofTheSanla Cruz Operation, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of AT&T in the USA and other countries. I'OSIX is a trademark of The Institute ofF.leclrical and filerironics F.iujii registered trademark of X/Opeil Company Ud. OSF/Motif is a trademark of The Open Software Foundation. Inc. XKNIX is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation NFS is a trademark of Suit Mierosy.stcnis. Inc \W) TheSanta Cruz Operation. Inc. All Ri);hls Reserved Tin- Santa Cm?. Operation. Int., il)0 F.nciiial Street. P.O. Box Wfin.Sanl.iC.ru/., California 'JSDdl USA Tin: Santa Cru/.Operalion. ltd.. CroxlevCenlre. Halter .s Lane, ttatfwd WIH HVN.Creat Itrit; FAX: + H (0)9 >.< 817781. Tfil.KX: WM72 SWH.OMC Circle 262 on Inquiry Card. sdF.liO.X/Openisa +•♦•» «)>«).» J 816.VH, The New ZEDS NowWSXOnlyOT Notebook. "286 Only W5! A NEW KING OF THE HILL"-PC MAGAZINE PC MAGAZINE SAID IT BEST. "In the unending battle to become the most functional notebook for the most attractive price, there's a new king of the hill —the Zeos Notebook. . ." PC Magazine. What did they like most? Everything. As they said, the Zeos Note- book "offers a top notch combination of power, weight, features and price ..." In short, everything you're gping to appreciate in your new ZEOS notebook. INCREDIBLE DESKTOP FEATURES IN A NOTEBOOK. Pick your power. Choose our '286 version or go for the incredible new ZEOS '386SX version. Combine that with our high speed hard disk, built in 1.44MB floppy drive, VGA and more— you've got the greatest notebook going at any price! Look closely at the details. Like our crisp 10" VGA display. The ultimate in spar- kling clarity featuring advanced fluorescent backlighting for vivid VGA graphics. And then the drives. Two drives are better than one! First, you're getting our whisper quiet high speed, high capacity hard disk. Then we've built in an industry standard 1.44 Megabyte, 3.5 inch floppy as well. And we don't stop there. DETAILS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE! For instance, the battery system of your new notebook is the most advanced on the market. You can quick charge, or trickle charge, any time your system is plugged in. Or, you can use the optional charging stand if you wish. Either way, you're sure to appreciate our light weight snap-in, snap-out battery packs. They're so light and easy to use, you can easily take an extra one with you on those really long trips. Plus, you can get even more life out of a single charge by using our pro- grammable power management system. Hour upon hour of Notebook computing power! CONNECTIVITY TOO! Your new ZEOS notebook is a great con- nectivity tool! Using our optional built-in 2400 baud MNP Class 5 modem, connec- tivity buffs will find themselves logging on at every turn. And speaking of connec- tivity, we've kept the I/O easy to use too. Because unlike many of the others, your new ZEOS notebook has the same industry standard port connectors you'll find on your larger desktop system. Serial and Parallel ports; even an ex- ternal VGA connector. Completely compatible! ZEOS 24 HOUR A DAY SUPPORT. Don't forget your new ZEOS notebook is backed by the best Technical and Sales support in the industry, 24 Hours a Day. We're always here to help, any time of the day or night. And we don't stop there either. Your new notebook is also backed by our 30 Day Absolute Satisfaction Money Back Guarantee and One Full Year Limited Warranty You're going to be very satisfied. We don't just say it. We guarantee it. ORDER YOUR OWN ZEOS NOTEBOOK NOW! You can orderyournew ZEOS notebook right now. Simply pick up the phone and give us a call now at 800-423-5891. At last, a full featured notebook that lets you com- pute anywhere. You're going to love it. That's a guarantee! ORDER NOW TOLL FREE: 800-423-5891 NOW. YOUR COMPLETE '286 NOTEBOOK! VGA, 20MB HARD DRIVE, 1.44MB FLOPPY AND MORE. LIGHT AND LOADED! INCREDIBLE. ONLY $1995! 386SX ONLY $2295/ Genuine Intel® 80286-12 or '386SX-16. 1MB DRAM, expandable to 3 or 5MB. 20MB High Speed HDD. Built in High Density 3.5 1.44MB floppy drive. High resolution VGA dis- play. Fluorescent baclclit 640x480, 32 grey scales. Bright and clear! Removable quick charge NiCad battery. Two hour plus battery life typical, more using Programmable Power Management! Quick charge or trickle charge using included AC power adapter. Extra battery packs and external charging stand available. 82 key keyboard. True 101 key emulation. Industry standard Serial and Parallel Ports. VGA port for external VGA color display. Great for demos! Total system weight under 7 lbs. with battery. 30 Day Absolute Satisfaction Money Back Guarantee and ZEOS Customer Satisfaction Package. One Full Year Limited Warranty. 24 Hour a Day Toll Free Technical Support, 365 Days a Year. ORDER NOW TOLL FREE 800-423-5891 FAX Orders: 612-633-1325 Minnesota: 612-633-4591 Hearing Impaired (TDD) Orders: 800-228-5389 Outside US and Canada: 612-633-6131 MasterCard, VISA, Am Exp, Z-Card and COD. Open 24 Hours a Day, 365 Days a Year! Purchase Orders from Fortune 10M companies. Governments and institutions subject to approval. Leasing Programs are available. All prices and specifications are subject to change without notice. Please call to confirm pricing, specif ications and warranty details. The following are trademarks of their respective companies: ZEOS (ZEOS International, Ltd.); 286 (Intel Corporation). © 1991. ZEOS International, Ltd.. 531 5th Avenue, N. W. St. Raul, MN 55112 USA. ZEOS is a publicly traded company (NASDAQ symbol: ZEOS). Circle 327 on Inquiry Card. W NEWS CONNECTIVITY A Diagnostic Cable Scanner A hand-held LAN diag- nostic tool that runs on a single 9-V battery, Quick Scanner from Microtest is completely menu driven. It uses time-domain ref lectom- etry as it automatically scans the cable to pinpoint the location of a problem. You don't need any tech- nical knowledge or training to operate Quick Scanner. You simply turn on the unit, plug in the LAN cable, and press Enter. The scanner dis- plays the location of the fault in normal English. Quick Scanner (measur- ing 7 14 by 4 by 1 inch and weighing 1 pound) comes as a kit that includes the scan- ner, a quick-test plug, and a battery. The unit is also able to monitor traffic on Ether- net networks, and adapters are available to enable oper- ation on most twisted-pair and coaxial cables. Price: $995. Contact: Microtest, Inc., 3519 East Shea Blvd., Suite 134, Phoenix, AZ 85028, (602) 971-6464; fax (602) 971-6963. Circle 1307 on Inquiry Card. Intuitive Communications Program The first product from a new company, Eclin Connect 1 .0 brings an easy- to-use intuitive communica- tions program to the casual PC user, according to Eclin Technology. A combination of basic functions for the be- ginner and advanced capa- bilities that Eclin says are easily learned, the program is available at an introductory price of $49. Users of Pro- comm Plus, Smartcom, Crosstalk, Mirror, and PC- Talk can purchase Eclin A Server with Assets The ACScript multipurpose server enables HP LaserJet and compatible printers to connect directly to LANs. Also, a printer can mix PostScript and PCL printing in a single document, merge forms on-line, provide print spooling and storage to its hard disk drive, and print two-sided pages in PostScript. Housed in a tower, the server comes in four configurations. The basic unit has three input ports, a 20-MB hard disk drive, and 4 MB of memory. The top-of- the-line unit has five input ports, 8 MB of memory, and an 80- MB hard disk drive. The 35 internal fonts in each configura- tion match the stan- dard fonts of the Apple LaserWriter Plus. Price: $2795 to $4895. Contact: Applied Computer Sciences, Inc., 11711 North- creek Pkwy. S, Suite 107, Bothell, WA 98011, (800) 525- 5512 or (206) 486-2722; fax (206) 485-4776. Circle 1311 on Inquiry Card. Connect for $29 as an upgrade. Features include point- and-shoot menus, mouse support, an integrated text editor, background file trans- fers, and a script language with a script recorder and de- bugger. With the text edi- tor, you can send text directly to a remote system or printer without first creating a disk file. Eclin Connect runs entirely in text mode on all DOS computers. Price: $49; upgrade from specified programs, $29. Contact: Eclin Technol- ogy, P.O. Box 204 ^Tren- ton, NJ 08607, (609) 393- 0577; fax (609) 393-1990. Circle 1308 on Inquiry Card. Link Up Your Computer A peer-to-peer, entry- level network operating system called ReadyLink is available from Compex. Geared for small and medi- um-size businesses, Ready- Link is compatible with most standard ARCnet, Ethernet, and Token Ring adapter cards that have a Novell NetWare driver. ReadyLink can support from two to 20 users. The system is NetBIOS compat- ible and supports IBM PCs and compatibles. Price: Software only, $299; two-user starter kit, $499; additional users, $99 each. Contact: Compex, Inc., 4055 East La Palma, Unit C, Anaheim, CA 92807, (714) 630-7302; fax (714) 630-6521. Circle 1 309 on Inquiry Card. Long-Distance Power-Up for Your Computer TeleSwitch lets you re- motely power your com- puter and other electronic devices on or off via a tele- phone or modem. You plug your system and peripherals into the unit, and it's ready to go at the sound of your call. TeleSwitch, which uses solid-state surge-clamp- ing electronic circuitry and a time-delay circuit, comes in two models: the basic 300 and the 400, which adds Touch-Tone security access. Price: TeleSwitch 300, $299; TeleSwitch 400, $499. Contact: EKD Computer Corp., 770 Middle Country Rd.,P.O. BoxY, Selden, NY 11784, (800)468-6353 or (5 16) 736-0500; fax (516)736-2209. Circle 1310 on Inquiry Card. 72 BYTE* MARCH 1991 iJi Here's a chance to buy our $ 99 Math Coprocessor at no risk whatsoever! It's fully guaranteed to at least double the math performance of your software. If you want to unlock the full power of your PC, pick up the phone and order an AMD 80C287 math coprocessor. Without it, your PC just isn't really complete. You see, our math coprocessor can dramatically increase the performance of 1-2-3,® dBASE,® Excel, and hundreds of your other favorite business applications! It actually runs calculations turn to ten times faster than your PC can without a math coprocessor. Which means your graphs will draw incredibly fast and your spreadsheets will recalculate at truly blazing speeds. (And that's just for starters!) High speed at a low price. Don't think you have to pay over $200 for a math coprocessor. Now you can get ours for just $99 when you order direct from AMD! The AMD 80C287 is fully compatible with your 80286-based PC and the hundreds of commercially available software packages written for it. Our coprocessor is also compatible with the Intel NMOS 80287. Installation is a snap. The AMD 80C287 plugs easily into a socket that's already inside your 80286-based PC. In fact, you can be up and running in just five minutes. Simply plug the chip into the socket and watch the dazzling improvement in performance! The AMD 80C287 comes with easy-to- follow installation instructions, a free utilities disk (which includes diagnostics and test software), and free color computer games. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. £l 9020-11 Capital of Texas Hwy N., Suite 400 Austin, TX 78759-9797 Volume or dealer inquiries welcome. 1-2-3 is a registered trademark of Lotus Development Corporation. dBASE is a trademark of Ashton-Tate Corporation. Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. Circle 1 5 on Inquiry Card. Our Triple Guarantee Guarantee #1: If the AMD 80C287 doesn't do everything we promise, or if you are unsatisfied for any reason, return the product within 30 days of purchase and AMD will happily refund your money. Guarantee #2: If your AMD 80C287 Math Coprocessor ever fails to perform for any reason, AMD will replace it free of charge, no questions asked. Limited to two lifetime replacements per person. Guarantee #3: AMD guarantees that the AMD 80C287 is fully compatible with your 80286-based hardware and software. If you have any compatibility problems with the AMD 80C287 during the first year, return the product and we will gladly refund the purchase price. Outside of USA call (512) 345-1728 PI Yes. I want to double or triple the calculation speed of software running on my 286-based PC. Send me an AMD 80C287 Math Coprocessor, risk free, for only $99 plus tax, shipping and handling. I understand that I can return the AMD 80C287 for a full refund within the first 30 days if I am not completely satisfied. Want more information? Call for a free demo disk and literature. CITY/STATE/ZIP _ Visa/MC# Type of PC THE BRICK Designed for the Way you Always Wanted to do Computing Customers and critics alike are praising the Brick for its portability, elegant design, whisper quiet opera- tion and screamingly fast power Find out for yourself why this diminutive PC with the unforgettable name is making its way onto the desktops of the most demand- ing power users. More Practical Than a Portable For multisite computing, the Brick offers an alternative to the usual trade-offs of laptops or multiple PC's. Just keep your preferred keyboard and full size monitor, plus power supply at your regular destination and carry only the 8 lb. Brick in between. You'll save half the cost, half the weight and all the hassle of coordinating files between multiple machines. Blazingly Fast Compared to published reports of all 386SX machines tested to date by PC Magazine, the Brick offers superior perfor- mance on the aggregate of TIME IN SECONDS 40 80 120 160 HI 1 IIMlhlH^Hi \r*wn,\\L'zma^m M-J.'.U-Vl.]±HMJ:N*M:W:i IWlViYiY*-" 'Brick with 8 MB RAM 212MB HO. The lower number is better. Time to complete PC Magazine's full benchmark test set. The Brick is... a great personal computer in every respect. It takes up minimal desk space, it's both rugged and stylish, and it's extremely fast." Bill Machrone, PC Magazine, 1/91 Fits in half a briefcase, leaving room for full-sized folders, notebooks, etc. system, video and hard disk benchmarks. Massive Hard Disk Bricks are available with 16 or 20 MHz 386SX, 1-8 MB of RAM, a fast 44, 104 or 212 MB Conner or Teac IDE hard disk, and a 387 coprocessor socket. A 2,400 bps Hayes compatible modem is standard. "A whole new slant on portable computing... exceptionally ingenious." Portable Office 1 2/90. Eric Grevstad "Recommended." Jerry Pourmelle Byte, 1/91, The fast VGA graphics feature up to 1024 x 768 non interlaced resolution with a full 1 MB of video memory. In fact, the Brick's video performance is twice as One Intercontinental Way, Peabody, Tel: [508} 535-7510 Fax: (508) "A Tote-able only about the Tnat Outperforms size of a ream the Desktops." Of Copier PC Magazine paper, yet you 9/90, Matt Ross can still add Brick & Windows Hot Special It takes more than just software and a mouse to make a satisfying Windows machine. Our Brick & Windows Special comes with 4 MB of RAM (not 2 as others provide), Windows 3.0, DOS, and a up to two ISA half cards internally, (one card with a floppy drive). A docking port allows easy, drop-in connection to our Docking Terminal, $349, which instantly hooks up all cables and provides another 16-bit 3/4 length slot. The "Stretch" version of the Brick accomodates full length cards. Logitech mouse with our hot 16 MHz 386SX Brick. You also get two award winning programs that are essential to fulfilling the promise of Windows. Adobe's wonderful Type Manager (ATM) with 13 fonts for true WYSIWYG display and high quality printed documents and Quarterdeck's QEMM 5.1 memory manager for running Windows on a network. No other 386SX matches the Brick's graphics processing power, storage capacity, quietness and versatility. And while others give you Windows, 'we give you what it takes to make Windows 3.0 really perform, j m0 $2,495 Brick & Windows Special includes: ▲ 16 MHz Intel 386SX A 4 MB RAM A 44 MB 28ms hard disk A 1024x768 VGA adapter A 2,400 bps modem A 3.5" floppy A 16-bit half card exp. slot A 1 parallel, 2 serial ports A Windows 3.0 and DOS A QEMM 5.1 A Adobe Type Manager A Logitech Mouse A All software completely set up. Ready to go. Options: A 104 MB add $395 A 212 MB add $995 A 20 MHz Brick add $250 A 8 MB RAM add $396 A 12" mono VGA add $218 monitor & 101 keyboard A 14" color VGA add $464 640 x 480 monitor & 101 keyboard A Freight prepaid. Save $881 off 1990 catalogue prices Offer expires 3/3 J/91 MA 01960 535-7512 COMPUTING Circle 106 on Inquiry Card. CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-633- OR FAX AUTOMATICALLY 24 1-800-THE-BRICK NEWS CONNECTIVITY A Full Meal for File Sharers Nexsys Electronics' Soup to Nuts Network Bundle contains the hard- ware and software necessary for peer-to-peer file shar- ing among 10 or more Macs and multiple LaserWriters. Soup to Nuts consists of 10 Intellinet connectors and a 24-node license for Every- ware's allShare 1.1 file servers. Each connector is compatible with AppleTalk, PhoneNet, and Flashtalk and includes a 10- foot phone cord and a terminating resistor. Price: $399; $16 per addi- tional connector if purchased within one year of the kit. Contact: Nexsys Electron- ics, 667 Folsom St. , San Francisco, CA 94107, (800) 541-9981 or (415) 541- 9980: fax (415) 541-9984. Circle 1312 on Inquiry Card. A Mini Transceiver for Network Connection Lancast'sETP-4310 Twisted-Pair Mini- Transceiver's seven diag- nostic LEDs and full trans- ceiver operation let users connect their PCs, servers, and workstations into a lOBase-T-compliant twisted- pair Ethernet network. Known as a mini-twister, the ETP-4310 can detect and correct for reversed polarity of the receive twisted-pair wiring. You attach the unit di- rectly to the standard 15-pin AUI D connector on your computer or terminal equip- ment. A standard telephone connector provides the inter- face for the twisted-pair network wiring. The trans- The Stepcube features tool-less device installation through its access panels. Step Up to Versatility The Everex Stepcube, a 12-slot 486/33 EISA computer sys- tem, incorporates the Everex Thermal Management Sys- tem, which uses two SmartFans to route air through the chassis: One fan cools the system board and expansion cards, and the other cools the power supply and drives. De- signed for use as a file server, multiuser system, or graphics workstation, the 12-slot board is expandable (eight-slot 386 and 486 versions are also available). Removable side panels let you access the system without using a screwdriver. The cube is stackable, so you can install two systems in a mini- mum space. Security features include side-panel access locks and password protection. Price: $9000 to $14,000. Contact: Everex Systems, Inc., 48431 Milmont Dr., Fre- mont, CA 94538, (800) 356-4283 or (415) 498-1 111. Circle 1 3 1 6 on Inquiry Card. ceiver drives the signals to any twisted-pair hub device that complies with the lOBase-T standard. The mini-twister in- cludes switch-selectable sig- nal-quality error and link test functions. These func- tions let you configure op- eration for a variety of applications. Price: $160. Contact: Lancast, 10 Northern Blvd., Unit 5, Amherst, NH 03031, (603) 880-1833; fax (603) 881-9888. Circle 1313 on Inquiry Card. Take RISC with Your Controller RIO, a RISC-based dis- tributed I/O controller for multiuser PC Unix sys- tems with up to 512 users, permits more than 80 feet between the host PC and re- mote terminal adapters when you use conventional cabling. With fiber-optic cabling, you extend the dis- tance to about 1 l A miles. The modular RIO system uses Inmos parallel proces- sors, which allow each RIO card to support up to 128 users. Custom communica- tion processors by Cirrus Logic replace the usual uni- versal asynchronous receiver/ transmitters. The RIO's re- configuration software lets you move remote terminal adapters and their associated workgroups without dis- turbing users on the system. Price: 32-port system, $3540; 128-port system, $12,660. Contact: Specialix, Inc., 985 University Ave. , Suite 12, Los Gatos,CA 95030, (408) 354-4498; fax (408) 354-7178. Circle 1314 on Inquiry Card. Communicate from Your Poqet Poqet Computer has in- troduced a 2400-bps, pocket-size modem for its Poqet PC. Measuring 4 by 1 by 2% inches and weighing 6 Vi ounces, the Poqet/ WorldPort 2400 operates for up to 10 hours on a 9-V alkaline battery. Price: $345. Contact: Poqet Computer Corp., 555 North Mary Ave. , Sunnyvale, CA 94086, (408) 737-8100; fax (408) 739-5589. Circle 1315 on Inquiry Card. 76 BYTE- MARCH 1991 CRRRV ( && c e4L ©4**zW The Cany- 1 9000 series comes complete with SO 386SX /SO 286- 1 6/ 80286- J 2 microprocessor (Co-Processor optional). J024x 768 VGA/MGA & CGA display interface, 1/2/4 MB RAM, one 3.5" 1.44 MB FDD or one FDD plus one 40/80 MB HDD, one 8 hit expansion SLOT, one parallel and two serial I/O ports, and one 30W auto range switching power adapter, all in the traditional 240mm x / 85mm x 4 5 nun (9, 4 " x 7. 3 ' ' x / . 8 ' % ) casing of Carry- 1. Each package includes two mini -tower stands and a carry hag. The 81 key mini keyboard with 101 functions and 9 inch color or monochrome VGA monitor are optional. Other Carry -I products include the 8000 series XT & A T hook-size personal computers and the 6000 series XT and AT book- size LANstations. All Carry! product lines are bundled with DR DOS 5.0 s FLYTECH GROUP INTERNATIONAL Germany Hong Kong Taiwan U.S.A. TEL# 69-746081 , 746453 TEL# 305-1 268 TEL# 2-7852556, 7827538 TEL# 408-7277373, 7277374 FAX# 69-749375 FAX# 796-8427 FAX# 2-7852371, 7837970 FAX# 408-7277375 DISTRIBUTORS. CeBIT '91 Halh 5 Stand No.: E58 • CANADA: BUDGF.TRON TEL# 4 l6-56«-7800 FAX# 4 1 6-564-2679 • FRANCE: M3C TKL# 1-48271976 FAX# 1 -42.355916 • GERMANY: MACRO IRON TV.U 89-42082.M FAX- 89- i2/Tn • GREECE: ALTEC TEl.# 1-88320 17 FAX# 1-8816187 • HONG KONG: PARKLY TEL# 3051268 FAX* 7968427 • INDIA: IJEETA/L1N1CORP TEI.# 1 1-6831.341 FAX# 1 1-6845828 • ITALY PRIMA TEL# 522-518599 FAX# 522-518599 • MALAYSIA: COMTEC: TEL# 03-2748888 FAX# 0.3-2749988 • NETHERLAND: KN TEL# 2968-8414! FAX* 2968-971.36 • NORWAY SHCl IS DATATEL# 2-7225 10 FAX# 2-7225 1 5 • SINGAPORE: TRANSN1KO TEL* 4758408 FAX* 471.3803 • SOUTH AFRICA: PC MART TEL* 1 1 -801.3.355 FAX* 1 1-8024 15.S • SWITZERLAND: ESS SOFTWARE TEL* 022-622020 FAX* 022-615650 • UNITED KINGDOM: CENTERPRLSE TEL* 256-463754 FAX* 256-843174 • BELGIUM: CELEM S A. TEL* 41-6764.34 FAX* 41-676515 Circle 1 1 8 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 1 1 9). NEWS SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING Interface Builder for OSF/Motif You can now extend the Xbuild OSF/Motif inter- face builder by adding your own widgets and resources to satisfy corporate standards and customize applications. According to Siemens Nix- dorf , interfaces generated with Xbuild 1 . 1 are run- time independent and do not require additional run-time software libraries or license fees. Using the WYSIWYG editor, you can create inter- faces that use Motif graphi- cal objects. A test mode lets you test your work at any stage in the creation process. To make the tool simpler for programmers working on a specific project, you can remove Xbuild widgets that do not relate to an appli- cation. Xbuild 1 . 1 can import User Interface Language (UIL) code, allowing you to use it on an existing pro- gram. Xbuild generates C (ANSI or Kernighan & Rit- chie) code or OSF UIL code. The tool runs on Sun-3, Sparcstation, 386 SCO/ Open Desktop, DECstation 3100, MIPS, and Siemens workstations running Unix System V 3.2 or 4.3 with OSF/Motif. Price: $5000; internal use license, $1500; binary li- cense, $1895. Contact: Siemens Nixdorf Information Systems, Inc., 200 Wheeler Rd. , Burling- ton, MA 01803, (617) 273- 0480; fax (617) 221-0231. Circle 1271 on Inquiry Card. 870755, Dallas, TX 75287, (800) 749-4917 or (214) 380- 6686; fax (214) 380-6184. Circle 1273 on Inquiry Card. Xbuild, which includes a WYSIWYG graphical editor, object base, and code generator, was used to build this front end to a hotel reservation system. C Toolbox for DOS, Mac, and Sun Anew version of the C Programmer's Toolbox adds support for Microsoft C 6.0 and Symantec's Think C 4.0. The Toolbox also supports ANSI C, Borland Turbo C l.x/2.x, and Sun's UnixC. Version 2 . 1 of the tool- box supports Macintosh Pro- grammers' Workshop, DOS, and Sun Unix develop- ment environments. CLint, a C source code semantic checker, now offers ANSI function prototype genera- tion for any C source code and the construction of com- posite include files. New file/function interdependen- cy reports added to the CFlow tool help determine the best way to organize a program for performance and segmented, overlaid, and virtual memory architec- ture considerations, the company says. New C Source code formatting options in- clude input and output tab- size specification and in- line formatting. Price: $125 to $495. Contact: MMC AD Sys- tems, P.O. Box 360845, Mil- pitas, CA 95036, (415) 770-0858; fax (415) 770-0116. Circle 1272 on Inquiry Card. Add Features to Applications If you want to adapt exist- ing programs to handle new features such as secu- rity, on-line help, or mouse support, one way is with a new DOS-based memory-res- ident programming lan- guage from Portable Com- puting Systems. Called Via, the language supports the retrofitting of applica- tions with features the designer left out. You can also use the lan- guage, which the company says resembles a combina- tion of Pascal and BASIC, to create access to proprietary data files found in third- party applications. Via requires 50K bytes of available RAM on a DOS-based system. Price: $249. Contact: Portable Comput- ing Systems, Inc., P.O. Box Momentum Breaks Down the IPC Walls omentum says the distributed version of XIPC frees you from de- sign and coding complica- tions when designing coop- erative applications that use interprocess communica- tions (IPC) to go beyond the "walls" of a single machine or operating system. XIPC extends the native IPC functionality of multitasking operating systems such as Unix, SunOS, OS/2, and pVMS without modifying the operating system kernel. The new version also sup- ports AIX on the IBM RISC System/6000, Ultrix, and Windows 3.0. XIPC offers a common application programming in- terface in the form of li- braries and utilities. The XIPC model comprises two building blocks: tasks, such as Unix processes, OS/2 threads, and DOS/Windows programs; and objects, such as message queues, semaphores, and shared memory segments. Tasks communicate, synchronize, and share data with each other using IPC objects, whether on one platform or over a network, regardless of the task's location on the network, the task's operat- ing system, or the mix of operating systems. Price: $4000 and up. Contact: Momentum Soft- ware Corp., 401 South Van Brunt St., Englewood, NJ 07631, (800) 767-1462 or (20 1)87 1-0077; fax (201) 871-0807. Circle 1274 on Inquiry Card. 78 BYTE- MARCH 1991 mUsWdmmm m S7 The 4167's 10 MFLOPS performance delivers 3X the speed of the 486! The new Weitek 4167 coprocessor outperforms the 486 by 3 to 1 in numeric processing. Capable of 10 MFLOPS, the 4167 has sockets in some of the most sophisticated 486 systems on the market, including Compaq, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, and Microway. The 4167 is object-code compatible with the WEITEK 3167 FPU and Microway's mW3167-PS add-in card for the MicroChannel— offering easy access to a broad base of existing CAD/CAM, scientific and engineering applications like Mathematica, CADKEY, HOOPS and Microway's NDP compilers. And look for 4167 support on upcoming products from Autodesk! Number Smasher -486 converts your old AT or 386 into a powerful 486 workstation. In a review of 25 MHz 486 motherboards, Mike George of Personal Workstation magazine wrote, "Microway's Number Smasher-486 gives you top 486 numeric performance for the best price...Number Smasher's numeric perfor- mance exceeds that of all 25 MHz 486 systems weve tested to date." Running the Microway Benchmark Suite, the 4167-equipped Number Smasher-486 achieves 11.9 MegaWhetstones. The board features a Burst Bus™ memory interface that makes it stand out in numeric problems that involve large arrays. Burst cycle response in a 486 system is much more important than second level caches, which are usually too small to be of any use on the megabyte arrays found in real world problems. The ideal solution for numerically or I/O intensive applications is Microway's new Number Smasher-486/33T workstation. Two configurations are available, each incor- porating state-of-the-art power and cooling with 300 to 600 megabyte drives. For more information, please call 508-746-7341. Microway ® The World Leader in PC Numerics Corporate Headquarters, Research Park, Box 79, Kingston, MA 02364 TEL. 508-746-7341 • FAX 508-746-4678 U.K. - 32 High St., Kingston-Upon-Thames, 081-541-5466 • Italy 02-74.90.749 Holland 40 836455 • Norway 9 876656 • Japan 81 3 222 0544 NDP Fortran-486, NDP 0486 and NDP C++ are your keys to unlocking the power of the 4167. Each compiler generates globally optimized, main- frame quality code and has special features that take advantage of the 4167, such as register caching, loop unrolling and automatic inlining of small procedures. These optimiza- tions are handed off to a code generator that is tuned for the 4167, and takes advantage of its ad- vanced instructions like multiply accumulate. In addition, the 486 versions of NDP Fortran, C++ and C properly sequence 486 and 4167 instructions so that the 486's prefetch queue has time to "breathe." NDP compilers are also available for the 386SX, 386 and i860 under DOS, UNIX, XENIX and SunOS. Thousands of Microway's satisfied customers have discovered that you can't buy a bet- ter scientific Fortran or C compiler. And our technical support is the best in the industry. NDPC-486 NDP Fortran-486 * W djf Micro Way Operate your own BBS with the world's most popular, expandable, flexible Multi-User Online Bulletin Board System The Major BBS® starter system: A complete BBS software package for your PC, PS/2, XT, AT, 386, 486, or compatible. Includes electronic mail with binary and ASCII file "attachments", SIG conferencing or "forum" areas with configurable security level access control, file upload/download, message keyword searching, "quickscans" for fast access to new messages, message and file "threading", real-time multi-user "chat" and teleconferencing, "classified ad" and "user registry" databases, etc. Also includes ac- counting, Audit Trail, and timed usage-meter- ing features, and hundreds of convenience features for the Sysop (System Operator), such as a full-screen configuration editor, the ability to import/export files to/from floppy without system shutdown, "SIG-Op" privi- lege delegation, and much more. Supports up to 2 simultaneous users (from a database of thousands) on a single CPU. Works with stan- dard Hayes-compatible COM1/2/3/4 internal or external modems, or with serial ports up to 38,400 bps. Minimum RAM requirement 5 12K. Minimum disk requirement 20MB. Re- quires PC-DOS or MS-DOS 3.1 or later. The Major BBS Standard Edition $ 59 When you're ready to expand: No LAN or multi-tasking OS necessary! Dou- ble the number of simultaneous users that your system can support, from 2 to 4, or 4 to 8, or any number up to 64 simultaneous users on a single CPU, for a flat $300 software license fee per doubling. The upgrade process is quick, automatic, and fully upward-compat- ible — i.e. you can install an update or upgrade onto your existing system without disrupting any of your user account files, E-Mail mes- sages, configuration variables, or any other aspect of your system. For up to 16 users, 640K RAM is sufficient; above 16 users, more than 640K may be necessary. Prerequisite: The Major BBS (any edition). Users, per doubling (up to 64) $ 300 If you need multi-modem hardware: Our Model 2408 consists of up to 8 Hayes- compatible modems on a single circuit card, for the PC/XT/AT/386/486 family. Each modem operates independently at 300/1200/2400 bps (automatically switching to match the caller's bps rate). Built-in serial ports are not COM-port based, so this card can co-exist with other COM port hardware in the same machine (drivers for software other than The Major BBS are not included but may be written). RJ-11 telephone cables are included. MNP Class 4 (error correction) modems are available as an option. MNP non-MNP Class 4 2408 w/2 modems . ... $ 1536 $1696 2408 w/4 modems . ... $ 2090 $2388 2408 w/6 modems . ... $ 2644 $3080 2408 w/8 modems . . . . . $ 3198 $3772 ^frjS?^ When you're ready for source code: With the C sourcecodeto The Major BBS, you can add 3rd-party software, such asThe Major Database (a general-purpose, configurable database manager), various multi-player real- time adventure games, dial-out utilities, global command utilities, accounting enhancements, and much more. Also, you can maintain your own copy of the BBS, or you can modify it to suit your own unique requirements. The Major BBS C source code package is fully docu- mented, and it includes theGalacticomm Soft- ware Breakthrough Library, plus all of the utility object libraries, linker control files, and DOS "batch" files you will need, along with a detailed Programmer's Guide. Works with Turbo C 1.5, 2.0, or 2.01, Turbo C++, or Microsoft C 4.0, 5.1, or 6.0. Prerequisite: The Major BBS Standard Edition. Standard Edition C source code $ 285 For the ultimate in file transfer flexibility: The File Library Edition of The Major BBS has everything that the starter system does, plus built-in ZMODEM, KERMIT, Super- KERMIT, YMODEM-g, and YMODEM (batch) file transfer protocols. Also, it offers super-fast pre-indexed keyword file searches, library-wide searches as well as constrained searches, special file upload/download ac- counting options, alternate DOS "paths" per sub-library, split paths for CD-ROM support, a transparent "DOS-only" sub-library option, and much more. This package is for you if the focus of your system will be the upload and download of large amounts of files. You can easily upgrade from the starter system to the File Library Edition, without losing any of your data files or configuration work you have already done. Prerequisite: The Major BBS Standard Edition. File Library extensions $ 199 File Library C source extensions* ... $ 159 If you decide to offer online games and amusements: The Entertainment Edition of The Major BBS has everything that the starter system does, plus Quest for Magic (a multi-player interac- tive text adventure game), Androids! (a multi- player arcade-style ANSI-graphics game), Flash Attack (a futuristic tank and laser battle for multiple players with IBM PC's), and the Action Teleconference Link-Up, which in- cludes private "chambers", action verbs (grin, wink, nudge, etc.), the ability to link to other systems for huge multi-system tele- conferences, custom entry/exit strings, user- configurable profiles, and much more. This Edition supports the Flash™ Protocol (where most of the game functionality is on the user's end of the phone line), for which dozens of incredible new multi-user games are now being developed. Upgrading from the starter system to the Entertainment Edition is quick j'JUSJi M-iiK* W.J. • !»j TfaStryltot CopurfflW fcl 1'iH't GihrUiftMi (w. tVrl frrr In C»)H] '» Ulurt: * II IHi> and easy and involves no loss of data or func- tion. Prerequisite: The Major BBS Standard Edition. Entertainment extensions $ 1 49 Entertainment C source extensions* . . $ 1 29 If your requirements include order entry and catalog sales: The Shopping Mall Edition of The MajorBBS has everything that the starter system does, plus online shopping. Your online mall can have multiple "stores", each run by its own separate "merchant", if desired. Each mer- chant has control over his or her own product line, pricing, discount structure, store wel- come message, sales tax handling, etc. Also, each merchant may create up to 6 different payment methods (e.g. VISA, MC, AMEX, C.O.D., "bill me", etc.), and up to 6 different shipping methods (e.g. UPS, FedEx, US Mail, etc.), each with its own rates (flat rate, percent of sale, lst-ounce/add'1-ounce, or Ist-pound/ add'l-pound). Users may browse product cat- alogs at no obligation, or order products and services directly online! Orders generate in- voices that are posted to the individual mer- chant as attachments to E-Mail. To upgrade from the starter system to the Shopping Mall Editiontakes only a fewminutes. Prerequisite: The Major BBS Standard Edition. Shopping Mall extensions $249 Shopping Mall C source extensions*. . $ 189 For super-flexibility of menu trees and ANSI screens: The MenuMan Edition of The Major BBS can do everything that thestartersystem does, and in addition you as Sysop can create your own menu trees, with menus leading to menus lead- ing to menus, as deeply "nested" as you like. The "leaves" of your menu trees can be ordi- nary ASCII or ANSI files, which are simply dumped to the user's display (with or without automatic screen breaks), or they can be any of the built-in functions of the BBS such as scanning the user's incoming E-Mail or firing up a SIG quickscan. Includes commands like GO , FIND , USERS, and for the Sysop, the equivalent of the DOS commands DIR, RENAME, COPY, DEL, MKDIR, and RMDIR, as well as a set of priv- ileged commands for editing and extending the menu trees, remotely, while the BBS re- mains fully online. Upgrading from the starter system to the MenuMan Edition takes only minutes. Prerequisite: The Major BBS Stan- dard Edition. MenuMan extensions $ 149 MenuMan C source extensions* .... $ 129 ...and that's not all! For advanced applica- tions, we also offer an X.25 direct-connect software option, a protected-mode develop- ment toolkit, and special licensing arrange- ments for up to 256 simultaneous users! And don't forget the smorgasbord of 3rd-party add-ons available, such as The Major Data- base from Galactic Innovations. Custom pro- gramming and integration services are also available. Your system can grow in power and sophistication, far into the future, with The Major BBS. Here's How To Order: Just dial (305) 583-5990 and say, "I'd like to place an order!" We can generally ship your order within 48 hours. We accept major credit cards, or we can ship C.O.D. Prices shown do not include shipping or insurance. For more information, you may either call the main order number and ask for a sales engineer, or dial (305) 583-7808 with your modem (8-N-l) for a free demo of most of our products. This demo system also contains an online Shopping Mall with many of the 3rd- party add-ons available for The Major BBS, operated by the 3rd-party vendors themselves. Give us a call today! VISA m As your system grows larger... The GalactiBox™ is our 16-slot "expansion chassis", for large-scale systems. It has the unique ability to address individual modems by slot number rather than just COM port address, so you can use up to 16 standard internal modems in it, side by side, without conflict. Includes built-in 150W power sup- ply, interface card for your XT/AT/3 86/486, cables, and full documentation. Up to 4 boxes may be attached to one CPU, for a total of up to 64-channel expansion capacity. Prices shown below are for standard 300/1200/2400 bps Hayes-compatible internal modems. We also have 9600 bps V32/V.42 MNP Class 5 modems available, call for prices. GalactiBox (unpopulated) $ 1992 GalactiBox w/4 modems $ 2416 GalactiBox w/8 modems $ 2840 GalactiBox w/16 modems $ 3688 the corresponding extended Edition. The Major BBS, Flash Protocol, and GalactiBox are trademarks of Galacticomm, Inc. PC, PS/2, XT; A3", and PC-DOS are trademarks of International Business Machines Corp. Hayes is a trademark of Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. The Major Database is a trademark of Galactic Innovations, Inc. Tlirbo C and Ttubo C++ aie trademarks of Borland International, Inc. MS-DOS and Microsoft C are trademarks of Microsoft Corp. UPS is a trademark of United Parcel Service. FedEx is a trademark of Federal ExpressCoip. MNP is a trademark of Microcom, Inc. *The C source code extensions are necessary, if you wish to combine multiple extended Editions together; or add 3rd-party software, or develop your own modifications. Prerequisites, in each case, are the Standard Edition C source code, and ft GALACTICOMM Galacticomm, Inc. 4101 S.W. 47 Ave. Suite 101, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314 Circle 122 on Inquiry Card. Modem: (305) 583-7808 Fax: (305) 583-7846 Voice: (305) 583-5990 NEWS SOFTWARE BUSINESS Desktop Mapping for Mac and Windows aplnfo's new version of its mapping and database software for Win- dows 3. is part of a strategy to provide versions of Map- Info for graphical user inter- face systems that can work together in mixed vendor en- vironments. It uses an un- derlying relational database engine instead of requiring you to export data to a rela- tional database. Maplnfo can transparent- ly access data from files in dBASE, Lotus 1-2-3, Ex- cel, and ASCII, the company says. The program also in- cludes the ability to directly query Structured Query Language databases. You can view data in three ways: a geographical view, a tabular format, or a graphical view. Data in these views is live and, if changed, will update im- mediately in the other windows. Price: $995. Contact: Maplnfo Systems Corp., Hendrick Hudson Building, 200 Broadway, Troy, NY 12180,(800)327- 8627 or (518) 274-8673; fax (518) 274-0510. Circle 1275 on Inquiry Card. Tactician 2.0, a business mapping and planning tool for the Mac, can han- dle up to 9 million records at once, letting you convert a large customer database into a geographic display. The program currently supports the U.S. Dual Independent Map Encoding of the 1980 U.S. Census system (sup- port for 1990 Census data will be available in the next few months). Tactician also works with MSA, DMA, Hospital, and similar databases. Tactician 2.0 uses Apple's Data Access Lan- Maplnfofor Windows lets you view information on customers in geographical, tabular, and graphical format. guage to access data stored on Structured Query Lan- guage-based databases. The program's Trade Area feature lets you retrieve data on an area that you spec- ify simply by drawing a cir- cle on a map. You can also view data in one window and a corresponding map in another. Two versions of the pro- gram are available. The base program includes maps of all states and counties, inter- state highways, 8000 cities, 118,000 place names, ZIP code centroids, and four de- mographic and two business variables for each state and county. The high-resolution ZIP code version includes ZIP code boundaries for thematic mapping. In addition to the Macin- tosh version, which requires a Mac II, the company is planning to release versions for Windows 3.0 and OS/2 Presentation Manager. Price: Base Mac version, $995 ; high-resolution ver- sion, $3995. Contact: Tactics Interna- tional, Ltd., P.O. Box 4016 BV, 16 Haverhill St., Third Floor, Andover, MA 01810, (800) 927-7666 or (508) 475-4475; fax (508) 475- 2136. Circle 1276 on Inquiry Card. Database on Latin America For organizations need- ing information about Central and South Ameri- ca, Info-South is an on-line database of articles that focus on economic, political, and social issues of both re- gions. Info-South consists of article abstracts drawn from more than 150 daily newspapers and weekly magazines and 1500 monthly and quarterly journals. It is available on a yearly or hour- ly subscription basis. If you can't get on-line, the com- pany will perform searches on a specific topic ($25 per topic) and mail or fax a hard copy of abstracts that meet specified criteria. The company also stores each original document and can send copies on request. Price: $800 per year; $85 per hour. Contact: Info-South, Insti- tute of Interamerican Stud- ies, P.O. Box 248014, Coral Gables, FL 33124, (800) 752-9567 or (305) 284-4414; fax (305) 284-6370. Circle 1277 on Inquiry Card. Many Forms from One with JetForm By supporting named pipes, the new Server portion of JetForm' s family of forms-design, fill-in, preparation, filing, and printing products lets client processes come and go in- dependently from the server. You can generate from one data-entry screen a variety of reports and forms for sev- eral departments and print them at multiple locations. JetForm Merge lets you merge variable data from files created by a host ap- plication with electronic forms created with JetForm Design, a WYSIWYG forms designer that runs under Windows 3.0. The merge product also supports con- figurations in which end users can print forms and reports from dBASE, Lotus 1-2-3, or another applica- tion without seeing JetForm. JetForm Merge is avail- able for DOS, OS/2, Unix, and VAX platforms. For optimum printing speed, the company wrote its own printer drivers. The company says it will support named pipes running on DOS-based Novell net- works in the second quarter. The server version for LAN Server/LAN Manager runs as a server task. The server for DOS LANs requires a dedicated workstation. Price: JetForm Designer, including a copy of JetForm Filler for Windows and character-based applications, $495; JetForm Filler, $199; JetForm Server for DOS, $1 195; JetForm Server for OS/2, $1695. Contact: JetForm Corp., P.O. Box 606, 163 Pioneer Dr., Leominster, MA 01453, (800) 267-9976 or (613) 594-3026; fax (613) 594-8886. Circle 1278 on Inquiry Card. 82 BYTE • MARCH 1991 INTELLIGENT DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS Imagine what you can do with the development time you save. if your application is too demand- ing for a standard data acquisition package, you have just two choices. Spend valuable time writing low-level code. Or get a data acquisition system that provides its own microprocessor and control subsystem. Microstar Laboratories' intelligent Data Acquisition Processors™ are complete control subsystems, not just hardware input/output units. The DAP 800, ,M DAP 1 200,™ and DAP 2400 TS have on-board processors, buffer memory, and DAPL ,M — a complete real-time multitasking data acquisition and control operating system. DAP 2400: The most powerful in the series, with digi- tal signal processing. More than 100 Built-in Commands DAPL provides more than 100 data acquisition processing commands— without programming. These include commands for averaging, scaling, peak detection, integration, thermo- couple linearization, PID process con- trol, event detection, digital filtering, and spectral analysis. DAP 1200: A general purpose workhorse for a variety of large applications. DAP 800: A Data Acquisition Processor for the price of a non-intelligent board. DAPL can be expanded without limit by downloading custom com- mands from the host PC. On-board RAM and Processing Power Each Microstar Laboratories system includes on-board RAM for buffering data while the PC is performing such tasks as writing to disk and up- dating the screen. The Data Acquisition Processors are compatible with C, Pascal, BASIC, FORTRAN, and other PC programming languages, so you can add code to meet your own specific needs. By providing a second processor and separating the data acquisition operating system from the PC's operating system, the Data Acquisition Processor gives you a high performance data acqui- sition system for the price of a non- intelligent data acquisition board. Call Today for the Complete Story For all the details about our intelligent data acquisition systems, call us today at (206) 881-4286. Then imagine what you can do with the time you save. Microstar Laboratories™/ 2863 152nd Avenue NE Redmond, Washington 98052 Phone (206) 881-4286 Fax (206) 881-5494 ©1991 Microstar Laboratories, Inc. MICROSTAR LABORATORIES,'" DAPL.'" DAP,'" OAP 800, IM DAP 1 200™ DAP 2400, ,M and Data Acquisition Processor'" are trademarks of MICROSTAR LABORATORIES, Inc. CALL TODAY FOR A FREE DEMO DISKETTE Circle 1 82 on Inquiry Card. The 486" PC. It may be a little V™ Never before has this much power been plugged into a business PC. Presenting the Intel 486 micro- processor — a veritable powerhouse that's been harnessed for business. A 486 microprocessor-based PC has everything it takes to run today's high- powered applications. And run them the way you need to— simultaneously and at lightning speed. Plus, it's compatible with the hard- ©1990 Intel Corporation. _ more power than you're used to. ware and business applications you already 1-800-548-4725 and ask for "The 486 Micro- own, so you won't spend any extra time or processor Means Business" brochure, money on training. The 486 PC. Plug it in and start shock- ing the corporate world. For additional information, call The Computer Inside.™ 486 is a trademark of Intel Corporation. Circle 1 40 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 141). inQ NEWS SOFTWARE OTHER Two Neural Net Programs for Business B: rainMaker Profession- al 2.0, the program for the IBM PC that can fore- cast stock prices, medical di- agnoses, and other events, can now read data from other applications in dBASE, Lotus 1-2-3, ASCII, and Ex- cel formats. Once you've imported the data, you can use the NetMaker Profes- sional portion of BrainMaker to perform arithmetic oper- ations on data and build net- work description and train- ing files automatically, according to California Scientific Software. New features of version 2.0 include network optimi- zation, for determining the best number of hidden neu- rons, and pruning, for re- moving unnecessary synap- ses and improving the network's ability to general- ize. The company also ex- panded the program's net- work tools by adding a new program to rank competing entities in predicted finish order (e.g., for sporting events). Hypersonic training, a method for training networks using linear algebra and matrix manipulation and the proprietary Hypersonic al- gorithm, is now included with the program. Price: $795. Contact: California Scien- tific Software, 10141 Evening Star Dr., Suite 6, Grass Valley, CA 95945, (800) 284-81 12 or (916) 477-7481; fax (916) 477-8656. Circle 1279 on Inquiry Card. An add-in program called Neuralyst for Microsoft Excel lets you perform pattern matching, adaptive processing, and fuzzy analysis without data translation or reformatting. version 1.7L -■ Choose d Function ===== E, (Esc) Exit from this Menu Fx Switch to a Prograa in the Setup Box K. Kill a Program Chance Work Area SETUP Box Infornation P. Print* R* Fun Controls and Uiewint) A. Alar* .Clock, Stopwatch, Tiaer, a" Chimes Q. Quit from Software Carouse! 11:23:15 Afr Software Carousel uers. 4B91 (cl SoflLogte Solutions. Inc. — — — •InForiMtion ■ Th j s Gjtso rt per « i ts you change tbe aoaant'Of RAM or the Vims wMcn is assigned for one of the war k areas shown SETUP Box at the right. : III MiU. III'! iilPrint'H'Hun: is cwptij. FZ General Usage 8K F3 DOS Conwands 320K F4 C Development t 576K F5 1-2-3 Automatic Start-up 9K n Sidekick 192K F7 Grandwiew ■ 256K F8 123 Alternate Uorksheet 6K "OTKEY is left Shift— 1 Software Carousel 5.0 provides task switching and a cut-and- paste facility on any DOS-based PC. Snip and Snap with Carousel 5.0 The new version of the IBM PC task-switching system Soft- ware Carousel includes reduced RAM requirements on 286- and 386-based machines and a Snip V Snap cut-and-paste facility. Version 5.0 lets you transfer information between files of the same cr different applications by marking and capturing data directly from an application screen. Snip 'n' Snap auto- matically reformats and transfers data into another program as if you'd entered the data from a keyboard but without the risk of transpositions or other typos. On 386-based systems, the program now requires as little as 4K bytes of RAM. A C interface lets you add Carousel's task-switching functions to other applications. Price: $89.95. Contact: SoftLogic Solutions, Inc., One Perimeter Rd., Manchester, N H 03 1 03 , (800) 272-9900 or (603) 627-9900; fax (603) 627-9610. Circle 1283 on Inquiry Card. According to Epic Systems, you can use Neuralyst for stock and commodities price prediction, insurance risk rating, signal processing, ro- botic control systems, and other areas from data stored in Excel worksheets. The program works with any ver- sion of Excel that runs under Windows 3.0. Price: $145. Contact: Epic Systems Group, 3814 East Colorado Blvd., Suite 101, Pasadena, CA 91 107, (818)564-0383; fax (8 18) 564-0322. Circle 1280 on Inquiry Card. Two Screen Savers for Windows I com Simulations' new screen saver for Windows 3.0 offers more than 30 ani- mated displays, including a Message display that shows your custom scrolling mes- sage. The program, called Intermission, also comes with a developer's kit for designing your own screen- saver modules. Other displays include an aquarium and a Slide Show that lets you put together your own presentation. The program includes a pass- word protection system. Price: $49.95. Contact: Icom Simula- tions, Inc., 648 South Wheeling Rd., Wheeling, IL 60090, (800) 877-4266 or (708) 520-4440; fax (708) 459-3418. Circle 1281 on Inquiry Card. ore than 20 color dis- plays, such as Flying Toasters, Warp, and Down- the-Drain, are now available in the After Dark screen saver for Windows. In addition to password security and the color display modules, the program's Logo module lets you scan in a logo, which drifts around the screen when the screen saver engages. The program also uses SystemlQ. When system activity exceeds a set limit, SystemlQ causes After Dark to throttle back so that it doesn't compete with other tasks, such as a file transfer, backup, or other processing. Price: $49.95. Contact: Berkeley Sys- tems, Inc., nOOShattuck Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709, (415)540-5535. Circle 1282 on Inquiry Card. 86 BYTE- MARCH 1991 Anti-Obsolescent Forval Super High-Speed V32bis/V42bis Modems. Enhancements for your modem are just a phone call away. Simply dial FORVAL's headquarters andFORVAL-Link™ assures speed or feature upgrades automatically. Your modem is protected against obsolescence. With FORVAL Turbo Interface,™ data integrity is ensured even at speeds greater than 19,2Kbps. Modem can be used horizontally- or vertically when you need to save desktop space. Now you can get all this for the same amount you would spend on an ordinary V.32 modem. Introducing the SA14400 from Forval. The first super high-speed modem designed to discourage obsolescence. And don't worry about compatibil- ity. Forval modems are compatible with all dial-up modem standards. So you can talk to anyone. Anywhere. No matter what the line conditions. Forval's super high-speed dial-up modems are currently the fastest full duplex modems on the market-up to six times faster than ordinary V.32 modems. And they are compatible with all lower speed modems. Completely compatible with CCITT dial-up standards. Controls and displays ensure complete visibility and management over modem operation. Your investment is also protected with a five-year warranty. /\nu iree ai so available in hoard model high-Speed f° r iMemil PC use. communications software is included in the package. So if you want a super high-speed modem that has it all, think of us. Forval. To learn more about our complete line of modems, call us today at 1-800-FORVAL-l. FORVAL AMERICA, INC., Modem Division, 6985 Union Park Center, Suite 425, Mid vale, Utah 84047, Tel: (801) 561-8080, Fax: (801) 561-8777. The Modem With A Future.™ ©Copvright 1991 , FORVAL AMERICA, INC. FORVAL-Link and FORVAL Turbo Interface are trademarks of FORVAL AMERICA, INC. Circle 1 20 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 121). For Great Electronics and Computer Product Performance Jameco's careful orchestration of product selection, quality control, customer support, and competitive pricing will make your next electronics purchase seem effort- less. It will be done right, saving you time and money! Over the past 16 years, Jameco has mastered the distribution of quality electronic components, computer products, and test and measurement equipment. That's why our market intelligence group tracks the very latest technology. Our purchasing groups buy globally for the best quality and value, thoroughly prequalifying each vendor and product against our high standards. And our in-house quality assurance group constantly tests products received into stock. We offer the widest product selection. For example, choose from a full price/performance spectrum of computer systems, from starter to mid-range, to the most advanced computing tools available. Select from our catalog of over 4000 Jameco products. Jameco conducts a full program of customer support: beginning with your plan to purchase and continuing Jameco 16MHz 80386SX Motherboard ^^^Wp^ P Microspeed PC Trackball *n .. Jameco 16MHz 80386SX Computer Kit ■ 2MB RAM (expandable to 8MB) • 200 Watt power supply • 101 -key keyboard • Multi I/O Card • Toshiba 1 .44MB, 3.5" floppy drive • DR DOS 5.0 and QAPlus diagnostic software $1199.95/JE3816 monitor extra Iff 1.1 a i — i ■Li "■ LLV. r f r r j t i j i t l.nJ !! 1 .: , ' ' Jameco VGA Card Please refer to Mall Key 1 ordering Jameco 33MHz 32KB Cache 80386 Computer Kit • 4MB RAM (expandable to 16MB) • 300 Watt power supply • 6 half-height drive bays • 101-key keyboard • Multi I/O Card • Toshiba 1.44MB, 3.5" floppy drive • DR DOS 5.0 and QAPlus diagnostic software $2599.95/JE3833 monitor extra Conner IDE Hard Drive Terms: Prices arc subject to change without notice. Items subject to availability mid prior sale. Complete list of terms/warranties is available upon request. ( yjrcAestratecl through the life of the productWe maintain telephone customer support; our technically expert staff will answer your questions and discuss your needs, before, during, or after purchase. And you can place an order 24 hours a day! Consistent quality, wide selection, latest technology, solid customer support, and competitive prices have pro- duced millions of satisfied Jameco customers. Most have requested an encore, joining our large family of repeat customers from big and small businesses, schools and universities, government, and individuals. If an effortless electronic or system purchase experience sounds good to you, give us the chance to orchestrate it. Call Jameco for a complete product catalog, or visit our catalog-store/headquarters located in Belmont, CA, serving Silicon Valley and the Stanford Technology Park Area. JAMECO ^^ ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS COMPUTER PRODUCTS 1355ShorewayRd. Belmont, CA 94002 (415)592-8097 FAX: (415) 592-2503 m: "~7\ Memory Modules Jameco 20MHz 32KB Cache 80386SX Computer Kit • AMI Motherboard with 32KB cache, 4MB RAM (expandable to 16MB) • 200 Watt power supply • 101 -key keyboard • Multi I/O Card • Toshiba 1.44MB, 3.5" floppy drive • DR DOS 5.0 and QAPlus diagnostic software $1899.95/JE3820 , , DB25 Connectors Jameco Breadboards and Metex Multimeters monitor extra m. * ^ LEDs ■v.- % m ^## EPROMs All trade names are registered trademarks of their respective companies. Axial and Radial Capacitors Circle 152 on Inquiry Card. 5 3/91 Jameco Electronic Components/Computer Products NEWS SOFTWARE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING Automate Circuit Timing Diagrams Anew Windows 3.0 pro- gram makes it easier for electronics engineers to specify, modify, and check timing requirements for digital circuits. Timing- Designer is a front-end design tool that can ease the process of creating timing diagrams, which describe the detailed sequence of and re- lationship between events that must occur for a logic design to work properly. The program lets you enter and modify by pointing and clicking on all elements of a timing diagram, including waveforms, clocks, gate and path delays, setup and hold times, timing param- eter tables, and text annotations. As you modify the dia- gram, the program maintains the timing relationships specified between waveform edges. As you move the lo- cation of an edge that is de- pendent on other edges, all the related edges in the dia- gram move automatically to maintain the specified mini- mum and maximum delays. The program automati- cally performs timing analy- sis calculations that are updated during diagram modification. TimingDe- signer displays the earliest and latest time that every edge can occur, computes the available margins for all timing limits, and highlights in red any timing conditions that have been violated. The program lets you keep a set of files that other engineers can access. The program can display and edit any digital data gen- erated by other tools, logic analyzers, simulators, and testers. It also supports de- lay back annotation from gate array routers. Price: $1495. TirnlnoDcsIanerVl.t -Read Cycle file ( ilii View Opliimr. Fmil I Minify I Add:- II Help Clock | Signal 1 Delay | Conjo int! Tex! j Delete RdUusy Instruction Timing from Main Memory tU' When you violate a timing limit in designing a digital circuit, TimingDesigner highlights your invalid condition in red. Contact: Chronology Corp., 2849 152nd Ave. NE, Redmond, WA 98052, (206) 869-4227; fax (206) 869-4229. Circle 1077 on Inquiry Card. Faster. Better Theorist Theorist, the symbolic algebra system for the Macintosh, is faster and more powerful in version 1.1, which has enhanced calculus, algebra, and graph- ing capabilities. Improvements to the pro- gram include factoring of large polynomials (of up to order 30), symbolic integra- tion of all rational frac- tions, better noncommutative algebra, and faster graph- ing of data matrices and drawing of graphs when opening files. The program's nonlinear root finder solves two equations in two un- knowns. An Uncalculate feature is helpful in deter- mining the symbolic form of numbers and the elimina- tion of round-off error. Theorist 1 . 1 runs on the Macintosh with 1 MB of RAM. Price: $399.95. Contact: Prescience Corp., 939 Howard St., San Francis- co, CA 94103, (415) 543- 2252; fax (415) 882-0530. Circle 1284 on Inquiry Card. Software Math Coprocessor for the IBM PC If you need a coprocessor for your computation- intensive applications, you may want to investigate Mul- tix's line of math coproces- sor emulators. Soft87-287, designed for 286-based machines, and SPREAD THE WORD Your new product is important to us. Please address information to New Products Editors, BYTE, One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peter- borough, NH 03458. Better yet, use your modem and mail new product information to the microbytes. hw or microbytes.sw confer- ences on BIX. Please send the product description, price, ship date, and an address and telephone number where readers can get more information. Soft87-387, which supports 286, 386, and i486 proces- sors, emulate floating-point calculations and are IEEE floating-point compatible, the company says. The emu- lators also offer 57 ex- tended instructions, such as COS, LOG2, and SIN. Ac- cording to Multix, the emula- tors achieve more accurate Sof t87 calculations than Intel 80x87 chips but create drawings 3 Vi times slower. Price: Soft87-287, $59; Soft87-387, $99. Contact: Multix, Inc., 4203 Beltway Dr., Suite 7, Dallas, TX 75244, (214) 239-4989; fax (214) 239-6826. Circle 1285 on Inquiry Card. Pop-up Calculator Works in Inches If you work in feet, inch- es, and fractions of an inch and are tired of converting them to decimal format, Pop an Inch can help. The memory-resident calculator for the IBM PC works in all of the above, plus degrees or radians. More than 300 conversions are available. An add-on for Lotus 1-2-3 up to release 2.2 also handles fractions. The pro- gram works in feet, inches, fractions of an inch, stock fractions to l / 32 , or bonds and futures fractions to l / 64 . Over 20 @ functions are available. Price: $49; 1-2-3 add-on, $99. Contact: Workhorses, Inc., 805-B 14th St., Golden, CO 80401, (800) 777-2477 or (303) 279-8557; fax (303) 278-4029. Circle 1286 on Inquiry Card. 90 BYTE • MARCH 1991 1053 Shore Road, Naperville, IL 60563 1-800-562-1071 In PA call: 1-800-875-3735 Tech Support: (708) 369-5331 J" No surcharge on MasterCard or Visa • One year warranty on parts and labor • Positive technical support • Custom configuration • All systems tested and approved • 100%Compatability:DOS. OS/2, Novell. UNIX, XENIX, & LIM 4.0 • 15 Day money back guarantee • RMA required • Price and availability subject to change without notice Circle 588 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 589). MARCH 1991 •BYTE 90NE-1 .. . One city. Two shows. Four • COMDEX '91 atSPRING-the world's leading computer trade show for resellers and end-user management! • WINDOWS WORLD '91 atSPRING-the first Windows show produced in cooperation with Microsoft! • PLUS a Network Computing Interface supporting both shows! SPRING is a major international computer industry event dedicated to information technology solutions. It's two powerhouse shows side by side in Atlanta this May. The expanded COMDEX '91 at SPRING. And the first official Conference and Expo for Windows computing created in cooperation with Microsoft®— WINDOWS WORLD '91 at SPRING. Think of it. COMDEX, always the show for resellers and now addressing the needs of upscale end-users. WINDOWS WORLD, the only official event for Microsoft® Windows™ 3.0, the most influential software on the market today. Supporting both shows will be a Network Computing Interface, a comprehensive program of vital conference sessions atid demonstrations on corporate networks and interoperability. With the shows running concurrently, securing admission to one allows you free access to the other show floor. COMDEF'91 at SPRING, May 20-23,1991 • Atlanta, Georgia COMDEX '91 at SPRING is a major benefit performance-all for your benefit. Whether you're a reseller, a corporate volume buyer, IS executive, or involved in any way with computer purchases or distribution, COMDEX '91 at SPRING has been built to your specifications. Featuring the hardware and software manufacturers and suppliers you want to see. With an extraordinary support system that includes application-specific software and hardware educational sessions. ..training programs for resellers... corporate volume buyer educational forums.. .client reseller meetings... vendor presentations ...the list of forums for you to learn from and profit by is still growing. COMDEX '91 at SPRING. Providing more educational and technical support than ever before. The World's Leading Computer Trade Show for Resellers and End-Users at SPRING 'ryr?T^; extraordinary days in May. WINDOWS^WORLD '91 at SPRING. May 20-23,1991 • Atlanta, Georgia If you use Windows, buy Windows, or are involved with Windows in any way, you should be at WINDOWS WORLD '91 at SPRING. It's the official event for Windows computing. The first Expo and Conference created in cooperation with Microsoft— the first name in Windows. You'll find all the new Windows 3.0 products and services, bundled and unbundled, along with the latest productivity tools. All supported by a Conference program focusing on software applications and other user- oriented training and support activities. WINDOWS WORLD '91 at SPRING. Everything you need to know about Windows computing. ]WlND0WSW0RID'91 The Official Conference and Exposition for Windows Computing otSPMNG SPRING will draw 60,000 or more of the leading end-user and reseller executives, managers and specialists. Combined, the events will provide the educational, technical and application specification tools you need to meet today's information challenges. FORMORE INFORMATION PHONE 617-449-8938, TELEX 174273, FAX 617-449-2674, OR MAIL IN THE COUPON BELOW, r YES, I WANT TO BE PART OF SPRING! MAY 20-23, 1991 ATLANTA, GEORGIA □ Send me COMDEX®'91 at SPRING attendee information. □ Send me WlNDOWS™WORLD '91 at SPRING attendee information. Name Title • ffi :: ; Company Address City Phone "1 .Slate. .Zip. .Fax. RETURN TO: SPRING, 300 First Avenue, Needham, MA 02194-2722 U.S.A. BM3/91 _J Circle 582 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 583). COMDEX* at SPRING and WINDOWS-WORLD Conference and Exposition are properties of INTERFACE GROUP- NEVADA, Inc. COMDEX is a registered trademark of INTERFACE GROUP - NEVADA. Inc. Microsoft and the Microsoft logo are registered trademarks and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. NEWS PROGRAMMING TOOLS Windows GUIs for Mainframe Applications With the release of the Easel/Win tool for adding graphical user inter- faces to client-server or mainframe cooperative- processing applications, Easel Corp. now provides interface design tools for Windows, DOS, and OS/2. Easel/Win simplifies the creation of these types of ap- plications by providing a high-level interface to a vari- ety of IBM and DEC com- munications protocols, the company says. Easel/Win provides direct support for the Microsoft Structured Query Language Server data- base for creating client- server applications. You can manipulate SQL Server by issuing dynamic SQL state- ments from within the Easel application. The tool provides a sim- plified interface to the Dy- namic Data Exchange pro- tocol, and you can incorporate custom func- tions written in C through dynamic link libraries or interprocess communica- tions. The Windows Clip- board is also accessible for letting end users control the flow of data among programs. Price: $7500. Contact: Easel Corp., 600 West Cummings Park, Woburn, MA 01801, (617) 938-8440; fax (617) 932-0349. Circle 11 74 on Inquiry Card. Version Control for Brief Sourcerer's Apprentice, Solution Systems' ver- sion-control program for programmers, works seam- lessly with the Brief pro- Easel/Win 's communications capabilities let you build integrated graphical interfaces for cooperative processing and client-server applications. grammer's editor for DOS and OS/2. The program lets you maintain an accurate record of each version of files as you revise your work. Sourcerer's Apprentice saves only the differences from one version to the next, thus saving space. For use in a multiuser environment, Sourcerer's Apprentice's locking fea- ture prevents someone else from revising a module once you've checked it out. The professional version also supports branching, helpful for developing a program for multiple plat- forms. For creating alter- nate lines of development on individual modules, branching is helpful when a module requires operating- system-specific code to be ported to another operating platform. Price: $199; professional version, $499; for Brief own- ers, $149 and $349, respec- tively; five-user pack, $1749. Contact: Solution Systems, 541 Main St., Suite 410, South Weymouth, MA 02190, (800) 821-2492 or (617) 337-6963; fax (617) 337-7719. Circle 11 75 on Inquiry Card. Reverse Engineering for COBOL For analysts who re- verse-engineer or en- hance existing applications, Source/RE provides graphi- cal and textual displays of the design logic structure of COBOL programs. Source/RE automates the application of path-analysis techniques. In addition to creating analyses that repre- sent flow-of -control through the analyzed system, Source/RE can compile sta- tistics on language syntax, program size and complex- ity, and database access. Source/RE requires 640K bytes of RAM on DOS- based systems. Future plans call for extended memory support under DOS, Win- dows, and OS/2 versions. Price: $3800; LAN sys- tems, $9600 (minimum of six copies). Contact: Transform Logic Corp., 8502 East Via de Ventura, Scottsdale, AZ 85258, (800) 825-6442 or (602) 948-2600; fax (602) 951-8179. Circle 1 1 76 on Inquiry Card. Program in English with The Brain Anew program called The Brain lets you de- velop programs using plain English rather than code, according to Ingenio. The Brain, which runs on DOS systems, offers de- velopment tools for creating low-, medium-, and high- level objects while main- taining a dictionary of ob- jects. Interface routines for BASIC, COBOL, Pascal, and C are available. Tedious documentation- writing tasks are also a thing of the past with The Brain, Ingenio claims. Its documen- tation system automatically prints definitions and listings. Price: $795. Contact: Ingenio, Inc., 6025 The Corners Pkwy. , Suite 205, Norcross, GA 30092, (404) 441-1547; fax (404) 441-1703. Circle 11 77 on Inquiry Card. Protected-Mode 386 Graphics Library A 32-bit, 386 protected- mode extended graphics library supports graphics directly to hardware for IBM standard and other modes. Libhpgl.lib supports mixed vector plotting and raster imaging, partial screen win- dowing, user unit scaling, and rotatable and scalable labels for resolutions of up to 1024 by 768 pixels with 8-, 16-, or 32-bit graphics cards. Price: $200. Contact: Gary R. Olhoeft, P.O. Box 10870 Edgemont, Golden, CO 80401, (303) 279-6345. Circle 11 78 on Inquiry Card. 90NE-4 BYTE* MARCH 1991 >;>^.::,.: ' • •-■- • :• % -.• ■ -- •; . > ■ PRO- ORDER NOW (201) 560-1143-0R CALL TOLL FREE 1-800-950-6660 486 486 Power at 386 Price $1995 * *Basic Unit Features ■ 25MHz Intel 80486 CPU with 80387-compatible floating point coprocessor ■ Built-in 8KB 4-way set Associative Cache ■ 4MB Memory Standard; expandable to 32MB on the motherboard ■ Supports 256Kx9, 1 Mx9, and 4Mx9 SIMMS ■ High density 1.2 MB -5.25" and 1.44MB-3.5" floppy disks ■ Six 1 6-bit & two 8-bit ISA compatible bus; one 32-bit memory bus ■ Two serial & one parallel ports 200 Watt power supply i 101 -key enhanced Keyboard i 100%MS-DOS, OS /2, UNIX, XENIX, Windows 3.0, Novell 386, Vines 380 compatible i Real time clock/ calendar with battery backup i Front mounted controls for speed operation, reset, keylock, and power switch i Landmark Speed (v. 1.14): 114.1 MHz; Norton Utility(v. 4.5) : 4 1 .6; Power Meter (v. 1.2): 11.072 MIPS i Microsoft Windows 3.0 w /mouse i Microsoft DOS 4.01 - Quality - Performance - Service - Compare the PR0486 to other systems! You won't find any system that couples such high performance with a lower price. The latest developmemt in high speed computers is now being offered at a special introductory price. Never before has such an outstanding system been so affordable! The PRO-486 exceeds the performance of any fully expanded 386 system. The outstanding features will amaze you. But one feature — the low price — won't be around for long. So hurry and order your PRO-486 today! Package Prices 14" VGA Monochrome Monitor GS 14" 1024x768 Color Monitor & VGA Board w/IMB 80MB (IDE) 18ms. 200MB (IDE) 15ms. $2645 $2839 $3045 $3239 Powerful Options ADD NEC 3D Multisyn 14" Color Monitor $545 | Chinon Internal CD-ROM $475 MICROPOLIS 660/ 16MS/ SCSI Hard Drive Call SEIKO CM 1450 14" Non-interlaced Color Monitor Call SONY GUM 2000 20" Multi-Sync Color Monitor Call 1 ■ Quality. 45-day guarantee no questions asked . Customer satisfaction is our first priority. So each CS PROFESSIONAL system is backed by a 45-day money-back guarantee. If you're dissatisfied, return your product for a full refund, no questions asked. Compatibility. We also know how important it is that every system is fully compatible. Our team not only uses our past productions to determine what is most useful, but also anticipates future demands and allow every system to be flexible and customized. Full one-year warranty. Our products also come with a full one-year service warranty on parts and labor, return freight included. Technical support. Advice and technical support foryourCS PROFESSIONAL product are always only a toll-free phone call away. Computer Sales Poriessional. The right system at the right price - backed by the service and support you need and expect - because the purchase is only the beginning. Computer Sales Professional 764 Easton Ave. Somerset, NJ 08873 (201) 560-1 143 We accept Visa and MasterCard (no surcharge) or prepaid checks* Fortune 1 0QQ. government and university PO's are welcome • All name brand components other than CS Professional systems are backed by thirty-day money-back guarantee • All inoney-lxick guarantees do not include returned freight: shipping charge is non-refundable • All returned items must be with a return merchandise authorization (RMA) number and must be in original packaging • Prices and product descriptions subject to change without notice. Circle 573 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 574). NEWS CAD An Easy Way to Make Physical Models Two programs from ACAD-Group are de- signed to ease the process of making a physical model to show a client during the first design phase. A CAD-Makette helps you turn a three-dimensional AutoCAD model into a 3-D paper model that you can show to the client. A CAD- Group says the program is an inexpensive alternative to hiring an artist to make a physical model. The program takes the AutoCAD model and "un- folds" it, making a special drawing file that, when plotted, includes foldlines and gumslips for making a paper model. In addition to providing the floors, ceil- ings, and walls for square buildings, you can also gen- erate wraparound facade drawings for windows and doors, text, and patterns. Segments can be straight lines or arcs. A CAD-Site works with- in AutoCAD release 10 for DOS to help you quickly generate 3-D prototype build- ing designs. To help you create a 3-D house, the pro- gram provides an icon Instead of hiring an artist to create paper representations of a three-dimensional model, you can do them yourself with Makette. menu, from which you select representations like various housing types. You can ac- cept defaults or provide new dimensions and edit informa- tion like roof slope and ridge length. The menu provides re- sults of measuring built-up areas, volumes, roof areas, and space diagrams, which you can use to maintain cost calculations. Price: A CAD-Site, $895; A CAD-Makette, $275. Contact: A CAD-Group, Inc., 233 Peachtree St. NE, Suite 404, Atlanta, GA 30303, (404) 523-8544; fax (404) 522-71 16. Circle 1179 on Inquiry Card. Designs That Fit Like a Glove Engineers looking to tai- lor their designs to ac- commodate the diverse shapes of people can now get assistance from a program called Mannequin. The pro- gram integrates moving human likenesses into CAD and graphical designs created in programs such as AutoCAD, Harvard Graph- ics, and PageMaker. The program can ani- mate humans as they would see, walk, bend, and grasp objects in relation to the de- sign. People come in all shapes and sizes, so Manne- quin can draw human fig- ures from 10 populations, in- cluding North and South America, Europe, and the Far East. It draws like- nesses of men, women, and children in five different body sizes, from extra small to extra large. Price: Before June 3, $499; after, $699. Contact: HumanCAD, 1800 Walt Whitman Rd., Melville, NY 11747,(516) 752-3568; fax (516) 752- 3507. Circle 11 80 on Inquiry Card. CAD for Sign Makers, Vinyl Cutters Anew CAD program for sign makers and the vi- nyl-cutting industry lets you combine text and graphics to create signs of up to hun- dreds of yards in area. Vinyl- CAD for the IBM PC in- cludes drivers for more than 80 plotters and viny] cutters and a raster-to-vector conver- sion program, American Small Business Computers (ASBC) says. Price: $799. Contact: American Small Business Computers, Inc., 327 South Mill St., Pryor, OK 74361, (918) 825-4844; fax (918) 825-6359. Circle 1181 on Inquiry Card. Mannequin offers help for economically minded designers who want to see how humans fit into their designs. Facility Design and Simulation in OS/2 For manufacturers de- signing new facilities, assembly lines, and sys- tems, Slamsystem lets you simulate a project from be- ginning to end using multiple scenarios. The program supports all phases of a simulation proj- ect, from graphical model building to comparison of data, complete with multi- ple scenarios and lifelike animations and displays, Pritsker reports. Slamsystem, when com- bined with the included Slam II simulation language, sup- ports distributed simulation under OS/2's Presentation Manager. Price: $18,000. Contact: Pritsker Corp., 8910 Purdue Rd., Suite 500, Indianapolis, IN 46268, (317) 879-1011; fax (317) 879-0500. Circle 1 1 82 on Inquiry Card. 90NE-6 BYTE- MARCH 1991 NOW YOUR SOFTWARE CAN TEST ITSELF. our customers expect software that works. All the time. The key to software quality is exhaustive testing. It's also an engineer's worst nightmare. But it doesn't have to be. Because now you can automate your soft- ware testing. Introducing the Atron Evaluator. The first and only non-intrusive automated PC-based software testing tool. The Atron Evaluator automatically runs your soft- ware regression testing programs. All of them. All day. All night. Giving you thoroughly tested, higher quality software. The Atron Evaluatdris hardware-based. Andsince it's non-intrusive, software behavior is tested with- out the risk of alteration. Once your tests have run, you can refer to automatically generated test reports to double-check test results. The Atron Evaluator saves time. And time makes you money Development cycles are shortened, so your software gets to market sooner. And while your test programs are running, you can be more produc- tive. Start a new project. Or go home. For more information about the Atron Evaluator, call us at 1-800-733-6036. And put an end to your worst nightmares. Automatically. CADRE Cadre Technologies, Inc. 19545 N.W. Von Neumann Drive Beaverton, Oregon 97006 PS/2 is a registered trademark oflBM. In Europe, contact: Elverex Limited, Enterprise House Plassey Technology Park, Limerick, Ireland Phone:353-61-338177 QATraining Limited, Cecity Hill Castle Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 2EF, England Phone:(0285)655888 Circle 572 on Inquiry Card. NEWS Automate Employee Evaluations Anew program for DOS- and OS/2-based systems provides employers with a customizable tool for automating employee evalu- ations and salary distribu- tion. Hi Tech Enterprises (HTE) says you can use the Employee Evaluator & Sal- ary Manager to perform ac- curate and objective evalua- tions that you can use as court-admissible evidence. You can buy the program with a set of modifiable ques- tions (e.g., "How many times on average was the em- ployee late per week?") in several categories for evalu- ating employees. You can also generate your own ques- tions. Once you've decided on the categories and ques- tions for assessing employ- ees, you can determine the importance of each by using weighting techniques. The program can gener- ate written reports, graphs, and goal sheets. On DOS-based systems, the program requires 640K bytes of RAM. HTE says the program takes advantage of multitasking under OS/2 but not Presentation Manager. Price: Without base ques- tions, $290; with base ques- tions, $340. Contact: Hi Tech Enter- prises, 33 Soledad Dr. , Mon- terey, C A 93940, (408) 373-5117; fax (408) 649- 2376. Circle 11 83 on Inquiry Card. Write Resumes That Get Noticed A program called ResumeMaker helps you write resumes by teaching you how to plan, organize, and manage a job-seeking PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT Name JJAUMJi Current Salary $ Evaluation Date Rated '/. Ad justed v. Rated $ Adjusted $ Rated Adjusted Increase Increase Increase Increase Salaru $ Salary $ v. m 2Gx 3Dx 40x 59* fcGx 7Gz 89y. 9(fc Goal ftefcleueaeftU Company Goariteit 9 Attendance 10 1 49 +HW+H+fH+ttfH+H1 Productivity 10 SO Total V. Scored I tl > Categories Up and Down H+fH+fMWHMHttWmffltttttt Tgpc to After a manager has rated employees, the Employee Evaluator & Salary Manager provides a score that can be used to determine pay raises. campaign while providing expert advice for successful interviewing. An on-line glossary of action words that appeal to employers and express your accomplishments is included with the program. The Guided Letter System helps you compose professional letters. You can use the target company database to list all your prospective employ- ers, addresses, contact names, and sources; an ac- tivities log organizes and sorts a list of all potential sources for the next career move, including placement agencies and professional societies. ResumeMaker runs on DOS-based systems with 512K bytes of RAM. Price: $49.95. Contact: Individual Soft- ware, Inc., 125 Shoreway Rd., Suite 3000, San Car- los, CA 94070, (800) 33 1- 3313 or (415) 595-8855. Circle 11 85 on Inquiry Card. Create an Employee Handbook Navigating through the maze of labor laws and federal agency mandates can often stall the process of creating an employee hand- book. But Personnel Policy Expert can help solve that problem by providing infor- mation on over 60 subjects (e.g., safety, sick leave, va- cation benefits, and work- ers' compensation). Version 2.3 adds a Benefits Contin- uation-Consolidated Omni- bus Budget Reconciliation Act policy. As you select subjects, you learn what you should be communicating to your em- ployees, KnowledgePoint says. The program requires 512K bytes of RAM. Price: $395; one-year sub- scription to policy mainte- nance program, $95. Contact: KnowledgePoint, 1311CleggSt.,Petaluma, CA 94954, (800) 727-1 133 or (707) 762-0333; fax (707) 762-0802. Circle 11 86 on Inquiry Card. On-Screen Testing for AutoCAD CADStudio 's AutoCAD Evaluator version 10 is an on-screen test designed to help employers quickly and accurately assess the AutoCAD skills of their ap- plicants. The Evaluator asks 1 00 multiple-choice questions covering basic to advanced knowledge on nu- merous topics. CADStudio offers other evaluation programs for DOS, dBASE III, Auto- Lisp, Windows, and Lotus 1-2-3. Price: $149. Contact: CADStudio, 3636 Executive Center Dr. , Aus- tin, TX 78731, (800) 369- 9099 or (512) 346-8399. Circle 1 1 84 on Inquiry Card. Job Applicant Tracking on the Mac and PC The new version of AbraTrak for DOS- based systems includes a built-in letter generator that permits mass updates to the letters file. With mass up- dates, you can send letters to all applicants for a specific position notifying them that the position is filled without sending the same letter to the newly hired person. On the Mac platform, the company now has a multiuser version for AppleShare- compatible networks. Price: $995 for stand-alone version; network version, $1990. Contact: Abra Cadabra Software, Inc., 5510 Ninth St. N, St. Petersburg, FL 33703, (813) 525-4400; fax (813) 525-3254. Circle 11 87 on Inquiry Card. 90NE-8 BYTE- MARCH 1991 We Build It RIGHT Next time you call around to price out PC's, make sure you ask this question: "How many service calls and returns did you have last month?" Sure, some folks with the big fancy ads in this magazine probably sell more systems than we do. But then, you've got to remember this. A lot of those systems they sell have to be shipped more than once! "Returns," "DO A's" "warranty work" . . . those systems that get reshipped can have many different names. But whatever they go by, it all means just one thing. If you buy your PC from someone else, chances are good you'll have to share it with their repair department. (And company size doesn't necessarily mean buyer security. Some well known companies have to allocate up to 15% of what you pay for repairing and re-shipping their systems during the first year you own them!) We Ship It ONCE! At St. Croix, we believe when you buy one of our computers, you shouldn't have to share it with anyone. That's why our QC department puts so much emphasis on component reliability. That's why every computer we ship gets burned in for a full 48 hours — as a complete system — before it leaves the plant. That's why we back every single computer we build with a complete 2- Year Warranty on the Entire System. At St. Croix Computers, our manufacturing philosophy has always been pretty simple. Because we build it right the first time, more people like you buy from us; and we end up making more money in the computer business than UPS® does. SAINT Call now, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much more computer your money will buy from St. Croix. Of course, you get 30 day return privileges with no questions asked. 1-800-950-0174 Ear Technical Support Call: 1-800-950-0182 1 >t [MastwCoidJ COMPUTERS Specifications &. prices subject to change without notice. © 1990, St. Croix Computer Corporation 286-12 AT Compatible, 40 MB IDE, 1.2 or 1.44 MB floppy, 14" high res. mono, 1MB RAM, 13 or 4.01 DOS, 101 keyboard, 200 Watt power supply, and much ,o:d $9gg 386-SX-16 40 MB DE, 720x350 mono monitor, 1MB ■! RAM, 1.2 or 1.44 MB m :■.■. -fig floppy, 200 Watt power ; <*— " supply, 3.3 or 4.01 DOS, / ^•'■IHBi* 101 keyboard, and more! * ' ' IZOO s* : - **T.'.' 'zr-'^^rn^* i 386-25 40 MB DE, 14" 640x480 color VGA monitor, 2MB RAM, 1.2 or 1.44 MB I floppy, 200 Watt power sup- ply, 3.3 or 4.01 DOS, 101 «m» keyboard, and more! ^ $ 2012 386-33 Cache Tower 100MBDE,4MB RAM, 1.2 AND 1.44 MB floppies, 14" SVGA 1024x768 color, 3.3 or 4.01 DOS, 101 keyboard, 250 Watt power supply, &l more! YOUR BEST BUYS ON LAPTOPS& NOTEBOOKS 286-12 Lap Top: With 20 mb Hard Drive, Battery Charger, 70 386-SX-20 Lap Top: With 40 mb Hard Drive, Battery Charger, OIQQ Carrying Case, &l more! ^^OO 286- 12 Notebook: ^irioo With 20 MB Hard Drive ' l!700 6640 Shady Oak Road; Eden Prairie, MN 55344; FAX: 612-943-3854; TEL: 612-943-8618 UPS® is a registered trademark of the United Parcel Service company — who would make more money if our Quality Control weren't so good, Circle 593 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 594). ■ In the BIX community we take care of people who use IBM PCs or their compatibles. For example, our IBM Exchange offers a growing list of programs which you can download for free. These 2, 168 programs are the cream of the crop. All of them are tested in advance by BIX moderators so you know you're getting top-quality, virus-free programs. Here are some of the most popular ones: BIX FILE NAME BIX CONFERENCE stars.zip microsoft e.arc ibm.utils secrets2.arc ibm.dos tetris2.zip microsoft 2zip25.zip ibm.utils w3icons.zip microsoft firework.zip microsoft monitor.arc ibm.os2 abort.exe ibm.utils dis386.zip ibm.utils DESCRIPTION Utility that turns your Windows desktop into a view of deep space. Choose impulse or warp speed and launch several Windows utilities from a floating pop-up menu. Public-domain text editor, with source code. Condensed and edited messages from the ibm.dos/secrets topic. Tricks and undocumented internals of MS/DOS. KLOTZ, a Tetris* clone for Microsoft Windows 3. Converts a variety of archive formats (including ARC, PAK, ZOO, LZH) to PKWare's ZIP format. 40 new icons for the Windows 3 Program Manager. Fireworks display in a window, for Windows 3. Continuous display of CPU load for OS/2 Presentation Manager. TSR that aborts any program when you press Alt-C. Full-screen interactive machine language disassembler for 8086, 80286, 80386, NEC V20. Besides great free programs, the IBM Exchange offers dozens of informative and provocative conferences on OS/2, PC/DOS and MS/DOS operating systems, alternative 386 operating systems, utility software, communications programs, LANs and more. There's even a "Repairshop" conference, and maybe as a last resort, an IBM clearing house. Beyond our IBM Exchange, we provide indus- try news and product information that's essential to your performance as a microcomputer pro. All of these privileges are yours with a subscription to BIX. To find out more, call our special Customer Service number: 1-800-227-2983 (in NH call 603-924-7681). BIX 800-962.7795 RESOURCE CONCEPTS 214-386-5515 MONITORS 14" VGA Multi-Scan 1024x768 .28 Dot (Interlaced) Non-Glare Tilt/Swivel Base cM-1402 $350 00 18 mo. warranty 14" Monochrome Amber or White 720 x 348 w/ Hercules 640x350w/MDA External controls for power, brightness, contrast & focus, tilt/swivel AS 1401 (Amber) *129 00 WS 1401 (White) $129 00 MEMORY BOARDS R-Meg up to 8MB of expanded, extended and backfill memory. Hardware & software support of LIM EMS 4.0. Zero Wait, Uses 256 x 9 or 1M x 9 SIMMS R-Meg w/OK for AT $150 00 EA.4 up to 8MB using 1MB SIMM extended and expanded memory. Hardware & software support of LIM EMS 4.0 EA.4 w/OK for AT *167 00 A.4 up to 2MB using 256 x 1 DIPS Extended and expanded memory, supports LIM EMS 4.0 A.4 w/OK for AT *83 00 X.4 XT memory board, up to 2MB using 256K DIPS for expanded memory, supports LIM ESM 4.0 X.4 w/OK for XT $72 00 PII-129 XT up to 640K using 64K and 256K DIPS for expanded memory PII-129 w/OK for XT $ 22 00 COMPUTER CASES CTI-101 CTI-601T CTI-747T CTI-101 Compact Case • Slide-in case for bay AT, bit AT or XT compatible • For three 5.25" & one 3.5" FDD • 3 LED indicators & keylock • Patent reset switch to prevent data loss • 200 watt power supply r*j> 101 • 1.2 mm sheet metal Y\ '" JV ' • Dimensions: 14-Va" x 16-5-/4" x 6-%" $ 1 1 4 00 CTI-601T Mini Tower Case • Mini tower case for baby AT or XT compatible • For two 3.5", two 5.25" FDD & one 3.5" HDD • 3 LED indicators & keylock • Patent reset switch to prevent data loss • 200 watt power supply r*Ti cr»iT • 1.2mm sheet metal ' ' ' u ' • Dimensions: 7" x 16" x 13%" $ I 1 4 00 CTI-747T Tower Case • Big tower case for baby AT, bit AT or XT compatible • For four 5.25" FDD (one of the four can be for 3.5" FDD) and two full height HDD • With keylock, patent Turbo & Reset switch 230 watt power supply CTI-747T $207 00 1.2 mm sheet metal Dimensions: 8" x 18" x 25" GRAPHIC BOARDS Paradise EGA I- VGA 640 - 8-BIT • 256K • 640 x 480 AVGA 8-BIT • 256K • 800 x 600 • 16 Colors 256K • 800 x 600 VGA800/16 16-BIT- • 16 Colors TVGA 1 6^BTr^W/256K^~8C)0 x 600~ • 1 6 Colors TVGA 16-BIT • W/512K • 1024 x 768 • 16 Colors TVGA 16-BIT • W/1MB • 1024 x 768 ^256 Colors P"VGA 256K Exp.to 512K • 1024 x 768 • 46 colors W/256K • 800 x 600 • 1 6 Colors W/ 512K' 1024 x 768J- J6 Colors _ PGVA 256K Exp. to 1MB • 1024 x 768 • 256 Colors W/256K • 800 x 600 • 16 Colors W/512K • 1024 x 768 • 16 Colors W/1MB • 1024 x 768 • 256 Colors *49" _*66°° $7400 »98.» M06°° s 120 00 »146°° *97°° J122 00 *155°° » 170oo *196oo CONTROLLER CARDS XT Flo ppy, No Cab le XTF XT Floppy , w/Cabl es XTF/' XT/A T Hi Den Flo ppy ( 4 driv es) PTI-1 XT/A T Hi Den Flo ppy (2 drives) " PTI-1 XTMFM Dual HD " ~ WDG XT RLL Dual HP _ AT RLLDual HD/FD 1:1 AT RLL Dual HD/FD 1:132K Cache PD1452 WD1006V-SR2 AT RLL Dual HP 1:1 32K C ache PD 1451 AT MFM Dual HD/FD 1:1 32K Ca ch e PD1462~ AT MFM Dual HP 1:1 32 K Cache " PD1461 " AT MFM Dual HD/FD 1 :1 _ HC-315 " AT IDE Dual HD/FD 1:1 V par. 1 ser. game PTI-217 ATlDEDual HD/FD 1:1 "PTI-215 AT IDE Dual HD/FD 1:1 32K Cache PD1442 ATlDEDual HD/FD 1:1 2 ser t Paf ,32KCachePD1443 AT ESDI Dual HD/FD 1:1 oem pakno Mamai WD1007A ADD ON CARDS Game Card w/2 Ports XT/AT Parallel Printer Card XT/AT RS232 Serial Card XT/A T Clock Card XT Mono Graphic w/Printer XT/AT Mono Graphic w/Printer XT/AT MonoTextCardXT No Slot Clock on Chip XT _ 4_Po rt RS232 Card XT /A T 2Ser , 1 Par, Game XT/AT 2 Sen 1 Par. Game, Floppy XT 101 E nhanced XT/AT Keyboard Pll 109 Pll 108 ' PIU 46 Pll 143 M GP-1 MTO " " NSC (MP-001) IX-404 IX-201 KB400 CALL FOR BEST PRICES ON _S10°° *14 00 »35 00 J28<"> ~49" _*49« »129" »102°° <89°° »94 00 _*83 00 J8f *47 °° *27° ° »35 00 *53™ 59900 $12oo »12°° _M3 S0 *18° ° $2900 ~M9°° S6 00 $ 20 00 *87 00 S26°" _*34°° ~*3J>o —COPROCESSORS— — MEMORY CHIPS — —MOTHER BOARDS— — BAREBONE SYSTEMS— NEW" BREAD BOX COMPUTER •286/12 MHz • 1MB RAM Installed Exp. to 2.5 MB • Moth Socket • 1-16-Bit Slot • 2 Serial Ports • 1 Parallel Port • 1 Game Port • 1 Video Port (MDA, Hercules, CGA) • TV Port • Ext. Floppy Adapter • IDE Controller • 2nd Drive Bay • 1.44 Floppy Installed • 1 Year Warranty A„.or*425 00 FLOPPY DISK DRIVES 360K *59» 1.2MB *59« 1.44MB '59 s5 1.44MB w/Mounting Bracket *65 fl0 3V2" Hard Drive Mounting Kit 3V2" IDE Drive Mounting Kit 3Vi" Floppy Drive Mounting Kit AT Hard Drive Mounting Rails M. [fixa/Tkxjse $3450 Includes: • GM-6000 Serial Mouse • Dr. Genius Software • Genius Menu Maker Software • Genius Mouse Pocket & Pad • 9-25 Pin Adapter GM-6X (Serial Mouse) • 50-800 DPI • Dr. Halo III Software • 9 Pin Serial $24* SCANNERS The Complete Page Scanner™ Visually, you'll love it. From the compact footprint to the dynamic quality of the scanned images. The Complete Page Scanners are sheet-fed and scan documents 8V2" x 14" at 200 or 300 dpi. Its full page size makes it the perfect tool for scanning text and documents you want to fax. Its scanning speed of less than 20 seconds a page makes it a fast, efficient tool. The ideal scanner for adding graphics to newsletters, reports, proposals, sales material, or flyers. $CQQ00 The Complete Half-Page Scanner/400 • Scans images up to 4.1" x 14" at 200, 300 or 400 dpi • Saves images in TIFF, PC Paintbrush+. Microsoft Windows Paint, Dr. Halo or GEM formats • Export to PageMaker, Ventura Publisher, WordPerfect, Microsoft Word and other popular word processing and desktop publishing applications • Best tracking design offers smooth straight tracking • Includes popular PC Paintbrush! and scanning software Half Page/400 *219 00 Hand Scanner/400 *182 50 FAX/MODEM THE COMPLETE FAX® For fast transmission at 4800 bps, CFAX gives you all the advantages of a high-end dedicated FAX machine. The feature- rich software lets you send and receive information — FAXs, DOS files — without ever leaving your desk. It operates in the background so you can maximize the use of your PC and increase your productivity. CFAX 4800 *182 50 CFAX 9600 *349 50 THE COMPLETE COMMUNICATOR™ A personal communications center. On one easy-td-install board, you get high-speed facsimile (9600 bps). sophisticated voice mail, a 2400-bps data modem, and a scanner port for The Complete PC scanners. $49900 MCS-2400 Internal 2400 BPS Modem W/Software. Free Prodigy Sta rt Up Kit & 1 Month Service *73 9S MCS-2400E External 2400 BPS Modem W/Software. Free Prodigy Start Up Kit & 1 Month Service s 1 18 00 SRM-2496 Internal 9600 BPS Send/Receive Fax Board and 2400 BPS Modem W/Software. Free _ Prodigy S tart Up Kit & 1 Month Service s 238 00 SRM-2496E External 9600 BPS Send/Receive Fax Board and 2400 BPS Modem W/So1tware. Free Prodigy Start Up Kit & 1 Month Serv ice $ 31 8 00 SRX-9600 Internal 9600 BPS Send/Receive Fax Board, Receive Fax While Performing Other Tasks; Software. Included Free Prodigy Start Up Kit & 1 Month Service *198 00 Q-4800FM Internal 4800 BPS Send Fax With 2400 BPS Modem $ 129 95 C-COM CALL OR WRITE FOR FREE CATALOG 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE NO RESTOCKING FEE WE BUY EXCESS AND OVERSTOCK INVENTORIES!!! SEND LIST OR CALL!!! RESOURCE CONCEPTS INC. 15203 Midway Road* 1 Block North of Beltline • Addison, TX 75244 • FAX (214) 386-5642 • Phone (214) 386-5515 • Toll Free (800) 962-7795 TEXAS RESlDENTSADOSALEST AX- PRICE MAYVARY FROM RETAIL STORE -PRICES SUBJECT TO CHA.NGE WITHOUT NOTICE -SOME ITEMS LIMtTEO TO STOCK 0NHAND- TEAMS C0D.CASH MC/VISA OR PRE-PAID- PREPAID ORDERS CALLFORSWPPING ALL ORDER ADO S3 00 HANDLING Circle 591 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 592). NEWS GROU PWARE Optical Document Storage The new version of the PaperTamer Profes- sional document storage and retrieval program sup- ports optical character rec- ognition using the Toshiba Express Reader OCR card, fax send and receive, and the automatic detection of image file formats when im- porting image files. Version 2.0 offers sup- port for full-page monitors and fuzzy set matching on search criteria. It also sup- ports optical jukeboxes, re- movable optical drives, and multiple storage devices. You can organize scanned items in virtual folders, drawers, and file cabinets and retrieve documents through a natural-language interface. The program can input documents from most popu- lar desktop image scanners and from existing FAX, G3F and G4F, PCX, SPOT, or TIFF image files. For the home office or small business, PaperTamer Personal Edition 1 .2 offers a simplified interface for storing documents. Price: PaperTamer Profes- sional, $695; PaperTamer Personal Edition, $195; PaperTamer Network, $2995. Contact: Flagstaff Engi- neering, 1 120 Kaibab Lane, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 (800) 346-3627 or (602) 779-3341; fax (602) 779-5998. Circle 1188 on Inquiry Card. Multimedia LAN Database The SantaFe Media Manager, a multimedia database that lets you store and recall photo-realistic still images, video, audio, and Ll IB ! Cabinet: flaystaff cng. . . .. I Dr.'iuer: product info j Folder: AaIa czonuurs icm. 'Brief description: |sss (sis ssssaSaS eel When scanning a document or image, PaperTamer lets you identify what you f re storing with a description of up to 128 characters and 3 2 keywords. text, is now available in a LAN version. The program supports PCX, GIF, or FLI (the stan- dard file for Autodesk Ani- mator) graphics files. The minimum system configuration is a 12-MHz 286 AT with 640K bytes of memory and 400K bytes of available expanded mem- ory, an SVGA monitor and video card with 512K bytes of RAM, and a hard disk drive. Two Targa versions require 640K bytes of avail- able expanded memory (for the Targa 16) or 960K bytes of expanded memory (for the Targa 24). The LAN ver- sion supports NetWare, Vines, and other LANs. Price: Stand-alone version, $595; LAN version: $895 for a full workstation/server system; $150 for each LAN node. Contact: HSC Software, 1661 Lincoln Blvd., Suite 101, Santa Monica, CA 90404,(213)392-8441; fax (213) 392-6015. Circle 11 89 on Inquiry Card. SlltJKI I ,111 lllltt-' iriiK.i [Mil • itl- I tiki i< • t.i I Ufcl DO 1 1 rtl ii in l vii • nrmi n i i • mini n I .: Law Office Management on the Mac The MacLaw 2.0 office productivity program for legal practices lets you track scheduling, billing, cli- ents, and matters on the Mac. The program lets you search and sort information by subject matter, including clients, matters, attorneys, billing, phone calls, calen- dar, mail, and multiparty and class actions. The program includes a relational database, logs phone calls in real time, and bills automatically. MacLaw runs on the Mac Classic or higher with 4 megabytes of RAM. Price: $5000 and up. Contact: Manhattan Soft- ware, Inc., 865 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Suite 204, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266, (213)545-6462. Circle 11 90 on Inquiry Card. The SantaFe Media Manager offers a sound, image, and text database running over the Paradox database engine. Document/ Image Management Anew optical-based in- formation management program for Windows lets you drive retrieval requests through your existing appli- cations using terminal emula- tion or Dynamic Data Ex- change. Target supports source document scanning, documents downloaded from mainframes, work flow/ document routing, and fax input and output. It supports 3270, 5250, VT-100, VT- 220, HP, and asynchronous terminal emulation. Price: $2500 to $29,000. Contact: AIM Systems, Inc., 1130-D Burnett Ave., Concord, CA 94520, (415) 682-7922; fax (415) 682- 7994. Circle 1191 on Inquiry Card. 90NE-12 BYTE- MARCH 1991 you can't afford to miss it. ariel 80386sx-20c $2295 80386sx-20 megahertz Intel processor 32k SRAM cache 4 Megs RAM 1.2 Meg 5.25" Floppy Drive 1.44 Meg 3.5" Floppy Drive 40 Meg 28ms IDE Drive 16 Bit 1024 VGA with 512K 14" 1024 x 768 Color Monitor 101 Key Keyboard MS DOS ™ 4.01 with MS WINDOWS Microsoft® mouse One year warranty on parts and labor 3.0 Toll free technical support 1-800-552-7435 Trade in your old PC. Move to today's technology with a fast 20 megahertz 386sx with fast SRAM cache. Receive the most performance for the dollar invested. Our other disk drive options on this fully featured system include a 19ms 125 Megabyte IDE drive. The additional cost would only be three hundred dollars. 30 day money back guarantee. Call us today for additional information on this system or one of our other 386 or 486 systems. Circle 571 on Inquiry Card. Price-availability subject to change. MC, Visa acceptable. NEWS USERS GROUPS Microsoft: TheC> Prompt Is Dead After a 45-minute wait as he attempted to revive a failed 386 portable, Craig Herb of Microsoft explained how "DOS allowed a stan- dard to be born, " and how Windows builds on the suc- cess of DOS. Speaking at a general meeting of the Triangle Com- puting Society, Herb said Windows appeals to five types of users: (1) novice users who can benefit enor- mously from the simple graphical user interface; (2) those who need Windows' multitasking capabilities and access to extended mem- ory; (3) corporate America, which benefits from the consistent look and feel of applications; (4) those who have decided that "computers aren't fun anymore"; and (5) people who seek value in the utilities, games, and File Manager. Herb declared that due to the File Manager, which doesn't require you to learn syntax, "the C prompt is dead." The File Manager, he said, "lets you drag icons with a mouse to copy files and start applications." How- ever, he didn't mention the fact that several third-party developers have announced or shipped utilities that re- place the File Manager, which many find less intu- itive and harder to use than the Mac interface. Herb said 900 applica- tions currently support the Windows application pro- gramming interface, and 1000 more will become available in the next year. He also said that 1 MB of RAM and a 286 is the mini- mum hardware configura- tion to use with Windows. However, a 386 is neces- sary to take full advantage of Windows, he said. An IBM representative in the audience, who was no doubt watching the presen- tation with interest, men- tioned that OS/2 1.3 was being announced that day and noted that its minimum memory requirement had dropped from 4 MB to 2 MB of RAM. —Robert Bean The Classic as a Diskless Workstation? During a regular Thurs- day meeting of BMUG, the Mac users group in Berkeley, California, mem- bers speculated about what you might do with the disk- less booting capability of the newer Macs, including the Mac Ilf x. According to BMUG members, using System 6.0.3 along with Finder 6. lx, you can boot the Mac Classic di- rectly from the ROM disk without either a floppy disk or a hard disk. To accom- plish this, press the Com- mand, Option, X, and O keys simultaneously. One BMUG member said Apple has demonstrated the Classic as a diskless workstation. —Kandy Arnold Next Focuses on Connections, Applications Next is working on ex- panding the networking and communications capa- bilities of its computers, ac- cording to comments made by company chairman Steve Jobs. By this summer, Next computers will support Novell NetWare clients and links to AppleTalk via Ether- Talk. The NetWare client support will let Next users access Novell files easily, he said. The AppleTalk con- nection will eliminate hav- ing to use a $4000 Cayman Gatorbox to hook Next ma- chines to Macs, Jobs said. The new interface for the Simple Message Transfer Protocol that Next uses makes it "something that's usable by mere mortals," Jobs said. At a meeting of the Boston Computer Society, Jobs showed a sample Next E-mail document and how you could put elements such as sound, graphics, text, and data in one message just by cutting and pasting. To help you navigate through complex network paths, Jobs showed how the Next software provides a history of the message with an icon history. By this summer, the company hopes to add the capability of storing live, full-motion video in that E- mail message. This will be done using Joint Photo- graphic Experts Group compression. Networking with a Unix- based Sun workstation is cur- rently 10 times better than on a PC, "but you have to be a rocket scientist to do it," Jobs said. What Next wants to do is use E-mail's store- and-forward mechanisms ("it's the way to go") with the Next machine's ability to easily combine different kinds of data from various applications. He also men- tioned something called God- zilla, which he described as a kind of closely coupled par- allel network using E-mail. Jobs trumpeted the re- leases of Lotus Improv, WordPerfect, Adobe Illus- trator, FrameMaker, and QuarkXpress for the Next. "We spent 1990 getting our product line together and getting applications," he said. "Applications are coming out like mad. Com- pany after company, it's really happening out there." —Dave Andrews Two Computer Shows The Second Annual Central Kentucky Com- puter Society Computer Show on April 13 will fea- ture 2 1 seminars with na- tionally known speakers like Wayne Rash, contributing editor to BYTE; Jeff and Karen Acerson of WordPer- fect Corp.; Mark Eppley, president of Traveling Soft- ware; Douglas Cobb of The Cobb Group; Richard Katz of Intuit Corp., and represen- tatives from Apple, IBM, Borland, and AutoDesk. The show will also fea- ture 40 dealers, manufac- turers, and publishers. At- tendees can win thousands of dollars worth of door prizes. Contact: Central Kentucky Computer Society, Inc., 2050 Idle Hour Center, Suite 160, Lexington, KY 40502; or "dreed" on BIX. Organizers of the Tren- ton Computer Festival, a show with a long history, are now soliciting speakers. The festival, which will be held at Mercer County Col- lege on April 20-2 1 , fea- tures a speaker program on a variety of topics, a flea market, and vendor exhibitions. According to festival or- ganizers, talks are grouped by topic area so that similar subject materials are dis- cussed in the same set of rooms. Topics range from technical talks on lan- guages, to presentations on computer music. Other topics include social issues and problems caused by the wide acceptance of computers. Contact: If you are inter- ested in making a presenta- tion, Robert Todd, TCF '91 Speaker Chairman, c/o ACGNJ, P.O. Box 135, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076. 90NE-14 BYTE- MARCH 1991 TYSTAR THE HOST OF PERFECTION W/AUTO-SIZING TY-2015 20" SUPRE-SYNC CAD/CAM/DTP/WORKS- TATION 1280X1024, 1024X768, 800X600, 640X480 TY-1715 17" CAD/CAM/DTP/WORKSTATION 1280X1024, 1024X768, 800X600, 640X480 We deliver defect-free moDitors! OEM & ODM Welcome 100% Auto QC +20% Random = 120% QC Our modern facilities and testing processes will ensure you have no rivals! I Auto Component Insertion ■ Auto Wave-Soldering ■ Auto Logic CDT ■ Auto Failure Sensing I Auto 24-Hour Burn-In & 24-Hour Run-in Test-Room (2400 units at one time) I Magnetic Field Simulating I Auto Packing For Tystar, 1991 began in earnest with the announcement of new products developed by our team of competent R&D engineers in an effort to continue earning the confidence of our worldwide clientele. In the past year. Tystar recorded a remarkable level of expan- sion, and the imminent completion of our second and third overseas factories is indicative of positive future prospects. Contact us now and let our products' profit-boosting quality speak for itself. ^ (fc) saso Precise working environment test chamber * Electronic magnetic vibrator * Computer aided cycling temperature & humidity chamber * Drop test devices W/AUTO-SIZI W/AUTO-SIZING j ** NON-INTERLACED ** TY-1458 14" PRO-VGA+ 0.28MM 1024X768, 800X600, 640X480 TY-1415 14" MULTI-VGA+ 0.28MM 1024X768, 800X600, 640X480 TY-1411 14" MULTI-SYNC 0.28MM 1024X768,800X600,640X480 ** NON-INTERLACED ** TY-1415A 14" PRO-VGA+ 0.28MM 1024X768, 800X600, 640X480 n^sa TYSTAR ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. Office: 4/F, 10, Lane 4, Tun Hwa N. Rd., Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. ' Tel: 886-2-721-5705, 7316689-90 . Fax: 886-2-7819185. Factory: No. 19-1, Eighth Rd., Taichung Industry Area, Taichung, Taiwan, R.O.C. Fax: 886-4-359-1336 All brand names are trademarks of their owners. Circle 596 on Inquiry Card. NEWS WORD P R O C E S S I N G / D E S KTO P PUBLISHING WordPerfect Comes in Several Platforms WordPerfect Corp. is getting off to a big start this spring by offering several multiplatform re- leases and upgrades to its WordPerfect word processing software. WordPerfect for Next compares to WordPerfect 5.0 for DOS in terms of fea- tures but takes special advan- tage of the NextStep graphi- cal user interface (GUI). WordPerfect for Next fea- tures full WYSIWYG and lets you drag images from a graphics file into a document and place it within the text. Other features of the pro- gram include column cus- tomization and macro capa- bilities. WordPerfect for Next is compatible with WordPerfect 5.0 for DOS, and it will print to all Next- supported PostScript printers. WordPerfect for Win- dows is compatible with ver- sion 5 . 1 for DOS, but it takes advantage of the Win- dows GUI. You can adjust your margins, tables, and columns with a simple drag and click of the mouse. With full WYSIWYG, WordPer- fect for Windows lets you im- port graphics to text and see how they look. You can display two sub- directories at once by using the program's split screen function. The Windows ver- sion of WordPerfect offers Dynamic Data Exchange, which lets you communi- cate between documents; you can import a spreadsheet into WordPerfect and "hot- link" it to the original spreadsheet. When you up- date the original spread- sheet, the information in the WordPerfect document will adjust accordingly. WordPerfect's Unix up- grade for the Sparcstation in- i\ & $ finilroab f.'l 1 Shootout WordPerfect for Next wraps text automatically as you import graphics and alter column sizes. eludes more than 40 new capabilities and support for OpenWindows and Sun- View. Version 5.0 of the pro- gram lets you scale and ro- tate graphics or place them anywhere on a page. You can scan images into Word- Perfect documents or im- port them as graphics files. The Unix version features an enhanced macro editor. The new macro editor in- cludes programming com- mands and a list of prede- fined macros. You can customize the keyboard by assigning macros or func- tions to particular keys. WordPerfect 2.0 for the Mac features graphics and macro enhancements simi- lar to those of the other plat- form upgrades with text boxes, draw overlay, and bor- der capabilities. Version 2.0 has an expandable spelling checker and an on-line the- saurus. File formats in the Mac version are compatible with WordPerfect 5.0 and 5.1 across platforms. Price: $495 each. Contact: WordPerfect Corp., 1555 North Technol- ogy Way, Orem, UT 84057,(801)225-5000; fax (801) 222-5077. Circle 1203 on Inquiry Card. Mail Merge Added to Publish It! Easy I ac users can use I Timeworks' newly en- hanced Publish It! Easy 2.0 to integrate word processing and graphics tools to create polished documents. The new software builds upon its predecessor by offering many new features, includ- ing support for mail merge. Publish It! Easy 2.0 can automatically assign an ap- propriate text or headline font, depending upon the fonts you have installed. You can experiment with page layouts of one to four columns, and the program will automatically reflow the text and graphics. You can center, align, or space text without having to enter page dimensions. Publish It! Easy requires a Mac with 512K bytes of RAM. A hard disk drive is recommended but not required. Price: $249.95. Contact: Timeworks, Inc., 444 Lake Cook Rd., Deer- field, IL 60015, (800) 535- 9497 or (708) 948-9200; fax (708) 948-7626. Circle 1199 on Inquiry Card. Communicate with WordPerfect WordPerfect Filter is designed to let users of Quicksort's word process- ing software translate their work to other word proces- sors in a few steps. In sec- onds, you can convert for- matted text written in PC- Write or PC- Write Lite to or from WordPerfect and other WordPerfect-based programs. The filter trans- lates common formatting commands, including rulers, end notes, and line spacing. WordPerfect Filter re- quires an IBM PC. Price: $19. Contact: Quick soft, 219 First Ave N, Suite 224, Seat- tle, WA 98109, (800) 888- 8088 or (206) 282-0452; fax (206) 286-8802. Circle 1200 on Inquiry Card. Astronomical Improvements to Galaxy Lite Starlite Software's Gal- axy Lite 1.6 is a spiffed- up version of Omniverse Software's word processing package for DOS systems. New features include multi- ple document printing, a spelling checker, and a 70,000-word dictionary. You can choose between using menus or keyboard commands, and you also have the option of using a mouse. Galaxy Lite 1.6 requires 256K bytes of RAM. Price: $50. Contact: Starlite Software Co., P.O. Box 370, Port Hadlock, WA 98339, (800) 767-9611 or (206) 437-01 16; fax (206) 437-01 17. Circle 1201 on Inquiry Card. 90NE-16 BYTE- MARCH 1991 BY0391 x #^— £\ ■ I am interested in learning more about the y ^™ ^^ I advantages of the NEC family of personal computers. Name Title Company Address _ Phone . City □ □ □ □ I am a Manchester Customer; my Salesperson is I am not yet a Manchester Customer. Have a Salesperson call right away. I am specifically interested in: State . -Zip I I Send more information onyourfull line of 1 — ' computer supplies and equipment. NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO. 760 SMITHTOWN, N.Y. Postage will be paid by addressee MANCHESTER EQUIPMENT CO., INC. 50 MARCUS BOULEVARD HAUPPAUGE, NEW YORK 11788-9909 I ...II...III...II..I. I. .I. I.I.. I.I.. II...I.I..I..I.I Authorized NEC Computer and Printer Dealer MANCHESTER EQUIPMENT CO., INC. "The Computer Supply and Equipment Experts" SYSTEMS INTEGRATION ■ NETWORKING ■ CONNECTIVITY ■ CAD/CAM ■ DESKTOP PUBLISHING 50 MARCUS BOULEVARD ■ HAUPPAUGE, NEW YORK 11788 (516) 435-1199 ■ (516) 434-8700 ■ FAX (516) 435-2113 New York City _ Boca Raton M Tampa _ Boston (212)629-6969 ■ (407)241-7900 ■ (813)962-8088 ■ (617)739-1555 For additional information, ask for Dan Kalata Circle 586 on Inquiry Card. NEWS GRAPHICS Structured Drawing for the Amiga Taliesin says the new version of Pro Vector, a vector-based drawing pro- gram, includes multiple level undo, a complete layers sys- tem, and the ability to flow text to any path (e.g., a curve). The program can import and export bit-mapped graphics and includes dith- ering routines for simulating 256 colors on-screen, even in 640- by 400-pixel inter- laced format. You can select from a virtual palette of over 16 million colors on a 68000-equipped Amiga with 1 MB of RAM. Pro Vector 2.0' s interface lets you create complex artwork without requiring an underlying expertise in ransiFir ProVector 2.0 supports multiple windows, multitasking, and ARexx on the Amiga. the mathematics involved in tool and easy-to-use Bezier creating structured drawings, curve tools, the company says. ProVec- Output formats sup- tor 2.0 includes a fast and ac- ported by the program in- curate freehand drawing elude ProVector IFF-DR2D (Interchange File Format Draw two-dimensional), IFF-ILBM (Interleaved Bit Map), Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language, Post- Script, and EPS. It can also create bit-mapped IFF paint- ings compatible with De- luxe Paint III. ProVector 2.0 can plot structured graphics to super bit maps to create IFF files at the size you define, even several times larger than the highest-resolution screen. This lets you generate bit maps larger than 640 by 400 pixels. The program runs on any Amiga with AmigaDOS 1.3 or 2.0 and 1 MB of RAM. Price: $299.95. Contact: Taliesin, Inc., P.O. Box 1671, Fort Collins, CO 80522, (303) 484-7321; fax (415) 256-1 195. Circle 11 92 on Inquiry Card. Digitizers AllModds, CALL for Savings Summagraphlcs Sketch 1112x12, 4-But 340 Sketch II 12x12, 16-But 427 Sketch Pro II 12x18, 16-But 585 Large Formats Call Kurta 12 x 12, 4PuckStylus 345 12 x 12, 12-But Corded 435 12 x 17, Corded Puck 585 30x36, 16-But 2015 36 x 48, 16-But 2304 GTCO Sketch Master 12 x 12 319 SL 24 x 36 Super Pricing SL 36 x 48 Super Pricing Hitachi Puma 12x12, 4 or 12-But ...375 Tiger 12x12, 12-But 648 Complete CAD Workstations Each system fully configured including 2 Serial Ports, 1 Parallel Port, corresponding Math Coprocessor, Enhanced "AT 101 Keyboard, 1.2MB Floppy, DOS 3.3, GW-Basic, SUMMAGRAPHICS SUMMASKETCH PLUS, EVEREX VGA GRAPHICS CARD and EVEREX MODEL 300-01 (15-35KHz) MULTISCAN COLOR MONITOR. Each system thoroughly tested prior to shipment and supplied with a Full One Year On-Site Warranty ill System Configuration Everex Step 486/33 W/8MB Everex Step 486/25w/8MB Everex Step 386/33 W/4MB Everex Step 386/25 w/4MB Everex Step 386/20 w/4MB Cache 44MB 80MB 92MB 150MB Memory MFM MFM ESDI ESDI 128Kb $7595 $7795 128Kb 6595 6795 64Kb 5495 5595 6095 6295 64Kb 4695 4895 5295 5495 64Kb 4295 4495 4895 5095 Monitor & Card Combos Graphic* Card Metheus 1228 Metheus 1224 #9 GX Level 2 #9 GX Level 4 Rendition U/16VGA Rendition II/256VGA VMI Cobra 16HS Video 7 VRAM 512 Monitor Only Only w/Mtt»ul9" Hitachi 21" Hitachi 20" HL6905 4320-21 AP CM2085M $1690 3689 4300 3585 1260 3259 3870 3155 785 2784 3395 2680 1295 3294 3905 3190 1130 3129 3740 3025 1505 3504 4115 3400 1350 3349 3960 3080 380 2379 3039 2275 1999 2610 1895 Nanaol6" Nanao 0070S 0070U 1760 2105 2480 2325 1374 975 1862 2207 2582 2427 1457 1077 We Carry a Complete Line of Modems, Network Boards & Accessories, Math & Memory Chips, Surge Protection INVENTORY REDUCTION 5% Discount on All •s thru 12/31/90 The above b a partial listing of our product line, Pieese Inquire |» Quoted picas reflect a 2% cash dtaaxjnt. > t you're (ntamfed In a product not listed. Al namet are trade- •Prices subject to change without notice, marks and registered trademarks of thelrrespedrvecompanles. • Ail manufacturers 1 warranties apply. Plotters-All Models Calcomp HP Houston Instuments toline Roland Rated companies call for terms. C.O.D., Lease, VISA, Mastercard & Amex. Member Better Business Bureau. CAD Buster $12,500. 00 EVE REX STEP 386/33 W/8MB* SIMM, 150MB ESOIHardDrtvo Includes Renaissance Rendition II 18 B Color with VQA Module. HrtacnJ CM-2085M or Mitsubishi HL-6905 Color Monitor, A thru De-Pen 1 2 x 12 Digitizer your choice of three. *5MB minimum require- ment for AutoCAD/386. Delivery limited to continental U.S A 1-800-289-1650 6760 Miller Road ■ Brecksville, Ohio 44141 OSDWAREHOUSE (C) This ad copyright November 1990. ESI Automated Office Systems 90NE-18 BYTE- MARCH 1991 Circle 577 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 578). NOVELL Authorized Reseller Microcom Computers A HRW Technologies Company Get a Mouse for $19.99 with any System Purchase! Microsoft* Authorized Deafer Standard System Features: * Teac 5.25" 1 .2 MB or 3.5" 1 .44 MB Diskette Drive * 1:1 Interleaved Hard/Floppy Disk Controller * Enhanced 101 -key Keyboard * 2 Serial & 1 Parallel Port & Real Time Clock/Calendar * Small Footprint Case(14.875" W x 1 6.25" D x 675" H) Tower Case (386/25C, 386/33C,486/25C & 486/33C) Microcom 286/12 Systems (1 MB RAM) Microcom 286/16 Systems (1 MB RAM) - Add $50 Standard System, Hard Drive, Monitor & Video Card Micorcom's Commitment to Quality & Service * 1 Year Warranty on Parts & Labor mAm m ™ E * Toll-free Technical Service & Support * No Surcharge on Credit Card Purchases * Guaranteed 100% IBM Compatible * Made with pride in the USA. * Comprehensive 72 Hour Burn-in Testing on All Systems ^&f ^'V 1 ^ ^ USA 286/12 Hires Package 286/16 Hires Package * 286/12 or 286/16 Standard System * 42 MB Hard Disk w/25 ms Access Time * 16-bit Hires 1024x768 Graphics Card W/512K * 14" Color Hires Monitor (1024x768) DOS 3.30 or 4.01 Included $1,199 Mhrvcam 286 Hard Drives: MB/Ms Mono Hires "IDF 42/25 "|749 $1,149 1BF 80/18 "|949 $1,349 IDT 105/18 T999 $1,399 "IDT" 205/15 $1,349 Microcom 386SX/16 Systems (i MB RAMj Standard System, Hard Drive, Monitor & Video Card $1,749 340/16 $2,149 $2,549 386SX/16 Hires Package *386SX/16 Standard System * 42 MB Hard Disk w/25 ms Access Time * 16-bit Hires 1024x768 Graphics Card W/512K * 14" Color Hires Monitor (1024x768) DOS 3.30 or 4.01 Included JTW 3B6POUKR 386SX £86PftlC€ Microcom Hard Drives: MB/Ms Mono Hires 7EF 42/25 $1,049 $1,449 TEF 80/18 $1,249 $1,649 TEF 105/18 $1,299 Microcom 386/25 Systems (1 MB RAM) for64K Cache (in Tower Case), add $250 Standard System, Hard Drive, Monitor & Video Card "IDT" 205/15 $1,649 $1£99" WW $2,849 "E5BT 340/16 $2,449 386/25 Hires Package w/42 MB Hard Disk 386/25 Hires Package w/105 MB Hard Disk * 386/25 Standard System * 42 MB or 105 MB Hard Disk * 16-bit Hires 1024x768 Graphics Card W/512K * 14" Color Hires Monitor (1024x768) * DOS 3.30 or 4.01 Included ff^99~ . $1,949 32 W POWER 32-BTTPOWER 32-BTT POWER 386DX Hard Drives: MB/Ms Mono TDT 42/25 $1,249 tdt 80/18 $1,449 tdt 105/18 W99 "TUT" 205/15 TT849 "E5BT 340/16 12£49 Hires | $1,649 1 $1 ,849 I ~$T"899 I $2,249 1 $3,049 Microcom 386/33C Tower Systems (1 MB RAM/64K Cache) Standard System, Tower Case, Hard Drive, Monitor & Video Card 386/33C Hires Tower Package * 386/33C Standard System w/64K Cache * 105 MB Hard Disk w/Quick 18 ms Access Time * 16-bit Hires 1024x768 Graphics Card W/512K * 14" Color Hires Monitor (1024x768) DOS 3.30 or 4.01 Included Hard Drives: MB/Ms Mono Hires TDT 42/25 ~$T599 $1,999 TDT 80/18 $1,799 $2,199 TDT 105/18 "$T849 $2,249 TEST 205/15 12TT99 $2,599 ~E3DT" 340/16 12399 $3,399 Microcom 486/25C Tower Systems (4 MBRAM/128K Cache) Standard System, Tower Case, Hard Drive, Monitor & Video Card 32-BiJ POVflSi 32-mrowBt 32-BrrPOWEK 32-BIT POWER 386DX 486/25C Hires Tower Package * 486/25C Standard System W/128K Cache * 105 MB Hard Disk w/Quick 18 ms Access Time * 16-bit Hires 1024x768 Graphics Card w/512K * 14" Color Hires Monitor (1024x768) DOS 3.30 or 4.01 Included 13M Hard Drives: MB/Ms Mono Hires "IDT 105/18 $2,799 157I99 "E3DT 150/18 $3,199 $3,599 IDT 205/15 $3,149 $3,549 "E5DT 340/16 13349 $4,349 "ESDT 650/16 14399 Microcom 486733C Tower systems (4 MBRAM/128K Standard System, Tower Case, Hard Drive, Monitor & Video Card $5,299 Cache) THtNIXTGINUAIION 486/33C Hires Tower Package *486/33C Standard System w/128K Cache * 105 MB Hard Disk w/Quick 18 ms Access Time * 16-bit Hires 1024x768 Graphics Card w/512K * 14" Color Hires Monitor (1024x768) 'DOS 3.30 or 4.01 Included $3,899 Hard Drives MB/Ms Mono Hires IDT 105/18 $3,499 I $3,899 "E5DT 150/18 13199 $4,299 IDT 205/15 $3,849 $4,249 "E5DT 340/16 14349 $5,049 "15DT 650/16 15199 $5,999 THI NOT GINIIAJION Microcom's Customers include... Xemx, GTE, Motorola, Raychem, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, Eastman Kodak, SEGA ol America, Toshiba, Genentech, Bechtel, Siemens AG., Holiday Inn, Pacific Gas S Electric, Pacific Bell, Adobe Systems, Seiko Instruments, Wells Fargo Bank, City S County olSan Francisco, NASA U-S. Dept ol Health S Human Services, U.S. Court ol Appeals, US. Food i Drug Administration, U.S. Dept. ol Energy, U.S. Dept. ol Agriculture, U.C. Berkeley, U.C. San Francisco, U.C. Los Angeles, U.C. Davis, Stanford University, Princeton University, University ol San Francisco, University ol Pittsburg, University ol Vermont, Livermore National Laboratories and thousands ol other customers. VISA To Order - Call Toll Free 1-800-248-3398 Open from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. PS% Monday-Friday •9 48890 MUmont Drive, Suite 10% Fremont, CA 94537 ■ 3650-18tb Street, San Francisco, CA 94114 • Fax: (415)623-3628 Prices are subject to change without notice. Not responsible for typographical errors. CA Residents, please add 7.00% sales tax No surcharge on credit card purchases. Personal and company checks require 14 days to clear. All trademarks acknowledged. Microcom Computers reserves the right to substitute any and all items with equivalent or better parts. All benchmarks and specifications are for your information only and may vary from system to system. Prices do not includes shipping & handling. Circle 587 on Inquiry Card. NEWS GRAPHICS Image Capture for VGA Chorus Data Systems' UtilEyes video capture programs for the com- pany's line of PC-Eye video digitizers can capture, dis- play, and store images with up to 1024- by 768-pixel resolution from a video cam- era in TIFF, PCX, or TGA format. UtilEyes can capture up to 24-bit color images, which the program's algorithms then reduce to 256-color, 8- bit display for viewing on a VGA-equipped PC. The family of video digi- tizers' capabilities range from capture speeds of 1/30 second for frame-grabber versions to l A second. Res- olutions of up to 1280 by 1024 by 256 pixels are sup- ported with the PC-1460 With the UtilEyes video capture programs and Chorus Data 's video digitizers, you can input images captured from a video camera into your desktop publishing or graphics program. video digitizer. Price: UtilEyes-Color, $199. Contact: Chorus Data Sys- tems, Inc., 6 Continental Blvd., P.O. Box 370, Mer- rimack, NH 03054, (603) 424-2900. Circle 11 93 on Inquiry Card. Picture Publisher for the Mac Astral Development, de- veloper of gray-scale and color imaging pro- grams for DOS-based sys- tems and Windows, now has a color version of Picture Publisher for the Mac. In addition to giving you hue, saturation, lightness, and color balance manipulation capabilities, the program includes built-in calibration features. With the calibra- tion, you can adjust for inconsistencies. Price: $695. Contact: Astral Develop- ment Corp., Londonderry Sq., Suite 112, London- derry, NH 03053, (603) 432- 6800; fax (603) 434-6904. Circle 11 94 on Inquiry Card. Attention U.S. BYTE Subscribers Watch for the next BYTE DECK mailing that will be arriving in your mailbox soon! Use this as a fast, convenient tool to purchase computer products and services. It's loaded with essential hardware and software products that you should be aware of when making your buying decisions. . .and it's absolutely FREE! If you have a computer product or service, and would like to reach 275,000 influential BYTE magazine subscribers, please give Ed Ware a call today at (603) 924-2596. BYTE Here's what a BYTE Deck advertiser has to say: ' 'Ten years ago we advertised in the very first BYTE Deck — the number of sales leads we received was enormous! The BYTE Deck was so successful for us, that we have continued to use it over the past ten years!'' Lisa Tarpoff, Marketing Manager, Heath Company, Benton Harbor, MI 90NE-20 BYTE- MARCH 1991 486 Performance... 386 Price! Adtech's wide variety of IBM compatible computers will maxi- mize the power of your system while minimizing the cost. Adtech can customize a comput- er for any application, including 486 systems. All Adtech products undergo rig- orous testing and diagnostics prior to shipping and are burned-in for at least 24 hours. Adtech's customer support staff is available to answer any questions. Adtech systems utilize components that are designed and produced by the industries most respected manu- facturers. Adtech systems include: ■ Space saving AT style minicase ■ 200 watt power supply ■ 1.2 MB floppy drive ■ 1 Parallel, 2 serial ■ 1:1 Dual floppy /hard disk controller ■ Keytronics 101 keyboard 115 MHz* 486 *1599 ■ 80486-25 CPU with 8K Cache ■ Cache expandable to 512K ■ 1MB expandable to 1 6 MB Built-in numeric coprocessor 486-33 Available! 25 MHz* 386SX 699 80386 SX CPU running at 20 MHz 1MB expandable to 8 MB on board 80387 SX coprocessor socket Shadow RAM Enable True 20 MHz SX w/cache available! 33 MHz* 386 899 80386-25 22 C.P.U. 1MB expandable to 8 MB on board 80387 coprocessor socket Shadow RAM Enable 549 25 MHz* 286 ■ 80286-20 C.P.U. ■ 1MB expandable to 5 MB on board ■ 80287 coprocessor socket ■ Shadow RAM Enable ■ True 286-25 CPU available! One year parts and labor warranty on all Adtech systems! SYSTEM UPGRADES Full Size Case 25 Full Size Vertical Case 100 Mini- Vertical Case 35 MONITORS Includes Monitor & Adapter Card Monographics 14" (Hi-Res) 129 VGA (Mono) 16 bit 229 Super VGA (1024 x 768) 499 MOTHER BOARDS 25 MHz* 386 SX 399 25 MHz* 286 (w/ lmeg., 1:1, I/O) 399 30 MHz* 386SX Cache 449 33 MHz* 386 699 115MHz* 486 1399 HARD DRIVES 40 Meg - Seagate ST-157A (28ms) 259 40 Meg - Seagate ST-251-1 (28ms) 259 66 Meg - Toshiba (23ms) 379 106 Meg - Toshiba (23ms) 499 126 Meg - Seagate (19ms) 549 MISCELLANEOUS 5.25" 1.2 MB Floppy 79 3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy 79 Logitech Hi-res Mouse (New) 89 2400 Baud Modem (4800 Send FAX) 99 16 bit VGA (1024 x 768) (512K) 109 16 bit VGA (800) x 600 (256K) 89 Adtech (209)669-6111 (800)326-6548 2701 Lasiter Lane, Turlock CA 95380 Terms and conditions. Returns subject to 20% restocking fee. Prices and availability subject to change without notice. RMA # is required for all returns. CA residents add 6% sales tax. Qty. 2+ pricing for systems. No surcharge MasterCharge and VISA. *Landmark speed test. 386, 387 and SX are trademarks of Intel Corporation. Circle 569 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 570). NEWS PERSONAL INFORMATION MANAGERS RAM Residency Added to Reminders The Reminders! per- sonal time management program, which combines an executive scheduler with to-do lists, alarms, tele- phone books, and other fea- tures, now offers RAM res- idency for pop-up access while in another program. Other features added to version 3.0 include mouse support, word search for key names and phrases, warning messages indicat- ing scheduling conflicts, notepads for extended en- tries, and auto-dial capabili- ties. You can create, view, and print a running list of ap- pointments and other tasks for any given day, week, month, or other time period. |^__^_^ Dates cAtcpnj Liuj print OptionsQuit 3 S 8 7 il 'J 10 II 12 U it 15 16 !V 18 V\ M ZJ tl 23 11 l\ 26 Z7 1 I J 1 5 h 7 "J IH II 12 I J H 15 16 IV lit H 28 21 11 ft ti$539 SMC ARCNET PC 130 $95 I SMCARCNETPC130E . . . .$119 EVEREX PRODUCTS MAXI MAGIC 2 MB EMS for XT or compatible $75 EVERCOM 1200 BAUD internal Modem $65 EVERCOM 2400 BAUD internal Modemw/MNP+5 $139 EVERCOM 2400 external modem w/MNP + 5 $189 EVERFAX plus internal modem $249 EVERFAX plus external modem$309 RAM 3000 Intel 4.0 EMS 3 MB Ram for AT $90 RAM 8000 Intel 4.0 EEMS 8 MB Ram $239 RAM 10000 Intel 4.0 EMS 10 MB Ram $129 FD MICROSYSTEMS HI CHURC H STREET, N.W., VIENNA, VIRGINIA I 22180 ' FOR ORDERING CALL... (800) 548-2660 FOR INQUIRES & SUPPORT (703) 281-0001 FAX LINE (703) 255-3359 (15% Restock charge on all returned merchandise. 3% Surcharge on all Credit Card Orders) Please note that prices are subject to change withut notice. All "specials" are available only while current supplies last. FDM SPECIALIZES IN ANY & ALL PARTS NEEDED TO CUSTOM BUILD YOUR PC FROM THE GROUND UP. INCLUDING MOTHERBOARDS, CACHE, POWER SUPPLY'S, FLOPPY AND HARD DRIVES, MONITORS, KEYBOARDS AND POWER UPS SYSTEMS Buy with Confidence In an effort to make your telephone purchasing a more successful and pleasurable activity, The Microcomputer Marketing Council of the Direct Marketing Association, Inc. offers this advice, "A knowledgeable buyer will be a successful buyer." These are specific facts you should know about the prospective seller before placing an order: Ask These Important Questions • How long has the company been in business? • Does the company offer technical assistance? • Is there a service facility? •Are manufacturers warran- ties handled through the company? • Does the seller have formal return and refund policies? • Is there an additional charge for use of credit cards ? • Are credit card charges held until time of shipment? • What are shipping costs for items ordered? . Reputable computer dealers will answer all these questions to your satisfaction. Don't settle for less when buying your computer hardware, software, peripherals and supplies. Purchasing Guidelines • State as completely and ac- curately as you can what merchandise you want in- cluding brand name, model number, catalog number. • Establish that the item is in stock and confirm shipping date. • Confirm that the price is as advertised . • Obtain an order number and identification of the sales representative. Make a record of your order, noting exact price in- cluding shipping, date of order, promised shipping date and order number. If you ever have a problem, remember to deal first with the seller. If you cannot resolve the problem, write to MAIL ORDER ACTION LINE, c/o DMA, 6 E. 43rd St., New York, NY 10017. This message is brought to you by: the MICROCOMPUTER MARKETING COUNCIL of the Direct Marketing Association, Inc. 6 E. 43rd St., New York, NY 10017 MMC MICROCOMPUTER MARKETING COUNCIL of the Direct Marketing Association, Inc. ) Direct Marketing Association, Inc. 1988 BET ON A DERBY WINNER. . . 486/25C-200 PRO Intel 80486-25, 32-bit 8MB RAM, 64K Cache 200MB Hard Drive 15ms 1.2MB 5 1/4" Drive 1.44MB 3 1/2" Drive 1024X768 16-bit VGA, 1 MB Color Super VGA Monitor 2 Serial, Parallel, Game Ports DOS 4.01 & MS Windows 3.0 . Microsoft Mouse, 400 dpi ■ Mid-size Tower Case 386/33C-200PRO Intel 80386-33, 32-bit 4MB RAM, 64K Cache 200MB Hard Drive 15ms 1.2MB 5 1/4" Drive 1.44MB 3 1/2" Drive 1024X768 16-bit VGA, 1 MB Color Super VGA Monitor 2 Serial, Parallel, Game Ports DOS 4.01 & MS Windows 3.0 , Microsoft Mouse, 400 dpi ■ Mid-size Tower Case 386/33C-100 PRO Intel 80386-33, 32-bit 4MB RAM, 64K Cache 100MB Hard Drive 1.2MB 5 1/4" Drive 1.44MB 3 1/2" Drive 1024X768 16-bit VGA, 1 MB Color Super VGA Monitor 2 Serial, Parallel, Game Ports _ DOS 4.01 & MS Windows 3.0 ■ Microsoft Mouse, 400 dpi ■ Mid-size Tower Case $4,295.00 $3,295.00 $2,895.00 386/25-100 PRO Intel 80386-25, 32-bit 4MB RAM 100MB Hard Drive 1.2MB 5 1/4" Drive 1.44MB 3 1/2" Drive 1024X768 16-bit VGA, 1 MB Color SuperVGA Monitor 2 Serial, Parallel, Game Ports DOS 4.01 & MS Windows 3.0 Microsoft Mouse, 400 dpi Mid-size Tower Case $2,595.00 DERBY DELIVERS One Year Warranty 72 Hour Burn-in Testinj All Systems built in the L Toll Free Technical Support Life Time Technical Support 30 Day Money Back Guarantee (Less any shipping charges} Hours: 9:00 to 6:00 Mon-P~ Shipping & Handling: J It y 7 [w» rn'^B 386/25-65 PRO Intel 80386-25, 32-bit 4MB RAM ■ 65 MB Hard Drive " 1.2MB 5 1/4" Drive 1.44MB 3 1/2" Drive 1024X768 16-bit VGA, 1MB Color Super VGA Monitor 2 Serial, Parallel, Game Ports DOS 4.01 & MS Windows 3.0 Microsoft Mouse, 400 dpi Mid-size Tower Case $2,495.00 0er b y Te *h 386/SX-100 PRO Intel 80386 SX 2MB RAM 100 MB Hard Drive 1.2MB 5 1/4" Drive 1.44MB 3 1/2" Drive 1024X768 16-bit VGA, 1MB Color Super VGA Monitor 2 Serial, Parallel, Game Ports DOS 4.01 & MS Windows 3.0 Microsoft Mouse, 400 dpi Mid-size Tower Case $1,995.00 386/SX-65PRO 2MB RAM 65MB Hard Drive 1.2MB 5 1/4" Drive 1.44MB 3 1/2" Drive 1024X768 16-bit VGA, 1MB Color Super VGA Monitor 2 Serial, Parallel, Game Ports DOS 4.01 & MS Windows 3.0 Microsoft Mouse, 400 dpi Mid-size Tower Case $1,895.00 1-800-24-DERBY 71 8 - 15th Avenue / East Moline / Illinois / 61244 / (309) 755-2662 286/12-40 PRO Intel 80286-12 16-bit 2MB RAM 40MB Hard Drive 1.2MB 5 1/4" Drive 1.44MB 3 1/2" Drive 1024X768 16-bit VGA, 1MB Color Super VGA Monitor 2 Serial, Parallel, Game Ports DOS 4.01 & MS Windows 3.0 Microsoft Mouse, 400 dpi Mid-size Tower Case $1,495.00 Circle 575 on Inquiry Cord (RESELLERS: 576). New EasyCAD 2.60 Tops the #1 Rated CADSpftware ► Number 1 in user satisfaction-PC Week poll. In competition against other top CAD software for performance, hardware compatibility, ease of use and value, EasyCAD 2.05 handily won the award that counts most-User Satisfaction. Now the best is even better. You Pay Only $169.95 for the Program CAD Users Rate Number 1. PC WORLD said it best, "This easy- to-leam program is blindingly fast, and its flexibility, wealth of features and excellent user interface match those of professional programs costing thousands of dollars more." In fact, because it is written entirely in assembly language experts say new EasyCAD 2.60's speed rivals CAD pack- ages costing up to twenty times more. So why spend well over $2000 to get what EasyCAD 2.60 can deliver for just $169.95? Expanded, productivity- boosting associative dimensioning. EasyCAD 2.60's associative dimen- sioning feature allows you to rotate, stretch or change the scale factor of a drawing and all dimensions are instantly updated to reflect the change. This includes ordinate, angle, radius and diameter as well as other dimen- sion formats. You never have to erase or re-enter dimensions. Whisk through even the largest drawings. An enhanced memory manager lets you work through the largest drawings faster than ever. I Plot to file means you can store draw- ings on disk now and send it to the printer later. And version 2.60 supports PostScript printer fonts and line weight controls. More features, less money- guaranteed. No other CAD software gives you so many features for so little money (and a 30-day money back guarantee) : Customizeable pull-down menus, script and macro capabilities that automate complex" or repetitive tasks, DXF for exchang- ing drawings and files with other CAD programs and spread sheets. The list goes on. Call (602) 967-8633 now for more information, plus the name of your nearest dealer. If you already own EasyCAD, ask about our special 2.60 upgrade offer. EVOLUTION CAD 2 COMPUTING 437 S. 48th St., Ste. 106 Tempe, AZ 85281-9936 1(800)874-4028 Circle 579 on Inquiry Card. ©1991 Evolution Computing EasyCAD2 is a registered trademark of Evolution Computing FRE PRODUCT INFORMATION Want More Infor )n reply ca which correspond to numbers assigned to items of interest to you 11 the appropi answers to questions "A" through "E". int your name and and mail. Fill out this coupon carefully. PLEASE PRINT. Name Title ( ) ( ) Phone Fax Company Address City 426 443 460 2 3 19 20 36 37 53 54 70 71 87 88 104 105 121 122 138 139 155 156 172 173 189 190 206 207 223 224 240 241 257 258 274 275 291 292 308 309 325 326 342 343 359 360 376 377 393 394 410 411 427 428 444 445 461 462 478 479 4 5 21 22 38 39 55 56 72 73 Inquiry Numbers 1 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 13 14 30 31 47 48 Zip 106 107 123 124 140 141 157 158 174 175 191 192 208 209 225 226 242 243 259 260 276 277 293 294 310 311 327 328 344 345 361 362 378 379 395 396 412 413 429 430 446 447 463 464 108 109 110 111 112 125 126 127 128 129 142 143 144 145 146 159 160 161 162 163 176 177 178 179 160 193 194 195 196 197 210 211 212 213 214 227 228 229 230 231 244 245 246 247 248 261 262 263 264 265 278 279 280 281 262 295 296 297 298 299 312 313 314 315 316 329 330 331 332 333 348 347 348 349 350 363 364 365 366 367 380 381 382 383 384 397 398 399 400 401 414 415 416 417 418 431 432 433 434 435 448 449 450 451 452 465 466 467 468 469 482 483 484 485 486 62 63 79 80 96 97 113 114 130 131 147 148 164 165 181 182 198 199 215 216 232 233 249 250 266 267 283 284 300 301 317 318 334 335 351 352 368 369 385 386 402 403 419 420 436 437 453 454 470 471 487 488 115 116 132 133 149 150 166 167 183 184 200 201 217 218 234 235 251 252 268 269 285 286 302 303 319 320 336 337 353 354 370 371 387 388 404 405 421 422 438 439 455 456 472 473 489 490 66 67 68 83 84 85 100 101 102 117 118 119 134 135 136 151 152 153 168 169 170 185 186 187 202 203 204 219 220 221 236 237 238 253 254 255 270 271 272 287 288 289 304 305 306 321 322 323 338 339 340 355 356 357 372 373 374 389 390 391 406 407 408 423 424 425 440 441 442 457 458 459 474 475 476 491 492 493 494 495 4 511 512 ! 528 529 I 545 548 E 562 563 ! 579 580 J 596 597 £ 613 614 { 630 631 E 647 648 ( 664 665 £ 681 682 E 698 699 1 715 716 ■ 732 733 1 749 750 1 766 767 1 783 784 1 800 801 I 817 818 834 635 I 851 852 I 668 869 I 885 886 I 902 903 ! 919 920 < 936 937 ! 953 954 ! 970 971 ! A. What is your primary job function/principal area of responsibility? (Check one.) 1 □ MIS/DP 2 D Programmer/Systems Analyst 3 D Administration/Management 4 D Sales/Marketing 5 □ Engineer/Scientist 6 D Other B. What is your level of management responsibility? 7 D Senior-level 9 D Professional 8 D Middle-level C. Are you a reseller (VAR, VAD, Dealer, Consultant)? 10 D Yes 11 D No Inquiry Numbers 494-986 498 499 500 501 502 503 515 516 517 518 519 520 532 533 534 535 536 537 549 550 551 552 553 554 566 567 568 569 570 571 563 584 565 588 587 588 600 601 602 603 604 605 617 618 619 620 621 622 634 635 636 637 638 639 651 652 653 654 655 656 668 669 670 671 672 673 665 686 687 688 669 690 702 703 704 705 706 707 719 720 721 722 723 724 736 737 738 739 740 741 753 754 755 756 757 758 770 771 772 773 774 775 787 768 789 790 791 792 804 805 606 807 808 809 821 822 823 824 825 826 838 839 840 841 842 843 505 506 507 522 523 524 539 540 541 556 557 558 573 574 575 590 591 592 607 608 609 624 625 626 641 642 643 658 659 660 675 676 677 692 693 694 709 710 711 726 727 728 743 744 745 760 761 762 777 778 779 794 795 796 810 811 812 813 827 828 829 830 844 845 846 847 508 509 510 525 526 527 542 543 544 556 580 551 576 5 77 578 593 594 595 610 611 612 627 628 629 644 645 646 661 662 663 678 679 680 695 696 697 712 713 714 729 730 731 746 747 748 763 764 765 780 781 782 797 798 799 814 815 816 831 832 833 864 665 665 867 872 873 874 875 876 877 889 890 891 892 893 894 906 907 908 909 910 911 923 924 925 926 927 928 940 941 942 943 944 945 957 958 959 960 961 962 974 975 976 977 978 979 913 914 915 930 931 932 947 948 949 964 965 966 899 900 901 916 917 916 933 934 935 950 951 952 967 968 969 1004 1005 1021 1022 1038 1039 1055 1056 1072 1073 1089 1090 11061107 11231124 11401141 11571158 1174 1175 1191 1192 1208 1209 1225 1226 12421243 1259 1260 12761277 1293 1294 13101311 1327 1328 1344 1345 1361 1362 1378 1379 1395 1396 14121413 14291430 14461447 1463 1464 D. What operating systems are you currently using? (Check all that apply.) 12 D PC/MS-DOS 15 D UNIX 13 D DOS + Windows 16 □ MacOS 14 D OS/2 17 □ VAX/VMS E. for how many people do you influence the purchase of hardware or software? 18 D 1-25 20 D 51-99 19 D 26-50 21 □ 100 or more D Please send me one year ofETTE Magazine for $24.95 and bill me. Offer valid in U.S. and possessions only. MARCH IRT0009 Inquiry Numbers 987-1479 ) 990 991 992 993 994 995 996 997 998 999 1000 1001 1002 1003 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 10131014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1023 1024 1026 1026 1027 1026 1026 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1048 1047 1046 1046 1050 1051 1052 1053 1064 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1 0661067 1068 1069 1070 1071 1074 1075 1078 1077 1078 1079 1060 1081 1082 1083 1084 1085 1066 1067 1066 1091 1092 1093 1094 1095 1096 10971098 1099 1100 1101 1102 11031104 1105 11081109 11101111 1112 11131114 11151116111711181119112011211122 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 1130 1131 1132 113311341135 1 136 1137 11381139 1142 11431144 114511461147114811491150 1151115211531154 11551156 115911601161 1162116311641165 116611671168116911701171 11721173 11761177 11781179 11801181 1182 11B3 11B4 1185 11861187118811891190 1193 1 194 1195 1196 1197 1198 1199 1200 1201 1202 12031204 12051206 1207 1210 1211 1212 1213 1214 1215 1216 1217 12181219 1220 1221 1222 12231224 1227 1 228 1229 1230 1231 1232 1233 1234 1235 1236 1237 1238 1239 12401241 1244 1245 1246 1247 1248 1249 1250 1251 1252 1253 1254 1255 1256 1257 1258 1261 126212631264 1265 1266 1267 1268 1269 1270 1271 1272 1273 1274 1275 127812791280 1281 1282 12831284 1285 1286 1287 1288 1289 1290 1291 1292 1295 1296 1297 1298 1299 1300 1301 1302 1303 1304 1305 1306 1307 1308 1309 1312 1313 1314 1315 13161317 1318 1319 13201321 1322 1323 1324 1325 1326 13291330 1331 1332 1333 1334 1335 1336 1337 1338 1339 1340 1341 1342 1343 1346 1347 1348 1349 1350 1351 1352 1353 1354 1355 1356 1357 1358 1359 1360 1363 1364 1365 1366 1367 1368 1369 1370 1371 1372 1373 1374 1375 1376 1377 1380 1381 1382 1383 1384 1385 1386 1387 1388 1389 1390 1391 1392 1393 1394 1397 1398 1399 1400 1401 1402 1403 1404 1405 1406 1407 1408 1409 14101411 1414 1415 1416 14171418 1419 14201421 1422 1423 1424 1425 1426 1427 1428 1431 1432 1433 1434 1435 1436 1437 1438 1439 14401441 1442 1443 1444 1445 1448 1449 1450 1451 1452 1453 1454 1455 1456 1457 1458 1459 1460 1461 1462 1465 1466 1467 1468 1469 1470 1471 1472 1473 1474 1475 1476 1477 1478 1479 NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO. 176 PITTSFIELD, MA POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE BYTE READER SERVICE PO Box 5110 Pittsfield, MA 01203-9926 USA I. II. .1.111 II. 1. 1. . 1. 1. ...I, LIU, ,1.1 PRODUCT INFORMATION Want More Informa I it J I WmJ tlli Mlllli J Circle numbers on reply card which correspond to numbers assigned to items of interest to you. Check all the appropriai answers to questions "A' through "E". j Print your name and and mail. ~l NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO. 176 PITTSFIELD, MA POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE BVTE READER SERVICE PO Box 5110 Pittsfield, MA 01203-9926 USA I......ILI.III Il.l.l.,l.l....l,l.ll..l..l.l Fill out this coupon carefully. PLEASE PRINT. Title ( Phone Company City State Zip inquiry Numbers 1-493 69 70 71 86 87 88 103 104 105 120 121 122 137 138 139 154 155 156 171 172 173 188 189 190 205 206 207 222 223 224 239 240 241 258 257 258 273 274 275 290 291 292 307 308 309 324 325 328 341 342 343 358 359 360 375 378 377 392 393 394 409 410 411 426 427 428 443 444 445 460 481 462 477 478 479 4 5 21 22 36 39 55 56 72 73 69 90 106 107 123 124 140 141 157 158 174 175 191 192 208 209 225 226 242 243 259 260 278 277 293 294 310 311 327 328 344 345 361 362 378 379 395 396 412 413 429 430 446 447 463 464 480 481 6 7 23 24 40 41 57 9 10 26 27 43 44 60 61 74 75 76 77 78 79 91 92 93 94 95 96 108 109 110 111 112 113 125 126 127 128 129 130 142 143 144 145 146 147 159 160 161 162 163 164 176 177 178 179 180 181 193 194 195 196 197 198 210 211 212 213 214 215 227 228 229 230 231 232 244 248 248 247 248 248 261 262 263 264 265 288 278 279 280 281 262 283 295 296 297 298 299 300 312 313 314 315 318 317 329 330 331 332 333 334 348 347 348 349 350 351 383 384 365 366 387 366 380 381 382 363 384 365 397 398 399 400 401 402 414 415 418 417 418 419 431 432 433 434 435 436 446 449 450 451 452 453 485 468 467 468 469 470 482 483 484 485 488 487 12 13 14 29 30 31 46 47 48 63 64 65 80 81 82 97 98 99 114 115 116 131 132 133 148 149 150 165 166 167 182 183 184 199 200 201 216 217 218 233 234 235 250 251 252 287 288 269 264 285 288 301 302 303 318 319 320 335 336 337 352 353 354 389 370 371 368 387 388 403 404 405 420 421 422 437 436 439 454 455 456 471 472 473 488 489 490 66 67 68 83 84 85 100 101 102 117 118 119 134 135 136 151 152 153 168 169 170 185 186 187 202 203 204 219 220 221 236 237 238 253 254 255 270 271 272 287 288 289 304 308 308 321 322 323 338 339 340 355 356 357 372 373 374 389 390 391 408 407 408 423 424 425 440 441 442 457 456 459 474 475 476 491 492 493 A. What is your primary job function/principal area of responsibility? (Check one.) 1 □ MIS/DP 2 □ Programmer/Systems Analyst 3 □ Administration/Management 4 □ Sales/Marketing 5 □ Engineer/Scientist 6 □ Other B. What is your level of management responsibility? 7 □ Senior-level 9 □ Professional 8 □ Middle-level C Are you a reseller (VAR, VAD, Dealer, Consultant)? 10 □ Yes II D No D, What operating systems are you currently using? (Check all that apply.) 12 □ PC/MS-DOS 15 □ UNIX D D DOS 4- Windows 16 □ MacOS 14 □ OS/2 17 D VAX/ VMS E. For how many people do you influence the purchase of hardware or software? 18 □ 1-25 20 □ 51-99 19 □ 26-50 21 □ 100 or more 494 495 511 512 528 528 545 548 562 563 579 580 596 597 613 614 630 631 647 648 664 665 681 682 698 699 715 716 732 733 749 750 766 787 783 784 800 801 817 818 834 835 851 852 498 497 513 514 530 531 547 548 584 565 581 582 598 599 615 616 632 633 649 650 666 667 683 684 700 701 717 718 734 735 751 752 783 769 783 766 802 603 819 820 838 837 853 854 870 871 902 903 904 905 919 920 921 922 936 939 955 956 972 973 936 937 953 954 970 971 Inquiry Numbers 494-986 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 508 507 508 509 510 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 532 533 534 535 536 537 536 539 540 541 542 543 544 548 550 551 552 553 554 555 568 557 568 569 560 561 558 567 558 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 575 577 576 5B3 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 748 747 748 753 754 755 756 757 756 759 760 781 762 763 764 765 770 771 772 773 774 775 778 777 776 778 780 781 782 787 783 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 798 797 796 796 804 805 808 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 821 822 823 824 825 628 827 828 829 830 831 632 833 838 838 840 841 642 843 844 B45 648 847 848 649 850 855 858 857 858 859 680 861 862 883 864 665 866 687 872 873 874 875 878 677 878 879 B80 881 B82 683 664 889 890 891 692 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 900 901 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 914 915 916 917 918 923 924 925 926 927 928 929 930 931 932 933 934 935 940 941 942 943 944 945 948 947 046 949 950 951 952 957 958 959 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 966 969 974 975 976 977 978 979 980 981 982 983 984 985 968 □ Please send me one year of BYTE Magazine far $24.95 and bill me. Offer valid in U.S. and possessions only. MARCH IRT0009 Inquiry Numbers 967-1479 987 968 989 990 991 992 993 994 995 996 997 996 9991000100110021003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 10101011 10121013 10141015 10161017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1026 1026 1027 1026 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1048 1058 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1058 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1066 1066 1067 1066 1Q69 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 1075 1076 1077 1078 1079 1080 1081 1082 10831084 1085 1086 1087 1088 1089 1090 1091 1092 1093 1094 1095 1096 1097 1098 1099 1100 1101 1102 1103 11041105 1106 110711081109 111011111112111311141115111611171118111911201121 1122 1123112411251126 112711281129 1130113111321133113411351136113711381139 1140 1141 11421143 1144 1145 1146 11471148 1149 1150 1151 1152 1153 1154 1155 1156 1157115811591160116111621163116411651166 1167116811691170117111721173 t174 1 175 1176 1177 1178 1179 11 80 1181 V182 1183 1184 1185 1186 1187 11B8 11891190 1191 1192119311941195119611971198119912001201 1202 12031204120512061207 1208 1209 12101211 1212121312141215 121612171218 1219 1220 1221 1222 12231224 1225 1228 1227 1228 1229 1230 1231 1232 1233 1234 1235 1238 1237 1238 1238 1240 1241 1242 1243 1244 1245 1246 1247 12481249 1250 1251 1252 1253 12541 2551258 12571258 1259 1260 1261 1262 1263 1264 1286 1268 1267 1266 1286 1270 1271 1272 1273 1274 1275 1276 1277 1276 1279 1260 1261 1262 1283 1264 1286 1268 1267 1286 1268 1290 1291 1262 1 29312941295 1296 129712981299 1300 1301 1302 13031304 1305 1306 1307 13081309 13101311 1312131313141315 1318 1317131813191320 1321 13221323 132413261326 1327 1328 1328 1330 1331 1332 1333 1334 1335 1338 1337 1338 1336 1340 1341 1342 1343 1344 1345 1348 1347 1348 1349 1350 1351 1352 1353 1354 1 355 1358 1357 1358 1359 1360 1381 1382 1363 1384 1365 1388 1387 1388 1389 1370 1371 1372 1373 1374 137513781377 1378 1379 1360 1381 1382 1383 1384 1385 138813871388 1389 1390 1391 1392 1393 1394 1395 1396 1397 1398 1399 1400 1401 1402 1403 1404 1405 1406 1407 1408 1409 1410 1411 1412 1413 1414 1415 141814171418 141914201421 1422 1423 1424 1425 1428 1427 1428 1429 1430 1431 1432 1433 1434 1435 1436 1437 1436 1439 1440 1441 14421443 1444 1445 1446 1447 1448 1449 1450 1451 14521453 14541455 1456 1 4571456 1459 1460 1481 1462 1463 1464 1465 1466 1467 1468 1469 1470 1471 1472 1473 1474 1475 1476 1477 14781479 USER'S COLUMN Desktop Publishing Fever JERRY POURNELLE Every year about this time I get laid up with in- fluenza, so this year I decided to get flu shots; alas, I didn't think things through. I got the shots just before this column was due; and the way the shots work is they give you a mild case of the latest variety of Asian flu. It's a lot better than getting the real thing, but it doesn't leave you in much of a mood to putter around with computers. Add to that a bunch of deadlines— Niven and I are finishing Fallen Angels (Baen Books, July 1991) and The Moat Around Murcheson 's Eye (Simon & Schuster, probably early 1992). Then I've got Steve Stirling's draft of Pournelle and Stirling's Go Tell the Spartans (Baen Books, spring 1991) to go over, and we're part- way into Hour of Treason, the fourth Janissaries book. In a word, things are a bit tight timewise, as they say on Madison Avenue; meaning that I won't get to do what I'd intended, comparing the new Perceptive Solutions and Distributed Processing Technology hard disk drive controllers this month. Of course, there's always something to write about. I keep hearing about this industry being in a slump, but you'd never know that from my mailbox. Mac Business The Los Angeles Opera League recently asked Roberta to do its newsletter, which means that instead of the president worrying about it in the middle of the night, Roberta will. The newsletter should be no problem with all the computing power we have here at Chaos Manor, butthere'sa small hitch: neither of us has ever done any real desktop publishing, and I don't have any time at all to learn, meaning that Roberta has had to make do on her own. The first decision, then, was what machine to use. When I asked around, most people said that given the choice of PageMaker on the Mac versus Ventura Pub- lisher on the PC, they'd take the Mac every time; and when we found that much of the text for the newsletter would be delivered in Microsoft Works for the Mac for- mat, that pretty well decided it. Alas, the first experiment was a near disaster: the Mac Ilf x would keep crashing when we'd try to work with Microsoft Works. Converting to Microsoft Word helped a bit, but there were still unexpected things hap- pening on the Ilfx's screen, although the problems didn't seem to come up on the Mac SE/30. Time to stop and take stock. Apple likes to get its latest and greatest equipment into the hands of reviewers as quickly as possible. While this is commendable, it sometimes results in our getting machines that are not quite identical to those the company later ships. Meanwhile, Microsoft is notorious for quietly issu- ing unannounced software revisions: if they find that something doesn't work with new hardware, they fix it. If you ask them, they will cheerfully send you the re- vised copy, but they don't an- nounce the revision. This practice makes sense, in that those who need the revision will eventually figure that out, while those who don't need it won't know to ask. However, it has the drawback that you can't always tell whether a problem is due to hardware or software. In my case, I had older ver- sions of Microsoft Works and Word and one of the very first Mac Ilfx machines sent out. The Ilfx is a speed demon: it does things so fast that some- times you can't believe it, and normally I love it, but I have had some very odd problems with it. Jerry helps Roberta tackle desktop publishing on the Mac and looks at simulation software It's Virtual For instance, we have never got Virtual, from Connectix, to work with the Mac Ilfx. Virtual is a program that con- vinces your Mac that it has lots of memory. It does that by swapping from memory to a reserved area of your hard disk; this is a trick long used in minicomputers and main- frames but which, for some reason, has never appeared in the PC world and was late coming to the Mac. When we first got the program we had a Mac II, and Virtual worked fine with that. It works with the Mac Ilci (which is a small version of the Mac II). Like a lot of good Mac software, it works invisibly, and it solves the "out of memory" problem forever. Alas, though, it wouldn't work on the Ilfx, which ILLUSTRATION: RANDY LYHUS©1991 MARCH 1991 -BYTE 91 Circle 1 27 on Inquiry Card. Finally, a fast, powerful text editor that integrates your favorite programming tools and uses no memory! USERS COLUMN vfgfe fcdt'Jseu ■t -e -f»«tk It Has Been Brought To Our Attention That Not Everyone Believes Portable PCs Can Be As Functional As Desktop PCs. This Should TOSHIBA I PORTABLE I DESKTOP This may be hard ,. to believe, but there really is such a thing as a portable PC that can do everything a conven- Some people can't imagine squeezing a 40,100 or even a 200MB hard disk into a portable PC. But when they take advantage of all that storage capacity, they find it hard to imagine life without it. tional desktop can. In fact, there's not just one, but an entire line of them. They're called Toshiba Portable Desktops^ and they'll forever change the way your company looks at power and productivity. To get more information or a free Portable Desktop productivity survey, call 1-800-477-1616. True, some business people may have trouble grasping the notion of desktop power in a portable, but when you give it some thought, it's the next logical step in computers. With 386'" and 386'"SX mi- croprocessors, our Portable Desk- Thereoncewasaday when microprocessors this powerful were unheard of in a port- able. Luckily for people who crave raw power and computing speed, thatday is over For those who think a PC just isn't fully functional without a color display, we developed our second-generation LCD color screen. For those who think basic is better, our VGA gas plasma systems have the perfect displays. Remove All Doubt. To anybody who doesn't expect a portable PC to have 1BM*-compatible expansion slots, we have just one thing to say. Raise your expectations. tops run all of the same applications as your com- pany's conventional PCs. ufefii With hard disk drives from 40 to 200MB, you have all the flex- ibility to configure a system the way you want it. ^^^^ l PC}Mn ' ndoomato With the connectivity of our multiple ex- cramped, undersized keyboards hasn't gotten their hands on a Toshiba. We use standard-size keys and standardized key spacing so your hands will feel right at home. pansion slots and ports, our Portable Desktops fit right in with your existing system and grow as your company grows. And to remove the last possible barrier between your needs and our portables, we've With an expansion slot for a LAN card, you get complete networking freedom without giving up all your other expansion slots. -i -i "_.l 1 • 1 They say you can't squeeze much memory eVeil designed One With a high- into a portable PC. But considering that our dedicated memory expansion slots let you . add up to 12MB of RAM as your need for power reSOlUtlOn VGA COlOr SCreen. 9rows, it looks like "they'' were wrong again. In other words, it really is possible to have all the capabilities of a conventional desktop in a portable. All you have to do is try one. And believe. ['to • a a (»■•" |l mrnmm ■ M-il-UI.ULliUi.d_ ~S=tlllJ±LUimLLl. T5200. 386 microprocessor, 40,100 or 200MB HDD, 2 to 14MB RAM, 2 IBM-compatible expansion slots (in addition to dedicated memory slots), VGA plasma display. T5200C. 386 microprocessor; 200MB HDD, 2 to 14MB RAM, 2 IBM-compatible expansion slots (in addition to dedicated memory slots),VGA passive matrix color LCD display. T3200SX. 386SX microprocessor; 40 or 120MB HDD, 1 to 13MB RAM, 2 IBM-compatible expansion slots (in addition to dedicated modem and memory slots), VGA plasma display. Now That You're Convinced, TOSHIBA I PORTABLE I DESKTOP Okay, let's suppose you ... suddenly discover your company filled with powerful Toshiba Portable Desktops. Now what? First of all, your people can do everything around the office they've been doing with their desktop computers. Then your key employ- ees can turn after-hours time into productive time, since their iv dining room tables and break- fast nooks can serve as off- site workstations. Your top people Giving your people instant access to vital information can keep them doing what they do best. Working smart. can add impact to their . Employees can even improve their productivity in the familiar surroundings of their own office. Only pr6S6Iltatl0nS With a n ° w they'll have more desk space to work with. To get more information or a free Portable Desktop productivity survey, call 1-800-477-1616. wealth of information and computing power at their fingertips. And the story can repeat itself— with equally impressive results— everywhere from an office 3,000 miles away to a conference room that's a mere 30 feet down the hall Where Do You Go From Here? Giving your key employees a Portable Desktop means they'll have the flexibility to work when they need to, where they want to. When people have access to computing power outside their office, presentations are more powerful and groups are more productive. " eail""'"''"''"' And yes, all that pro- ductivity can even take place within the confines of your own office desk (while using up con- siderably less of your desk space, we might add). All of which leads us to one very powerful observation. Now all of your best people can be doing a better job than they ever could when they were chained to conventional desktop PCs. Better yet, they can do it without sacrificing power, func- tionability or expandability. Or anything else, for that matter. Three Powerful Arguments Why Your Next I TOSHIBA I PORTABLE 1 DESKTOP People said it was just a matter of time before someone built a line of port- . able PCs this powerful. They just didn't know it would happen so soon. With our Portable Desktops, we've successfully combined the power and functionality of desktop PCs into slim, T5200 18.7 pounds, 20MHz 80386 with 80387-20 coprocessor socket, 2 internal IBM-compatible expansion slots, 40MB hard disk with 25msec access or 100MB hard disk with 25msec access or 200MB hard disk with 16msec access, 2MB RAM expandable to 14MB, gas plasma VGA display with 16 gray scales, 1.44MB 3W diskette drive. portable packages that give you every- thing you need to get ahead in business. T5200C 18.9 pounds, 20MHz, 80386 with 80387-20 coprocessor socket, 2 internal IBM-compatible expansion slots, 200MB hard disk with 16msec access, 2MB RAM expandable to 14MB, passive matrix VGA full-colorscreen, 1.44MB 3%" diskette drive. Desktop PC Shouldn't Be A Desktop PC. So you get the same power. The same functionality. And the same expandability it takes to keep pace with your company's needs. The big difference is that with a Toshiba Portable Desktop, you can easily turn all that power into increased productivity All thanks to something no desktop PC could ever hope to offer. The freedom to take it with you. To get more information or a free Portable Desktop productivity survey, call 1-800-477-1616. T3200SX 17.0 pounds, 16MHz80386SX with 80387SX-16 coprocessor socket, 2 internal IBM-compatible expansion slots, 1 dedicated modem slot, 5 built-in ports, 40MB hard disk with 25msec access or 1 20MB hard disk with 19msec access, 1MB RAM expandable to 13MB, gas plasma VGA display with 16 gray scales, 1 .44MB 3te" diskette drive. DontTake Our Word For It. Get A Second Opinion. * I TOSHIBA I PORTABLE I DESKTOP I PCs To get more information or a free Portable Desktop productivity survey, call 1-800-477-1616. of convenience, they're a matter of survival. % ,fT, Pu h What do other companies know about our Portable Desktop PCs • that you don't? If you had a copy of our free productivity survey, you'd know. For example, you'd know that 93 percent of portable users said that they'd never go back to using a conventional desktop. You'd know they've reported sub- stantial increases in productivity. And you'd know why they place so much value on the flex- ibility and freedom their ^ portables have to offer. Toshiba Portable Desktops. They're no longer a matter I I i I In Touch with Tomorrow TOSHIBA Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., Computer Systems Division. BUSINESS CONNECTION 1 ^w ^ OPINIONS Whose Enterprise Is It? WAYNE RASH JR. Welcome to The Business Connection. As some of you know, up until last month my column was called Down to Business, and in it I discussed products and issues as they relate to business. In some ways, The Busi- ness Connection is the same, but there's a lot more than the name that's new to this column. Networking, whether it's local- or wide-area, has be- come critical to business. More important, business networks can no longer exist as islands of connectivity. Now, if a business is to use its personal computers in ways that make sense from a cost standpoint and help the business competitively, communication throughout the business is necessary. Likewise, if software is to be useful to a business, it must provide good value and exist in the communications environment needed by to- day 's business. There is more than just networking to The Business Connection. I will discuss business issues as I always have, and I plan to take the time and space required to add my opinions and the opinions of people who have important contributions to make to business comput- ing. Finally, business computing and connectivity are not restricted to the Fortune 500. Small businesses need computers just as much as large businesses do, and sometimes they need them more. Til look at the needs of small businesses and highlight innovations from smaller businesses that have become more com- petitive through the use of computers. I also want The Business Connection to be your col- umn. During the years I wrote Down to Business, I heard from many readers, and from them I got many good ideas. I also found out about new ways to use com- puters in business, and I sometimes learned when a seemingly good idea wasn't. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the stories you tell me about the ways in which my column helped you and your business do bet- ter, but piease know that I do, indeed, appreciate hear- ing from you. An Enterprising Solution I am frequently asked to describe exactly what an enter- prise network is and how it can work in a business. There's a great deal of interest in enterprise networking for several reasons, but I'll only mention two of them here. The first reason is that IBM has hit on enterprise networking— and the related enterprise computing— as yet another way to move hardware. It has become, in effect, the latest buzzword for mainframe vendors. At Don't be fooled: Enterprise networking can be an easy and natural stage in your company's growth the same time, the term has begun cropping up all over the columns you read in computer magazines. It's not surprising that people wonder what all the fuss is about. The reason you keep hearing about enterprise net- working is because it is one of the best practical ways for businesses to realize the dream of having timely contact with their employees wherever they are. The strength of the desire for this timely contact can hardly be overstated. It is this desire that has given rise to the dramatic growth in fax ma- chines, voice mail, and Fed- eral Express. Enterprise networking de- livers immediate contact with others in a business by con- necting computer users to a LAN and then connecting the LANs together. For this ar- rangement to work properly, a large number of the employ- ees need to have access to a networked computer, and they must also have a way to use the interconnected net- works to move information. This interconnection can lead to some form of centralized data storage and centralized data management, which is what IBM describes as enter- prise computing. The benefits are obvious, but there is some risk in- volved. Specifically, you need to be sure that vendors or value-added resellers are ad- dressing your needs and not their own. Knowing what's involved in establishing an enterprise-wide network is your best defense. Just by the way it's described, an enterprise network sounds big and expensive, and to some extent, that's true, especially if the company isn't already net- worked. In many cases, though, an enterprise network grows out of existing LANs and existing wide-area networks. This next stage in growth takes place when ILLUSTRATION: RANDY LYHUS©1991 MARCH 1991 -BYTE 107 BUSINESS CONNECTION companies find that many of their em- ployees are using LANs rather than other methods, such as terminals, to access corporate computing resources. Then the LANs are bridged to the WAN, gateways are installed to mainframes, and, in the process, the company creates an enter- prise network. Gateways and Bridges Because enterprise networks are made of several LANs connected together, some- times with a WAN, and because they fre- quently include access to mainframes or minicomputers, they include devices called bridges and gateways. While most users are familiar with the terms, there seems to be some confusion as to what the terms actually mean. Simply put, a bridge is a device for connecting two networks. They need not be the same kind of network. You can, for example, use a bridge to connect two Ethernet LANs or to connect an Ethernet For the Ctrl you've been waiting to || Find in DEC terminal emulation, Select] the PowerStation keyboard. M-KMr- ■•hhhhl :.[:,[:.]:. ;- j • • \ t 5 ? e S O - = c ^~ ,„- W i \ T |Y U 1 OP < ) i r .::, I- ; * c 1 1 3 : : v : 1 = " F=M /fenritoiMnv/ett — ~Z~ — £~S » EZ3 H^FTO The PowerStation keyboard gives you the control you need for key-by-key emulation of a DEC terminal. The PowerStalionls an exact VT200/VT300 layout keyboard that plugs into your PC.The PowerStation brings VAX applications to your PC without having to hunt for re-mapped keys. Here's the opportunity to standardize on one keyboard throughout your organization. The PowerStation keyboard has been designed to work on PCs.XTs, ATs, PS/2s, and the AT&T PC. You can switch effortlessly between real VTs and the PowerStation. The PowerStation lets you run PC versions of your favorite \j\X applications, including EDT+,WPS-PC,WPS-PUJS/DOS, and nu/TPU. And Ihc keyboard can be used with regular DOS applications. The PowerStation keyboard comes with ZSTEM 240 or ZSTEM 220 terminal emulation software for connecting to ZSTEM :>i«J Hit KKAatid ZSTEM logos T '•,. ~ ~ ? 1 9_ - 4 5 6 - L. Z S^ s v :, your VAX. ZSTEM 240 includes full YT241 emulation and complete VT340 16 color ReGIS & sixel graphics. If you only need text, ZSTEM 220 will give you fast, accurate and complete YT220/320 emulation. ZSTEM includes file transfer protocols, as well as extensive network capability, with support for Novell, 3COM, Ungermann-Bass, Excelan, Wollongong, FTP, Sun and DEC's CTERM and LAT. With KEA's top-notch technical support and documentation, plus a solid warranty, you can be assured of quality products backed by quality people. KEA Systems Ltd. 3738 North Frascr Way, Unit 101 Bumaby, B.C. Canada V5J 5G1 fflSfnr 27 lDojit!CallToday! 0rders: [T1-r8Tal^- f6T6T3l -[8l7Tol?l :s arc- trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holoers. LAN to a Token Ring LAN. You can also use a bridge to connect a LAN to a WAN, perhaps by using an Ethernet-to-T-1 bridge. A gateway, on the other hand, con- nects your network to some external ser- vice. You might use a Systems Network Architecture (SNA) gateway to give you a pathway from your LAN to your IBM mainframe. You can use an asynchro- nous gateway to give your LAN a path- way to a modem bank so that LAN users can dial out over telephone lines, or so that remote users can dial in. While some small LANs don't use bridges, most large LANs and all enter- prise networks do. Depending on how your LAN is designed, you may find bridges between small LANs and a cen- tral cable traveling through an office building, or you might find a bridge be- tween a LAN in one building and another in a building down the street. The exact details depend on your individual in- stallation. Here's an example of what an enter- prise network might look like: Assume that your company is based in a large headquarters building, with another site located some miles away. The remote site is fairly small and has only a single LAN. Your headquarters building has 12 floors, with an Ethernet backbone cable running through the wiring risers from top to bottom. On each floor, you have a LAN for the use of the people on that floor. Some LANs are Ethernet, and some are Token Ring. An IBM main- frame sits in the basement, and the com- munications controller has a Token Ring interface. For this example, I'll assume that you're running Novell NetWare 3.1, since between 60 percent and 70 percent of all LANs run Novell NetWare of some type. The first thing that you would do is attach the LANs on each floor to the building's Ethernet backbone. You can do this in several ways, but one easy way is to use Novell's Bridge software, which comes with NetWare. You create the bridge from a PC clone with either a pair of Ethernet cards or an Ethernet and a Token Ring card, and the Novell Bridge software. To create a bridge, you install both network interface cards into the PC that you're planning to use as the bridge plat- form and then load the software. You will have had to generate the bridge soft- ware earlier when you were generating the server and workstation software. You connect one Ethernet card or the Token Ring card to the LAN on the floor and the remaining Ethernet card to the 108 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Circle 1 56 on Inquiry Card m Times Change. The Need To Protect Doesn't. o RAINBOW TECHNOLOGIES 9292 Jeronimo Road, Irvine, CA 92718 TEL: (714) 454-2100 - (800) 852-8569 (Outside CA) FAX: (714) 454-8557 ■ AppleLink: D3058 Rainbow Technologies, Ltd., Shirley Lodge, 470 London Road Slough, Berkshire SL3SQY,TEL: 0753-41512 -FAX: 0753-43610 hether you're protecting frontiers and temples in Manchuria, or software and data on the PC or Mac, the Great Wall is a lesson Rainbow Technologies has learned very well. Software developers must deal daily with the consequences of unauthorized copies and millions of dollars in lost revenue. At the same time, both individual and corporate users must be able to make and distribute copies within legal guidelines. Today's information-driven companies must secure their data files against theft and unauthorized access. No less than protecting personal wealth and j^fo tangible property, guarding data files is a necessary invest- ment in competitive survival. Protecting "intellectual property' is the security challenge for the '90s. Which is why Rainbow Technologies builds a little of the Great Wall into every key it makes. For developers, the Software Sentinel" family of keys protects IBM, PS/2 and compatible software, while Eve" guards software for the Mac. Rainbow's DataSentry" is the solution for PC data protection. Software and data protection from Rainbow Technologies. Information on how you can have a little piece of the Great Wall to protect your software and data worldwide is as close as a toll-free call. Copyright ©1990 Rainbow Technologies. Inc. Circle 237 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 238). BUSINESS CONNECTION backbone cable. The exact manner of at- tachment depends on the type of cable you're using, but most likely you'll use either a T connector or a transceiver con- nection—probably the latter. You con- nect the other Ethernet or Token Ring card to the LAN just as you would con- nect a workstation. If you do this with each LAN in the building, you'll be able to send informa- tion between LANs and use file server and other resources on the other floors. When you run Novell's SLIST utility, you'll see a list of all the servers in the building. Setting up a connection between the remote site and the headquarters is hard- er, but only because you have to deal with the telephone company. You start this process by ordering either a data line or a T-l line from your local telephone company. Eventually, the company will install it. This can take anywhere from a few days to weeks, depending. (Depend- BUILD TO SUIT. Announcing Flow Charting" 3 Now, you can create , u pdate and print presentation-perfect flowcharts to your specifications— in no t/me! Quick to master and a snap to use, Patton & Patton's flowcharting software is the standard of both large and small businesses around the world -and is available through all major software dealers. See your dealer today! Or, for a "live" interactive demo disk, call: 800-525-0082, ext.BY3i. International: 408-778-6557, ext. BY31. PATTON & PATTON Software Corporation Excellence in charting the flow of ideas! Works on IBM & 100% compatible PC's, supports CGA/EGA/VGA and over 150 dot matrix and laser printers, with multiple print densities and 10 font sizes. Creates multi-page charts, portrait or landscape, on most standard paper sizes. M ouse or keyboard controlled. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. ing on what, I'm not sure.) Once the line is in, you can use a spe- cial type of bridge, such as Microcom 's MLB/6000, to connect the line to the LAN. You need to have one of these on each end, and, when installed, the bridge makes the LANs appear as if they were directly connected. The Microcom LAN Bridge also mounts in a PC chassis, al- though, unlike the Novell bridge, it must have a 286 processor and an AT-compat- ible 16-bit bus. To make the bridge work, you load the bridge software. That's all there is to the bridges that are required to create an enterprise net- work. Once they are in place, you can use the LAN just as if the intervening dis- tance had disappeared. While a T-l line gives the best performance, you can do with a lot less. Microcom, for example, makes bridges that function with stan- dard 9600-bps dial-up lines. Entering the Big Iron Now that you've got the networks hooked together, it's time to look at the main- frame. Because this is an IBM main- frame with a controller that uses Token Ring, you will have to bridge to Token Ring to have access to it. More impor- tant, you'll have to use 4-megabit-per- second Token Ring rather than the faster 16-Mbps version that PCs use, because mainframe controllers are still stuck at the slower speed. Once you've done this, which is in no way different from what I have described above, you're ready to add the gateway. Again, I'll assume that you are using a Novell product. To have communications with the IBM mainframe, you'll need an SNA gate- way. This gateway uses IBM's Systems Network Architecture, which is what IBM mainframes understand. Like the bridges, the Novell SNA Gateway runs on a PC clone, but it requires only soft- ware, and it's just connected to the Token Ring. The gateway translates Novell's IPX into packets that work \n the SNA environment. Again, that's all there is to it. You load the software for the Novell SNA Gateway into the computer that's supporting the SNA gateway card, and it's running. Of course, you still have to find a way to have your ASCII-based PC work with the EBCDIC on the mainframe and get it to understand 3270 terminal codes, but you can also purchase a 3270 terminal emu- lator from Novell that will take care of this. There are problems. The Novell SNA Gateway is limited in the number of ses- sions it can support (you get up to 128 110 B YTE • MARCH 1991 Circle 213 on Inquiry Card. dTruth Comes Out. s 8S® 6 •wwai^sj 5 " The new dBASE IV® version 1.1 has been rated the #1 Multiuser Database by Software Digest Ratings Report (Volume 7 Number 3, October, 1990). Because Software Digest accepts no advertising whatsoever, subscribers pay hundreds of dollars a year to receive their reviews— which are considered highly unbiased and objective. In summation, their 75-page report says: 'Among the top ranking programs, dBASE IV (version 1 .1) is the most well rounded, with solid performance, versatility, and usability." Commenting on speed, Software Digest points out that "dBASE IV produces all three test reports as fast as or faster than FoxPro/LAN " As for Ease of Use/Ease of Learning, dBASE IV scored as many times in the Excellent range as any other database product tested. Of course, Software Digest is definitely not alone in its conclusions. Because consumers have already made dBASE IV version 1.1 the #1 best-selling PC database in the world. Call 1-800-437-4329 ext. 1407 for more information. Better yet, call 1-800-2ASHTON now to upgrade. The truth is, no other database can do so much to improve m productivity. OL dBASE IV 4 AshtonTate* Trademark/owner: dBASE IV, Ashton-Tate, Ashton-Tate logo/Ashton-Tate Corp. Other company or product names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective companies. © 1990 Ashton-Tate Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Circle 30 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 31 ). Circle 1 73 on Inquiry Card. BUSINESS CONNECTION New Maplnfofor Windows™ and Mapinfo for Macintosh™ can find, display, and analyze your data geographically. Overlay data directly from spreadsheets, databases and ASCII files onto maps-front worldwide to street level We can even supply maps and data for the entire US, Street maps, ZIP codes, counties, demographics, and more. Work with your data in three ways: on maps, graphs, and in traditional rows and columns. Use the built-in SQL querying tools to perform powerful analyses. And now, you can share data across platforms. Mapinfo looks and acts the same on Windows and Macintosh. Now; there are more ways than ever to see your data with Mapinfo. Whatever your platform - DOS , Windows™or Macintosh®- Mapinfo can help you see patterns, trends, and opportunities you may have otherwise missed. MapM@Corp. Changing The Way The World Looks At Information® 200 Broadway Troy, NY 12180 Call 1-518-274-8673 or 1-800-FAST-MAP for a reseller near you. Mapinfo and Changing ITie Way The World Looks Ai Information are registered trademarks of Mapinfo Coip Cuhei-s are trademarks of their respective owners. ITEMS DISCUSSED MLB/6000 Ethernet . $4999 Token Ring . $5499 Microeom, Inc. 500 River Ridge Dr. Norwood, MA 02062 (800) 822-8224 (617)551-1000 fax:(617)551-1006 Circle 1 220 on Inquiry Card. NetWare Access Server 1.01 .$1995 NetWare SNA Gateway 1.3 . $2995 NetWare 3863.1 . $7995 3270 LAN Workstation 1.1 ...$995 WNIM+ ...$895 Novell, Inc. 122 East 1700 South Provo, UT 84606 (800) 453-1267 (801) 379-5900 Circle 1 221 on Inquiry Card. sessions from up to 97 users), so you may require more than one. Also, there has been a persistent problem with Novell SNA Gateways crashing when accessed by workstations that are running Micro- soft Windows 3.0. That problem may be fixed by the time you read this. Dial-in connections from remote com- puters are handled by the asynchronous gateway. An excellent example of asyn- chronous-gateway software is the Net- Ware Access Server. This is a software package that works with the Novell WNIM+ boards to support up to 15 user connections. The software was developed by Quar- terdeck Office Systems and uses the Desqview kernel to support multitask- ing. The Access Server must run on a 386-based PC clone in order to support the multitasking, and it requires 4 mega- bytes of memory, plus an additional megabyte of memory for each remote- user session. Is That All There Is? In a way, it seems like an anticlimax. En- terprise networking is a buzzword that has been wielded like a Highlander's claymore in the hands of those who'd like to make it seem harder than it is. In many cases, those are people who have a lot to gain by taking control of your network and your company's data systems. De- pending on who you are, those who would try to discourage you from trying enterprise networking (or enterprise computing) without them may be your own MIS shop or the manufacturer of your mainframes. This isnotto say that enterprise net- working is a simple process, because it's not. It's just that you don't need to be a high priest to make it work. Frequently, some help from a good LAN installer will be all you need. Sometimes you might need the services of a good com- munications consultant, but these people are working for you, implementing youT design. You don't have to enter the regimented world of enterprise computing as defined by somebody who sells computers. You just need to decide what your company really needs to accomplish and then ask your LAN installer to help you accom- plish it. The result is worth it. Where once your business was connected only by the vagaries of the postal service and the ethereal nature of telephone calls, now you can have your company's data sys- tems forged into a single structure that can support your business. You have to remember, though, that ultimately this is your business, and the attempts by others to control it for you may be designed more to their ends than yours, because their goal is the selling of computer hardware, not the success of your enterprise. Down the Road In future columns, I'll be talking more about ways to communicate with your network, or to have your network com- municate with you. As I mentioned be- fore, this and subsequent columns will cover a wider variety of hardware and software than I've included before. This means that you will get a better look at ways to use your computer system, large or small, networked or not. For those of you who have products or ideas that you think I should consider for this column, please let me know. Write to me care of BYTE. ■ Wayne Rash Jr. is a contributing editor for BYTE and technical director of the Network Integration Group of American Management Systems, Inc. (Arlington, VA). He consults with the federal govern- ment on microcomputers and communi- cations. You can contact him on BIX as "waynerash," or in the to.wayne con- ference. Your questions and comments are wel- come. Write to: Editor, BYTE, One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458. 112 BYTE • MARCH 1991 You'll Like Whaf s Inside the CompuAdd 333T. PC Magazine Did! COMPUADD 33 BEST Lo^L^ide the 'Tower User's Dream Machine' PC Magazine, December 25, 1990 Five half-height internal drive bays. Parallel port and two serial ports built < in to system board. CompuAdd-exclusive "hot slot" designed for maximum performance with the CompuAdd HardCache/ESDi controller. CompuAdd-exclusive "hot slot" designed to maximize performance with the CompuAdd Hi-Rez VGA card. ■ mm' "V^W-V Sww Intel™ 33MHz 386 microprocessor, Phoenix BIOS, 64KB cache, math coprocessor socket (supports Intel 80387 orWeitek3167). • Four half-height front- access drive bays. ■ Motherboard designed by CompuAdd engineers to stretch the 386 performance envelope with the optional high-speed ■ SRAM card. Room for up to 16MB FREE CompuAdd "The case featur quality constructs throughout." (PCM, 12/25/90) Windows 3.0, FREE CompuAdd MS-DOS 4.01 and FREE Microsoft Working Models preloaded on hard drive models. OVERALL PERFORMANCE CompuAdd's Hot Slots Boost 333T Performance Look inside the CompuAdd 333T. You'll see what prompted PC Magazine to call it "a speed demon" and "a power user's dream machine" in its review of 45 leading 33MHz 386 computers. You'll see CompuAdd-exclusive "hot slots," two 16-bit expansion slots de- signed to maximize performance of the CompuAdd HardCache/ESDI controller card and the CompuAdd Hi-Rez VGA card. Each slot still works perfectly with a standard 16-bit expansion card, should you choose that option. And you'll see a motherboard designed by CompuAdd to take maximum advantage of the op- tional, ultra fast SRAM board. Now, run the 333T. You'll see the speed that makes it the fastest 33MHz 386 computer you can buy — as measured by top scores on seven of nine PC Labs benchmarks, including the 386 In- struction Mix Text. In its review, PC Maga- zine said the CompuAdd 333T "scored the best time in the group, or close to it, on every test we put it through, boasting the best overall performance in the field." The CompuAdd 333T is the right choice when you need full-scale multitasking capabilities in either a reliable network file server and a power- ful stand- alone work- station. Compare the 333T. You'll see why PC Magazine praised its "top-notch expandabil- ity" and its "quality construction throughout" and why PC Magazine con- cluded that the 333T was the "best value in an intelligently designed PC." You'll see that in value and perform- ance, the competition can't touch the CompuAdd 333T. With the CompuAdd 333T at the heart of your network, you'll have the power, speed and expandability you need. Speed to keep your work flowing. Power to run today's — and to- morrow's — 32-bit soft- ware. Expandability to grow with your business. And the CompuAdd commitment to quality and service. Call today for a CompuAdd value on the computer PC Magazine says "will be hard to beat at any reasonable price." Compufldd ' Customer driven, by design™ We accept Mjsi i , >nli i. i < rtiln d checks .mil personal checks (please allow leu days lor processing), CODs ($50 minimum order), company ;intl institutional purchase orders (minimum Initial purchase $500, thereafter ISO), and wire transfers. Please aitil 2% i<> .ill | u i isc cost). Add K% for shipping and handling to APO/H'O addresses (minimum 310). Please add appropriate local sales lax. Thirty-day money-hack guarantee does not include icium freight or shipping and handling. Opened software, videotapes, ii. i, ] iii,; costs are nonrefundable. All return items must be aci .1 return merchandise authorization (KMA) number. Prices and product descriptions ate subject to change without ..1 ■.!■"■ ' r.:!i|v.i.V,:«: 1 rn: I r . iV.i iiii .(,:,■ due to omissions or typographical errors. Call BOO-666 183 foi S copy of Com puAdd's complete warranty. WMM EDITORS' CHOICE December 25. 1990 CompuAdd 333T CompuAdd 333T: Best Overall Performance -FINALIST- PC Magazine Award lor Technical Excellence CompuAdd 333 and 333T CompuAdd Cotp. CompuAdd 333T The 333T is a proven winner, picked as Editors' Choice in PC Magazine, December 25, 1990! And picked as a finalist for PC Magazine's 1990 PC Technical Excellence award! It's the fastest 33MHz 386 system you can buy — as determined by top scores on seven of nine PC Labs benchmarks. In selecting the 333T as Editors' Choice, the editors credited the CompuAdd 333T with "the best overall perform- ance in the field." CompuAdd 333 Full Profile The CompuAdd 333 Full Profile desktop system has the exact same performance as the 333T. Only the case is slimmed down. The Full Profile model sports three half -height front access and two half -height internal 5.25" drive bays, six 16-bit and one 8-bit expansion slots. So you have plenty of room to add extra drives and option cards. Whether you use it as a network server or as a powerful standalone workstation for CAD/CAM, database management, spreadsheet applica- tions or desktop publishing, the CompuAdd 333T or 333 gives you the fastest 32-bit computing power you can get in a 33MHz 386 system! CompuAdd Value CompuAdd built its reputation on giving you high performance com- puters at unbeatable values! Don't just take our word for it. An independent vendor-neutral survey of PC users asked people how satisfied they are with their PC purchases. CompuAdd received the best endorsement any manufacturer could ask for — CompuAdd ranked #1 for Value/Price, Quality, Commitment to the Customer and Overall Satisfaction! The researchers did not use vendor-supplied customer lists. The inde- pendent, statistically valid survey ranked 25 leading PC manufactur- ers, including IBM, Compaq, Apple and Hewlett-Packard. Call today for more details on CompuAdd's award-winning products and service! CompuAdd 333T and 333FP Features ■ 80386 microprocessor running at 33MHz ■ 4MB DRAM expandable to 16MB ■ wait-state cache memory ■ High-speed cache memory controller with 64KB SRAM cache ■ 5.25" 1.2MB or 3.5" 1.44MB diskette drive ■ Dual diskette controller ■ Six 16-bit and one 8-bit expansion slots ■ Four half -height front access and five half-height internal 5.25" drive bays (Full Profile has three half-height front access and two half-height internal 5.25" drive bays) ■ One built-in parallel and two serial ports ■ 80387 or Weitek 3167 math coprocessor socket ■ FREE CompuAdd serial mouse $24.95 value ■ FREE CompuAdd Windows 3.0 $149 value ■ FREE Microsoft Working Models ■ FREE CompuAdd MS-DOS 4.01 $89 value CompuAdd 333T base system $2775 - 66656 CompuAdd 333 Full Profile base system $2595 - 66665 Enhanced 333 systems upgrade base system features with: 150MB ESDI drive, CompuAdd HardCache/ESDI controller with 1MB RAM, Seiko 14" CVGA monitor, CompuAdd Hi-Rez VGA card with 512KB RAM and 640KB SRAM card. CompuAdd Enhanced 333 Full Profile $5775 - 66669 CompuAdd Enhanced 333T $5975 - 66660 333 Monitor and Hard Drive Options MGA CVGA 333T80MB 66658 - $3575 66659 - $4175 333T200MB 66661 - $3975 66662 - $4575 333 80MB 66667 - $3395 66668 - $3995 333 200MB 66670 - $3775 66671 - $4395 CompuRdcT Customer driven, by design.™ Call 800-456-6008\ Key Code 814 Hours: Monday - Friday 7:00am to 9:00pm CST; Saturday 9:00am to 5:00pm CST 12303 Technology, Austin, Texas 78727 ^800-387-3266 if 1 95-800-010-0401 IHs 0800-37 '3535 ™ _: 0130-6OO9 II 140-364*75 Circle 66 on Inquiry Card. ROUNDTABLE Why Doesn't Software Work? OPINIONS BYTE columnists, staff, and contributors debate the issues W elcome to Roundtable— a forum in which, each month, BYTE editors, col- umnists, and contributors debate key is- sues that affect how you purchase and use hardware and software. The "conversations" take place on BIX. This inaugural installment, inspired by Brett Glass's December 1990 Stop Bit, discusses the prob- lems of making today's sophisticated software work properly with today's sophisticated hardware. KEN SHELDON: The question Brett Glass posed in December on why software doesn't work just keeps coming back. For example, I tried to install Windows 3.0 on my 386 clone. But due to some weirdness in the system, I can't use the multitasking features. What I mostly need is the task-switching ability. But guess what? I can't use any of my 4 megabytes of memory beyond 640K bytes! So I try Desqview 386. Now, granted, I haven't de- voted more than a couple of hours to this, but so far I've found a half-dozen interesting ways to lock my machine up tighter than a drum while trying to run two or three applications at once. If a BYTE editor has these prob- lems, what's the average user supposed to do? DON CRABB: This kind of problem is completely for- eign to the Mac environment. The Finder and the Mul- tiFinder will run properly on nearly every Mac. MICHAEL NADEAU: Then why is it that nearly every new Mac box seems to be incompatible with some types of software that ran fine on earlier Macs? CRABB: A bit of folklore I hear all the time and have yet to validate. Sure, I'll find one or two packages that violated the Apple standards and blow up on a new Mac, but those are rare. Even on highly modified iron, like an accelerated Ilf x with 32 MB of RAM and a mil- lion INITs, I have almost no software compatibility problems. I have games from six years ago that still run fine on that Ilf x. The question is not whether the software runs as ad- vertised, but whether it runs at all. Ken can't make the basic function of his PC's alternative operating systems (Windows or Desqview) work properly on his PC. I've never had such a problem with any version of the Mac System I've ever installed. That, to me, defines operat- ing-system stability. JERRY POURNELLE: Then you're a bloody genius. Even as I write this, my wife is try- ing to edit for publication the L.A. Opera newsletter. The Mac II keeps blowing up. It's only a Microsoft Works file. But it's a myth that these ma- chines are easy to use and in- tuitive. CRABB: You could write the same complaints about a To- shiba 5200/100 that my wife was trying to use PageMaker for Windows 3.0 on. It kept blowing up. Does this mean that the Toshiba is a bad ma- chine or hard to use? No. It means that Toshiba hasn't had the hot PR that Apple has about intuitiveness and ease of use. The Mac Myth is just that. I can't think of a single bit of Mac/ Apple PR huck- sterism that ought to be be- lieved, but that doesn't make the Mac any less of a ma- chine. Nor does it make it less in- tuitive or easy to use in some situations and a royal pain in other circumstances. Just like that Toshiba running Windows DON CRABB Contributing Editor OWEN LINDERHOLM News Editor LARRY LOEB Consulting Editor MICHAEL NADEAU Managing Editor, BYTE Lab JERRY POURNELLE Senior Contributing Editor WAYNE RASH JR. Contributing Editor KEN SHELDON Senior Editor, Features TOM THOMPSON Senior Editor at Large I ■ and PageMaker. TOM THOMPSON: It's behavior like this in Microsoft products that starts the rumors of software not working on the Mac. WingZ 1 .00 doesn't work on the Ilsi, but you get an alert box stating that there isn't an FPU on the system, and WingZ gracefully returns you to the Finder. Microsoft Excel doesn't; it just glibly executes MARCH 1991 -BYTE 117 Circle 250 on Inquiry Card. OCR SOFTWARE, RELEASE 1.1 RUosNfiLiPLUS SPEED, ACCURACY AND FLEXIBILITY! ROUNDTABLE The fastest omnifont OCR Software operating in MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows environment Dealers are welcome Call for your demo diskette today: (1-800-255-4-OCR), P.O. Box 0218 Los Angeles, CA 90048 Tel: (408) 749-9935 Fax:(408)730-1180 Distributors: AUSTRALIA •Dataserv Tel: 61-2/957-2066 AUSTRIA •Artaker Tel: 43-222/588-05-0 BELGIUM •Maxcom Tel: 32-2/526 9411 •Tritech Tel: 32-2/466-7535 CZECHOSLOVAKIA •l\A Agency Tel: 42-2/840970 DENMARK •Torsana-dtp data Tel: 45-43/43-35-99 FINLAND •CommNec Tel: 358-0/493100 FRANCE •Apsylog Tel: 33-1/40 26 22 32 GERMANY •Computer 2000 Tel: 49-89/780-40-0 •Frank Audiodata Tel: 49-7254/4091 •Macrotron Tel: 49-89/42-08-0 •Recognita Buroautomatisierung Tel: 37-41/7957-256 GREECE •Electel Tel: 30-1/3607-521 ICELAND •Hofudlausn Tel: 354-1/6S7033 IRELAND •Saunders Acquisition Systems Tel: 353-1/366-522 ITALY •Vecomp Tel: 39-45/577500 JAPAN •Suehiro Koeki Kaisha, Ltd. Tel: 81-52/251-3721 LUXEMBOURG •Burovision Tel: 352-470951 MEXICO •Misermi Tel: 52-5/207-05-02 NORWAY •ICT Databolin Tel: 47-2/79-58-80 POLAND •FX Przeds. Inf. Tel: 48-12/56-57-76 SPAIN •Computer 2000 Espana Tel: 34-3-473-16-60 •CSEI SA Tel: 34-3/336-33-62 •STI Tel: 34-1/45-869-45 SWEDEN •Isogon AB Tel: 46-8/732-87-37 SWITZERLAND •Scan Set Tel: 41-56/96-49-83 TURKEY •EKSPA Tel: 90-4-139-66-11 UNITED KINGDOM •Intac Data Systems Tel: 44-709/547-177 •MSL Dynamics (for Africa) Tel: 44-293/547-788 YUGOSLAVIA •LTS Tel: 38-11/190-572 OEM Partners: •Accret SWEDEN Tel: 46-766/355-30 •Deutsche Nichimen GERMANY Tel: 49-211/3551-202 •EHG GERMANY Tel: 49-7451/7051-2 •Future Technology AUSTRIA Tel: 43-222/866350 •Getronics HOLLAND Tel: 31-20-5861509 •Hewlett-Packard AUSTRIA Tel: 43-222/25-00-0 •Microtek Electronics Europe GERMANY Tel: 49-211/52607-0 •Microtek International TAIWAN Tel: 886-35/772155 •Mitsubishi Electric Europe GERMANY Tel: 49-2102/486359 •Pentax Europe BELGIUM Tel: 32-2725 0570 •Ricoh Europe GERMANY Tel: 49-211/5285-0 an FPU instruction and blows you into a bomb box. I could accept this from a shareware product, but from a vendor like Microsoft, it's inexcusable. A well-documented trap provides per- tinent information (e.g., CPU type, col- or, FPU, and processing speed of a Mac) that an application can query when you launch it. Good software on any platform should try to determine what resources it has to work with, and if it lacks a critical one, it should explain why it can't run (in English) and bow out politely. LARRY LOEB: Apple's philosophy of "write to the manager and we'll do the glue" seems sensible and has made my software investments work throughout T. omany companies, quality control is a cost center. ■ several hardware revisions. And thellfx is a major hardware revision. NADEAU: OK, I'll accept that the stabil- ity of the Mac operating system causes far fewer problems. So let's get back to the original question: Why can't soft- ware always work as it's supposed to? WAYNE RASH JR.: In many cases, the problem has to do with considerations outside the realm of software engineer- ing. To many companies, quality control is a cost center; there is only enough time and money to do the minimum necessary to get the software out the door. There is tremendous competitive pressure to get complex software into the marketplace at the earliest possible time. Couple this with the marketing pressure to announce software as early as possible, and you have a dangerous combination. The development side finds itself re- quired to develop increasingly complex software for a rapidly expanding uni- verse of target platforms, while finding its development cycle limits imposed (probably unrealistically) by marketing. As it's also being squeezed on the other end by the requirement to minimize costs, it's a wonder that most software works as well as it does. You more often see good quality con- trol on products from privately held com- panies, where the need to avoid a take- over or keep the stockholders happy doesn't exist. A good example is Word- Perfect Corp. While many complain that they don't like the WordPerfect approach to word processing, it's a top seller be- cause it works as it's supposed to work. The company is willing to spend the time and money on development and service, and to publish updates and make them available at a nominal cost. CRABB: The processes of software de- sign and marketing have little in com- mon. Thus, many software functionality decisions get made by the product man- ager, who is often a marketer with no de- sign experience. That leaves the pro- gramming manager to try to implement designs that look good in brochures, press releases, and ads, but are nearly impossible to code. POURNELLE: In many cases, the soft- ware works fine, but the installation pro- grams have not been looked at by anyone who understands the software. Installa- tion programs are tacked on as an after- thought, and they insist that you do the installation their way. OWEN LINDERHOLM: Installing soft- ware is getting harder. It used to be that all software was hard to install; then things got easier, with most software im- plementing semi-intelligent installation programs actually called "install." Now, people are getting clever again, using different names or requiring you to run the installation program from some- where strange. An example is Windows programs. The only truly easy-to-install programs are the separate new saver modules for the shareware ScreenPeace screen saver. New modules are installed by copying them to your Windows directory. Next time you start Windows and Screen- Peace, it finds the new saver module and installs it. Most other Windows pro- grams require you to run Windows, run an installation program on drive A, go through some rigmarole, and then reboot afterward. Some even need to be in- stalled from outside Windows! RASH: It's clear that installation pro- grams frequently are a joke, that compat- ible programs frequently aren't, and that a lot of the bugs go unfixed. Why? I Microsoft Windows and MS-DOS are trademarks of Microsoft Corp. 118 BYTE • MARCH 1991 World-class Optical Storage for Novell COREL announces the finest in data security and mass storage for Novell networks. As the world's leading developer of optical interface software for IBM and Macintosh computers, COREL brings you its award-winning line of optical disk sub-systems, the most powerful NetWare compatible optical drives on the market today. Whether you need the permanence of WORM storage, the convenience of erasable optical or the power and flexibility of our new multi-function drive, COREL offers you the most flexible and effective storage solutions anywhere, providing massive archiving capabilities and exceptionally high security options. ,, _ , c.. r ^.„,„ r*~—» ..„,;~.,. *i_. ... COREL software is completely compatible with Novell NetWare utilities, security levels, and all existing applications. The world's leading developer of optical disk interface software invites you to make the networking breakthrough. For details, contact COREL Systems today! £corel TEL:(613)728-8200 FAX:(613)728-9790 Corel Systems Corporation: the universal choice for optical innovation. Circle 77 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS; 78). All video display terminals (VDTs) emit electromagnetic radiation (EMR) through the screen. The photo on the left is a visualization of EMR in red from the screen. The photo on the right shows that the NoRad Shield™ virtually eliminates screen-emitted E-Field EMR and better than half of magnetic EMR * NoRad Radiation Shield No One Comes Close E-FIELD SHIELDING TECHNOLOGY COMPARISON T0 1 GHz CARBON MESH GLASS/ACRYLIC NORAD SHIELD Figures are based on independent lab tests conducted to Military Specification MIL-STD 285 of the NoRad Shield™ and other commercially available radiation-blocking screens. No other VDT screen comes close to the NoRad Shield when you're talking about blocking electromagnetic radiation (EMR). If you're thinking of buying a radiation shield, consider the facts: •Only the NoRad Shield blocks virtually all E-Field EMR* •Only the NoRad Shield blocks magnetic EMR* •And, the NoRad Shield discharges the static field while eliminating glare and reflections. The NoRad Shield - simply the best radiation shield available. Compare and you'll see that no one else even comes close. Call for free product information. *9< Easy to install Color or monochrome Available in sizes to fit virtually all monitors, displays and terminals 99.9999% electric (E field) attenuation from 60 Hz to 1 GHz. 'Greater than 50% magnetic (H field) attenuation above 30 KHz. NoRad Shield is a trademark of NoRad Corporation. SEE US AT MACWORLD EXPO BIRMINGHAM AND PARIS NoRad IN USA: 800-624-8999 Ext. 498 NoRad Corporation 1549 11th St. Santa Monica, CA 90401 213-395-0800 Fax: 213-458-6397 ROUNDTABLE think part of the problem is that we aren't raising a hue and cry loudly enough. I think we also aren't trying the PC soft- ware (or maybe even the Mac stuff) on a wide-enough variety of machines. I'm not sure we always can, simply because many of us have resource limitations that prevent us from having access to more than a small number of machines. But this doesn't absolve the manufac- turers of responsibility to see that their software works as advertised. It's ridicu- lous that computers from major vendors can't run some software from major manufacturers. Many vendors claim that their software is only for "IBM and 100 percent compatible computers," but what does that mean? Even IBM isn't 100 per- cent compatible with itself. I think that the software manufacturers are inten- tionally cutting back on development and testing because the customers aren't holding their feet to the fire. We can help do that, and we should. POURNELLE: I do try stuff on a variety of machines, as well as on the network, and I find more broken software than most. I often find the installation pro- grams to have been written by imbeciles as an afterthought. They could simply tell you to copy everything and then run the program; but no, most want to do complex installations (that serve the copy-protection function more than any- thing else) . I think few people use their own software. But in fact, one reason they get away with it is that we don't spend enough time yelling at them. Even I've got away from doing that; I will do better in future. RASH: One of the most irritating fea- tures of installation programs is that many seem much more finicky about what machine they are used on than is the software they support. I've seen several that simply will not work with DOS 4.01, for example, and a few that will not work with large disks. The software, once you get it installed, will work fine in those conditions, but you have to fig- ure out how to install it on your own. I think much of this kind of problem is a combination of a lack of desire for excel- lence and an effort to get the stuff out the door. Neither is an acceptable excuse. I think these companies give only the briefest thought to the installation pro- grams. I guess they think that, since it will only be used once, it doesn't matter. But the reality is that it's the first impres- sion their customers have of their com- mitment to quality, and we all know how important first impressions are. ■ 120 BYTE- MARCH 1991 Circle 203 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 204). \ SketchMate: The Intelligent Graphics Machine means incredible new creative power for you! t~ The power to plot! The power to cut! Plotting Power... Signmaking Power... Professional-quality desktop plotting and signmaking for your home, office or school using your personal computer. Combined in one Intelligent Graphics Machine for $695. Now you can increase your store, office, home, busi- ness, educational or personal creative expression by expanding your PC capabilities to include letter size, multi-color pen plotting for business presentations, CAD drawings, and graphics design, as well as signmaking for in-store display, clothing design, and vehicle detailing, with the incredible new SketchMate! The Plotting Edge...With SketchMate you can use 32 multi- colored pens in your choice of 0.3mm and 0.6mm widths for thinner or thicker graphic output. In addition to regular paper media, SketchMate can use bond, multi-purpose bond, presentation paper, tracing paper, OHP sheets, and even matte film to accommodate most all of your plotting needs. Even poster making is supported with a choice of broad-tip pens, in most colors, to choose from. The Cutting Edge*...SketchMate also allows you to create your own signs, labels, and logos using a unique cutting pen that cuts vinyl or flock material. Design T-shirts, caps, clothing, and crafts. Create in-store promos, displays, and attention-getters. Customize your car, truck, boat, and RV. SketchMate combines the features of a plotter with the capabilities of a signmaking machine, giving you both! The Power of Flexibility...SketchMate supports IBM PC's and compatibles and operates with a wide range of commercially 'available CAD and graphics software. However, you don't have to buy software to get started since SketchMate includes "ArtMate," a dedicated software program featuring 100 graphics patterns and sample designs. IT'S ONLY $695! SketchMate and Intelligent Graphics Machines are trademarks of Roland Digital Group. *Cutting capabilities offered as an option — Model #RPC-K1 . SketchMate Intelligent Graphics Machine TM For more information, call us at (714) 975-0560 today, or write for a catalog of the complete Roland line — the broadest collection of computer output peripherals in the world. 1961 McGaw Avenue/Irvine, CA 92714 Telephone (714) 975-0560/Fax (714) 975-0569 Circle 251 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 252). Roland DIGITAL GROUP Take any 3 books for only $1 00 each Design Of wiputer Data Files SECOND-EDITION JSON ADVANCED TURBO C. By J.T. Smith. 256 pp., illus., soft bound. Mastering Turbo C has never been easier. Coverage includes string pro- cessing, screen handling with Turbo C Tools, keyboard input, file handling, memory management, interrupt ser- vices, and more. 587/078 Pub. Pr., $28.95 INTRODUCING PC-DOS & MS-DOS, Second Ed. By T Sheldon. 403 pp., illus., softbound. This Second Edition covers all releases through 4.0, as well as Microsoft Windows and DOS- SHELL. Features the same hands-on tutorial format of the First Edition, with expanded coverage of batch file tech- niques that can dramatically increase your computing speed. 565/651 Pub. Pr., $29.95 DATABASE SYSTEM CONCEPTS. By H. F. Korth and A. Silberschatz. 546 pp., illus. From fundamental con- cept to advanced problem solving, this book provides a clear under- standing of the design and use of database systems. 447/527 Pub. Pr., $46.95 A PROFESSIONAL'S GUIDE TO SYS- TEMS ANALYSIS. By M.E. Modell. 307 pp., illus. Detailed coverage of what you need to know-what ques- tions to ask, how to conduct a cost- benefit analysis, how to document and validate your findings-to design the best systems for your user's needs. 426/325 Pub. Pr., $37.95 DATA EXCHANGE: PC/MS-DOS. By S. Ross. 426 pp., illus., softbound. Now you can convert files quickly and painlessly from word processing pro- grams to spreadsheets . . . from spreadsheets to databases ... or from databases to word processing programs. Packed with simple, step- by-step instructions that will save you headaches and money. 539/235 Pub. Pr., $24.95 when you join BYTE Book Club® VALUES UP TO $147.85! • Your one source for computer books from over 100 different publishers - the latest and best information in your field discounts of up to 40% off publishers' list prices C: Step-by-Step. By M. Waite and S. Prata. 629 pp., illus., softbound. Mas- tering C has never been easier! This updated version of the classic C Primer Plus includes ANSI C, pointers, structures, bitwise opera- tors, and much more ... all in a format that makes learning it faster and eas- ier than ever. 585146-6 Pub. Pr., $29.50 INSIDE THE NORTON UTILITIES: Revised and Expanded. By R. Krumm. 559 pp., illus., softbound. The "official guide" now covers all the latest upgrades and shows you how to get the most from the Standard and Advanced Editions, the Norton Com- mander, Editor, Disk Doctor, and the On-Line Guides. 585444-9 Pub. Pr., $24.95 SOFTWARE DIAGRAMING: A New Design Paradigm. By Drs. J. S. Murphy and K. G. Balke. 386 pp., illus. This important work lays the foundation for a model in which diagrams gradually replace textual programming language. It clearly explains the types of diagrams need- ed, how to draw them, and why they are drawn. 441/189 Pub. Pr., $49.95 DESIGN OF COMPUTER DATA FILES, Second Ed. By O. Hanson. 479 pp., illus. This comprehensive book contains lucid descriptions of the latest techniques and storage de- vices to help you design files for maxi- mum performance at minimum cost. Easy to read, with scores of exam- ples, tables, and illustrations. 585143-1 Pub. Pr., $37.95 DATA PROCESSING IN UNIX. By R. S. Tare. 438 pp., illus. The only guide you'll ever need to harness the full power of UNIX for database manage- ment. It sets out system selection cri- teria . . . examines such applications as INFORMIX, INGRES, and UNIFY . . . and explores flat file systems in UNIX. 628/858 Pub. Pr., $39.95 DATA COMMUNICATIONS: A Comprehensive Approach, Second Ed. By G. Held and R. Sarch. 539 pp., illus. This new edition of a bestseller covers all the state-of- the-art techniques that have dramat- ically altered communications. Key topics include: LANs, intelligent mo- dems, optical fiber, and electronic mail— as well as the open systems interconnection (OSI), T1 multiplex- ing, and integrated services digital network (ISDN). 279/888 Pub. Pr., $44.95 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USING C: The C Programmer's Guide to AI Techniques. By H. Schildt. 412pp., 37 illus., softbound. This hands-on guide shows you how, to create your own AI applications and systems using C. After an introduc- tory overview it provides coverage of expert systems, logic, natural lan- guage processing, machine learning, pattern recognition, and more, with ready-to-run programs illustrating each topic. 881255-0 Pub. Pr., $21.95 PROGRAMMING USING THE C LANGUAGE. By R.C. Hutchison and S.B. Just. 519 pp., illus. Whether you want to understand programs in C written by others, or write better C programs of your own, this practical, authoritative book gives you the tools and guidance you need. Coverage includes program organization, sort- ing algorithms, recursion, linked lists, and more - with many sample pro- grams. 315/418 Pub. Pr., $29.95 COMPUTER VIRUSES: What They Are, How They Work, and How to Avoid Them. By J. L. Mayo. 760 pp., Softbound, plus diskette. Defend your PC and your programs from un- friendly invasion with this helpful and practical book/disk set. The book shows you how to detect and deal with known viruses . . . offers invalu- able tips on protecting DOS. . .and evaluates antiviral programs. The disk contains five proven anti-viral programs for IBM and compatible PCs. 585363-9 Pub. Pr., $29.95 CIARCIAS CIRCUIT CELLAR, Vol. VII. By S. Ciarcia. 256 pp., illus, soft- bound. The latest volume in this best- selling series provides schematics, operating explanations, and step-by- step building instructions for a wide range of projects — from video digitiz- ing to multitasking process control. 109/699 Pub. Pr., $19.95 BYTE BOOK CLUB Membership Order Card Please enroll me as a member and send the 3 choices listed below, billing me $3.00. I agree to purchase a minimum of 2 additional books during my first year as outlined under the Club plan described in this ad. Membership in the club is cancellable by me any time after fulfilling my obligation. A shipping and handling charge and local sales tax is added to all shipments. Signature Name Address/ Apt. # City/State/Zip This order subject to acceptance by McGraw-Hill. All prices subject to change without notice. Valid for new members only. Foreign member acceptance subject to special conditioQS. BYCA-034 BYTE BOOK CLUB® P.O. Box 582 Hightstown, NJ 08520-9959 PRINTED IN U.S.A. BYTE BOOK CLUB Membership Order Card Please enroll me as a member and send the 3 choices listed below, billing me $3.00. I agree to purchase a minimum of 2 additional books during my first year as outlined under the Club plan described in this ad. Membership in the club is cancellable by me any time after fulfilling my obligation. A shipping and handling charge and local sales tax is added to all shipments. Signature Name Address/Apt. # City/State/Zip This order subject to acceptance by McGraw-Hill. All prices subject to change without notice. Valid for new members only. Foreign member acceptance subject to special conditions. BYCA-034 BYTE BOOK CLUB® P.O. Box 582 Hightstown, NJ 08520-9959 PRINTED IN U.S.A. CO in > LU OrrO *& POSTA CESSA MAILE ifn Zlli owy= f- zz z Z> titfS CO LU> LU OcQ t? <r LU"5-t Q OLuy= \- zz Z 3 — J z ^™ z ]i CLs UJd cc= 2s cos 0) 111^ Zi HMB CO 0)5 CQg LU LU CO CO LU CE Q Q < CD 2 LU CD LU CD < CM in ■9 ? 3 O 7T CM (J io ^ CO o © O -i 00 z = CM - = CO C XW ^ 2mJ2 (5 • -c oO.S> Soil ^J 2 titfS TURBO PASCAL EXPRESS, Revised Ed. By R. Jourdain. 584963-1 Pub. Pr., $39.95 COBOL II: Programming Tech- niques; Eiiiciency Considera- tions; Debugging Techniques (Includes Release 3.1). By H. Bookman. 065/330 Pub. Pr., $39.95 ADVANCED GRAPHICS IN C: Pro- gramming and Techniques. By N. Johnson. 881257-7 Pub. Pr., $22.95 DEVELOPING APPLICATIONS USING DOS. By K.W. Christopher, Jr., B.A. Feigenbaum, and S.O. Saliga. 585469-4 Pub. Pr., $24.95 POWER GRAPHICS PROGRAM- MING. By M. Abrash. 585443-0 Pub. Pr., $24.95 WINDOWS PROGRAMMING: An Introduction. B y W.H. Murray III and C.H. Pappas. 881536-3 Pub. Pr., $28.95 ADVANCED 80386 PROGRAM- MING TECHNIQUES. 8y J. L. Turley. 881342-5 Pub. Pr., $22.95 A DOS USER'S GUIDE TO UNIX. By D.W. Topham. 585537-2 Pub. Pr., $27.95 80386: A Programming and De- sign Handbook, 2nd Ed. By P. Brumm and D. Brumm. 585077-X Pub. Pr., $24.95 PRINCIPLES OF ARTIFICIAL INTEL- LIGENCE AND EXPERT SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT. By D.W. Rolston. 536/147 Pub. Pr., $47.95 FILE ORGANIZATION FOR DATA- BASE DESIGN. By G. Wiederhold. 701/334 Pub. Pr., $47.95 STRETCHING TURBO C. By K. Por- ter. 584967-4 Pub. Pr., $24.95 DATA COMMUNICATIONS: A User's Guide, 3rd Ed. By K. Sherman. 585384-1 Pub. Pr., $34.00 OPERATING SYSTEMS. By M. Milenkovic. 419/205 Pub. Pr., $47.95 IBM PS/2: A Reierence Guide. By TJ Byers. 095/272 Pub. Pr., $39.95 m THE HAN1DI3CCK Ci : MIORCCCMR/T INHSI?i=AaN0 Second Erffcn Systems Design in a Database Environment Any 3 books for $1.00 each ... if you Join now and agree to purchase two more books— at handsome discounts-during your first year of membership. THE HANDBOOK OF MICRO- COMPUTER INTERFACING, Sec- ond Ed. By S. Leibson. 340 pp. illus., Softbound. Starting with a quick tutorial in digital electronics, this all- inclusive handbook refreshes and up- dates your working knowledge of cir- cuits, microprocessors, and basic interface types. 585079-6 Pub. Pr., $19.95 UNIX UnLTTIES. By R. S. Tare. 352 pp., illus., Softbound. Written for pro- grammers and serious hobbyists, the practical manual explains all the fea- tures of the most popular utilities in the UNIX environment. Included are utilities for file processing, debug- ging, language development, system development, database manage- ment, text formatting, data communi- cations, writing, and many more. 628/84X Pub. Pr., $29.95 SYSTEMS DESIGN IN A DATABASE ENVIRONMENT. By Dr. K. S. Brathwaite. 308 pp., illus. From con- cept through analysis, design, test- ing, implementation, and performance monitoring— this book provides definitive guidance in such essential areas as data analysis, user requirement surveying, design meth- odologies, logical database design, normalization, and development of security controls. 072/507 Pub. Pr., $44.95 1-2-3 RELEASE 3: The Complete Reierence. By M. Campbell. 881318-2 Pub. Pr., $28.95 GRAPHICS DESIGN AND ANIMA- TION ON THE IBM MICROCOMPU- TERS. By J. Sanchez. 585375-2 Pub. Pr., $28.00 NETWORKING C. B. Ungaro. 606969-9 SOFTWARE. By Pub. Pr., $49.95 VS COBOL II FOR COBOL PRO- GRAMMERS. By P. Kavanagh. 335/710 Pub. Pr., $39.95 C: The Complete Reierence, 2nd Ed. By H. Schildt. 881538-X Pub. Pr., $28.95 IBM MICROCOMPUTERS: A Pro- grammer's Handbook. By J. San- chez and M.P. Canton. 545/944 Pub. Pr., $44.95 ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE. By R. Ashley, J. Fer- nandez, and P. Ashley. 024/634 Pub. Pr., $27.95 Clip & Mail BYTE BOOK CLUB® P.O. Box 582 Hightstown, NJ 08520-9959 Please enroll me as a member and send me the three choices I have listed below. Bill me only $3.00, plus local tax, postage and handling. I agree to purchase a minimum of two additional books during my first year as outlined under the Club plan described in this ad. Membership in the club is cancellable by me any time after the two book purchase requirement has been fulfilled. A shipping and handling charge is added to all shipments. Indicate in the boxes the code numbers of the books you want. Signature . Name Address / Apt. # City / State / Zip This order subject to acceptance by McGraw-Hill. All prices subject to change without notice. Offer good only to new members. Foreign member acceptance subject to special conditions. BYCA-034 Here's how BYTE Book Club® works to serve you: • Important information ... we make it easy to get! Today, professionals who perform best are those who are best informed. For reliable, hands-on information, turn to the Byte Book Club. Every 3 or 4 weeks (12-15 times a year), members receive the Club Bulletin offering more than 30 books - the best, newest, most important books from all publishers. • Dependable service . . . we're here to help! Whether you want informa- tion about a book or have a question about your membership, just call us toll- free or drop us a line. To get only the books you want, make your choice on the Reply Card and return it by the date specified. If you want the Main Selection, do nothing - it will be sent to you automatically. (A small shipping and handling charge is added to each shipment.) • Club convenience . . .we do the work! You get a wide choice of books that simply cannot be matched by any bookstore. And all your books are conve- niently delivered right to your door. You also get 1 full days to decide whether you want the Main Selection. (If the Club Bulletin ever comes late and you receive a Main Selection you don't want, return it for credit at our expense.) • Substantial savings . . . and a bonus program too! You enjoy substan- tial discounts-up to 40%!-on every book you buy. Plus, you're automatically eligible for our Bonus Book Plan which allows you savings up to 70% on a wide selection of books. • Easy membership terms . . . it's worthwhile to belong! Your only obligation is to purchase 2 more books - at handsome discounts - during the next 12 months, after which you enjoy the benefits of membership with no further obligation. You or the Club may cancel membership anytime thereafter. Fill out the card and mall today! If the card Is missing, write to: BYTE Book Club, P.O. Box 582, Hightstown, New Jersey 08520-9959 FEATURE The Multilingual Edge Machine translation of human languages makes sense if you deal with large volumes of documents written in other languages PETER M. BENTON In the past few years, the world has shrunk into a village, and age-old barriers to communication have fallen. The Iron Curtain has been dismantled, Ger- many unified, the channel connecting England and France built, and the European Economic Community born. Glasnost, or openness, the watchword of the new Soviet order, is founded on improved communication— person to person, person to institution, business to business. With rapidly accelerating globalization, the economic necessity for people to do business in dozens of languages has spurred the demand for fast, accurate, and easy-to-use translation systems. To conduct business globally, all types of documents must travel across the boundaries of countries. Many of these are good candidates for machine trans- lation. Language translation, natural or automated, meets two complementary needs: telling others what you have to offer (information dissemination) and keeping track of the outside world (information acquisition). Although for the foreseeable future people will still play an essential role in translation, machine translation has the potential to improve productivity and consistency dramatically. A sampling of some business-oriented information dissemination includes sales and advertising literature, product operations instructions and service pro- cedure data, and technical and academic literature. Many dissemination applica- tions also have an information acquisition side— for example, daily correspon- dence; economic, commercial, and military news; and business and personal conversation. Information dissemination and acquisition require different capabilities from a translation system. Dissemination, which is the more common application, re- quires smooth interaction with a publishing system. Acquisition, such as tracking technical advances and news, requires the ability to communicate with a variety of input devices. Because computers and other appliances have become more and more our partners, it has become vital that they communicate with us in our own natural languages. Most of the commercial-grade automated translation systems started out on mainframes. But they are now, or soon will be, available or accessible from workstations such as the Sun SPARC workstation and server, as well as from many 386 and 486 platforms (see the photo). Workstation availability makes it 124 BYTE • MARCH 1991 ILLUSTRATION; THEO RUDNAK © 1991 MARCH 1991 -BYTE 125 THE MULTILINGUAL EDGE The Intergraph machine-language Translator system provides a GUI, although the underlying technology is based on an earlier command-oriented system. easy to tie the dissemination and acquisition aspects of transla- tion into publishing and input devices. The Translation Process A basic translation system consists of software, and a substantial electronic software may be written in a variety BVTE ACTION SUMMARY MACHINE TRANSLATION The world is growing smaller every day. Accurate commu- nication between countries, people, and businesses is be- coming more and more im- portant. Manual machine translation has become too slow and cumbersome, and computers have taken over this essential but difficult task. Here are some of the challenges inherent in auto- mated translation, and ways that today's sophisticated hardware and software are dealing with, and resolving, the many problems. 126 BYTE • MARCH 1991 a workstation, translation bilingual dictionary. The of computer languages— C, Lisp, FORTRAN, or PL/I— depending on the system's history. The dictionary contains tens of thousands of words coded to show what parts of speech they represent and the semantic catego- ries they occupy. The translation sys- tems used in information dissemination are inte- grated with or can ex- change files with pub- lishing systems such as those from Interleaf. The translation systems that are used for information acquisition are integrated with optical character recognition (OCR) scan- ners and other input de- vices. Not every type of text is a suitable candidate for automated translation. Poor candidates include turgid technical and aca- demic writing, tran- scripts of spoken conver- sation, advertisements, and creative literature. However, for the right types of texts, users typi- cally experience several benefits. Automation re- duces overall document translation time because raw transla- tion is faster. Terminology in the target copy is more consistent because the machine refers to the database rather than to human experience. And composition costs in the target lan- guage decrease substantially when markup coding is used (more on that later). Despite advances in the state of the art, no black box exists that reliably translates typical human language in a completely unattended manner. For that matter, it is rare to have a docu- ment professionally translated by only one person. Generally, in information dissemination, a translator does the bulk of the work, and a post-editor checks and polishes the text of the fin- ished document. In information acquisition, translators often use a two-tiered approach. An initial rough translation of a page or two is pre- pared and reviewed by a subject matter expert. If the text ap- pears useful, the document is then translated and post-edited. Whether performed by a person or a machine, though, trans- lation undergoes a five-stage process: input, analysis, transfer, synthesis, and output. Depending on the kind of translation performed, automation improves the process in several areas. Uno: Input Input involves getting the raw copy into the appropriate form for processing. In natural translation, human translators read the copy and translate it sentence by sentence, and simulta- neous interpreters listen to the spoken word and translate it thought by thought. Today, for machine translation, computers must be spoon-fed the copy in a digital form as ASCII text (al- though this limitation is giving way to technology such as OCR and voice recognition). Another facet of the input stage is the collection and organi- zation of the appropriate terminology. A translator of molecu- lar biology articles, for instance, likely will need to gather technical literature in the target language to see how others in the field spell and use specialized terms. New terminology and new meanings for existing terminology are growing far more rapidly than new editions of dictionaries are published. Conse- quently, expanding the terminology database is the most im- portant maintenance task a user of an automated language- translation system performs. To translate properly, the system must have terminology in both the source and the target languages. It also must have the rules for applying the terminology correctly in the analysis and the synthesis stages. With an automated language translation system, the user needs to add a new term or meaning (with associated rules) only once. By contrast, in human translation, that term has to be researched perhaps scores of times by individual translators working on different documents at different times. The input stage for automated translation can be easy or dif- ficult (i.e. , expensive or inexpensive) depending on the form of the data to be translated. For accuracy, it's best to start with word processing or ASCII files instead of paper. Transferring language from hard copy into electronic form is costly and error prone. In information dissemination applications, the translated copy often will be republished in the target language. Thus, carrying structural or typographic attributes from the source may be desirable so that markers for heads and subheads, table rows and columns, numbered lists, italics, underscores, and other emphasis marks can be reused in the target language. Commercial-grade translation systems have table-driven tools that recognize markup codes and record their positions in the linear text so that they can be regenerated after transfer. continued THE MULTILINGUAL EDGE PARSING AND INTERLINGUA REPRESENTATION a) Sentence Noun phrase Verb phrase Verb phrase Prepositional phrase Verb Preposition Noun phrase Article Noun phrase Noun HORSE FLIES LIKE BAT b) HORSE (noun) FLIES (verb) LIKE (preposition) A (article) BAT (noun) HORSE (verb) FLIES (noun) >- LIKE (verb) c) (Syntactic reading) Document: 44215 Sentence: 52 Subject: (( FLY ( syntax: headnoun, plural)(semantics: neuter, animate, blood-sucking insect)) (HORSE ( syntax: noun, modifier)(semantics: inherit headnoun) ( flag: ill-formed compound noun, should be one word)) ) Verb: (( TO LIKE (syntax: verb, present)(semantics: preference)) ) Object: ((BAT (syntax : headnoun, singular)(semantics: neuter, animate, mammal)) (A (syntax: indefinite article, singular)) ) Possible syntactic readings (parentheses added to clarify) O (The HORSE (runs so swiftly, he) FLIES LIKE A BAT. O HORSE FLIES (insects) LIKE (to feed on) A BAT. O HORSE (around, you) FLIES LIKE A BAT. Simple parsing (a) yields a single parse tree even if the sentence is ambiguous (i. e. , it can be parsed several ways). At this stage, the parsing is purely syntactic. Sophisticated parsing (b) yields a parse forest composed of all parses that the grammar allows. Syntactically, the sentence in this example can be interpreted several ways. Semantic analysis of the parse forest will yield a most likely interpretation (syntactic reading #2), which becomes the inter lingua representation. An interlingua representation (c) details the syntax of a sentence and includes enough semantics to increase the likelihood of creating an accurate synthesis. Elements of the representation are actually coded as numbers that are indexes to multilingual dictionary entries and phrase structure templates. MARCH 1991 •BYTE 127 Circle 1 1 5 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 116). Fast, aggressive, cheap, tireless, impartial, intelligent, decisive 8c tenacious! EXPERT FOR HIRE $495 KnowledgeSEEKER® - a brainy and tireless information analyst, will help you make sense of your mountains of Lotus®, dBase® or ASCII data. Use its statistical know-how to find significant facts, figures and trends that will help you make better decisions - faster than ever before! Buying this $495 PC software package will be the last decision you'll ever have to make on your own. Knowledge SEEKER® CALL 1-800-387-7335 NOW... For a FREE DEMO DISK . Database Decision Analyst from FirstMark Technologies Ltd. ' 1990 FirstMark Technologies Lid. All other trademarks acknowledged THE MULTILINGUAL EDGE I Mainframe graphics DEC®VT220 DEC VT100 DEC VT52 Tektronix® 4010 Tektronix 4014 Tektronix 4105 Properly emulated VTEK-HP Terminal Emulator! Report m Exported to PC applications GEM @ PIC HP-GL & HP-GL72 Color PostScript® TIFF Ic Endi 508 N. Kentucky St., Kingston, TN 37763 (61 5) 376-41 46 FAX: (61 5) 376-1 571 L WM Special rules are needed to handle phrases, because the word order may change or the phrase may be broken up entirely in the translation process (see below). Deux: Analysis Analysis consists of parsing (simple or sophisticated) and, in some systems, semantic disambiguation to clarify the syntax of a sentence. The disambiguation process decides what is meant when multiple interpretations are possible. Automated transla- tion systems record only enough of the semantics to reduce the chances of getting a wrong parse. Simple parsing yields a grammatical representation of a sen- tence (see figure la). On a treelike diagram showing the gram- matical relationships, every word is positioned according to its part of speech and its relationship to other words in the sen- tence. Sophisticated parsing yields all possible representations of the sentence's syntax (see figure lb). Beyond that, a more elab- orate parse can identify the role of subjects and objects in the sentence, and describe their actions and attributes. The result of parsing and disambiguation, the coded "interlingua repre- sentation," is a series of complex records— typically one record per original input sentence (see figure lc). You can think of the interlingua as the essence of the sen- tence in a logical structure. Attributes of the interlingua are stored in a standardized form. Research has been under way for many years now on the development of systems that possess nat- ural language understanding. Such systems can identify the role of subjects and objects in the sentence and describe their actions and attributes. If these research efforts are successful, natural language understanding capabilities will be added to translation systems. A system intended to work with many languages must have a rich interlingua representation so that it can record all the class- es of distinctions used in any of the languages. A great deal of variation exists in the data structures that different translation systems use. Each data structure reflects the linguistic exper- tise of the system's architect, as well as the intended use of the system. For instance, the Distributed Language Translation system being developed in the Netherlands (see the text box "Translation Technology Alternatives" at right) uses Esperan- to as its interlingua. The Esperanto language was invented in the late 1 800s for scientific discourse. Drei: Transfer During the transfer process, systematic changes are made to the interlingua representation so that it can be used to generate copy. In essence, the transfer process moves markers for all linguistic characteristics to the new positions needed for the next stage, synthesis. In human beings, the transfer process is automatic and hid- den from view. But in computers, the interlingua representa- tion is highly formalized and does not resemble linear copy. The system needs one transfer algorithm for every target lan- guage. Transfer algorithms are tightly integrated with the in- terlingua and play an important role in handling complex sen- tences accurately. The system performs many operations during the transfer process, among them the conversion of the treelike representa- tion into a linear series of tokens (e.g., verbs, nouns, pronouns, and adjectives). The token sequence reflects the appropriate or- dering of sentence parts (e.g., subject, verb, and object) in the target language; for example, verbs appear in different charac- teristic positions depending on the language. Selection of the appropriate substructures for clauses and 128 BYTE- MARCH 1991 Circle 263 on Inquiry Card. THE MULTILINGUAL EDGE Translation Technology Alternatives Translation of human language has been a goal of com- puter science from the very beginning of the field. In 1966, the infamous ALPAC (Automated Language Pro- cessing Advisory Committee) report, prepared by the National Academy of Sciences, concluded that automated trans- lation was unattainable in the near future. The report recom- mended that government funding be redirected to basic cogni- tive science research, a suggestion that squelched U.S. research in automated translation for more than a decade. During that time, however, research continued in Europe and Japan. In 1989, a 10-year study, supported by the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), found that virtual- ly all of the circumstances underlying the ALPAC conclusions had reversed. This study concluded that machine translation is both practical and necessary for specific information search needs (information acquisition) and cost-effective production of certain classes of documents (information dissemination). Early translation systems performed a word-for-word re- placement of target language for source language. Such systems ignored the fact that sentence structure varies widely and that words play more than one role (e.g., noun or verb) and have more than one meaning. The lowest-cost translation systems available today on personal computers still suffer from these limitations. If you decide to play around with one, make sure there is a money-back guarantee. To keep track of Russian technology during the Cold War, the U.S. Air Force funded development of a translation system by IBM called the Mark II, which performed word-for-word replacement. In 1970, the Mark II was replaced by a program called Systran, which had become operational in 1964. Sys- tran, now owned by Systran Translation Systems, consists of low-level primitives to manipulate human language. Instead of performing word-for-word replacement, the Systran system translates through analysis of the sentence's syntax. Systran is considering porting its translation program to workstations, but currently you can access it (for a price) via modem. Since 1981, Systran has been developing Japanese-to- English and English-to- Japanese modules. The company offers more than 20 language pairs. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has devel- oped two translation systems, Spanam and Engspan. Today, these systems are used on a production basis, and they collec- tively have translated millions of words. PAHO has organized a consortium of public-sector supporters to fund porting of the PAHO system to workstations and to develop additional lan- guage pairs. Logos was originally developed to translate U.S. Air Force equipment manuals into Vietnamese. Today, Logos runs on various classes of computers, including several IBM models and Wang departmental computers, and offers close to a dozen language pairs. Logos uses an internal representation that in- cludes both syntax and semantics in the same data structure. Written in FORTRAN, Logos can be ported to workstations. Originally developed on DEC VAXes, the Smart line of translation systems now is offered for Sun SPARC workstations and SCO Xenix on 386 and 486 workstations. Smart smoothly interfaces with a number of publishing systems, including In- terleaf, FrameMaker, PageMaker, Microsoft Word, and Word- Perfect. In the early 1960s, the University of Texas started develop- ment of Metal, a linguistically sophisticated system for Ger- man-to-English translation. The result was a huge FORTRAN program that was tremendously resource intensive. In the late 1970s, Metal was rewritten in Lisp, and, in 1980, Siemens ac- quired the software. In 1989, Siemens introduced Metal as part of an integrated multilingual publishing system that was com- posed of a Unix workstation and a specialized Lisp-based translation server. Metal preserves markup codes and provides an expert system to help the user update its multilingual dictio- nary. Tovna Machines was incorporated in Israel in 1985 to com- mercialize technology emerging from a research project begun in 1977. Tovna is commercially available for about half a dozen language pairs. Developed on Sun workstations, Tovna is writ- ten in C. The Tovna architecture uses a variety of AI methods to both translate and learn new rules by examining how the post-editor polishes the translation. Reportedly, this software has the capacity to create general rules from specific examples, and it gives an expert user the ability to refine the rules over time. Alpnet offers its Automated Language Processing System software for use on personal computers. Users of ALPS have massive translation contracts with Alpnet and need in-house automation for some portion of the translation task. Alpnet's system provides machine-assisted translation. It works interac- tively with the translator to provide automated dictionary look- up and sentence-by-sentence translation. Executive Communication Systems offers a series of toolkits for processing language, at costs ranging from $50,000 to $150,000. Reportedly, users can develop their own customized translation systems and create the necessary lexicons. At the other end of the price range is GTS, by Globalink, possibly the lowest-priced sentence-level translation system available. BSO Language Translation in the Netherlands has been working since 1982 on prototypes of a Distributed Language Translation system. The company expects commercial versions to be available in 1993. It has ambitious objectives— to be able to translate general business correspondence and technical lit- erature. BSO expects to achieve this goal by equipping DLT with an immense knowledge base and the ability to query the user about the copy. In essence, the system will ask the user to pre-edit copy when it contains ambiguities. Developed on Sun- 3 workstations, DLT's software modules are written in C and Quintus Prolog. In Japan, Fujitsu offers one commercially available transla- tion system, called Atlas G, which uses a syntactic approach. The firm is seeking partners for a second system (still in a mul- tiyear development stage) called the Atlas II. This system will incorporate a massive knowledge base of commonsense in- formation. MARCH 1991 • BYTE 129 Circle 1 81 on Inquiry Card. THE MULTILINGUAL EDGE BACKPACK. IT'S A DRIVE Of A DIFFERENT COLOR. Add a disk drive without hors- ing around inside your com- puter -just plug Back- [■ pack into your parallel 'm port! Connect your printer to the Backpack drive. No tools. No hassles. • No interface cards. Back- pack works with IBM and compatibles including PCs, XTs,ATs,PS/2s, PS/Is, and laptops. It's available in 5.25" and 3.5" and comes complete with everything you need. So see your dealer or get it straight from the - horse's mouth and call us about Backpack today! MicroSolutians Computer Products 132 W. Lincoln Hwy., DeKalb, IL 60115 815-756-3411 Fax:756-2928 AccSys for Set of C libraries for easy access to Paradox data and index files. Windows 3.0 & OS/2 support. Source available but not required. Total control over table files primary and secondary index files. Network and single-user versions available. Copict International Ltd 1964 Richton Drive, Wheaton, Illinois 60187 708/682-8898 FAX: 708/665-9841 Instant info, via FaxFacts: 708/924-7465 Press: 889822# phrases also occurs during the transfer process. Acceptable clause and phrase structures differ markedly; for example, Spanish compound-noun clauses tend to include many linking words, while German noun clauses simply string nouns to- gether. Associating linguistic markers for tense, number, aspect, gender, and so forth with the tokens is another transfer opera- tion. For example, languages that use gender and plurality (e.g., French) reflect these characteristics in nouns, pronouns, prepositions, and verbs. The French word for the can be le, la, or les depending on the gender and number of the related noun. Four: Synthesis In the synthesis stage of machine translation, the ordered se- quence of linguistic tokens is converted into language. The re- sult of synthesis is sentences (perhaps with typographic mark- up) in the target language. Once again, in humans, the synthesis process is automatic and hidden from view. In computers, however, much of synthe- sis is simple lookup and replacement, while other parts of the process are more elaborate. Synthesis of prepositions (e.g., at, in, on, and by) and pro- nouns (e.g., this, that, who, what, I, and you) is straight- forward. Strings of tokens can be immediately replaced by words. Synthesis of nouns and verbs, though, often requires in- telligent selection among a range of candidates, and the choice depends on the appropriate jargon for that translation subject area. Many problems can arise during synthesis. Synthesis is espe- cially difficult in fields such as law, where underlying philoso- phies may vary substantially from country to country. But problems can also occur in other fields. For example, in an automatic translation of a medical text from English to Spanish, the English word nostril was translated into a Spanish word equivalent to the English word vent instead of the phrase orifi- cios de la nariz. Since the lexical database did not contain orifi- cios de la nariz, it used a "next best" term, which was suitable for inanimate objects only. Cinque: Output Human-performed translation yields written documents (often produced using desktop publishing) or a spoken utterance. In automated translation, however, the user typically has several choices of output, depending on the application for the transla- tion. Some systems provide an editing environment, and others produce files for subsequent editing in a word processor. Usually, automated translation output is formatted as side- by-side reports, single language reports, or word processing files. The user also has the option of seeing error flags. A side-by-side report or word processing file would show the source copy on one side and the target copy on the other. If pres- ent, error flags would be shown on the line where the error was detected. With help from the side-by-side report, the user can check and adjust the translation. Error codes draw the eye to areas needing attention. In production translation operations, the principal users of the side-by-side report or word processing file are post-editors, who polish the translation into final form. Secondary users are terminology experts, who examine what the post-editors have done and adjust the terminology database accordingly. Special Features With some automated translation systems, users can choose special features that are useful in particular applications. These features include repetitions processing, microglossaries, 130 BYTE- MARCH 1991 SUBJECT: V.P., Engineering PROBLEM: Your competitor has announced the product Your Engineering team isn't even working on it Your customers want it now. Whafs your answer? SOLUTION: MICRONICS Today, time-to-market is everything. Everyone wants the latest technology. You have to have a product when the demand is hot. And it has to work. Before investing time and money now, and still miss the window, turn to Micronics for your system board needs. Dedicated to advanced engineering, Micronics has a full line of 80386 and 80486 ISA/EISA products. We provide excellent time-to-market and superior design without sacrificing performance or reliability. In fact, we have a proven record with hundreds of thousands of system boards in the field today. Our own designs, FCC certification, complete compatibility testing and less than 1% field failure rates make Micronics system boards the industry leaders. Micronics is your answer. Give us a call today. MICRDNICS COMPUTERS INC. The Power 232 E. Warren Avenue Fremont, California 94539 (415)651-2300 Fax (415) 651-5666 Circle 1 83 on Inquiry Card. THE MULTILINGUAL EDGE TRANSLATION SYSTEMS, DEVELOPERS, AND VENDORS Prices on the following systems will GTS Span am, Engspan vary according to application, Globalink, Inc. Pan American Health Organization the languages translated, and features 9302 Lee Hwy. , Fourth Floor 525 23rd St. NW included. For detailed information on Fairfax, VA 22031 Washington, DC 20037 prices, please contact the company. (800) 255-5660 (202)861-3200, ext. 4338 (703) 273-5600 fax: (202) 223-5971 Automated Language Processing fax: (703) 273-3866 Circle 1 007 on Inquiry Card. System (ALPS) Circle 1 003 on Inquiry Card. Alpnet Corp. Systran 4444 South 700 East, Suite 204 Logos Systran Translation Systems, Inc. Salt Lake City, UT 84107 Logos Corp. P.O. Box 907 (801)265-3300 Ill Howard Blvd., Suite 214 La Jolla, CA 92037 fax:(801)265-3310 Mt. Arlington, NJ 07856 (619) 459-6700 Circle 1 000 o n Inquiry Card. (201)398-8710 fax:(619)459-8487 fax:(201)398-6102 Circle 1008 on Inquiry Card. Distributed Language Translation Circle 1 004 on Inquiry Card. (DLT) Tovna Machine Translation BSO Language Translation Metal (available in Europe) System (MTS) P.O. Box 8348 Siemens AG, ZI2, Attn. Dr. Hartmut Tovna Machines, Ltd., Israel NL3503 RH Runge (developer) Utrecht, The Netherlands Wittelsbacherplatz 2 Translation Technologies 31-309-119-11 8000 Munich 2, Germany International (Exclusive Distributor fax: 31-309-440-48 49-89-234-3690 in North America and China) Circle 1001 on Inquiry Card. fax: 49-89-234-2844 3007 Tilden St. NW, Suite 3L Circle 1005 on Inquiry Card. Washington, DC 20008 ECS MT Toolkit (202) 244-8500 Executive Communications Systems, Smart Translator fax:(202)244-8165 Inc. Smart Communications, Inc. Circle 1 009 on Inquiry Card. 455 North University, Suite 202 P.O. Box 963, FDR Station Provo, UT 84601 New York, NY 10150 Translator (801)377-1167 (212)486-1894 Intergraph Corp. fax: (801) 374-6292 fax:(212)826-9775 1 Madison Industrial Park Circle 1 002 on Inquiry Card. Circle 1 006 on Inquiry Card. Huntsville, AL 35894 (800)826-3515 fax:(205)730-2461 Circle 1 01 on Inquiry Card. and stylistic personalization. Repetitions processing saves time in translation of product documentation. Documentation for equipment, systems, and software usually changes in only minor ways when new ver- sions of the product come out. Repetitions processing works by keeping a database of all sentences processed by the system and only retranslating new and changed sentences. Most commercial-grade translation systems have a micro- glossary feature. The user specifies the subject area the source text comes from, and the microglossary contains equivalent terms that apply to that field. This capability makes it possible to translate text without large knowledge bases. The next step beyond a microglossary is stylistic personal- ization. With this feature, the system watches what the post- editor does and infers rules for use in future translations. Sty- listic personalization is useful when large volumes of material are being translated for a specific purpose, such as operations instructions or loan contracts. Pursuing Machine Translation You should consider implementing machine translation in your company if any of the following applies: your business plan is going global and your products require lots of documentation, the documentation needs to be translated more rapidly and con- sistently, or you need to track new developments in other coun- tries to stay competitive. Fortunately, because of the increasing availability of transla- tion systems on personal computers and workstations, you can run a test project and monitor results in a controlled environ- ment. Thus, on a small scale, you can assess whether machine translation can help you meet these needs. More than with other applications, though, you need to thor- oughly test the systems. To test a system you would use the fol- lowing procedure: (1) Run through the systems the kinds of ma- terials to be translated; (2) give the translations to experienced post-editors; and (3) analyze the overall final results to see if the system meets your particular needs. Adopting machine translation requires a great deal of learn- ing and dedication. Work flow, job descriptions, and habits must change. The fact that raw translation is now performed by a machine, rather than people, transforms the fundamental na- ture of the process. ■ Peter M. Benton, formerly McGraw-Hill's chief scientist, evalu- ated and applied advanced technologies, including automated translation and other natural language processing systems. He now consults on the assessment and introduction of new technol- ogies. He can be reached on BIX as "bent on. " 132 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Take a lightweight presenter to your next presentation. It weighs under four pounds. It fits into an ordinary briefcase. But if your living depends upon making presentations, the LiteShowII™ is no lightweight. LiteShow II is a radical, new technological breakthrough from In Focus, the industry's leading innovator in LCD projection panels and presentation technologies. LiteShow II makes dynamic, brilliant color computer-generated presentations— without the expense or baggage of a computer. Or the hassle and expense of overhead transparencies or color slides. Create your presentation on any IBM/compat- ible, PS/2 or Macintosh computer. Then capture your presentation on a standard 1.44 MB, 3.5" floppy disk. Save as many as 50 images per disk. You can even mix and match images created in DOS, OS/2, Windows and Macintosh applications. Using LiteShow IPs Q built-in software, organize your images in any order you like. Just like a slide carousel. But unlike a slide carousel, LiteShow II gives you a host of special effects. 'Prices may vary although they'll never equal the economy of LiteShow II. In Focus Systems* Inc. 7770SW Mohawk Street, Tualatin. Oregon 97602. I -800-327-7231. In Oregon. S03-692-496S tax: 503-692-4476. LiteShow Jl is a trademark, PC Viewer and In Focus Systems are registered trademarks of In Focus Systems Inc. A It other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property oj their respective holders. Circle 1 49 on Inquiry Card. In fact, LiteShow II makes slideshows look amateurish by comparison. You can display 256 brilliant colors at 640 x 480 resolution. Animate your images with wipes, dissolves, timing effects, windowshades that reveal bullet points one by one, and more. In addition to dramatically increasing the impact of your presentation, LiteShow II dramatically reduces presentation costs. An image displayed on LiteShow II costs about 6 cents compared to $1.00 for an overhead transparency or $15 for a color slide.* And LiteShow II itself costs less than a VGA laptop. LiteShow II works with any multi-sync monitor or video/data projector. But for the most dramatic presentation team, couple LiteShow II with an In Focus PC Viewer® LCD projection panel. Its 640 x 480 resolution sup- ports CGA, EGA, VGA, and Macintosh video standards. When you consider presentation impact, image quality, ■ ;—■■■ ease-of-use, flexibility, the freedom to make last minute changes on the fly, the easy portability and the final, bottom-line cost, LiteShow II is the most persuasive and cost-effective way to make your point. And there's nothing lightweight about that. IN FOCUS SYSTEMS m INC. The most popular PC data analysis package is now even better. Now when you choose SPSS/PC+™ 4.0, not only do you get the best-selling statistical data analysis software, you get a choice. A choice of the options you need. A choice of the options you want. Powerful options for data entry, advanced statistics, forecasting, mapping, graphics and more. Options to help you turn data into information. The newest. edition of SPSS/PC+ - has the flexibility to meet your specific data analysis needs ...and your budget. SPSS/PC+4,0is... SPSS/PC+ 4.0 is a fully integrated, sophisticated group of software prod ucts designed to handle all your data analysis needs. SPSS/PC+ allows you to organize, analyze, forecast and display data ' in countless ways, making it easier to identify patterns and trends that might otherwise go unnoticed, With SPSS/PC+, you gain added insight into the relationships and meaning of your data. And with its graphics and mapping options, SPSS/PC+ provides for a convincing presenta- tion of your conclusions. Betted. Along with, a choice of options, the new SPSS/PC+ 4.0 offers you some- thing more. Like SURVIVAL for life table analysis, PROBIT for expected dosage modeling, and X11ARIMA . for smoothed, seasonally adjusted forecasting. And improvements to procedures like REGRESSION and ^CROSSTABS. Plus, we've updated .our Novell® and 3Com® network support and added Banyan VINES.™ SPSS/PC+ 4.0 also supports- the latest versions of dBASE,® Excel™ and Lotus,® and by adding Graph-in-the-Box Executive™ and Maplnf o™ to our support for Harvard® Graphics and Graph-in-the- Box,® we've created more presentation options than ever before. Circle 267 on Inquiry Card. Than The Rest Whether you only choose the . options you need, or choose the , options you've always wanted, with the latest edition of SPSS/PC+, you've chosen the best. And if you're in need of a comprehensive package, • we offer the widest range of options. Of course, SPSS/PC+ still features a meriuing and help system, as well as an on-line statistical glossary to help you interpret results as .you go. And you'll always have the training and support you can expect from SPSS, suppliers of statistical software to oVer 2 million users worldwide. For more information on SPSS/PC* call3h~329-3318. 444 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611 FEATURE MODULA'S CHILDREN, PART II Oberon A distillation of the best features from Pascal and Modula-2, Oberon is smaller, less complex, and more user-extensible DICK POUNTAIN As the triumphal march of C proceeds and language "inertia" becomes heavier by the month, the pros- pects for introducing a new general-purpose pro- gramming language must seem pretty slim. How- ever, one candidate deserves to be taken very seriously: Oberon, Niklaus Wirth's successor to Modula-2. Professor Wirth, of the Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule(ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland, is creator of Pas- cal and Modula-2 and must therefore be considered one of the most influential language designers in the short history of the art. Oberon is also noteworthy because, at a time when most software systems seem to be bloating inexorably into middle-aged spread, it is actually much smaller and simpler than its predecessor. The Oberon language was born in 1988 as Voyager was flying past Uranus's moon of the same name. The superb precision of Voyager's navigation inspired Wirth to make this linguis- tic tribute. Strictly speaking, Oberon is more than a lan- guage. It's a complete operating system and en- vironment for a networked 32-bit workstation called Ceres, just as Modula-2 was the operat- ing environment for the Lilith workstation. Ce- res was entirely designed at ETH and is used ex- tensively by the students in Wirth ' s department. However, in the next few years, you probably will see implementations of the Oberon lan- guage under other operating systems, such as MS-DOS. Oberon's Aims Wirth developed Oberon out of Modula-2 as a system programming language to implement the software for the Ceres workstation network. His intention with Ceres was to create a simple, reli- able, and inexpensive workstation, and achiev- ing this meant determining just what was essen- tial and what was expendable in the hardware realm. This simplifying philosophy soon spilled over into the software as well. Wirth believes strongly that an operating system should be designed as separately compiled modules with well- defined interfaces, and that writing applications is equiva- lent to extending the operating system by adding new mod- ules. Because Modula-2 has excellent support for such modularity, it was the first choice for the Ceres project. However, Wirth decided that Modula-2 doesn't have suffi- ciently powerful facilities for user extension. In particular, it doesn't allow you to define new data types as extensions of older types. Oberon was born from the decision to add type ILLUSTRATION: DAVID FLAHERTY© 1991 MARCH 1991 -BYTE 135 OBERON extensions to Modula. (I'll explain how type extensions work later on.) Another firm requirement of the Ceres project was that the operating system should have a dynamic central memory allo- cation scheme, complete with garbage collection. It would have been possible to add a garbage collector to Modula-2, and in- deed this has been done in the Modula-3 language developed by DEC and Olivetti (see " Modula-3" in the November 1990 BYTE). However, Wirth thought that the variant record feature, which Modula-2 inherited from Pascal, would have been an ob- stacle to secure and efficient garbage collection. Both Pascal and Modula-2 permit the insecure practice of modifying the tag of a variant record independently of the variant field values (or omitting the tag field altogether). Since almost all implementa- tions actually overlay the different variants of a record on the same area of memory, programmers can defeat the strict typing mechanism in this way, making it impossible for the language to efficiently discover the actual size of a variant record at run time. An automatic garbage collector must be able to unambig- uously decide the size of objects that it wishes to discard. Fortunately, Oberon's type-extension mechanism makes variant records completely redundant, as it can achieve the same flexibility in a type-safe way. So variant records were dropped. Once the pruning knife was unsheathed, other features of Modula-2 started to look vulnerable and were dropped, be- cause they were either redundant or not worth the complication they introduced into compilers. As a result, an Oberon com- piler can be much smaller than a Modula-2 compiler; the Ober- on implementation of July 1988 involved just 130K bytes of source code, yielding 39K bytes of compiled code and taking 41 seconds to compile itself. Type Extension Type extension is the facility to construct a new record type on the basis of an existing type. For example, say you have defined a type Circle in the fol- EVTE ACTION SUMMARY An Oberon Flyby Oberon is the latest language creation from Niklaus Wirth, the father of Pascal and Mod- ula-2. While smaller and sim- pler than its forebears, the new language allows you to define new data types as ex- tensions of older types. Now available in the public do- main, this new language could become an important addition to the world of programming. 136 BYTE- MARCH 1991 lowing way: TYPE Circle = RECORD x,y, radius: REAL END; An extension of the type Circle might be FilledCircle = RECORD(Circle) fillcolor: INTEGER END; A record of the new type inherits the fields x, y, and radius from its "base type" Circle and then adds its own field called fillcolor. If you are a Turbo Pascal 5.5 or C++ user, this mecha- nism should be familiar, because the syntax em- ployed is very like that used for defining object hierarchies in these languages. Indeed, you might think of type extension as being a "halfway house" to full object orientation, as it pro- vides extensibility for data types but not for procedures (i.e., methods). In Oberon, the mechanism for encapsulating proce- dures remains the module, just as in Modula-2, and modules are not extensible. To clear up some terminology : Type F illedCir cle is called a direct extension of type Circle, and Circle is its direct base type. A new type called BorderedFilledCircle, which ex- tends FilledCircle, would also be an extension of Circle, but not now a direct extension, because FilledCircle inter- venes in the hierarchy. A type is also counted as an extension if it equals the base type, or, more formally, T ' extends T if T ' = T or T ' is a direct extension of an extension of T. In Oberon, values of an extended type can be assigned to a variable of any of their base types. So you could assign records of type FilledCircle to a variable of type Circle; only the x, y, and radius values would be assigned. This is called a pro- jection of the extended type onto the space of the base type. If you were to define a type 2Point with fields x and y, and then extend it to type 3Point with fields x, y, and z, then you can see that projecting a 3Point to a 2Point means just what it means in ordinary speech: The three-dimensional point x,y,z is pro- jected as if onto a two-dimensional screen x, v. Type extension in Oberon extends across module bound- aries, so you can import a type from another module and then define extensions to it in the current one. This is the backbone of Oberon programming technique. Extension applies also to pointer types, which in Oberon can only be pointers to record or array types. The type of a pointer to a FilledCircle. is an extension of the type POINTER TO Cir- cle, and so can be assigned to variables of that type. This has important consequences when building complex dy- namic data structures such as lists and trees. You can write a module that defines an abstract list structure, a base node type, and the procedures to access it. Then client modules can import and extend the base node type as required and add new proce- dures to access nodes of the extended type. This is like object- oriented programming in, say, C++ , except that you must ex- plicitly import the manipulating procedures rather than having them implicitly "inherited." Here's an example taken from Wirth' s 1988 paper "From Modula to Oberon." It's part of a module called M that defines a tree structure (which grows from a variable called root of type Node) and its search procedure: TYPE Node = POINTER TO Object; Object = RECORD key, x, y: INTEGER; left, right: Node END; PROCEDURE Element (k VAR p:Node; BEGIN p := root; WHILE (p § NIL) IF p. key < k THEN p := p, ELSE p := p, END END; RETURN p END Element INTEGER): Node; & (p. key # k) DO left right continued One Word About Your Hard Disk Controller SLOW One Word About the PSI hyperSTORE Controllers WFAST Intelligent Mass Storage Controllers Virtually all applications are disk bound. Today's PCs have over 60 times the power of their ancestors of just ten years ago, while hard disk performance has only just tripled. This makes mass storage the PC's worst bottleneck. PSI has eliminated this bottleneck with the hyperSTORE Caching Disk Controller, a sort of mass storage co-processor. The hyperSTORE does for disk-intensive programs what a math co-processor does for number-crunching software. Databases, f ileservers, multiuser systems, and other disk-hungry applications start screaming . . . frustrated users stop screaming! Call (800H86-FAST now to find out more about PSI's line of intelligent controllers. All you have to gain is time. hyperSTORE FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS ■ Data access in 0,28ms or less, at 3-4MB/sec ■ Works in any 286, 386, or i486 system ■ Simultaneously control any drive interface: MFM, RLL ESDI, SCSI, or AT/ IDE ■ Controls up to 28 physical disk drives ■ 0KB to 20MB of SIMM-based cache memory • Supports ail PC-based operating systems: DOS, Windows, UNIX/Xenix, Netware, etc. ■ Data mirroring option for fault tolerance ■ NO DEVICE DRIVERS REQUIRED Perceptive Solutions, Inc. DALLAS ■ SANFRANCISCO • SYDNEY 800-486-FAST • 214-954-1774 • Fax: 214-953-1774 Europe and Northern California: 415-284-9505 ■ Fax:415-284-3238 Botswana and Southern Africa: (02) 3 13-020 ■ S.P.S. Pty. Ltd., Gaborone Australia/ New Zealand/Micronesia: (02) 318 2337 ■ Fax: (02) 3 / 9 3069 "Normally, it's a bit hard to pick the most impressive item at Comdex [Spring 1990], . . . This time it was easy, . . . the hyperSTORE/ 1600." -Dr. Jerry Pournelle, Byte Magazine, September 1990 "The real-world result will be blazing record handling from within a data file as well as unstoppably fast program loads." -Bill O'Brien, PC Magazine, February 13, 1990 "PSI has created the power user's ultimate Lego set for disk controllers: the hyperSTORE/ 1600" -Alfred Poor, PC Magazine, June 12, 1990 "Not only is it the fastest controller available, it's the most flexible, too." -Byte Awards, Byte Magazine, January 1991 BYTE ■^■■d?W= CIMOUyPSi A»nghl;> THEN Texts. OpenScanner(S, T, beg); IF msg IS Oberon. InputMsg THEN (* a type test *) Texts. Scan (S) WITH msg: Oberon. InputMsg DO (* a regional END type guard *) END IF msg. id = Oberon. consume THEN IF S. class = Texts. Name THEN IF msg.ch = Left THEN Move(F,-l) Oberon. AllocateUserViewer(Oberon. Mouse. X, x, y) ; ELSIF msg.ch = Right THEN Move(F, l) V := MenuViewers. New ( TextFrames. NewMenu(S.s, Menu), ELSIF F.car > THEN (* caret set *) TextFrames .NewText(TextFrames . IF msg.ch = LF THEN Text(S.s), 0), msg.ch = CR; TextFrames. menuH, x, y); TextFrames. Handle (F, msg) V.dsc. next. handle := Handle (* assignment of a ELSIF msg.ch = CR THEN Newline(F) handler *) ELSE TextFrames. Handle(F, msg) END END END Open; END ELSE TextFrames. Handle (F, msg) BEGIN Texts. OpenWriter(W) (* initialization *) END END EdT. END so that client programs can change the position, but not the di- mensions, of a Box. Of course, a client can still define exten- sions to Box. The type of a nonexported record field can be hid- den, too, so you can completely hide a sensitive data structure while still letting components of an exported type refer to it. Apart from type extensions, tests, and guards, the only other additions Oberon makes to Modula-2 are multidimensional open arrays and type inclusion. The latter is a hierarchical re- laxation of the type-compatibility rules so that if type T in- cludes T ', values of type T ' are also values of type T and can be assigned to variables of type T. Oberon supports five numeric types such that LONGREAL includes REAL, which includes LONGINT, which includes INTE- GER, which includes SHORTINT. Hence, you can always assign an INTEGER to a REAL variable, or a SHORTINT to an INTE- GER. This scheme almost removes the need for type conversions and dispels some of the more irritating aspects of Modula-2 (e.g., the incompatibility of INTEGER, CARDINAL, and REAL types). 140 BYTE- MARCH 1991 Pruning Modula-2 Now I'll examine features of Modula-2 omitted from Oberon, and you'll understand why it was possible to exclude them. As you'll see, far more has been removed than has been added. Variant records and opaque types are dropped, since the lan- guage's type-extension scheme is safer, more elegant, and more powerful. Enumeration types— for example, Colors = (red, blue, green)— are not supported. They were originally introduced in Pascal to improve program clarity, but Wirth now believes that their indiscriminate use leads to an explosion of type decla- rations and to verbose programs. The values of an enumeration type have an uncomfortable, exceptional status; they are nei- ther proper identifiers nor string constants available at run time. This causes an inconsistency in the rules of Modula-2, since you can't export an enumeration type's identifier without automatically exporting all its constant identifiers (as you can with other types). Enumeration types also posed problems in type-extending them across Oberon 's module boundaries. continued Your Hard Disk. Your Hard Disk With Stacker. If you need more megabytes than your hard disk can swallow, don't buy a new drive. Stretch it with Stacker. Stacker is the fastest, most economical way to safely double your hard disk capacity. Without sacrificing DOS com- patibility. It's the new standard in real-time data compression. And it's the only product of its kind available in both software and coprocessor versions. Stacker is fully compatible with Windows 3.0 and all your favorite disk utilities, too. Plus, Stacker includes a powerful disk caching program for added performance. And when you add the Stacker coprocessor card you also get the fastest data compression in the business. No wonder there are already over a million satisfied users of Stac's compression technology. • Increase storage 100% • Compatible with DOS 3.x, 4.x ■ Industry's fastest real-time data compression • Includes disk caching • Fastest, easiest installation • Toll-free technical support • 90-day money-back guarantee So call today and double your disk capacity tomorrow. You can purchase the Stacker software-only version— perfect for laptops— for only $149. Or get the entire Stacker high performance system with software and coprocessor card for just £229. Order today. Visa, MasterCard, American Express cards accepted. 1-800-522-7822 Or see your local computer/software dealer. STACKER © 199D Stac Electronics. Carlsbad. CA Stacker is a trademark and Stac a registered trademark of Stac Electronics. Circle 268 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 269). OBERON Subrange types— for example, XCoord = 0.. 639— have been dropped, too. They were originally introduced to allow a com- piler to generate guards for assignments and to economize on storage, but Wirth now thinks that their benefits are not worth the complexity they add to a compiler. Having lost these two types, it was natural to exclude user-defined set types and re- place them with a single type SET whose values are sets of the integers. Pointer types in Oberon are confined to record and array types. Array index types are no longer definable, and all index- es are integers. The lower bound of all arrays is fixed to 0, so you declare, for example, ARRAY 10 OF INTEGER. This simpli- fies bound checking, especially for dynamic arrays, and re- moves a rich source of programmer errors. The FOR loop has been dropped completely, and you must use either REPEAT or WHILE with an explicit counter variable. The WITH statement used for record fields in Modula-2 is used in Oberon for type guards. When accessing record fields, you must always fully qualify the field name with its record name. This principle of full qualification extends to imports, too; the Modula-2 construct FROM M IMPORT x has been abandoned, and you must specify M.x for every occurrence of x in your pro- gram. Modula-2 experience has shown that this is preferable when many modules are imported. The low-level features supported through the SYSTEM module in Modula-2 have been eliminated, along with the type-conver- sion functions, absolute addressing for variables, and the AD- DRESS and WORD types. Oberon implementations are free to pro- vide system-dependent modules, but these do not belong to the language definition, so such features are definitely implemen- tation-specific and nonportable. Concurrency, supported in Modula-2 through coroutines, has been removed. Wirth stresses that this is not a rejection of the need for concurrency in general programming; it reflects the fact that the Oberon-Ceres project was deliberately de- signed not to employ concurrency. The structure of programs has been rationalized in Oberon. Modula-2 's special main module, which has no definition part, has gone. It was an anomaly, because although it was actually a package of data and procedures, it had to act as a single execut- able procedure to the operating system. In Oberon, all modules are equal and can be compiled and executed. Under the Oberon operating environment, any parameterless procedure within any module can be executed as a "command" by typing its qualified name (e.g., MyModule. Start); this is how you invoke programs. If MS-DOS compilers for Oberon appear, this fea- ture will present a problem, as DOS has no mechanism for exe- cuting parts of an .EXE file in this fashion. The reserved words DEFINITION and IMPLEMENTATION have gone, and all modules begin in the same way with the word MOD- ULE. Every module has an interface or definition text that is just an excerpt from the text of the module, containing copies of just those constant, type, and variable declarations and procedure headings that are to be exported. Local modules are dropped, as Modula-2 programmers seldom used them and they compli- cated the scope rules unnecessarily. The total effect of these changes is to make Oberon 's rules for handling modules simpler and more orthogonal than those in Modula-2, as every module is a complete compilable unit. Oberon and Object Orientation Earlier on, I said that Oberon was a "halfway house" to object orientation. You may well be wondering why Niklaus Wirth did not go the whole way, to a fully object-oriented programming system. It is certainly not for any want of OOP experience, for as well as sanctioning the development of Modula-3, Wirth and his coworkers have experimented with object-oriented exten- sions to both Modula-2 and Oberon by making modules into first-class objects that can have methods and instances. However, Wirth remains unconvinced that encapsulated methods offer the best paradigm for programming large sys- tems. OOP insists that all access procedures must be defined in the same place as the data structures they work on, which Wirth considers to be an unwieldy dogma. When developing large systems, he believes it is important to be able to add new procedures in later modules without being forced to define a whole new subclass, especially if this would invoJve recompil- ing the original class definition and all its clients. (To be fair, virtual method systems used in C++ and Turbo Pascal 5.5 make such recompilation unnecessary.) In Oberon, it is procedure types rather than the procedures themselves that are contained in data structures (or objects) in the program text, and binding occurs at run time by assigning a procedure called a handler to a procedure type field in a record. Type tests enable a handler to discriminate among the various extensions of a base type while still maintaining strict data typing. (Listing 1 shows an example of a handler called EdT.Handle, which gets assigned in the last line of EdT.Open.) Purely object-oriented languages like Smalltalk tend to be typeless. Variables can hold objects of any class (i.e., type), so the compiler cannot tell you if the wrong object has been put into a variable. The program may still do something sensible thanks to polymorphism, which ensures that different objects can do their "own thing" in response to the same message. For example, sending a Print message to a Rectangle object prints a rectangle. If you've put a Circle in there by mistake, the message will print a circle. This is close to the way in which the real world behaves; elephants do elephant things and or- anges do orange things. But if an elephant finds its way into your orange squeezer, it will surely ruin your breakfast, and the fact that it does elephant things may prove to be a volumi- nous embarrassment rather than a consolation. The ETH recently made public domain versions of Oberon available for the Macintosh, DEC's DECstation, and Sun Mi- crosystems' Sparcstation. I for one am impatient to try the Oberon programming style. Above all, I just love the idea of a compiler that actually got smaller. ■ Editor's note: The public domain versions of Oberon mentioned above are available on BIX, via BYTEnet, and on disk. Seepage 5 for details. For further information on Oberon, contact Mi- chael Franz, Institut fur Computer systeme ETH, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland. BIBLIOGRAPHY Gutknecht, J. "The Oberon Guide." Bericht 108, Dept. far Infor- matik, Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule, Zurich, June 1989. Odersky, Martin. "Extending Modula-2 for Object-Oriented Pro- gramming." First International Modula-2 Conference, 1989. Wirth, Niklaus. "From Modula to Oberon." Software: Practice and Experience, vol. 18(7). New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1988. Wirth, Niklaus. "The Programming Language Oberon." Soft- ware: Practice and Experience, vol. 18(7). New York: John Wi- ley and Sons, 1988. Dick Fountain is a BYTE contributing editor, technical author, and software consultant living in London, England. You can contact him on BIX as "dickp. " 142 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Here's what they're saying about Amimfrom Lotus. u Independent User Survey For Windows 1 ."* Word Processing Features AmiPro for Windows Word for Windows WordPerfect for DOS Best Overall 50% 22% 16% Ease of Learning 47% 28% 8% Ease of Use 52% 23% 8% » Independently commissioned Windows word prxessor Usage and Attitude Study conducted November 1990 Circle 256 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 257). Herekwhyth WYSIWYG No wonder Ami Pro" for Windows™ is getting rave reviews from users* They're naturally im- pressed by its 360 power- ful features. And even more impressed with how easy it is to use them. Ami Pro has everything you expect in a power word processor] plus important features you canlfind anywhere else— like truly interactive WYSIWYG that lets you edit in any of four page views, including full-page view. FRAMES Our exclusive 'frames" feature lets you quickly place text and graphic ele- ments where you want. Justposition your frame anywhere on the page, then fill it with words, drawings or imported graphics. With a click of the - mouse, your text automatically 'wraps around it. DIALOG BOXES Why settle for difficult programs that produce boring documents? Our friendly, interactive Dialog Boxes display all your layout options— and show you the results of commands before you execute them. So you can change your mind without wasting time. CHARTS AND GRAPHS In addition to a built-in drawing feature, AmiPro instantly generates 168 varieties ofpresentation- quality charts and graphs, including 2D, 3-D and perspective. Just type in the data, or import your chart informatixmfrom programs like Lttus* 1-2-3* To; From 5.V990 User Study Matches Expert Reviews User preference research findings have ai uncanny resemblance 10 what word processing and technology experts have been saying all along: Ami I'ro is the new standard for word processing in the Windows environment. The Software Digest rating, for example, piaecs Ami Pro well above Microsoft's Word for Windows and WordPerfect in terms of overall performance. The user research shows similar results . Ami Pro consistently outranked Word for Windows and WordPerfect in terms of USER Pf WORD PRO Key findings: AmiPro preferred 2 to 1 LUers prefer AmiPro fro m lW more than 2 to . "*"''",, Word for Windows and WorJU Half of leasers studied ranked Ami Pro as-he "Best Ovcral Windows word processor and th overall word processing product. 5l9 o/ said Ami Tto was easier i than Word for Windows and WordPerfect; 47-3% ".d " «" easiest to learn- A whopping 63% said .h,y are extremely enthusiastic W « product or like it better than a Methodology: 4Z' This independent study wa-sc November. 1990- A randor- Easiest to Us *Study results and complete questionnaire available by writing Booth Research Services, Inc., 1120 Hope Road, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30350. Enclose $100 plus $3.00 shipping and handling. ey'resaytaj 5^" kS """ , U M icERENCE STUDY: EsllMOFOB WINDOWS ifeer. totolM"*"** Isers Studied JClcti over a three week pcnodm ,lcofm»reiW.OOOword jailed interviews on preference, Ami Pro Tops Rankings Ami Pro came onion top on nc „ly ail of the 17 character.*"* ranked by users. An impresswe 51 9% of the respondents rated Ami Pro easier toU.se, while a whopping 56.5% gave Am, I m top consideration for " Formatting Flexibility". Although nor cited in this ch.rt, users also ranked Ami Pro as tops in desktop publishing 160.3%). and in getting the mosiom of Windows^^L— , \ Conclusion^ in general, Ami Pro is preferred by a margin \ of 50% to 22% by all \ users studied. FEATURES COMPARISON. Vflndmn U '.InteractiveWSlWYG^ |Autolc^P^ound^tapW« lEditabto View Levels^^_____ , | Global Style Stmt» i T 7 eM 7rusO^WrdMeani"g s ' Visual Dialog Boxes 1 Internal Chart Generation ! (10 Types) STYLESHEETS AmiPro comes with more than two dozen style sheets that have the page layoutalready setup and ready to go. So you can produce professionally designed business letters, memos, reports, presentations, newsletters and more—injust the time it takes to type in text. EXPERTS AGREE It's easy to see why users prefer Ami Pro from Lotus two to one over Microsoft* Word for Windows™ for overall fea- tures and ease of use. And why it's received top rat- ings from virtually all the industry experts, racking up such coveted awards as PC World's Best Buy. The Buyers Assurance Seal from InfoWorld. And PC Magazine's Editor's Choice. "Ami Pro received a score in Ease of Use of the User Interface that was fully 10 points higher than the next highest score, and came in 14 points ahead of the score WordPerfect™ 5.1 drew from its buyers," according to PC Week's Corporate Satisfaction PoD. PC Magazine says, "Ami Pro has the friendliest interface and the widest range of functions . . . [It] is easier to use than almost any program with comparable powers."** Ami Pro is the word processing program that takes full advantage of the Windows environment, combining power word processing with the power to create professional documents fast. And with its icons and interactive features, Ami Pro is incredibly easy to learn and use. So what do you say? YouVe just learned about five major Ami Pro features. Now to find out about the other 355-and how to get a free working model- turn the page. "Reprinted from PC Week July 2, 1990. PC Magazine Dec. 11, 1990. Copyright ©1990 Ziff Communications Company. Circle 258 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 259). This says it all. Automatic Backup Automatic Timed Save Block Manipulation Bookmarks • Named By User • Go To Charting • 3D Charting • Edit Chart with Draw Tools • Legends • Multiple Styles PerType • 7 Chart Types Copy Text and Graphics Cursor Movement • Begin/End of File • Character • Line • Page • Paragraph • Sentence • Top/Bottom of Screen • Word Customizable Icon Bar • Choose From Over 45 Functions • Quick Access to Features Customizable View Level • 10400% • Fully Editable Cutand Paste Date Insertion • Today's Date • Date Printed • Date l.ast Edited • Definable Style DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) • Two-way • Paste Link • Text and Graphics • Via Macro Language Defaults • Backup Options • Date Styles • Dictionary Paths* Display Options • Document Path • Draft Mode Colors • Footnote Options • Hyphenation Hot Zone • Pair Kerning • Printer • Icon Bar Icons • Undo Levels • View Level Delete Dialog Boxes Document Annotation • Notes • Show/Hide • Go To Notes • Date/ Time Stamp • Stacked Notes Document Descriptions • Author Name • Operator Name • Revision Number • Creation Date • Revision Date • Renameable Fields • User Defined Fields • Display with Directory Print with Document Drawing • Cut/Paste Objects* Circles • Arcs • Squares • Rectangles • Rounded Boxes • Diagonals • Polygons • Polylines • Group Objects • Snap-To Grid • Fill Patterns* Line Widths • Text Rotation • Type Text File Import/Export • AdvanceWrite • ASCII • DBase* DCA Final Form • DCA Revisable Form • DIF • E-Mail ■ Enable • Lotus WKS.WK1.WK3* Microsoft Word* Microsoft Word for Windows* Multi- mate • Navy DIF • Peachtext • Rich Text Format • Samna Word • Windows Write • WordPerfect • WordStar • Wordstar 2000 File Management Functions • Copy • Rename • Delete • Move • Sorted File Listing Font Control • Unlimited Number of Fonts • WYSIWYG • Limited Only by Printer Footnotes • Auto Numbering • Bottom of Page • End- notes • Number Style Option • Reset Number Option • Separator Line Forms Capability • Format Complicated Forms* Fill-in On-Screen • Print on Preprinted Form • Protect Areas Frames • Anchor to Text • Auto Text Wrap Around • Background Shade • Contain Text or Graphics • Fixed Position On Page • Lines Around • No Text Wrap Around • NoText Wrap Beside • Overlay Frames • Repeat on Multiple Pages • Resize Frames Glossaiy • Large Record Size • Speed Key Access Go To ■ Any Page Number • Fast Next Item Access • Go To Frame. Footnote. Note. Various Marks in Document Graphics Control • Edit PIC Files • Drop Anywhere on Page • Float Graphic w/Text • Place in Box • Propor- tional Scaling • Fit in Frame • Rotate in Single Degree Steps • X-Y Scaling • Gutter/Binding Margins Graphics Import • CGM • EPS • HPGL • Lotus PIC • PCX •TIFF «WMF Hard Space Headers/Footers • Alternating • Floating Help • CBT Tutorial Available • Context-Sensitive • Indexed • Point & Shoot • Hypertext Linked • Full Macro Documentation On-Line Hyphenation • As-You-Type • Soft Hyphen • Consecutive Hyphen Control • On Paragraph Basis • Hot Zone Image Processing • Control Brightness. Contrast of Scanned. Gray Scale TIFF Pictures • Sharpen Edges •Smoothing* Invert Image Index Generation • Generate from List • Mark in Text • Multiple Level Indexing • HyperLinksfrom Index Back into Document Insert /Typeover Kerning Line Numbering Line Spacing Control Macrosl Programming Language • On-Line Macro Documentation • Record/ Play • Assign to Function Key • Assign to Menus • Create Menus • Variables • If • Go To Statements • Case Statements • For/Next • Prompt for Input • Subroutines Math Calculations Measurements • Centimeters • Inches • Picas • Points Merge • From ASCII Files • From Comma Delimited Files* From DIF Files* FromWK*Files» From dBase Files • From Ami Pro File • Label Print Function • Preview Before Print • Three-Level Boolean Conditional Record Inclusion Open Multiple Documents Page Breaks • Manually Inserted • With Paragraph Style Page Formatting Control • Margins* Page Size • Snaking Columns • Line Around Page • Line Between Columns • Portrait/Landscape Page Numbers • Any Location on Page • Reset Page Number • Five Formats for Number Paragraph Styles • Quick Access with Styles Box • With Func- tion Key • Controls: Font. Alignment, Spacing. Page Breaks. Ruling Lines. Bullets. Numeric Format in Table. Hyphenation Printing Color Print Options • Over 130 Printers Supported • Number of Copies • Page Range • Reverse Order • Collate • Print Document Description • Crop Marks • On Preprinted Form • Printer Bin Control for First/Rest Pages • Portrait or Landscape Real-Time Pagination Revert to Saved Version Search and Replace • Case Insensitive • Forward or Backward ■ Header/Footer/Footnote • Skip • Replace • Replace All • Search for Style • Search by Attribute • Wildcards Section Outline Numbering • 6 Levels • Number Paragraphs • Numbered Lists • User-Defined Reset Snaking Columns • Up to 8 Columns • Column Balancing • On Screen • Variable Width* Variable Spaced Sort • Alphabetic • Numeric • Ascending • De- scending • By Paragraph • By Word • By Number of Lines • 3 Levels— 3 Words Within each Level Spelling Check • 130,00OWord Dictionary • Add to Dictionary • Correct Multiple Occurrences • Entire Document • Selected Text • International Dictionaries • Rest of Document • Skip All Occurrences • Statistics Report • Unlimited User Dictionary Size Status Line • Column Number • Document Name • Insert/ Typeover • Line Number • Page Number Style Sheets • 27 Professionally Designed • Control All Formatting in Document • Document-Only Styles • Global Styles Tables • Up to 256 Columns • Column Width Control • Row Height Control • Auto Row Height • Lines around Cells • Shaded Cells • Con- nected Cells* Formulas: Four-Function Math, Sum Function. Absolute/Relat'weCeft Address • Insert Rows and Columns • Numeric Align- ment and Formatting Table of Contents • 3 Levels • Separator Choice Tabs • Center • Leader Dot • Left • Numeric • Right Text Enhancements • Bold* Double Underline* Initial Caps* Italic • Lowercase • Overstrike • Small Caps* Sub- script • Superscript • Underline • Uppercase • Word Underline Thesaurus • 1.4 Million Alternatives • Definitions • Gives Inflections • Synonyms Undo • Four-Level • Customizable Unlimited Document Size Vertical Centering Widow /Orphan Control Word Count Upgrade now for $ 129 00 Call 1-800-831-9679 The easiest to use just became the easiest to buy. With all these advanced features, you couldn't ask for a more powerful or easier to use word processor than Ami Pro. Now, for a limited time* you can get it all for an easy to like price. If you're currently using WordPerfect* Microsoft* Word, Display Write; Multimate; WordStar Professional or 2000, OfficeWriter; Samna* Word IV™ or Lotus* Manuscript™ call our toll free number to find out how to upgrade by exchanging your cover page or program disk for a copy of Ami Pro at $129.00. It's just that easy. Ami Prcr/br Windows™ from Lotus" Lotus Word Processing Division , 5600 Glenridge Drive Atlanta, GA 30342, 800-831-9679, 404-851-0007 "offer expires April 15,1991. InfoWorld's Buyers Assurance Seal awarded August 13, 1990 to Ami Pro 1.2. © 1991 Lotus Development Corporation. All rights reserved. Lotus and 1-2-3 are registered trademarks of Lotus Development Corporation. Ami Pro is a trademark of Samna Corporation, wholly owned subsidiary of Lotus Development Corporation. Microsoft is a registered trademark and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the propeity of their respective holders. Circle 260 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 261 ). FEATURE Smart Memories What happens when memory chips start to think for themselves? A look at content-addressable memories and beyond PETER WAYNER The good news, it's been said, is that in the future, all the world's information will be available on-line. The bad news is that this file will be terabytes long, and you'll have to use a string-search algorithm to find what you're looking for. Moving data has always been one of a computer's strong suits. But even when given pro- cessors that can perform 100 million instructions per sec- ond, computers can't keep up with the proliferation of data coming out on CD-ROMs. Now, some researchers have created smart memory chips that have thousands of tiny , 1 -bit processors built in at each memory location. These chips have applications not only in data retrieval, but also in unexpected areas of CAD, graph- ics, and robotic planning. Computer memory is a one-way street. If you know the location you want, the memory can quickly deliver the value stored there. If you're looking for a particular value, however, the computer needs to step through every location to find where that value is stored. One big bottleneck in current microcom- puters is between the CPU and the memory. Be- fore it can perform a computation, the CPU must receive the necessary information. This delay is often acceptable for computationally heavy scientific operations, but it is a major im- pediment for light processing problems such as text searching. One solution is a content-addressable memory chip, a special memory chip manufactured by companies like Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). CAM chips are available in simple forms or in more complicated versions such as the MIT-built Database Accelerator (DBA) and Coherent Research's Associative Processor (aka the CP or the AP). The basic technique at the heart of these circuits dates back to the 1950s. Real implementations are scarce, how- ever, because the technology of VLSI has only recently made the chips a viable option. The First Step The core of the CAM circuit is a memory cell that can store a value and respond to a query such as "All cells with a 1 stored in them, raise your flag." The flags in the cells that make up one word of memory are cascaded. If all the flags are raised, a word-size match flag is also raised. The system decodes the address by finding the first raised flag. Most implementations signal if there is more than one match but report the first matching address in numerical order. This way, whole words can be searched for in ILLUSTRATION: KEN C0FFELTO1991 MARCH 1991 -BYTE 147 SMART MEMORIES ■■■ reverse. You need to know only the value, not the location. Figure 1 shows a diagram of a normal static RAM (SRAM) cell and a CAM cell. Each can store 1 bit of information. Notice that the extra transistors in the CAM cell can be activated by flipping the Match line, which causes the signal line to stabilize to a 1 or a depending on the value stored in the cell. The values from each of the cells can be cascaded together with AND gates so entire words can be matched. These word-size cells can be arranged in arrays and searched in parallel. If multiple memory words match, the chips break the tie and return the match with the lowest address. Many chips also con- tain bits that force the match operation to mask certain words. Called skip-bits, they can be used to retrieve the multiple mem- ory words that match. First, the word with the lowest address is read out; then, its skip-bit is flipped on, and the match is re- done. This time, the second-lowest address comes out. This process is repeated until all the matches have been returned. The interface between the CAM chip and the outside world can take many different forms. For instance, the memory can be directly addressable like regular memory, or it can be set up as an independent store with a tiny processor acting as a guard. Four-bit op codes control the AMD CAM chip. They command the store to perform matches, copy data between the I/O lines and a specific location in the array, and clear the array. Today, the typical use for CAM chips is in network-routing applications. Often a star-like bridge joins several branches of a network. If a packet with an address comes in from one branch, the router must determine on which branch to send it out. This process takes only one step if all the addresses are loaded into a CAM chip. After one match step, the CAM chip STATIC RAM AND CAM CELLS Match line i r -AAA,- ^h Check line 1 r i r Store/Read line Figure 1 : To read,_raise the Store/Read line and sense the voltages ofB andB. B is the bit to be stored in the cell, and B is its complement. To store, raise the Store/Read line, and drive B andBto the correct polarity. To check a match (red lines), set B,B to the polarity to be matched. Then flip on the Check line. To find out ifB is 1 , set B high and B low. Note any drop in the Match line. If it grounds out, B matches the value stored in the memory cell. Store and Read work the same as in the RAM cell. matches the address and returns the address of the correct branch on which to send the packet out. What once required one step per entry in the table now requires one step overall. Oper- ating systems perform many other similar table lookups. Adding Some Intelligence CAM cells might be good enough for some applications, but more can be done with the addition of some processing power. One solution is the CP, a commercially available machine mar- keted by a company called Coherent Research (Syracuse, NY). Another solution, the DBA, is a similar machine being built experimentally at MIT by a team including Charles Sodini, Jon Wade, Sharon-Marie Britton, and Cornell's Richard Zippel. DBAs are CAM arrays with an extra 1-bit microprocessor at- tached to each word of memory. In other words, they are mas- sively parallel computers containing simple processors and a word of memory in each node. They can combine results of matching computations using operations like AND or OR. Figure 2 shows a block diagram of the CP. Each node has one line of CAM containing 36 bits. There are five bit registers and a function calculator, which computes values based on the com- binations of bits according to the latest instruction word. Lines connect each node with the node above it and the node below it in an array. The DBA is constructed similarly but contains four bit registers. Zippel has proposed adding regular SRAM to each node or completely replacing the CAM with RAM. Wild cards can significantly expand the power of the match- ing process. An additional feature of the CAM cells allows bits to be masked by including a third bit (called a trit), which matches a and a 1 . Using this feature, let "*" stand for this third, ambiguous case. You can present CAM arrays with commands to look up words such as 100***1, which in this case could match eight different words, including 1001001 and 1000111. One advan- tage of including processors at each cell is that simple calcula- tions on the data can be done locally and in parallel. What follows is an example of how a 64-bit match is per- formed on this architecture. The search is more difficult on a generic CAM because it is longer than the word length, but the processing power of a DBA or a CP can overcome this hurdle. On a generic CAM, since each node has less than 64 bits, the 64-bit words are split into 32-bit halves and stored in adjacent words. First, bits to 31 of the match words are compared, and matches are stored in one of the registers. This operation saves the time of searching the entire memory array. Next, the main CPU reads out this location and searches for the second 32 bits. Finally, the CPU makes sure that both matches are next to each other in the array and thus correspond to the same 64-bit chunk. If there are multiple matches, the CPU must repeat the process. The main benefit the DBA and CP provide is the communica- tion lines between the processors. They can pass the match values to the next cell in line. When bits 32 to 63 are matched, the value from the neighboring register is passed along the com- munication line, and the AND value of these bits is computed. Adding the extra registers and 1-bit processor lets this larger match be performed on-chip without sending the information to the main CPU. The registers can also be used to perform operations such as greater than or less than. For instance, if you want to find all words greater than 10101101, you can perform a search by combining the results of three queries: "n ******," "1011****," and "1010111*." If any of these matches is true, then the word is greater than 10101101. In this example, three queries were needed, but in general, one query is used for every bit in the bounding word (a word that defines the boundary of 148 BYTE- MARCH 1991 SMART MEMORIES THE COHERENT PROCESSOR mm 6GSE ffiffi mie MM 32 bits of CAM mm 32 bits of CAM mm 32 bits of CAM 32 bits of CAM The match word EI555 MIE MM MM 4 tag bits u Processor MM 4 tag bits Processor MM" 4 tag bits Processor MM 4 tag bits Processor TT MM 4 tag bits Figure 2: A block diagram of the Coherent Processor shows that each node of the processor has 32 bits of regular content- addressable memory. Each node also has 4 tag bits (similar to CAM bits but individually addressable), three registers, and a processor that can determine if the entire line matches the bits in the match word. The cells are connected by a one-dimensional topology, and each can pass messages to either of the adjacent nodes. an area). If the less-than function is being computed, the 1 bits are converted into don 'tcare (wild-card) asterisks. Since these operations potentially require one match per bit, some chip designers are considering building this type of ma- chine with RAM cells instead of CAM cells. In this case, the matching ability of the CAM cannot be used, and the processor must access each bit individually to determine whether a bit is a 1 or a 0. Then, the algorithms must use one cycle for each bit in the word and cannot use any of CAM's inherent parallelism. Standard RAM cells are well understood and smaller than CAM, thus making higher-density chips possible. Using This Extra Power As you can see, simple operations can increase the power of database searches— a valuable and obvious use of the DBA ma- chine. The processing power can also be harnessed in nonobvi- ous ways to speed up many computer tasks, one of the most straightforward being to determine whether a point is inside a polygon. This computation is repeatedly performed when matching a mouse-click to a window or, in the case of drawing programs and CAD, to an object in the window. The polygon can be decomposed into a union of half-planes defined by lines. The location of the point is computed relative to all the lines in parallel. If the point is on the inside of the lines making up the boundary of a polygon, then it must be in- side the polygon. If the polygon contains more lines, the com- parisons can be performed in one step. If the problem changes slightly so that the goal is to identify all points within a boundary, the task becomes polygon filling, an important application for computer graphics. Coherent Re- search implemented a version of this solution using several data structures that exploit the architecture of the CP. The following examples show some of the tricks that make good use of the system. If you want to "fill" using the processor, you can use a slightly different technique to represent the black and white re- gions of a plane. For this exercise, consider these regions as a sequence of different-size squares— a representation known as a quad tree. Each of these squares is represented as four num- bers: the minimum x and y and the maximum x and v. Figure 3 shows a typical definition of a region. These representa- tions can exploit the don't-care bits system so that the minimum and maximum values of an x or v range can be compressed into one number. For instance, a range between 8 and 15 can be represented as 01 ***, while a range between 30 and 31 be- comes 1111*. The dif- ference between the top and bottom of the range must be a power of 2. These numbers are tri- nary, meaning binary numbers plus the wild card. The construction of such a constrained def- inition of a region is not difficult— in fact, it is BVTE ACTION SUMMARY Making Memory Smarter Many applications run into a bottleneck when it comes to memory. One solution lies in making memory chips smart- er. Content-addressable memory (CAM) promises to speed up operations such as database lookups and deter- mining the location of a point. So-called "smart" memory chips may someday be as widely used as math co- processors are now. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 149 Circle 71 on Inquiry Card. WhereAdults Come To Play i ODYSSEYBBS America's Premier Adult Online Service! I Local Numbers Covering 850 U.S. & Canadian Cities! I CHAT Live With Others in Group or Private! I lOOCs of Shareware Programs For IBM's & Macs... ...With No Surcharges For Downloads! I Exciting Multiplayer Games Played in Real Time! I Wide Range of Business & Personal Services! I Professional, Technical & Leisure Message Bases! I National "For Sale" & "Wanted" Classified Listings! I Plus Many, Many More Low-Cost Services! CALL NOW FOR YOUR FREE DEMO! SMART MEMORIES 818358-6968 3/12/2400 Baud 8/N/l, Must Be Over 18 FOR INFORMATION AND A LOCAL NUMBER NEAR YOU CALL BY MODEM Computer Productions Inc., 1307 S. Shamrock, Monrovia, CA 91016 (818) 358-0936 CONTROL UP TO 96 PC FILE SERVERS WITH 1 KEYBOARD AND MONITOR USING... COMMANDER by cybex • No external power • "One-Touch" selection • Mix PC, PC/XT, PC/AT and PS/2 • "AutoBoot" Feature boots attached computers without operator Intervention after power failure • Shows PC power status • Mouse support available • TTL [MDA, CGA, EGA] up to 600 feet away • VGA up to 400 feet • Each unit accommodates from 2 to 8 PCs • Up to 1 2 units can be cascaded • Mounting kit available for 19" rack installation Dealer Program Available Cybex Corporation 2800-H Bob Wallace Ave. • HuntsviBe. AL 35B05 [205] 534-001 1 • FAX [205] 534-0010 QUAD-TREE ENCODING OF A SPACE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "I Region x range y range Color 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 0** 10* 11* 100 101 110 111 100 101 1 10 1 11 0** 10* 110 11 1 110 111 10* 11* 1** 11* 11* 101 101 101 101 100 100 100 100 0** 01* 011 010 010 011 00* 00* Shaded Shaded Shaded Clear Clear Clear Shaded Clear Shaded Shaded Shaded Clear Clear Shaded Shaded Clear Shaded Shaded Shaded Note: = Either or 1 Figure 3: A quad-tree is a way to recursively describe a region so that it can be stored efficiently in the content-addressable memory cells. easy to do recursively. Begin with a square region with side length equal to a power of 2. (If it isn't a power of 2, pad it.) Then, recursively execute this process. If a square is all one color, add the coordinates of the square to the definition of that color's region. If it is composed of dif- ferent colors, split the square into four subregions and recur- sively repeat the procedure on each. Since the process begins with a square whose sides are powers of 2, the sides of all the recursively defined squares will also be powers of 2 and repre- sented by a trinary number. The region shown in figure 3 was recursively constructed. The resultant definition may seem overly complicated. There are numerous advantages, however, when it is used on a CP or a DBA. If, say, you want to find out which square a point resides in, simply query the point, and the correct range will respond. For example, a point (9,23) or (01001,10111) will fall in the ranges (8-11,20-23) or (010**, 101**). If you want to find out what lies on the boundary to the right of this square, 150 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Circle 8 2 o n Inquiry Card. zbh "Zenith Data Systems' fastest 386SX PC yet lets me keep pace with the future.. .and my budget" as ZENITH DATA SYSTEMS INNOVATES AGAIN™ Launch into advanced lntel386SX™ performance with the 20MHz Z-386 SX/20™- your affordable gateway to tomorrow's graphical computing applications. Future compatibility merges with present-day affordability in the Zenith Data Systems Z-386 SX/20 Desktop PC. So you can handle today's advanced scientific, engineering and financial applications as well as emerging software developed for graphical user interfaces ... at a value comparable to a 286 PC. The Z-386 SX/20 features a unique cache memory design that maximizes 386SX performance for network and data-intensive environments. It also supports thousands of industry- standard peripherals as well as a wide range of 32-bit technologies. And the Z-386 SX/20 comes standard with MS-DOS® 4.0. Plus, all hard drive models include a Microsoft® Mouse, and come pre-installed with Microsoft® Windows™ version 3.0... for instant graphical computing right out of the box. You even get a fast VGA video controller for specialized graphics that come vividly to life on Zenith Data Systems' award-winning Flat Technology Monitor— the final touch that makes our Z-386 SX/20 The Seamless Solution^ for your computing world. So if you've always wanted a fast 386 PC that's ready for the future— but at a price that's in line with your budget today— then get the 20MHz Z-386 SX/20. For more information and the name of your nearest IZenith Data Systems Medallion Reseller, call: 1-800-523-9393. ZENITH data systems Groupe Bull Photo and blue prints provided by NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory Graphics simulate Microsoft* Windows™ version 3.0, a product and trademark of Microsoft Corporation. MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Intel386SX is a trademark of Intel Corporation. Z-386 SX/20 is a trademark of Zenith Data Systems Corporation. ©1990 Zenith Data Systems Corporation Circle 326 on Inquiry Card. Circle 239 on Inquiry Card. £?p- This is what it will cost you to write your own Windows™ applications. 4 A complete LISP programming environment including a LISP- aware program editor. 4 Supports Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) at a higher level than the SDK. Create both client and server applications. 4 Supports GDI, the clipboard, dialog boxes and menus. 4 Sample programs supplied include DDE sessions with Microsoft* Excel and Micrografx" Charisma™ 4 Requires 386-based or fast 286- based machine and Windows"' 3.0. $249* 4> RAINDROP SOFTWARE To order Software Engineer, or for more information, just call (214)234-2611 or Fax (214)234-2674 845 Arapaho Road ■ Suite 105 • Richardson • Texas • 75081 Some names mentioned above may be trade matte or registefed trademarks of their respective holders SMART MEMORIES AWARD POSTCARD DIAGNOSTIC CARD • DOS not required for diagnostic functions • POST (Power On Self Test) routine monitoring • Supports XT/286/386 based microcomputers • Works with most BIOS versions including AWARD, AMI, PHOENIX, QUADTEL • Built in comprehensive diagnostic functions in ROM • Fits into any 8/1 6 BIT slot • Optional digital diagnostic diskettes for floppy disk alignment • Serial and parallel loop back connectors included • New Low Price $ 249.°° Order Now 1-800-800-2467 UNIC®RE 599 Canal Street 152 B YTE • MARCH 1991 ■:■: - r & create a rectangular range that borders the square. The range (12,20-23) or (01100,101**) lies to the right of (8-11,20-23) or (010**, 101**). If you query the DBA for this range instead of a point, all bounding squares will respond. Robotics via Databases? By using a brushfire algorithm (an algorithm starting at one place and spreading), you can find bounding squares that locate the extent of a region. First, a point is identified and marked. Then, all neighbors of this point are marked, the neighbors of those points are marked, and so on. You can use this procedure for region filling with image and draw programs. Another twist is the use of brushfire painting in robotics. Imagine that the region to be filled is not just a boundary to be filled with paint but the outline of a floor plan to be navigated. The process begins at the point where the robot is standing. All reachable regions can be computed just by starting a brushfire at this point and letting it mark the domain. You can also use this process to find the shortest path in the specified domain if the algorithm keeps track of the step when a square was marked. That is, the starting spot is labeled with a 1 . Its neighbors receive a 2, the neighbors of the 2 s receive a 3, and so on. To find the shortest path between the starting spot and some other point x, use one query to find the square that contains x. This square has a numerical label, say 9, which means that it is nine squares from the starting square and next to a square labeled 8. You can find this neighbor marked with an 8 by searching with four queries. You can repeat this proce- dure following the decreasing labels 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 , just as Hansel and Gretel did with pebbles. Value-Added It is easy to see how this special smart memory could be used to speed up the handling of database problems. Surprisingly, you can use these processors for other applications when you exploit the low-level processing power bundled with machines such as the DBA and the CP. The smart memory begins to look like that of the Connection Machine, or CM (Thinking Machines), the Maspar Machine (Maspar Computer), and other massively parallel machines whose thousands of processors execute the same instruction in each cycle. In fact, the processors on the CM are not much more power- ful than those in the DBA and the CP. The CM processors also are 1-bit machines, and the processors on the CM-2 can do floating-point math. The major difference is that the CM has a 12-dimensional hypercube network connecting its processors, while the DBA and the CP have only a one-dimensional inter- connection scheme. Thus, communication is faster on the CM. The trade-off is that all the connections take up silicon real es- tate and limit the density that can be packed on a chip. The CM has 16 processors on a chip; the CP has 256. Zippel estimates that mass-produced chips could be made with l / 16 the number of bits of current DRAM chips. In this era of 4-megabit chips, a sophisticated design could pack 8192 processors on a chip if each processor had access to 32 bits of CAM. It is conceivable that addressable memory or architectures like the DBA will become commonplace on small computers. The smart memory can speed up database lookups, which is the main job of many machines. The benefits don't stop there, however. You can create other algorithms for graphics and ro- botics like the ones I described. These specialized memories can be thought of as parallel processing on the cheap. ■ Peter Wayner is working toward a Ph.D. in computer science at Cornell University. He can be reached on BIX as "pwayner. " Circle 3 1 1 o n Inquiry Card SERIES 400™ High-Speed Caching Disk Controller Unprecedented Hard Drive Performance at an Unbelievable Low Price! SERIES 400 Features Models available for SCSI, IDE, ESDI, MFM* and RLL* - Supports two floppy drives (5.25" or 3.5") WD 1003 emulation for driverless installation All Networks, UNIX, OS/2 and DOS compatible - Easy installation • 512 Kb-to-4Mb on-board cache RAM. Uses low cost 100 nsec SIMMs Read and write cache for best overall performance • On-board 16-bit parallel processor, and data bus with 56-bit ECC • Dealer upgrades for disk mirroring and more* Affordable, Lightning-Quick Disk Access In today's high performance PC's, disk access is the number one system bottleneck. The SERIES 400 from SSDC is a new class of hard drive controller with its own powerful on-board par- allel processor and memory to independently manage disk drive data. The SERIES 400 actually anticipates what infor- mation the PC is going to need and stores the data in its own high-speed cache RAM. Disk accesses are 100 times faster and large file transfers are up to 10 times faster. This means applications load and execute fasti Even the slowest and most cumber- some applications become lightning quick. All applications - Windows, CAD, large databases, desktop pub- lishing - become supercharged with near instant file access. SSDC has broken the price barrier to hardware disk caching. No longer is powerful disk per- formance limited to mainframe systems. SERIES 400 Benefits • Tremendous increases in system performance • Accelerates disk access over 100 times • Increases file transfer rate 5 to 10 times • Speeds up ALL disk -intensive applications • Frees up system resources for increased performance Across the Board Performance Advantage SERIES 400 DPT-3011 FN 2410 Effective seek time 0.270 msec 0.520 msec 0.500 msec Read data transfers 2230 Kb/sec 892 Kb/sec 1150 Kb/sec Large record read 16.0 sec 25.0 sec 36.0 sec Feature Comparison Retail Price $845.00" $1195.00 vkr^S^iJI*) With 4-Mb RAM $1245.00** $2095.00 $2190.00 Max memory on-board 4Mb 4Mb 2Mb Memory type Std. SIMMS Custom Custom WD-1 003 Emulation Yes Yes Yes Custom drivers Optional No Optional Drive types supported IDE.SCSI.RLL ESDI, MFM ESDI, MFMJRLL ESDI Networks, UNIX and multiuser systems All Most Most Boot drive Any "C" only "C" only 1 -to- 1 interleave Yes No No Auto bad track repair Yes No No Parity check RAM Yes NO Yes I/O bus speed 12.5 10.0 10.0(12.5 opt) Data look ahead Track Sector Sector Call Today Cash in on the time you'll save with the SERIES 400 High-Speed Caching Disk Controller from SSDC. You'll en> joy startling increases in system perfor- mance, at an affordable price. Installa- tion is simple and the SERIES 400 is fully compatible with all 486, 386 and 286 systems. Call toll free 1-800- 284-7732 for your nearest SERIES 400 dealer. * 2nd quarter 1991 Circle 255 on Inquiry Card. ** Prices for ESDI, RLL and MFM are slightly higher. Prices subject to change without notice. 'DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION 1001 Capital of Texas Hwy. South, Bldg. I • Austin, Texas 78746 512/327-8608 • FAX 512/327-5233 - c . ; /= *«" •*':: '- 'A ' ,<■,:■ ,;-^ ^ -, -v , ► . \ '' ". c , • . . ,•> v.. • « - ", . . : . *- • " , ' w - ;. , , - - « - , - »& ; 4 - . • - , fe ' , ... t - ; * ~ - ' - ■" . - -,* . - . ' J * j , , a - * a >• , ^ -„' . • , ■„ . - '., '. - - - % . ? t : - A ' 7 l ■: -' -' : - - . * :> * o * • .\ ' ■• : - t - •■,.-; ' : ' " V * -' * ■ " • ." " . \ • ■ >•' ■.-. ' ■">' , "\ . ' ••■ V :■ ' ' ■: , - ■ ■• • ^ " '■ • . .: * ■■% ■ -\ *' t 154 BYTE • MARCH 1991 illustration: dave rotoloni © 1991 i§^MJM^MM^M^«&^^ '•■••-■ M SAVINGS CERTIFICATE Name This certificate entitles you to BYTE at a savings of over 50% off the cover price. You'll also receive the annual IBM PC Special Issue as part of your subscription. (Offer valid for new subscribers only. ) I I YJfcjk)! Please send me 1 year (12. issues) for $19.97. (I'll save over 50% off the newsstand cost!) O Payment enclosed □ Bill me No-Risk Guarantee: If dissatisfied, cancel anytime for a full 100% refund. Your subscription will start in 6-8 weeks. This card saves you 33% off the basic $29.95 subscription rate. Company £ -.", -v'; i E -*J$ BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO. 42 HIGHTSTOWN, NJ POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE: EVTE Subscription Department P.O. Box 558 Hightstown, N.J. 08520-9409 NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES mI..ImI.I.mI.III.mI.Im.I..IIIm.I.ImmII.I STATE OF THE ART COVER STORY NETWORK MANAGEMENT Today, network management is as much a black art as a science. As networks grow to service dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of users, many in re- mote locations, the job of keeping the system up and running requires as much intuition and luck as it does knowledge and experience. Look at any midsize organization today, and you're apt to see a kaleidoscope of networks. Engineering might be run- ning TCP/IP over Ethernet, while Finance runs NetWare over Token Ring and Marketing uses AppleTalk. As Peter Stephenson points out in "Mixing and Matching LANs," the biggest challenge in managing networks today is not set- ting up and supporting stand-alone LANs, but interconnect- ing LANs that use disparate media and protocols. Stephen- son discusses the need to find or create common ground between networks. Once LANs are interconnected, managing a distributed network can seem as impossible a task as taming the Hydra: You solve one problem, and two more appear in its place. In "Dynamic and Distributed," Carl Manson and J. Scott Haugdahl describe many of the tools and methods available that can transform you into a distributed network manage- ment Hercules. A primary reason for interconnecting computers is to pro- vide central services. Setting up and managing such ser- vices, however, involves more than slapping a shared storage subsystem or printer onto the network. As Jeffrey Sloman points out in "Control Central," providing a central service usually (and paradoxically) means spending more time managing the clients than managing the server. The Holy Grail of network management is a standard pro- tocol used by all the devices on the network to inform a man- agement workstation of the configuration and status of the various nodes. Most network vendors provide such a proto- col for their individual environments but fail to provide in- ternetwork solutions. Two standards that do provide such solutions are SNMP and CMIP. In "Dueling Protocols," Sharon Fisher compares these two standards and discusses the obstacles in the way of their general acceptance. What standard management protocols promise for tomor- row is available today, but only if you stick to the products of a single vendor. One such vendor is, of course, IBM. In "Managing Big Blue," Barry Nance examines the manage- ment technologies used in IBM's network offerings, both large and small. In many networks, the big issues concerning standards and protocols take a backseat to the ever-present challenge of keeping the network up and running every day. In "Find- ing Fault," Steven M. Dauber describes a systematic ap- proach to identifying and rec- tifying problems on a LAN. His central thesis is that you should avoid jumping to con- clusions about network prob- lems, because the obvious answers often turn out to be wrong in a network environ- ment. In a related text box, "Let's Get Physical," John Kaiser takes an in-depth look at tools that let you track a net- work's infrastructure. Network management is in a state of flux as customers are demanding internetwork- ing products built on stan- dards and vendors scramble to provide them. Management protocol standards are clearly the solution, but the migration of existing systems to these standards may prove painful and expensive. When the dust settles, however, managing a network will be a more sys- tematic enterprise, and few will mourn the passing of the days of black magic. —Bob Ryan Technical Editor, State of the Art MARCH 1991 -BYTE 155 Mixing and Matching LANs BY PETER STEPHENSON 157 Dynamic and Distributed BY CARL MANSON AND J. SCOn HAUGDAHL 167 Control Central BY JEFFREY SLOMAN 175 Dueling Protocols BY SHARON FISHER 183 Managing Big Blue BY BARRY NANCE 197 Finding Fault BY STEVEN M. DAUBER 207 Resource Guide: Network Management Sources 217 THE FIRSl In 1972, Summagraphicsintroducedthe first affordabledesktoptablet. Eighteen yearsand more than 40 patents later, our SummaSketch® II is the industry standard in graphics tablets. / Ctt£*Pt. ^ ~r THE MOSt Our unsurpassed technology and proven reliability have made SummaSketch the best selling tablet in the world— with over 500,000 sold to date. More than any other manufacturer. THE BEST SummaSketch has also won every major editorial accolade, including PC Magazine Editors' Choice, PC Week Corporate Satisfaction Poll, CADENCE's Blue Ribbon Best of 1989, and CADalyst's Dream Systems and Highly Recommended rating. CADENCh BEST OF 1989 Ji 199 SummaSketch II. The people's choice. The critics' choice. And the easiest choice you have to make. For literature and the name of your local dealer call 1-800-888-2028, Ext. 304 or in Canada call 1-800-729-7866. For technical information call 203-881-5400. <3l Surmagraphics Every decision should be this easy. ™ © 1990 Summagraphics Corporation. Seymour, a 06483- All rights reserved. For | B M/Compatible information circle 276, For Macintosh information circle 277, For Reseller inquiries circle 278 on Inquiry Card. STATE OF THE ART MIXING AND MATCHING LANS The primary problem for network administration is not how to set up LANs, but how to interconnect them PETER STEPHENSON Networks composed of other net- works are becoming the rule rather than the exception. Most LAN manufacturers sell more small LANs than large ones; the average- size LAN has 6.3 users, and within a large organization, there may be literally hundreds of these 6.3-user networks. Someday, someone in the organization is going to decide that these "average" net- works should talk to each other, and whether you like it or not, you are then going to have a heterogeneous network. Heterogeneous networks are com- posed of several network segments that may differ in topology , protocol, or op- erating system. They may contain PCs operating on Ethernet or Token Ring, Unix workstations running on TCP/IP, and mainframes running any of several large-platform protocols, such as IBM's Systems Network Architecture (SNA). Most of these systems were originally de- signed to communicate only with their own kind on a homogeneous network, so seamlessly tying together all the differ- ent network segments in a large organiza- tion remains a nearly impossible task. To allow these relatively unrelated networks to evolve into a single working system, you need a clear understanding of both the issues surrounding mixed networks and the fundamentals of network com- munications. Basic LAN Issues Before you can deal with the task of mix- ing topologies, protocols, or operating environments, you need to understand these basic network characteristics. The topology of a network is the way in which the devices on the network are physically ILLUSTRATION: DAVE ROTOLONI © 1991 MARCH 1991 -BYTE 157 MIXING AND MATCHING LANS H interconnected. You can connect net- work elements on a bus, in a ring, or as a star. The name of the topology describes its physical layout. But there are addition- al considerations that blunt the simplicity of this description. For example, depending on the signal- ing characteristics of the protocol using a particular topology, the medium (i.e., cable) can differ significantly from im- plementation to implementation. A bus topology that requires very fast data rates might use fiber-optic media, while a slower bus may only require shielded twisted pair. A full description of a to- pology needs to consider aspects, such as signaling characteristics, that go beyond physical layout. The next fundamental LAN charac- teristic is the protocol. A protocol is a set of rules for communication that includes a pattern or format for data and a proce- dure for its transfer. But, like topology, protocol is much more than a simplistic BYTE ACTION SUMMARY Tying Different Networks Together Various issues must be ad- dressed when you connect dissimilar networks, such as connecting and communicat- ing with different topologies, protocols, and networking models. You can solve some of the problems by various "black box" technologies. definition suggests. Most network users are familiar with ARCnet, Fiber Distributed Data Inter- face (FDDI), Ethernet, and Token Ring, yet these represent merely the tip of the protocol iceberg. They are low-level or access protocols and only work at the bottom two layers of the ISO Open Sys- tems Interconnection (OSI) model. They allow network devices to connect to each other and communicate with higher-level protocols, and not much more. That doesn't minimize the importance of access protocols— they are the most fa- miliar and visible protocols. But the real work on a network is carried on at the higher levels of the OSI model using higher-level protocols. It is these proto- cols that permit the existence of hetero- geneous networks. Common Ground The ability to create a heterogeneous net- work rests on two requirements. First, you must be able to interconnect topolo- gies. Second, you must be able to transfer information between dissimilar systems of communication— meaning that at some point you must use a common pro- tocol. There are many ways to accom- plish this; most of them make use of com- mon high-level protocols for moving data between common layers on a communi- cations model such as OSI or TCP/IP. Tools for internetworking, such as bridges, routers, brouters, and gateways, make extensive use of this ability. To put it simply, you can mix different topologies and protocols only if you have an internetworking scheme that allows you some common point of reference. That point of reference might be a high- level protocol common to two networks that you wish to interconnect; a device that allows interconnection of different topologies with different physical and electrical characteristics; or a protocol that lets you ignore operating-environ- ment differences and connect, for exam- ple, a DOS LAN to a network of Unix workstations. You can envision heterogeneous net- works as building blocks connected by "black boxes." The building blocks are discrete physical network segments that usually have their own servers, worksta- tions, and other network devices. They consist of a single protocol and a single topology. By themselves, they are com- plete, encapsulated LANs. To connect two of these discrete seg- ments, you must cross a boundary. Some device must fly over, break through, or tunnel under the wall between one net- work and the other. The device— the black box— does not change either net- work; it simply transports packets of data between them. It satisfies the physical re- quirements of both networks. It also has to transport the data safely from one net- work to another and unpackage the data until the receiving network can read it. Deep in the packet, data must be in a for- mat common to both networks. In the case of wide-area support, a black box must be able to deliver data to some common long-haul system, control transmission to a similar black box on the other end, and then continue as if the two networks were in the same building. The inclusion of large platforms such as VAXes or IBM mainframe computers adds complexity, but success here also depends on using the right black box. Interconnection Strategies Most often, heterogeneous networks are unplanned. They appear when someone in a large organization decrees that all the existing networks in the organization should interconnect. The challenge is to take several dissimilar LANs and get them all talking to each other. The trick is to consider these dissimilar systems in two ways. The first step is to interconnect the LANs that communicate easily. Only then shouldyou consider the onesthat are so dissimilar that they cannot commingle easily. In interconnecting LANs, you look for common denominators in proto- col and topology. You then choose a sin- gle medium to connect the segments that are physically close together; these LANs become physical segments on a larger logical network. The medium chosen must provide for the increased traffic load of the new, larger network as well as offer the most painless physical interconnection possible. The final step is to consider the geo- graphically dispersed segments. Here, you have to select the long-haul medium best suited for each segment and deliver that segment's data in a format that the home system can use easily. Interconnecting LANs is easier if your organization has stuck to widely accepted standards instead of proprietary topolo- gies and protocols. (The exceptions are the de facto standards NetWare and ARCnet.) If your organization has areas that are not standards-based, you have an important decision to make: Either live with the existing system, or tear it out and start over. For example, many companies have decided to adopt the Synoptics LattisNet unshielded twisted-pair network, which conforms to no accepted standard and doesn't connect well to other networks. Now that a UTP standard— lOBaseT— exists, LattisNet users have to decide whether to support the standard or keep their proprietary system. Anticipating this dilemma, Synoptics has developed an excellent system for promoting coex- istence between the two systems. In ef- fect, it has provided the black box. Black Magic Bridges, routers, brouters, and gateways are the black boxes that enable you to use different topologies and protocols within a single heterogeneous system. Each has strengths, weaknesses, and specific ap- plications. 158 B YTE • MARCH 1991 Out of the prairie comes proof that a higher level of communication has arrived. PEOCOMM HfTTTO Presenting the New Version of PROCOMM PLUS. Leaving a very big impression on the field of communications is what PROCOMM PLUS has always done best. But today, it's done one better. PROCOMM PLUS 2.0. The new version of the best-selling communications software in the world. With internal Zmodem, an enhanced ASPECTscript language with hundreds of newcommands, and script compiling for much faster execution speed; an enhanced dialing directory with many new features; a time-saving Filename Clipboard (Patent Applied For); 33 terminal emulations with 132 column and full EGA/VGA support; and much more. \f you own PROCOMM PLUS, you can upgrade to PROCOMM PLUS 2.0 for just $39.00 by calling toll-free 1-800-333-4559. So call today. You'll get computer communication in its highest form. For a very down-to-earth price. See your dealer today for PROCOMM PLUS 2.0. Current PROCOMM PLUS users: call 1-800-333-4559 now to upgrade. Circle 88 on Inquiry Card. DATA STORM DATASTORM TECHNOLOGIES. INC. P.O.Box 1471 • Columbia, MO 65205 • 314.443.3282 SpaceSaver Keyboard ., '-;v ■ vVC^ *C^ t -, "-■ ave an amazing 60% of the desk or counter space now taken by a standard IW keyboard and enjoy improved functionality at the same time. Actual size is llP 273 x 152mm (10.75" x 6.0"). The new MICROTYPE Keyboard is rapidly gaining acceptance as a truly advanced alternative to the original IBM layout for many applica- tions. Reliability of the MICROTYPE has been amply proven through extensive use in trading areas of several major stock exchanges as well as in many banks, brokerages, stores and at factory work stations. Space is saved by compressing rows (not columns) and eliminating wide borders. Re-arranging and elevating the auxiliary key clusters also saves space while improving accessibility with reduced eyescan and head movement. Keys have full travel with a light tactilly responsive touch. All standard features such as auto-repeat, caps, num and scroll lock are included on the MICROTYPE. PC XT/AT, PS/2 IBM and clone compatibility. Available in US and most European language versions. Made in USA with 1 year warranty. Order direct from stock with 15 day 1 charges and COD accepted. USA 1-800-DATALUX EUROPE 44+306-76718 CANADA 514-694-0870 return privileges. VISA, MasterCard, Eurocard Fax 703-662-1682 Fax 44+306-76742 Fax 514-694-0871 $124.50 + 6.00 s/h £99.00 + VAT + P&P $189.00 Cdn + s/h OEM and reseller volume discounts available. Keytop legend and color customization offered. '.' . . beautifully sensitive and handles both typists with light touch and those who really bang away. . . V COMPUTER BUYER'S GUIDE V . This could be the perfect layout for an enhanced keyboard that must fit into a small area. . .'.' COMPUMAG mamMm m mg^p? A new Space-saver product from DATALUX — Microtype keyboard and LCD monitor combination. VGA resolution, backlit, supplied with adaptor card. Call for price and availability. DATALUX Corporation 2836 Cessna Drive Winchester, Virginia 22601 DATALUX INTERNATIONAL LTD. Euro House Curtis Road, 11 Old Water Road Dorking, surrey, UK MIXING AND MATCHING LANS Bridges have distinct uses. First, they can interconnect network segments using different physical media; for example, it is not uncommon to see bridges between fiber-optic and coaxial cable. In addi- tion, they can accommodate dissimilar low-level (physical and data-link layer) protocols. Thus, under the right circum- stances, you can use bridges to connect similar segments, such as two Ethernet segments, or to mix dissimilar segments, such as a Token Ring segment and an Ethernet segment. Bridges also feature high-level proto- col transparency. They can move traffic between two segments over a third seg- ment in the middle that cannot under- stand the data passing through it. As far as the bridge is concerned, the interme- diate segment exists for routing purposes only. Finally, bridges allow devices and segments using the same high-level pro- tocol (e.g., TCP/IP or XNS) to commu- nicate, regardless of what low-level pro- tocol or physical-layer standard they are running. Bridges are intelligent. They learn the destination addresses of traffic passing on them and direct it to its destination. This explains their importance in net- work partitioning: When you find that a physical network segment has excessive traffic and its performance is beginning to degrade, you can break it into two physical segments with a bridge. The bridge directs the traffic to its ultimate destination, limiting traffic that is not in- tended for a given segment. Bridges use a process of learning, filtering, and for- warding to keep traffic within the physi- cal segment it belongs in. Because bridges must learn addresses, examine packets, and make forwarding decisions, they often exhibit mediocre performance. In fact, performance is one issue you need to consider if you plan to use bridges. But in mixed protocol en- vironments, bridges can be truly useful black boxes. Routing Traffic The next type of black box is the router, which, in some respects, is smarter than the bridge. Routers don't have the same ability to learn as bridges do, but they can make routing decisions that deter- mine the most efficient data path be- tween two network segments. Routers don't care what topologies or access-level protocols the network seg- ments are using. Since they operate at the next layer above bridges— the network layer— they are unconstrained by medi- um or access protocols. Unlike bridges, routers do not view a heterogeneous 160 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Circle 85 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 86). "We chose TARGA. boards because that's what's used in the field." Cheryl Stockton f Institute ' York, New York "We believe in providing hands- on training utilizing state- of-the-art technology. Our students work withTARGA boards here because, chances are, that's what they'll be using out there." Graphic created by Bill Tinker using the TARGA board with TIPS®, LUMENA 1- and RIO™. For more information contact Cheryl Stockton at (212) 925-8481. It's true. Truevision's TARGA has the biggest installed base in the business. It's become the industry standard. So, designing an update meant integrating exciting new features while remaining 100% compatible with previous TARGA modes and with over 300 products. Which makes upgrading easy. The way it should be. Introducing the Truevision TARGA+. The next generation TARGA for the next generation TARGA user. ^Truevision* Providing Solutions With Vision™ 7340 Shadeland Station, Indianapolis, IN 46256 INTERNATIONAL: Canada 4 1 6/940-8727 France 33-1 -3-952-6253 Italy 39-2-242-4551 Switzerland 41-1-825-0949 U.K. 44-628-77-7800 West Germany 49-89-612-0010 Other 617/229-6900 RIO is a trademark of AT&T. LUMENA is a trademark of Time Arts Inc. Circle 307 on Inquiry Card. Call 800-858-TRUE tor more information MIXING AND MATCHING LANS network from end to end. Bridges know the ultimate network destination; routers only know where the next router is. Rout- ers are usually used between network segments that use the same high-level protocol. Bridges make a forward or discard de- cision on each packet of data, depending on whether the pack is destined for an ad- dress on the other side of the bridge or not. Routers choose the best route for the packet by checking a routing table. They see only the packets addressed to them by the preceding router or the network's end station, while bridges must examine all packets passing on the network. How- ever, as it turns out, today's bridges take those issues into account and in most cases actually offer better performance than routers. Most large internetworks can make excellent use of routers. However, you should remember that routers prefer the same high-level protocol in all the net- work segments they connect. Often, for the network that "just grew," that is not possible. If you are connecting networks in a multiprotocol environment, you are probably better off using bridges. The same is true if you wish to segment an existing network to control traffic loads. If you are connecting over wide-area networks (WANs) and you control the connection (i.e. , you are not using a pub- lic data network or a packet-switched network that requires a gateway), you will probably find that routers can help control traffic flow. Often, you need to opt for a combination of bridges and rout- ers to help you solve both routing and multiprotocol issues. Brouters are a kind of hybrid of bridges and routers. Often referred to (incorrectly) as multiprotocol routers, brouters provide many of the advantages of both bridges and routers for very com- plex networks. True multiprotocol rout- ers do not contain the bridging advan- tages of brouters; they simply allow the router to do what routers do with more than one protocol. Brouters actually make a decision on whether a packet uses a protocol that is routable. It then routes those that it can and bridges the rest. Brouters are complex, expensive, and difficult to install, but for very compli- cated heterogeneous networks, they often provide the best internetworking solution. Wide- Area Interconnects Gateways operate on the top three layers of the OSI model (session, presentation, and application). They allow the most so- phisticated method of connecting net- work segments and networks to hosts. You select a gateway when you have to in- terconnect systems built on totally differ- ent communications architectures. For example, you would use a gateway to in- terconnect a TCP/IP LAN to an SNA mainframe. The two architectures have no commonalities, so the gateway must translate all the data passing between the two systems. One common use for gateways is con- necting to a long-haul system, such as an X.25 packet-switched public data net- work. The X.25 segment provides a pro- tocol that routes data packets between two network endpoints without regard for the protocols passing on it. At either end of the network, the gateway provides the protocol conversion to and from the network segments connected on its other side. Gateways provide no packet routing within the network segments; they sim- ply deliver their packets of data so that the segment can read them. When they receive packets from the segment, they translate them and route them to the dis- tant-end gateway, where the packets are retranslated and delivered to the distant end's network segment. Planning a Heterogeneous Network If you have the luxury of planning your network from scratch, you have several issues to consider. The most important is coming up with a definition of the overall objectives of your new system. Usually, such a definition boils down to interconnecting several workgroups with different individual needs. Thus, it's usually a good idea to begin your macro definition with a micro examina- tion of individual needs. Don't, for ex- ample, begin by considering how to tie the various campuses in your global sys- tem together. Instead, begin by consider- ing the needs of the accounting depart- ment in a single location. Once you've sorted out individual needs, you can be- gin exploring for that commonality that makes interconnection possible. It be- gins with considering how a single topol- ogy or set of topologies and a single pro- tocol or suite of protocols might be used consistently throughout your system. Once you have some idea of how to sat- isfy workgroup needs and the common connectivity threads that run between them, consider the best way to connect the individual workgroups into compact network segments. The next step is com- bining the segments into a single network within a single location. In most cases, conventional wisdom and simple solu- tions work fine at this level. The exceptions are cases where you have special needs. One such exception is the inclusion of Unix workstations in a network composed mainly of PC LANs. You are likely to find this in companies using such systems as Sun or Hewlett- Packard workstations in an engineering or scientific environment. In this case, you'd have to use a bridge and some com- mon high-level protocol like TCP/IP. Some products are available to help with this problem; one for Token Ring LANs is the p4100+ multiprotocol bridging router from Proteon in Westborough, Massachusetts. Once you have successfully connected individual locations, your next step is to consider connections between locations on the same campus. Now you'll find that you must contend with traffic flow. Assuming that you have planned with consistency, your major challenge is data throughput. Throughput issues revolve around two things: how fast your data can travel between locations, and how congested the routes between locations become. You can solve the raw-speed issue by considering various metro-area medium choices. If your campus is not too wide- ly dispersed, 100-megabit-per-second FDDI fiber optics makes a very good sys- tem backbone. Otherwise (e.g., if your buildings are on opposite sides of town), you may need to consider something like T-l dedicated lines. Your final planning is for long-haul wide-area connections. Again, there are two major considerations, but this time they are variations on the theme of the in- dividual campuses. Long-haul systems are expensive. If you use a public data network, the inconsistencies of traffic and system reliability now come to bear on your data throughput. You must con- sider your own methods of traffic rout- ing; for example, you may want to route traffic between your New York office and your L.A. office through both Den- ver and Dallas. Using a technique called the spanning tree algorithm (part of the IEEE 802.1 internetworking standard), you can place bridges between both long-haul routes. A spanning tree is another term for the path between two devices on a network. (Re- member, a network can mean a heteroge- neous WAN comprising many network segments. The bridges connecting these segments can be considered devices on the spanning tree.) Under the spanning tree algorithm, the bridges making up the alternative routes between New York and L.A. con- duct a series of bridge-to-bridge negotia- tions. The result is that one bridge, the 162 B YTE • MARCH 1991 Make your software laugh, sob, growl, warble, wail, sing and talk. If you've ever wanted to add sound to your software, put on your headphones. The LANtastic™Voice Programmers Interface (VPI) and the LANtastic Voice Adapter are waiting. Now you can create educational and training programs on disk or CD-ROM that actually speak to students. Or voice mail packages that send speech across a LAN. Or "talking" software demos. Music synthesis. Sound effects. And whatever else echoes through your imagination. You see, the LANtastic Voice Adapter is a low-cost expansion device that converts between audio signals and a digital data stream. It has mono tape in and out jacks so you can record from a CD player, tape recorder, microphone or other external sound source, then play back through an amplifier with speakers, or through the telephone handset provided with each adapter. Better yet, the LANtastic VPI is a set of simple, straight-forward software tools, which make it possible for your applications programs to use the LANtastic Voice card to record and play digitized sound. And no one else offers anything like it. Especially at $149* per adapter and $195 for the VPI. No wonder PC Magazine (July 1990) wrote: "Leonardo DaVinci might have called it a work of art." And : "LANtastic's strong VPI makes it a natural choice for developers wishing to add another dimension to their communications." For complete information about Artisoft's Voice Developers Kit, call 602-293- 6363. /: ARTISOFT 'Manufacturer's suggested retail price. ©l!)!IU ARTISOFT. LANtastic is a trademark of Artisoft. Brand names and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Circle 29 on Inquiry Card. MIXING AND MATCHING LANS one that sees the best path, is in a for- warding state. The other is blocked and won't forward packets. Should the open path degrade, the other bridge will "open" and the first one will "close," thus maintaining optimum traffic rates across the internetwork. This technique is not reserved for long hauls; you can also use it to provide traffic flow man- agement locally or within a campus. Managing Heterogeneous Networks If bridges, routers, brouters, and gate- ways enable heterogeneous networks, to- day's breed of network management sys- tems validates them. There are several levels on which you can manage the het- erogeneous network. On some levels, the very differences that are inherent in dif- ferent manufacturers' products are a se- vere hindrance to successful manage- ment. However, there are approaches that work, and quite well. There are three levels of network man- agement. The first level, simple perfor- mance monitoring, provides information on data throughput, node failures, and other global occurrences in a rather non- specific way. Products such as Novell's LANtern and Network General's Watch- dog provide some cost-effective ways of "watching" network segments and re- porting the existence, if not the cause, of a problem. Such solutions are useful for small to medium-size LANs without a great deal of internetworking. Although they do not provide an abundance of quantitative data, they are relatively low in cost and easy to use. The second level is network analysis, which adds quantitative information to the monitor's qualitative data. Tools such as Novell's LANalyzer and Net- work General's Sniffer let you analyze network activity from a wide variety of angles, at a depth that includes packet- level protocol analysis. These systems have the advantage of being precise. They provide a wide array of complete information about the operation of a net- work. They have the disadvantage of re- quiring a high degree of knowledge on the part of the operator. They are also often very expensive. Management Protocols Widely dispersed heterogeneous net- works cry out for better, more compre- hensive, and easier-to-use management tools. The solution comes from two di- rections. First, there is a new breed of global network management systems emerging in the mixed-network market. Second, there are two enabling technol- ogies, in the form of emerging standards, called SNMP and CMIP (see "Dueling Protocols" on page 183). Even though many manufacturers are producing devices that adhere to one or both of these standards, the standards themselves only dictate a method of com- municating network management infor- mation. Being able to use that informa- tion is only part— albeit an important part— of the heterogeneous networking puzzle. Management communications proto- col allows such products as Cabletron' s Remote LANView and Synoptics' Lat- tisNet Network Manager to maintain a view of a global network. Although both systems, and others like them, provide a wealth of detail about the individual manufacturer's products, the informa- tion they provide about other network components is less complete. Both sys- tems use SNMP and therefore can com- municate with any network device that also uses SNMP, but the degree of use- fulness diminishes as they view other vendors' products. These and other products like them have opened the eyes of network admin- istrators to the possibilities of heteroge- neous network management. What is needed in the next generation is a global management system that provides the same depth of information in the same easy-to-use, highly graphical style, without regard to who makes the devices on the network or what management pro- tocol (if any) the devices support. Cabletron has recently introduced such a product. The new system, dubbed Spectrum, is the vanguard of the next generation of heterogeneous network management tools. It is highly graphical, allowing rapid user interaction and re- ducing the need for highly skilled net- work analysts at most levels. It can learn and reason as it isolates network faults. And it has no preference regarding a de- vice's vendor or protocol. While Spectrum appreciates SNMP or CMIP, it doesn't require either of them. In addition, the depth of information and graphical display power is not affected by the vendor of the device under scru- tiny. Spectrum is the premier network management system available today, combining monitoring, analysis, and management of widely dispersed hetero- geneous LANs; it points out the future direction of network management. Cost and Effect You have to ask yourself whether a het- erogeneous system is worth the time and expense. The answer depends on the size of your organization. In large organiza- tions, you probably will not have any choice: The day will come, if it hasn't al- ready, when you will start interconnect- ing the LANs in your company into one big heterogeneous system. If you haven't started planning, you'd better start now. The more you can adhere to standards and plan for interconnecting network segments on the levels discussed, the eas- ier your job will be when the need arises. In smaller organizations, you have more options. Companies often don't benefit from internetworking in reason- able proportion to the cost of its imple- mentation. For all sizes of organizations, there are trade-offs when you start con- necting, and they will nearly always be to the net benefit of large organizations. There is often more pain than gain for the smaller ones. For example, although performance across an internetwork is not up to the performance on individual network seg- ments, the benefits of information shar- ing and communication on a global level are worth the minor performance degra- dation in a large organization. Small or- ganizations, however, must weigh per- formance along with increased cost for equipment, increased support and train- ing requirements, and increased man- agement needs when deciding if the "big connection" is for them. Often, less complex and costly methods can be used in place of heterogeneous networks. There's little doubt that true heteroge- neous networks are possible, even desir- able, in many cases. Today's tools for connecting and managing mixed net- works, along with the proliferation of meaningful network standards, has turned the year of the LAN into the de- cade of the internetwork. How you should respond depends on your individ- ual needs and your organization's net- working culture. The idea of pulling corporate network- ing into a single system is nothing new; MIS managers have been doing it for as long as there have been computers. How- ever, the idea of doing it with PCs— those small, powerful, and very personal com- puters—meets with varying degrees of approval. Eventually, organizations will internetwork. For many, it's a question not of if, but of when. If you stick to stan- dards, plan as you go, and think in global terms, you can make a true heteroge- neous network a reality. ■ Peter Stephenson is a writer, lecturer, and consultant on enterprise networking issues based in Rochester Hills, Michi- gan. He can be contacted on BIX as "pstephenson. " 164 BYTE • MARCH 1991 How to make the work go faster and the money go slower. NEC PowerMate S86/25S. The affordable entry to high performance 386 processing. For advanced applications like CAD/CAM, presentation graphics or financial modeling, you can't go wrong with the PowerMate® 386™/25S. For far less than comparable 386 systems, you get 25MHz speed, 2MB of RAM (easily expandable to 16MB via SIM modules) and a 32K memory cache. You also get something you can't get from anyone else at any price: NEC. For more information call 1-800-NEC-INFO. C&C Computers and Communications SEC Circle 1 98 on Inquiry Card. EFFICIENT DESIGN Birds, turtles, crocodiles — just as the egg is nature's most efficient design for delivering complex life systems, DTK's KEEN-3300 Series is the ideal 386 computer with which to build your net- work or multi-user system. As a fileserver, networkstation or standalone system, its unique write-back cache (64KB/256KB) and competitive price make it one of the most cost-efficient, high-speed systems available. HIGH DEPENDABILITY Over 100 full-time design and manufacturing engineers work together to ensure that dependability is "built-in." Then, QC personnel scrutinize every DTK motherboard and system to the most stringent standards in the industry. Over 2,000,000 satisfied customers testify to our reputation for quality and dependability. GROWTH POTENTIAL Like the egg, the basic KEEN-3300 is merely the beginning. Its 16 MBytes of high-speed RAM, 8 expansion slots and 7 drive bays (server) provide the flexibility you need to expand your system as your requirements grow. The KEEN-3300 — a powerful beginning at a price that won't crack your budget. Call for the dealer nearest you, DTK Computer Inc., (818) 333-7533. 15711 E. Valley Blvd. City of Industry, CA 91744. Fax: (818) 333-5429. A reputation for success. CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA (818) 333-7533 SAN JOSE, CA (408) 436-6363 HOUSTON, TX (713) 568-6688 ELK GROVE VILLAGE. IL (708) 593-3080 DTK is a trademark of Datatech Enterprises Co.. Ltd. 80386 is a trademark of INTEL Corp. ®DTK Computer Inc., 1990. Circle 99 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 100). EDISON, NJ (201)417-0300 MIAMI, FL (305) 477-7440 STATE OF THE ART DYNAMIC AND DISTRIBUTED Unless you want a system manager at each distributed site, you need automated management tools CARL MANSON AND J. SCOTT HAUGDAHL As networks become vital to the operation of many different types of organizations, one task becomes increasingly difficult and important: ensuring reliable, re- sponsive network services in a dynamic, distributed environment. To complicate matters, the environment, which often intermixes PCs, workstations, LANs, wide-area networks, minicomputers, and mainframes, may have been assem- bled piecemeal and can include software systems not originally designed for it. Further compounding the task, the dis- tributed environment usually contains offerings from many different vendors. In a distributed environment, the sys- tem plan must be able to evolve as tech- nologies change. It must cover such issues as cable planning and ongoing maintenance, approaches to centralized- version distributed management, growth and capacity planning, the standards supported in the environment, and the commercially available management platforms to be used. With new technol- ogies such as station managers coming onto the scene, you must be constantly aware of new techniques for implement- ing overall system control. Technical Issues Vendors are making great strides in net- work management offerings. LAN-serv- er operating systems now let you see performance statistics and accounting information. You can remotely control terminal servers and bridges that report traffic conditions and errors. And many vendors are offering add-ons to exist- ing systems— particularly to PC LANs, which have had little or no management ILLUSTRATION: DAVE ROTOLONI © 1991 MARCH 1991 -BYTE 167 DYNAMIC AND DISTRIBUTED capability in the past. Network management system vendors are also beginning to agree on standards implementations and interoperability conformance testing. However, efforts to provide compatible management sys- tems are not progressing at the same rate as the technological advances that drive the industry. To manage a large distributed system that can include mission-critical applica- tions, you need some level of automated network management. The following are important technical issues to consider: • Common mode failures. One critical issue is how a failure in an element com- mon to more than one instance in the net- work affects the overall operation. For example, if bad data or code (i.e., a soft- ware bug) somehow enters the manage- ment system topology database, it may also affect a backup management sys- tem. The system may continue to oper- ate, not knowing it has a problem, and the backup has no cross-check since it is also unaware of the problem. Cross- checks and consistency checks are needed to deal with potentially bad data. • Traffic. This includes traffic sent and received by the network management system. If multiple failures of network BVTE ACTION SUMMARY Managing Distributed Systems Managing a large distributed system that can include mission-critical applications requires some level of automated network manage- ment. There are several important technical issues to consider: common mode failures, traffic, robustness, centralized or decentralized management, protocol stan- dards, testability, extensibil- ity, programmability, and in- herent reliability of the LAN management system. elements occur in a given period of time, the traffic can increase to the point that it affects the real-time requirements of messages passing over the LAN. Like- wise, heavy reporting of failures may overload the management system. • Robustness. The LAN management system's reaction to unexpected events or "illegal" messages is important, partic- ularly in mission-critical systems. The system must react properly to duplicate messages or to messages from nodes that are unregistered or known to be down. A robust system continues to function in these circumstances by making correct decisions about unexpected events. One reaction might be to ignore the situation and let normal protocol mecha- nisms, such as time-outs and retransmis- sions, handle the problem. Another ap- proach would be to set a status flag to indicate that system performance is de- grading and then send out synchronizing messages or resets to one or more of the system nodes. • Centralized or decentralized manage- ment. Centralization of anything usually also implies a central point of failure. Issues to consider for a functionally dis- tributed network management system in- clude consistency (e.g., of databases and network state), synchronization among standby systems, and frequency of data- base updates. Another issue is the appropriate desti- nation of status and error information. In some cases, it may be sufficient to main- tain information by local group, while in others, the LAN management system at the central control point will have to be involved. • Protocol standards. Standards both fa- cilitate and hinder analysis. For exam- ple, if the network management system incorporates standards, additional test- ing may be necessary to ensure that the system adheres to these standards; other- wise, unexpected data interpretation can result. Also, the selected standards may not directly support the required man- agement functionality, or their use may introduce inefficiencies that can degrade system response time. On the other hand, standards make it easier to integrate management compo- nents with other network components. And as the network continues to grow and evolve, standards permit the integra- tion of new products and technology. • Testability. A LAN management sys- tem with built-in test points makes test- ing easier. Test points consist of inter- faces, snapshot facilities, and tracing facilities. • Extensibility. This includes the ability to accommodate traffic growth and to extend the network by adding new nodes or connecting to other networks. It also includes the ability to incorporate new technology easily as opportunities arise. It is conceivable that the network man- agement design could artificially limit network growth. • Programmability. The LAN manage- ment system should have a long life span. Its adaptability to system changes de- pends on its ability to add new features and technology easily, with a minimal impact on the existing system. A simple example is adding new alarms or alerts from applications; a more complex ex- ample is attaching an element with a new architecture to the LAN . • Inherent reliability. Reliability largely depends on the amount and complexity of the functions performed, along with the algorithms used. The techniques for car- rying out the various network manage- ment duties must be analyzed in order to determine the overall integrity of the management system itself. Management Issues Along with some sticky technical issues, the operation of distributed systems also involves a number of management issues. These include software distribution and version control, error determination and correction, system configuration man- agement, and access control/security. Software distribution and control are necessary to prevent the introduction of nonlicensed software— as well as virus- es—into the network. One way to control software distribution is to handle it from a central location in the network. Soft- ware is copied to remote-site file servers from a single distribution point and can then be copied to local disks, if neces- sary. Using diskless workstations elimi- nates this potentially troublesome step. With enterprise-wide applications (e.g., distributed databases), synchro- nizing system updates to ensure that all users are running the same version of the software becomes an issue. One solution is to always maintain two copies of the application on the local network. At a preset date and time, the "new" version is used instead of the old one. You in- clude this temporal information as part of the download of new software to the local networks. Unfortunately, the temporal informa- tion included with the downloaded soft- ware goes on the assumption that all download operations will be completed by that date and time, and this may not be a valid assumption. For example, what if the target file server (or the disk system) 168 B YTE • MARCH 1991 See the Future. The ideal 16-inch ergonomic monitor for professional graphics and business applications. Maximum performance for CAD/CAM, spreadsheets, databases, WYSIWYG word processors and desktop publishing. Designed for PCs and Macintosh II. 1024 X 768 resolutions. Supporting the new, higher refresh rate of 70Hz and above for a flicker-free display. No distortion. Sharply focused. Bright images across the entire screen. An anti-static, non-glare screen. Low magnetic radiation. No interference between two monitors separated by a mere six inches, for dual-display applications. Microprocessor-controlled configuration for your applications, memorizing size and position __ of the screen settings you prefer. NANAO NANAO USA CORP. 23510 Telo Ave., Suite 5 Torrance, CA 90505 USA Phone (213)325-5202 Fax (213)530-1679 -2i!M a||aihst -13 Circle 1 92 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 1 93). etc* •I FkEXSCAN "90801 '^&S~~\ ^^\ 16<(15V± 0.2^mm^ottiiWi-b^^r ~ 1024~$r7g8 SljpeFhigh resolutlohmtfhmT''' ~JT Images created try Jeify D Flynn. Design Engineei. McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Company. Kennedy Space Cemei, Florida. Macintosh li is a registered trademarK of Apple Computers Inc. NANAO and FLEXSCAN are registered fjademaiks of NANAO USA CORPORATION. ^...JU mm MB High r&ff&sh i iaie^ . Scari^FteiffienGptyA&ttmmtie^ — H : x m^4kHz,V r-m^^^- ^-^^ VQAf 8514M and Mac • UJ^ompatible ■\ Circle 63 on Inquiry Card. PS 2* MEMORY Introducing OSIRAM8™ uf 8 Mbytes of memory + 2 serial ports, J> Extended and expanded memory. LIM 4.0. Works with all of your programs. Run DOS or OS/2 effortlessly. Fast and simple switchless installation, ■7S1 HANNOVER FAIR SJGsBIT'91 MARCH 13-20, 1991 Hall 6 Stand F-23-C-46 Booth K9 Auto-configuration for all operating systems. Works in all Micro Channel™ computers. Expanded memory 10 times faster than Intel. Risk free guarantee. Two year warranty. IBM approved ID. Best price. Fast delivery. Call today 617-273-1818 or 1-800-234-4CEC cec Capital Equipment Corp. Burlington, MA. 01803 PS/2 and Micro Channel are trademarks of IBM is full? Any remote system that "misses" the update can cause serious trouble on an organization-wide basis. An alternative is to send temporal in- formation to all sites only after they all receive the new software. In a sense, this only postpones any problems. Typically, however, the problems that arise from this approach are easier to deal with, be- cause of the relative size of the temporal message versus that of the software itself. In many applications, such as those in the banking industry, you also have to synchronize remote software versions with central transaction-processing soft- ware versions. The simplest way to han- dle this is to make sure that all transac- tions include version information and that the central software rejects any out- of-date versions it detects. In general, this approach is effective, but it can cause widespread distribution of software that contains serious bugs. Often, the software distribution scheme includes keeping two software copies on the local networks so that the system can recover from a newly introduced bug by falling back to the previous version. However, this approach does not protect you from attack by Trojan Horses. With the Trojan Horse, a bug can lie dormant in several successive versions of software and then suddenly surface with poten- tially disastrous results. For example, assume that the bug is present in all software versions at the re- mote sites (i.e., both the current version and any backup versions). Once it sur- faces, new software that corrects the problem must be distributed to all sites immediately. This can be quite a prob- lem, depending on the network size. And in an extreme case, the bug could be em- bedded in the software distribution sys- tem software itself and cause it to com- pletely cease functioning. This could crash the entire network. The Trojan Horse terminology con- jures up visions of malicious attacks on the system, and this is a possibility. How- ever, simple programming errors or sub- tle design flaws can be the culprit. The key point is that the bug remains unde- tected for a period of time. The extent of the problem can vary widely, depending on where the bug is. It might affect only a small part of one program, or it could have more disastrous results. Finding and Correcting Problems Centralized management of a distributed system requires heavily automated net- work management procedures, error re- porting, system backup, and so on. Vir- tually all successful PC LAN instal- lations to date also include an individual who functions as the system manager. With small networks, this job is typi- DYNAMIC AND DISTRIBUTED cally a de facto position; one person as- sumes the position by default and be- comes the local expert. In larger systems (upward of 10 nodes), the position is in- creasingly becoming a recognized job function with specific duties. Management software that runs on the LAN and reports to a centralized host- based system is one way to augment an on-site LAN manager with automated computer applications that perform some of the manager's functions. The local LAN management software can contain one or more of the following capabilities. • Problem determination and recovery. The LAN management software records problems related to adapters and media. When errors such as collisions occur, the system notifies the local manager. If the number of these errors exceeds certain thresholds, then the software may also notify the host system. The software may also provide a facil- ity, such as an echo mechanism, to moni- tor critical resources on the network, such as gateways and file servers, and notify the local manager— and possibly the host manager as well— that a resource has failed. Ethernet networks require such a mechanism since they don't have the automatic error-reporting capability that token-ring networks have. When there is a problem, typically the LAN manager is alerted with an audible alarm and a highlighted indication of the problem on the display. In addition, the software may attempt to identify the problem, stating the probable cause and including the information needed to iso- late it and recommendations for actions to take to resolve it. This information could also be for- warded to the host console. The central site may use it to alert a remote site that a problem exists. The central site can also use it to maintain a centralized problem history file for each remote LAN. The log can contain vendor contacts for spe- cific problems, generate trouble tickets, include information about how the prob- lem was resolved, and so on. • Event logging and report generation. Network events, such as peak network utilization times, new network addresses observed on the network, and error con- ditions, can be logged to a disk file or a printer. Token-ring networks have many auto- matic error-reporting functions built into the adapters. These errors and changes to the token ring, such as stations entering or leaving the network, are reported via media access control frames that the ap- 170 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Circle 64 on Inquiry Card. DYNAMIC AND DISTRIBUTED propriate LAN management software can interpret. Typically, you can generate reports from the information stored in the event log over a selected period of time; for ex- ample, a network manager may want to review network utilization for the past 24 hours. • Operator control functions. The LAN manager may want to query the status of any device attached to the network, such as a workstation, bridge, or gateway. For example, token-ring adapters maintain a history of error statistics and other infor- mation, such as product instance ID. Also, bridges usually keep statistics on traffic passed through and error counts. Bridges are an interesting case. Stan- dards such as SNMP are emerging and are finding their way into bridges and other devices. With the proper software, the LAN manager can query these bridge statistics using SNMP. Another useful function tests the sta- tus of the path between two workstations. This is especially handy when repeaters or bridges separate the workstations. Configuration Management Configuration management requires knowing what software is installed on what systems. For internally developed applications distributed automatically and subject to strict version control, this is usually not a problem. But for end-user software (e.g., spreadsheets and word processors), keeping track may not be easy. The approach that large corporations with PC LANs most frequently use is to have a group of supported software pack- ages available on the network. Typically, the list includes one or two fully featured packages in each of the standard PC soft- ware areas (e.g., word processing, data- base, spreadsheet, and telecommuni- cations). If you use these packages, you receive support from the company's technical- support personnel in the form of question answering and problem solving, tutorials and training, and data conversion util- ities. If you prefer to use other packages to accomplish the same basic functions, you can, but you do it at your own risk- no technical support is provided. This approach doesn't prevent you from using nonstandard software, but it does dis- courage the practice. Establishing a supported list of appli- cations provides a framework within which to evaluate nonstandard excep- tions on a uniform, case-by-case basis. It also provides management and support 8 Mbytes of fast 32 bit memory. Works in all Micro Channel™ computers. Fast LIM 4.0 driver included. Provides extended and expanded memory. Easy switchless installation. Automatic configuration for DOS, OS/2 or UNIX Risk free guarantee. Two year warranty. Accepted under IBM service contracts. From $299 to $998 with 8 Megabytes. "Best price performance", says PC Week . Call today 617-273-1818 or 1-800-234-4CEC HANNOVER FAIR _ .&BTT91 MARCH 13~2 0, 1991 Hall 6, Stand F-23-C-46 Booth K9 cec Capital Equipment Corp. Burlington, MA. 01803 PS/2 and Micro Channel are trademarks of IBM advantages over a free-for-all approach. Version control, problem solving, train- ing, and, eventually, migration to new packages can all take place in an orderly, well-defined manner. Another concern is how the software on a particular machine is configured internally. Most popular PC software packages support a variety of internal configuration options, ranging from screen colors to printer-control codes and default disk directories. With experi- ence, you can easily change these inter- nal configuration parameters to suit indi- vidual tastes. These parameters typically become an issue when you need technical support to diagnose and solve problems. Many in- ternal parameters, such as choice of screen color, are probably not worth worrying about in terms of a central management strategy. Others, such as what printer-control codes you are using, can be important in the context of prob- lem diagnosis and solution. For externally developed packages, it is essentially impossible to prevent you from changing your internal configura- tion for a particular package, so the next best thing is to have a prescribed stan- dard configuration for each supported program. In the worst case, technical- support personnel can return your imple- mentation to the standard configuration as the first step in determining and cor- recting a problem. Another key point to consider is where on the network to store end-user applica- tions. Usually, you store such code only on the server, where the various worksta- tions can share it. This approach simpli- fies management problems, if only be- cause it decreases the number of copies of the software in the system by a factor of about 20. This is also how network- licensed packages operate. One approach to managing a worksta- tion's programs and configuration is to have a "scrubber" program that runs automatically in each one. The scrubber might run periodically, or as part of a system-initialization process that occurs frequently (e.g., entering the main sys- tem menu). The scrubber has a list of executable files, configuration files, and subdirec- tories sanctioned by the system, and it scans your hard disk, discarding files and directories that do not appear on its list. This approach is somewhat heavy-hand- ed, and if you are determined and dili- gent, you can defeat it. Most users, how- ever, won't find it worth the effort to continually battle against a scrubber. Access Control and Security There are two components to controlling access to the network. Access has to be MARCH 1991 'BYTE 171 DYNAMIC AND DISTRIBUTED limited both to the local network and, in the case of a geographically dispersed system, to the global transaction-pro- cessing network. Generally, you gain ac- cess to the local network and the applica- tions that are residing on it. In a com- pletely distributed environment, the applications then gain access to the glob- al transaction-processing network. Often, a centrally maintained directory of valid users is used to control system access. Application access to the global net- work can be controlled by password and session encryption features, where pass- words are shared between the host-based portion of the application and the work- station-based portion. Thus, whoever gains access to the applications gains ac- cess to the global network. In a simple scenario, passwords might be changed from version to version of the application; in itself, however, this secu- rity measure is insufficient to secure the network. You have to use this kind of scheme with measures that control access to the applications themselves. Since the user portion of applications in a client- server-type system resides on the remote networks, the first step might be to con- trol access to these systems. If it is hard to control access to the ap- plications, security and access controls must be present in the applications them- selves. The applications should support user ID and password log-in procedures, where the password is checked against the centrally maintained directory. Since, for ease of use, it's best that each user have one password, the central directory should contain capability infor- mation for each one. Thus, you might have the capability to run application A but not application B. Each application would check your capability to execute it as part of its initialization sequence. Further refinements of this scheme are possible. For example, the capability for a particular application might not be expressed as a binary value (i.e., you can or cannot run the application), but as a T, here are two components to controlling access to the network. structured value that indicates a level of capability within the application (e.g., you can use some functions but not oth- ers; you can read data but not change it). Another area of interest and concern relates to "foreign" software. If a net- work workstation has a floppy disk in- stalled, it is virtually impossible to con- trol what software you boot on the workstation. Many large corporate LAN installations have used diskless worksta- tions to overcome this problem. A diskless workstation boots over the network from the file server rather than from a local storage device. The choice of boot options made available to you from the file server can effectively con- trol the software you execute in your workstation. The lack of floppy disk drives also prevents the installation of new software and the removal of network data from the premises. Who's in Charge Here? Managing distributed systems in general and doing it from a centralized location in particular are major problem areas. Tools to do this effectively and complete- ly do not exist, but unless you want to have a system manager at each site, you need automated management tools. Ef- forts to develop customized, centralized management solutions are needed. Managing distributed mission-critical systems often becomes a critical opera- tional part of the network. Although a lot of the traditional concepts of network management (e.g., fault, configuration, performance, accounting, planning, se- curity, and applications management) certainly apply to such systems, there are additional considerations. These include technical issues, such as common mode failures and the management system's in- herent reliability. ■ Carl Manson is a senior systems engineer with the communications consulting firm Architecture Technology Corp. in Minne- apolis, Minnesota. J. Scott Haugdahl is a senior technical consultant at Architec- ture Technology Corp. They can be con- tacted on BIX c/o "editors. " PACIFIC COMPUTERS LCD-286-12MHz.... $1,345 386SX- J6MHz S1.595 386-25MHz Sl,895 386-33MHz $2,145 IMI) RAM 1JMB or 1.44MB Fl) 42MB hairO disk LCD 640x480 screen LCD VGA display Serialand parallel 86-key detachable keyboard 24().\48l) I'iiperwhite LCD External munitor connector Kli-key detachable keyboard One 16-bit expansion slot One 2401) Baud modem expansion slot .Serial and parallel Removable, rechargeahle batten.' Run 1511 ill i n 3.0" (Mix 14.0" ll)).\ 12.5" l\Vl NOTEBOOK 286-12 LCI) VGA 1MB RAM *„.««. 20MB I II) 2S/1P $1795 1.44 MB PI) 7 Ihs. rl§9* VGA SYSTEM PCI-286-12MHZ $1,045 386SX-16MHz S1 ,345 386-25MHz $1,645 386-33MHz S1 .895 I MB RAM L2MB or 1.44MB Fl) 42MB hard disk 16 bit VGA card 14" VGA color monitor Serial, Parallel and gcuru; ports III 1-key keyboard 200W power supplv (>5MB, 100MB. 150MB. 2I10MH and 3120MB III) option Mono System is available Plasma-286-12MHz .$1,645 386SX-16MHz $1,895 386-25MHz S2.195 386-33MHz $2,445 1MB RAM 1.2MB or 1.44MB Fl) 42MB hard disk Plasma VGA 640x480 screen Plasma VGA card Serial and parallel 86-key detachable keyboard 200W power supply 9.1" (1 11x7.5" ID) x Ki.l" l\V) Plasma VGA ■^ [mi ps*j b^ Price Subject To Change Without Notice 9945 LOWER AZUSA, TEMPLE CITY, CA. 91780 TOLL FREE 800/346-7207 • FAX: 818/442-9112 172 BYTE- MARCH 1991 Circle 21 1 on Inquiry Card. PC DIAGNOSTICS • PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE • BENCHMARK TESTING • PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT SPEED TEST YOUR PC You've seen the Landmark Speed Rating advertised by many major PC manufacturers, now you can have your own copy of the Landmark System Speed Test". Accurately measure CPU, math, and video speeds to make an informed purchasing decision, determine the best PC for the job or maybe just win some bets in the office on whose PC is really faster! Includes the Landmark AT CMOS RAM Setup program to update your system config- uration on-the-fly. Regularly $29, BYTE Special ONLY $19. THE 5 MINUTE SOLUTION TO FLOPPY DRIVE FAILURE With Alignlf you can clean, diagnose, and align your floppy drives in minutes without a scope. Patented tech- nology requires only a screwdriver to perform ANSI- accurate alignments (.3 mil). Alignlt is ideal for corporate users with 2 or more PCs because it includes a "GOLD STANDARD" feature so you can align all your PCs to the same in-house standard, guaranteeing that all your floppies are perfectly inter- changeable between PCs. 80% of all floppy drive failures can be fixed with Alignlt so don't replace your drive, save time and money instead. Includes dual size floppies, (both high and low density) and no-mess pre-lubricated cleaning diskettes (both sizes) good for 180 uses. Replacements and single drive size versions available. For all PCs and compatibles. Regularly $249 (single size $149), BYTE Special, SAVE $$$ CALL NOW. PC WONT BOOT? THEN JUST KICKSTART IT! Don't replace your motherboard, don't call service, use KickStart 2™. When serious hardware problems occur, nothing gets you up and running as fast. KickStart 2 meas- ures power within 2.5% on all four voltages, shows Power- On Self-Test (POST) failure codes, and features on-board ROM-based diagnostics allowing you to determine and remedy the problem quickly, easily, and inexpensively! Built-in serial and parallel I/O allows for testing via modem, or simply logging results to a remote terminal, printer or laptop. You can configure your own test routines and store them in KickStart 2's battery backed-up CMOS RAM saving valuable setup time. Includes serial and parallel loopback plugs and Landmark JumpStart AT ROM BIOS for testing PCs that don't issue POST codes. KickStart 2 tests your system regardless of O/S (even UNIX). On-board switches, LEDs, and digital displays allow com- plete control over testing in systems lacking video or disk (ideal for motherboard or system burn-in). KickStart 2 is the ultimate SECURITY CARD too! With both supervisor and user levels of password protection, you can prevent unauthorized use of your PC and accidental run- ning of destructive tests. Regularly $599, BYTE Special, SAVE $$$ CALL NOW. "KickStart 2 system diagnostics board helps users check out virtually every aspect of a PC's hardware system... the board is a worthy investment for com- puter maintenance. " David Claiborne, PC Week - December 24, 1990. HOW TO DEBUG A DEAD PC Need an inexpensive solutionior dead or problematic PCs and motherboards? Try KickStart 1'" or JumpStart ROM POST", two quick and easy to use debugging tools. KickStart 1 test card shows power status on all four volt- ages and binary PORT 80 Power-On Self-Test codes. The manual translates error codes for easy failed circuit isola- tion. Regularly $99, BYTE Special, SAVE $$$ CALL NOW. JumpStart ROM POST is a plug-in chip designed to replace your motherboard BIOS for testing purposes. Tests include CPU register and logic, 8087 math coprocessor, 8253 timer, 8237 DMA controller, 8259 interrupt controller, parity error and memory refresh logic, erroneous maskable/non-mask- able interrupt detection, display adapter (MDA, CGA, EGA), keyboard, keyboard controller, floppy controller, drive A: read Base memory at normal & slow refresh rates, and POST checksum. Display of motherboard switch configura- tion. Regularly $199 (AT version) $99 (XT version), BYTE Special, SAVE $$$ CALL NOW. HARD CORE TESTING FOR PROFESSIONALS Landmark/SuperSoft Service Diagnostics'" is ideal for professionals requiring the most exhaustive diagnostic test capabilities. Each module is CPU specific, including PC, XT, AT, 386/486, and PS/2. Since 1981 major manu- facturers like Wang, Xerox, Prime, Sony, DEC, NEC, and NCR have relied on Service Diagnostics to tackle their toughest operating problems. Intended for professional service and repair technicians, Service Diagnostics is also easy to use tor the novice. Clear, concise on-line help and intuitive menus make finding system problems a breeze. Tests all CPUs, math chips, all memory, floppy, fixed and non-standard disk drives, standard/non-standard printers, system board, video, com ports and all keyboards. Utilities include low- level reformat, log bad sectors, edit bad sector table; the partition editor allows you to set up multiple partitions; back-up program transfers hard disk image on unformat- ted floppies and allows for restore after reformat. Ideal for UNIX and other operating systems, the self- booting version doesn't require DOS. The manual offers troubleshooting tips to the component level. Also avai- lable in a complete Kit including; all CPU specific soft- ware, dual size floppy alignment software (see Alignlt), and PC/XT & AT ROM POSTs. Winner of the PC Magazine Editor's Choice Award in August 1990. "SuperSoft's Service Diagnostics: The Kit is a technicians dream, with all the tools necessary to accurately analyze all phases of computer operations... it is well worth its performance potential." Bill O'Brien, PC Magazine - August, 1990. • Service Diagnostics XT/AT Kit...Reg.$595, SAVE $$$ CALL NOW • Service Diagnostics PS/2 Kit ....Reg. $495, SAVE $$$ CALL NOW • XT ROM POST... Regularly $99 SAVE$$$ CALL NOW • AT ROM POST... Regularly $199 SAVE $$$ CALL NOW • Individual pricing available on all kit components, please inquire. KickStart 2 is ideal for permanent installation. It eliminates the need for an I/O card, provides remote and on-site diagnostic capabilities for quick repair time and offers a solid hardware based solution to unauthorized access with impenetrable password protection. SLASH DOWNTIME AND OPERATING PROBLEMS With PC Probe ,u you'll save time and money when your PC starts acting up. In one easy-to-use package you get Diagnostics, Benchmarks, Performance Enhancement Utilities, and System Information. Combined, this arsenal of tools will keep your system up and running at peak performance and remove the mystery about what's inside. PC Probe diagnostic testing quickly isolates the source of hardware problems, even locating bad RAM chips. It tests system board, RAM, video, keyboard, com ports, floppy drive, hard drive, Ethernet card and more. Run PC Probe tests in batch mode or single pass, remote or on-site. PC Probe allows you to increase your hard drive data transfer rate by determining optimum interleave and changing it, prevent catastrophic data loss by performing data revitalization, reformat the hard drive, run external programs, display and edit CMOS RAM on-the-fly, pre- vent accidental hard drive data destruction with pass- words, diagnose problems with device drivers installed. The 200 page on-line manual has built-in table of con- tents, topic/text search, and troubleshooting tips. PC Probe comes with dual size floppies and 9 & 25 pin serial/ parallel port loopback plugs. For PC XT, AT, 386, 486 and compatibles using DOS 2.0 or higher. Regularly $149, BYTE Special SAVE $$$ CALL NOW. CONFUSED BY TECHNICAL COMPUTER JARGON? Finally, with a single keystroke, you can define virtually every computer term known in a matter of seconds. This award-winning, easy-to-use utility, defines over 4200 computer terms and concepts for you without having to leave the program you're in. The Computer Glossary'" (a software version of the best- selling book by Alan Freedman) installs as an application or hot-key accessed TSR. The definitions are written in concise, standard English. Plus, The Computer Glossary provides colorful industry "backgrounders" fascinating to the beginner and expert alike. Get the most out of your software, manuals and com- puter magazines, buy The Computer Glossary and become a true POWER USER. Runs under DOS or MS- DOS 2.0, or later, with 32K of RAM and 1.4 MB of hard disk space on IBM PC, XT, AT PS/2 and compatible computers. Regularly $59, BYTE Special, SAVE $$$ CALL NOW. CALL (800) 683-6866 International use FAX (813) 443-6603 Voice (813)443-1331 Visa • MC»Amex • CDDs Accepted • Dealer Inquiries Welcome Hi 3D vi y\_ Ktim IANDMARK/SlipeiS®ft First in PC Testing. . . Since 1981 703 Grand Central Street* Clearwater, Florida 3461 6 Copyright© 1981-1 991. UndmarKSuperSofl. PC Probe, Align It. KickStart. JumpStart, ROM POST. andServiccOiagnosticsaretrademarlssand registered trademarks ot Landmark Research International Corp. All Rights Reserved. Other namesare trademarks ol their associated owners. Circle 279 on Inquiry Card. The best got better. SYSTAT 5.0's new menus make the top-rated statistical program even easier to use. ITS CLASS v4.1 LJHWEEK pq. SYSTAT is the only package to receive these three awards. t\ if ^ r °~\ ^*r V\ T XI \$J0~ y ~~ New Features Menus or commands - your choice Rewritten documentation includes statistics tutorials Fast, built-in drivers for SYGRAPH Global mapping and many new plots Multi way repeated measures Means model for missing cells designs Post-hoc tests Interactive stepwise regression. Statistics Basic statistics, frequencies, f-tests, post-hoc tests Multi way crosstabs with log-linear modeling, association coefficients, PRE statistics, Mantel-Haenszel, asymptotic standard errors Nonparametric statistics (sign, runs, Wilcoxon, Kruskal- Wallis, Friedman two-way ANOV A, Mann-Whitney U, Kolmogorov- Smirnov, Lilliefors, Kendall coefficient of concordance) Pairwise/ listwise deletion of missing values, Pearson correlation, SSCP, covariance, Spearman, Gamma, Kendall Tau, Euclidean distances, binary similarities Linear, polynomial, multiple, stepwise, weighted regression with extended diagnostics Multivariate general linear model includes multi way ANOVA, ANCOVA, MANOVA, repeated measures, canonical correlation Principal components, factor analysis, rotations, components scores Multidimensional scaling Multiple and canonical discriminant analysis, Bayesian classification Cluster analysis (hierarchical, single, average, complete, median, centroid linkage, k-means, cases, variables) Time series (smoothers, exponential smoothing, seasonal and nonseasonal ARIMA, ACF, PACF, CCF, transformations, Fourier analysis) Nonlinear estimation (nonlinear regression, maximum likelihood estimation, and more). Graphics Overlay plots Drivers for most graphics devices Two-dimensional: Error bars Scatterplots Line and vector graphs Vector, dot, bubble and quantile plots Bar graphs (single, multiple, stacked, range) Box plots (single and grouped) Stem-and-leaf diagrams Linear, quadratic, step, spline, polynomial, LOWESS, exponential smoothing Confidence intervals and ellipses (any alpha value) Smooth mathematical functions Rectangular or polar coordinates Log and power scales ANOVA interaction plots Histograms (regular, cumulative, fuzzy) Stripe and jitter plots Gaussian histogram smoothing Scatterplot matrices Voronoi tesselations Minimum spanning tree Maps with geographic projections (U.S. state boundary file included, county and world boundary files available) Chernoff faces Star plots Fourier plots Pie charts Contour plots on regularly and irregularly spaced points Control charts and limits Three-dimensional: Data plots Smooth function plots Vector plots Linear, quadratic, spline, least squares surface smoothing Typefaces that print in perspective. Data Management Import/export Lotus, dBase, and DIF files Full screen data editor Full screen text editor Unlimited cases Missing data, arrays, character variables Capability to process hierarchical, rectangular or triangular files, irregular length records Character, numeric, and nested sorts Merge and append large files Unlimited numeric and character variable transformations Subgroup processing with SELECT and BY Value labels and RECODE statements Macro processor with programming language, screen control, file manipulation, applications generation, and report writing. SYSTAT operates on IBM PC's® and compatibles, MS-DOS® VAX®/Microvax and Macintosh® Site licenses, quantity prices and training seminars available. No fees for technical support. SYSTAT SYSTAT. Intelligent software. For more information call or write: SYSTAT, Inc. 1800 Sherman Avenue, Evanston, Illinois 60201-3793 Tel: 708.864.5670 Fax: 708.492.3567 For international representatives call: Australia 61.3.4974755, Canada 416.424.1700, Finland 358.0.6923800, France 33.1.40935000, Germany 49.61.265950, Italy 39.587.213640, Japan 81.3.5902311, New Zealand 64.71.562675, Norway 47.3.892240. Sweden 46.8.110620. Switzerland 41.31.416611, The Netherlands 31.3402.66336, UK: Letchworth 44.462.482822, London 44.81.6926636, London SE 44.0753.841686 Circle 280 on Inquiry Card. STATE OF THE ART CONTROL CENTRAL Tools, techniques, and advice for managing centralized LAN-based services JEFFREY SLOMAN The typical PC LAN of a few years ago consisted of a f ile-and-print- er server connected to a group of workstations. That picture is rap- idly changing. LANs today can provide centralized communications, fax, and database services and support a wider range of distributed applications. The LAN is becoming the MIS data center of the 1990s. The increasingly complex task of man- aging LAN-based services often falls to ad hoc administrators who acquire their skills on the fly, learning to deal with new demands as they arise. As enter- prisewide LANs materialize, that ap- proach won't remain viable. It's critical that organizations protect themselves from uncontrolled organic growth. I will offer some advice, drawn from my own experience, concerning common pitfalls and the methods and tools that can help solve them. My examples are DOS/Windows/NetWare-oriented, since that's my specialty, but the principles ap- ply equally to other kinds of networks. Integrating Central Services As your needs demand more services, they must be provided in ways that do not compromise existing ones. Unfortunate- ly, when you add a new service, it may interact with the LAN in unforeseen ways. Take a look, for example, at add- ing an asynchronous communications server to an existing LAN. Fresh Technology's Modem Assist is one solution to the problem of how to share a pool of modems on a network. It works in conjunction with a smart com- munications adapter, such as Arnet's Multiport/8 serial card. In principle, the ILLUSTRATION: DAVE ROTOLONI © 1991 MARCH 1991 -BYTE 175 CONTROL CENTRAL process is straightforward: You just add a dedicated modem server to the LAN. But, as is typical of centralized LAN ser- vices, you have to make changes at the workstations, too. Modem Assist re- quires an INT 14 driver on the worksta- tion, which redirects interrupt 14 calls across the network (INT 14 is the BIOS communications hook). Most communications programs don't use INT 14; they write directly to the hardware. So, to use the modem pool, you have to acquire and install a program that communicates with an INT 14 inter- face. Hopefully, your existing communi- cations program is available in a version that supports INT 14. DynaComm, Re- flection, Procomm Plus Network Ver- sion, Crosstalk Mk.4, and CoSession LAN are programs that support INT 14. If your communications program does not support INT 14, you will have to use the INT 14-oriented communications program that comes with the modem- pooling software (in the case of Modem Assist, it's MODEM.EXE) or acquire a third-party package that "speaks" INT 14. Either way, you are in for more soft- ware installation, and possibly more training, than you bargained for. That's just the beginning, though. The INT 14 driver— either a TSR program or an installable device driver— may re- quire too much memory or interact nasti- BVTE ACTION SUMMARY Managing Server LANs Today's LAN isn't just a col- lection of PCs hooked to a file server. As corporations rely more heavily on LANs, they must learn to integrate new central services smoothly. In- stalling, configuring, and testing hardware is a big part of the job, but success also depends on training ade- quately and managing expec- tations well. Look for tools that automate some of the drudgery. 1 y with other TSRs that are i n use at the workstation. If you rely on DOS-based multitaskers, such as Desqview and Win- dows, things can become even stickier. At present, these environments aren't al- ways able to use DOS communications drivers reliably. A solution that saves money, but takes away Desqview' s or Windows' ability to download files in the background, really isn't a solution at all. The term central service belies the true complexity of the issue. While re- sources may be centralized either in the file server or in a workstation dedicated to providing a service, the infrastructure that grants access to central resources is distributed throughout the network. Managing that infrastructure can con- sume far more time and effort than man- aging the central services themselves. Power to the People Integrating central services involves more than just hardware and software; it also involves integrating people, and that can be even trickier. In the modem serv- er example, the justification for central- ization probably includes reducing the number of telephone lines that are dedi- cated to modems. That plan assumes that phone lines will be shared on a conten- tion basis— contention is the operative word. It's much easier to add features than to take them away. For instance, if you are familiar with a directly attached modem, you're likely to be upset the first time you receive a message that no mo- dems are available. Part of the transition, therefore,, is dealing with people's expectations. The successful implementation of any new LAN feature depends on it. To manage expectations effectively, you must elimi- nate surprises. Thorough testing and documentation of any new service before it is made public is an absolute necessity. Being trained how to use new services is important. Although it often happens, skipping the training step is a big mis- take. No matter how smoothly the ser- vice is integrated, how reliable the hard- ware is, or how straightforward the soft- ware is, you must modify your behavior to some degree. Without training, resis- tance to new additions can be great. Some organizations implement a sim- ple policy: "no training, no service." In other words, you must demonstrate pro- ficiency with a new service before you're allowed to use it. This is a good policy to implement if it's practical for you. Managing the Applications Installing and configuring applications software is another integration task that can cause endless grief. Software ven- dors have only just begun to address the LAN market. Programs usually operate in the LAN environment— in some cases, they are aware of the LAN; in others, they are not— and may even provide some information on network installation. But if you're concerned with central management, security, and data integri- ty, the situation is far from ideal. As applications become more complex, so does their administration. Unfortunate- ly, the lack of standard ways in which to design, install, and configure LAN- based applications makes working with each one a new adventure. What files belong where? It's an obvi- ous question, yet one that even LAN-ori- ented applications often don't adequately answer. Obviously, the executable file should go in a shared location. That might not involve just one file, however. There may be one or more supplemen- tary overlays, the existence of which isn't always documented. Discovering all the executable components can itself be a tri- al-and-error affair. Applications rely on one or more con- figuration files, the names and purposes of which, again, may not be documented. Generally, these should be distributed to private directories so that the shared pro- gram can adapt to individual prefer- ences. But some configuration data may need to be public, too. In the case of the modem server, for example, you don't need to maintain a copy of the list of installed modems and their associated settings at each worksta- tion. Sorting out which configuration data should be private and which should be public can be a vexing task. Some pro- grams are quite secretive about where and how they store and search for config- uration data. Still, it's worth the trouble to ferret these things out. When you add a new high-speed modem to the network, it's easier to update a shared configuration file than to distribute a new configura- tion file and verify that everyone re- ceives it and installs it correctly. Software that provides for device inde- pendence, such as Microsoft Windows and many CAD programs, adds another layer of complexity. These programs rely on drivers that adapt the software to par- ticular hardware configurations. If you need to be able to log in at more than one physical location, a tricky coordination problem can result: trying to preserve each user's identity, as well as each ma- chine's identity. One solution involves a menu front end to the log-in procedure that prompts you 176 BYTE • MARCH 1991 New MouseMan for the Right Hand Introducing the worlds only mouse specifically designed to fit the right hand. \ k * / New MouseMan,™ """j the high-resolution ergonomic mouse, from Logitech. MouseMan's sculpted, ergonomic shape com- fortably fits your right hand. And its ingenious, three-button design can save you thousands of keystrokes. Of course, it's totally plug compatible with Microsoft® There's also a version for the Macintosh® W- i v LOGITECH Tools That Power The Desktop. $] CONTROL CENTRAL to specify aspects of your hardware con- figuration: for example, VGA versus Super VGA. This is a poor technique, though, since a wrong choice can crash your system. It's better to record aspects of the machine configuration in DOS en- vironment variables and then use batch files to select appropriate initialization files. In the DOS LAN environment, cre- ative use of batch files is a requirement for effective administration. The Windows Connection Windows has been both a blessing and a curse in network administration. Win- dows' consistent environment can greatly simplify training and technical support. The powerful memory management fea- tures of Windows 3.0 allow you to bypass limitations imposed by DOS (if you have the proper hardware). The available ap- plications enlarge the scope and power of desktop computing. However, although Windows 3.0 provides more network support than any previous version, its focus is on simplifying access to network resources, not on expanding the ability to manage Windows and its applications on the LAN. Ordinarily, a LAN administrator re- lies heavily on DOS- based menu systems that advertise available LAN services, and on batch files that launch and control the programs that provide those services. Under Windows 2 . 1 1 , the usual practice was to provide menus that would invoke Windows applications. But with Win- dows 3.0's new ability to multitask DOS sessions and the availability of more (and more powerful) Windows 3.0 applica- tions, many users want to work exclu- sively within Windows. Enter a new class of utility designed to facilitate integration. Windows Worksta- tion from Automated Design Systems gives back the tools Windows 3.0 takes away. With a graphical menu system, a batch language, and a vastly improved print manager, Windows Workstation makes Windows 3.0 more manageable on a network than off. It's available for NetWare and Microsoft's LAN Man- ager; the latter version ships with LAN Manager 2.0. The menu system provided with Win- dows Workstation is, of course, a Win- dows 3.0 application. That makes it fa- miliar to Windows users. To specify options on a menu, you fill in a simple form, which in turn generates a script, or, if necessary, you write your own script in Automated Design Systems' Multiset script language. Multiset looks a lot like DOS batch language, but it adds Windows- and NetWare-specific fea- tures. The variable $L0GIN_NAME, for ex- ample, returns your log-in name. Even better, you can use Multiset to insert user-specific entries into the Win- dows 3.0 configuration file, WIN. INI. For example, PageMaker uses an entry that looks like this: [PageMaker] Defaults=c: \pm\pm.cnf You would probably want PageMaker to fetch its settings from the network rather than from the local hard disk. That way, some problems could be resolved over the telephone by running PageMaker at your workstation using those settings. Hard-coding a network path in WIN. INI doesn't separate the machine's config- D, aily backup does not always protect critical data. uration from individual preferences. You can use Multiset to create a Page- Maker-launching menu entry that can tweak WIN .INI so that PageMaker will find PM.CNF in a public directory whose name is qualified by the #L0G- IN_NAME variable. Of course, everyone may not need a PM.CNF file. It might make sense to identify groups of users who share similar configurations— say, Art and Production departments— and use the script language to direct individ- uals to the appropriate configuration file by group. Dealing with the Data Backing up the file server remains a vital responsibility. Until recently, this has been a thankless, labor-intensive job. Worse yet, even the most vigilant regime— daily backup— does not always protect critical data. Files can change several times a day, and each version may represent hours of work. If the sys- tem fails, the files you want most— the "working set" of files in active use— will be the very ones that yesterday's backup can't restore. In addition, the usual method for ensuring backup integrity entails tape rotation. If you use multiple tapes in rotation— one a day, usually— you can maintain a history of versions and guard against the loss of a tape (or damage to a tape). But how do you keep track of the tapes? Maintaining a catalog and docu- menting what's stored on each tape re- quires a lot of work. Moreover, a simple rotation scheme doesn't account for the need to archive particular files (i.e., storing special "frozen" versions of files on a separate archive tape). What you really need are tools that can automate the backup chore. Several ven- dors provide automated data manage- ment systems. ARCserve, from Chey- enne Software, runs as a value-added process or NetWare loadable module in a NetWare file server. Full or incremental backups can be performed interactively, or you can use NetWare's queuing ser- vices to schedule and dispatch unat- tended backups. The VAP/NLM imple- mentation makes server backup a quick process: Files move directly from the server to the attached storage device, generating no network traffic. Jobs can be queued on a one-time-only basis or scheduled to repeat at regular intervals. The VAP or NLM running in the serv- er can also communicate with a TSR pro- gram running on a DOS workstation. That eliminates the need for a two-stage backup procedure: first from worksta- tion to server, and then from server to secondary storage. Instead, workstation backups can be scheduled the same way server backups are. At the appointed hour, the VAP or NLM makes contact with the TSR in the workstation and moves the specified set of files through the network and straight onto tape. You can also schedule unattended workstation backups or perform attend- ed backups, so there's no need for local- ly attached tape drives. A single backup device can serve the whole LAN— al- though, as with the modem pool, it's on a first-come, first-served basis. ARCserve also does a good job of log- ging each tape session. The administra- tor can see the whole log; users see only their own backup jobs. The beauty of ARCserve is that it overcomes human in- ertia. Once repetitive workstation and server backups have been scheduled, ev- erything's automatic— almost. Someone still has to pop in a new tape every day , if you're using a tape rotation system. Storage Dimensions (San Jose, CA) makes innovative use of ARCserve. Bun- dled with the company's LaserStor eras- able optical disk drive, ARCserve works 178 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Then, We Took Off In The Opposite Direction. New MouseMan for the Left Hand If you're tired of conforming to a right-handed world, now you can take things into your own hands. Introducing MouseMan™ for the left hand. Now lefties can feel all of MouseMan's amazing com- forts. The clever, ergonomic shape. The work-saving three- button design, plus Microsoft® or Macintosh® compatibility. Isn't it time you came to grips with a mouse that actually fits your hand? LOGITECH Tools That Power The Desktop. Circle 1 67 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 1 68). I CONTROL CENTRAL the same as it does when it's used in con- junction with tape storage. In this case, however, Storage Dimensions' drive pro- vides fast, random access to the archived data. This combination protects against not only data loss, but also drive failure. The LaserStor, being a direct-access device, can be used as an emergency replacement for the server's hard disk drive. It's slower than a fast hard disk drive, so it's not a full-time replacement for your ESDI or SCSI drive. But the ability to restore the network by switch- ing to a 1-gigabyte optical backup device is an intriguing form of fault tolerance. Smart Storage By combining features such as those in ARCserve with a rule-based expert sys- tem, Palindrome's The Network Archi- vist represents a forward-looking ap- proach to automatic data management. Palindrome has structured TNA's func- tions into four groups, which are de- scribed below. • Backup. TNA's backup function relies on "checkpoints" that resemble tradi- tional incremental backups, but with a twist. For each file, you can specify that it be written to tape always, never, or— crucially— only when changed. • Archiving. An archive, called a "save" by Palindrome, is a permanent copy of a stable file. TNA defaults to six weeks without change as an indicator of stabil- ity, although you can tweak this param- eter on a per-file basis. TNA will make sure that the file is written to at least three different tapes in the tape rotation before considering it protected. • Restoration. The ease of recovering a file's previous versions is one of TNA's most powerful features. You find the di- rectory on a graphical tree, select the file from a list, press Enter, and choose the version you want. The checkpoint histo- ry is kept in an on-line database and tracked across tapes. A catalogue of this type is essential if a backup system is to be useful for any- thing short of disaster recovery. TNA can also restore entire volumes. When it does, it uses its database to avoid restor- ing files that were intentionally deleted prior to the last checkpoint. • File-system maintenance. TNA's most compelling feature is the automatic mi- gration of unused files to tape. This "pruning" ability works by monitoring file access dates. Using rules defined by the LAN administrator, TNA deter- mines when to move files from primary storage (i.e. , the server's disk) to second- ary storage. This can occur automati- cally, or it can require TNA to prompt for confirmation. A "phantom file" can also be left in place. A phantom file has zero length and carries the name of the migrated file. A TSR is loaded on the workstation. When you try to access such a file, the TSR pops up, explains that the file has mi- grated to secondary storage, and advises you to ask the LAN administrator to re- store it. The future of products like TNA is bright. One interesting prospect entails the use of a three-tiered storage system consisting of a primary magnetic disk, a secondary optical disk, and a tertiary tape drive. In this scenario, static files migrate from primary to secondary stor- T, he future of products like Palindrome's TNA is bright. age, and, if untouched for some addition- al period of time, they migrate from sec- ondary to tertiary storage. Ideally, you would be able to access files in secondary or tertiary storage as easily as you now can access files in pri- mary storage. The only difference would be an occasional message announcing a delay while the system activates an ar- chived file. Managing the Configuration Traditional methods of backup and ar- chiving don't address the need to pre- serve the work that has been done to con- figure the network operating system it- self. Although any good backup program will save the network's system files (or the "bindery," in NetWare lingo) to tape, products like Cheyenne's NetBack save the logical configuration of the net- work in a form that allows for its reuse. NetBack interprets the data that is stored in the bindery files and stores it as a description in what Cheyenne calls a "vault." The information is now more useful than a literal copy of the NetWare bindery. While it can be used to restore a server, it can also be used to add a new server to a network, endowing the net- work with the same configuration of users, groups, print services, log-in scripts, and security. Programs like NetBack represent a welcome trend. Vendors of network op- erating systems have, understandably, concentrated on the operating systems themselves. Auxiliary network adminis- tration tools are typically weak. This has exacerbated the tendency to ignore key maintenance tasks. Several vendors offer integrated utility packages designed to assist in network administration. Products like Fresh Util- ities for NetWare from Fresh Technology Group and Cheyenne Utilities for Net- Ware from Cheyenne Software provide a number of programs aimed at managing the logical and physical configuration of the network and its servers. One of the principal tools for manag- ing the network is documentation. A rec- ord of each user's access rights, log-in script, group membership, and other pertinent data, along with a hardware configuration inventory, can save count- less worker-hours in troubleshooting and disaster recovery. As a manual process, compiling such documentation can be an overwhelming task. It's another example of something that ought to be done but is put off for lack of time. Once again, automation is the solution. Both of the products men- tioned above produce extensive network configuration reports drawn from direct examination of the live network. As the quantity of data grows and the number of services multiplies, it be- comes harder and harder to manage a LAN manually. Products such as Palin- drome's TNA herald an era of automated LAN management based on expert sys- tems and AI techniques. The transparent operation of future network management systems will free you to work smarter and to focus on the what, rather than the how, of LAN administration. The PC world in general is on the verge of maturing into what the main- frame world has become. Demands for better management, fault tolerance, and security, driven by a trend toward down- sizing from mainframes and minicom- puters, will help to fuel the development of the tools and methodologies for man- aging tomorrow's LANs. ■ Jeffrey Sloman is vice president of tech- nical services for Systems Integration, Inc., an Indianapolis-based consulting firm. You can contact him on BIX as "jsloman. " 180 BYTE- MARCH 1991 E S New MouseMan Cordless Radio Mouse New MouseMan™ Cordless Radio Mouse is a different kind of mouse. It avoids the annoying interference problems that plague infrared cordless mice. So you can roam your desktop with total freedom. And new MouseMan cordless "sleeps" when you're not working. So a common battery lasts up to a year. All MouseMan products come with Logitech's legendary quality and lifetime warranty. To locate the Logitech dealer nearest you, call: 800-231-7717 ext. 343 In CA call: (800) 552-8885. LOGiTECH Tools Thot Power The Desktop. Circle 1 69 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 170). 8 m C++ Your 386, 486 & i860! The key to taking full advantage of your Intel 32-bit CPU is a Microway globally optimized compiler. The latest, NDP C++, is ideally suited to writing numerically intensive applications. C++ makes it possible for the user to define his own types and specify how they get handled by the compiler. For example, where all C compilers automatically extend floats to double, thus slow- ing up coprocessors like the 3167 and 4167, NDP C++ (and Fortran) handles single precision library calls with no loss of speed. In addition, it is possible to define new types, and their operators, like complex numbers and matrices. NDP C++ is a full AT&T release 2.0 compatible C++ that runs as a compiler as opposed to a preprocessor. Since C is a subset of C++, this means NDP C++ can also compile C programs, and it, in fact, passes all the Plum Hall ANSI C conformance tests. NDP C++ is not designed to compile old style C programs. If you are compiling a C application which is not ANSI compatible, we suggest NDP C, which is both ANSI, System V UNIX, and K & R compatible. MicroWay's compilers come with the features you need to simplify porting to the 32-bit mode of the 386, 486, or 860, including a 99% VAX/ VMS compatible FORTRAN and a dual dialect C which is UNIX System V and ANSI com- patible. Each NDP compiler is designed to take maximum advantage of 32-bit protected mode operation, including the 4 gigabyte address space of the processor, plus access to coprocessors from Intel, Weitek, and Cyrix. If you're burning up a lot of VAX or Cray time, you should seriously consider the Number Smasher-860. It delivers super-computer throughput, running in an ISA bus, for about the price of a 486 system. With Number Smasher- 860 and NDP C- or Fortran-860, you can recom- pile all of your C or FORTRAN programs and run them in any 286, 386, or 486 AT system. Microway is still your best source for numeric coprocessors and accelerators. Our FASTCache-SX is the most compatible AT upgrade available. For more information, please call MIcroway's Technical Support Dept at (508) 746-7341. 386, 486 & i860 Compilers Our NDP family of compilers generate globally optimized, mainframe quality code that runs on the 386, 486 or i860 in protected mode under UNIX, XENIX, or extended DOS. The com- pilers address 4 gigabytes of memory while supporting the 80287, 80387, Weitek, and Cyrix coprocessors. Applications can mix code from all four compilers and assembly lan- guage.To simplify your ports, we have just released a full-featured, windowing symbolic debugger, ClearView-3/486, that works with DOS versions of NDP 386 and 486 compilers. NDP Fortran™ is a full F77 with F66 and DOD extensions that is 99% VMS compatible. NDPC™ runs in two modes — K&R with Sys V and MSC extensions or 100% ANSI as validated by Plum Hall. NDP Pascal™ is a full ANSI/IEEE Pascal, with extensions from C and BSD 4.2 Pascal. NDP C++™ is a fully AT&T v.2.0 compatible C++ compiler (not a preprocessor) that con- tains a full ANSI C compiler as a C++ subset. NDP-860 compilers each $1995 DOS 386SX versions-NDP Tools Included $595 DOS 386 versions-NDP Tools Included . $895 DOS 486 versions-NDP Tools Included $1 1 95 UNIX/XENIX versions CALL NDP VMEM Virtual Memory Manager $295 NDP Link- Incremental Linker $295 ClearView™-3/486Debugger $395 NDPWIndows™ Ubrary: $125, C Source: $250 NDPPIot™ $325 NDP/FFT™NDPor80x87version . . . ea. $250 Halo Professional $595 NDP NAG™ Workstation library is a subset of the NAG mainframe libraries. It contains 172 routines designed to solve differential equa- tions and eigenvalue problems, perform matrix operations, fit curves, do statistics and regres- sion analysis, etc 386 Version: $895 RAMpak™ Your Compaq! RAMpak™ - one or four meg 32-bit memory expansion module for Compaq Deskpro 386 20/25 One meg.. $150, Four meg .. $400 Micro NumberSmasher-860™ Number Smasher-860 is the highest perfor- mance coprocessor card ever to run in an ISA or EISA bus or as part of a transputer system. Delivers up to 80 million floating point operations per second at 40 MHz and produces over 12 double precision Unpack megaflops. The board comes standard with an ISA interface, two transputer link adapters, your choice of NDP Fortran, C++, C or Pascal for the i860 running under MS-DOS, UNIX or SunOS, plus 8 meg of high speed memory 33 MHz: $6995 40 MHz: $9200 32 MB version: add $5000 NDP NAG/860 is a Microway port of the NAG workstation library to the i860 $1495 NDP Halo 860 includes HALO Professional plus the Microway 860 interface library . . . $895 386 Your AT! Microway 's FASTCache-SX was PC Week's "Analysts Choice" for AT SX accelerators. It is the ideal upgrade to run Windows 3.0 on your AT as it has outperformed all SX motherboards that have been tested to date. FASTCache-SX™— The most cost effective accelerator on the market today. This half- length 16-bit card plugs into your I/O channel and 286 socket, speeding up all applications by a factor of 2 to 4. Runs all 386 applications, OS/2 and Windows 3.0. Features a 16 or 20 MHz 80386-SX, a 4-way 32K cache (expan- dable to 64K) and a math coprocessor socket. 1 6MHz: $495 20 MHz: $595 Cable : $95 FASTCache-SX/Plus™ — The "Windows Solution" — combines the FASTCache-SX ac- celerator with up to 8 megabytes of extended memory. The Plus occupies a 1 6 bit slot and can be optionally purchased with memory and/or a coprocessor. The OK prices are: 16 MHz: $595 20 MHz: $695 Cable: $95 NUMBER SMASHER-386™ — This full-sized card replaces the 80286 microprocessor on your IBM AT or compatible motherboard with an 80386 that runs at 20 or 25 MHz. It runs numeri- cally intensive applications up to a factor of 60 times faster, while maintaining full hardware and software compatibility when running all 386 ap- plications. Options include 64K of high speed cache memory, up to 8 megabytes of 32-bit memory, and an Intel 80387, Weitek, or Cyrix numeric coprocessor from $895 Parallel Processing MicroWay's IBM compatible Monoputer, Quad- puter, Videoputer, and Linkputer boards work together using Inmos transputers to provide expandable, plug-in mainframe performance for your desktop PC. Monoputer™ — Includes one T800 and up to 16 meg of RAM for parallel code development. The 4 MWhetstones T800 makes it the ideal FORTRAN engine for cost-effective execution of your mainframe programs from $1 295 Quadputer™— This board for the AT or 386 can be purchased with 1 to 4 transputers and 1 or 4 meg of memory per transputer. Two or more Quadputers can be linked together to build networks of up to 1 00 or more transputers providing mainframe power from $1845 Linkputer™ — Links up to 8 boards to provide dynamic transputer topologies $1500 NumberSmasher-486™ Personal Workstation magazine, June 1990, said, "The Number Smasher -436 lives up to its name. Its numeric performance exceeds that of all 25-MHz systems we've tested to date. It gives you top 436 performance for the best price. " Number Smasher-486™ — Microway's family of 486 motherboards includes ISA and EISA models running at 25 and 33 MHz. All take advantage of 486 Burst mode and the top of the line includes a 256K second level cache and SIMM sockets for up to 64 megabytes of RAM and a 4167 socket from $2495 Math Coprocessors WEITEK, INTEL, CYRIX 4167-25 $995 4167-33 $1295 3167-20/-25/-33 $495/ $795/ $995 mW3167 Micro Channel-25/33 . . from $1295 mW31 67/80387 Board $200 8087 $80 8087-2 $115 80287-8 ...$180 80387-16 ..$295 80387-20 . . $345 80287XL ..$180 80387-16SX . . $280 80387-20SX . . $300 80387-25 $439 80387-33 .... $540 287Turbo-20™ $345 Cyrix CX83D87 FasMath™ SX1 6MHz : $230 20 MHz: $279 25 MHz: $359 33 MHz: $449 World Leader in PC Numerics Corporate Headquarters: P.O. Box 79, Kingston, MA 02364 USA (508) 746-7341 32 High St, Kingston-Upon-Thames, UK, 081-541-5466 USA FAX (508) 746-4678 Germany 069 75 2023 Holland 40 836455 Italy 02-74.90.749 Japan 81 033 222 0541 STATE OF THE ART DUELING PROTOCOLS Will SNMP win out over CMIP, or vice versa? Or does each have a role to play? SHARON FISHER One of the hottest topics in net- working today is network man- agement. Now that most of the connectivity and interoperability issues have been or are being resolved, you can turn your attention to keeping track of the devices on your networks, checking on the network's performance and load, and diagnosing and correcting any problems. While products that manage homoge- neous networks have been available, managing heterogeneous networks is more complex. Some people fear that if you depend on one vendor's proprietary solution to manage your network, that vendor could try to steer the blame for any problems toward third-party products. Therefore, much of the attention in managing heterogeneous networks has focused on two families of network man- agement protocols: the simple network management protocol (SNMP), which comes from a de facto standards-based background of TCP/IP communication, and the common management informa- tion protocol (CMIP), which derives from a de iuie standards-based back- ground associated with the Open Sys- tems Interconnection (OSI). Until fairly recently, debates compar- ing the two sets of protocols have raged in conferences, electronic discussion groups, and scholarly papers. Now, how- ever, proponents of both sides are begin- ning to admit that both protocol families have a role to play in managing the net- works of the future. And discussions are currently moving toward trying to figure out which duties each protocol family is best suited for . continued ILLUSTRATION: DAVE ROTOLONI © 1991 MARCH 1991 -BYTE 183 DUELING PROTOCOLS Similarities In many ways, SNMP and CMIP are more similar than they are different— a view that even die-hard proponents of one or the other admit. "They're similar in that both have the same goal: to move network management information from one place to another, so the network manager can retrieve information from a device, make changes, and find out what's broken," says Jeff Case, one of the authors of SNMP and president of SNMP Research (Knoxville, TN), a company that supplies core software to SNMP vendors. "For problem diagno- sis, for capacity planning, for report gen- eration—both would be useful in that regard." Both protocol families use the concept of a management information base. A MIB consists of a set of variables, test points, and controls that all devices on the network support and that a network manager can control. In addition, both protocols allow for vendor-specified extensions to the MIB. These extensions could allow you to con- trol devices more specifically without BYTE ACTION SUMMARY SNMP vs. CMIP Both SNMP and CMIP have the same goal: to move infor- mation from one place to an- other so the network man- ager can find out what's broken. Both use manage- ment information bases and vendor-specified extensions to MIBs. The differences be- tween the two lie in data ac- cess philosophy, polling ver- sus reporting techniques, functionality, size and perfor- mance, type of transport layer, standards and testing, and product availability. Both protocol families have a role to play in managing the net- works of the future. requiring that you use a least-common- denominator approach to network man- agement. They could also enable the management of heterogeneous networks . In some cases, SNMP proponents have bowed to CMIP and taken advantage of ways in which the CMIP specifications are superior. For example, vendors are making the SNMP MIBs and extensions to them compatible with those that are used by CMIP. In addition, the content and structure of SNMP packets are de- fined using the abstract syntax notation (ASN. 1 ) OSI-standard protocols. Differences The differences between SNMP and CMIP are also present in a number of areas, and they often end up being as much a matter of "religion" as anything else. "The differences between SNMP and CMIP are in the category of differ- ences between C and Ada," Case says. Specific differences depend on "who you ask— whether they're a frothing-at- the-mouth SNMP lunatic or a froth ing- at-the-mouth CMIP lunatic." The fol- lowing list contains some of the differ- ences. • Data access philosophy. SNMP is ori- ented more toward retrieving individual items of information; CMIP is oriented more toward retrieving aggregate infor- mation, Case says. "Suppose we had a database of employee records, and the employee record consisted of name, number, department, and salary. In SNMP, we would say, 'What is the value of employee record? What is the value of employee name for a particular employ- ee, and what is the value of social secur- ity number? What is the salary for a par- ticular employee, and what is the department? 9 SNMP would say, 'The value of this field is this and the value of that field is that. 1 In CMIP, we say, Tell me about employee, such that employee is so-and-so.' " In other words, Case continues, "in SNMP, you ask for just what you want, and what you asked for is just what you get. In CMIP, you say 'give me the class of what I want, subject to certain con- straints,' and it gives you everything ex- cept what you threw out. In SNMP, you ask for and receive answers to more fo- cused questions, where CMIP deals with data more in bulk." Both approaches have their advan- tages, Case points out. "It depends on what problem you're trying to solve. If you're trying to deal with individual in- formation objects, then you want to use SNMP. Suppose that I wanted to find out about a particular individual's salary. The CMIP approach is to get the whole database and throw out everything you don't want. It's not terribly efficient. But if you want the whole [database], then CMIP is going to be better." • Polling versus reporting. Similarly, SNMP works by polling, or regularly asking each device for its status, while CMIP uses reporting, or having the de- vice inform the manager of its status when it changes. "SNMP polls devices to find out if they're dead or alive, while CMIP relies on the device itself to com- municate to the management system that something has happened," says David Mahler, formerly responsible for mar- keting activities for OpenView (a net- work management product from Hew- lett-Packard) and now vice president of marketing for Remedy (a start-up com- pany in Palo Alto, CA, developing proto- col-independent network management products). CMIP 's approach has both advantages and disadvantages. "If you have a large number of devices that you're polling all the time, you can consume net bandwidth [with SNMP]," Mahler points out. For example, the SNMP demonstra- tion at the 1990 Interop (see the text box "The Field of Battle" on page 186) fea- tured an admittedly unusual 26 network management devices, each doing its own polling. These took up some 15 percent to 20 percent of the Ethernet show net- work, according to Rich Fitzgerald, the western region support manager for Xy- plex (Boxboro, MA) who helped to ar- range the demonstration. In general, the whole issue of what percentage of the network the load man- agement should be allowed to take up is unresolved. Many people in the network- ing community are concerned about it. However, with SNMP's philosophy, "you can have stupid devices that don't have to be smart enough to tell you they have problems," says Mahler. This, combined with SNMP's smaller size re- quirements, makes it more useful for smaller devices such as PCs. • Functionality. CMIP is generally thought of as having more specific fea- tures and capabilities. But, notes Case, they may well be capabilities that you neither want nor need. "For example, take the ability to move a table of 10,000 information items from one location to another. CMIP will do that better. But an SNMP person says, 'Why would I want to move a table of 10,000 items? All I want to do is scan the 184 BYTE- MARCH 1991 DC Q LU o < CO Q 111 < CO o Q_ < LU CO =! CO < LU ^ O LU X H Z n LU U- H z z Z Z> ■ D I D I CO ^ V) ~5u o ° ffi! > CO CO m LU DC n o CO Q < CM V CD z m Q H < Q. ^ Ill en co LU i U- _i £ in _l CO < < CO O TAKE ANY 3B00KS Values $89.85 FOR ONLY $1 EACH as your introduction to the Small Computer Book Club (Publishers prices shown.) You simply agree to buy 3 more books-at significant savings-over the next 12 months. USING MICROSOFT WINDOWS 3 HARD DISK MANAGEMENT 85613 $24.95 NOVELL 85643 $24.95 55864 $24.95 52380 $24.95 68223 $24.95 59019 $24.95 64855 $24.95 mm -r. INTEGRATION f o * T B B IBMPS/2 rV 81724 $29.95 55588 $24.95 85673 $29.95 85714 $24.95 INTELLIGENT UM MANAOSMBNT::. wrrHNowr NetWare* 55511 $29.95 85707 $27.95 42900-2 $49.95 68426 $24.95 (Counts as 2 choices) 59015 $22.95 55822 $29.95 67521-2 $44.95 (Counts as 2 choices) 87461 $24.95 Ti:»sij;tters \ wm mmmmmm RfESENTATION DESIGN BOOK 64340 $23.95 70032 $24.95 55000-2 $36.95 (Counts as 2 choices) MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS* In addition to getting 3 books for only $1.00 each when you join, you'll also receive discounts on books you choose to purchase. Discounts generally range from 15% to 30% off the publishers' prices, and occasionally even more. • Also, you will immediately become eligible to participate in our Bonus Book Plan, with savings of 60% off the publishers' prices. • At 3-4 week intervals (15 times per year), you will receive the Small Computer Book Club News, describing the coming Main Selection and Alternate Selections, together with a dated reply card. • In addition, up to two times a year, you may receive offers of Special Selections which will be made available to a group of select members. • If you want the Main Selection, do nothing, and it will be sent to you automatically. • If you prefer another selection, or no book at all, simply indicate your choice on the card and return it by the date specified. • You will have at least 10 days to decide. If, because of late mail delivery of the News, you should receive a book you do not want, we guarantee return postage. If reply card is missing, please write to Small Computer Book Club, Dept. Y-C Y7, 3000 Cindel Drive, Delran, NJ 08075, for membership information and an application. Byte 3/91 © Newbridge Communications, Inc. DUELING PROTOCOLS Who's Who in CMIP? Different groups of vendors have carried the CMIP torch. These days, the controlling group, formed in 1988, is known as the Open Systems Interconnection Network Management Forum (OSI/NM Forum). It includes "essentially all the major computer and telecommunications com- panies in the world," says David Mahler of Remedy. "We got together two years ago be- cause the feeling from our customers was that even if you still have propri- etary networks out there, it is necessary for the network management systems to talk to each other. It would be wonder- ful if everyone moved to totally stan- dards-based networks, but reality sug- gests that that isn't going to happen overnight. So, the companies got to- gether to devise a way to let the manage- ment systems talk to each other." Mahler points out, too, that the fact that the organization chose the OSI net- work management protocols doesn't imply anything about the structures of the underlying networks. "We chose OSI rather than anything else. We could have picked SNMP or a proprietary pro- tocol, but because [the Forum] was de- signed as an international organization from the start, we picked an internation- al standard. It has almost nothing to do with whether the network itself is OSI; it just uses the OSI mechanism." The purpose behind the OSI/NM Fo- rum is to make sure the vendors all make the same choices along the way toward developing products from the protocol specifications, Mahler says. "There are three phases to forming a standard. One is generating the base standard, which is performed by stan- dards bodies. When you generate the base standard, you build in options for implementing it." So, when the imple- mentation takes place, vendors produce "implementation agreements" to make sure everyone selects the same options. The third part is developing a suite for testing interoperability and confor- mance. Mahler explains, "The OSI/ NM Forum didn't want to get involved with that, so we contracted with the Corporation for Open Systems," which also helps develop conformance testing for other OSI protocols. "We're square- ly an implementors' group." Almost constantly, some subcommittee is meet- ing somewhere; in addition, the organi- zation has plenary meetings every quar- ter. "It's different from a lot of organi- zations, because it's much more like a multicompany project . ' ' Much of the CMIP versus SNMP rhetoric present in earlier years was due to a different group of vendors. The CMOT group proposed running CMIP protocols over TCP/IP networks— hence the name: CMIP over TCP/IP, or CMOT. "The CMOT spec is [from] quite a different group of people with different attitudes," Mahler says. "My particular opinion, and I think you'll find it to be the general consensus, is that CMOT is dead. It lost its market window, and SNMP has very well filled the role of management protocol for TCP/IP. The SNMP community deliv- ered more functionality, faster, to the marketplace." The OSI/NM Forum's role is differ- ent, Mahler insists. "The CMOT com- munity was working on the problem of managing TCP/IP devices. That's the same thing that SNMP was doing. The Forum worked on a very different prob- lem. [Its members] didn't care what net- work you were trying to manage. They said the management systems had to talk to each other and were largely inde- pendent of the kind of network out there." standard controlled by international standards bodies such as the ISO. Ven- dors can test their implementations, says Mahler, against a conformance test suite from the Corporation for Open Systems (COS), which also performs confor- mance tests for other OSI protocols. In addition, through public demonstrations such as Interop's, as well as more private ones, vendors can demonstrate that their products interoperate. SNMP, in contrast, is not an interna- tional standard, although, like TCP/IP, it is controlled by the Internet Activities Board. Vendors primarily check their implementations with interoperability testing. Some organizations, international ones in particular, may find that they are required to go with protocols that meet international standards. "The reality is that we're in North America, where TCP/IP is very popular, and so SNMP is [very popular, too]," explains Mahler. "But that's not true on a worldwide basis." For example, although the Govern- ment OSI Profile of the U.S. government does not yet cover network management, it does require using other OSI protocols in cases where they're applicable and available (see "The Latest GOSIP," June 1990 BYTE). It's logical to assume that S, NMP has one advantage: There are more products supporting it. future implementations of GOSIP will require CMIP. • Availability of products . If practicality is the most important principle to you, SNMP has one undeniable advantage: There are a lot more products supporting it than CMIP. "There's certainly a lot of interest in CMIP, but it doesn't have many interoperable implementations to- day," says Case. "People can go off and buy lots and lots of products based on SNMP: routers, Ethernet hubs, fiber de- vices, Ethernet devices— the list goes on and on. I don't think the same is true for CMIP." For this reason, Case is less concerned about the standards issue. "The stan- dards that are the most interesting to me are the ones that are used, not the ones that are blessed but not implemented." Vendors confirm the dichotomy. "We talk of a 'selling standard' and a 'buying standard,' " says Steve Salt wick, area 188 BYTE- MARCH 1991 Give voir eyes a break ; ,Gur : hew; MQ& cayd has hi-res color; rdkcje in : ther shade . Thinks to its refresh rat^ ^C 701^ aijd. higher, it helps fediieei eyestrain. Yoiiget the V •' brightest, sharpest, ; -> ?"-* most stable images imag- inable. So you aren't left " starry-eyed.; -■■*£ ' ./,..*/'. You get up to 1024 x 768 resolution in 16 ; <, colors, both interlaced and non-interlaced, plus other 256-colof modes. All made possible by our proprietary ASIC chip technology. :; Genoa's SuperVGA - ■ £ar$ \tfor^^^ ^erything.: With analog and muhi-frequehcy 5 monitors/ With PS/2^, and ; PC®/^®/AT® cbriip^ers: ' 7 ■■ With' most popular software packages. And with all standard operating systems. . To check our specs, call ■(408) 432-9090to^ay < : Or write Geno%.75.E. Trimble Road; : w San- Jose, CA 95131, '* EAX : (408),434^099 : 7;y^^^^" London 44-923-33737;: Taiwan 886-02-776-3933. '.•insist on GerioanVahfc Genoa ■ ' ■ ' '' ! i Circle 1 24 on Inquiry Card. Circle 42 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 43). "BITWISE HAS STOLEN THE COMPUTER SHOPPER 33 Mhz 486 Super Portable Powerful. Portable. Rugged. Bitwise introduces their new series of Super Portables. Three feature-packed models that offer the finest, fastest, most awesome computing power available today. And one of the only portable lines with optional internal CD-ROM. They're taking the market by storm. CPU RAM 486-33 EISA 4-32 MB Model 433E/VP Modal 333/VP 386-33 4-1 a MB Model 316/VP 386-SX 2-16 MB Key Features: VGA 16 level Gas Plasma (color option), 3-4 free full length slots, Fully compatible with all PC/AT hardware & software. Bitwise also offers a complete line of portables, desktops, and networks to fit any need, including custom designs. BITWISE DESIGNS, INC. D e 701 River Street, Troy, NY 12180-1233 1-800-367-5906 518-274-0755 • FAX: 518-274-0764 HARD DISK 200-500 MB 100-500 MB 40-500 MB Bitwise I N C REAL PROGRAMMERS DON'T USE SHELLS, THEY WRITE THEM. $89 If you or your clients require a custom menu system, Mi-Shell is the ideal tool . . . generate the perfect DOS shell with Mi-Shell's Forth- like script language. * Uses less than 10K • Built in debugger • Fast browser & multi window editor • Includes several pre-defined scripts WHY BUY SOMEONE ELSE'S SHELL? OFBMetwork POWER TOOLS FOR POWER USERS To order call 800*542*0938 VISA and MasterCard accepted 215 Berkeley PI. ■• Brooklyn, NY 11217 • Voice: 718398-3838 • BBS: 718638-2239 DUELING PROTOCOLS manager for networking products at Tan- dem Computers in Cupertino, Califor- nia. Customers insist on current or fu- ture support for OSI protocols, but they aren't buying such products yet, he says. "OSI is a 'selling' standard— customers want to be able to move to it— but custom- ers are buying SNMP." Mahler concedes that fewer CMIP im- plementations exist, but he says it's only a matter of time. "The first year that SNMP came out, there were only three or four [implementations]. The second year, there were 12 to 14. The third year, 30 some. [CMIP] will go through a simi- lar pattern," he predicts. Case agrees that CMIP products are in development and on their way: He's even implement- ing one himself. (To tell who the CMIP players are, see the text box "Who's Who in CMIP?" on page 188.) Network Detente? The future, Mahler and Case agree, will see CMIP and SNMP devices working together to manage networks. "SNMP is focused a little more on the manager-to- device area, whereas the Forum imple- mentation of CMIP [see the text box "Who's Who in CMIP?"], which is the most active area right now, is focused on communications between management systems," Mahler says. "We think that the two have largely complementary roles." "What you may find is that SNMP will be used for some parts, and CMIP will be used for others," concurs Case. "You may find a time where the 'man- ager of managers,' based on CMIP, is in- teracting with the SNMP manager to control a particular LAN— SNMP with- in Dallas, but CMIP between Dallas and Chicago. It's not an either-or." While this may sound complex, it's not all that different from the way pro- gramming languages work now, Case points out. Programmers don't try to write everything in the same language; they work with a "toolbox" of lan- guages, each designed for a specific pur- pose. "There are dozens of network management protocols today," he says, citing IEEE 802. 1 , FDDI's SMT, IBM's NetView, DEC's NICE, and IBM/ 3Com's CMOL as just a few examples. "I wouldn't be surprised if there were more in the future. SNMP and CMIP are the two that happen to be getting the most attention [right now]." ■ Sharon Fisher is a San Francisco-based freelance writer specializing in computer communications. She can be reached on BIX as "sharon fisher. " 190 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Circle 209 on Inquiry Card. p ~^ "^r « 5JD deW >ik*if -iMl Even This Is More Confining Than Clipper. Just as the vast expanse of the American West gave its settlers a new perspective on opportunity, Clipper's open architecture lends unprecedented freedom to application development. Unlike fixed systems, Clipper never forces you to "make do". Its language is fully extensible with user-defined functions and new user-defined commands. You can extend the language with routines written in Clipper itself, or integrate code from other languages like C, Assembler, dBASE® and Pascal. Odds are, you already have knowledge you can use with Clipper! But if a customizable language isn't enough, there's even more elbow room. Database and I/O drivers can be supplemented or replaced. Even Clipper's linker knocks down barriers by allowing you to develop applications larger than available memory, without defining overlays! And when you're done, Clipper's compiler generates stand-alone, executable files for cost-free, unrestricted distribution. So, don't let the bounds of fixed systems fence you in. Unleash your imagination in the wide-open spaces of Clipper. To find out more, give us a call today. Clipper 5.0 The Application Development Standard 213/390-7923 Ask For Department-A m Nantucket . Circle 194 on Inquiry Card. Nantucket Corporation. 12555 West Jefferson Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90066. 213/390-7923 FAX: 213/397-5469 TELEX: 650-2574125. Nantucket, the Nantucket logo and Clipper are registered trademarks of Nantucket Corporation. Other brand and product names are used lor identification purposes only and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Entire contents copyright © 1990 Nantucket Corporation. Systems that revolutionized the computer industry! All backed by Northgate support and service that's unmatched by any other company! There are a lot of copy-cat "slim-line" systems out there, but don't be confused. These are the ORIGINAL SlimLine systems from the pioneer of this trend-setting technology: Northgate. In just under a year, SlimLine has become our most popular system. And with good reason. Only SlimLine gives you full 286, 386SX ,M and 386™ DX power in a package only 4.25 " high and 16.5 " square. Now ... five new SlimLine systems! "Northgate for 1991" features a SlimLine family that offers more choice than ever before: SlimLine 286/12, 386SX/16 and 20 MHz plus SlimLine 386/25. Our new powerhouse 386/33 rounds out our complete range of systems. Northgate SlimLine Common Features: • Small footprint SlimLine case with room for two exposed and one internal half-height devices • Intel® and Weitek® math coprocessor support • 150 watt power supply • Clock calendar chip rated at five years • Front mounted reset and high/low speed controls • MS-DOS 4.01 and GW-BASIC installed • On-line User's Guide to MS-DOS 4.01 • FCC Class B Certified • 1 parallel and 2 serial ports • Built-in VGA video adapter • Built-in IDE hard drive and floppy disk controllers • Five open expansion slots (three 16-bit full length, two 8-bit half-length) Here's how we put full power into a performance package only 4.25" high! Revolutionary fully-integrated motherboard with built-in IDE hard drive and floppy drive controllers, one parallel and two serial ports and 16-bit VGA controller Unique Northgate expansion tree with three full-length 16-bit and two half-length 8-bit slots 4.25" Drive bays with room for two 5.25" and one 3.5" device 150 watt power supply Here they are...the Northgate family of Super SlimLines: One format, six sensational systems— take your pick! NEW! Slimline 286/12 MHz Ideal entry level system for use as network terminal or stand alone system for office and home use. Excellent for word processing, simple spreadsheet and light graphics programs. • Intel® 80286/12 MHz processor • 1.2Mb and 1.44Mb floppies • 2Mb of RAM on motherboard • 12 " VGA gray scale monitor • 40Mb hard drive • OmniKey® keyboard $ 1699 oo Or as low as s 55 00 per month* NEW! SlimLine 386SX/16 and 20 MHz with 64K cache No ordinary SX! Northgate engineered these systems with 64K cache memory to allow you to run Microsoft Windows and other 32-bit software at quick cache-enhanced speeds. Handles database management, graphics and spreadsheet applications with ease. Choose 16 or 20 MHz models. » Intel 80386SX 16 or 20 MHz processor * 2Mb of RAM on motherboard ► 40Mb hard drive • 64K SRAM read/write-back cache • 1.2Mb and 1.44Mb floppies • 12 " VGA gray scale monitor • OmniKey keyboard • Microsoft® Windows™ 3.0 and mouse 386SX/16 $199900 Or as low as s 65 00 per month* 386SX/20 S 2199 00 Or as low as *70 00 per month* The system that started it all ... SlimLine 386/20 MHz! SlimLine 386/20 zips through complex spreadsheets, moderate programming needs, desktop publishing and other demanding applications. • 12 " VGA gray scale monitor • Intel 80386/20 MHz processor • Microsoft Windows 3.0 * 4Mb of RAM on motherboard and mouse • 40Mb hard drive • OmniKey keyboard • 1.2Mb and 1.44Mb floppies $249900 Or as low as $ 80 00 per month* •agfe Standard SlimLine Upgrades (Add to the base system price) Gold Star 14" VGA Color 640 x 480 Panasonic 14" VGA Color 1024x768 NEC 3D 14" VGA Color 1024x768 Hard Drives 12" Gold Star VGA Gray Scale 640 x 480 40Mb IDE $ 0.00 $300.00 $ 400.00 $ 650.00 80Mb IDE $200.00 $500.00 $ 600.00 $ 850.00 100Mb IDE $300.00 $600.00 $ 700.00 $950.00 200Mb IDE $600.00 $900.00 $1000.00 $1250.00 Call for latest pricing and custom configuration specifications. NEW! SlimLine 386/25 and 33 MHz powered up with 64K cache! Now for the first time ever, you can get award-winning Northgate Elegance™ performance in our SlimLine case! SlimLine 386/25 and 33 are ideal for speeding through processor-intensive tasks like desktop publishing, CAD/CAM, large database and business programming applications. • Intel 80386/25 or 33 MHz • 1.2Mb and 1.44Mb floppies processor • 12 "VGA gray scale monitor • 4Mb of RAM on motherboard • Microsoft Windows 3.0 • 64K SRAM read/write-back cache and mouse • 40Mb hard drive • OmniKey keyboard 386/25 $2699°° Or as low as W° per month* 386/33 $ 2899°° Or as low as *90°° per month' SCopyiighl Nonhgjre Computer S>mc 1 ri^hureicrvcd. Nonhewe, SlimLine. OnmiKcy ind the North pte N" logo jie register eduaicmiiki of Northgate Cam reipecuvecomp«niej. Phceund spccit"' i i crungc without notice. Nonligarc rcicrvn the right toiur»tituteconv D nentsal rqutlni gicater quality or performance. / AssocutiorTjAnti-PirscyHoUine at 1-80O-388-P1R8. "When charged to your Northgate Big'Ncard: 18% A.P.R. "Northgate stops at nothing to please its Customers" PC Magazine Sept. 25, 1990 • NEW 60-Day No- • Free on-site service to Risk Trial — if you most locations for one aren't 100% satisfied, year if we can't solve your return it! needs over the phone. • Full one year parts • Toll-free 24-hour and labor warranty on technical support — the systems, 5 years on industry's best! OmniKey keyboards. • For your convenience, we • Northgate responds accept VISA, MasterCard, to your needs with Discover and Northgate's overnight shipment Big N card. We offer of parts — at our leasing and financing expense! options, too! 800-548-1993 GALL TOLL-FREE 24 HOURS EVERY DAY New ... fax your order toll free! 800-323-7182 Notice to the Hearing Impaired: Northgate has TDD capability. Dial 800-535-0602. COMPUTER m/tjB6Ar¥M&/ SYSTEMS 7075 Flying Cloud Drive, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 Circle 205 on Inquiry Card. Northgate® Elegance. The industry's highest rated 386 and 486 systems! EDITORS' CHOICE INFO WORLD i : 1989 TOP 100 l YiS-X^. j- j ,i ■• .» .-■ .' -.' .■• .' .' >WNS2gR\ • . ■ ; 'r- When we say Northgate manufactures the highest-performing best-supported computer systems in the world . . . it's a fact. Industry experts and customers worldwide agree! In test after test, Northgate Elegance systems perform flawlessly. After the competition has been put through the same demanding paces, only Elegance 386 and 486 emerge as the winners. And here's the proof! Northgate has won four PC Magazine Editor's Choice Awards and received InfoWorlds Number One and Number Two Products of 1989. And that's just the beginning. In the December 1990 Issue of Computer Shopper, Elegance 486/25i was awarded the prestigious "Best Buy" honor. That makes an unprecedented FOUR YEARS IN A ROW that Northgate has been voted number one by the publications readers. We'd be fooling ourselves (and underestimating you) if we thought you'd buy based on performance alone. That's why Northgate has a corporate commitment to customer service that's equally impressive. No puffery here . . . "...Northgate stops at nothing to please itS CUStomerS." PCMagazine September 25, 1990 4 NEW 60-Day No-Risk Trial! To serve you better, Northgate has doubled its No-Risk Trial period to 60 days. 4 Full one year parts and labor warranty: 1 year on systems; 5 years on OmniKef keyboards. 4 Overnight shipment of replacement parts— at our expense. 4 Northgate's toll-free 24-hour technical support leads the industry — most needs are met with just one call! 4 Free on-site service to most locations for one year if we can't solve your technical needs over the phone. 4 Northgate makes state-of-the-art power affordable! Charge your purchase to your Big'N' card, VISA, Discover or MasterCard. Ask about financing and leasing options, too! 4 Call Northgate before you decide to buy elsewhere. You'll be amazed at our new low pricing! "What WordPerfect is to software support, Northgate is to hardware, and there are even a few things WordPerfect could learn from the folks in Minneapolis." Bernie Zilbergeld Bay Area Computer Currents August 14, 1990 Select desktop or optional vertical power case. Northgate's elegant desktop case features 5-bays with room for 3 exposed and 2 internal half-height devices. Comes with 200 watt power supply. For greater expansion capabilities, choose our vertical 7-bay powerhouse with a 220 watt power supply. Northgate Page Mode 386/20 MHz As a cost-efficient, dependable network file server, Page Mode has no equal. Its realiability is confirmed by Novell® certification and by users of office networks every day. Northgate boosts performance of this 386/20 workhorse through the use of an efficient page mode memory management scheme. Other performance features include: ♦ Intel® 80386/20 MHz processor ♦ 4Mb of RAM (expandable to 16Mb) ♦ 40Mb hard drive ♦ 1.44Mb and 1.2Mb floppy drives ♦ 16-bit VGA video adapter ♦ Eight expansion card slots ♦ One parallel and two serial ports $ 2699°° Or as low as *80°° per month* ♦ MS-DOS 4.01 and GW-BASIC installed ♦ Microsoft® Windows™ 3.0 and mouse ♦ 14 " VGA gray scale monitor ♦ OmniKey keyboard ♦ FCC Class B Certified Northgate Elegance 386/486 Common Features: ♦ American-made motherboard ♦ RAM expansion up to 8Mb on motherboard (16Mb total RAM with 32-bit memory card) ♦ 16-bit VGA video adapter One parallel and two serial ports ♦ MS-DOS 4.01 and GW-BASIC installed ♦ Microsoft® Windows™ 3.0 and mouse ♦ FCC Class B Certified Northgate Elegance 386/25 & 33 MHz The best in their respective classes! Both are ideally suited for managing large databases (over 1000 records), full-time business accounting, multitasking and other demanding applications. Northgate gives you a powerful standard configuration including high-speed 64K RAM cache and 4Mb of RAM. Take a look at everything you get: ♦ Intel® 80386/25 or 33 MHz ♦ 3.5" 1.44Mb and 5.25" 1.2Mb processor floppy drives ♦ 4Mb of RAM ♦ 16 ' bit VGA adapter ♦ am *> l j ■ ♦ 14 " VGA gray scale monitor ♦ 40Mb hard dr.ve 4 OmniKey keyboard ♦ 64K SRAM read/write-back cache ♦ Novell Certified 25MHz $ 2999 00 33MHz 8 3299 00 Or as low as $ 95 00 per month* Or as low as $ 105 00 per month* Northgate Elegance 486/25 and NEW 486/33 MHz ISA In addition to receiving an Editors' Choice and 1990 Computer Shopper Best Buy Award, Elegance 486/25i outscored all competitors in InfoWorld Magazine's 1990 reviews of 486 systems. Elegance "leads the pack by a comfortable margin", they said. "It offers impressive performance, exceptional expandability and it is tops in support and value."t NOW! Northgate introduces the next generation— Elegance 486/33 ISA. Both systems are ideal for heavy-duty business applications like full time database management, CAD/CAM, financial planning, accounting and programming. Includes: ♦ Intel 80486/25 or 33 MHz ♦ 3.5" 1.44Mb and 5.25" 1.2Mb processor floppy drives ♦ 4Mb of RAM ♦ 16-bit VGA video adapter ♦ 40Mb hard drive ♦ 14" VGA gray scale monitor ♦ 64K SRAM read/write-back cache ♦ OmniKey keyboard $5 199 oo 33 MHz $579900 Or as low as $ 160 00 per month* Or as low as $ 180 00 per month* Standard Upgrades (Add to the base system price) Hard Drives 14" NEC VGA Gray Scale 800 x 600 GoldStar 14" VGA Color 640 x 480 Panasonic 14" VGA Color 1024x768 NEC 3D 14" VGA Color 1024x768 40Mb IDE $ 0.00 $300.00 $ 400.00 $ 650.00 80Mb IDE $200.00 $500.00 $ 600.00 $ 850.00 lOOMblDE $300.00 $600.00 $ 700.00 $ 950.00 200Mb IDE $600.00 $900.00 $1000.00 $1250.00 Call for the latest pricing and custom configuration specifications. 800-548-1993 GALL TOLL-FREE 24 HOURS EVERY DAY New... fax your order toll free! 800-323-7182 Notice to the Hearing Impaired: Northgate has TDD capability. Dial 800-535- 0602. NORTHGATE *S TM— COMPUTER ^Sr„ SYSTEMS 7075 Flying Cloud Drive, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 ©Copyright Northgate Computer Systems, Inc. 1990. All tights reserved. Northgate, OnmiKcy and the Northgate "N" logo are registered trademarks of Northgate Computer Systems. 80386 and 8()4Kh are trademarks of Intel. All other products and brand names arc trademarks and tegistered trademarks of their respective companies. Prices and specifications subject to change without notice. Northgate resets e micnts of equal or greater quality or performance. All items subject to availability. We support the ethical use of software. To report software copyright violat.o -is Association's Anti-Piracy Hotline ac 1 -800-3 88-P1RB. "When charged to your Northgate BigK card; IH% A.P.R. VnfoWorld, July 30. 1990. Circle 206 on Inquiry Card. ¥>u can afford award-winning Northgate performance! Northgate makes it easy for you to own award-winning 286, 386™ and 486™ computer systems ... just say "charge it" to your Northgate Big TV credit card. It's easy! Simply fill in the Big N information form and send it to Northgate for prompt attention. Once you're approved, call our systems consultants, toll-free, to select the Northgate that's right for you. Northgate leases systems too! Choose from flexible terms up to five years. It's never been easier to get high-performance Northgate systems than it is right now! Fill out and return this form today! Call Northgate Now! 800-548-1993 HOURS: Monday - Friday 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. CST NORTHGATE J" COMPUTER SYSTEMS 7075 FlyingCloud Drive, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 OPEN YOUR CREDIT CARD ACCOUNT BY FILLING OUT THE APPLICATION BELOW. Please complete all appropriate sections, providing at least two years residence and employment history. If you are self-employed, please be sure to complete section d. THIS IS NOT A CREDIT AGREEMENT! One will be sent to you upon authorization of an account. (This Form Must Be Signed To Process Your Order.) All Financed Purchases Are Subject To Credit Approval. If You Have Any Credit Questions, Please Call For Assistance. Thank You! A married person may apply for individual credit. I am applying for (check one box, please): □ JOINT CREDIT with another person. Complete entire application. D INDIVIDUAL CREDIT complete only individual section. D INOIVIOUAL CREDIT but rely on income of another. Complete entire application. "If you are a married Wisconsin applicant, you must provide your spouse's information as indicated, even though your spouse may not be signing the contract. NOTICE TO WISCONSIN APPLICANTS You must disclose your marital status: □ married D unmarried D legally separated Pa. Personal Information NAME HOME PHONE ( ) SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER DATF OF R1RTH 1 / PRESENT ADDRESS DATE OF RESIDENCE MO. YR. CITY ST BUYn RENTn OTHER n 7IP PREVIOUS ADDRESS EMPLOYER DATFOFFMPIOYMFNTMO. YR. MONTHLY GROSS SALARY ! PREVIOUS EMPLOYER .BUSINESS PHONE (_ OATES OF EMPLOYMENT. -TO. Income from alimony, child support or separate maintenance payments need not be disclosed if you do not wish to have it considered as basis for repaying the obligation. ADDITIONAL MONTHLY INCOME $ SOURCE b. Credit Information PLEASE TELL US IF YOU HAVE: BANK LOAN (Y/N) MASTERCARD (Y/N) CHECKING ACCOUNT (Y/N) _ _H0W MANY? _ HOW MANY? .SAVINGS ACCOUNT (YIN). VISA (Y/N) . .HOW MANY? _ FINANCE COMPANY LOAN (Y/N) _ DEPT STORE CHARGE CARD (Y/N) OTHER MAJOR CHARGE CARDS (Y/N) _ .HOW MANY? .HOW MANY?. CREDIT UNION ACCOUNT (Y/N) . . HOW MANY? HOW MANY? . c. Joint Applicant's Personal Information JOINT APPLICANT'S NAME _ SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. ADDRESS. .CITY. _H0ME PHONE (_ JDATE OF BIRTH ST _ZIP_ DATE OF RESIDENCE MO. JOINT APPLICANT'S EMPLOYER . MONTHLY GROSS SALARY $ _ .YR. . DATE OF EMPLOYMENT MO. _YR. .BUSINESS PHONE (_ NAME AND ADDRESS OF NEAREST RELATIVE NOT LIVING WITH YOU _ .RELATIONSHIP | d. Self-Employment Information j RUSINFSS NAME RUSINFSS PHONE ( 1 TYPE OF BUSINESS D Proprietorship □ Partnership D Corporation IN RUSINFSS SINCE YOUR ANNUAl INCOME FROM BUSINESS firnss S NfitS PERSONAL BANKER'S NAME BANKER'S PHONE ( 1 | e. Customer Authorization I authorize Northgate Computer Systems or its assignees to investigate credit records and to report my performance hereunder \o ciafifc agencies. I hereby certify that the following information is furnished to you for the purpose of obtaining credit and is true and correct of the best of my knowledge and belief. There are costs associated with the use of this credit card. To obtain more information about these costs, call us at 1 800-548 1993 or write to P.O. Box 590B0, Minneapolis, MN 55459-0080. NY-A consumer credit report may be requested in connection with this application or in connection with updates, renewals or extensions of any credit granted as a result of this application. If I subsequently ask for this information, I will be informed whether or not such a report was requested and, if so, the name and address of the agency that furnished the report. 0H-THE OHIO LAWS AGAINST DISCRIMINATION REQUIRE THAT ALL CREDITORS MAKE CREDIT EQUALLY AVAILABLE TO ALL CREDIT- WORTHY CUSTOMERS AND THAT CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES MAINTAIN SEPARATE CREDIT HISTORIES ON EACH INDIVIDUAL UPON REQUEST. THE OHIO CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION ADMINISTERS COMPLIANCE WITH THIS LAW. APPLICANT'S SIGNATURE. JOINT APPLICANT'S SIGNATURE _DATE_ J)ATE_ FOR MARRIED WISCONSIN APPLICANTS: I acknowledge that the obligation described herein is being incurred in the interest of my marriage or family. BUYER'S SIGNATURE _DATE_ "I"his is a credit application. Upon approval, a credit agreement \\ CCopynght Norlhgitc Computer Systems, Inc. Witt. .-Ml rijr.hu reserved. Ntirih&me, ( llothncat |.Hf)0.388-l>l!t« I be sent to you for your signature. This agreement must be signed and returned to activate your account. miKcy and the Norihgaie liinNloKiurereRiMereil trademarks »[ Nimhwie Cimifwicr Systems. We mwiw thccihiul use til M.fman-. In rep, STATE OF THE ART MANAGING BIG BLUE IBM provides some serious network management tools for serious networks Orchestrating a 50-node LAN by hand often means fumbling in the dark to solve problems. You fall back on trial-and-error methods to determine which components may have caused a network failure. You know the locations of the workstations because you moved them yourself. You know which network adapters are in which machines because you installed them. When a network reconfiguration is called for, you stay up late with pencil and paper to map out the new layout. If a problem occurs, you find out about it when someone walks into your office with a complaint. When you need to in- vestigate, you walk to that cubicle to see what's going on. On that scale, managing a network is rather easy. But what if you had a thou- sand network nodes to manage? Or ten thousand? What if the nodes were scat- tered across the city? The country? What if you managed several different Token Ring LANs, all connected to a central mainframe and all part of a nationwide network? Consider the administrator of a large, sophisticated network at work: The network administrator notes the network alert that pops into the upper right corner of the LAN Manager screen. She picks a menu selection and looks at the alert in detail: A link error has oc- curred, and it has brought down a LAN bridge in the engineering department. Choosing other menu options, she recon- figures a standby bridge to temporarily substitute for the failed unit. The phone rings. "I just lost my connection to file server 3!" complains someone from En- gineering. "I know," the administrator BARRY NANCE ILLUSTRATION; DAVE ROTOLONI © 1991 MARCH 1991 'BYTE 197 MANAGING BIG BLUE says. "Reboot your computer and log back on. The file server is still up; it was just the primary bridge that failed. I've routed around it. Would you tell the other folks in Engineering to also reboot their computers and log back on?" After a few minutes, the administrator checks her work from her workstation, asking LAN Manager to poll the network adapter cards on that part of the LAN. After receiving positive responses, she calls a repair technician to have the failed bridge unit serviced. The Secret Life of Token Ring Token Ring has always had amazing ca- pabilities in the areas of internal diagnos- tics and ring management, capabilities that have gone largely untapped by net- work management software. Unlike ARCnet and Ethernet, Token Ring LANs circulate a constant stream of Me- dium Access Control frames that provide a wealth of information regarding the BYTE ACTION SUMMARY IBM'S Network Management Tools IBM is well along in providing integrated network manage- ment tools for its network offerings. This article looks at the workings of NetView, IBM's network management solution for SNA systems, and IBM's LAN Manager, which lets you manage Token Ring systems. It provides an understanding of how to manage IBM networks. network's status. The network adapter cards use these MAC frames privately to keep the network running, but network management applications can intercept them to reveal what's happening under the covers. Few vendors offer software tools that capture these MAC frames for network management purposes. One vendor- IBM— augments the MAC frames with another protocol layer of management services as defined by the Systems Net- work Architecture. In large companies, Token Ring LANs are often part of SNA networks. SNA is an IBM standard for networking that encompasses just about everything. Terminals, PCs, LANs, controllers, mainframes, and even re- mote printers come under the SNA um- brella. An SNA network node is charac- terized as either an entry point or a focal point. An entry point can generate SNA statistics and status information; a focal point receives the data and presents it to an operator. Within SNA, IBM has defined a Man- agement Services standard that defines how network management products talk to one another. For example, the IBM standard says that an alert (a record of an error or other significant event) includes such fields as the address of the node at which the error occurred, the date and time of the error, the ID of the manage- ment component reporting the error, the probable cause, and a recommended ac- tion. (Of course, the node initiating the alert may not be able to fill in all these items.) Although it was developed by IBM, SNA is nonetheless a well-known and fully documented standard that many computer manufacturers adhere to so that their hardware and software are IBM compatible. Not all Token Ring workstations are peers. One workstation is designated as the active monitor, which means it as- sumes additional responsibilities for con- trolling the ring. The active monitor maintains the ring's timing control, is- sues new tokens (if necessary) to keep things going, and generates diagnostic frames under certain circumstances. The active monitor can be any one of the workstations on the network and is cho- sen when the ring is initialized. If the ac- tive monitor fails, there is an automatic procedure by which the other worksta- tions (the standby monitors) negotiate with one another to choose a new active monitor. The IEEE 802.5 (Token Ring) stan- dard defines six types of MAC frames. A workstation sends a Duplicate Address Test frame when it first joins the ring, to ensure that its address is unique. To let other workstations know it's still alive, the active monitor sends an Active Moni- tor Present frame every so often. Other workstations periodically send a Standby Monitor Present frame. A standby moni- tor sends Claim Token frames when it suspects that the active monitor may have died. A workstation sends a Beacon frame in the event of a major network problem, such as a broken cable or a workstation transmitting without waiting for a token (i.e., going out of turn). And a Purge frame is sent after a ring initial- izes itself or after a new active monitor is established. Network management software lo- cates the active monitor on the LAN by looking for the Active Monitor Present MAC frames. Software watches for Bea- con frames and uses them to trigger diag- nostic actions. Using the standard ring- polling technique defined in the IEEE 802.5 Token Ring specification, the soft- ware can also determine the status of each network adapter card on the net- work. If an adapter is found to be dis- abled and the Token Ring LAN is part of an SNA network, an alert can be gener- ated. When errors occur on a Token Ring workstation, the real culprit is some- times a different workstation. The near- est active upstream neighbor (NAUN) workstation, the node responsible for passing a token or frame downstream to this workstation, may have malfunc- tioned and corrupted the data. Network management software can detect the NAUN relationship and use it to point you in the right direction. SNA on Token Ring Above the MAC layer, SNA Management Services provide that Logical Link Con- trol layer frames can be issued by either a focal point or an entry point that needs to perform management tasks. If SNA- aware support software is loaded into a workstation, that workstation can be queried, tested, and diagnosed from a re- mote location. SNA is rich in manage- ment and maintenance functions. It de- fines services for performing traces, recording memory snapshots (even from a remote system), requesting or respond- ing to tests, and generating and recording statistics. To trace events on a particular seg- ment of the network, for example, the fo- cal point issues an Activate Link (ACT- LINK) request. It follows up with an Activate Trace (ACTTRACE) request, records the resulting Record Trace Data (RECTRD) events, and finally issues a Deactivate Trace (DACTTRACE) re- quest. The RECTRD messages contain the link address, the trace type, and the trace data. An ACTTRACE request might specify that the trace include data for an entire segment (transmission group) or for a specific link. A Request Maintenance Statistics (REQMS) request asks an SNA node to report resource maintenance statistics and specifies whether those statistics counters should be reset after being re- ported. A Token Ring workstation on an SNA network can respond to this request 198 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Rkjfsjdu kop qeiot ksi tcewtsot deg uf orjln. (Buying anything but a ne wlbshiba color monitor makes about as much sense.) The quality and innovation Toshiba is famous for in computers can now be found in our new 1 7"and 21 " flat square color monitors. You'll also find virtually every feature you could want: I FS technology. A wide frequency range (30-65KHz) for complete compatibility with VGA through high-resolution; graphics up to 1280 pixels x 1024 lines. A compact ergonomic design. And a whole spec sheet more. All for much less than comparable monitors. Of course, if you still want to believe you have to pay more to get more, that's fine (But tO US it SOUnds like kdsqatrz.) InTouch with Tomorrow TOSHIBA Toshiba America Consumer Products, Inc., 1010 Johnson Drive, Buffalo Grove, II. 60089, (708) 541-9400 Circle 296 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 297). MANAGING BIG BLUE with adapter engineering change level data, network software version data, traffic counts, and error counts. If error counts exceed predetermined thresholds, the workstation can initiate the sending of these statistics even without receiving an REQMS message. As you can see, SNA is not lacking in services for network maintenance and management. The View from LAN Network Manager IBM's LAN Manager helps network ad- ministrators manage Token Ring LANs, especially those that are part of larger SNA networks. It provides a simple menu interface that works with Net View (a mainframe IBM product) or by itself on a single- or multisegment Token Ring network. Do not confuse IBM's LAN Manager with Microsoft's LAN Man- ager: The IBM offering is a true network management application, while Micro- soft's product is a network operating sys- tem. IBM has announced a name change for its product; beginning in April, it will be called LAN Network Manager. IBM LAN Manager is Systems Appli- cation Architecture-compliant, and the renamed version will run under OS/2 Extended Edition Presentation Manager. It will use OS/2 EE Database Manager to store and retrieve network configuration data and network error-event histories (alerts). The current version maintains configuration files and alert lists, but these are not accessible with Structured Query Language commands. IBM says that version 1 . 1 of the appli- cation will be available late this year and that it will add more NetView commands (80 commands, up from 12), more proto- cols, and a pictorial (graphical) represen- tation of the LAN. Version 1 . 1 will also use the ISO Common Management In- formation Protocols (CMIP) and will en- code data according to the "Specifica- tion of Basic Encoding Rules for Abstract Syntax Notation" (ASN.l, ISO 8825). Byte-flipped machines, such as Intel- equipped IBM PCs, will be able to non- chalantly communicate with Apple, DEC, and Sun computers. IBM obvious- ly wants to be a friendly neighbor when it comes to multivendor network manage- ment. Running alone, LAN Network Man- ager acts as a focal point on a network. When used with NetView, though, it is also an entry point (i.e., an agent) to the mainframe product. When used as an en- try point, LAN Network Manager is, in SNA terms, a System Services Control Point node. It uses an SNA SSCP-Physi- cal Unit communications session to talk to NetView. There are usually several SSCPs in an SNA network, and they pro- vide essential management services: helping to activate or deactivate the net- work, allocating network resources, managing the recovery of the network from communications failures, collect- ing traffic data, interacting with network operations people, executing their com- mands, and coordinating the intercon- nection of the different segments of the network. NetView itself is an SSCP node that offers central management of a large, geographically diverse network. What does this do for you? Network management operations can be initiated and controlled from any terminal or workstation on the network, whether or not it is physically part of the Token Ring network being managed. This is espe- cially useful to network administrators Order Now Toll Free 1-800-282-GTEK (4835) PCSS-8I Eight Port Intelligent Coprocessor PCSS-8TX Compact Eight Port Serial Board FULL WARRANTY OEM & Dealer inquiries welcomed. INTELLIGENT NON INTELLIGENT PORTS 8,9 4,8 MEMORY 128K, 768K, 1M, 2M (ALLDYNAMEMORV') None PROTOCOL RS232, RS485 RS232, RS485, RS422 INTERFACE CONNECTOR RJ-11 RJ-11, DB-25 ARCHITECTURE ISA, EISA, Micro Channel ISA, EISA, Micro Channel OPERATING SYSTEM COMPATIBILITY Dos, Concurrent Dos, SCO"" XENIX® , SCCPUNIX® and more Dos, Concurrent Dos, SCO~ XENIX® and more * Memory allocated in real time to needed communication channels. GTEK's technical support staff is available to help you choose the right serial communications board for your application. So call today, we can help! GTEK, Inc. • Hardware & Software Development • P.O.Box2310 • Bay St. Louis, MS 39521-2310 U.S.A. MS & Technical Support 1-601-467-8048 • Fax 1-601-467-0935 All trademarks are property of their respective companies 200 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Circle 1 28 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 1 29). Never before has such a small laser printer offered so much speed and economy— and Adobe PostScript; too. Introducing the 16 ppm microLaser™ XL printer. It's fast, flexible and affordable. Now you can afford a 16 ppm laser printer at an 8 ppm price. The newest addition to Texas Instruments award-winning microLaser family starts at just $3,449* for the standard model. Or choose from two affordable Adobe PostScript models**, with either 17 or 35 fonts. For one or many users. Whether you use Macintosh®^, IBM® or UNIX® computers — or a combination — microLaser XL can handle the workload for you or your whole department. You can even switch between HP LaserJet® II emula- tion and PostScript without turning off the printer. At only 15. 8" wide and 16.6" deep, microI-aserXL is the smallest laser printer in its class. So it's easier to find room for this type of power. Superior paper handling. Save time loading paper — microl-aser XL's paper drawer holds 250 sheets. You'll save POSTSCRIPT space too, because the drawer slides conve- niently inside the printer. An optional, second 500-sheet paper feeder (750 sheets total) and automatic feeder for 70 envelopes are available for your large print jobs and mail-merge applications. Easy, no-tools upgrade to PostScript. Choose the standard microLaser XL and add the powerful font and graphics capa- bilities of PostScript software at any time. Because microLaser XL uses the same mod- ular controller board design as the original microl-aser, upgrading is easy and affordable — no tools or service calls needed. See the power and performance of microLaser XL for yourself. Call for the location of a dealer near you. 1-800-527-3500 *TI suggested list price. * *$3, 999, 17 fonts; $4,499, 35 fonts-Tl suggested list prices. ^Requires PostScript, 1.5MB memory and an optional AppleTalk* interface hoard. Iexas Instruments microLaser is a trademark of Texas Instruments Incorporated. Adobe, PostScript and the PostScript logo are registered trademarks of Adohe Systems, Inc. Macintosh and AppleTalk are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. UNIX is a registered trade- mark of AT&T. LaserJet is a registered trademark of Hewlett-Packard, Inc. ©1991 TI 66084 MANAGING BIG BLUE who are geographically remote from the LANs they care for. NetView Close-Up NetView incorporates and combines the features of several other IBM mainframe products. Network Communications Control Facility (NCCF) works across multiple-domain networks to record alerts, divide management responsibil- ities among several network operators, and run command-script programs. Net- work Logical Data Manager records ses- sion/routing information, including re- sponse-time data. Network Problem Determination Application analyzes net- work problems and presents the results at several levels of detail. At the lowest level, NPDA reveals the probable cause of an error or failure. NetView integrates these and other functions into a simple menu-driven management application. A NetView op- erator can easily look at a particular SNA ickshlp Sft6SX/2Q is a highly e system bath in performance ■ M .jHtzine, November 27, "Of am seven contenders, the 5 I r -up 486'25 earned the top value. " — InfoWorld. March 1 2, 1 990 "With its winning combination of quality ofj '-the-sfulf parts, the Blackship 386~33 offers solid performance at an affordable price. " — PC Magazine, February 13, 1990: "The Blackship 386-33 offers low price 33-MHz performance . . we rate it a very good value." — InfoWorld, July 1989 '. . . its price/performance ratio easily justifies PC World's Best Buy recommendation. " — PC World, August, 1988 ^g? SERVICE GE Computer Service Price/Performance Leader . . . Your "Best Buy" Company. I 64K Cache RAM X I 4 MB RAM I 1.2 MB 5.25" Drive I 1.44 MB 3.5" Drive I 200 MB 15 ms IDE Drive I 16-Bit VGA w/512K 14" 1024 x 768 Color Monitor I Parallel, 2 Serial Ports, 1 Game Port 101-Key Keyboard 4 ^/25 ISA $3995 MS DOS 486/25 EISA $ 5295 3 3 or 4 01 486/33 ISA $5295 486/33 EISA $6895 I 64K Cache RAM I 4 MB RAM I 1.2 MB 5.25" Drive I 1.44 MB 3.5" Drive I 200 MB 15 ms IDE Drive I 16-Bit VGA w/512K 14" 1024 x 768 Color Monitor I Parallel, 2 Serial Ports, I Game Port 101-Key Keyboard MS DOS 3.3 or 4.01 J 1 MB RAM BLK " 1.44 MB 3.5" Drive Y T 40 MB IDE Hard Drive I 640 x 400 VGA LCD Display I 2 Expansion Slots 81 -Key Low Profile Keyboard Internal Sealed Ni-Cd Battery External AC Power MS DOS 3.3 or 4.0 1 1 MB RAM BLK ■ 1-44 MB 3.5" Drive Ll T 20 MB IDE Hard Drive I 640 x 400 Mono LCD Display I 2 Expansion Slots 81 -Key Low Profile Keyboard Internal Scaled Ni-Cd Battery External AC Power MS DOS 3.3 or 4.0 1 ■ Weight 14.7 lbs $2595 ■ Weight 14.7 lbs $1895 I 4 MB RAM I 1.2 MB 5.25" Drive I 1.44 MB 3.5" Drive I 105 MB IDE Drive I 16-Bit VGA w/512K 14" 1024x768 Color Monitor 1 Parallel, 2 Serial Ports, 1 Game Port 101-Key Keyboard MS DOS 3.3 or 4.01 I 2 MB RAM I 1.2 MB 5.25" Drive I 1.44 MB 3.5" Drive I 40 MB IDE Drive I 16-Bit VGA w/512K 14'" 1024x768 Color Monitor 1 Parallel, 2 Serial Ports, 1 Game Port 101 -Key Keyboard MS DOS 3.3 or 4.0 1 $3495 386/25 SVGA $2495 With 64K Cache $2895 386SX/20 386SX/16 $1995 $1795 I 1 MB RAM I 1.2 MB 5.25" Drive I 40 MB IDE Drive I 16-Bit VGA w/256K I 14" VGA Color Monitor I 10 1 -Key Keyboard ■ I Parallel, 2 Serial Ports, 1 Game Port ■ MS DOS 3.3 or 4.01 286/25 $1695 286/16 $1495 286/12 $1395 Mono system, deduct $250 Standard Features I CALL TOLL-FREE 30-Day Guarantee Unlimited Toil-Free Technical Support 1-Year Parts and Labor Warranty 1-Year On-Site Service by GE Computer Service Custom Configuration Call Blackship For All Your Other System and Networking Needs. Prices are subject to change. 1-800-877-6249 Blackship COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC. 403 1 Clipper Court ♦ Fremont, CA 94538 Tel: 415-770-9300 • Fax: 415-770-8674 node's health, as well as analyze statis- tics or reconfigure (or reset) network devices. For instance, a LAN Network Manager or NetView operator can recon- figure a LAN bridge to have a different network address or a different hopcount limit (i.e., the maximum number of bridges through which a frame can pass on its journey). From either NetView or LAN Network Manager, you can collect performance and traffic statistics from LAN bridges, including a count of the frames that have been discarded or not forwarded because of error conditions, and a count of broadcast frames intended for reception by all workstations. You can also use NetView' s NCCF to query or command LAN Network Man- ager without actually sitting down at a LAN Network Manager workstation. You can ask for the current status of a Token Ring node, remove the node from the network, perform a point-to-point test between two nodes, reset LAN Net- work Manager, and ask for a display of the current configuration of a LAN seg- ment. There are two ways to programmati- cally control NetView or to obtain net- work status and event history informa- tion from it. NetView incorporates a script file processor that an administra- tor can use to automate the system's re- sponse to certain events. Programming the script language facility embedded in NetView is much like writing scripts for a PC communications program. For in- stance, you can easily write a program that wakes up when a particular kind of alert is received. Your program might try to recover automatically from the error by sending a reset-device command to the problem node. The application programming inter- face to NetView is more complicated, but it allows custom-written programs in a high-level language to access NetView configuration data files and alert histor- ies. An application program can also use the NetView API to trigger an alert of its own— perhaps to signal a problem with a database file. NetView records the re- sulting alert in its history file and takes an appropriate action (as you define it). This action might consist, for example, of a notification that operator interven- tion is required. A new aspect of the NetView API is an LU 6.2 (peer-to-peer communications) facility. LU 6.2 is a dialogue-oriented protocol within SNA. With simple verbs, such as Allocate, Receive-and-Wait, Send-Data, Confirm, and Deallocate, the LU 6.2 protocol makes it easy to query NetView or perform custom net- 202 BYTE* MARCH 1991 Circle 45 on Inquiry Card. ^ III, BAG The portable office in the attache- case The office solution for all frequent travellers - independence from time and place - an attribute for quality and reliability LAPTOP: the centre-piece of the MICROBAG PRINTER: prints texts, graphics, faxes, etc. . . MOBIL CELLULAR PHONE: the most important communication device TELCON ELECTRONIC: the heart of the MICROBAG Do you want to have more infor- mations about the MICROBAG? «S «&m itwm Are you interested in being a TELCON Representative: Please request informations from: TELCONGMBHGERMANY(Headquarter) Prinzregentenstr. 120, 8000 Munchen 80 Tel.: 089/457912-0 Fax: 089/4708211 TELCON USA Tel.: 305/6691981 Fax: 305/6677059 TELCON IBERICA Tel.: 1/7337367 Fax: 1/7337367 TELCON Circle 285 on Inquiry Card. Specifications are subject to change without notice. DBGM. TELCON GmbH © Copyright 1 991 TELCON GmbH - Munich Circle 1 59 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 1 60). KNAPCQ MASTER DISTRIBUTORS EMERSON UPS YES III KNAPCO DELIVERS | EMERSON " POWER III WATTAGE MODEL 10 MODEL 20 MODEL 30 MODEL AO MODEL 50 UPS BOO UPS 1250 MODELS UST NOW ISOVa. $149. 3O0Va. $219. SOOVa. $309. SOOVa. $539. HOOVa. $719. $798. $449. $1398. $679. I KVA. THIN LINE SWKJOO $698 $349. TRUE ONLINE MODEL POET $798. $479. NEW15KVA $2995. $1750. AP 3KVA $5550 $3799. AP 5KVA $9499 $5999. I AccuCord now $W9l\ ORDER HOT LINE 800-827-4718 International Transformers 220v. / IIOv. step vp / dowN 100 >00 500 1000 1500 *2000 *>000 Watt. TRANsf Watt. TRANsf Watt. TRANsf Watt. Trans? Watt. Trans? Watt. Trans? Watt. Trans? VoItAGE ReGuIATORS & CONCJlTJONERS TVR WO J00 WATT TIO / 220v. $2>9. $128. TVR1000 1000 WATT 110/220v. $>49. $196. " Above with sted i» or dowN Transformers MV 2K 2000 WATT 220v. ONLY S429. S2J9. VR2KD 2000 WATT 110 / 220v. S649. $579. MV5 500 WATT ( no v.regulator) % 99. NEW WE HAVE THE BEST PRICE AVTQMQPILE mERTERSMlOv. MOBILE POWER FOR YOUR VAN OR CAR ) POWERS LAB^, EQUIPMENT, FAX MACHINES, LAPTOPS, PORTABLE TELEPHONES, NINTENDO . *70 VCOTY MACHINE? .TYPEWRITERS *lZ AMERICAN POWER CONVERSION LOW COST OFF-LINE POWER SUPPLIES NEW!!!!!! 'SIne Wave 110 or 220v. Models 200 DL X 450 AT Ik *400 SMART-UPS^ •600 SMART-UPS ^Dealer $169. $269. $525. $4tt 813 - 449 - 0019 FAX 8U - 449 - 0701 R -22 KNAPCO QUALITY DISTRIBUTION FOR 45 YEARS 1201 HAMLET AVE. CLEARWATER FL. 34616 MANAGING BIG BLUE work management tasks (implemented by a staff of programmers, of course). Another IBM product, NetView/PC, provides an API to NetView that other vendors can use to interface with their equipment. Such companies as Synop- tics, AT&T, Paradyne, and Codex have products that work with NetView and are based on the Net View/PC interface. The devices that use this interface include Ethernet adapters, modem management hardware, and T-l network resources. Auditing and Controlling Your LAN LAN Network Manager works with other IBM products to control access to the network. Beginning in April, it will let you set up rules saying when certain workstations can log on. In conjunction with the IBM LAN Station Manager and 8230 Token Ring Controlled Access Unit, LAN Network Manager can detect intruder log-ins, generate an alert, and automatically remove the offender from the network by reprogramming or reset- ting the 8230 CAU. LAN Network Man- ager itself is, of course, password pro- tected. Do you know exactly where all your company's PCs are located? LAN Net- work Manager, LAN Station Manager, and the CAU work together to help you map your LANs as they change over time. The CAU incorporates a data-report- ing function that notifies LAN Network Manager of adapter, lobe, and segment identifications for the workstations on the LAN. The LAN Station Manager will be available late this year and will come in both DOS and OS/2 versions. It collects device information from each workstation and then sends the informa- tion to LAN Network Manager. It main- tains a station database that contains user-specific information, such as room number, serial number, and a symbolic machine name. LAN Station Manager is intended to be installed on each worksta- tion. LAN Network Manager (or Net- View) can trigger the CAU or LAN Sta- tion Manager to report what they know and thus correlate a particular worksta- tion with a particular building location. Voila!— instant asset management. You will finally be able to track down all the PCs in the company. Also later this year, LAN Network Manager 1 . 1 will be able to display a pic- torial representation of your LANs. It will use IBM's Graphics View/2 to show OS/2 workstations and their node status on the network. The network can be viewed at the LAN level, the LAN seg- ment level, or the LAN access unit/lobe level. Another product, NetCenter, also uses graphics to depict the network. It provides yet another control/monitor function to the operator. Running under PC-DOS, NetCenter lets you manage both SNA and non-SNA resources on a NetView network. I mentioned that IBM will use CMIP in its new products; be aware that IBM's CMIP and SNMP usage will be fairly limited. One of the few places CMIP comes into the picture is between the new CAU device and LAN Network Man- ager. Other diagnostic and management functions within the network will gener- ally not be CMIP-compliant. The pri- mary protocol that IBM uses in its net- work management products is defined in SNA's Management Services, and this will remain true for years to come. How- ever, with its TCP/IP release 2 product, IBM does provide the means for device faults that originate in SNMP nodes to be recorded in the central Alert List. An IBM developer said that future CMIP support would be added as the definition of CMIP becomes clearer. The Right Tool for the Right Job Token Ring has hidden strengths, and it's too bad there aren't more network management applications that take ad- vantage of them. I believe LAN Network Manager is the first network manage- ment product to fully use the manage- ment information inherent in every Token Ring LAN, along with the net- work management standards that IBM laid down as part of SNA. The internals of Token Ring and SNA are certainly not confidential. Perhaps soon we will see other tools from other vendors. In the meantime, though, these prod- ucts from IBM can give you an inside look at the health of your network. LAN Network Manager and NetView are so- phisticated yet simple. But don't try to buy them for a small office LAN; these are big-time tools for large networks. If you have at least a medium-size Token Ring LAN, you might want to consider getting LAN Network Manager. It will set you back about $4000 (one-time fee). NetView for a mainframe is more expen- sive—approximately $3000 per month in license fees, depending on processor type and operating system. But when you need tools like these, you need them badly. ■ Barry Nance is the author of Network Programming in C (Que Publishing, 1990) and the editor for the IBM Ex- change on BIX. You can reach him on BIX as "barryn. " 204 BYTE- MARCH 1991 JUST HOW FAST IS PROGRAMMING M APL* PIUS? This fast. APL*PLUS streamlines the whole programming process and screams through complex data manipulations with turbo speed. APL*PLUS notation is like the math you already know. So you can solve problems the way you think about them, instead of wasting time figuring out how to soJve them. And it's concise. A few lines of APL*PLUS can replace pages of code written in other languages. Explore complex "what if" scenarios using built-in functions that manipulate tables of data like single objects. Prototype solutions and quickly put them to the test. Develop complete applications in record-breaking time with editing, graphics, screen windowing and com- munications facilities, mouse support and interfaces to spreadsheets and subroutines written in other languages. Use our tutorial to jump start the whole pro- gramming process. Then, use APL*PLUS' speed and power to zoom through your development cycle so fast it's almost illegal APL*PLUS. The programming language to use when you have miles of data. And the need for speed. Call today and well rush you a free demo disk. ® APL*PLUS (800) 592-0050 Ext. 875 In Maryland (301) 984-5123 Outside The U.S., Call (301) 984-5412 For The Name Of Your Authorized Dealer. APL*PLUS is a registered trademark of STSC, Inc., and is available for IBM PC's and compatibles, UNIX workstations, VAX minicomputers and IBM mainframes. Fax: (301) 984-5094 TELEX: 898085 (STSC ROVE) © 1991 STSC, Inc. 2115 East Jefferson Street • Rockville, MD 20852 Circle 274 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 275). The joy of C-scape The C-scape™ Interface Management System is a flexible library of C functions for data entry and validation, menus, text editing, context-sensitive help, and windowing. C-scape's powerful Look & Feel™ Screen Designer lets you create full- featured screens and automatically generates complete C source code. C-scape includes easily modifiable high- level functions as well as primitives to construct new functions. Its object- oriented design helps you build more functional, more flexible, more portable, and more unique applications— and you'll have more fun doing it. The industry standout. Many thousands of software developers world- wide have turned to the pleasure of C-scape. The press agrees: "C-scape is by far the best. y& , A joy to use," wrote IEEE Computer. Major companies have selected C-scape as a standard for software development. C-scape's open architecture lets you use it with data base, graphics, or other C and C ++ libraries. C-scape runs in text or graphics mode, so you can display text and graphics simultaneously. To port from DOS or OS/2 to UNIX, AIX, QNX, or VMS, just recompile. C-scape also Elegant graphics and text Graphics. Run in color in text or graphics mode. Read images from PCX files. Object-oriented architecture. Add custom features and create reusable code modules. C++ compatible. Mouse support. Fully-integrated mouse support for menu selections, data entry fields, and to move and resize windows. Portability. Hardware independent code. Supports DOS, OS/2, UNIX, AIX, VMS, others. Autodetects Hercules, CGA, EGA, VGA. Supports Phar Lap and Rational DOS extenders. Text editing. Text editors with word wrap, block commands, and search and replace. Field flexibility. Masked, protected, marked, required, no-echo, and named fields with complete data validation. Time, date, money, pop-up list, and many more higher-level functions; create your own. Windows. Pop-up, tiled, bordered and exploding windows; size and numbers limited only by RAM. Menus. Pop-up, pull-down, 123-style, or slug menus; create your own. Context-sensitive help. Link help messages to individual screens or fields. Cross reference messages to create hypertext-like help. Code generation. Build any type of screen or form with the Look & Feel™ Screen Designer, test it, then automatically convert it to C code. Screen flexibility. Call screens from files at run time or link them in. Automatic vertical/horizontal scrolling. International support. Offices in Berlin, Germany, with an international network of technical companies providing local training, support and consulting. Supports DOS, OS/2, Unix, VMS. Call for demo. supports Phar Lap and Rational DOS extenders. Trial with a smile, c-scape is powerful, flexible, portable, and easy to tiy. Test C-scape for 30 days. It offers a thorough manual and function reference, sample programs with source cede, and an optional screen designer and source code generator. Oakland provides access to a 24- v*- hour BBS, telephone servi- ces, and an international network of companies providing in- country support. No royalties, runtime licenses, runtime modules. After you register, you get complete library source code at no extra cost. Call 800-233-3733 (617 491 7311 in Massachusetts, 206-746-8767 in Washing- ton; see below for International). After the joy of C-scape, programming will never be the same. DOS, OS/2 (Borland and Microsoft support): with Look & Feci, $499; library only, $399; UNIX, etc. start at $999-, prices include library source. Training in Cambridge and Seattle each month. Mastercard and Visa accepted. OAKIAND BY391 Oakland Group, Inc. 675 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02139 USA. FAX: 617-868-4440. Oakland Group, GmbH. Alt Moabit 9 IB, D-l 000 Berlin 21, F.R.G. (030) 391 5045, FAX: (030) 393 4398. Oakland International Technical Network (training, support, consulting): Australia Noble Systems (02) 564-1200; Benelux TM Data (02159) 46814; Denmark Ravenholm (042) 887249; Austria-Germany-Switzerland ESM 07127/5244; Norway Ravenholm (02) 448855; Sweden Linsoft (013) 111588; U.K. Systemstar (0992) 500919. Photo by Jessica A. Boyatt; Kanji by Kaji Aso. Picture shows a C-scape program combining data entry with video images loaded from PCX files. C-scape and Look & Feel are trademarks of Oakland Group, Inc.; other trademarks belong to their respective companies. Copyright © 1990, by Oakland Group, Inc. Features, prices, and terms subject to change. Circle 208 on Inquiry Card. STATE OF THE ART FINDING FAULT As networks become more widespread and important, fault management and performance monitoring become business necessities STEVEN M. DAUBER At Boeing in Seattle, a computer network helps operate the 747 aircraft assembly line. At Wells Fargo Bank, the entire nation- wide system of automated teller ma- chines communicates with central com- puters by way of computer networks. A computer network helps run Apple Com- puter's Macintosh automated production facility. Networks are rapidly becoming the lifeline of businesses worldwide. Be- cause networks provide distributed con- trol, better scalability, resource sharing, and, ultimately, cost advantages over mainframes and minicomputers, compa- nies are moving their mission-critical applications to multiplatform networks. With this movement, thorough network management becomes vital to a busi- ness's success. Paying the Price In recent studies, major corporations have reported capital losses of astound- ing magnitude when they have had prob- lems with their networks. One study cal- culated the average lost productivity resulting from network problems to be in excess of $3 million per year. It also found that the average network is com- pletely or partially disabled about twice a month, for an average period of more than half a business day. Many other companies have since ech- oed the primary conclusion of these stud- ies: Network downtime, the time that the network is either down or degraded, can cause extreme monetary loss, particu- larly when it affects mission-critical data. As companies recognize the in- creased importance of their networks, ILLUSTRATION: DAVE ROTOLONI © 1991 ■ -■rm-tr:^>< MARCH 1991 -BYTE 207 FINDING FAULT ISO NETWORK MANAGEMENT Area Issues Fault management - Detects anomalous network behavior Isolates network problems Attempts to control network problems Performance management Analyzes network error rates Analyzes network throughput Attempts to create optimal network performance Configuration management Detects physical and logical configurations Understands and manipulates network state Accounting management Collects resource utilization data Processes resource utilization data Security management Controls network access Figure 1 : The ISO network management model divides management functions into five subsystems. pressure mounts to keep systems up and running. This, in turn, puts pressure on the vendors, fueling the demand for the network application of the 1990s: net- work management. Network Management Today Network management's twin goals are to reduce the number of network problems and, once problems occur, to minimize inconvenience and contain the damage. BYTE ACTION SUMMARY Monitoring Networks Network downtime can have a serious effect on your com- pany's bottom line. This ar- ticle details a four-step pro- cess that lets you correct network faults systematical- ly. It also describes network problems and solutions and discusses the importance of both fault management and performance monitoring. To achieve these goals, the ISO has iden- tified five management subsystems: fault, configuration, performance, secu- rity, and accounting. Fault management detects, isolates, and controls anomalous network behav- ior; configuration management attempts to understand and control the network's state; performance management ana- lyzes and controls the network's through- put; security management controls ac- cess to network resources; and, finally, accounting management records and processes network resource-utilization data. Figure 1 lists the issues that these network management areas address. Four important network management product categories deal with these issues: physical-layer tools, network monitors, network analyzers, and integrated net- work management systems. Each cate- gory has an essential role to play in to- day's large, heterogeneous networks. Tool Types Physical-layer tools include time-domain reflectometers (TDRs), oscilloscopes, breakout boxes, power meters, and simi- lar products that find problems such as cable opens and shorts, unterminated cables, and poorly functioning connec- tion hardware. (See the text box "Let's Get Physical" on page 212 for details about network cable management.) Perhaps the most popular physical- layer tool is the TDR, which sends sig- nals along the physical medium at reg- ular intervals. The returning signal reflections provide a representative waveform showing the placement of net- work devices and cable problems. TDRs provide a reasonably accurate estimate of the location of physical media problems . Since a large percentage of network faults occur at the physical layer, most companies with large networks own and use TDRs or similar products. TDRs are currently priced from about $1500 to more than $10,000. Network monitors are computer de- vices that attach to a network and moni- tor all or a selected portion of the net- work traffic. By examining frame-level information in each packet, network monitors can compile statistics on net- work utilization, packet type, number of packets sent and received by each net- work node, packet errors, and other im- portant variables. Network monitors are relatively inex- pensive, permitting you to use one per network segment. They are generally al- lowed to run unattended 24 hours per day, recording data and looking for anomalies. The monitors' primary ad- vantages are relatively low cost, rea- sonable error-detection facilities, and the ability to participate in integrated network management schemes. Network monitors are priced from several hun- dred dollars (for software-only products) to about $10,000. While network monitors can detect network problems, network analyzers can help you track down and fix those problems. Network analyzers contain so- phisticated features for real-time traffic analysis, packet capture and decoding, and packet transmission. Some even in- clude troubleshooting expertise, in the form of test suites. Network analyzers also incorporate a built-in TDR-like ca- pability. The most sophisticated network analyzers use special-purpose hardware to detect problems not visible to standard network controllers. Prices for network analyzers start at about $10,000, and they can cost well over $30,000 with support for multiple physical media and protocol decoding. They are sold as kits (a network interface card and software that you install on a PC) and as packages (the card and soft- ware preinstalled in a PC of the vendor's choice), with the latter being substantial- ly more expensive. The fourth and final type of product available for managing a network is the integrated network management system. Using the INMS, you can monitor and control your entire network from a cen- tral location. The INMS implements all 208 BYTE * MARCH 1991 Power Packed & Built To Last. STANDARD 150 $69 STANDARD 220 Economical This UL approved, fully tested unit is one of the best generic 150s available. Ideal for basic systems. $99 CP160 Economical This UL approved, fully tested unit is one of the best generic 220s available. Ideal for basic systems. $169 Original Portable Upgrade Double your power with our direct replacement CP160. Allows 286, 386, and hard disk upgrades. SILENCER 150 $119 SILENCER 220 $139 CD270 $249 Ultra-Quiet Stop that irritating noise with the Silencer 150. Its large, low speed, German fan keeps your system 5° to 15° cooler and 84% quieter. Virtually inaudible! Great in the executive suite or home office. TURBO-COOL 200 High Performance Put AT power and 200% more cooling under the hood of your PC/XT with our UL approved Turbo-Cool 200. Its patented twin fan, sloped-cover design keeps your system 30° to 45° cooler, preventing data errors and other heat-related problems. Perfect for hot rod PCs and Mini ATs! TURBO-COOL 275 Slim and Powerful Give your Slimline or Mini-Tower computer up to 100% moje power and cooling with our low profile, direct replacement Turbo-Cool 275. With a peak capacity of 3 50 watts, it will easily start even the largest hard drives and peripherals! Silencer, Turbo-Cool, and InnerSourcc are trademarks of PC Power 8c Cooling, Inc. Compaq and Deskpro are registered trademarks of Compaq Computer Corporation. Ultra-Quiet Unrattle your nerves with the Silencer 220. Its high-efficiency, adjustable- speed fan offers 69% less noise with standard cooling. Quieter than most hard drives. Great in the executive suite or home office. $169 TURBO-COOL 300 $189 High Performance Upgrade your AT/386 with our powerful Turbo-Cool 300. This popular OEM unit features built-in line conditioning, UL/CSA/TUV approval, 2 year warranty, and a high-capacity, adjustable-speed fan that keeps your system 20° to 35° cooler for up to three times longer life. Great value! $169 TURBO-COOL 450 $349 Maximum Performance The choice of PC professionals, our Turbo-Cool 450 features built-in line conditioning, autoselect input, independent regulation, external DC voltage adjustment, triple-stage output filter, 50cfm cooling fan, UL/CSA/TUV approval, 200,000 Hr. MTBF and 2 year warranty! Ideal for high-end workstations and network file servers. Most orders shipped same day. We accept Visa, MC, COD or PO on approved credit. Deskpro Upgrade The power user's power supply! Our direct replacement CD270 gives your 8086/286/386 Deskpro up to 70% more power and the reliability it deserves. Prevents nuisance rebooting. Advanced design includes autoselect 110V/220V 2 -year warranty. INTERNAL UPS! "An excellent product" - PC Magazine, Nov. 27. 1990 Our UL approved InnerSource is the first AT/386 power supply with a built-in UPS. Its auto-recharge battery provides up to 15 minutes of reliable backup power for both your PC and monitor. This integrated protection costs less than a bulky 55 OVA external UPS, and it saves space, too. A Novell NetWare interface is available. $395 PC POWER & COOLING, INC. 3 1510 Mountain Way, Bonsall, CA 92003 • (619)723-9513 • (800)722-6555 • FAX (619) 723-0075 Circle 337 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 338). FINDING FAULT TYPES OF NETWORK MANAGEMENT PRODUCTS Product type Strength Weakness ; Physical-layer tools j Reasonably accurate Some are complex and difficult to use Limited to physical-layer problems ; Network monitor Continuous monitoring useful for long-term trend analysis } Low cost Limited troubleshooting capability Network analyzer Advanced troubleshooting capability ] Portable Can stress-test new protocols, applications Relatively expensive l Integrated Network Management System ■ .' , , Advanced monitoring capability Supports all five ISO network management subsystems High cost Unavailable for some platforms Figure 2: Network management tools can be classified into four types. Each type has its corresponding strengths and weaknesses. THE DIAGNOSTIC PROCESS Start Conclude Observe symptoms Run tests Hypothesize Figure 3: The network diagnostic cycle resembles a blackboard system, where successive cycles contribute toward the solution to the problem. five ISO network management areas: fault, performance, configuration, secu- rity, and accounting. You use the INMS through a console device that provides a graphical user interface. The console de- vice is integrated with a network man- agement station that communicates with agents— software programs— on remote computer devices to determine the state of the network. Agents collect interesting information, such as the number of pack- ets the device has received, and make it available to the INMS upon query. When a problem occurs, agents can also send alarms to the console to immediately alert the network manager. INMSes hold tremendous promise but have to be implemented across a wide variety of platforms to be truly effective. Resolving differences between operating systems, hardware platforms, and net- works makes this task difficult and time- consuming. As a result, INMSes are the most expensive network management products. In the coming years, you will see an increasing number of product in- troductions in this area. Figure 2 com- pares the various strengths and weak- nesses of the four types of network man- agement products. Using the Tools If you've spent any time managing a net- work, you know that this often-difficult task is both a science and an art. As a sci- ence, troubleshooting demands that you understand network operation and the re- lationship between symptoms and under- lying causes. As an art, it requires that you implement the proper diagnostic pro- cess, which consists of four critical steps repeated continuously until the problem is ultimately solved: observing symp- toms, developing a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and forming conclusions (see figure 3). The first step of the process is to ob- serve problem symptoms. A common mistake here, made in the interest of sav- ing time, is to begin experimentation be- fore thoroughly examining the symp- toms. Unfortunately, in many cases, the most obvious symptoms can lead you off on a costly tangent. Why are the most obvious symptoms not always the most important? To understand this, you must understand the essence of network pro- tocols. Have you ever wondered why a com- puter sometimes takes so long to respond to a network access request? The reason is that network protocols are designed to hide, not to expose, network problems. Most network protocols incorporate re- try mechanisms and other techniques to recover from problems. As a result, most network problems display a single obvi- ous symptom: long response times. Al- though retry mechanisms increase net- work reliability, they also make network troubleshooting more difficult by dis- playing a common symptom for many different problems. Therefore, it is critical that you un- cover as many clues as possible prior to the beginning of the next step in the diagnostic process. Since the first symp- tom that is encountered— longer response times— may not be very illuminating, you must push not only to identify the other symptoms, but also to discover the following: • The range and scope of the symptoms. Does this problem affect everyone, ev- eryone in a given area, random individ- uals? • The percentage of time the problem manifests itself. Is the problem continu- ous or intermittent? Does it occur reg- ularly? • What has changed recently? Has a computer device been added to the net- work? Have any internetworking devices been reconfigured? • All release variables in the environ- ment experiencing the problem. What are the vendor and release numbers of the computer systems, network interface cards, hubs, routers, bridges, application software, and network software? As soon as you have gathered all this information, you can then move to the 210 BYTE • MARCH 1991 To see the future of motherboards. look at the past. 7955. ATronics introduces the ATI -1000. The first NT -compatible motherboard. You'll discover since 1985, one company has consistently given both resellers and endusers the highest level of performance, quality and support at the lowest possible price. ATronics. In fact, we were the very first company to produce AT-compatible motherboards. The result is ATronics delivers the best choice for quality U.S. designed- and-made products. And with standards that meet or exceed other motherboards that would cost you far more. ATronics offers one of the lowest failure rates in the business. Standard benchmark tests prove their performance. No other motherboard company delivers it all like ATronics. Prove it to yourself right now. Pick up the phone and call toll free for information and documentation on current and upcoming products. You'll be on your way to a bigger, better and brighter future. 1-800-488-7776. 1991. TheATI-486lB2. The fir st 33150MHz baby AT-size 486 motherboard. 1990. TheATI-386/B2. The first 3 3 MHz XT-size 386 motherboard. ATI ?® ABonics Circle 32 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 33). 1830 McCandless Dr., Milpitas, CA 95035-6844,USA Tel. (408)942-3344. Fax (408)942-1674 ATronics 1991©. ATM 000. ATI-386JB2 and AT1-486/B2 aie trademarks and ATI is a registered trademark of ATronics. International, Inc. All other products mentioned are trademarks of their respective holders. Circle 1 39 on Inquiry Card. Rack & Desk PC/AT Chassis Integrand's new Chassis/System is not another IBM mechanical and electrical clone. An entirely fresh packaging design approach has been taken using modular construction. At present, over 40 optional stock modules allow you to customize our standard chassis to nearly any requirement. Integrand offers high quality, advanced design hardware along with applications and technical support all at prices competi- tive with imports. Why settle for less? ' '— Rack & Desk Models Accepts PC, XT, AT Motherboards and Passive Backplanes Doesn't Look Like IBM Rugged, Modular Construction Excellent Air Flow & Cooling Optional Card Cage Fan Designed to meet FCC 204 Watt Supply, UL Recognized 145W & 85W also available Reasonably Priced Passive Backplanes (Hfii RESEARCHCORR Call or write for descriptive brochure and prices: 8620 Roosevelt Ave. • Visalia, CA 93291 209/651-1203 TELEX 5106012830 (INTEGRAND UD) FAX 209/651-1353 We accept Bank Americard/VISA and MasterCard IBM, PC, XT, AT trademarks ol International Business Machines. Drives and computer boards not included. 212 BYTE • MARCH 1991 FINDING FAULT next step in the diagnostic process: the formation of a valid hypothesis that is consistent with the data. Signature Analysis Before you can use the data gathered about problem symptoms and construct a valid hypothesis, you have to know whether what you're seeing is something unusual. Therefore, you first have to understand the "usual." Networks are like fingerprints— no two are exactly alike. Even if two networks are config- ured identically, usage patterns will al- most certainly differ. The process of determining the characteristics of an in- D. development of the troubleshooting library is one of the most effective ways of minimizing network downtime. dividual network signature is called baselining. Baselining is not one of the four steps in the diagnostic process: It must be done prior to a problem occurring. (Needless to say, once the problem situation exists, observing typical network performance is impossible.) Having a proper baseline for the network means you can answer detailed questions about the following: • Network utilization. What is the aver- age network utilization? How does it vary during the business day? • Network applications. What are the dominant network applications on the network? What version numbers is it running? • Network protocol software. What pro- tocols are running on your network? What are the performance characteris- tics of these protocols? • Network hardware. Who manufac- tured the network interface controllers, media attachment units, hubs, and other network connection hardware? What versions are they? What are their perfor- mance characteristics? • Internetworking equipment. Who manufactured the repeaters, bridges, routers, and gateways on the network? What versions of software and firmware are they running? What are their perfor- mance characteristics? This list is by no means complete, but it provides an example of the necessary level of detail. In general, the better you know the network, the iess frequently problems occur and the more quickly they are solved when they do occur. This will be increasingly true as networks be- come more complicated. Theory and Experimentation Armed with the appropriate data about problem symptoms and a complete un- derstanding of differences between the data and corresponding baselines, you are ready to form a first hypothesis of the problem. This is the stage where trouble- shooting experience and expertise is most important. You need to know which network problems are capable of causing the ob- served deviation from the baselines. This often requires a good understanding of the protocols and applications running on the network. For example, too many collisions on an Ethernet are often a re- sult of excessive network traffic but can also result from overlong segments or malfunctioning transceivers. You can gain troubleshooting exper- tise from experience or from several books on the subject. Recently, some network analyzers have incorporated on- line troubleshooting guides that give tips on probable causes of observed symp- toms. Using all this information and ex- pertise, you form a hypothesis. The next step in the troubleshooting process is to test the hypothesis. A net- work analyzer is usually the best tool for this purpose, since it provides the most flexible set of capabilities. Some network analyzers offer important features that aid the test-development process, such as preprogrammed experiments. Each ex- periment is designed to test one or more hypotheses, thereby saving you the hassle of programming the test parameters. Following the experiments necessary to test the hypothesis, you enter the final step in the diagnostic process: forming conclusions. If the other steps were exe- cuted correctly, this step may well be the most straightforward. Good network troubleshooters know what they will con- clude for each possible outcome of the experiment. In the event that the test re- sults are unfamiliar, you must expand or revise your view of the problem so that FINDING FAULT Let's Get Physical John Kaiser The scope of network management reaches beyond tracking net- work throughput. It also requires close tracking of the network's physical in- frastructure—from individ- ual PCs, telephones, and other devices to cables and cross connects. Without the proper tools and documen- tation, this task can become your worst nightmare. To- day, a new breed of comput- erized cable management systems is taking the terror out of physical-network ad- ministration. By providing complete documentation of all network cabling and as- sets, such systems let you minimize downtime and control expenses. Cable management systems offer a range of features that track the complete physical infrastructure of a network. By linking graphical capabilities directly to standard, commercially available rela- tional databases, they provide complete information on network assets using both pictures and reports. Graphical cable management infor- mation provides pictures of your com- munications layout, from broad views of a complete multiple-location environ- ment to a detailed plan of an individual circuit. By clicking on an icon that rep- resents a network component, you can quickly locate specific information such as cable routes (seethe screen), the available outlets on a given floor, or all items on a given circuit— without running lengthy reports or searching through printouts and piles of outdated floor plans. The relational database supplements the graphics information with detailed information on every network compo- nent—from the end-to-end connectivity of circuits to the administrative infor- mation associated with each piece of equipment, cable, and cableway. It pro- vides standard reports and documenta- tion of characteristics such as the brand One option oflsicad's COMMAND cable management system lets you highlight an individual cable path in relation to the rest of the network. (Courtesy oflsicad) of equipment, costs, model numbers, location within the facility, and connec- tivity and wiring schemes. The database can generate work or- ders for moves, adds, or changes; repair orders when a failure occurs; and re- ports on equipment schedules, cable schedules, cable tray accommodation schedules, and bills of material. It also keeps a history of changes made to the communications infrastructure. The key to an effective cable manage- ment system is the interactive link be- tween the graphics module and the data- base, which ensures that changes made in the graphical front end are automati- cally made to the database and vice versa. This, in turn, guarantees you up- to-the-minute information on every as- pect of the communications network. Network Troubleshooting The combination of graphics and data- base information is especially impor- tant for troubleshooting activities, where it is essential to know the location of every network asset and who would be affected by a line failure or other problem. Most communications techni- cians spend an average of 80 percent of their time locating a problem and only 20 percent fixing it. With computerized cable management systems, this vital information is at your fin- gertips, so locating failures and determining who they affect is fast and easy. Once you've located the point of failure, the cable management system pro- vides all the documentation necessary to fix the prob- lem. For example, if you need to replace a cable, the cable management system can describe the type of ca- ble and what systems are connected to it and then dis- play a floor plan showing exactly where it runs in the building. Knowing exactly the cur- rent configuration of a net- work is essential. With com- plete documentation, both graphical and textual, on every aspect of the net- work, you can identify alternative cir- cuits or routes to bypass a problem until repairs are made. Maintaining the Infrastructure As networks become more widespread and user turnover increases, a cable management system can help you keep up with the moves, adds, and changes necessary. With it, you can analyze pro- posed changes in advance to determine their feasibility and cost. The system also automatically updates the database to accurately reflect the status of the communications infrastructure. Cable management systems and net- work management systems are equally vital. With both types of systems in place, you have a complete network management solution to effectively manage both the physical and logical network environments, reduce network downtime, accommodate changes, monitor and control assets and inven- tory, and reduce expenses. John Kaiser is the manager of product marketing at Isicad, Inc. (Anaheim, CA), a manufacturer of integrated cable management systems. He can be con- tacted on BIX do " 'editors. " MARCH 1991 -BYTE 213 FINDING FAULT you can map the symptoms to the ob- served test results. The diagnostic process is cyclical. Following the conclusions drawn from one test, you often need another hypothe- sis. Sometimes, you need to change the problem environment prior to reexamin- ing the symptoms. For example, you might want to remove a node from the network and then observe the symptoms again. In any event, the process cycles until you can converge on the appropriate conclusion, or set of conclusions, and fi- nally solve the problem. The value of techniques that shorten the time taken to cycle through the diag- I ncompatibilities among protocol software from different vendors are not unusual. nostic process is obvious. Baselining and gathering of anomalous data is critical to differentiating the unusual from the usual. On-line troubleshooting guides and similar features can then shorten the hypothesizing process. Finally, prepro- grammed tests often minimize the test- ing phase. The combination of these fea- tures can dramatically reduce the length of the diagnostic cycle, providing imme- diate returns in the form of increased net- work uptime. As you employ these techniques, you form a library of information and tests for solving common problems. With such a library, observing symptoms, forming a hypothesis, and testing the hypothesis become an extremely rapid process. Each time you solve a new problem, you should document the problem and save the tests used to solve it. The next time the problem occurs, solving it will be a simple matter. An additional advantage of this library is that it embodies exper- tise that can be used by anyone, not just the person who originally solved the problem. Development of the trouble- shooting library is one of the most ef- fective methods of minimizing network downtime. Common Problems A typical network administrator spends a great deal of time solving problems and trying to understand the network's per- formance. The better that understand- ing, the more infrequent faults are likely to be, since you avoid problems when performance is managed proactively. Different parts of a network experi- ence different kinds of problems. Under- standing the problem sets that affect the different parts is critical to effective troubleshooting. A complete list of prob- lems and solutions would fill volumes, but the general relationship between net- work components and fault types can be drawn here. For this purpose, network components will be divided into four categories: network hardware, inter- networking equipment, network protocol software, and network applications. Starting with the lowest layers of the Open Systems Interconnection model and working up, you first encounter the problems endemic to network hardware. Because hardware is subject to environ- mental stresses and is accessible, physi- cal connectivity problems are the most common fault type. These include cable breaks (a cable is cut or not terminated properly), cable shorts (a cable is dam- aged), breaks elsewhere in the circuit (a vampire transceiver is jostled so that it no longer makes positive contact with the medium), and malfunctions in the actual network hardware circuitry (a bad net- work interface controller or a jabbering transceiver). Cable problems can be discovered using a network analyzer or TDR. Prob- lems with hardware circuitry can often be found by examining error traffic on the network using a network analyzer. Other times, these problems must be at- tacked by a process of elimination to iso- late the problem. As networks grow, internetworking products are increasingly common prob- lem sources. Since these products sit at intersections within the network traffic pattern, they can quickly cause signifi- cant problems when they malfunction. Configuration errors are also common with complex products such as routers, brouters, and gateways. If nodes on only one side of an internetworking product are affected, start the search with that product. Check to see that processing queues have not grown unmanageably large. Ask yourself what has changed re- cently and what unplanned side effects that change might have had. Although protocol software is just as error-prone as any other kind of soft- ware, you usually can't do more than identify these problems. For actual solu- tions or workarounds, consult with the vendor and obtain a new version of the software. Incompatibilities among proto- col software from different vendors are not unusual. Network analyzers with built-in protocol decoders are helpful in detecting this variety of problem. Finally, applications sometimes have bugs. There is little you can do to solve these problems directly unless your orga- nization wrote the application. If not, use the network analyzer to find the problem and then contact the vendor with details. Performance Management Unlike fault management, performance management should be almost entirely proactive. However, most people tend to ignore performance management until it actually results in an emergency. The first lesson of performance management is to be proactive. Network monitors and analyzers are important tools for completing a compre- hensive traffic analysis on your network. Using these devices, you can come to understand the daily network utilization patterns, the heaviest users, the various percentages of different protocol traffic, where network bottlenecks exist, why those bottlenecks exist, and other similar information. You can also use the traffic-generation capabilities of a network analyzer to study how much additional traffic the network can support. A reactive benefit from this exercise is knowing where to look first when performance problems occur, but proactive benefits also ac- crue, including how to best spend money to improve network performance. As a result of analyzing the network's traffic patterns, you can make critical decisions regarding where to partition the network for optimal throughput and response time and how to allocate re- sources. Despite the fact that these per- formance management techniques are sometimes merely the result of common sense, most organizations still do not be- lieve they have the time to engage in the exercise. Unfortunately, this way of thinking often leads to emergencies that force you to spend the time later. Network management technology and practice has advanced significantly in the last decade. Through the 1990s, look for many of these advances to have a positive impact on networks and the people who manage and use them. ■ Steven M. Dauber is product marketing manager at Novell, Inc. (San Jose, CA). He can be reached on BIX do "editors. " 214 BYTE • MARCH 1991 C++! Views for Microsoft Windows :- The Microsoft Endows 3.0 Development Tool I^at Delivers From Stmt To Finish. C++/Views is a development tool for C++ programmers that- not only reduces the complexity of MicrosoftN Windows 3.0 but also slashes development time byxip ■to 75%,. \ Delivers on the promise of Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) V Encapsulates more MS Windows 3.0 f nctionality than any other tooLon the market today. Get MS Windows applications off to a fast-start with a framework of over 75 tested and ready-td-go C++ classes. Has the most complete C++ class library for MS Windows Development : Get started with graphical user interface classes 'such as windows, views, bitmaps, dialog boxes, menus, popup menus, graphics, regions, pens, brushes, controls, buttons, listiboxes, valuators, editors, printers and much - more. 'Organize your data with foundation classes such, j as containers, collections, sets, dictionaries, files, strings', * streams and so-on. Use other classes to manage the persistance of objects across files, to perform serial communications, and /to activate timed events. Provides support for the entire project. Comes with ,\ complete OOP development environment including the first folly functional C++ class hierarchy Browser, Also includes an Interface Generator, for building C++ dialog classes and a Documentor for automatically producing high quality documentation of your classes. Integrates leading-edge technology. Combine CM/Views with Borland C++ or Zortech C++ for a cost-effective and highly productive development environment for building your next generation soft- ware systems. Pays for itself on even the smallest projgftf Only $495.00 with no royalties: Comes complete with source code. C++/Views from CMS, Inc. CNS, inc., Software Products Dept. 1250 Park Road, Chanhassen, MN 55317 (612)474-7600 -FAX (61 2)-474-6737 ..". © Copyright 1'990 CNS, Inc. Ai! rights reserved. Microsoft is a registered trademark.of Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft ^WNDOWS Circle 65 on Inquiry Card. Recording the, Past . . . • . . Plotting th&JFuture 3S» _:J ■: v v. fcs ^ &&S& >. 4 • »» Our reputation precedes us! From 5 subsidiaries and 35 distributors in more than 40 countries worldwide, thousands of customers purchased more in 1989 than ever before. And they were able to choose new products from an ever- expanding array of plotters, penless plotters, digitizers, recorders and supplies. The Graphtec reputation is one of building products that work well and last a long time. We earned that reputation the hard way, by delivering over 40 years of the best innovation, support, and after-sales service in the industry. Speed and accuracy are the hallmarks of our latest flagship plotter, the A0 large-format GX1002E. Capable of accepting both pens and pencils, the GX1002E attains plotting speeds of up to 1202mm/s at 45° or 850mm/s in the axis direction. Throughput is further enhanced by a 32-bit CPU, 1MB buffer (expandable to 2MB), and pen/vector sorting functions. If you are looking for a top-of-the-line plotter, you won't be disappointed by the Graphtec GX1002E. Or if you prefer, consider our pen-only GX1002 model instead. You'll receive the same benefits for a lower price. GX1002E r& GRHPHTEC GRRPHTEC CORPORATION 503-10 Shinano-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama 244, Japan Tel: (045)825-6250 Fax:(045)825-6396 U.S.A.: American Graphtec, Inc. Tel: (714)454-2800 Fax:(714)859-2800 Australia: Southern Graphtec Pty. Ltd. Tel: (02)748-4888 Fax: (02)748-4882 Europe: Graphtec Europe GmbH Tel:(040)511-5059 Fax:(040)511-9155 United Kingdom: Graphtec (UK) Ltd. Tel:(0270)625-115 Fax:(0270)626-733 Circle 126 on Inquiry Card. RESOURCE GUIDE Network Management Sources As networks become more complicated, the need for automated network management grows. The companies listed below deliver network management solutions for a variety of platforms. Ashton-Tate 20101 Hamilton Ave. Torrance, CA 90502 (213)329-8000 fax:(213)329-8000 Circle 1060 on Inquiry Card. AT&T Computer Systems 1776 On the Green, Ninth Floor Morristown, NJ 07960 (800) 247-1212 (904)636-2314 fax: (904) 636-3078 Circle 1061 on Inquiry Card. Automated Design Systems 375NorthridgeRd., Suite 270 Atlanta, GA 30350 (404) 394-2552 Circle 1062 on Inquiry Card. Banyan Systems, Inc. 115 Flanders Rd. Westborough, MA 01581 (508) 898-1000 Circle 1063 on Inquiry Card. BICC Data Networks, Inc. 1800 West Park Dr. Westborough, MA 01581 (800) 447-6526 (508) 898-2422 fax: (508) 898-3739 Circle 1064 on Inquiry Card. Brightwork Development P.O. Box 8728 Red Bank, NJ 07701 (800) 552-9876 (201) 530-0440 fax:(201)530-0622 Circle 1066 on Inquiry Card. Bytex 120 Turnpike Rd. Southborough, MA 01772 (508) 480-0840 Circle 1067 on Inquiry Card. Cabletron Systems, Inc. 35 Industrial Way Rochester, NH 03867 (603) 332-9400 fax: (603) 332-4616 Circle 1068 on Inquiry Card. Certus International Corp. 13 110 Shaker Sq. Cleveland, OH 44120 (800) 722-8737 (216)752-8181 fax:(216)752-8188 Circle 1069 on Inquiry Card. Cheyenne Software 55 Bryant Ave. Roslyn, NY 11576 (800) 243-9462 (516)484-5110 fax:(516)484-5110 Circle 1070 on Inquiry Card. Computer Tyme, Inc. 411 North Sherman, Suite 300 Springfield, MO 65802 (800) 548-5353 (417) 866-1222 fax:(417)866-0135 Circle 1072 on Inquiry Card. Connect Computer Co. 9855 West 78th St. Eden Prairie, MN 55344 (612)944-0181 fax:(612)944-9298 Circle 1073 on Inquiry Card. Data General Corp. 4400 Computer Dr. Westborough, MA 01580 (508)366-8911 Circle 1074 on Inquiry Card. Daystrom Data Products 15 Sunrise Hill Rd. Fishkill, NY 12524 (914) 896-7378 Circle 1081 on Inquiry Card. Digilog, Inc. 1370 Welsh Rd. Montgomeryville, PA 18936 (215)628-4530 fax:(215)628-3935 Circle 1082 on Inquiry Card. Digital Equipment Corp. 30 Proter Rd. Dolphin Software 6050PeachtreePkwy., Suite 340-208 Norcross, GA 30092 (404) 339-7877 fax: (404) 339-7905 Circle 1084 on Inquiry Card. ETI Software, Inc. 2930 Prospect Ave. Cleveland, OH 44115 (800)336-2014 (216)241-1140 fax:(216)241-2319 Circle 1085 on Inquiry Card. Fifth Generation Systems 10049 North ReigerRd. Baton Rouge, LA 70809 (800) 873-4384 (504)291-7221 fax:(504)295-3268 Circle 1086 on Inquiry Card. Fresh Technology Group 1478 North Tech Blvd., Suite 101 Gilbert, AZ 85234 (602) 497-4200 fax: (602) 497-4242 Circle 1087 on Inquiry Card. Frye Computer Systems, Inc. 19 Temple Place Boston, MA 021 11 (617)247-2300 fax:(617)451-6711 Circle 1088 on Inquiry Card. Chipcom Corp. Littleton, MA 01460 Blue Lance, Inc. 118 Turnpike Rd. (508)562-4521 Gazelle Systems 1700 West LoopS, Southborough, MA Circle 1083 42 North University Suite 700 01772 on Inquiry Card. Ave., Suite 10 Houston, TX 77027 (800) 228-9930 Provo, UT 84601 (713)680-1187 (508) 460-8900 (800) 233-0383 fax:(713)622-1370 fax: (508) 460-8950 (801)377-1288 Circle 1065 Circle 1071 fax: (801) 373-6933 on Inquiry Card. on Inquiry Card. Circle 1089 on Inquiry Card. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 217 RESOURCE GUIDE Hewlett-Packard Co. J. A. Lomax Associates Network Interface Retix Vancouver Division 659 AdrienneSt., Corp. 2644 30th St. 18110 Southeast 34th St. Suite 101 15019 West 95th St. Santa Monica, CA Camas, WA 98607 Novato, CA 94945 Lenexa, KS 66215 90405 (206)254-8110 (800) 225-6629 (913)894-2277 (213)399-2200 Circle 1090 (415) 892-9606 fax:(913)894-0226 fax:(213)458-2685 on Inquiry Card. fax: (415) 898-0867 Circle 11 04 Circle 1254 Circle 1097 on Inquiry Card. on Inquiry Card. Horizons Technology, on Inquiry Card. Inc. Network Management, Saber Software Corp. 3990 Ruffin Rd. LAN Support Group, Inc. 5944 Luther Lane, San Diego, CA 92123 Inc. 19 Rector St., Suite 1007 (619)292-8331 P.O. Box 460269 15th Floor Dallas, TX 75225 fax:(619)292-7321 Houston, TX 77056 New York, NY 10006 (800) 338-8754 Circle 1091 (800) 749-8439 (212) 797-3800 (214) 361-8086 on Inquiry Card. (713)622-4900 fax:(212)797-3817 fax: (214) 361-1882 Circle 1098 Circle 1248 Circle 1255 Hughes LAN Systems on Inquiry Card. on Inquiry Card. on Inquiry Card. 1225 Charleston Rd. Mountain View, CA Microcom, Inc. Novell, Inc. Sof tShell Systems 94043 500RiverRidgeDr. 122 East 1700 South 1 163 Triton Dr. (415) 966-7300 Norwood, MA 02062 Provo, UT 84606 Foster City, CA 94404 Circle 1092 (617)551-1000 (801) 429-5900 (800) 322-7638 on Inquiry Card. fax:(617)551-1898 fax: (801) 377-9353 (415)571-9000 Circle 1099 Circle 1249 fax: (415) 571-0622 IBM on Inquiry Card. on Inquiry Card. Circle 1256 1000 Northwest 51st St. on Inquiry Card. Boca Raton, FL 33432 Microtest, Inc. Optical Data Systems (407) 443-2000 3519 East Shea Blvd., 1101 East Arapaho Spider Systems, Inc. Circle 1093 Suite 134 Richardson, TX 75081 12 New England on Inquiry Card. Phoenix, A Z 85028 (214)234-6400 Executive Park (800) 526-9675 fax:(214)234-1467 Burlington, MA 01803 International Data fax:(602)971-6963 Circle 1250 (800) 447-7807 Science Circle 1100 on Inquiry Card. (617)270-3510 7 Wellington Rd. on Inquiry Card. fax:(617)270-9818 Lincoln, RI 02865 Palindrome Corp. Circle 1257 (401)333-6200 Network & 850 East Diehl Rd. on Inquiry Card. fax:(401)333-3584 Communication Naperville, IL 60653 Circle 1094 Technology, Inc. (708) 505-3300 Standard on Inquiry Card. 24 Wampum Rd. Circle 1251 Microsystems Corp. Park Ridge, NJ 07656 on Inquiry Card. 35 Marcus Blvd. Internetix, Inc. (201) 307-9000 Hauppauge, NY 1 1788 8903 Presidential fax: (201) 307-9404 Proteon, Inc. (516)273-3100 Pkwy., Suite 210 Circle 1101 Two Technology Dr. fax:(516)273-2136 Upper Marlborough, on Inquiry Card. Westborough, MA Circle 1258 MD 20772 01581 on Inquiry Card. (301)420-7900 Network Computing, (508) 898-2800 fax: (301) 420-4395 Inc. fax:(508)898-2118 StarTek, Inc. Circle 1095 1950 Stemmons, Circle 1252 100 Otis St. on Inquiry Card. Suite 3016 on Inquiry Card. Northborough, MA Dallas, TX 75207 01532 Isicad, Inc. (214) 746-4949 ProTools, Inc. (508) 393-9393 1920 West Corporate Circle 11 02 14976 Northwest fax: (508) 393-6934 Way on Inquiry Card. Greenbrier Pkwy. Circle 1259 P.O. Box 61022 Beaverton, OR 97006 on Inquiry Card. Anaheim, C A 92803 Network General (503) 645-5400 (714)533-8910 Corp. fax: (503) 645-3577 Circle 1096 4200 Bohannon Dr. Circle 1253 on Inquiry Card. Menlo Park, CA 94025 (415) 688-2700 Circle 1103 on Inquiry Card. on Inquiry Card. 218 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Circle 232 on Inquiry Card. OWN A MODEM? Test a New Online Service for FREE If you own a computer and a modem, we invite you to participate in a nationwide test of a new online service. We'll give you everything you need to access the service, including special easy-to-use telecommunications software and free usage time so you can test the service. All we ask is that after you use the service, you take some time to tell us what you think. This revolutionary online service features: • Fast, intuitive navigation through use of icons and pull-down menus. • Computing support and software libraries. • A full range of services including business news, clubs, educational classes, and much more. Join us in this exciting opportunity — simply complete and mail the application form below. APPLICATION FOR PARTICIPATION ONLINE SERVICE TEST 4. Preferred Disk Si2e (circle one): 3.5" 5.25' -Zip: 5. Monitor (circle one): Hercules/Mono CGA VGA Other EGA Home Phone: ( ) PLEASE ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW TO RECEIVE YOUR FREE SOFTWARE: 1. Type of computer (circle one): PC/XT AT/286 386/486 Macintosh Other 2. Memory (circle one): 512K 640K 1MB or more 3. Do you have a hard drive? (circle one) Yes No 6. Do you use a mouse? (circle one) Yes No 7. Modem Type: □ Internal □ External □ 300 D 1200 D 2400 □ 9600 8. National online services you have used: □ CompuServe D Prodigy □ PC-Link D Other (please specify) □ GEnie Minimum memory requirement 512K; hard drive recommended. 537: HHK HH ■ . ■■■■■ &•'■ . ■ ■" ':,.'. '•• - •""? & JHfc- r • f . ft \ \ V. r ■ » ■ Imagine a setting in which com- munal wisdom is on tap. A place that has the fit and feel of a small, friendly town, yet the sophistication and resources of a global community. One which you can visit electroni- cally — to increase your knowledge of computers and their applications, hone your skills, share insights with thousands of other computer pros, and have fun. Such a community would be called BIX. Subscribe to BIX, the flat-fee, on-line information service. BIX is your access to industry news. And to many special interest Ex- changes—such as our Amiga, IBM, Mac, Writers', and Interactive Games Exchanges— which include thousands of free, downloadable programs. All for just $39 per quarter.* Subscribe via your computer... Set your program for full duplex, 7 bits, even parity, I stop bit. Call BIX on our registration-only number: 800- 225-4129. In MA: call 617-861-9767. International: call NU 1 3 106901 57800. Then hit the return key, and respond: Prompt: You Enter: login bix Name? bix.ville You may buy off-peak access via Tymnet at $20 per month or $3 per hour, or you may buy peak access at $6 per hour.* * * Based on a $156 annual fee. billed quarterly. Telecommunications charges are extra. You may cancel at any time without future charges. "Available only in contiguous 48 states. Tymnet rates subject to change. 800-227-2983 • In NH 603-924-7681 EIX PRODUCT FOCUS M PLEASE, MISTER POSTMAN The BYTE Lab tests nine best-selling E-mail packages for DOS- and Macintosh- compatible LANs HOWARD EGLOWSTEIN AND TOM THOMPSON S top, look, and see if there's a letter on the network for me. Better yet, let an E-mail package do it. A good E-mail package combines the best features of a LAN-based computer: easy editing, automatic routing, and instant ac- cess to all of your correspondents, wheth- er they're across the hall or across the country. On the inside, an E-mail system is fairly straightforward. A central data- base keeps track of the names and loca- tions of all registered mail users. A sepa- rate database keeps track of individual mail messages as they're created and sent from one user to another. LANs are the medium of choice for moving E-mail from place to place. However, most pack- ages can transmit messages across longer distances, either by way of modem over dial-up lines, through X .25 links, or through LAN bridges. E-mail software consists of a mail engine and a user interface. The engine takes a completed mail message, deciphers the address, and moves it to its desti- nation. Depending on the address, your message may be routed across the office via a LAN, between file servers, or across the country via gateways and bridges. Mail engines are invisible. It's important to have a reliable one, and if you expect people in your office to use E-mail, the system must have a good interface. Mail Call What makes for a good E-mail system? The quality of the user interface is impor- tant, as is prompt, reliable, and secure delivery. Gateways and bridges are valu- able to companies with diverse sites, but not everyone needs them. Another con- sideration is whether an E-mail system offers front ends for the microcomputer systems and operating environments that everyone in your office is running. Some products offer front ends for Macintosh, OS/2, Windows 3.0, and even NewWave users, as well as a version for DOS users. If you want to share mail with Unix workstation users, you'll want to be sure that the E-mail vendor offers a 222 BYTE • MARCH 1991 BUTE ACTION SUMMARY E-MAIL SOFTWARE WHAT IT DOES E-mail packages let you compose, edit, and send messages and attach files to them for delivery to other users. Many packages also offer optional gateways that let you exchange messages with users at remote sites or who are using a different E-mail system. SHOULD YOU BUY? E-mail software makes the most sense in LANs where users are geographically dispersed. In workgroups where users sit in proximity, the extra headaches of administering the E-mail system probably aren't worthwhile. For users who need to correspond with people across the building or across the country, E-mail systems can eliminate "phone tag" and improve productivity. I WHAT WE RECOMMEND QuickMail's superb user interface, gateway options, and voice-mail capability make it our choice for AppleShare users. For mixed PC and Mac LANs (non- AppleShare), cc:Mail has the best user interface; it also includes a graphics editor and an array of gateway options. The Coordinator supports PC LANs only, but we found its ability to organize messages as ongoing communications threads particularly useful. UUCP (Unix-to-Unix copy) or SMTP gateway (for the Unix perspective on E- mail, see the text box "E-Mail Under Unix" on page 226). Some packages support a few specific LANs; others will work with any LAN that supports DOS 3.1 file locking. All packages offer at least a rudimentary text editor, and some offer a graphics editor as well. Some products restrict the num- ber and type of files you can attach. And not all E-mail programs encrypt files — an important consideration if you don't want your mail read by others. Other extras include voice-mail capa- bility, on-line conferencing, and the abil- ity to set up BBSes where people can post public messages. Many packages also let you call in and download your mail mes- sages when you're out of the office. The E-mail features table on page 224 will PHOTOGRAPHY: PAUL AVIS © 1991 MARCH 1991 -BYTE 223 E-MAIL E-MAIL SYSTEMS: FEATURES SUMMARY Finding the right E-mail system starts with the computer systems and network environments you need supported. Some vendors offer and support their own gateways to E-mail services and other LAN- and host-based E-mail systems. Other vendors rely on companies like Soff Switch to fill in the gaps. Support and licensing policies also vary considerably. (N/A = not applicable; • = yes; O = no.) Product name cc:Mail The Coordinator eMall Hlgglns Mall Microsoft Malt InBoxPlus The Network QuIckMall Network Mall andverslon 3.15 2.1 1.07 2.3 2.0 3.0 Courler2.1 2.2.3 forVines4.0 Company name cc:Mail, Inc. Action Technologies Da Vinci Systems Enable Software Microsoft Corp. Sitka Corp. Consumers Software CE Software Banyan Systems CONFIGURATION Workstation environments supported DOS, OS/2, Mac DOS, DOS, OS/2, Windows, NewWave DOS, OS/2 DOS, Mac DOS, Mac DOS, OS/2, Windows, Mac DOS, Mac DOS, Windows Network environments supported Any DOS 3.1- compatible or AppleTalk Filing Protocol- compliant network NetWare 286/386, NetBIOS, MS-Net Any DOS 3.1- compatible network AnyDOS3.1- compatible network AppleTalk or compatible NetWare 286/386, LAN Manager, Vines, AppleShare, TOPS, NFS NetWare 286/386, LAN Manager, Vines, NetBIOS, MS-Net AppleShare Vines Requires dedicated mail server? O O O O O O • O O Mail location Server Server or local disk Server or local disk Server Server Server or local disk Server or local disk Server or local disk Server BBS support • O O O O • • • O Conferencing O O O O O O O • With Vines Remote user access • • • • O • Option (DOS only) • Option Automatic forwarding to remote mail servers via dial-up connection? • • • • • • • • MESSAGE CREATION Text editor • • • • • • • • • Graphics editor (formats supported) • (cc:Mail) O O O • (PICT) o O O O Voice-mail capability Third-party option O o o • o O • O Message attachment types supported: Text Graphics Binary • • • • • • • • • • • o • • • • • • • 1 • • • • Mac only • • • Attachments per message 20 1 Unlimited Unlimited 1 Unlimited Unlimited 16 10 Can assign message priority? • o • • • • • • • Message-delivered acknowledgment? • o • • • • • • • MESSAGE RECEIPT Message alert (beep, pop-up window, text prompt) All None All All All Beep, text, icon All Beep or blinking icon Beep, text prompt Notification via workstation TSR • • • • • • TSR or NetBIOS • Vines redirector TSR memory required (Kbytes) <15 8 3 3.5 25 18 78 <15 N/A View attachments Text only Text only O O Mac Word, Excel, Page- Maker files O O O Text only ADMINISTRATION Read any message O • • O O • O • • Delete any message O • • O O • O • Purge old messages • • • • O • • • • Define user mail space O • • • O • • O • help you find the package with the fea- tures you're looking for. Special Delivery Anytime a mail message has to be sent off-site, there has to be a way of convert- ing it from a local LAN message to some- thing better suited for travel. An E-mail bridge connects two similar E-mail sys- tems. Let's say your company has offices on the East and West coasts. If someone on the East Coast tries to send E-mail to the West Coast, the East Coast mail serv- er, using the companywide mail list, will dial up the West Coast office and transfer the message via modem. The West Coast server simply routes the incoming mes- sage to the appropriate mailbox. 224 BYTE • MARCH 1991 E-MAIL E-MAIL SYSTEMS : FEATURES SUMMARY (CONTINUED) Product Name and version cc:Mail The Coordinator 3.15 2.1 eMall 1.07 Hlgglns Mall 2.3 Microsoft Mall 2.0 InBox Plus 3.0 The Network Courier 2.1 QuickMail 2.2.3 Network Mall for Vines 4.0 SECURITY User account password • • • • • • • • • Message/attachment encryption • O • • O • • O O GATEWAYS MHS Option Option Option Option Third-party Option Third-party Option Third-party User-definable gateway via scripting language? Option • O Option O O • • O X.400 Option Third-party Option Option Third-party Third-party Third-party • Third-party Fax Option Third-party Option Option Third-party Option Third-party • Third-party SMTP Option Third-party Option Option Third-party Option Third-party • Option Public E-mail services: MCI Mail Option Third-party Option Third-party Third-party O Option • Third-party Western Union EasyLink Option Third-party Option Third-party O O O O Third-party AT&T Mail O Third-party Option Third-party O O Third-party • Third-party CompuServe O Third-party Option Third-party O O O • Third-party Sprint Mail Option Third-party O Third-party O O Third-party • Third-party Other E-mail gateways: DEC All-ln-One Third-party Third-party Option Third-party Third-party • O • Third-party IBM PROFS Option Third-party Option Option Third-party • Third-party o Third-party IBM DISOSS Third-party Third-party Option Option Third-party • Third- party o Third-party Banyan Vines Mail O Third-party Option Third-party Third-party O Third-party • N/A DEC VMS Mail Third-party Third-party Option Third-party Third-party • O • Third-party Wang Mailway Third-party Third-party Option Third-party Third-party o O o Third-party Others UUCP None QuickMail, VoxMail, Network Scheduler 3+ Mail None None AppleUnk UUCP Mac Vines Mail SUPPORT On-line help • • • • • • • • • Support line (8000 or toll call) Toll 8000 8000 8000 Toll Toll 8000 Toll Toll Telephone-support policy Unlimited 3 years Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited 2 Unlimited Through VAR/dealer On-site training available? • • • • O Through VARs • O • Site license available? • • • • O O • • O PRICE $695.25 for DOS users; Mac or OS/2: $495 per server $1800 for 10 users; $4500 for 50 users $995/server w/DOS interface; $1195/server w/Windows. DOS. OS/2 interface; $195/NewWave user $295 for 8 users; $695 site license $1329 for 20 users 20-user InBox license $329; 50-user DOS Administrator: $995; 50-user Mac Administrator: $995 Single-server: $295 for six users; $695 for 150 users Inter-Network version: $995 per server 3 Additional interfaces $595 per server Mac: $499.95 for 10 users; DOS: $469.95 for 10 users $995 per server 1 DOS front-end software requires running document conversion utility to attach text tiles. 2 Support contract required tor gateway assistance. 3 Inter-Network Courier is required tor multiserver or inter-LAN connections. Server licenses include one user intertace. If the West Coast office uses a differ- ent type of mail system, you need to have a gateway to translate between the two message formats. The gateway's task can be as easy as rearranging the headers from one format to another, or it may re- quire parsing through gobs of ASCII messages and prompts. Consumers Soft- ware and cc:Mail offer many such gate- ways as extra-cost options. You may also need a gateway if you do business through commercial E-mail ser- vices, such as Western Union's EasyLink or AT&T Mail. The gateway collects out- going messages and calls the E-mail pro- vider periodically to send and receive messages. Some services also provide their own gateway software that routes MARCH 1991 -BYTE 225 E-Mail Under Unix Ben Smith Unlike the PC and Mac world of E-mail, Unix E-mail standards are consistently well estab- lished. For the most part, you can send mail messages from any Unix machine and successfully deliver them to any other Unix mailbox. The major differences among Unix mail systems lie in the user front ends and mail routers. All Unix systems have the simple mail front end or a somewhat enhanced version of this line-oriented mail post- ing and reading program, such as mailx. By the nature of mail-routing systems, all Unix mail systems let you post mail to more than one recipient at a time. You can group several people under a single name, and the mail sys- tem properly distributes a copy to each. You can "alias" an address to simplify sending mail to your more common re- cipients. These are standard functions. The most valuable enhancement on any mail front end is the facility for managing folders, the separate subdi- rectories or files of correspondence for each user with whom you communicate. With this facility, you can easily follow the separate threads of hundreds of con- versations. The second most valuable enhance- ment is the addition of an alias manager, a utility for capturing full E-mail ad- dresses of correspondents and giving them a single simple name to which you can direct E-mail. The next level of enhancement is im- plementations of E-mail that take ad- vantage of the screen or window opera- tions of your terminal or workstation. There is no doubt that fast, well-orga- nized, menu-driven interfaces make using any program more enjoyable and easier to learn. A fine example of an advanced front end for Unix mail is elm, a freely avail- able program written by Dave Taylor while working at Hewlett-Packard. (It's available on BIX under unix/listings as elm2.arc?; seepage 5 for details.) Unix Mail Routers Unix systems often have several kinds of simultaneous connections to other systems, such as asynchronous serial, X.25, and Ethernet. Additionally, most systems have more than one user. When you send a postcard or letter at the post office, you aren't concerned about what kind of truck or airplane your mail is to be carried on. Likewise, when you send E-mail, you need not concern yourself about what kind of connection your Unix system establishes to the recipi- ent's computer; that's the work of the mail router. The three most common Unix mail routers are smail, send- mail, and MMDF (Multichannel Mem- orandum Distribution Facility). The sendmail system is both a mail router and a delivery agent (the program that actually posts the mail using SMTP or UUCP [Unix-to-Unix copy]). Eric All man developed the sendmail pro- gram while a student at Berkeley. At the time, Unix networking and E-mail were not standardized. The program evolved as the standards evolved. Although there is an underlying design concept to sendmail, it grew in a haphazard way, without any plan of what it would be- come. It's flexible but also unnecessari- ly cryptic. Because of the way it was de- veloped, sendmail had several security weaknesses, one of which was exploited by the infamous Internet worm. Even though it's a first-generation mail rout- er, it's still the most widely used. To alleviate the pain of sendmail in- stallation and administration, some concerned programmers developed smail, a simpler mail router/delivery system. Unlike sendmail, which de- rives its method of operation from a complex description of hierarchical rules, smail uses tables (some of them standard Unix tables, such as /etc/ hosts) to derive the information for routing (actually the same connection and aliases tables that sendmail uses). One attribute of smail is its abil- ity to use the Usenet map files to find the least expensive connection path to other machines through intermediates. Like sendmail, smail can be both the router and the delivery agent. Many sites combined sendmail with smail to achieve the multiple delivery agents of the former with the simplicity of man- agement of the latter. Now, however, there is version 3, a complete rewrite of smail by Ronald Karr and Landon Noll (who rewrote it while working at Am- dahl). This version is fully configur- able. You can add your own delivery agents, and it will drop right in in place of sendmail without any alteration other than killing the sendmail dae- mon. It can use many kinds of data- bases, including NIS (Network Infor- mation Services— formally known as the Yellow Pages). It also includes a smart kernel that facilitates upgrades of both the source tables and the kernel on a running network. The MMDF mail-handling system is distributed with SCO Unix. Although it's not as widely used as sendmail, it's easy to verify the security of a system that uses MMDF because its operations are determined by its own database structure. The design of MMDF follows a common database paradigm: a pre- scribed file (the "database dictio- nary"), which defines the domains and programs that the MMDF system uses. Each of the subordinate tables follows a consistent format. It's relatively easy (once you have learned the structure) to add new delivery routes and devices. It's also possible to combine an MMDF- based mail system with a fax driver to generate outgoing faxes. But MMDF won't just replace a sendmail-based system. The databases are completely separate from any other tables describ- ing network connections. The MMDF tables must have separate explicit de- scriptions of every possible method of addressing a connection, and creating these entries is far from automatic. New releases of MMDF will alleviate some of these shortcomings and will also be able to use the Usenet maps for deter- mining explicit paths. Other Systems Other E-mail packages are available from the major vendors. Many of them, including those from Sun and Next, use sendmail as the router. They may in- clude some enhancements for attaching files that contain graphics and sound. Few, as yet, include X .400 delivery mechanisms, but since that is the future common standard for all heterogeneous mail systems, this E-mail standard will probably be implemented this year. Ben Smith is a technical editor for BYTE and the author of Unix Step-by-Step (Howard W. Sams, 1990). He can be reached on BIX as "bensmith. " 226 B YTE • MARCH 1991 E-MAIL messages between LAN-based E-mail systems by way of the E-mail service. The international E-mail interex- change standard, X.400, is so complex and costly to implement that currently only large enterprisewide networks and commercial E-mail service providers use these gateways. Action Technologies' Message Handling Service is less sophis- ticated but more widely implemented in smaller workgroup environments that need to interconnect dissimilar E-mail systems. MHS runs on a dedicated file server. Novell includes a copy of MHS with NetWare. Most of the E-mail ven- dors offer gateway software as an option that runs in conjunction with the MHS server. The Arena We concentrate here on nine best-selling packages that run on a variety of systems and networks. Most of them support Ac- tion Technologies' MHS, the current standard on PC LANs for exchanging messages between dissimilar E-mail sys- tems (see the text box "MHS Gets the Mail Through" on page 231). Enable Software's Higgins Mail, Action Tech- nologies' The Coordinator, and Da Vinci Systems' eMail run only on PC LANs. The rest of the packages we tested— cc:Mail, from cc:Mail, Inc.; The Net- work Courier, from Consumers Soft- ware; Sitka's InBox Plus; Microsoft Mail; and CE Software's QuickMail— support mixed DOS and Macintosh envi- ronments. If you can get your machines to share files, you'll be able to share E-mail, too. Banyan Systems' Network Mail for Vines didn't meet our criteria because it works only on Vines networks, but it has a following among Vines users. We dis- cuss it in the textbox "Banyan's Network Mail for Vines" on page 234. We put these nine E-mail packages to work on three test networks. We used a LocalTalk PC card and interface soft- ware to connect a 386 clone running DOS to our AppleShare network. We also tested all the E-mail packages on PC LANs running Vines and NetWare. None of the packages was particularly easy to install or maintain. You should consider E-mail software to be in the same class as file-server software. Your network administrator should install it, set up the user lists, and get the bridges connected. A system administrator should be able to easily manage any of these E-mail systems, but for large in- stallations that require gateways, help from an experienced installer is inval- uable. cc:Mail 3.15 Screen 1: (a) The Mac version of cc:Mail sports an intuitive interface. Icons in the lower window denote attached files. The cc:Mail package comes in DOS, OS/2, and Mac versions and offers optional gateways to many other E-mail systems. cc:Mail uses your network file server to provide mail services. It en- crypts messages and stores them as data files on the server's hard disk. Installa- tion and administration aren't easy. There's no installation program— just a fat administrator's manual full of in- structions. A PC needs an AppleTalk-compatible network card and the appropriate net- work connector (in our case, LocalTalk) to access an AppleTalk network. We used an Apple LocalTalk PC card con- nection to add a 25-MHz 386 PC to our Mac network. The card's AppleTalk software provides services for printing and remote file access. These services are memory hogs, taking from 107K bytes to 170K bytes of RAM, depending on the network services you use. How- ever, the card allowed us to place the data files in a folder on our AppleShare file server. On the Mac, a desk accessory (DA) provides notification services, and an ap- plication manages your mailbox. When you first launch cc:Mail, you use a Stan- dard File dialog box to locate the mail files on the server; cc:Mail then creates a Post_Office file. Once you've done this, (b) Reading mail with cc:Mail under DOS. While the DOS version lacks the Mac version 's icons, choices are clearly indicated and straightforward. from then on you simply double-click on this file, which launches cc:Mail, and in- formation (i.e., the path to the server and your user name, stored as STR re- sources) in this file helps establish the connection. It feels a bit kludgey, but it works. PC users run the Mail and Notify pro- grams to manage their mailboxes and to install a TSR program that alerts users to incoming messages. The Messenger pro- gram also provides notification and sets up Alt-2 as a hot key to access mail ser- vices from DOS. When you run each of these programs, you must supply the mail directory's path, your mail name, and your password. cc:Mail should re- member the message directory path: Users will be tempted to build a batch file to supply the path and other informa- tion, but this may compromise the secu- rity of their mailboxes. Under Windows 3.0, a postage-stamp icon of a minimized Notify program lets you list the messages in your mailbox and can switch you into cc:Mail. The Mac interface is simple and clean and makes good use of color. Of all the Mac E-mail packages, this one had the best interface. Various icons represent buttons that you click on to provide mail services such as reading, composing, and deleting messages. Each button has MARCH 1991 -BYTE 227 Circle 46 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 47). Is this how your communications software deals with line noise? WARNING: File Transfer Aborted * We have a better way. Take one last look at this screen shot. With BLAST,® you'll never see it again. BLAST is the communi- cations software designed to shrug off line noise. It was born twelve years ago into the world of high- stakes mainframe file transfers - where one lost bit can be a million dollar mistake. We developed a unique full-duplex, sliding window protocol that was naturally resistant to noise. Then we added data compression, and the incredible ability to restart transfers from the point of interruption. When we put it on the test bench we found that, in addition to the safest mode of transferring files, we had produced the fastest protocol available. We set out to build a tank and ended up with a sports car - a sports car with armor. We added natural terminal emulation, named it BLAST and, today, it's available, through distribution, to virtually anyone with a business computer - any business computer. Call your distributor for the whole story. E-MAIL For more information call: 1-800-24 BLAST an equivalent menu selection, and high- lighted mail entries open with either a mouse-click or a press of the Return key. Enclosed files appear as document icons in a daughter window, and double-click- ing on them lets you view the file's con- tents. You can view graphics files sent from the PC (cc:Mail saves them in PICT format), but the color mapping from PC to Mac is imprecise. The Notify DA polls the server at user-defined intervals for new messages. A small window or a chime informs you of mail waiting. The DOS Mail program is a tad more complicated. While prompts attempt to guide you through mail operations, it's not always clear what you should do next. A built-in graphics editor lets you draw images that you can send with a message, and the Snapshot TSR lets you capture and send screens from any application. The Messenger TSR offers a convenient way to check your mailbox. cc:Mail can run as a DOS application in Windows 3.0's enhanced 386 mode, but it's slow because it has to run as a virtual process. Mail transfers between the different computers were painless . Users of cc:Mail who are interested in sending voice-mail attachments can buy VoxLink's VoxVoice (software, $2000) or VoxMail (hardware and software, $5000). Users call the voice-mail server to record messages, which they then at- tach to cc:Mail messages. The VoxLink products work with both cc:Mail and The Coordinator, using their native mail formats. The Head Coapose Calendar Organize File Edit Tools Exit Help Coordinator Cuni/crsiit ion Status Report 2.1 Subject Ymir COpy ">f tin It iflati: Dcg.nt with «ju««;l inn m» UvA Vi tr.i: 'JH . .JruM Benny . , . ttt ia«: I'm asked tn i:umplfUe hrj U«:il Vi De<< 'J!i I'm askrnl tn reply hi) Utu\ V) fee 'JH List cumnuitir.titimi i|m:\l inn mi \h:A Vi Dee 'JH ...fruw Kim mj Screen 2: The Coordinator treats messages as a complete conversation thread. Unopened H.iil Subject Keu nw Iters I'f-Duc fiiMiitj i|Mt:stitm -> nw: Ytmr COJKJ **f ItuHiftite Ongoing natters Coapleted bo tiers 1 an copied uc u=Help AIt-F5=Print L:l C:43 Wed 19-Dec 5:U2p« The Coordinator's underlying engine, MHS, has become a de facto standard for exchanging messages between dis- similar E-mail systems. The package also includes a calendar and a group scheduler, but we'll concentrate here on its E-mail capabilities. Most of the other mail packages seem to follow the letter and envelope meta- phor, where you write text and stuff it in an envelope with file enclosures. When you receive mail, you send a reply and then delete the original message. The Co- ordinator treats your messages as part of an ongoing communication thread, auto- matically grouping messages into "new," "ongoing," and "completed" classes. You create a new message thread each time you create a mail message. The Coordinator links each reply as part of an ongoing message. To help things along, the message editor lets you spec- ify your reply as a Question, Offer, Re- quest, or some other form of verbal com- munication. The other packages we reviewed use common paper metaphors, such as "While You Were Out." Because messages are linked, The Co- ordinator also provides utilities to display the messages in context. History features let you see an entire communication thread at once. You can also choose to view messages by type, looking at only the "Questions" or maybe just the "Whatlfs." No mail package would be complete without file enclosures. The Coordinator lets you attach only one file per message. We found that a bit limiting. We disliked just a few things about this package. The limit of one file attachment per mail message is a minor annoyance. More serious is the Coordinator's inabil- ity to alert you to incoming messages. All the other packages beep or interrupt your current application with an alert message. With The Coordinator, you've got to run the package periodically and do the checking yourself. Finally, the user interface is some- what awkward. When you start The Co- ordinator, the opening screen shows a list 228 BYTE- MARCH 1991 E-MAIL of your current messages broken down by classification. You open a message by moving the cursor to it and pressing the Return key. A new window pops open, but, unfortunately, the cursor isn't there. In order to scroll through the message text, you must manually change to that window. The F5 and F6 keys switch be- tween windows, or you can use the Scroll Lock key to modify the operation of the cursor. IBM intended the Scroll Lock key on the PC to constrain the cursor from mov- ing off the page of a document. But no one ever programs it this way. Usually, the Scroll Lock key is left undefined be- cause no one knows what to use it for. Action Technologies set up the Scroll Lock key so that when you enable it, the up-arrow and down-arrow keys can scroll only the text within the current window. Pressing the key to disable Scroll Lock allows the cursor to leave the current window and move to the next one. Of course, once you're in the new window, you can't scroll until you reacti- vate Scroll Lock. It felt awkward to use the key the way it was intended— perhaps that's why no one else does. Other keys are inconsistent from screen to screen. When you're selecting a message to operate on, for example, the Delete key deletes (or marks for deletion) the message. If you're composing a new message or reply, the Delete key opens up the addressing window. eMail 1.07 Screen 3: Da Vinci Systems ' eMail running under Windows 3.0. The MAIL. INI file lets you customize eMail to your tastes. Da Vinci Systems offers versions of eMail for DOS, Windows, OS/2, and NewWave environments. The DOS inter- face uses control keys, and if you forget what to press, the F8 key brings up op- tions. Besides that, the screen is essen- tially blank and offers no obvious hints. The addition of a few messages to the DOS screen would make eMail easier to use. The Windows version is cleaner and puts the functions where you'd expect them. It was necessary to read the man- ■' ; ■' 11,1 Vim :i trMAIl i:i l AiM Ciealel Mnlllio* N,i)i-cl Mmch Vf Ih.ml: I..I Km: h.:l|. I),il«i \S VMM Im A l)'l,j ; Mils in scuilll S uim i linri'l n;; i : i nun wi in ir< i nan ) . I linn ni i in | imciimihi: ni: hum hi i I'.runir I'lii'iir di i \Yf :'tt ; III IS DCl'HICS Mil llllllii V [II1IIK1 V | ItiilHiliir i:ihi i I * lc t »ly Uh. ym/ii; welcome □ G3 ^LL. — ii ual to figure out the DOS version. eMail lets you attach files to messages. Under Windows, you can send the con- tents of the Windows Clipboard to other Windows users. You copy something to the Clipboard and attach it, and the re- cipient pastes it into an application. Security-conscious administrators may have a problem with eMail. Message files are easy to locate on the file server and remain unencrypted unless the send- er specifically requests encryption. If you encrypt a file, the message sits on the server in unreadable form, and the recip- ient must type a password in order to ac- cept the message. Users have personal information files that define how eMail operates on their systems. They can change the polling frequency for incoming messages and the alert procedure, and they can cus- tomize their message alert sounds by changing the MAIL.INI file. The latter procedure makes it easier to tell whose machine received mail in offices where machines are closely grouped. We con- figured one of our machines to play rev- eille. That sounds like an obvious idea, but none of the other packages do it. DOS users can run eMail as a stand- alone application or as a TSR program. The "micro TSR" format uses a swap file and takes up only 10K bytes of RAM. You define a hot-key sequence that swaps out your current application and loads eMail. When you exit eMail, it restores the interrupted application where it left off. Alerts can come through the Novell Send mechanism, or you can load a TSR that presents a one-line mes- sage at the bottom of the screen. Win- dows alerts will appear for a definable amount of time (the default is 20 sec- onds) and then disappear. Higgins Mail 2.3 Screen 4: The simple and efficient layout of Higgins Mail. Note the extended addressing capabilities that support E-mail over wide-area networks. Higgins Mail is the E-mail-only ver- sion of Enable Software's workgroup scheduler software. It runs on DOS and OS/2 machines. Unlike The Coordinator, Higgins pre- sents E-mail as an electronic version of slips of paper. We ran the user software on both NetWare and Vines without any problems. The administration software is heavily based on an ASCII menuing system that proved to be too large for the Vines workstations. Running the admin- istrative menus resulted in an "insuffi- cient memory" message. Higgins Mail uses a shared database on the file server. The file structure is proprietary, and the message files them- MARCH 1991 • BYTE 229 Circle 200 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 201). NO NOISE improves PC working environments. NO NOISE removes the constant humming noise which is a daily irritation to PC operators. It's not that the noise is high — it's more a matter of its constantly being there, from the moment you start up in the morning and until the office closes. Constantly — for hours on end — day in and day out. This noise comes from the PC's cooling fan. The cooling fan is designed and constructed to function in air temperatures all the way up to 110°-120° F. It always runs at maximum speed. This is where the constant noise arises. In our part of the world, we no longer need to put up with this irritating noise — thanks to NO NOISE. How to stop the noise. NO NOISE gradually reduces the speed of the fan until it corresponds with the surrounding temperature and your PC's cooling requirement. The fan is practically soundless at temperatures from 70°-90° F. Built-in safety If a fault should occur, a built-in safety circuit in the NO NOISE automatically ensures that the fan converts to maximum performance. This ensures the necessary ventilation/cooling under all conditions. NO NOISE suits all PC models. Thousands of units are already in use worldwide by computer manufacturers, major corporations and individual users, who realise that excessive noise in the work environment can lead to fatigue and stress, ultimately affecting performance and productivity. NO NOISE is extremely simple to install; your customary PC dealer can provide you with further details and provide this service if required. NO NOISE comes with a five-year warranty and a 30- day trial WHAT THE REVIEWS SAY "...it worked perfectly. ..noise level was dramatically reduced." PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD, U.K. "...NO NOISE worked exactly as advertised, reducing fan noise to nil. " BYTE, International Section, February 1990 NO NOISE USA— NO NOISE UK — NO NOISE SWEDEN— NO NOISE AUSTRIA— NO NOISE NETHER- LANDS—NO NOISE GREECE— NO NOISE AUSTRALIA no noise £j TM ORDER NO NOISE NOW at $99.95 by calling 1-800-SILENCE (1-800-745-3623) or contact your local dealer. We accepl MC/VISA, P.O.s, Cashier and Personal Cheques. Please add $4.95 for shipping and handling. All FL deliveries add 6% sales tax. VARS Dealers and OEMs call (407) 220-0100. NO NOISE Inc., 3601 SE Ocean Blvd., Sewall's Point, Stuart, Florida 34996. Tel: (407) 220-0100 Fax: (407) 220-0101 ©NO NOISE 1990 E-MAIL selves are encrypted. Because of Higgins Mail's popularity, a number of gateways exist to move messages between Higgins Mail and other E-mail systems. As you move around the Higgins Mail screens, help messages at the bottom of the display change. The command struc- ture feels a lot like Microsoft Word— it uses the same Escape-letter interface. You press Escape to get to the menu at the bottom of the screen and then press the appropriate letter. Choosing an edit function removes the menu, and pressing Escape moves you from the editing win- dow to the menu again. User names have both log-in/nick- names and full user names. When you start sending mail, Higgins Mail gives you a list of users in the default domain. A domain consists of people, resources, and mail groups, and you can freely switch from one list to another and pick the recipient name(s) off the pick list. The names are specified by Domain- Workgroup :User ID, much as the Street- Talk global naming service does for Vines. Mailcall alerts Higgins Mail users to their incoming mail. This 3.5K-byte TSR program brings up a message for 10 seconds or until you clear it manually. If you don't read your mail or clear the message, it will reappear periodically. Several other DOS packages have alerts that come up once and then disappear. Enable Software's method works much better, and it does it with very little memory. InBox Plus 3.0 Screen 5: InBox Plus has built-in memo and phone message templates. m file hi>t Send Utem imlmm/f iHmdouH Si'llt'inl f miflliijrlll I) I'' •■' eevsint 1 1D1 ta^PC W* ir*Hf'*cs cafe fc* ..-rfcfj-.-r: F >3 = - I InBox Plus provides E-mail services for PC or Mac users. Optional gateway software lets you send messages to sys- tems running Unix Mail, Vines, and others. InBox Plus's strength is its device independence: InBox Plus E-mail serv- ers, or "message centers," can be Macs, PCs, or Sun workstations. InBox Plus also runs on a wide variety of networks, including TOPS, NetWare, AppleShare, and LAN Manager, and it can span multiple file servers. On the Mac, the software operates in the background so that you can still use the machine for other tasks. We used a Mac SE/30 as our mail server running on the Apple stan- dard LocalTalk network. An administrator trying to add users or groups to an InBox Plus message cen- ter must go through a convoluted entry sequence involving an alert, several dia- log boxes, and a password check. A Chooser style of server selection similar to Microsoft Mail's implementation would make selecting a message center easier. By using the administration soft- ware for a PC-based message center, however, we were able to add mail users to a message center on the Mac. InBox encrypts and stores messages on the mail server's hard disk. InBox Plus users have it easier than the system administrator: An installation program copies the necessary resource to the target computer. On a Mac, these re- sources are a DA (used to swap between the mail application and the currently running application), a cdev (used to set the time interval for notifying you about new mail), and an application (which manages your mailbox). On a PC, a setup program sets the no- tification interval and other options. A TSR routine provides notification of new mail, and another program manages your mailbox. When a Mac user receives mail, a chime sounds and a Notification Man- 230 BYTE- MARCH 1991 MHS Gets the Mail Through Before Action Technologies intro- duced its Message Handling Ser- vice, there were no workable interexchange standards in the LAN E-mail world. Bundled with every copy of NetWare, an MHS gateway re- quires its own dedicated server and is a convenient way of moving information between E-mail systems. Because of widespread support for MHS, the prod- uct has become the least common de- nominator for interconnecting work- group E-mail systems. MHS provides a standard structure on the file server where your mail appli- cation can drop off messages; it puts the incoming messages in specific locations and manages the physical flow of mes- sages between mail centers. When you install MHS, you create a structure in a publicly accessible spot. Anyone on the network can create a message packet and drop it in the MHS in box. Once you've created the message, the MHS utility software grabs the message and then processes it. A standard MHS packet is an ASCII file containing several vital pieces of information. A version number (65 for MHS 1.2) tells MHS that this is an MHS mail packet. The next line has the "To:" field, and the following line has the "From:" field. Your E-mail front end is responsible for handling the ad- dressing and providing complete MHS addresses. If you have addressed the message to a user on the same MHS server, the server simply copies the file to that user's MHS mailbox. Periodically, an MHS E-mail front end has to poll the mailbox, looking for new messages. When it finds one, the software copies it from the MHS mailbox to the E-mail mailbox. If the address is for another mail center, MHS moves the message to an out box for further processing. At some time that is determined by the MHS scheduler, the server picks up the outbox mail and sorts it by destination. It then establishes a connection to the mail center and transfers the messages to the remote MHS site. The remote MHS server then picks up and sorts the messages by address. From this point on, it's the same as if the mail were sent within the LAN. As far as a user at the remote site is con- cerned, the only difference is that the mail takes a bit of time to arrive. The E- mail software doesn't know about gate- ways or bridges: It just puts an address on the mail and sends it out. MHS takes care of the dirty work. MHS server gateways work different- ly from other E-mail gateways. The MHS scheduler can execute programs as part of the scheduled process. These programs are usually file converters or message formatters, much like the ones the gateway software would use in some other mail program. MHS defines a gateway as one of these special pro- grams and can dispatch it to each mes- sage in the in box. ager icon blinks in the Apple menu. If you're using MultiFinder, you can let the InBox Plus application run in the back- ground, which leaves a small, movable "hot window" when you switch to an- other application. Clicking on this hot window gets you back into InBox Plus, where you can read, delete, store, and print letters. Templates for memos and phone messages are built in. Several but- tons with icons let you select certain op- erations (e.g., printing, deleting, com- posing new mail, and enclosing files) rapidly. On the PC, you get a "crawler" mes- sage across the top of the screen stating who sent you mail. It moves across the screen once and sounds a chime, but it won't reappear if you miss it. The menu layout resembles the Mac's, and you use the Tab and Alt keys to navigate through the menus. Copious use of function keys takes the place of Mac buttons. This pro- vides a consistent interface that lets you quickly read and write letters on either platform. However, there are differ- ences. On the Mac, a paper-clip icon in- dicates that a message has an attached file; on the PC, an ampersand appears next to the message. Finally, InBox won't erase letters marked for deletion until you exit the program, so you can re- cover accidentally deleted messages. The Network Courier 2.1 Screen 6: The Network Courier 's Windows 3. interface isn 't fancy, but it works well— especially its Monitor feature. Mrssfiyc Heail! Cunt|iu frirn Snt. ii>i:t Raphael Network trouble Nrlwinl Cmjlii-I Influx ! i uiilcrn Pillions (In((» IzE 12-19-90 5:Wi PM S T7 19 tO filhb PM Message I ifil Next! TROU: Niphmrl DflTEl: 12/1!// 90 i?:n TO: Splinter PRIORI >'.': s mificmitius: ifrWIMHfr; i i, i,, 3i :m 3 inn Iroubl* wttn cut Hr{«.j:f/L#caII..li ;jnti?*.iv. t.o.M In tl.i- <-v,-,.t .c luae the- a-jU-soy chi itc\v'i H.iil ili-n 1 ill ? JU;n(M The Network Courier provides E-mail services for DOS, Mac, OS/2, and Windows users. Consumers Software also offers an extensive array of gateway options for interconnecting diverse com- puting environments. Users exchange messages through vir- tual "post offices" that can in turn ex- change messages. The Network Courier relies on the file services provided by network file-server software, such as NetWare, LAN Manager, and Vines, to operate. The Network Courier includes a scripting language for writing programs that access, send, and receive messages from other on-line services via modem. Optional gateway software provides ac- cess to other mail systems, such as DEC VMS mail and MHS servers. Messages reside in subdirectories on the network's file server. The program uses the De- partment of Defense's Data Encryption Standard scheme to protect messages. The Network Courier's install pro- grams place data files and PC software MARCH 1991 -BYTE 231 E-MAIL in the appropriate directories on the file- server hard disk; to install Mac mail, you simply copy a single application to the workstation's hard disk. Program modules include a PC ad- ministrator; a mail program that lets you read, write, and print messages; and a TSR program that notifies users of in- coming mail by polling their mailboxes. The Escape key, arrow keys, and high- lighted characters enable you to maneu- ver through the programs adequately. Short, explanatory messages appear as you move through menu choices. Mes- sages can have an unlimited number of attachments. As with cc:Mail, you have to supply the path to the post office's directory. For Windows 3.0 users, a single pro- gram does double duty as a mailbox man- ager and notification service. Short help messages appear as you move through the various menu options. You can switch to "monitor mode," which shrinks the application's window to a letter icon. In this mode, the application takes up less than 1 OK bytes of memory but continues to poll your mailbox for new mail (you can change the polling interval only by modifying the Windows WIN. INI file). When a new message arrives, The Net- work Courier chimes, the mouse pointer briefly turns into a letter icon, and the letter icon begins blinking. If you've been away from your desk, the flashing icon is hard to miss when you return. You click on the icon to open the window and read your mail. When the Mac version starts for the first time, it uses a Standard File dialog box so that you can locate the post office directory for the application. It stores this information in a Preferences file, and you won't have to do this again. The application polls for mail by running in the background under MultiFinder. You can shrink The Network Courier's win- dow so that it's not in the way of other application windows, but it's not as con- venient as InBox Plus's hot window. When a message appears in your mail- box, The Network Courier uses the Noti- fication Manager to flash the Apple menu icon, and an alert box appears when you switch The Network Courier to the foreground. When sending messages, you can attach files and assign priority levels from low to urgent to them. The Mac interface needs some polish: The order of some of the buttons seems odd, and highlighted messages don't open with the Return key press. Consumers Software has a new Mac version in the works that should correct some of these problems. Microsoft Mail 2.0 r »i*- ij?t tiifii' Sfftiai Coioi Jm.hI tin Raphael HI - 1 M.< fc#»lMii'i;i!ui:i H 1 -800-522-4624 International, call (203) 426-4624 Monday - Friday 9:00am to 8:00pm EST GUI Clearing House is the only national reseller specializing exclusively in Windows and OS/2 Presentation Manager environments. This specialization is necessary in order to properly serve you, our customer, in this rapidly evolving market. Our goal is to provide you with the finest customer service in the industry and to ensure that the products you select are the correct ones for your application. When you call GUI Clearing House, you will be greeted by one of our friendly, knowledgeable sales staff who will take the time to talk with you to understand your specific requirements. To further assist you, we maintain a staff of technical consultants available to answer in-depth technical questions on products; and to help customers in identifying applications to meet their needs. Please Note: The applications listed in this ad represent only a small sample of the Windows and OS/2 Presentation Manager products available through GUI Clearing House. Call us for pricing on any Windows a' Presentation Manager application. We'll promptly get pricing and availability for you. CALL TODAY! Publishing/Graphics Adonis Clip-Art Window Shopper 42 Aldus PageMaker 499 Archetype DESIGNER 795 Arts & Letters Graphics Editor 509 C A Cricket Graph v1. 3 159 C A Cricket Presents 349 Corel DRAWI 2.0 399 DoDOT! (screen capture/convert) 139 Image-In Full Pak 679 Image-In Scan & Paint 139 Image Prep 269 Import for Windows 259 Instant ORGcharting NEW Micrografx Charisma 349 Micrografx Designer 3.01 469 Microsoft Office for Windows call Picture Publisher 489 PowerPoint for Windows 335 PubTech Multi-Tack 139 Scrapbook+ 2. 1 (Eikon) 1 29 Ventura Gold Series for Windows 559 WordScan Plus (Calera) 795 Word Processing Ami' ver 1.2 159 Ami' Professional ver 1.2 319 Gram-mat-ik for Windows 79 Language Masterfor Windows 89 NBI Legacy 359 Palantir Windows Spell 3.0 89 Word for Windows 329 Financial/Accounting Accounting by Design 1059 Biz-Nix Accounting Partner 299 Bookkeeping by Design 559 CCA Enhanced Business Pkg 795 Evolve(ASI) 169 CCA Active Payroll NEW CCA Job Costing Module NEW Connectivity Business Session for Windows 269 DaVinci eMAIL for Windows 959 DynaComm (Windows) 259 DynaComm Elite 399 Faxitl for Windows 179 MicroPhone II 259 Network Courier CALL TERM for Windows 179 Windows Workstation 559 WinComm 139 WinTerm 409 Tax Preparation MaclnTax 1040 Personal 69 if:X Personal Tax Analyst 69 MaclnTax State Supplements (call) .... 69 TaxView Professional Series call General/Productivity/Utilities Adobe Type Manager 59 Asymetrix Toolbook 309 BeckerTools 2.0 119 Distinct Back-up 119 hDC Icon Designer 49 IBM Current 1.1 259 IconPakll. 89 PackRat3.0 315 PackRat Network (3 User) 579 Personal Librarian 859 PLUS for Windows (Spinnaker) 279 Printer Control Panel (LaserTools) 139 Publisher's Powerpak 69 PubTech File Organizer 159 SmarText (Samna) 409 WideAngle/Windows. 119 Windows/On The World 409 Windows Shopper's Guide 15 YourWay (Prisma) call PM APPLICATIONS Active Life for PM 139 Aldus PageMaker for PM 579 Asymetrix ToolBook for OS/2 NEW BriefforOS/2 229 CASE:PMforCorC++ 1895 CASE:PMforMicroFocusCobol 2369 ChlpChat (Cawthon) 279 CollagePM 179 Corel Draw If or PM call Describe 529 Excel for PM 349 HyperACCESS/5 for OS/2 169 Lotus 1-2-3/G 579 Micrografx Designer 509 Multiscope for OS/2 349 Nexpert Object, PM Runtime 929 Object-1/PM (MDBS) 895 OS/2 PMSoftset (Microsoft) 129 OS/2 PM Toolkit (Microsoft) 409 PackRatforPM 339 PackRat PM Network (3 User) 579 Perspective for OS/2 259 Q+E/PMver2.5 139 Relish NEW RT-Graphics (FSI) 959 RT-Graphics Toolkit w/source (FSI) .... 649 SmallTalk/VPM 339 SpeedEdit for OS/2 255 SpeedEditforPM 255 SytosPlus/PM (Sytron) 259 WldeAngle forPM. 1 19 Wingz (Informix) 359 Word for OS/2 PM (Microsoft) call WordPerfect 5.0 for OS/2 339 WinPRO/PM(Xian) 379 Zortech C++ OS/2 Compiler Option. 139 Zortech C++ OS/2 Dev Edition 489 HARDWARE, etc. Image Scanners Logitech ScanMan 256/PC-AT 409 Logitech ScanMan 256/MCA 509 Microtekscanners call Boards ATI8514/Ultra NEW NEC Graphics Engine Brd 1 6 (AT) 689 NEC Graphics Engine Brd 256 (AT) ... 969 Paradise 8514A Plus (AT) 699 Paradise 8514A Plus (MCA) 759 Intel SatisFAXtion board NEW MultiMedia Products Super VideoWindows NEW VideoLinX-.FRAMEBUFFER NEW XYXIS 600Mb Erasable Optical Drv . NEW GUI Clearing House offersafidl line of hardware items selected to augment the Windows, Presentation Manager, and MultiMedia based platforms. If you don't see a particular item, just ask we will promptly obtain pricing and availablity for you. Call us TOD AY! W& PAYMENT - Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club and Carte Blanche accepted. Personal and company checks accepted. Please allow 2 weeks for processing. Corporate and institutional purchase orders subject to credit approval and a minimum initial purchase S500, paid via CO.D, or in advance, CO.D minimum purchase is $100, maximum S1.000 payable by cash, cashier's check, or money order. CT residents add 8% sales tax. SHIPPING • Shipping/handling charge is 3% or $6 minimum; 5% lor CO.D., Larger shipments may require additional charges. Call for information for shipments to Alaska, Hawaii, and points outside the United States. TERMS - All products carry manufacturer's warranties only. Product warranties, guarantees, rebates, trial period privileges, or other promotional programs are handled by (he manufacturer. Defective items replaced or repaired at our discretion. All returned items must be accompanied by a return material authorization (RMA) number. There is a 15% restocking fee on non-defective merchandise. Shipping is non-refundable. Opened software and other consumables are non-refundable. We can not guarantee compatibility. Item availability, price, terms, and policies subject to change without notice. Graphical User Interface CLEARING HOUSE is not liable for damage due to omissions or typographical errors. Mailing address is Graphical User Interlace CLEARING HOUSE: P.O. Box 10, Sandy Hook, CT 06482. (203)426-4624 Copyright © 1990 GUI CLEARING HOUSE. Ail rights reserved. 190110 Circle 339 on Inquiry Card. Over 6,000 developer's products ... EDT+ by Boston Business Computing EDT+ 5.0, the only complete emulation of DIGITAL'S VAX EDT, is 50% faster than its predecessor and features multiple windows, interfaces for EVE, EMACS, vi and WPS, 132-column mode, status line and ruler, keystroke macros and much more. 30-day, money-back guarantee and free customer support and updates for 60 days. For MS-DOS and UNIX systems, LIST: $295 PS Price: $279 FastFaxts 342-001 MWv UJSOFT TOUCH UI2 Touch & Go by Wallsof t Touch & Go is an applications generator for all major Dbase dialects. Based on the renowned UI2 engine and the GENSYS template, Touch & Go is easy to use, yet you can easily integrate hand-written code. Recom- mended for novices and experts alike. No template programming. LIST: $395 FastFaxts 212-OU PS Price: $299 386 DEVELOPMENT Price 386 Max 5.0 $109 386|DOS Extender by Pharlap 495 DESQview386 189 F77-EM32 + Lahey Ergo 1 055 FoxBASE+/386 479 Metaware High C 386/486 919 NDP Fortran 386 829 QEMM 386 89 W ATCOM C8.0 386 Prof. 1 1 55 Zortech C++ 386 Dev, 865 ASSEMBLY MS M ASM 105 Spontaneous Assembly 179 Turbo Debugger & Tools 1 1 9 BASIC & ADD-ONS BAS-C Commercial 829 dB/LIB Professional 169 MS QuickBASIC V4.5 69 QuickPak Prof, for MS Basic 189 C LANGUAGE COMPILERS Instant C 769 Microsoft C 6.0 349 CASE & PROTOTYPERS Dan Bricklin Demo II 239 EasyCase Plus 266 EasyFlow 135 Instant Replay III 99 Layout 239 MetaDesign by Meta Software 287 Pro-C 2.0w/Workbench Combo735 ProtoFinish by Genesis 21 1 Show Partner F/X 1 98 DBASE dBASE IV dBFAST/PLUS dBXL FoxPro Quicksilver Clipper 5.0 550 DBMS CLARION Prof. Dev. V2.1 549 Magic PC 499 Paradox V3.5 553 R:BASE 3.1 399 DBMS TOOLS & LIBRARIES AdComm for Clipper 279 Artful.Lib 289 CLEAR + for dBASE 81 Comet Multiport 169 dBASE Online 129 BRIEF w/dBRIEF Call dBX/dBport w/source 725 dGE 4.0 279 dQUERY MU 179 dSalvage Professional 195 FLIPPER Graphics Library 179 FUNCky.LIB 239 Genifer - code generator 289 Net Lib 229 Pro Clip 149 R&R Relational Reportwriter 229 R&R Code Generator 129 SilverComm Library 229 SilverPaint 119 UI2 Developer's Release 449 DEVELOPMENT TOOLS ASMFLOW Prof. 179 C-DOC 179 Codan 349 CLEAR+forC 179 v^, a ■ ™w ■ ............ 1 1 1 ■ 1 LJ^C ■ ■ 248 BYTE- MARCH 1991 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Ill Ill HI I NfsV ,9. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 249 SUBSCRIPTION PROBLEMS? We want to help! NEWTEK'S VIDEO TOASTER -L / you have a problem J with your BYTE subscription, write us with the details. We'll do our best to set it right But we must have the name, address, and zip of the subscription (new and old address, if it's a change of address). If the problem involves a payment, be sure to include copies of the credit card statement, or front and back of cancelled checks. Include a "business hours" phone number if possible. BYTE Magazine Attn: Subscriber Service P.O. Box 555 Hightstown, NJ 08520 The following employees have received the special achievement award: Martin Cox Ani ta Willis IHEiHHUill Screen 2: The character generator. crucial capability: real-time scaling (compression) of video input. Costly stand-alone DVE units can cleanly scale video to any size on the fly. The Toaster does support 3-D effects (like tumble, in which the image flips end over end and gets smaller), but, instead of scaling, it fragments and discards portions of the image to make it smaller. As a result, an image that's scaled down by as little as 30 percent looks shabby. Audio follow is usually an add-on to stand-alone switcher/effects units; it mixes the audio signals for you as the video makes a transition. There isn't any way to do this with the Toaster, but the switcher's controls are built to be oper- ated with one hand (leaving the other free to operate an audio mixer). The switcher is not an edit controller, so you have to control your VTRs by hand. This can be interesting if you're mixing two source tapes down to one destination tape; you will have three decks to control. Luck- ily, the Toaster does have a General Pur- pose Interface, so the transitions can be triggered by an external device (e.g., an edit controller that will run your VTRs for you). To the Toaster's credit, most of its ef- fects are nice and clean, and there's more than enough dazzle to go around. The ef- fects that require scaling speed up as the image gets smaller, so the viewer's eye is tricked by the constant motion. In addition to transitions, the switcher lets you overlay images through linear keying. This method allows everything darker (or lighter) than a certain shade (expressed numerically) to go transpar- ent, revealing an underlying image. For example, you could paint a logo onto a black background and then use the linear keyer to layer that on top of a video source. Similarly, you could also point a video camera at a model in front of a black background and use the keyer to put her on the beach, in space, or any- where your painting, grabbed frame, or moving video can take her. Linear keying isn't perfect, however. In the case of the model, if her outfit had any black in it, that too would show through to the beach scene, along with the pupils of her eyes, her black hair, and some shadows. Linear keying works best with graphics and other still artwork that can be modified until they layer cleanly. Last, the switcher includes a versatile frame store, or gallery of still images. The frame store can hold images from the paint program, 3-D Tenderer, or any video source (you can instantly grab and save frames from within the switcher). Each image is stored in a separate file on disk, and you can assign a unique three- digit number to make selecting among them easier. An image takes only about 4 seconds to load from disk, making quick insertions of still images into live video possible. Giving Your Video More Character Closely allied with the switcher is the character generator. Clicking the switch- er's CG button once loads the module; clicking again brings up the page builder (see screen 2). The page builder is entirely keyboard- driven (there is no mouse support), in the design tradition of stand-alone character generators. Text is laid out on the Amiga display, with font, color, shadowing, and other characteristics variable for each line. You can present pages of characters in four ways: key pages, frame-store pages, and scroll and crawl pages (see photo table 2 for examples). Key pages use the linear keyer to create overlaid titles (e.g., a newscaster's name), while frame-store pages have their own back- ground (solid or gradated colors) and are called up as complete images. Scroll and crawl pages are keyed text that moves vertically and horizontally across the screen, respectively. Pages that are created in the character generator are called up directly from the switcher (a nice touch). Like the frame store, each page in the character genera- tor is tagged with a three-digit identifier; the first few words of the page are dis- played in a small window as well. The character generator produces rea- sonably high-quality images, but it has its limitations. It uses bit-map fonts, as opposed to outline fonts (you can use only those sizes provided— text can't be scaled). You have to convert logos and other graphics to fonts before you can use them, and the Toaster software doesn't provide a facility for this. Text attributes (e.g., color and shadowing) can't be ap- plied differently to a character or a word, only to an entire line. continued 250 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Computing Know How Increase your productivity without the hardware investment L^A. BASIC Programming Inside & Out In-depth coverage for all BASIC, QuickBASIC, GW-BASIC and Turbo BASIC programmers. Ex- plains how to use sound and graphics; create help screens and pulldown menus; manage windows in BASIC; use ML with BASIC; create business pre- sentation graphics; print multiple columns and side- ways for professional results and program serial and parallel interfaces. Has dozens of demo programs and routines you can easily adapt to your own programs. 600 pages with companion disk. #B084 ISBN 1-55755-084-0 $34.95 Programming VGA Graphics VGA is becoming the standard display mode for PC applications. Leant techniques for writing using the flexible and powerful VGA hardware and software. Includes new, unique DOS commands to perform dozens of VGA functions. Turbo Pascal and BASIC extensions for VGA display modes. 670 pages with 2 companion disks. #B099 ISBN 1-55755-099-9 $39.95 PC System Programming An encyclopedia of PC technical and programming knowledge. Features parallel working examples written in Pascal, C, assembly and BASIC. Explains memory layout, DOS operations, using extended and expanded memory, writing device drivers, using hard disks, PC ports, mouse drivers, fundamentals of BIOS, graphics and sound, TSR programs and complete appendices. 920 pages and 2 companion disks with over 1 mb of programs. #B036 ISBN 1-55755-036-0 $59.95 LjU QuickBASIC Toolbox Packed with powerful, ready-to-use programs and routines to help you write your own programs faster and better. Topics include: complete routines for SAA interfacing; pull-down menus; windows; dia- logue boxes and file requestors; BASIC Scanner program for printing completed project listings. Includes companion disk. Available in March. #B104 ISBN 1-55755-104-9 $34.95 PC Assembly Language Step by Step Teaches you PC assembly and machine lan- guage from the ground up. You'll learn at your own pace using the unique simulator which shows you how each instruction works as the PC executes it. 420 pages with 2 companion disks. Also includes evaluation versions of A86 Assembler and D86 Debugger. #B096 ISBN 1-55755-096-4 $34.95 Upgrading & Maintaining Your PC Shows you how to turn your PC into a high performance machine. Describes what you'll see when you open the "hood" and how all of the parts work together. You'll see how to add a hard drive, increase memory, upgrade to a higher resolution monitor, or turn your XT into a fast AT or 386 screamer, w i thout having to be an electronics wizard. 240 pages. #B092 ISBN 1-55755-092-1 $24.95 Turbo Pascal Internals Gives you "know how" to program faster, easier, tighter and better. Find out how to use Turbo for system programming tasks- writing TSRs, performing multi-tasking, using SAA windowing, implementing expanded and ex- tended memory. Learn how Turbo generates machine code, handles the mouse, scans the keyboard, uses UNITS and OOPS, performs fast screen display and more. 750 pages with 2 disks of more than 800K of source code. #B080 ISBN 1-55755-080-8 $49.95 Batch File Powertools Boost your computing productivity with this pack- age for making truly powerful batch files. Includes dozens of new batch commands for writing time- saving,easy-to-use "power" batch files. Companion disk contains powerful "Batch BASIC" commands for writing even more useful batch programs. 240 pages with companion disk. #B102 ISBN 1-55755-102-2 $34.95 Available at B Dalton Booksellers, Waldensoftware, and Software Etc. and at other bookstores nationwide. In the UK contact Computer Bookshops 021-706-1188. In Canada contact Addison Wesley 416-447-5101. Melam^Slh His erman chaels i £r ! t 1 ~*^ ' J I \r WK^ * ~.»L » i III 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 \L ■ III ■ ■■I 1 1 252 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Your business is safe with us. Especially when it's serious business. Small business is just as serious as big business. That's why, since developing the first data cartridge, we've continued to offer virtually every size and ^ format data cartridge you'll need to help protect your business data— from 20 megabytes to 1.35 gigabytes. No wonder more business protects important information on 3M brand diskettes and data cartridges than any other brand in the world. Call 1-800-888-1889 ext.8 to find out more. Innovation working for yoir All data cartridges require a compatible drive. ©3M 1991. Circle 8 on Inquiry Card. 3MI°99 Worldwide Sponsor 1992 Olympic Games 36USC380 NEWTEK'S VIDEO TOASTER Screen 4: (a) The scene as shown in the Tenderer 's layout editor. objects can also be simulated through gradated shading. The paint program is nicely done and deserves high marks for usability. It is loaded with features, more than most people need, and even the more obscure elements of the package show a com- mendable attention to detail. Charts, graphs, and all manner of presentation graphics can readily be produced here. My only complaint is that the character generator fonts are not available to the paint program— it has only the wimpy as- sortment included with the Amiga (al- though there are third-party font packs). The Toaster in 3-D Perhaps the most exciting and time- consuming portion of the Toaster's software is Light- wave 3D, a combi- nation 3-D mod- eler and Tenderer. The Tenderer is a masterpiece, com- bining a clear visu- al interface with loads of power. I could devote an entire review to this module alone, but I'll summarize instead: This is hot stuff. With some imagination and a bit of pa- tience, you can create very realistic- looking 3-D scenes. The interface is well laid out (see screen 4), making 3-D manipulations about as easy as they can be. The wire- frame representation is displayed on the Amiga's monitor, and the speed (on the 68030-based Amiga 2500, at least) is im- pressive. Objects are drawn as boxes while they (or the scene) are being moved; all lines are drawn only after you stop moving things for a couple of sec- onds. This allows manipulations to take place in real time, with no delays waiting for objects to redraw. The interface is consistent, with the same scheme being used to move objects, lights, and the camera. Newtek has done a bang-up job of mapping 3-D movements to a 2-D de- vice (the mouse). Rendering is done on request, with full 24-bit color and selectable levels of resolution and image quality. Setting these to "low" allows you to see a quick preview of a scene. Even with smooth shading enabled, Lightwave is able to render a complete scene in as little as 30 seconds. Lightwave ships with enough well- made objects to keep you busy for days, Screen 3: The 24-bit paint program's iconic interface. (b) The finished scene. and the software is so versatile that I can think of only a couple of things you can't do with it. Objects that have reflective surfaces (e.g., glass and chrome) won't carry reflections of other objects in the scene. They will, however, reflect the sky and the floor (or any image of your choice), so the now-familiar glass or chrome sphere floating above a checker- board will still work. Lightwave will ren- der shadows, too, and this adds tremen- dously to the realism. Aside from this, Lightwave does near- ly everything a rendering package should do, and does it well. In addition to simple rendering, Lightwave can be configured to control an editing VTR for animation. By connecting a single-frame controller (from the likes of Lyon-Lamb or Dia- quest), a professional-quality VTR can turn each rendered image into one frame of an animation. This takes time: At 30 frames per second, a 10-second anima- tion takes 300 frames. Even at the best- case 30 seconds per frame (low-resolu- tion), you're still about 2 Vi hours from a finished animation. If you take the time up front, though, Lightwave produces gorgeous results. As for the modeler (the module that builds the objects), avoid it. Newtek re- ported at press time that it was overhaul- ing the modeler (early purchasers of the Toaster are getting free upgrades), but the version I tested was in a sorry state. I can't remember when I've used such a cumbersome program. As good as the Tenderer is for its ease of use and versatil- ity, the modeler is that bad for its awk- wardness and limitations. I'll look for- ward to the upgrade, and to the promised utility that converts 3-D models from other (better) Amiga modeling programs to Lightwave format. Color Me Finished The Toaster's color special-effects mod- ule, ChromaFX, is nearly impossible to describe. Chro- maFX alters the color palette ac- cording to a graph and then applies that modified pal- ette to a video source. The results represent every- thing from poster- ization effects to people striped like zebras. There is no practical use for this module, but it is fun. What you don't see when you buy a Toaster is the heap of innovative ideas that Newtek has planned as follow-ons to this flagship product. The company is committed to raising the quality and lowering the cost of video production. I will be following these de- velopments as they appear. The Toaster is only the beginning— but what a be- ginning. No matter how it's viewed, the Video Toaster is a marvel. There is no better value in any product category than the Toaster's $1595, considering everything it includes. Until now, it took mountains of cash and an array of individual, single- purpose devices to perform the Toaster's functions. Now, you can get started in commercial-quality video production for as little as $25,000 (including the Toast- er, an Amiga, and some professional video gear). That's dirt cheap compared to even a year ago. If it still seems like a lot, however, there are ways to use the Toaster for less money; even if you just viewed it as a 24-bit frame-buffer board and never plugged in any live video sources, you'd still have made a good choice. ■ Tom Yager is a technical editor for the BYTE Lab and director of the BYTE Mul- timedia Lab. You can reach him on BIX as "t yager. " 254 BYTE- MARCH 1991 W)rdScaETheMost Accurate OCR You Can Buy AndWllProvelt cognition we build into o ices. Our unique f|op-up e esults le cha to the onarie ur hig ditor pop-up other UUK products- ¥ou c so it accurately recoqniz Our unique Pop-up Editor guarantees the most accurate results possible, as fast without referring to the original document We started with the lowest error-rate OCR technology in the industry Then we added exclusive features to make WordScan even more accurate. With WordScan you get the same state-of-the-art recognition we build into our high-end systems, at desktop prices. Exclusive features make WordScan even more accurate. Our unique Pop - up Editor guarantees the most accur- rate results possible. It pops up an enlarged image of any questionable character or an es Prooftwice eve un word so you can proof without referring to the original document. And because Word- Scan uses dictionaries dur- ing recognition, we don't make mistakes common to other OCR products. You can even add your "WORDSCAN PLUS REDEFINES WHAT WE EXPECT FROM AN OCR PACKAGE. ITS EXCEPTIONAL ACCURACY, WEALTH OF FEATURES, AND HANDS-OFF DESIGN SET A NEW STANDARD!' -PC MAGAZINE UH own words so WordScan accurately rec- ognizes unusual or specialized terms. Zap figures or text right from a fax card to your word processor or spread- sheet. No fuzzy print- outs. No retyping. No errors. And only WordScan has built- in dot-matrix support to read even draft quality dot- matrix documents accur- ately. Most OCR products can't do this at all or charge you extra. Other unique WordScan features get the job done faster, better. Clipping, another WordScan exclusive, lets you choose just what you want on the page. Text, image, or both. All in one pass. Scan Now, Recognize Later lets you scan large documents now, but do OCR later so your PC is not tied up. Make different documents look the same with our unique Style Sheet feature. Process multiple documents into separate files auto- matically Just put a blank page between documents and WordScan does the rest. - We'll send you theproof^g0 ^^B^^l K To see the results of head- to- head, real- 1 world comparison tests with the leading competitive OCR soft- ware products, or to get the name of a dealer where you can make the com- parisons yourself, just give us a call at 800-544-7051. CALERA RECOGNITION SYSTEMS 2500 Augustine Drive, SantaClara, CA95054 USA. 800-544-7051;outsideUSA, 408-986-8006; FAX 408-986-1440 5 1990 Calera Recognition Systems, Inc. Calera* is a registered trademark of Calera Recognition Systems, Inc. WordScan and TrueScan are trademarks of Calera Recognition Systems, Inc. Circle 61 on Inquiry Card. C Speed C Portability C Flexibility dBASE Power Code Base 4.2 TYte"C~Ubwyfor Cofrpedble with the data, index and memo files of dBASE and CUFTOR. SEQUITER SOFTWARE INC. Build a multi-user, dBASE compatible application which is several times faster than dBASE IV y Clipper or Fox Pro. Watch its windows and menus appear instantly on any computer. Portable Port your application to any environment with a C or C++ compiler. Access megabytes of memory using 386 DOS compilers, OS/2, Unix or Microsoft Windows. Compatible As you directly use the data, index and memo files of dBASE III through IV or Clipper, you can use Code Base 4.2 with any dBASE compatible product. Easy Consult examples in the 280 page user's guide as you interactively execute Code Base 4.2 routines from a learning utility. You will remember the routines which are named like dBASE commands. Small Make stand alone executable files as small as 14K. Code Base 4.2 executables are Vi to h the size of corresponding Clipper executables. Complete Enjoy the benefits of complete dBASE functional- ity, including browse, edit, menus, windows, multiple index files per database, dBASE expression evalua- tion, relations and filters. Order Today Order the DOS-OS/2 version for $295. Call (403) 448-0313 or fax (403) 448-0315. Discover why Sequiter Software Inc. and most software dealers offer a 60 day money back guarantee. Source is included and there are no royalties! Sequiter Software Inc. • P.O. Box 5659, Station L, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6C 4G 1 Circle 264 on Inquiry Card. REVIEWS SYSTEM A Wallet-Friendly Mac That Delivers Performance TOM THOMPSON The Mac Ilsi, running Adobe Illustrator 3. 0. The system is using its built-in video to drive the 8-bit (256-color) display. BYTE ACTION SUMMARY Apple's modular Mac II-class com- puters are well known for their ca- pabilities. They accept NuBus ex- pansion boards, readily handle 24-bit color images, and include built-in FPUs that let them crunch numbers with gusto . Unfortunately, these Macs are equally well known for their high prices. The newest member of the modular family, the Mac Ilsi, delivers most of the Mac Ilci's processing punch— and some of its expandability— for about $1900 less. The Mac Ilsi and its siblings, the Mac LC and Mac Classic, are the start of a new trend at Apple: reasonable prices. (For more on these machines, see "The New Macs on the Block" in the Novem- ber 1990 BYTE.) The basic system, with 2 megabytes of RAM, a 40-MB hard disk drive, a keyboard, and a 12-inch color monitor, comes to $4497. I tested a Ilsi with 5 MB of RAM, an 80-MB hard disk drive, a NuBus/68882 FPU adapter, a 13-inch AppleColor monitor, and System 6.0.7. This brought the price to $5946. A Look Inside The Ilsi is a stripped-down Mac Ilci. It's about as wide and deep as the Ilci, but at 4 inches tall, it sits nearly 2 inches lower. The main logic board has the same appli- cation-specific ICs for memory address- ing and on-board video and the same os- cillators for the video and bus clocks. The 512K-byte ROM chips include 32- Bit QuickDraw, and the built-in video supports screen depths of from 1 to 8 bits and several types of Apple monitors. But there are differences. The 68030 CPU clocks at 20 MHz (the Ilci runs at 25 MHz). The Ilsi doesn't have a 68882 FPU or a second Apple Desktop Bus port, and a single 120-pin expansion con- nector replaces the Ilci's three NuBus slots. Special adapters that plug into this connector support either a NuBus slot or an 030 Direct Slot. These adapters come with a 20-MHz 68882 FPU and cost $249 each. There's no programmer's switch: You can trigger reset and interrupt states by MAC MSI WHAT YOU'LL LIKE The Mac Ilsi rivals Mac Ilci performance for $ 1 900 less. WHAT YOU'LL DISLIKE The single NuBus/030 Direct Slot limits expandability, and the system's small power supply may not be able to handle both a second hard disk drive and an expansion board in some cases. I WHAT WE RECOMMEND Go with the Mac 1 1 si if you need Ilci power and can live with one expansion slot. The Ilsi is also a good entry-level platform for running A/UX. But if you just want 8-bit color on the cheap, the 68020-based Mac LC may be all you need. I SYSTEM CONFIGURATION TESTED 20-MHz 68030 CPU; 68882 math coprocessor; 5 MB of system RAM; 80-MB SCSI hard disk drive; on-board video with 640- by 480-pixel resolution at 8 bits, or 640 by 870 pixels at 4 bits; 1 3-inch AppleColor monitor; 81 -key keyboard, including keypad and power switch; one ADB port; sound input and output ports; two serial ports; one SCSI port; one video port; one external floppy disk drive port I WHAT YOU'LL PAY $5946 I FOR MORE INFORMATION Apple Computer, Inc. 20525 Mariani Ave. Cupertino, CA 950 14 (408)996-1010 Circle 1222 on Inquiry Card. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 257 A WALLET-FRIENDLY MAC The Mac LC: Low Cost, High Quality Compared to the Mac Ilsi, the Mac LC is positively diminu- tive. The machine is just as wide, but it stands a mere 3 inches tall and weighs a trim 8 pounds to the Ilsi's 10. Inside, the LC is a Mac II reborn, with a 16-MHz 68020 CPU, Color QuickDraw, and built-in 8- bit sound. However, the floppy disk drive uses the 1 .44-megabyte SuperDrive, and the built-in video cir- cuitry supports several Ap- ple monitors. Like the Ilsi, it has built-in hardware and a microphone for recording sounds. The unique feature of the LC is its price: A system with 2 MB of RAM, a 40- MB SCSI hard disk drive, and a keyboard costs about $2400. Combine it with a low-cost Macintosh 12-inch RGB monitor ($599), and you've got a Mac II-class system with color for approximately $3000. Apple reduced the LC's cost by limit- ing expandability. There's no math co- processor chip, nor are there sockets for one or for a 68851 paged-memory-man- agement-unit chip. (You need the latter The Mac LC. With the 12-inch RGB monitor shown and 512K bytes of optional video RAM, it can display 16-bit color (32,768 colors). chip to support System 7.0 's virtual memory or to run A/UX. ) You can ex- pand memory from the standard 2 MB to 4, 6, or 10 MB. But there's no room for another internal hard disk drive, and the machine has only a single 68020 Di- rect Slot. Currently, few such boards are available (Apple has an Apple II emulation board), but you can expect 24-bit color boards and an accel- erator board with both a 68030 CPU and an FPU in the near future. The Mac LC uses 256K bytes of dedicated single in- line memory module mounted-video RAM for its frame buffer. If you up- grade the video memory to 512K bytes, you get 16-bit color (32,768 colors) on the 12-inch RGB monitor, which has a 512- by 384- pixel display. Because of the separate VRAM, the LC suffers no performance penalty for using the built- in video. The BYTE bench- marks bear this out: The LC, running System 6.0.7, performs almost as well as a Mac II. Software compati- bility is excellent: Our tests included putting the LC to work as a mail server for several E-mail packages. Anyone with a need for cost-effective color should check out the LC. If your work requires only Mac II performance and color and requires little number crunching, then the LC is the machine you need. typing special key sequences. Finally, there is only one memory bank (four sockets) for single in-line memory mod- ule-mounted RAM, versus the two memory banks on the Ilci. Apple soldered 1 MB of 100-nanosec- ond RAM to the main logic board; the built-in 320K-byte video frame buffer resides here. You can expand the Ilsi's memory from the standard 2MB (which is enough to run System 7.0) up to 3, 5, 9, or 17 MB of RAM, depending on the RAM density in the memory bank. Nor- mally, on-board video results in a per- formance hit, because the video circuits block the CPU when both devices access the same address space. Because Apple placed the frame buffer within the on- board RAM, CPU accesses to the Ilsi's memory bank proceed unhindered. By contrast, the Ilci puts its frame buf- fer in one of its two memory banks. As a result, at least half of the system's mem- ory suffers a performance hit, versus only 1 MB on the Ilsi. Of course, if you don't use the on-board video, this isn't a problem. However, the Ilsi isn't just a remake of the Mac Ilci. A sound input jack and 8- bit A/D converter provide built-in sound- recording capability. An electret micro- phone is provided, and a phono adapter cable lets you pipe in sounds from com- pact discs or tape. The Sounds cdev lets you record at rates of 1 ] kHz or 22 kHz for up to 10 seconds. You can't edit the sounds you record, though. To do that, you need an application such as Faral- lon'sSoundEdit. Compatibility and Performance I expected compatibility to be good be- cause the Mac Ilci served as a proving ground for the Mac Ilsi's on-board video and memory decoder circuits. However, until now a modular Mac has always had an FPU. I removed the optional FPU to see if this would create problems for ap- plications that assume its presence. Applications such as PageMaker 4.0, Illustrator 3.0, FreeHand 2.0, Photo- shop 1.0,ATM2.0,andMacWriteII 1.1 ran and printed without a hitch. The Timbuktu 3.1 remote-control program 258 BYTE- MARCH 1991 When Selecting Your UNIX Operating System, Consider These Facts: Performance' ^B WRITE UZJ READ KB/sec 1 1 COPY 600 500 400 ■ 300 200 100 SCO UNIX 3.2 ESIX/V 3.2.D CPU TIME CONSUMED TIME TO COMPLETE ESIX/V H 3.2.D ■ SCO H l__ UNIX 3.2 I 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 (sec) 5000 BLOCKS TEST PIPE-BASED CONTEXT SWITCHING ^■j CPU TIME CONSUMED ^m TIMETO COMPLETE ESIX/V § 3.2.D ■ SCO I UNIX3.2p - ■ ■ 1 1 k ■^Pr i ■ 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4 5 (sec) CPU TIME CONSUMED TIME TO COMPLETE ESIX/V £„„„ SCO i UNIX 3.2 I 12 3 4 5 6 7 ) (sec) EXECL THROUGHPUT TEST SYSTEM CALL OVERHEAD TEST I Features =esix S V S T £ M V R.3.2 operating system Unlimited user license Development system TCP/IP runtime & development system LAN, WAN support STREAMS X-Window client & server programs 100% SVVS &SVID conformance Free hotline technical support service sco; □ R.3.2 operating system □ Unlimited user license □ Development system Q TCP/IP runtime & development system □ SCO X-Sight Price $825 $3575 /\t ESIX, we don't rely on marketing hypes, we deliver good, solid, working products. Whether you are a value-added reseller, a system integrator, a software developer or an end-user, you will appreciate what ESIX System V has to offer — a cost-effective, robust UNIX operating system from which you can develop your multi-user, multi-tasking computing environment. All ESIX products are available and shipping today. For more information about ESIX System V, or for the dealer nearest to you, call us at (415) 683-2068 Prices based on UNIX System V Release3.2, unlimited user licenseand compatible product offering. All other company names and products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. ESIX Computer, Inc. is a subsidiary of Evcrex Systems, Inc. ESIX System V is a trademark of ESIX Computer, Inc. Above information subject to crum^e without notice. © Copyright 1 990 ESIX Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Ad3 8/90 v. I *Based on MUSBUS Benchmark Suite on STEP 386/25, 1 6MB memory. Default kernel configuration, standard C Compiler, NBUF=600, NHHUF = 1 28 SYSTEM \/ 48431 Milmont Dr. Fremont, CA 94538 Fax:(415)651-0728 U.S.A | // i i MEMBER Circle 107 on Inquiry Card. A WALLET-FRIENDLY MAC Mac list MacLC Mac I lei Mac Ilex Mac Classic MacSE MACINTOSH BENCHMARKS < Worse APPLICATION-LEVEL PERFORMANCE Better ► Mac llsi 3.8 3.7 3.8 10.9 3.8 26.0* 13.1 26.9 18.0 6.1 5.0 MacLC 1 .9 2.2 2.5 4.0 2.5 Mac 1 lei Mac Ilex Mac Classic MacSE □ Word I I r~| r~l Scientific/ Processing | | Spreadsheet I I Database LJ Engineering | | Compilers < Worse LOW-LEVEL PERFORMANCE Better ► 5.7 1.7 4.2 3.9 3.0 2.9 2.6 i i cpu I I fpu r^i Disk rn Video CONVENTIONAL BENCHMARKS LINPACK (single) Double LINPACK Dhrystones Mac llsi 194 196 4453 MacLC 928 1790 2008 Mac llci 150 151 5725 Mac Ilex 237 250 3735 Mac Classic 2324 4237 806 MacSE 2319 4229 805 from Farallon Computing also worked readily. The Ilsi's apparent performance seemed brisk enough, even compared to the llci that I normally use. Most spreadsheet programs had prob- lems with the absent FPU. Excel 2.20 crashed when I opened a spreadsheet file (version 2.20a corrects this problem). WingZ 1.1 displayed an alert box stating that a 68020 and a math coprocessor weren't present— right on both counts— Except for the conventional benchmarks, all results are indexed; foreachtest, a Mac SE = 1 , and higher numbers indicate faster performance. In the Dhrystone test, higher numbers indicate faster performance; in the LINPACK tests, lower numbers are better. The floating-point benchmarks use the SANE library, Comprehensive test results for all tested machines are available on request. For a full description of the Mac benchmarks, see "Introducing the New BYTE Benchmarks," June 1988 BYTE. and then exited gracefully to the Finder. To my surprise, graphics applications, such as PixelPaint Pro 1 .0 and PhotoMac 1.52, experienced the same problems. Most vendors have new versions that work fine. I ran the BYTE benchmarks on the llsi using a 640- by 480-pixel AppleColor RGB monitor— the same monitor I used when benchmarking the 16-MHz Ilex and 25-MHz llci. I have also included benchmark results for the Mac LC (see the text box "The Mac LC: Low Cost, High Quality" on page 258) and the Classic— Apple's two other low-end ma- chines. As the BYTE Lab test results show, the Mac llsi performance falls squarely between that of the Ilex and the llci. Without the FPU, however, math pro- cessing performance sags to around that of a Mac II. The FPU reduced math test times by 40 percent to 50 percent on aver- age. If you plan to do serious digit bash- ing with this machine, you should spend the extra $249 to obtain the FPU/expan- sion board adapter. The Limits of Power Apple performed some high jinks to fit a PC form-factor NuBus board inside the llsi. The NuBus adapter, which contains both the FPU chip and the NuBus logic circuitry, is an L-shaped contraption that places the board on its side within the llsi chassis. It's the darndest thing you ever 260 BYTE- MARCH 1991 I 1 J -r On the rails. In the sky. Down the road. CompuServe Mail keeps you in touch whether you're at home or away. It doesn't matter where you or the people you're trying to reach are, you can communicate through CompuServe Mail. So whether you're in a hotel room in Los Angeles or an airport in New York, you can access CompuServe Mail through your computer and send or receive communications anywhere in the world. Send an electronic message to your sales rep in St. Louis. A document to your boss in Chicago. A fax to your client in Tokyo. A telex to your office in London. Or a letter to your kids at home. CompuServe Mail. The electronic mail service that goes wherever you do. To join CompuServe, see your computer dealer. To order direct or for more information, cal!800-457-MAIL. CompuServe Circle 68 on Inquiry Card. Count yourself in with the Wildcard 88™ ' Supports XT Turbo mode CPU clock speeds of 4.77, 7.1 5 and 9.54 MHz • 10 MHz CPU clock frequency > Supports up to 32K Bytes of onboard BIOS EPROM » Small 2 "x4" form factor » Bios available for easy integration > Onboard DRAM controller for easy system design > Onboard bus controller supports XT I/O channel Magatel is expanding the Wildcard ™ family to offer you more development flexibility. The Wildcard™ family offers the lowest cost, smallest footprint solution for your XT class system. It integrates all functions of the IBM PC, XT® motherboard minus DRAM and DRAM drivers. All on a circuit • Supports 8087 co-processor operation (with socket) for high speed numeric data processing • Reduces XT parts countby 75% • Supports up to 640K of system DRAM • Onboard sound generator supports speaker control • Improves total system reliability • Reduces overall system costs and factory overhead • Onboard Keyboard Controller card the size of a business card. For more information call us today. Megatel Computer Corporation 1 2 5 Wendell Ave., Toronto, Ontario M5T 1W4 (416)245-3324 FAX (416) 245-6505 Wildcard i sa trademark of Megatel Computer Corp. IBM PC. XT are registered trademarks of IBM Corp. megatel A WALLET-FRIENDLY MAC saw, but it works. I put a Radius TPD In- terface board inside the Ilsi, and it drove a 21 -inch Radius monitor just fine. The Ilsi's 47- watt power supply is con- siderably smaller than the Ilci's 90-W unit. Exceeding power limits can over- heat the Mac or damage the power sup- ply, so Ilsi owners should select their NuBus boards and peripherals carefully. To meet Apple specifications, NuBus boards shouldn't exceed 15 W; 030 Di- rect Slot boards should require no more than 7 W. Not all boards fall within this limit. All RasterOps video boards com- ply, as does the Radius DirectColor/GX. Ironically, Apple's own 8 # 24 GC accel- erated video board exceeds the specifica- tion: It requires 20 W. Combine the 8*24 GC with a second internal hard disk drive and you just might break the Ilsi's power budget. If Apple's 40- or 60-MB hard disk drive isn't enough, Rodime offers a one- third-height unit— the 100-MB Cobra lOOil ($1869)— that mounts above Ap- ple's hard disk drive. Installation is a tad convoluted, but the lOOil works reliably and shouldn't overburden the power sup- ply if your NuBus or 030 Direct Slot board is within specification. Alternate- ly, you can add external SCSI periph- erals that won't tax the Ilsi's power supply. Is It Right for You? Will the Ilsi do the job for you? If you want to run some 8-bit color applications and you're happy with a small screen and the processing power of a Mac II, the $3000 Mac LC is a better choice. You should go with the Ilsi if you demand number crunching, or a big screen, or a fast network connection— but not all of the above. The Ilsi's 68030 CPU pro- vides plenty of computing horsepower, and its integral memory management unit lets you use all of System 7.0's fea- tures or run A/UX 2.0.1, Apple's ver- sion of Unix. The Mac Ilsi's expansion capabilities, limited as they are, provide some choices that you won't get with the Mac LC. On the other hand, if you need 24-bit color and Ethernet connectivity, you need the Mac Ilci. The Ilsi is now Apple's entry-level Mac II computer, and its most innovative feature is its reasonable price. Coming from Apple, that's a welcome develop- ment. ■ Tom Thompson is a BYTE senior editor at large. He has a B.S.E.E. degree from Memphis State University. He can be reached on BIX as t{ tom_thompson. " 262 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Circle 1 76 on Inquiry Card. KnowledgePro 8 • • • a world beyond ToolBook? -.._. x\ • The press decide... PC WEEK July 16, 1990 . . . "KPWIN is more responsive than ToolBook ...fully exploits the Windows environment., the result is extraordinary development productivity" PC MAGAZINE October 30, 1990... "Knowledge Prcfs support for Windows objects is much richer than ToolBook's . . . doesn't suffer from the speed or bitmap size problems that ToolBook does.. ." INFOWORLD October 1, 1990... "KPWIN runs faster than ToolBook . so easy you'll think you've forgotten something. . . . In the same class as Next Step and far above the cluhkier competition..." Circle 161 on Inquiry Card. YOU decide... If you buy KPWIN and choose to send it back within 60 days we'll refund your money. KnowledgePro Windows (KPWIN) is fast, and it doesn't limit you to single windows with 64k boundaries. Inter- active tools get you started and a rich OOP language gives you the control you need for serious applications. Hypertext and hypermedia give your applications depth and built-in expert systems technology lets you create smart programs. Links to the outside world are easy with DDE and DLL's. KPWIN costs $695 with no runtime fees for applications, Amex, Visa, M/C and COD accepted. Dealers welcome. To order call 518-766-3000- FAX 518-756-3003 or write to: Knowledge Garden Inc. 473A Maiden Bridge Rd. Nassau, NY 12123, U.S.A. Knowledge GARDENKc KnowledgePro and KPWIN are trademarks of Knowledge Garden, ToolBook is a registered trademark of Asymetrix Corporation, Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corp. , Image by Robert Tinney. "rvo i / ^ TRANSIENT ANALYSIS 8eh *v iorm. £,:. wgim&& ^W muwumuinni'ii i I I \ \ \ 1 I 1 1 1 ) { J I J i I // THE NEW MICRO-CAP HE SO YOU CAN TEST-FLY EVEN MORE MODELS. 7777*/ It wasn't easy. But we did it. Made the long-time best-selling IBM® PC-based interactive CAE tool even better. Take modeling power. We've significantly expanded math expression capabilities to permit comprehensive analog behavioral modeling. And, beyond Gummel Poon BJT and Level 3 MOS, you're now ready for nonlinear magnetics modeling. Even MESFET modeling. Analysis and simulation is faster, too. Because the program's now in "C" and assembly language. That also means more capacity— for simulating even larger circuits. As always, count on fast circuit crea- tion, thanks to window-based operation and a schematic editor. Rapid, right-f rom- schematics analysis— AC, DC, fourier and transient— via SPICE-like routines. The ability to combine digital/analog circuit simulations using integrated switch — ! Transient analysis SttT f 1 J,. , f' -•:. :. jOi t ! Schematic editor ' .--.'-.•' -S.ry.° ir ,-yj .-_4\. v -•.*.- \ !';J| '{■■'*« '■■'■ <■'■'■"" models and parameterized macros. And stepped component values that stream- line multiple-plot generation. And don't forget MICRO-CAP Ill's extended routine list— from impedance, Nyquist diagrams and BH plots to Monte Carlo for statistical analysis of production yield. The algebraic formula parsers for plotting virtually any function. The support for Hercules, CGA, MCGA, EGA and VGA dis- plays. Output for plotters and laser printers. Cost? Still only $ 1495. Evaluation ver- sions still only $150. Brochure and demo disk still free for the asking. Call or write for yours today. And see how easily you can get ideas up and flying. Monte Carlo analysis Circle 266 on Inquiry Card. 1021 S. Wolfe Road Sunnyvale, GA 94086 (408) 738-4387 REVIEWS SOFTWARE Quick Relief for Windows Programming JOHN M. DLUGOSZ BYTE ACTION SUMMARY WINPRO/3 I WHAT WINPRO/3 DOES Winpro/3 is a user interface editor for Windows programmers. Instead of specifying the size and placement of various objects manually, you can construct the screen in a WYSIWYG fashion. I WHAT YOU'LL LIKE Winpro/3 saves programming time and improves the quality and appearance of interfaces. You see a working prototype of your interface in hours instead of days. I WHAT YOU'LL DISLIKE The product doesn't save you from having to learn Windows programming; the C source code Sroduced by Winpro/3 must be eavily modified before use. The cost will probably keep casual users at bay. I SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS PC capable of running Windows 3.0 in protected mode (286 or higher); Windows 3.0; Microsoft Windows SDK; Microsoft C or other Windows-compatible C compiler I WHAT YOU'LL PAY $895 I FOR MORE INFORMATION Xian Corp. 625 North Monroe St. Ridgewood, NJ 07450 (201)447-3270 fax:(201)447-2547 Circle 1075 on Inquiry Card. Even with all the copies of Windows 3.0 out there, programmers still wince when faced with writing Windows applications. The Windows in- terface is not known for its friendliness to developers, and the standard Software Development Kit (SDK) offers no relief from the burden of laying out interfaces by hand. Microsoft seems content to leave the simplifying of Windows devel- opment to third-party companies. One third-party solution, Winpro/3 from Xian, should be welcomed by de- velopers. Winpro/3 is an aid to Windows programmers. Basically, it rides herd on your resource files. It also automates a lot of the busy work involved in setting up a new application. In simplest terms, it is an application builder, letting you lay out interfaces by dragging the elements into place. You can alter the appearance and details of the sample application window by clicking on the various labels. And the menu on the sample window actually works, so you can see how the main menu and pop-up menus look. In addi- tion, you can link a menu choice to a dia- log box (by giving them both the same ID), so choosing that menu choice brings up the linked dialog box. You can also view any of the dialog boxes in the pro- gram by choosing from a list presented when you click on the dialog-box label. Besides giving you an advance look at your interface's appearance, Winpro/3 also manages all the application's re- sources. It contains a string resource edi- tor and an accelerator key editor, and it runs the various editors (e.g., the ones from the SDK or whatever program you specify) for other resource types. Al- Winpro/3 's interface editor permits interactive design of Windows program interfaces. most everything is maintained in one re- source source file, with an include file for the icon. Winpro/3 shows you your resources as they actually run, which is easier than analyzing the source code. It helps start a new program by importing resources from other programs, managing the edit process, and collecting everything to- gether into one resource file. Windows Done Easily Winpro/3 comes on two 5 14 -inch disks or one 3 1 /2-inch disk. There is no formal installation process; you just copy the files. However, you then have to edit the templates to fill in the correct name of the library you want to use, and you must uncomment a line if you are using the NMAKE program instead of the old MAKE program. The manual comes in a full-size ring binder. The main application instruc- tions make more sense after you have worked with the program; that is, you have to get a feel for what the program does before you read the details about menu choices and so on. There is a sec- tion on the template language, and one on the code regeneration algorithm. All in all, the documentation is pretty good. Most of Winpro/3 involves working with the layout editor. You simply place elements where you want them and tag them with the attributes you desire. Once you have everything the way you like it, you just pull down the Applications menu and choose "Generate Code. ..." Win- pro/3 will generate C code, including initialization code that registers the class and creates the main window, dialog MARCH 1991 • BYTE 265 Circle 44 on Inquiry Card. PUT dBASE ON TOP Dr. Switch-flSf puts dBASE on top. On top of the charts, spreadsheets, word processors or on top of DOS. Right where it belongs, on top of any graphics or text program when you need it. Neatly tucked away when you don't. Dr. Switch-/lSf turns any dBASE language program into a I6-20K RAM resident program. So now you can have dBASE power at the touch of a key, anywhere, any- time and from any program. dBASE TSR's, easyasASE With Dr. Switch-TISE you don't have to be an Assembly language whiz or a C code maven to create TSR's. The Doctor includes an integrated cut 6 paste feature for transfering data be- tween programs. It also supports both Expanded and Extended mem- ory and is fully network compatible. The doctor speaks your language Dr. Switch-/lSf supports all of the dBASE dialects. So it works directly from Clipper? dBASE III PLUS? dBASE IV : FoxBASE + * and FoxPro" No need to learn a new dBASE syntax and no new environments to wrestle with. ^^^^ When the doctor's in, dBASE is * -^ on top. Call and place your order today! 212-787-6633 DR.SWITCH-ASE $179.95*' Black & White International Inc. P.O. Box 1040 Planetarium Station New York. Ny 10024-0541 Dr. Switch. Dr. Switch-flSf. Dr.Switch-OnCali and Dr. Switch-TSRM are trademarks of Slack b White International. Inc. All others are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders 'Plus Shipping/Handling: US orders add $6.00 for 2nd Day Air. $3.00 for Ground. Canadian and Foreign orders add $8 00. COD add $3.50 Ny residents add sales tax. All payments U.S. funds/US. Banks only' t Includes royalty-free runtime version. QuickTrace ^^ NCGA '91 Vf Chicago, April 22-25 Vector Based Graphics TIFF Bit Map The Automatic Tracing Program QuickTrace is an automatic tracing tool which converts scanned "dot" images into vector based graphics. Instead of drawing by hand, try QuickTrace. It will help you to easily and quickly enter graphics like logos, maps and clip art, which would otherwise be difficult and time-consuming on your PC ■for DTP laXSwSM $245 Convert into EPSF, CGM, Microgratx PIC, DRW ■ for AutoCAD DXF $295 ■for Lotus Freelance Plus $245 PLEASE CONTACT: 212-605-2339 OR SEE EGGHEAD NEAREST YOU IN U.S. CONTACT REFLEX IN U.K.: 0734-314611 AX Developed by Information & Control Lab. Co. Nakajima Bldg., 5F, 1 1-22, Shinjuku 5-chome, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 1 60, Japan Phone: 3-5379-7470 / Fax: 3-5379-7471 ww Mitsubishi International Corporation Technology Affairs Dept. 520 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10022 Phone:212-605-2339 / Fax:212-605-1847 •DrawPerlect ol WordPerfect Corporation. Micrografx ol Micrografx inc.. AutoCAO ol Autodesk Inc . Lotus and Freelance of Lotus Development Corporation. Illustrator of Adobe Systems Incorporated. PageMaker of Aldus Corporation, harvard Graphics ol Software Publishing corporation are registered trademark of each company •Quicktrace can input images scanned by Niscan, Logitec Scan Man and etc. ©OEM inquiry welcome QUICK RELIEF functions for all the dialog boxes, and a header file for your resources. It also creates a make file, a linker response file, and a linker DEF file. The creation of the dialog functions is probably the best feature. The sample application had quite a few dialog boxes, and the generated C source code was well over 60K bytes long just for the dialog functions. Winpro/3 also creates the main event loop and takes care of calling dialog boxes from linked menu choices. Winpro/3 generates a good deal of skeleton code in a few seconds, saving the programmer a tedious and error- prone task. But programs tend to change after they're designed. After you start fleshing in the skeleton, you can change the resources and window appearance and have Winpro/3 regenerate the files without messing up what you've added. Potential Time-Saver Winpro/3 is flexible. It supports custom- control styles in dialog boxes. The names of the various programs it can call are configurable, as are the names of the files that are generated. The generated code is based on a skeleton file, which can be edited. You can easily retouch the file for your own formatting styles or make radical alterations to the code. Winpro/3 has a few shortcomings, however. Control over the window class definition is not complete. You will most likely need to retouch the code to specify the proper style of flags and background brush, and you'll have to change the cur- sor if you want anything other than the normal IDC.ARROW. The code generated from the template is well commented, so you can easily lo- cate a particular code segment. The code is organized into blocks, with each block marked by comments. Changing the word regenerate to preserve in a block comment will prevent that block from be- ing updated when the code is regenerat- ed. Blocks can be nested, so you can con- trol an entire function or just a particular branch within it. For example, assume that you've retouched the window-class definition code. You would flag it as "preserve" so your changes will not be clobbered when you regenerate due to, say, changing a dialog box. In short, Winpro/3 is handy. The $895 price tag is a bit daunting for an individ- ual, but it should be within the budget of a programming shop. And it can save you a lot of time. ■ John M. Dlugosz is a programmer, writ- er, and consultant based in Piano, Texas. He can be reached on BIX as "jdlugosz. " 266 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Circle 1 38 on Inquiry Card. Order BYTE Program Listings on Disk! BYTE listings are available on disk if you want to compile or read the complete source code listings of programs. BYTE listings are available from December 1985 to the present at the prices stated on the adjacent order form. Call Toll-free 800-258-5485 (in N.H. 603-924-9281) Subscription Customer Service 800-232-BYTE FOR DIRECT ORDERING CALL TOLL-FREE: 800-258-5485 Call: M-F, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time; (603-924-9281 for N.H. residents). For credit card orders only. ORDER FORM: To place your order, PLEASE COMPLETE IN FULL Name out the card and mail. Address City State, Zip County or Parish Credit Card # . Country Signature Please allow 6-12 weeks for delivery. . Exp. Date_ Date_ MARCH 51/4 Inch: □ IBM PC 3V 2 Inch: □ Apple Macintosh □ IBM PS/2 • Please indicate the issue date below. If you are beginning an annual subscription, note the starting issue. BYTE Program Listings Mnnth Year IN USA/Single Month (1 disk) □ BYTE Listings $10.95 □ BYTE Listings $11.95 IN USA/ Annual Subscription (13 disks) □ Check enclosed □ BYTE Listings $89.95 D BYTE Listings $99.95 □ MasterCard □ VISA OUTSIDE USA/Single Month (1 disk) □ U.S. funds enclosed (If ordering from outside D BYTE Listings $13.95 D BYTE Listings $14.95 the U.S. please remit in U.S. funds drawn on OUTSIDE USA/Annual Subscription (13 disks) U.S. bank. Thank you.) □ BYTE Listings $109.95 D BYTE Listings $119.95 BVTE M CD _ CD ^C O X IT CQcog X = o GO cn oo 3 CD (A O 00 o CD "U T OTJ m 3> >o III Q m m Order BYTE Program Listings on Disk! BYTE listings are available on disk if you want to compile or read the complete source code listings of programs. BYTE listings are available from December 1985 to the present at the prices stated on the adjacent order form. Call Toll-free 800-258-5485 (in N.H. 603-924-9281) Subscription Customer Service 800-232-BYTE REVIEWS SOFTWARE Powerf usion Provides the Glue for Networking DOS and Unix JON UDELL What's the best way to connect Unix and DOS networks? It depends on your point of view. According to the Unix-centric perspective, DOS ma- chines need only run the TCP/IP pro- tocols (and related tools) to enjoy the file, print, and terminal services of a Unix LAN. Of course, Unix folk tend to underestimate the strain that puts on a puny DOS workstation— particularly one that is also running as a node on a DOS LAN. The alternative DOS-centric view therefore holds that Unix should pretend to be a DOS-style LAN server. The DOS LAN protocols already running in the PC do double duty, providing the ticket to Unix services as well. That's how Per- formance Technology's Powerf usion works: A Server Message Block (SMB) file server runs under Unix, communi- cates through NetBIOS (over ARCnet or Ethernet), and delivers file and print ser- vices to DOS clients. At the same time, a NetBIOS-oriented terminal server run- ning on the Unix host, coupled with a DOS-based terminal emulator, enables DOS clients to run Unix terminal ses- sions at network speed. That's fine for PC LAN, LAN Man- ager, or other DOS LANs that use the SMB and NetBIOS protocols, but what about NetWare, which doesn't? One ap- proach is to multiplex protocols on the PC. CocoNet, the Xenix-to-DOS prod- uct from Atlantix, uses packet driver technology to toggle between NetWare's IPX and a custom NetBIOS that commu- nicates with Xenix-Net. Performance Technology takes a dif- ferent tack. NetWare clients run Novell's own NetBIOS emulator, which uses IPX. One nondedicated node on the NetWare LAN runs a NetBIOS-to-NetBIOS con- verter, called Powerbridge, that joins the NetWare NetBIOS to the Unix NetBIOS (see the figure). Either way, the NetWare client must also run an SMB-oriented re- director to use the file and print services offered by the Unix (or Xenix) SMB server. Powerfusion provides a reason- ably small (15K-byte) redirector that does the job nicely. The Unix Server The notion of an SMB server for Unix isn't new. Xenix has long supported DOS clients by way of a little-noticed SMB server component, Xenix-Net. LAN Manager/X, the portable LAN Manager, promises to extend that capa- bility to a variety of Unix platforms. As of this writing, however, LAN Mana- ger/X servers are imminent but have not yet shipped. (Atlantix's Axcess LAN Manager/X server arrived as we went to press. I'll review it in an upcoming is- sue.) And then there's Performance Technology's own SMB server, an inde- pendent implementation available today for Intel 386 and Motorola 68000 and 88000 machines running AT&T Unix System V. A RISC System 6000 version should also be available by the time you read this. I tested the server on a Compaq Desk- pro 386SX running Interactive Systems' System V/386 3.2, and joined the Unix machine to a NetWare 286 version 2.15 LAN. ARCnet provided the physical connection between the Unix and Net- Ware bridge PCs; both machines ran Performance Technology's NetBIOS drivers for ARCnet. Note that a non-Net- Ware LAN running Performance Tech- nology's Ethernet or ARCnet NetBIOS drivers might not require a bridge sta- tion. There is a key distinction between the NetBIOS interface (which offers da- tagram- and session-oriented services) BITE Two views of the Unix /usr/bin directory from Windows, using Powerfusion 's terminal emulator and SMB redirector. ACTION SUMMARY POWERFUSION FOR NOVELL WHAT IT DOES Powerfusion provides NetWare clients with access to file, print, and terminal services on a Unix host. Components include SMB file- server and Unix terminal-server software, and client redirector software. I SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ARCnet or Ethernet LAN; NetWare 2.1x or 3.x; AT&T Unix System V I WHAT YOU'LL PAY Workstation and bridge software: $1750 Unix server, ARCnet/NetBIOS, and DOS redirector: $2250 I FOR MORE INFORMATION Performance Technology 800 Lincoln Center 7800 I. H. 10 West San Antonio, TX 78230 (800)825-5267 fax:(512)366-0123 Circle 1226 on Inquiry Card. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 267 POWERFUSION POWERFUSION CONFIGURATIONS Modem Unix PC with SMB server DOS PC with Powerbridge Powerfusion client running uterm and SMB redirector / Other \ { NetBIOS \ LAN I Powerfusion client running uterm and SMB redirector Performance Technology 's Powerfusion and Powerbridge provide several types of network connections. At the heart of the system, a Unix PC running SMB file- server software and NetBIOS delivers file and print services to DOS clients by way of a nondedicated bridge PC. The bridge PC translates between different NetBIOS versions on the client and host machines. Meanwhile, a NetBIOS- oriented terminal server running on the Unix host, coupled with a DOS-based terminal emulator, enables DOS clients to run Unix terminal sessions at network speed. Powerbridge 's serial communications option bridges to another NetBIOS LAN or a stand-alone machine using a modem or X. 25 PAD. The stand-alone PC uses a special ''null NetBIOS " program to route NetBIOS requests through a modem to the SMB server by way of the Powerbridge PC. and the underlying transport protocols that support that interface. Both must be compatible for plug-and-play interoper- ability. According to Performance Technol- ogy, its selection of Ethernet and ARC- net drivers for Unix, DOS, and OS/2 can help close the "transport gap." The com- pany claims (although I didn't test this scenario) that a 3Com or CBIS LAN run- ning Performance Technology NetBIOS drivers in place of its own could access the Unix server directly. In the case of a LAN whose NetBIOS is not substitut- able— LANtastic is an example— you'd use a bridge just as with NetWare. The Unix script that starts PCserve, the SMB file server, also fires up a dae- mon that provides "get and put" file transfer services. Together, these two components publish NetBIOS names that Powerfusion' s DOS utilities can then use to access terminal, printer, file sharing, and file transfer services. You can use the nbas (NetBIOS adapter statistics) program to list the names installed in the NetBIOS name table. The configuration tool, PCconfig, works like a typical Unix system admin- istration utility— not fancy, but it gets the job done. You use it to establish share- names for disk and printer resources, and to specify how those resources will ap- pear to DOS clients. The server offers two general forms of security, which are dubbed "MS-DOS" and "Unix." These correspond roughly to LAN Manager's "share" and "user" modes. With MS-DOS security, users get access to all files in the shared direc- tory; with Unix security, clients take on 268 BYTE- MARCH 1991 BIG IS OUT SMALL IS IN. Introducing the Falco Infinity Desktop Computer. The Smallest 386SX Desktop. If you're sizing up desktop computers, you'll immediately see the advantage of the Falco Infinity™ Desktop. It gives you 386™SX power and perform- ance without dominating your deskspace. Half the size of a standard PC, the Infinity Desktop has everything you need on-board: Peripheral interfaces like disk controllers. Memory expansion. Communication ports. And VGA® level graphics up to 1024 x 768 resolution. Plus, two AT-compatible, 16-bit expansion slots. It runs DOS™ 4.0, UNIX: OS/2™ and Microsof t® Windows 3.0. What's more, you can choose from four configurations, including a diskless network node and a full-featured model with 1.44MB floppy and the option of 40, 100 or 200 MB hard drive. The only thing we left out is the noise. The Infinity Desktop runs so quietly, you'll hardly know it's on. Whether you work in close quarters or spacious sur- roundings, the Falco Infinity Desktop covers all your needs. Without covering your desk. And that's about the size of it. To get one for your desk, call us today. 1-800-FALCO4U FALCO © J 990 Falco Data Products. Inc. 440 Potrero Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94086-4117 Circle 1 1 2 on Inquiry Card. All trademarks arc registered to their respective owner; POWERFUSION a Unix user ID, and all subsequent ac- cess is governed by Unix's three-part user/group/other scheme. In either case, you've got to associate a Unix user ID and group ID with the sharename, and these IDs ultimately determine the effec- tive permissions. The Unix-oriented scheme offers more flexibility, at the cost of some extra administrative over- head. To make the best use of it, Perfor- mance Technology recommends that you set up a group ID for each shared re- source, and related user IDs for all DOS users. Shared disk resources can be pass- word-protected, but need not be. There's also a synchronous write option. That means you can choose, for each shared resource, whether or not to use the Unix disk cache. It's a simple trade-off: You use the cache when speed matters most, but you can bypass it when reliability is critical. You can also use PCconf ig to make Instant Embedded Controller . . • Just Add Software High-level integration makes the MicroFrame 386S the perfect embedded controller. All you have to do is add software and expansion boards specific to your application. All basic system components and peripheral controllers are already on-board: • 80386SX processor • 80387SXmath coprocessor socket • Super VGA controller • IDE hard disk interface • Dual floppy disk controller • Two serial ports • One parallel port • PS/2 compatible mouse port • 512KB to 4MB of RAM • Four AT expansion slots Building with the MicroFrame 386S greatly reduces your design time. We've engineer- ed in compatibility and reliability using industry-accepted standards, You can concentrate your develop- ment efforts on software. Down time is reduced, too. 2\ Time-consuming trouble- shooting is eliminated. One spare is all you need. t$y Backed by a five-year limited ^warranty, and Made in America, the MicroFrame 386S is in control. Call or write today! 1-800-525-7661 MonolitKic /y/tem/corp. Monolithic Systems Corp. 7050 South Tucson Way, Englewood, CO 80112. (303) 790-7400 the Unix lp (line printer) spooler avail- able to DOS clients. Each shared printer resource can carry a set of options that feed into and control lp. These options include the name of the destination printer and the method used to notify the user when the job is finished (i.e., a di- rect TTY message or mail message). When you quit PCconf ig, it asks wheth- er you want to signal the PCserve pro- cess to make the changes take effect im- mediately. Clients that are actively using resources don't see the changed config- uration, I found, until they free the re- sources and make new connections. My biggest disappointment took place when I installed TCP/IP on the server, intending to connect it to BYTE's Unix Lab network. Had that worked, I'd have been able to establish terminal sessions with any of the machines in the Unix Lab from any PC on the LAN. Unfortunate- ly, the TCP/IP and ARCnet/NetBIOS subsystems refused to play together on the Powerfusion server. Performance Technology acknowledges the problem. The company claims that it only affects current versions of Interactive Systems' Unix, and that TCP/IP and Powerfusion do coexist peacefully under SCO Unix and the other Unixes that Powerfusion supports. Tools for the DOS Client Performance Technology offers a basket full of utilities on the DOS side, along with a couple of shells to help coordinate them. At a minimum, though, you need only run uterm on top of NetBIOS to open a terminal into Unix. It supports ANSI and VT220 emulations, and it's a snappy performer. Running vi through uterm— over Ethernet to the NetWare bridge station, and thence over ARCnet to Unix— didn't seem much different from running vi on the Unix console. It's got a handy shell-to-DOS feature so you can suspend uterm, run a file trans- fer, and then resume your terminal ses- sion. File transfer utilities are the com- mand-line-oriented uput and uget and the interactive ucopy. These tools oper- ate relative to a default Unix node, user name, and password drawn from a con- figuration file. In my case, for example, the command uput c : \autoexec.bat deposited that file in my Unix home di- rectory, /usr/j udell. You can override these defaults with command-line argu- ments to uput and uget or by means of the menu that ucopy presents. If you ♦— Circle 1 88 on Inquiry Card. %JmM #©# Solutions For Today And Tomorrow Available in Desktop and Tower Configurations. FCC Class B approved wit OmmTel Motherboards The Ultimate Systems Machine "Although it features extremely fast cache, OmniTel's focus is on quality and reliability rather than speed. Their very clean board has eight layers instead of the six often found on PC clones, and a full 32MB of SIMMS can fit on the board" Bemie Zilhcrgeld Computer Currents MADE IN U.S.A. MHz Mattel rnal Cache "What impressed me the most about USM was the people, the service, and the support. With that, USM was able satisfy all my needs with high quality products at competitive prices." G/fes Johnson Oakland, California To Order OmniTel Products Call USM Today! Outside CA: 415/623-9040 415/952-5886 408/376-0911 714/255-0113 1-800-245-1USM 415/623-7592 415/266-9134 408/980-0604 714/255-0115 , Pocket Modi Send & Rea FAX/Data mnpsivi: 386,486 & SX are trademarks of Intel Corporation OmniTel 386-33, 64K Cache Sj OmniTel 486-25, 128K Cache S>_ OmniTel 386SX-20, 64K Cache System $1,995 Standard Configuration: • 4MB RAM,70ns • 1 .2MB Floppy Drive • 1 .44MB Floppy Drive • 100MB, 22ms Hard Disk (Toshiba /Conner) • VGA-IMB, 1024 x 768, 256 Colors • 101 Enhanced Keyboard • Elegant Desktop Case • 2 Year Motherboard Warranty ^Monitor Options Additional Circle 331 on Inqu 1 USMACH | USM Distributors 43104 Christy Street Fremont, CA 94538 U.S.A. 3500 West Warren Avenue Fremont, CA 94538 U.S.A. (415)490-2202 POWERFUSION specify that a file contains text, the tools will convert between Unix (linefeed only) and DOS (carriage-return, line- feed) formats. But why bother with file transfer when you can use Unix files directly? Power- fusion's redirector costs only 15K bytes. Once it's loaded, you can map a local drive to the Unix file system in the fol- lowing manner: net use d: \\UNIX386\judell Then you use the DOS copy command to ship files around. The net command will be familiar to users of almost any NetBIOS LAN. In this case, UNIX386 specifies the NetBIOS name of the SMB server, and judell is a sharename that is mapped to the /usr/ judell directory. Note that the Unix server can't advertise the resources it publishes, so an adminis- trator has to tell users what sharenames are available and how they're intended to be used. AV€)CET SYSTEMS®! NC The Source For Quality Em bedded -System Tools Avo Avocet Systems, Inc., 120 Union St., P.O. Box 490, Rockport, ME 04856 In Miaine, or outside U.S., call (207) 236-9055 TLX: 467210 Avocet CI / FAX: (207) 236-6713 Call today for free catalog 1-80O448-8500 With the interactive navigate utility, you can browse local, NetWare-resident, and Unix-resident directory trees, create and delete Unix drive mappings, and search for files. Finally, there's an um- brella utility, pf n, that unifies all the subsidiary tools. Documentation for the tools is ade- quate in some cases but, unfortunately, nonexistent in others. I found no mention of several key components, including net, redir (the redirector), plnetnam(a NetBIOS name table initializer), and the PC version of nbas. Powerfusion gets cranky when you don't use these tools, or don't use them in the right order, so there ought to be some explanations. NetBIOS Bridge Building The Powerbridge toolkit from Perfor- mance Technology reminds me of the Swiss Army knife: There's a gadget for almost every conceivable purpose. In the simplest case, it straddles two NetBIOSes and hides differences between underly- ing transport protocols. For example, my test system's bridge machine booted with two adapter/NetBIOS pairs: Ether- net with Novell's NetBIOS, and ARCnet with Performance Technology's Net- BIOS. In that scenario, the bridge software publishes NetBIOS names from the Unix-connected adapter to the NetWare- connected one. A NetWare client that is requesting terminal or file service on the Unix machine won't find the relevant NetBIOS name in its table, but the bridge silently passes the request through to the Unix-connected NetBIOS. The bridge PC itself remains a functional— if some- what diminished— NetWare client. In my case, the two sets of drivers took up about 100K bytes, and the bridge used another 100K bytes. This left about 320K bytes free. Using an interactive tool referred to as bridge, you name the adapters and spec- ify the flow of resources among them. (The flow can be bidirectional, but it wasn't in my case, since a NetWare LAN publishes no resources that SMB clients can use.) The bridge tool gathers infor- mation and writes a batch file that de- ploys the actual bridge utilities— one to start the bridge and one to initialize adapters and cross-publish resources. The process is simple— but deceptive- ly so. Once you see how it is done, it makes sense, but bridge will just as hap- pily write meaningless configurations. It doesn't know, for example, that a quirk of NetWare's NetBIOS requires that you allocate an additional "null adapter," or that a NetBIOS name you specify might 272 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Behind each image is an array of data tha t you input THINX SMART: Thinx takes data and represents it as graphic images. m^/s ^^^^^^^^^ : - ^^^^^titfrtt.; By linking information to images, Thinx™ software, for the first time, allows you to manipulate streams of complex data simply by moving those images. Now "Intelligent Graphics" can be used to form connections, find relationships and make judgments/For instance, offices, equipment, furniture, and people all have an effect on a building's cost, profitability and countless other aspects of its operation. Yet, with Thinx, all this can be represented and analyzed by manipulating a graphic image of the building. W//M a^Liil/Lf/ ft B l* " Jma fit lifii THINX FAST: Thinx works the way you like, with Windows* and the leading spreadsheets and databases. Thinx recognizes that in order to simplify the way you work, it has to be compatible with the way you're used to working. So Thinx works under Windows 3.0, And, while Thinx has its own spreadsheet and database capa- bilities, it also lets you bring in and link information from dBase,* Lotus* 1-2-3* Excel and other popular data and graphics programs. Link several databases and spreadsheets and use all the data at once. Thinx Thinks Like \bu Do. ^Sfe^S THINX CLEARLY: Thinx lets you draw, calculate, analyze, decide and present as easily as point and click. ;. ^^ii,, ,„„ ,„.„, ^ ^f] ■JIB: ■;:::::::: J| . W~n liumlnntg; i Configure a product or . Thinx will show you ho the parts fit together. ystem wall >^w The purpose of Thinx is to perform easy "what-if" anal- yses. So, from the germ of an idea to the presentation of a proposal, Thinx thinks right along with you. With the simplicity of point and click, you can execute an idea by adding, deleting or moving images. Thinx automati- cally does all the calculations necessary to show you the results of your action. Examine an infinite number of options and, when you decide on your best one, Thinx will provide you with a dazzling presentation. THINX AGAIN: Thinx won't run out of applications until you run out of ideas. 4^ m ©1991 Bell Atlantic Because Thinx thinks the way you do, its applications can be as personal as your own ideas. Thinx isn't limited to particular industries, environments or areas of special- ization. Any time a problem can be depicted graphically, you have an application for Thinx. For details on our special introductory offer, call l*80O688'4469. The first 1000 phone purchases will receive a free Microsoft* Windows Productivity Pack. •■ -:.- 7=7" ■:■ ■' r -■.>>■■■;> * Microsoft, Windows, Lotus 1-2-3, and dBase are trademarks of their respective companies. Circle 40 on Inquiry Card. Thinx can show you how changing salaries and expenses can affect your company's overhead. ©Bell Atlantic WeteMoreThanJustTallt Tib-, '-7 Hi % POWERFUSION not actually exist in the relevant table. Better documentation would be a great help and, according to the company, should be available by the time you read this. Things get even more interesting when you tap into Powerbridge' s (optional) serial communications capability. With it you can bridge a pair of NetBIOSes separated by an asynchronous connec- tion. One of these can be a stand-alone machine, or you can connect two Net- BIOS LANs. I tested the stand-alone case using a "null NetBIOS" program pro- vided by Performance Technology. The stand-alone machine ran the null Net- BIOS and a bridge configured to route NetBIOS requests through a modem. To the bridge already running on the Net- Ware LAN, I added the corresponding modem-to-NetBIOS magic. Somewhat skeptically, I then typed net use d: \\unix386\judell Never buy another ribbon! ar ifin nnn enM ^ sh,pp,n9$5oo (j n j versa | Cartridge (includes one adapter) 75.00 Multicolor Adapter (specify printer) 40.00 Epson only Maclnker™ mod. 271EP 45.00 Imagewriter only Maclnker mod. 234IM 45.00 Universal Spool Maclnker 75.00 Heat Transfer Adapter 25.00 Extra Ink Bottle, black 3.00 pint 1 8.50 Colored Ink Bottle 4.00 extra reservoir 6.00 A 1 1 models delivered compiete with bottle o f ink, i n k meter , reservoir, reservoir cover. Universal Cartridae unit ff»"*r f\f\ ^"^ COlOT !! Single & multicolor, standard and heat transfer cartridges available: red, h 'thP ri rl $7 0«UU 9 reen - blue > brown, purple, yellow, orange, white, silver and gold. Indelible and OCR ink cartridges available. Over 24,000 printers supported. Better than new print quality. Extended printheaa life thanks to lubricated ink. Average cartridge can be re-inked 60-100 times at 5 cents/re-inking. Multicolor adapters re-ink multiband cartridges. Documented customer savings of up to $30,000/year. Detailed free catalog. Shipping $9.00 ■acBond II Auto-Ribbon Welder Make your own ribbons! MacBond II splices and welds in seconds ribbons of any size and inked in any color. Real alternative to ribbon bonding machines costing thousands of $$$. We have a complete range of bulk riSbons, color, multicolor. Heat transfer multicolor ribbons and Heat Transfer Machine available to decorate T-shirts, tiles etc. Modems $299.00 !! Shipping $7.00 2400b MNP cl 5 $159.00 !! 4800 b throughput, full duplex. 9600, 4800, 2400, 1200 bps. CCIT V.22bis, V.22, Bell 21 2A & 1 03 J modes • Auto speed selection • MNP cl. 5 error correction • Synch & asynchronous modes • Cable and software included ( PC or MAC) • 2 year warranty 9600 baud mnp cl 5 v.32 599.00 LightSpeed 2400LE(MNPd 5).... 159.00 UghtFax 9624 faxmodem 399.00 Fax/Phone switch 89.00 LightSpeed 9624E is a V.32, mnp 5, 9600 b modem. LightFax 9624 is a full featured group III, 9600 b fax & 2400 b modem combined, shipped with software & cable for PC or MAC (specify). Network software available. Fax/Phone switch automatically shares one line for fax, phone, phone recorder etc. New Printer-Plotter Server I Shipping $8.00 Printer/Plotter server, buffer, autoswitch, converter, all in one. Maximum ver- satility and economy in printer net- working. All HP plotters supported. 'IM B .l^---x l -'-3Mi $359 00" Cascade multiple units for unlimited networking options. Standard 256k upgradable to 3 MEG. Two models, UG- 501 P (3 par., 1 serial input), UG-501S (3 serial, 1 par. input). Both units have 1 ser., 1 par. output. UG-501 , just one of our complete family of datacom products. Diskette Doubler llncrease 3.5" disk capacity to 1.44 Megs with Ithis ingenious and simple device. Only $15.00 !! Computer Friends, Inc. 14250 NW Science Park Dr. Portland OR 97229 Satisfaction or 30 day refund - Immediate shipment - Major credit cards - PCs from National Accounts Order Toll Free 1-800-547-3303 In Oregon (503)626-2291 fax (503)643-5379 telex 4949559 CF and, well, you haven't lived until you've seen a stand-alone PC request an MS- Net-style drive mount, reach across a 2400-bps serial connection, and then hop through a NetWare LAN to an SMB serv- er running under Unix. It worked like a charm: The connection, while obviously slow, was perfectly serviceable. If you find this sort of wide-area connectivity appealing, note that the very same bridge software can link NetBIOS LANs over X.25. Pieces of the Internetworking Puzzle Powerfusion's chameleon-like nature makes it a bit hard to describe adequate- ly. When you get right down to it, Perfor- mance Technology is selling glue tech- nology that can help solve a variety of local- and wide-area networking prob- lems. Lord knows, that's something we all need. The Unix server is one key compo- nent. While Unix would not be my first choice for a sole DOS file server— I much prefer the administrative facilities of NetWare or LAN Manager— it is a handy auxiliary server. Here's one inter- esting scenario: Locate database files used by a DOS-based DBMS on the Unix machine and then export access to those files to Unix clients (local or remote) by means of a Unix terminal-oriented appli- cation. Powerbridge is another key piece that savvy systems integrators will want to be aware of. Interestingly, the company says that by the time you read this, it will have eliminated the bridge requirement for Novell-to-Unix arrangements like the one I tested. Given a common topology, a Performance Technology replacement for the Novell NetBIOS should eliminate the need for a NetBIOS-to-NetBIOS con- verter. Even if that should happen, how- ever, Powerbridge will remain a valu- able tool for connecting NetBIOS LANs locally or through asynchronous or X.25 links. I can't say that Powerf usion made ev- erything painless. While it's fair to ex- pect that DOS and Unix internetworking will entail some rocket-science-like tech- nology, the Powerfusion toolkit could certainly benefit from cleaner organiza- tion and better documentation. But if you think that TCP/IP is the only game in town, think again. Performance Tech- nology makes NetBIOS a workable alter- native. ■ Jon Udell, a BYTE senior editor at large, administers BYTE's editorial LAN and manages the LAN Lab. You can reach him on BIX as "judell. " 21 A BYTE • MARCH 1991 Circle 69 on Inquiry Card. WHAT MAKES A BEST SELLER A BEST SELLER? t "' t "• r t mmimmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmimmm A great plot begins with a great idea, easily translated through every phase oj design with Generic CADD 5.0. Deadline pressure is a thing of the past Designs can be quickly edited andannotated to produce final working drawings. No matter the complexity, symbols keep your workjlowing uninter- rupted. Tap our professional libraries or create your own symbols. Needtofita conventional design in a nonconuentional space? Revise and improvise in less time with Generic CADD's one-stop convenience. A GREAT PLOT. Ask any of over 250,000 users of Generic CADDr They've discovered CADD that's powerful without being complicated. And professional without being pricey. Our latest version, Generic CADD 5.0, is just $495. It's a complete design and drafting program backed by a support team that's drawing rave reviews. Call us at 1-800-228-3601 for our free full-color CADDalog® and portfolio of CADD drawings. You'll see every plot has a great ending. ■:}>-3 Generic SOFTWARE U An Autodesk Company IT DOESN'T GET ANY EASIER. ©1990 Generic Software, Inc., 11911 North Creek Parkway South. Bothell, WA 98011, FAX 206^83-6969. Generic CADD is a trademark and CADDalog a registered trademark of Generic Software, Inc. Circle 1 23 on Inquiry Card. Circle 1 47 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 1 48). The Small Business LAN Is Invisible. Stay Tuned. (415-570-5967) REVIEWS APPLICATIONS 2-D and 3-D Mac CAD for Less Cost BILL CALABRESE Design CAD Macintosh 'sfour main windows operate interactively while displaying 3-D space. A fifth window (not shown) lets you rotate 3-D models in real time. DesignCAD 2D/3D Macintosh 2.3 gives Mac-based designers and en- gineers a fast tool for two-dimen- sional drafting and 3-D modeling. Along with its relatively low cost of $699 come a few warts, but not enough to steer you away if your CAD work consists of small to moderate-size projects. DesignCAD supports A/UX and pro- vides 32-bit floating-point accuracy. Its 3-D features include built-in shading, with both smooth shading and specular reflection using ray casting. Specular re- flection makes smooth objects appear glossy, and specular highlights created by the light source can be reflected off the image to add realism. Also, Design- CAD rotates drawings in real time and transfers drawings to and from most of the common file formats, such as DXF, IGES, HPGL, and PostScript. Version 2.3 is the revised and renamed Origins, from Deltasoft. DesignCAD, Inc., purchased the technology a year ago and introduced the newest version late last year. The company markets the program as the first microcomputer- based CAD package that describes all geometry via a single, unified mathe- matical parametric representation (see the text box "Wire Frame to Solid: One Database Fits All" on page 278). In part, this approach produces small- er files, because you can describe every CAD entity with a single equation. For example, I created an 18K-byte model in Dynaperspective 2.0.2, saved it as a DXF file, and translated it into Design- CAD. The DesignCAD file was only IK bytes. Also, DesignCAD is much faster for manipulating objects, such as primi- tives, in the 3-D window than Versa- CAD/Macintosh Edition 3.0 or Dyna- perspective. (But the speed advantage 276 B YTE • MARCH 1991 disappears rapidly as the file size in- creases.) The unified cubic spline and unified bi-cubic surface geometry in Design- CAD make it possible to produce local modifications to any line, curve, or sur- face, regardless of an object's complex- ity. This means that you can modify a single line of a solid object or resculpt a surface and have the change reflected throughout the object without needing to redraw it. Installation Ease Installation was simple. I just created a file on my hard disk drive and copied the application and companion files into that file. DesignCAD requires approximately 3.6 megabytes of disk space. I ran the program on two systems. One was a Mac IIx originally with a DayStar 50-MHz accelerator, 8 MB of RAM, 1 gigabyte of storage, and a 19-inch Radius color monitor. The second consisted of a Mac Ilex with 8 MB of RAM, an 80-MB in- ternal hard disk drive, and an Apple 13- inch color monitor. Both systems ran System 6.0.5 and 32-Bit QuickDraw 1.2. The program includes DesignCAD Exchange, an application you use to translate files between common file for- mats. In theory, it works very simply: The dialog box shows two columns of file formats; just click on the radio button ad- jacent to the file format you wish to translate and again on the radio button adjacent to the new file format. How- ever, I had several problems with the ap- plication. The first was its inability to translate large files. I tried to transfer a 360K-byte AutoCAD DXF file, and a warning box told me that the application needed more memory. I increased the application's memory allocation to 4 MB but got the same warning. I progressively reduced the size of the files being trans- lated and finally got Exchange to trans- late a 180K-byte VersaCAD/Macintosh 3.0 DXF file into DesignCAD. Opening the DesignCAD application brings onto the screen four windows (perspective, top, side, and front), all of which operate interactively. DesignCAD automatically reflects the object you ma- nipulate in one window in the other three windows. It is important to remember that although DesignCAD's windows look like "flat" views, they actually dis- play 3-D space. In other words, the lines and objects that you see in the three plane and elevation views do not all exist on the same plane but are instead located in var- ious planes from front to back. From the menu, you can open a fifth window called Dynamic View, which you use for rendering and 3-D model ma- nipulations such as walk-throughs and rotations. The Dynamic View tool pal- ette lets you rotate and manipulate your 3-D model in real time. Faithful GUI The toolboxes include Editing (which is not intuitive: you'll need to refer to the manual frequently for this one); Locator (again, not easy to understand); Dimen- sioning (both 2-D and 3-D primitives); and Readouts (this palette tells you where you are in 3-D space). The tool palettes are not as intuitive or as easy to use as the VersaCAD/Macintosh program, and De- signCAD unfortunately doesn't offer on- line help menus. Help menus should be interactive with all programs, especially complex CAD applications. Drawing is easy using the click-drag- release method, although this seems to be less refined than the click-and-click method used by higher-end CAD pro- grams like VersaCAD. I found drawing with the primitives on the DesignCAD palette to be simple and straightforward. Half of the palette contains 2-D tools, and the other half 3-D tools. I easily created basic 2-D and 3-D drawings within a few minutes of open- ing the program simply by playing with the tools. I created a 3-D rectangle with one bowed side in less than 2 minutes. I opened DesignCAD and selected the solid rectangle tool. On the front eleva- tion, I clicked, dragged, and released with the mouse to create two hollow rect- angles. Using the Spline Editor tool, I clicked on the line I wanted to bend, dragged the mouse, and released the button when the curve was positioned correctly. Most of the tools work this simply, although, at first glance, their function wasn't always obvious. The program's overall ease of use stems from the fact that it faithfully fol- lows the Mac's graphical user interface. That's handy, since the hefty manual that comes with the program needs some work. Many menu items, tool descrip- tions, and procedures are hard to follow. I also found references to nonexistent chapters in the manual. Incredibly, no- where does the manual say that you must have System 6.0.5 and 32-Bit Quick- Draw 1.2 installed (however, both are included with the program). If you don't run them, the program will bomb contin- ually. DesignCAD also ships a minus- cule quick reference guide and tutorial, which are worthless. That's too bad, be- cause users definitely need a good tutori- al to guide them through the complexity of working in 3-D space. Other Imperfections In addition to poor documentation, De- signCAD has several other problems. It wouldn't expand the active window to ac- commodate my 19-inch Radius monitor, but instead kept the window's size as if it were on a 13-inch monitor. Also, De- signCAD crashed every time I tried to run it with my DayStar 50-MHz acceler- ator. As mentioned earlier, I did transfer a VersaCAD 3.0 file into DesignCAD, but I found the file hard to work with. The program slowed considerably, and many tools had difficulty operating on the drawing. The inability of DesignCAD to BVTE ACTION SUMMARY I DESIGNCAD 2D/3D MACINTOSH 2.3 WHAT YOU'LL LIKE Speed, simplicity, and low cost for small to medium-size drawings and models. WHAT YOU'LL DISLIKE The program's poor documentation, its inability to accommodate monitors bigger than 13 inches, and difficulties translating large files. SHOULD YOU BUY? Yes, if your designs aren't too large or complex and once the company fixes some problems (DesignCAD promises revisions by the time you read this). SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Mac with at least 1 MB of RAM and a hard disk drive; a math coprocessor is recommended SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS System 6.0.5 and 32-Bit QuickDraw 1 .2 (both are included with the program) WHAT YOU'LL PAY $699 FOR MORE INFORMATION DesignCAD, Inc. 327SouthMill Pryor, OK 74361 (918)825-4848 fax:(918)825-6359 Circle 1225 on Inquiry Card. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 277 ■ Good news from the BIX community: You can read and talk with Jerry Pournelle about the unedited text of his Comput- ing At Chaos Manor column— weeks before BYTE hits the newsstands— on your computer. (Why settle for writing letters to him after the fact, when you have a shot at influencing his thinking- and maybe the content of the column itself!) You can also take part in a variety of other discussions with Jerry-on such subjects as computers, science, space exploration and habitation, cognitive psychology, natural and man-made disas- ters, education, and mathematics. Any of which discussions could work its way into his next column or book. You can even cast your vote with Jerry for the best and worst products of the year. And download 147 programs— free. All it takes is asubscription to BIX. Call our special Customer Service number for more information: 1-800-227-2983 (in NH, call 603-924-7681). BIX 2-D AND 3-D MAC CAD Wire Frame to Solid: One Database Fits All Alan Joch DesignCAD 2D/3D Macintosh 2.3 brings to Mac CAD unified parametric mathematics to de- fine object geometries. This method, which underlies some main- frame-based CAD programs, uses a sin- gle parametric equation, rather than a collection of equations, to define geo- metric objects. As a result, wire-frame, surface, and solid models are integrated within a single database, so the same program can produce each type of mod- el to speed designs and maintain preci- sion through each stage. The downside is the computational intensity of this approach. Traditional CAD programs that use nonparametric routines require a circle equation to create a circle, a line equa- tion to create a line, and so on. Design- CAD defines all objects as either cubic splines or, by extension, bi-cubic sur- faces. Accordingly, a circle as defined by cubic splines consists of four curves; a line consists of a curve without tan- gents. In practice, the underlying mathe- matics are transparent to users, who in- teract with the software using familiar tools and icons. A designer can define a straight line and then insert a bend anywhere along the line without forcing the program to change geometric equations. Likewise, designers can warp curves, change sur- faces, or introduce other changes with- out redrawing the object. Also, the parametric equation requires fewer points to define objects than traditional geometric representations, so file sizes are smaller. Because the same program can pro- duce wire frames, surface models, and solid models, designers don't have to switch to three different programs— and three different geometries— for each model type. For example, an automobile designer typically would convert a clay model into a wire frame in a traditional CAD package, then switch to a surface-mod- eling program to build a shell, and then transfer the design to a third program in order to produce a solid model. Differ- ent geometry comes into play at each transition, and degradation of the design can occur. CAD programs using para- metric representations can create mod- els using the same database as the de- sign progresses from a wire frame to a solid. Alan Joch is a BYTE technical editor. He can be reached on BIX as "ajoch. " translate large files and the difficulty in operating within a 180K-byte translated file indicate a fairly low (and therefore less complex) operating range for this program. The company says it is aware of the monitor and file transfer problems and plans to offer solutions by the time you read this. It also plans to ship a videotape tutorial with future copies of the software. With the bugs worked out and a good tutorial included, DesignCAD could be a hot CAD program for designers and en- gineers who don't work on large, com- plex projects. It's a very fast, easy-to-use program for relatively simple modeling procedures, such as a small house or mechanical object. VersaCAD/Macin- tosh 3 .0 is easier to use and more detailed for 2-D CAD drawings that are more complex than a simple residential build- ing. Dynaperspective 2.0.2 is better for 3-D modeling and animation. But De- signCAD 's strengths are that it performs both functions reasonably well on mod- erate-size drawings and it sells for a rela- tively low price. If an inexpensive 2-D/ 3-D modeling tool is what you need, I'd definitely recommend DesignCAD. ■ Bill Calabrese is MIS/CADD director at Design Alliance, Inc. (San Luis Obispo, CA), an architectural design firm. You can reach him on BIXc/o "editors. " 278 B YTE • MARCH 1991 Let's see the other guys beat this Price we Added... to DesignCAD 2D version 4.2: A Basic-like programming language entitled BasicCAD. We added multiple work windows. We added user definable screen and digitizer icon menus. We added dozens of rubberband features. We added more than 40 new commands and made hundreds of enhancements. How much extra did Nada. Nothing. Zip. No extra charge at all. Oh, sure... our accountant said we could increase the price. Our lawyer said there was no legal reason not to charge more. A minister said we had no moral obligation to keep the same price! So, why didn't we raise the price for DesignCAD 2D version 4.2? Because. ..in the Great American Tradition we said " Aw... What the Heck. Let's see the other guys beat this price!" DesignCAD 2D version 4.2 sells for $299. Does this include everything? Yes. We include everything! The programming language, the ability to add your own icon menus, over 500 predrawn symbols, translators to- and-from other file formats, all hardware drivers are all included! How can you afford to sell a program like this at such a low price? This is our most often asked question. We have a simple answer. Volume. We sell thousands of these programs each month! If we were to charge thousands of dollars per copy (like our competitors) we would restrict our sales to the pvotessional trades only. By lowering our price we sell to professional architects and engineers as well as the ordinary individual! Many ordinary individuals purchase DesignCAD 2D for personal projects. Many people purchase DesignCAD 2D and perform CAD Drafting at nights and on weekends as a second job! People design "dream homes" and "widgets". The uses are limited only by YOUR imagination! Remember - American Small Business Computers also sells a 3D version of DesignCAD. It costs only $399! Write or call for FREE brochures that will help you determine which program best suits your needs. if there ever was a cad program out to prove that AutoCAD, CADKEV, versa cad, ana other $SOOO programs are overpriced, it's DesignCAD! (MicroCAD News review) Circle 19 on Inquiry Card. American Small Business Computers, Inc. 327 South Mill Street Pryor, Oklahoma 74361 (918)825-4844 FAX (91 8) 825-6359 The Cream. The Crop. i mmmmm Object-Oriented Confusion liiilil ■ i , ■•-."'■• ; '-■' ' ;■-'. .",-'■• L . - ;v .,■: ■ - oaru.mLia, gp£jMfiBjB5H£5ji S^^SSSr^S ! T :r * a 1 --^■* , *p?. > ^ m " w ?' T ^.° or "' Hi! Sm — -^^Saaagr There are plenty of places to get information in this industry. Too many. But if you want the best quality information, there's only one that rises to the top: VYTWEEK. BYTEW££K is a weekly newsletter from the same professionals who produce BYTE Magazine. Each week, the most important news and information from the previous week is presented in a readable and concise manner. MTHWEEK offers you what no other publication can: timely news on the rapidly- evolving computer industry as it happens with the interpretation and evaluation that only BYTE's experienced editorial staff can provide. Clip Coupon Here Subscribe now and take advantage of a special subscription rate of $395 ($495 outside the U.S. and Canada). Your subscription to BYTE WEEK also includes a free subscription to BIX, BYTE's exclusive on-line conferencing system. Don't miss this opportunity! For fastest service, call toll-free 1-800-258-5485 (in N.H., call 603-924-9281) and charge to a major credit card or we'll bill you. BYTE W Rl mi One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458. BYTEWE£X offers a money-back guarantee if you are not completely satisfied. |J YES! Sign me up as a subscriber to the Cream of the Crop, BYTE WEEK at the special subscription rate of $395 a year for 50 issues ($495 a year outside the U.S. and Canada). Name □ MasterCard Title Company Mail Address _ City/State/Zip _ Business Phone □ Check enclosed Card# Exp. □ VISA □ Bill me Signature BYTE ^"M 3ft One Phoenix Mill Lane Peterborough, NH 03458 REVIEWS HARDWARE V-ATE Revs Up PC Diagnostics STEVE APIKI Some clones are fragile, temperamen- tal things. Some can't keep track of the time or the date. Others have more elusive flaws, agreeing to run all but one of your applications without lock- ing up solid. And almost every user has plugged a new adapter card into the bus, only to find that the sole response on throwing the power switch is the whir of the cooling fan. What makes these troubles especially frustrating is the lack of diagnostic in- formation. The most you can hope for is a series of beeps as your machine boots, and much of the time, the error is too subtle to be caught by the power-on self- test routines, or it is so severe that the machine never finishes the POST at all. Vista Microsystems' V-ATE add-in card promises to give you the infor- mation you need to find and correct problems in shaky AT and 386 clones. It's more sophisticated than diagnostic boards such as Award Software's POST- card— the V-ATE has an on-board micro- processor and supports diagnosis by remote computer. However, it is less than a stand-alone logic analyzer in the versatility of the signals it moni- tors or uses as a trigger. The card plugs into a 1 6-bit slot in the test system. You can use the V- ATE in one of two ways: with a sec- ond PC controlling the board or as a stand-alone device. When you use the re- mote diagnostic features, you can con- nect the second machine to the V-ATE with a standard serial connection. A sec- ond cable runs from a port on the V-ATE to the keyboard connector on the test sys- tem 's motherboard. Running Solo In stand-alone mode, the V-ATE runs a series of canned tests to discover failing motherboard components. When you start the test machine, it runs its POST Vista 's V-ATE add-in card for AT diagnostics. The distinctive metal shield and rugged bus connectors are designed for repeated installations and removal. V-CON's Activity screen flags errant signals and monitors bus power lines. routines as usual. The V-ATE shows which test is running on a pair of seven- segment LEDs. If the machine fails dur- ing the POST, the V-ATE displays the number of the test that failed. If the system completes the POST, it passes control to the V-ATE ROM, which runs an ex- tensive series of diagnostic tests. If you have a monitor connected, the system shows which tests are running and writes error codes with explanations to the screen; if not, it displays coded in- formation on the LEDs. The man- ual provides a detailed explanation for each of its own tests and error codes, and it even provides a list of POST error codes for common BlOSes. The V-ATE tests the system CPU, sys- tem RAM and extended RAM, system ROM, the real-time clock, system inter- rupts, DMA, bus-master capability, and the control, address, and data signals on the I/O bus. It also tests the keyboard port by running codes directly into the keyboard connector, and it tests the FPU if one is installed. The V-ATE recog- nizes when a test may be a false alarm; if IRQ6 or IRQ 14 shows a connection, the V-ATE issues a warning but suggests that the error is probably due to a disk drive controller on the system bus. Vista Microsystems sells the V-ATE in several configurations. I tested a Model 2000, which includes logic-analy- sis hardware that the base model doesn't have. If you intend to use the V-ATE as a stand-alone add-in for quality assurance or relatively simple diagnostics, you probably won't need more than the base model. Remote Control Controlling the V-ATE from a remote PC gives you access to some of its more powerful features. At power-up, the V-ATE checks to see if it is connected to a remote station. If it is, the V-ATE does not automatically run the test suite; in- stead, it sits and waits for instructions from the remote system. Vista's V-CON software runs on the controlling PC. V-CON lets you run any of the 18 tests from the V-ATE ROM, or you can customize the suite by choosing the tests to include and the number of runs. Vista also provides hooks for writ- ing your own test routines. The software commands the logic-analysis sections of the V-ATE 2000, letting you capture and analyze test-system data using a variety of tools. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 281 V-ATE REVS UP PC DIAGNOSTICS V-CON has a menus-and-windows de- sign, but I found the menu structure hard to navigate and the prompts and menu labels misleading. The V-ATE provides a lot of useful information, but V-CON in its default state makes that information hard to find. Fortunately, the menu is user-configurable. If the machine you're testing is com- pletely dead, you'll probably start out with V-CON' s bus-activity monitor. The activity monitor watches signals on the bus for basic signs of proper operation (see the screen). It determines whether the power connectors on the bus are pro- BVTE ACTION SUMMARY I V-ATE 2000 I WHAT YOU'LL GET An 8051 microprocessor-based diagnostic device that can pinpoint existing and potential IBM AT-compatible motherboard faults. This board is recommended for system integrators, quantity buyers of PCs, and PC repair professionals. WHAT YOU'LL LIKE Although it lacks the versatility of a true logic analyzer, the V-ATE 2000 costs a fraction of the price. I WHAT YOU'LL DISLIKE The V-ATE 2000 will not work with some advanced motherboard features: 16-bit VGA cards, shadow and cache RAM, and RAM accesses that bypass the bus. I SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Test system: IBM AT or compatible with functioning power supply Remote system: IBM PC or compatible with DOS 2.0 or higher, 5 1 2K bytes of RAM, one serial port, and a floppy or hard disk drive I WHAT YOU'LL PAY $1495 I FOR MORE INFORMATION Vista Microsystems, Inc. 6 Whipple St. North Attleboro, MA 02760 (508) 695-8459 fax: (508) 695-8688 Circle 979 on Inquiry Card. viding adequate voltage, if the clock sig- nals are running, and if any of the control signals on the bus are stuck. The activity monitor displays a graphical representa- tion of an AT backplane; bad signals are marked, and you can pop up a screen that describes the errors. The V-ATE 2000 also scans the bus to find out if any of the bus signals are logi- cally shorted. That is, if two channels match sample-for-sample for a signi- ficant portion of the captured data, V-CON warns that these signals may be shorted together. The V-ATE 2000's logic-analysis module can come in handy when you have a system that locks up intermit- tently. It captures 2048 samples from the bus in V-ATE RAM. The analyzer moni- tors 72 channels; two of these can be from external probes. The logic analyzer captures data in different ways, depending on what the test system is doing. During test-ma- chine POST, the logic analyzer triggers at the start of each test. When the ma- chine is running a V-ATE test, the ana- lyzer triggers on events that are signifi- cant to the particular test; for example, the DMA test triggers at the start of each DMA transfer. Finally, you can trigger the analyzer directly from V-CON at any time. The V-ATE also chooses a clocking mode automatically. (If you trigger the analyzer directly, you select the clocking mode.) On each clock, the analyzer reads in a new sample; the analyzer can clock on several bus signals or combina- tion of signals. It can also clock on its own 15-MHz crystal. V-CON can display analyzer data in three ways: as waveforms, as state in- formation, or as disassembled instruc- tions. The waveform display shows 20 signals at a time, and it looks and acts like a traditional logic-analyzer display. The software shows the status of the data and address lines at the cursor, and you can move the cursor from sample to sample. The state display is essentially a listing of samples. It shows the state of key sig- nals for each sample point. You can filter out uninteresting samples and move a highlight cursor from sample to sample. Finally, you can view the data as dis- assembled instructions. Because the pro- cessor prefetches instructions, instruc- tion and processor action do not always coincide, and watching all the bus activ- ity at once can be confusing. Therefore, the disassembler can filter out nonin- struction bus transactions to make things a little easier to read. One of the handier features of V-CON is that you can switch from waveform to state to disassembly mode with an Alt-key combination, and the highlight cursor will be on the same sample from display mode to display mode. Test and Measurement I installed the V-ATE 2000 in four sys- tems. Two of them were working, one had intermittent failures, and the last was ready for the scrap heap. Only one of the working systems (an IBM AT) passed V-ATE scrutiny completely; the other failed a ROM test. The computer with in- termittent problems showed real-time clock and I/O controller failures, and the dead system yielded lots of problems, in- cluding bad power lines. All in all, the results were impressive for the V-ATE, if disturbing for me— one of BYTE's work- ing systems failed to pass muster. A Vista representative explained that some of the errors flagged in working systems can be due to BIOS or mother- board idiosyncrasies. For example, the ROM failure was probably due to the sys- tem mapping some other device into the ROM address space. All these machines were three- or four-year-old AT clones, the kind of ma- chine you're likely to find on the repair- shop shelf today. But the Vista manual warns of some compatibility problems with features found on newer machines: 16-bit VGA cards, shadow and cache RAM, and RAM accesses that bypass the bus can all cause problems for the V-ATE. The V-ATE without the logic analyzer is an excellent tool for locating the fault in a damaged system. If you repair PCs for a living, the V-ATE is definitely worth looking into. The V-ATE is also a good choice for system assemblers looking for an inex- pensive device for automated tests and quality assurance. Anyone who deals with a large number of PCs can benefit; the V-ATE's tests can help to identify unreliable designs or brands with spotty quality control. With the logic-analyzer option, the V-ATE can help catch more subtle prob- lems. For repair shops or customers with a large PC inventory, the analyzer option may be useful. However, the V-ATE is not quite powerful enough for hardware designers or software developers to con- sider using as a primary development tool. ■ Steve Apiki is a testing editor /engineer for the BYTE Lab. You can reach him on BIX as "apiki. " 282 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Serious Storage Fbr OS/2 And OS/2 Networks. Ready To Go. Ready To Grow. OS/2 is designed for serious business, par- ticularly networking business. Now SpeedStor/2® storage systems let you tap all of the applica- tions potential of OS/2 to achieve a whole new level of performance, productivity and growth. Whether you're running Micro Channel,™ AT™ or EISA,SpeedStor/2 delivers the first full family of storage solutions for OS/2 and LAN Manager environments. Hard disk and optical. Internal and external. All plug-and-play — so you're ready to go, right now. With easy expandability from 200 megabytes to an unpar- alleled 24 gigabytes — so you're ready to grow, at your own pace. See us at Networld Boston, Booth §220. Only SpeedStor/2 supports the three lead- ing bus platforms. Only SpeedStor/2 offers a one gigabyte erasable optical solution. And only SpeedStor/2 features hardware and soft- ware that is system engineered, system tested and performance matched™ to your applica- tions environment for optimum system throughput. If you're serious about OS/2 applications and networks, you need more than just stor- age. You need Storage Dimensions. So get serious and call (408) 879-0300. Storage Dimensions, 2145 Hamilton Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125. STORAGE DIMENSIONS © 199 1 Storage Dimensions. SpeedStor/2 is a registered trademark of Storage Dimensions. Call me I'm interested: Circle 272 Please send literature: Circle 273 REVIEWER'S NOTEBOOK Talk Your Way Through Mac Applications The Voice Navigator II 's external box plugs into a Mac's SCSI port and can be terminated or not, depending on your system 's configuration. BITE ACTION SUMMARY I VOICE NAVIGATOR II I WHAT YOU'LL LIKE Using simple voice commands that replace several mouse-clicks and keyboard entries. WHAT YOU'LL DISLIKE System confusion created by similar commands and stray sounds. WHAT YOU'LL NEED $795 for Navigator hardware and software; a Macintosh; and System 6.0 or higher. FOR MORE INFORMATION Articulate Systems, Inc. 99 Erie St. Cambridge, MA 02 139 (617)876-5236 fax:(617)661-3278 Circle 980 on Inquiry Card. Voice Navigator II adds to the stream of relatively low-cost products that let you control your Mac with voice commands (see "Voice Recognition for a Song," August 1990 BYTE). While it won't replace your mouse or keyboard, the Navigator can be a welcome partner to other input devices. The Navigator consists of a micro- phone and a SCSI-based, book-size ex- ternal box. You can terminate it or not, depending on your system's configura- tion. Unfortunately, the switch that tog- gles the device between terminated and nonterminated isn't labeled, so until you memorize which position is which, you will have to refer back to the manual . The software includes an INIT that lets you control the voice options, and a desk accessory (DA) called Language Maker that lets you create a language file for any Mac application. Each language file contains the hierar- chical menu command structure for a particular application. Navigator voice files contain the recorded voice of (usu- ally) a single user vocalizing the com- mands in a set of language files. To create a voice file, you just say each com- mand three times. I tested the product on a Mac SE and a Mac Ilsi with 2.5 and 4 megabytes of memory, respectively. I tried it with MacDraw, MacPaint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Cricket Presents, Ren- dezvous, and Quicken. Training the Nav- igator to respond to my voice was easy. The Language Maker DA created the language files almost automatically, and a dialog box walked me through the pro- cess of building the voice file. After this initial training, however, the system required some tweaking. For one thing, I found that the system consis- tently confused commands such as Align Left and Align Right. Retraining some commands with different words solved the problem; for example, Align Left be- came Move Left. But that meant that I had to memorize a number of idiosyn- cratic commands. Also, after two weeks of using the system, I still hadn't trained it to ignore all extraneous office sounds. A new telephone ring or the rumbling of a delivery person ' s hand truck caused my Mac to perform an unwanted action or slowed it down while it tried to figure out the "command." With Navigator, my productivity in- creases varied greatly from application to application. For example, in Microsoft Word, my fingers automatically flew to the function keys faster than I could vo- calize the commands. Similarly, in Mi- crosoft Excel, I manually keyed digits faster than I could vocalize each one (while also remembering to say niner for nine). I had better productivity gains in Excel when I programmed a set of single- phrase commands for actions that nor- mally took several mouse-clicks and keyboard entries. The biggest gains came with graphics programs that use the mouse both to draw and to select palette items. The ability to keep my mouse on the drawing screen while using Navigator to vocally select a tool or pattern was a big help. While it has some limitations, Naviga- tor adds a welcome third element to the Mac's command input methods. Func- tion keys are faster, but they are difficult to memorize. It will increase your pro- ductivity most in quiet settings, in appli- cations where you have not memorized function-key equivalents, and in graph- ics applications where the mouse has to do double and triple duty. ■ —Larry Stevens 284 BYTE • MARCH 1991 More Full-Motion Video for the Mac With its DVA-4000 NuBus boards, VideoLogic's approach to full- motion digital video has arrived for the Mac in true Macintosh style. (For a review of the PC version, see "Window Wonderland , " June 1 990 BYTE . ) Within 10 minutes of unpacking the DVA-4000/ Macintosh, you can view and capture live or prerecorded video for multimedia pre- sentations. The system off-loads video processing from the main CPU to deliver a smooth display with no performance degrada- tion. Just snap the pair of boards into any Mac II. With the supplied cables and plug adapter, you connect the Mac and an Apple 1 3-inch RGB monitor to a vid- eocassette recorder, camcorder, or laser disc player. (Additional adapters may be required depending on your video pe- ripherals.) You can view video in a 320- by 240- pixel window through the Control Panel or in a resizable window through the VideoSnap application, which captures frames in 8- and 24-bit color or gray scale (true, indexed, or dithered). Main- taining aspect ratio is optional, as is framing the video in black. The interface of VideoSnap 1.0 is Mac-ishly aesthetic and functional. I had no trouble using the Multimedia Interac- tive Control System II software, which includes a tutorial, product tour, XCMD and XObject interfaces to HyperCard, MacroMind Director, Authorware, and HyperCard templates. With these tools and the MIC Toolbox command syntax, you can overlay video with titles and special effects such as wipes, washes, fades, animation, and sound. You can also export video frames in color PICT to SuperCard, MediaMaker, Film Mak- er, Studio 8, UltraPaint, PixelPaint Pro- fessional, and PhotoShop. You can edit, overlay, antialias, or animate the frames. For example, I opened one video frame in PixeJ Paint, edited it, and cre- ated a four-color separation. The Control Panel resource allows full configuration of video brightness, con- trast, saturation, sharpness, and hue; selection between NTSC and PAL TV standards, as well as composite, S- video, and RGB input modes; and audio adjustments. On-line help is available, as are cursor and selection coordinate read- outs in the application's tool palette. The boards off-load video processing The DVA-4000 Macintosh easily displays full-motion video in scalable windows for multimedia presentations. from the CPU to deliver a smooth display with no performance degradation. The composite NTSC signal's RGB-encoded conversion was always crisp as I worked with nine videocassettes and two laser discs under MultiFinder— even during simultaneous database queries, large file conversions, print spooling, and fax mo- dem transmissions that otherwise tax my nondedicated network server. Audio played in full stereo fidelity through my set of Bose Roommate speakers. The DVA-4000 displays live TV when tied to an external tuner using an option- al $100 cable. By the second quarter, VideoLogic plans to offer a $2000 exter- nal box option to output video to tape. Videodisk-player and tape controls are also planned for the future. Although expensive, the DVA-4000 is a capable system that could pay for itself in saved studio fees for corporate and professional multimedia presentation producers. —Steven M. Deyo Reviewer's Notebook provides new infor- mation—including version updates, new test data, long-term usage reports, and reader feedback— on products previously reviewed in BYTE. BITE ACTION SUMMARY DVA-4000/MACINTOSH WHO NEEDS IT Macintosh-based presentation producers who use full-motion video. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Mac II with an Apple 13-inch RGB monitor or equivalent, 1 MB of RAM, a hard disk drive, a video input source, and an audio amplifier; System 6.0.3 or higher and 32-Bit QuickDraw WHAT YOU'LL PAY $2995 I FOR MORE INFORMATION VideoLogic, Inc. 245 First St. Cambridge, MA 02 142 (617)494-0530 fax:(617)494-0534 Circle 981 on Inquiry Card. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 285 POWER DEBUGGING BOUNDS-CHECKER Finds out-of-bounds memory accesses — AUTOMATICALLY. Flush out those Nasty pointer problems and other out-of-bounds memory accesses — AUTOMATICALLY. Each time you make a change to a program, run BOUNDS-CHECKER while testing the new code. If you accidentally access out-of- bounds memory, BOUNDS-CHECKER will pop up displaying the offending SOURCE LINE. And your program runs at full speed. Ship Bug-Free Products You can run BOUNDS-CHECKER while testing your program. There are no additional steps to your testing cycle, but you can feel secure when the program has passed through BOUNDS- CHECKER with no reported problems. Many over-write problems and other out-of- bounds memory accesses do NOT show up during normal testing. An out-of-bounds memory location may be modified, but that particular location doesn't happen to be important at the time Once the program is in the field and a certain network is loaded or a certain T&SR or device driver is loaded, that memory location suddenly becomes very important... AND THE SYSTEM CRASHES. You can prevent these problems by making BOUNDS-CHECKER a standard part of your testing procedure. Gives you the protection of a protected operating system under MS-DOS. BOUNDS-CHECKER uses the 386 virtual machine technology to provide real-time memory protection. In addition BOUNDS-CHECKER uses the symbolic information output by your compiler to differentiate CODE and DATA. When your program is running, BOUNDS-CHECKER protects the program's CODE and all memory outside your program. "BOUNDS-CHECKER and Soft-ICE make sophisticated use of the most powerful versions of Intel's processor family to track down some of DOS programming 's most insidious bugs. If you're developing programs for DOS, these are essential tools." PC Magazine July, 1990 pg. 48 Soft-ICE 2.5 New Version, New Features The only debugger specifically designed to solve those problems unique to MS-DOS that we call the DOS Nasties. Memory over-writes Hung programs Program too big to debug Debugging T&SRs and Loadable Drivers Multiple Symbol Tables Supports Microsoft C 6.0 & Turbo C++ Windows Developers Run CODEVIEW for Windows on a Single Monitor Nu-Mega has done it again! CV/l™ $ 129 Call Today, Have it Tomorrow Requires 386 PC. MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. 386 is a registered trademark of Intel Corp. Nu-Mesa TECHNOLOGIES INC BOUNDS-CHECKER $ 249 Soft-ICE 2.5 $ 386 MagicCV 3.0 $ 199 CV/l™ $ 129 Special Offer... Buy BC & S-ICE Save $ 100 Buy S-ICE & MC V Save $ 86 Buy all three Save $ 186 30 Day Money-Back Guarantee CALL TODAY (603) 888-2386 or FAX (603) 888-2465 P.O. BOX 7780 ■ NASHUA, NH ■ 03060-7780 ■ U.S.A. Circle 207 on Inquiry Card. HANDS ON ANDREW SCHULMAN Undocumented DOS On each of the 30 million or more PCs across the globe that run it, MS-DOS provides not only its familiar (and contemptible) user inter- face of the A> or C> prompt but also a pro- grammer's interface. As users make DOS requests by typing commands, such as DIR *.EXE or SUBST F: C: \SWAP, or more often by typing the names of programs, such as "123", so programs them- selves make DOS requests (to open a disk file, to allo- cate memory, or even to terminate) by moving a func- tion number into the Intel processor's AH register and issuing the assembler instruction INT 2 1 . For example, a program can open a file with INT 21 AH =3D, allo- catememory with INT 2 1 AH =48, or exit with INT 2 1 AH=4C. The MS-DOS programmer's interface con- sists of several software interrupts; the most important isINT21. But open an official reference to the MS-DOS pro- grammer's interface, such as IBM's DOS Technical Reference or Microsoft's MS-DOS Encyclopedia, and you will find that the INT 2 1 function numbers jump straight from 4F (Find Next) to 54 (Get Verify Setting), with nothing said about the numbers in between. Even Ray Duncan's Advanced MS-DOS Programming , still the best book on the topic, simply lists functions 50 through 53 as "Reserved." If you found that there were useful functions here that you could safely use on any of the at least 30 million machines that run MS-DOS, would you use them? MS-DOS contains many hidden functions that are undocumented but that play a vital role in PC software development Microsoft has a standard policy statement ("Regarding the Use of Undocumented MS-DOS Features," Septem- ber 5, 1988) about programs that use undocumented DOS functions and data structures: "Microsoft does not give out any information about undoc- umented system features. If calls, flags, or interrupts are undocumented, it is be- cause they are not supported; we can give NO guaran- tee thatthey will exist in future releases of DOS. If you find out about these features (through articles or by chance) and begin using them in your programs, there is a real potential that your application will not work in future DOS versions. We strongly advise against using undocumented features for these reasons and will give out no information about their use." This is a reasonable statement, but there are other possible views on this subject. I argue that PC program- mers should know about undocumented DOS functions and data structures. These features are necessary to fulfill MS-DOS' s potential as an extensible operating system. DOS: The Lost Sessions So, what about the missing functions between 4F and 54? Since the official DOS documentation says nothing ILLUSTRATION: CATHERINE BENNETT © 1991 MARCH 1991 -BYTE 287 HANDS ON about these function numbers, Microsoft does not support them. But there are im- portant functions here, in all versions of DOS from 2.0 up, that are used in many commercial programs— including the DOS utilities PRINT, JOIN, and SUBST in Microsoft Windows, and the following in Desqview: • INT 21 FUN 50 (Set PSP) • INT 21 FUN 51 (Get PSP) • INT 21 FUN 52 (Get List of Lists) • INT 21 FUN 53 (Translate BIOS Parameter Block) These are just some of many crucial holes in the documented programmer's interface to MS-DOS. Another hidden area of DOS is INT 21 FUN 5D, which consists of 12 subfunctions that handle an assortment of tasks, including DOS calls over a network (Server Function Call) and support for DOS reentrancy (Get Address of DOS Swappable Data Area). Even some of the INT 2 1 functions that are documented have undocumented subfunctions (e.g., INT 21 FUN 4B SUB 1 loads a program without execut- ing it and is crucial for writing a DOS de- bugger). They also have undocumented behavior or side effects (e.g., docu- mented INT 21 FUN 56 exhibits interest- ing behavior when invoked indirectly via undocumented INT 21 FUN 5D SUB 00). The INT 21 functions even have (dare I say it?) outright bugs— for exam- ple, in the DOS Resize Memory Block function, INT 21 FUN 4 A. Besides INT 21 , there are other DOS software interrupts, such as INT 2F, which contains entire undocumented subsystems (e.g., the network redirector INT 2F FUN 1 1) and a mechanism for adding new internal commands to the DOS command interpreter (INT 2F FUNAE). Actually, these missing functions are merely the most apparent portion of un- documented DOS. The real core of un- documented DOS is its data structures. There are undocumented fields in the Program Segment Prefix (PSP) and the Memory Control Block (MCB), as well as structures whose existence is undoc- umented, such as the Drive Parameter Block (DPB). And there are the undocu- mented DOS internal variable table (List of Lists), the System File Table (SFT), and the Swappable Data Area (SDA). Not Just Permission, But Support Thus, while MS-DOS really is a small piece of code (which accounts in large part for its tremendous effectiveness), it is nonetheless far from being a self -en- closed, static world. This small piece of D, OS functions that are not documented fulfill MS-DOS's potential as an extensible operating system. code contains many uncharted areas. The reason you should even care about undocumented DOS is that many of the DOS functions and data structures that Microsoft has not documented are cru- cial to truly fulfill MS-DOS's potential as an extensible operating system. Even though DOS permits almost infinite ex- tensibility, support for DOS extensions (as opposed to mere permission) tends to reside in the undocumented areas of the DOS programmer's interface. The field of memory-resident software is a good example. MS-DOS allows pro- grams to install interrupt handlers and to be TSRs. The three documented INT 21 functions 25 (Set Interrupt Vector), 31 (TSR), and 35 (Get Interrupt Vector) are sufficient to hook into, modify, or re- place even INT 21 itself. This is an ex- THE PROGRAM SEGMENT PREFIX Some undocumented fields in the PSP. Offset Size Purpose 16h WORD 18h 20 bytes 32h WORD 34h FAR PTR PSP address of program's parent Program's default Job File Table Maximum number of open files (size of JFT) Address of program's actual JFT tremely powerful capability. Nothing in DOS prevents you from extending it in whatever way you see fit. But nothing particularly supports you in that endeavor, either, and that's the problem. The functions that actually help the application behave properly once it is resident are notoriously undocu- mented. The DOS functions most criti- cal to consistent TSR operation are as follows: • INT 21 FUN 34 (Return InDOS Pointer) • INT 21 FUN 50 (Set PSP) •INT21FUN51(GetPSP) • INT 2 1 FUN 5D SUB 06 and INT 21 FUN 5D SUB 0B (Get DOS SDA) • INT 21 FUN 5D SUB 0A (Set Extended-Error Information) • INT 28 (Keyboard Busy Loop) To this day, Microsoft has not added these to the official MS-DOS program- mer's interface. In DOS 3.0 or higher, INT 21 FUN 51 is no longer strictly nec- essary, because the equivalent INT 21 FUN 62 (Get PSP Address) was added. But the other functions remain unsup- ported. By now, information on undocument- ed DOS TSR support is widely available, and it is well known that, to write correct and stable TSR programs, you must use undocumented functions. While Micro- soft refuses to guarantee that this infor- mation will be valid for future versions of DOS, its own publications, such as the MS-DOS Encyclopedia, have no choice but to openly discuss some of these un- supported functions; you can't write cor- rect TSRs without them. Far from pro- ducing unreliable software, undocu- mented functions can be necessary to produce reliable software in the some- what twisted land of DOS. Another example is the DOS file sys- tem. Anyone who has used a PC on a net- work knows how disk drives on another machine, perhaps not even a PC running DOS, can be made to appear to be a local disk drive. You might type DIR E:, for instance, to see the filenames (possibly truncated to fit DOS's 8.3 pathetic file- name format) on a Macintosh. How does that work? How are all the INT 21 calls that are necessary to produce a directory listing sent over the network to another machine, and how can you write such software yourself? The fact that this is not just a network issue is shown by the Microsoft CD- ROM extension, a fascinating piece of software that uses undocumented DOS 288 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Mylex has the best EISA solution. At least that's what people tell us. "The Mylex MAE486 with its 32-bit EISA SCSI controller kills the competition for reading large sequential files in the IOBench 2 tests Under UNIX." Personal Workstation, June 1990 "If I wanted to replace my entire system for optimum all-around performance, I'd build it from Mylex EISA-based boards." Personal Workstation, June 1990 Uw Ethernet LAN Adapter "The GXE020A TIG A board ...scored as much as 45 percent higher on our low- level benchmark tests than any other TIGA board evaluated." byte, April 1990 "Mylex has done a lot of work with EISA, and we plan to use its motherboard and adapters in a LAN Labs ( super-AT server!' PC Magazine, May 1990 Visit us at CeBIT '91 , USA Pavilion, Hall 6, Stand F23/C46, Booth #C5/C6. Of course, we've tested our EISA peripherals for compatibility with major EISA systems. J^f^^Jl ^^^ To see what our high-performance EISA solutions can do for your system, call us at ' ^ ^J^ 1-800-446-9539, or fax us at 1-415-683-4662. In California, call 1-415-683-4600. 486 is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.'n 34020 is a registered trademark of Texas Instruments. Mylex Is a registered trademark of Mylex Corporation. © Mylex Corporation, 1990 Circle 190 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 191). Circle 1 63 on Inquiry Card. People are taking about us. F77L-EM/32 Port 4GB mainframe programs to 80386 s wjth this 3|»bitTOS-Extender icfiigiler. The Winner of PC Magazine's 198jLfc^aieal lBftleE»tAaJS*t4oftew. New Version 3.0 and OS include: EdiM^XIuMwirtBl^Tjf^ipport, DESQview Support, New Documentation and rMMnAif dKuntime Licenses. F77L-EM/32 $895 OSy386 $395 F77L The compiler of choice among reviewers and professionals. Includes a Debugger, Editor, Profiler, Linker, Make Utility, Weitek and 386 Real-Mode Support, Graphics. $595 Lahey Personal Fortran 77 New Version 3.0: Full ANSI 77, Debugger, Editor, Linker, Library Manager, Microsoft and Borland C interfaces, 400 page Manual, Unbeatable Price. $99 £#t^ When people talk about FORTRAN the name mentioned most often is Contact us to discuss our products and your needs. (800) 548-4778 Lahey Computer Systems, Inc. P.O. Box 6091, Incline Village, NV 89450 Tel: (702) 831-2500 FAX: (702) 831-8123 Tlx: 9102401256 FORTRAN IS OUR FORTE 3* l^llllfi \wsse wmtkm*. 7/W0 MfT$timsHi i ELECTRONICS )Nl COfllt- tsott] » *%£A\SHIA pai s^ 9 S.S=.M=\ S<^ v-eS^ i--^. 1MM\ JR_<*** - «**V •sssr* ■* :.is £^3& Sft a ««< &* ■ **8s** « MS*? ^•^ vbj >." ■« ,,- H& :« m> si rtflO^o iOVEl p>. :^sp ^^»^ *?ftVJ NOVELL TOSHIBA ^EVEREX— P^!^ ■ b& w PRICES HARD TO MEET - SERVICE HARD TO BEAT! World Wide Inquiries Promptly Filled 290 BYTE • MARCH 199 1 Circle 265 on Inquiry Card. HANDS ON file-system features to make a CD-ROM look like a normal DOS device. Obvious- ly, there must be some features in DOS that let you write fiction, as it were: tak- ing a CD-ROM with the High Sierra or ISO-9660 file system and making it look as though it were a standard DOS device with a file-allocation-table system. MSCDEX designates the drive letters it assigns to CD-ROM device drivers not as local drives but as remote network drives, even though the CD-ROM player is probably sitting on the desk next to the computer and not connected to it via a network. MSCDEX uses a component of MS-DOS called the network redirector. Microsoft has never documented the net- work redirector, but networks and instal- lable file systems use the network redi- rector in part by writing an interrupt handler for INT 2F FUN 1 1 . Whenever DOS receives an application request for a file located on such a remote drive, it calls your INT 2F FUN 1 1 handler and lets you decide how to service the request. In this case, at first it is less clear that undocumented DOS is absolutely neces- sary. After all, Novell has been produc- ing reliable high-performance networks for MS-DOS since long before Microsoft added the network redirector. Rather than hook INT 2F FUN 11, Novell hooks INT 21 itself, looking for file and printer-related requests. But while avoid- ing use of the undocumented network re- director, NetWare simply uses other un- documented features of DOS. One last example: To write a DOS de- bugger such as Debug, SymDeb, Code- View, or Turbo Debugger, you need a function that loads a program without ex- ecuting it. DOS provides this as subf unc- tion 01 to INT 21 FUN 4B (EXEC), and it is used in all three generations of the Microsoft debugger. Unfortunately, the official MS-DOS technical references simply list INT 21 FUN 4B SUB 00 and INT 21 FUN 4B SUB 03; you find that INT 21 FUN 4B SUB 01 is undocu- mented. Highlights of Undocumented DOS I'll attempt to summarize some of the key features that undocumented DOS provides. While I'm not discussing DOS version numbers in depth here, note that practically all these functions are pro- vided in all versions of DOS from 3.0 on, including the forthcoming DOS 5.0. Undocumented fields in the PSP. Every DOS program has a PSP, and IBM and Microsoft document the PSP's basic structure. But many crucial fields in the PSP are not documented (see the table) . continued In college, you would have killed for MathCAD. So why aren't you calculating with it now? ' jj R* Wio V-J77 T ._ r ■ 4 *.■ + I^Z F( x h £ V*A N (-'-O.L-l i J \ \Mock= ^ Fw<^ _.J * V ■ ■■ . .. ■ ■■■ilfPStS' V 1 L, j . i~Lr- : A) 100,000 engineers and scien- tists already let MathCAD do their calculations for them. Now that college is far behind you, perhaps it's time you graduated from spreadsheets, calculators and programming. Because in today 3 s working world of engineering and science, there's no time for anything less than MathCAD. The software that lets you perform engineering and scientific calculations in a way that's faster, more natural, and less error-prone than any calculator, spreadsheet, or program you could MathCAD 2.5 includes 3-D plotting, HPGL sketch import, and PostScript output. m mm EDITORS CHOICE March 14, 1989 issue. Best of '88 Best of 87 write yourself. Thanks to MathCAD's live document interface^ you can enter equations anywhere on the screen, add text to support your work, and graph the results. It also comes complete with over 120 commonly used functions built right in. Perfect for creating complex equations and formulas, as well as exponentials, differentials, cubic splines, FFTs and matrices. You get three-dimensional plotting, vivid graphing, and the ability to import HPGL files from most popular CAD programs, including AutoCAD? Done calculating? MathCAD prints all your analyses in presentation-quality documents, even on PostScript® compatible printers. All of which has made MathCAD far and away the best-selling math software in the world. In fact, it's used by over 100,000 engineers and scientists —just like you. There's MathCAD for the PC. MathCAD for the Mac, written to take full advantage of the Macintosh® interface. And a Unix® version that utilizes the speed and unlimited memory of your Unix workstation. We also have Applications Packs for Advanced Math, Statistics, Mechanical, Chemical, and Electrical Engineering. Each is a collection of adaptable mathematical models, designed to let you start solving your real world problems right away. For a free MathCAD demo disk, or upgrade information, dial 1-800-MATHCAD (in MA, 617-577- i 1017). Or see * your software dealer. Available for IBM® compatibles, Macintosh computers, and Unix workstations. TM and ® signify manufacturer's trademark or registered trademark, respectively. 1-800-MATHCAD MathCAD' MathSoft, Inc., 201 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139 U.K.: Adept Scientific 0462-480055; France: ISECEGOS 1-46092768; Germany: Softline 07802-4036; Japan: CRC 03-665-9762; Finland: Zenex Oy 90-692-7677; Italy: Channel 02-4229441. PSE U3 Circle 1 74 on Inquiry Card. Circle 1 02 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 103). Linking Worlds of Graphics and Images Xformer™ Work on bitmap images, drawing schematics, blueprints, etc. as easily as on PostScript or DXF vector objects. Mode Image Size:(180x380) Cursor position (x.y) Memory 99 % HELP FILE OBJECT EDIT PREFER Bitmap Image & (V A a i f Vector Objects d/V y ^a/ 1 iMfrl: ^•^^ AUTOMATED TRACING Accurate OBJECT MANIPULATION Bezier, B-Spline, Ellipse... Rotate/Scale/Shear... OBJECT RECOGNITION BITMAP EDITING IMAGE PROCESSING FILE FORMATS TIFF DXF PCX _\ EPS RLC "/ PS XFM XFM Use Xformer to quickly and automatically turn your scanned or bitmap Images Into vectorized objects for use (n CAD and DTP applications. Xformer Is a complete graphics package with extensive menu commands and toolboxes for easy editing of bitmap images and manipulation of Elcee Computek, Inc. vectorized objects. 50 ° NE s P anish River Blvd. suite 102 Boca Raton, FL 33431 Ph ( 407 ) 750-8061 Fax ( 407 ) 750-8057 E-SIze: $1449 ( Available soon ) HANDS ON A Message To Our Subscribers FROM TIME TO TIME WE MAKE THE BYTE SUBSCRIBER list available to other companies who wish to send our subscribers material about their products. We take great care to screen these com- panies, choosing only those who are reputable, and whose products, services, or information we feel would be of interest to you. Direct mail is an efficient medium for presenting the latest personal computer goods and services to our subscribers. Many BYTE subscribers appreciate this controlled use of our mailing list, and look forward to finding information of interest to them in the mail. Used are our subscribers' names and addresses only (no other information we may have is ever given). While we believe the distribution of this information is of benefit to our subscribers, we firmly respect the wishes of any subscriber who does not want to receive such promotional literature. Should you wish to restrict the use of your name, simply send your request to the following address. iti~ tlV 1 1 Magazine Attn Subscriber Service P.O. Box 555 Hightstown, NJ 08520 Because each PSP contains (at offset 2C) the paragraph address of the pro- gram's environment, a program can use the undocumented parent PSP pointer at offset 16 hexadecimal to access its par- ent's environment. A program's open-file handles are merely indexes into the Job File Table. Each JFT entry is, in turn, an index into the SFT. There are many things you can do once you know where to find the table of all open files. For example, some- times you need to know the filename and have only its handle available; you could write a function h2name( ) that, given an open-file handle, returns the name of the corresponding file. INT 21 FUN 32 (Get DPB). This re- turns in DS.BX a far pointer to the DPB of the drive input in DL (e.g., 0= default and 1=A). The DPB contains informa- tion about the drive's sectors and clus- ters. Some of the programs that use this function are CHKDSK and the Norton Utilities (NU, NDD, and SD). INT 21 FUN 34 (Get InDOS Flag). This function returns in ES:BX a far pointer to a 1-byte semaphore that con- trols access to DOS. Almost all TSRs, such as PRINT and SideKick, call this function to get the address of the sema- phore, which they later monitor to know if it is safe to make INT 21 calls when the TSR pops up. Many non-TSRs also call this function, including Windows 3.0 and Desqview. INT 21 FUN 37 SUB 01 (Set SWITCH- AR). This can be used to change the de- fault command-line switch character from /to - and the default path separa- tor from \ to / . To make DOS input look slightly more Unix-like (e.g., dir -w /foo/bar rather than dir /w \\foo- \ \bar), programs providing Unix util- ities, such as the MKS Toolkit, generally provide a small program that merely calls this function; presumably, this eases the transition into MS-DOS for Unix-bred graduate students. INT 21 FUN 4B SUB 01 (Load But Don't Execute). This is similar to docu- mented INT 2 1 FUN 4B SUB 00 (EXEC) , but it returns control to the caller without executing the child program. The child program is ready for execution, however, making INT 21 FUN 4B SUB 01 perfect for debuggers. As I mentioned earlier, all three Microsoft debuggers (Debug, Symdeb, and CodeView), plus programs such as Turbo Debugger, use this undoc- umented subf unction. INT 21 FUN 50 (Set PSP). At any given moment, DOS has a current PSP. By changing the current PSP and other similar values, such as the current Disk 292 BYTE • MARCH 1991 2,168 IBM PROGRAMS FREE ■ In the BIX community we take care of people who use IBM PCs or their compatibles. For example, our IBM Exchange offers a growing list of programs which you can download for free. These 2,168 programs are the cream of the crop. All of them are tested in advance by BIX moderators so you know you're getting top-quality, virus-free programs. Here are some of the most popular ones: DESCRIPTION Utility that turns your Windows desktop into a view of deep space. Choose impulse or warp speed and launch several Windows utilities from a floating pop-up menu. Public-domain text editor, with source code. Condensed and edited messages from the ibm.dos/secrets topic. Tricks and undocumented internals of MS/DOS. KLOTZ, a Tetris® clone for Microsoft Windows 3. Converts a variety of archive formats (including ARC, PAK, ZOO, LZH) to PKWare's ZIP format. 40 new icons for the Windows 3 Program Manager. Fireworks display in a window, for Windows 3. Continuous display of CPU load for OS/2 Presentation Manager. TSR that aborts any program when you press Alt-C. Full-screen interactive machine language disassembler for 8086, 80286, 80386, NEC V20. Besides great free programs, the IBM Exchange offers dozens of informative and provocative conferences on OS/2, PC/DOS and MS/DOS operating systems, alternative 386 operating systems, utility software, communications programs, LANs and more. There's even a "Repairshop" conference, and maybe as a last resort, an IBM clearing house. Beyond our IBM Exchange, we provide indus- try news and product information that's essential to your performance as a microcomputer pro. All of these privileges are yours with a subscription to BIX. To find out more, call our special Customer Service number: 1-800-227-2983 (in NH call 603-924-7681). BIX FILE NAME BIX CONFERENCE stars.zip microsoft e.arc ibm.utils secrets2.arc ibm.dos tetris2.zip microsoft 2zip25.zip ibm.utils w3icons.zip microsoft firework.zip microsoft monitor, arc ibm,os2 abort.exe ibm.utils dis386.zip ibm.utils BIX HANDS ON Transfer Area (DTA), DOS can effec- tively multitask between different pro- grams. A program changes DOS's cur- rent PSP, effectively setting the new foreground program, by calling INT 21 FUN 5 with the new PSP i n BX. INT 2 1 FUN 50 is used by almost all TSRs and by multitaskers, such as Windows and Desqview; debuggers; and protected- mode DOS extenders, such as 386 1 DOS- Extender (to switch between a protected- mode program like AutoCAD/386 and the DOS extender itself). INT 21 FUN 51 (Get PSP). This is used in conjunction with INT 21 FUN 50. DOS's current PSP is returned in BX. In DOS 3.0 or higher, you can use documented INT 21 FUN 62 instead. Note that both INT 21 FUN 51 and INT 21 FUN 62 do not necessarily return the PSP of the program that called them: They return whatever is in the current PSP field of the DOS SDA. INT 21 FUN 52 (Get List of Lists). This function returns in ES:BX the address of the DOS internal variable table, some- times given the biblical-sounding name List of Lists. This undocumented struc- ture in turn contains pointers to many other undocumented DOS structures, in- B, y changing the current PSP, DOS can multitask between programs. eluding the MCB chain, device driver chain, the Current Directory Structure, and SFTs. This is probably the most im- portant undocumented DOS function: Programs can use the information ex- tracted from the List of Lists to walk the DOS memory chain and, by extension, through the PSP chain, walk the CDS, SFT, and so on. For example, using this function, a coauthor of the book Undocu- mented DOS wrote a program that loads device drivers from the DOS command line. Among the many programs that call this undocumented function are the DOS Listing 1:77k ' FILES program running in a Windows 3. DOS box. C:\WIN30>files > files.log C: \WIN30>type files.log Filename Size Attr Handles Owner AUX 0000 14 9DA8 [NOT PSP] CON 0000 44 9DA8 [NOT PSP] PRN 0000 14 9DA8 [NOT PSP] WIN386 .SWP 999424 0020 1 4138 USER .EXE 231680 0020 1 421A COURE .FON 21360 0020 1 421A HELVE .FON 59696 0020 1 421A PROGMAN .EXE 55200 0020 1 421A PROGMAN .EXE 55200 0020 1 421A VGAOEM .FON 5584 0020 1 421A EGA80W0A.FON 5680 0020 1 421A EGA40W0A. FON 8736 0020 1 421A CGA80WOA.FON 4672 0020 1 421A CGA40W0A.FON 6704 0020 1 421A PIFEDIT .EXE 40124 0020 1 421A VGAFIX .FON 5776 0020 1 421A WIN0A386.M0D 29520 0020 1 421A COMM .DRV 7088 0020 1 421A GDI .EXE 129691 0020 1 421A FILES .LOG 524 0020 2 421A Listing 2: FILES reveals orphaned file handles. C:\UND0O sk > nul C:\UND0O files > tmp.tmp C:\UND0O type tmp.tmp Filename Size Attr Handles Owner AUX . CON . PRN . NUL . TMP .TMP 0000 0000 0000 0000 0020 8 22 8 1 2 9DED [NOT PSP] 9DED [NOT PSP] 9DED [NOT PSP] 0AE9 [ORPHAN] 0AE9 utilities SUBST and JOIN (which poke the CDS) and Quarterdeck's diagnostic program Manifest. INT 21 FUN 53 (Translate BIOS Pa- rameter Block). Given a pointer to a BPB, this returns an equivalent DPB (see INT 21 FUN 32, above). INT 21 FUN 55 (Create New PSP). This is similar to documented INT 21 FUN 26, but rather than simply copy the current PSP, it creates a proper child PSP. Desqview and Phar Lap's 386 1 DOS-Extender use this function. INT 21 FUN 5 D SUB 00 (Server Func- tion Call). Part of DOS's built-in support for networking, this function indirectly executes an INT 21 call using a specified computer ID and process ID (PSP). Be- cause a computer ID of zero indicates the current system, you can also use this call in nonnetwork situations. For example, the handle-based file rename and delete functions can be used with wild cards when invoked indirectly via INT 2 1 FUN 5D SUB 00. INT 21 FUN 5D SUB 06 (Get DOS SDA). This returns in DS:SI a far pointer to the DOS SDA. It's effectively the ad- dress of the DOS data segment. Because the SDA includes such crucial values as the current PSP, current DTA, and the three DOS stacks, you can use this func- tion as part of a scheme for making DOS reentrant. The value returned in CX is the number of bytes (generally less than 2K) to swap when the InDOS semaphore is set; DX holds the number of bytes that must always be swapped. After swapping SDAs, a program such as a TSR or a mul- titasker can freely make INT 2 1 calls, re- gardless of the state of the InDOS flag (however, the program should watch for network critical sections, using INT 2A FUN 80 through INT 2 A FUN 87). This function is called by Windows 3 . and by TSRs created with the popular CodeRun- neR toolkit. DOS 4.0 and up can have multiple SDAs; INT 21 FUN 5D SUB 0B returns the list of SDAs. INT 21 FUN 5D SUB 0A (Set Extend- ed-Error Information). This is used in conjunction with documented INT 21 FUN 59 (Get Extended-Error Informa- tion). When a TSR pops up, it should save and restore the DOS extended-error information so that possible INT 21 errors belonging to the pop-up program don't corrupt the extended-error infor- mation belonging to the interrupted fore- ground process. Microsoft's MS-DOS Encyclopedia (p. 352) recommends using the function for correct TSR opera- tion but doesn't support it. INT 21 FUN 60 (Canonicalize Path String). This function returns the canon- 294 BYTE- MARCH 1991 kay, so it won't exactly be Tyson-Holyfield, but The Computer Museum's 3rd Annual Computer Bowl still promises to be one of the most exciting quiz games you'll ever witness. Join us ringside for round after round of mind-boggling action as the finest minds in the East and West go head to head. See who ends up on the ropes first. See who beats whom to the punch. But most important see who's left standing when all is said and done. The place: The San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, CA. With live broadcast via satellite to The Computer Museum in Boston. Don King, eat your heart out. Presented by The Association for Computing Machinery EAST C0AS1 HAM WEST COAST TEAM Pamela McCorduck, Heidi Roizen, Captain Captain Author T/Maker Company Dr. John A.Armstrong Dave House International Business Intel Corporation Machines Corporation Ed Juge James E. Clark Radio Shack AT&T Computer Philippe Kahn Systems Borland International Samuel H. Fuller Inc. Digital Equipment David E. Liddle Corporation Metaphor Computer JohnMarkoff Systems The New York Times The Computer Bow lis a project to benefit the educational programs of The Computer Museum, 300 Congress Street, Boston. MA 02210 Founders Pat Collins Nelson and Dr. Dave Nelson Underwriter Apple Computer, Inc. "The Examiner" Bill Gates Microsoft Corporation Judges L.John Doerr Kleiner Perkins Caufieid 8 Byers Patrick J. McGovern International Data Group Tickets For tickets and sponsorship information (617) 426-2800 x346. Creative: Partners & Simons Typography: Arrow Comp. . Engraving: H.K. Graphics cle 289 on Inquiry Card. Official Sponsors AT&T The Networked Computer Company Andersen Consultin g The Systems Integrator Bank of Boston The Bank BASF Information S ystems The Diskette Dig ital Eg ui pment Corporation The Open Systems Company Intel Corporation The Microprocessor Company Kubota Pacific Computer Inc. The Graphics Super- computer Company Merrill Pickard Anderson & E yre The Venture Capital Firm Metaphor Com p uter S ystems The End-User Computing Company Price Waterhouse The Accounting Firm Robertson, Stephens &Co. The Investment Bank Stratus Computer, Inc. The Transaction Processor Visix Software Inc. The High Performance Workstation Software Company HANDS ON Listing 3: You can use FILES. C to create FILES. EXE and FREEUP. EXE. /* FILES. C — list all files in system file table /* MCB chain isn't a linked list (all blocks are contiguous), — can free up orphaned file handles * / but make it look as though it were Microsoft C 6. (uses inline assembler): */ ^define NEXT(mcb) (MK_FP(FP_SEG(mcb) + (mcb)->size + 1, 0)) cl files. c cl -DFREEUP -Fefreeup.exe files. c /* Does address "vec" fall inside segment beginning at "start" Turbo C: and continuing for "size" paragraphs? tec files. c */ tec -DFREEUP -efreeup.exe files. c */ int { belongs (FP vec, USHORT start, USHORT size) USHORT seg = FP_SEG(vec) + (FP_0FF(vec) >> 4); ^include return (seg >= start) && (seg <= (start + size)); ^include } ^include /* typedef unsigned char BYTE; Is seg really a PSP? typedef unsigned USHORT; Yes, if there's an MCB at seg-1 whose owner is this seg, typedef unsigned long ULONG; and if the first two bytes in seg are an INT 20h (CDh 20h) typedef BYTE far *FP; */ int { instruction #pragma pack(l) is_psp( USHORT seg) typedef struct file { return ((((MCB far *) MK_FP(seg-l,0))->owner == seg) && USHORT num_handles, open_mode; (*((USH0RT far *) MK_FP(seg,0)) == Ox20CD)); BYTE fattr; } USHORT dev.info; // includes drive number FP ptr; /* USHORT start_cluster, time, date; Look for "orphaned" file handles: e.g., TSR>F00.BAR or ULONG fsize, offset; TSR>NUL will leave FOO.BAR or NUL entry in SFT, USHORT rel_cluster, abs_cluster, dir_sector; consuming file handle. If the PSP of the file's owner is BYTE dir.entry; C0MMAND.COM and if there's only one owner, then we decide BYTE filename [11]; it's an orphaned handle. ULONG share_prev_sft; */ USHORT share_net_machine; int orphan(file far *ff) USHORT owner_psp; { // ■•■ static command_com_psp = 0; } file; // for DOS 3.x, 4.x if (! ff->num_handles) return 0; typedef struct sysftab { if (! command_com_psp) /* do just one time */ struct sysftab far *next; { USHORT num_files; FP int2e = (FP) GETVECT(0x2E) ; file f[l]; MCB far *mcb; } SYSJTAB; ASM mov ah, 52h ASM int 21 typedef struct { ASM mov ax, es:[bx-2] BYTE type; ASM mov word ptr mcb+2, ax USHORT owner; /* PSP of the owner */ ASM mov word ptr mcb, USHORT size; /* Walk MCB chain, trying to find C0MMAND.COM PSP */ BYTE unused[3]; while (mcb->type != 'Z') BYTE dos4[8]; if (belongs (int2e, FP_SEG(mcb), mcb->size)) } MCB; { command_com_psp = mcb->owner; void fail(char *s) { puts(s); exit(l); } break; } else #if def _TURBOC_ #define GETVECT(intno) getvect(intno) mcb = (MCB far *) NEXT(mcb); ^define ASM asm } #else return ((ff->owner_psp == command_com_psp) && #define GETVECT(intno) _dos_getvect(intno) (ff->num_handles == 1)); ^define ASM _asm } #endif tfifndef MK_FP ^define MK_FP(seg,ofs) ( (FP)(( (ULONG) (seg) « 16) | (ofs))) tfendif iced or true form of a filename, with any SUBST, JOIN, ASSIGN, or network drive references resolved. Programs such as CHKDSK and the Norton Util- ities (NDD and SD) call this function to make sure the user isn't trying to per- form low-level disk operations on an enti- ty that really isn't a disk (e.g., SUBST E: C:\UNDOC followed by CHKDSK E:. Here, the canonical form of E:. is C:\UNDOC, which is a subdirectory, not a disk) . INT 28 (Keyboard Busy Loop) . There is one problem with the InDOS sema- phore that is returned by INT 2 1 FUN 34 (see above). When the user is sitting at the C> prompt, COMMAND.COM is sitting inside the DOS Buffered Key- board Input function (documented INT 21 FUN OA). This means that while waiting for the user to enter a command, the InDOS flag is set. Nor- mally, this, in turn, means that most TSRs would not be able to make INT 21 calls while DOS is effectively idling. As a workaround for its own PRINT spooler, Microsoft added the INT 28 interface. Programs that are idling can periodically invoke INT 28; TSRs can hook INT 28 to get permis- sion to make INT 21 calls, eventhough the InDOS flag is set. Practically every commercial TSR hooks INT 28; some of them even remember to call it periodically. INT2E (Execute Command). This strange DOS interrupt takes the com- mand string in DS:SI and passes it to the resident portion of COMMAND.COM; 296 BYTE- MARCH 1991 HANDS ON #define IS_AUX(s) ((s[0]==' A') && (s[l]=='U') && (s[2]=='X')) printf( "Filename Size Attr Handles 0wner\n"); #define IS_CON(s) ((s[0]=='C) && (s[l]=='0') && (s[2]=='N')) printf(" \n"); #define IS_PRN(s) ((s[0]=='P') && (s[l]=='R') && (s[2]=='N')) do { /* FOR EACH SFT */ main(void) { /* FOR EACH ENTRY IN THIS SFT */ SYS_FTAB far *sys_filetab; for (i=sys_filetab->num_files, ff=sys_filetab->f; file far *ff; i— ; int size; ((FP) ff) += size) int i; if (ff->num_handles) if (_osmaJor == 2) ASM mov ah, 52h ASM int 21 { ASM les bx, dvord ptr es:[bx+4] /* ptr to first SFT */ // didn't bother with struct for D0S2 ASM mov word ptr sys_filetab, bx FP ff2 = (FP) ff; ASM mov word ptr sys_filetab+2, es printf("£.8Fs.", ff2 + 0x04); printf("£.3Fs\t", ff2 + 0x0c); /* DOS box of OS/2 1.x doesn't provide SFT */ printf("*101u\t", *((UL0NG far *) (ff2 + 0x13))); if (sys.filetab == (SYS_FTAB far *) -1L) printf('WX\t", ff2[0x02]); fail( "system file table not supported"); 1 else switch (_osmajor) { { printf("£.8Fs.", ff->filename); case 2: size = 0x28; break; printf("£.3Fs\t", ff->filename + 8); case 3: size = 0x35; break; printf("*101u\t", ff->fsize); default: size = 0x3b; break; printf("£04X\t", ff->fattr); } printf("£d\t", ff->num_handles) ; printf("£04X\t", f f->owner_psp) ; /* Perform sanity check: Determine size of file structure if (! is_psp(ff->owner_psp)) empirically from difference between strings "CON" and printf("[N0T PSP]"); "AUX." If this equals size computed via _osmaJor, if (orphan(ff)) everything is fine. Otherwise, we reset size. */ FP p, q; printf(" [ORPHAN]"); 1 tfifdef FREEUP int i; // only DOS 3+ /* i=1000: Set upper limit on string search in memory */ if (! IS_AUX(ff->filename)) for (p=(FP)sys_filetab->f, i=1000; i--, p++; ) if (! IS_C0N(ff->filename)) if (IS_AUX(p)) if (! IS_PRN(ff->filename)) break; if (orphan(ff) || (! is_psp(ff->owner_psp))) if (! i) return 1; { for (q=p, i=1000; i— , q++; ) if (! ( — ff->num_handles)) // decrement owners if (IS_C0N(q)) printf(" [FREED]"); break; else if (! i) return 1; printf(" [NOW £d]", ff->num_handles) ; /* size of file structure must equal span from AUX to CON */ } if (size != (q - p)) tfendif { printf("\n"); puts("size based on _osmajor looks wrong"); } size = q - p; /* FOLLOWED LINKED LIST... */ } sys_filetab = sys_filetab->next; } } while (FP_SEG(sys_filetab) && FP_OFF(sys_filetab) != (unsigned) -l); 1* ... UNTIL END */ return 0; } all registers are destroyed in the process. Under the right circumstances, you can use INT 2E to write a TSR pop-up com- mand interpreter or to execute com- mands from within an application with- out reloading COMMAND.COM from disk. SET commands, invoked via INT 2E, set the master copy of the environ- ment. INT 2F FUN 11 (Network Redirector) . This large set of subf unctions defines an interface that is known as the network re- director, described earlier. Rather than call INT 2F FUN 1 1 , a program desiring to create a new DOS file system hooks INT 2F FUN 11 instead, servicing re- quests from DOS. Essentially, the net- work redirector can be used to create new DOS logical drives, even if it is not networked. This undocumented function is used not only by network software, like PC LAN and FTP Software's DOS implementation of TCP/IP, but also by nonnetwork software, such as MSCDEX. INT 2F FUN AE (Installable Com- mand). By hooking 2FAE00 and 2FAE01, a program (generally a TSR) can install new internal commands to COMMAND.COM (i.e., commands like CLS that don't load a program from disk). COMMAND.COM will call the program any time it receives a command it doesn't otherwise know about. This can also be used to add a help system to the exiting COMMAND.COM reper- toire. Interestingly, such new internal commands are also then accessible via undocumented INT 2E. continued MARCH 1991 -BYTE 297 HANDS ON Listing 4. Freeing an orphaned file handle. C:\UNDOO freeup > freeup.log C:\UNDOO type freeup.log Filename Size Attr Handles Owner AUX . CON . PRN . NUL . FREEUP .LOG 0000 0000 0000 0000 0020 6 16 6 1 2 9DED [NOT PSP] 9DED [NOT PSP] 9DED [NOT PSP] 0AE9 [ORPHAN] [FREED] 0AE9 :\UNDOC> files Filename Size Attr Handles Owner AUX . CON . PRN . 0000 0000 0000 6 16 6 9DED [NOT PSP] 9DED [NOT PSP] 9DED [NOT PSP] Manipulating the SFT To show how to use some of these undoc- umented functions, I decided to write a utility called FILES that displays infor- mation about all open files in the system. For example, listing 1 shows the output from FILES when running in a DOS box in Windows 3.0. Normally, there aren't this many open files. Often you have to redirect the out- put of FILES to a file (e.g., files > files.log) to see anything other than AUX, CON, and PRN. When its output is redirected, FILES inherits an open file from COMMAND.COM: This shows up in the last line of listing 1 as FILES.LOG with two owners. FILES walks the DOS SFTs, descend- ing into each one. It starts with the first SFT, pointed to by the DOS List of Lists, a pointer to which is in turn returned from undocumented INT 21 FUN 52, displays any files in that table, and then goes into a loop following the next field in each SFT, until it finds a next field whose segment is or whose offset is - 1 (FFFF). Within each SFT, an open-file entry contains the filename, its size, at- tributes, a reference count, and the PSP of the program that first opened the file. This information is displayed by FILES. Under DOS 3.0 or higher, the FILES program puts much effort into finding file oddities, such as files whose owner is not a legitimate PSP, and files that have been orphaned, as shown in listing 2. The first three entries— AUX, CON, and PRN— are always present in the first SFT. FILES prints out [NOT PSP] after the owner ID 9DED, because it found that this was not a legitimate PSP. In- stead, the value is apparently the effec- tive PSP at the time that the SYSINIT ini- tialization code in IBMBIO.COM (PC- DOS) or IO. SYS (MS-DOS) opens AUX, CON, and PRN (SYSINIT relocates it- self to the top of memory, accounting for the high address). The next entry displayed in listing 2, NUL, is marked as an [ORPHAN]. An orphaned file handle is generally the re- sult of redirecting the output from a memory-resident utility to a file, as I did here with SideKick. TSR>NUL leaves behind an open SFT entry for NUL, because DOS can't close a process's files when it terminates via the TSR call (INT 21 FUN 31). Such orphaned file handles can cause mysterious sys- tem crashes, because, with enough or- phans clogging up the SFTs, there can be no free entries left to open files, and many programs blithely assume that all their file opens are successful. In the example above, FILES de- cided that NUL was an orphan because its owner was COMMAND.COM, yet it had only one owner. The program gets the PSP for COMMAND.COM and compares this with the owner PSP. If a file's owner is COMMAND- .COM, it might be an orphan. In this example, TMP.TMP (to which I redi- rected the output of FILES) was not an orphan. But NUL has only one owner, and that owner is COMMAND.COM. This is a sure tip-off that the other party in the redirection hasn't exited. Since the TSR has no possible use for this NUL handle (which it doesn't even know about), it is safe to close this handle by decrementing its reference count in the SFT. Code to do so is handled in FI- LES. C by #if def FREEUP (see listing 3). A considerable amount of the source code in FILES. C is devoted to issues sur- rounding the DOS version number. In addition to checking for an SFT pointer of FFFF.FFFF, probably returned from the DOS box in OS/2 1.x, the program also performs a sanity check to see if the size of the DOS file structure really matches the size that I've determined from the DOS version number. If FILES. C is recompiled to enable the free-orphan code, you can create FREE- UP.EXE in addition to FILES.EXE. As- suming that an orphaned NUL handle is still lurking around the SFT, running FREEUP produces the results shown in listing 4. Notice that FREEUP doesn't do anything stupid like free up the file for its redirected output, and that AUX, CON, and PRN don't get changed, even though they have invalid owner PSPs and are therefore otherwise perfect candi- dates for being freed up. FREEUP can be useful in AUTO- EXEC.BAT files where you want to dis- card the TSR's initialization output without losing file handles: tsr > nul freeup > nul Who Is at Risk? There is already a large collection of popular PC applications that use undocu- mented DOS. Are the vendors of all these programs going to get burned with the next version of DOS? It's instructive to read what Gordon Letwin, Microsoft's chief architect for system software, says about this in his book Inside OS/2: "It may seem that if a popular application 'pokes' the operating system and otherwise engages in unsa- vory practices that the authors or users of the application will suffer because a fu- ture release, such as OS/2, may not run the application correctly. To the con- trary, the market dynamics state that the application has now set a standard, and it's the operating system developers who suffer because they must support that standard." In other words, when popular applica- tions use undocumented DOS, it's ulti- mately Microsoft that is inconvenienced, not the application's developer. Mean- while, smaller developers can ride the coattails of the larger developer's use of undocumented DOS. If enough impor- tant applications use it, yesterday's un- documented hack becomes tomorrow's de facto standard. The market has spo- ken. Amen. ■ Editor's note: This article was adapted from the book Undocumented DOS: A Programmer's Guide to Reserved MS- DOS Functions and Data Structures, edited by Andrew Schulman (Reading MA: Addison-Wesley, 1990). Andrew Schulman is a software engineer and writer at Phar Lap Software. He edited the book Undocumented DOS and contributed to the recent Extending DOS (edited by Ray Duncan). He can be reached on BIX c/o "editors." 298 BYTE- MARCH 1991 Subscribe to BYTE now and SAVE up to 56% PLUS, get the annual IBM PC Special Issue as an EXTRA BONUS! ►"PC-PRICED IWORKSTATIONS BVTE IBM Special Edition • Stay in the know on all major microcomputer products and innova- tions • Save time and money — invest in the best equip- ment for your needs • Harness the maximum power of your micro. Subscribe today and save! In a hurry? Call Toll-Free 1-800-257-9402 weekdays 9-5 EST. In NJ, call 1-609-426-5535. Enjoy MORE SPEED! SAVE up to $71 .03 PLUS get the extra IBM PC Special Issue Send me BYTE for: I I 1 year (12 issues) for $19.97 (Save 52% off the newsstand cost) I I 2 years (24 issues) for $39.97 (Save 52% off the newsstand cost) ] 3 years (36 issues) - $54.97 SAVE 56% off the newsstand cost Name. Company. Address _ City/State/Zip I I Payment enclosed Q Bill me No-Risk Guarantee: If dissatisfied, cancel anytime for a full 1 00% refund. Your subscription will start in 6-8 weeks. Watch for it! Single copy $3.50. Basic subscription rates are: 1 year $29.95, 2 years $54.95, 3 years $74.95 IB13083 Profit from MORE POWER! SAVE up to 56% PLUS get the extra IBM PC Special Issue Send me BYTE for: I I 1 year (12 issues) for $19.97 (Save 52% off the newsstand cost) I I 2 years (24 issues) for $39.97 (Save 52% off the newsstand cost) ] 3 years (36 issues) - $54.97 SAVE 56% off the newsstand cost Name. Company. Address _ City/State/Zip ] Payment enclosed ] Bill me No-Risk Guarantee: If dissatisfied, cancel anytime for a full 1 00% refund. Your subscription will start in 6-8 weeks. Watch for it! Single copy $3.50. Basic subscription rates are: 1 year $29.95. 2 years $54.95, 3 years $74.95 IB13083 Gain MORE APPLICATIONS! SAVE up to 56% PLUS Name. get the extra IBM PC Special Issue Send me BYTE for: I I 1 year (12 issues) for $19.97 (Save 52% off the newsstand cost) I I 2 years (24 issues) for $39.97 (Save 52% off the newsstand cost) ] 3 years (36 issues) - $54.97 SAVE 56% off the newsstand cost Company. Address — City/State/Zip . I | Payment enclosed Q Bill me No-Risk Guarantee: If dissatisfied, cancel anytime for a full 1 00% refund. Your subscription will start in 6-8 weeks. Watch for it! Singlecopy $3.50. Basic subscription rates are: 1 year$29.95, 2 years $54.95. 3 years $74.95 tB1 3083 BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO. 42 HIGHTSTOWN, NJ NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE: BYTE Subscription Department P.O. Box 558 Hightstown, N.J. 08520-9409 I...ImI..I.L.I.IIIm.I.Im.IhIII.uI.I..hII,I BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO. 42 HIGHTSTOWN, NJ NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE: BYTE Subscription Department P.O. Box 558 Hightstown, N.J. 08520-9409 I ... I .. I .. I . I ... 1 . 1 1 1 ... I . I ... I .. 1 1 1 ... I . I .... 1 1 . 1 Detach ariti mail card now to -j SAVE up to I 56% on BYTE PLUS, get the annual IBM PC Special Issue as an EXTRA i BONUS! i BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO. 42 HIGHTSTOWN, NJ POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE: BVTE Subscription Department P.O. Box 558 Hightstown, N.J. 08520-9409 NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES I i I Order even faster by phone: ! Call Toil-Free I i j 1-800-257-9402 weekdays 9-5 EST. In NJ, call 1-609-426-5535. I l.,,l.,l,,l,l,.,l,lll,,,U,.,LIII.,,l,L,,ll,l HANDS ON JEFFREY H.LUBECK AND BRUCE D. SCHATZMAN Networking Windows Microsoft's Windows 3.0 has made short work of capturing the PC desktop. With increasing frequency, people are beginning to ask about networked environments. In many ways, the marriage of Windows and networks makes sense. Why would you want 100 separate workstations, each running local versions of Windows, if you can have just a few copies on file servers? But putting Windows on the file server poses some setup and configuration challenges, just as it does on stand-alone PCs. Last month, we examined some of the problems that people have encountered when installing Windows in stand-alone inode (see "Making Windows Work," February BYTE). Here, we provide pointers for those of you implementing Windows on a network. Why on a Network? When you install Windows in stand-alone mode on a PC, all Windows software, including initialization and customization files and dynamic link libraries (DLLs), are on your local hard disk (see the figure). Thus, Win- dows is stored in its entirety on your own machine. In a networked environment, the Windows DLLs (i.e., executable files) can be stored permanently in a shared directory on a file server, while each user's ini- tialization and customization files are kept on his or her local hard disk drive. Windows doesn't actually run on the server, but some of its key files can be stored there. These executable files are transferred into local RAM Making Windows 3.0 work on a network takes planning, but the up- front work will save time and effort in the long run at load time. For diskless PCs, DLLs are kept in the shared directory, and initialization and custom- ization files are stored in the user's private directory on the file server. The SETUP pro- gram is smart enough to rec- ognize which configuration you have and takes the appro- priate installation actions. There are several advantages to running Windows from a file server. The most important are access and management of network resources through the Win- dows interface. You can connect and disconnect remote printers with the Control Panel, view and manage re- mote files with the File Manager, and view or change the status of print jobs on remote printers with the Print Manager. Installing Windows DLLs on a file server also means that local PC storage requirements are some- what reduced. On networks with large numbers of nodes, these savings can add up to dozens or hundreds of megabytes. This is especially important for concen- trations of PCs with small-capacity hard disk drives. Planning Before you consider running Windows 3.0 on a LAN, take a close look at the software applications, users, ILLUSTRATION: FRANK ANSLEY©1991 MARCH 1991 • BYTE 299 NETWORKING WINDOWS and hardware configurations that make up your LAN. It makes sense to let Win- dows be the foundation of your LAN ap- plications only if most of your users are already running Windows applications on a frequent basis. Installing Windows on a network can be difficult and may not be worth the effort to satisfy the needs of a few isolated users. It is important to determine which software will play the lead on your LAN. Will it be a DOS-based menu for select- ing a mixture of applications, including Windows applications? Or will it be a Windows-based menuing system that will also control DOS applications? This depends not just on the overall percent- age of DOS versus Windows applica- tions, but on their frequency of use. The system administrator must take responsi- bility for studying these factors to deter- mine which approach to take. If Win- dows applications are more frequently used (despite the availability of more DOS applications), then your LAN menu BVTE ACTION SUMMARY Implementing Windows 3.0 on a Network Networks have become essential to almost every business. So, in many cases, has the use of a windowing environment. With the next step, implementing Windows on a network, you will reap even more benefits. They include being able to access and manage your network resources, connect and dis- connect remote printers, view and manage remote files, and view or change the status of print jobs on remote printers. To find out how to run Windows 3.0 on a LAN, consult this step-by-step tutorial. 300 BYTE • MARCH 1991 should be Windows-based. Windows can have problems with PCs that don't adhere to common PC stan- dards or that lack hardware "muscle." If there was ever a software package that could expose the idiosyncrasies of add-in memory boards, serial cards, network cards, printer ports, video cards, or any- thing else within a machine, it is Win- dows. It is a misconception that installing Windows on a high-performance server can improve its performance on slower PCs. You might think, for example, that placing Windows on a 33-MHz 386 is likely to boost Windows' speed for an at- tached group of ATs. But Windows does not run on a server in the same way that a database application does. All Windows code is executed out of local RAM using your local processor. The server func- tions mostly as a storage device for some key Windows files. The attraction of saving some space on local hard disk drives often tempts ad- ministrators to off-load the initialization and customization files onto the server, in addition to the executable files. Al- though this is possible, performance will drop appreciably, because Windows ac- cesses these files frequently and will be forced to go over the network each time it needs them. For this reason, diskless PCs may not give users the performance they want from Windows. If your net- work consists mostly of slower or disk- less PCs, you'd be wise to see a demon- stration of the performance level before deciding to install Windows on a server. The fact that a system provides greater ease of use to the end user does not mean it is easy to maintain. The LAN adminis- trator's law of system management states that "as ease of use increases for the end user, so does maintenance complexity." LAN administrators should keep de- tailed records of configuration variations and prepare implementation plans for fu- ture maintenance requirements. Defining Your Environment Windows requires that you install a sepa- rate version for each unique hardware en- vironment (i.e., computer) on the LAN. As such, it is imperative to identify and differentiate between varying computer platforms. You can define your environment in two ways. First, determine all machine- specific variables that are relevant to the installation. This includes printers, vid- eo types, CPUs, mice, and so on. Sec- ond, determine your user-specific re- quirements, such as what applications they will be using, which printers they will be connected with, and what files they'll want to access. It is helpful to create a table of these items if you are working with a large network. It is crucial to identify the lowest com- mon denominator for machine-specific and user-specific groups. Review your machine-specific list and determine how many unique Windows configurations will be necessary. Logically group the users together in a fashion that mini- mizes the number of user-specific set- ups. You should install all variations of your hardware-specific list either on local hard disks or in separate shared di- rectories on the network. Finally, define sufficient environmental variables to be able to distinguish between all machine- specific and user-specific variations. When you have reached this point, you should write intelligent batch files to sample these environmental variables and determine which version of Windows should be run for each particular hard- ware configuration. For example, George Dart of Network Technology has developed batch files that query the cli- ent PC's network card and retrieve a serial number. The serial number acts as a pointer to a list of that machine's con- figuration parameters (e.g., RAM, CPU type, and video type). After these pa- rameters are evaluated, the appropriate Windows version is launched. The Shared Network Directory If you are planning to install and run Windows from a shared directory on the network— for example, F:\\ PUBLIC \ \WIN30— remember to set all files in this directory to READ ONLY so that every user can access but not write to the files. You can do this from the Windows File Manager, from MS-DOS using the ATTRIB command, or from the net- working software (e.g., NetWare) using the FLAG command. Most Windows ap- plications must have READ ONLY status before they can be shared. Microsoft recommends that the shared directory not contain the files SYS- TEM. INI, WIN.INI, or WIN.COM. We, however, recommend that these files reside in the shared directory and that you install Windows versions for each hardware variation, making use of envi- ronmental variables. This way, you avoid problems that result from users logging into the network from machines other than their own (which may have a com- pletely different set of hardware and user-preference characteristics). Each unique machine characteristic must re- main constant with the system, indepen- dent of which user is using the machine. continued SmartCache Plus: thegrow-as-you-go approach to SCSI controllers START WITH THE BEST... DPT's entry level SmartCachePlus board offers unrivaled price/performance for single : user systems. It. features ISA or;EISA bus mastering, and universal SCSI disKcompatibility for all PC operating systems. SmartDriyer software supports SCSI-2 peripherals like tape, and optical drives. NOW ADD CACHING! Get DPT's award-winning caching technology in a plug-in module! Move up to disk caching speed without investing in a new controller. With an integral 512K cache, the module provides up to 5X performance gains for workstations, ; power users, and small multiuser.systems. . ADD MORE USERS, ADD MORE CACHE! Plug in a 2; MB. or 4 MB memory module and accommodate up to 18 users from a single card slot. Idea! for medium-sized networks or multiuser systems. HOW ABOUT DISK MIRRORING? DPT's SmartCache mirroring module provides 100% disk fault.tolerance by simultaneously writing all data to a second "mirrored" drive. No more data loss or costly system down-time due to disk failures. And unlike software mirroring schemes', fault tolerance is achieved with no performance penalties. PLUS STILL MORE CACHE, AND THEN SOME... Cable over to DPT's 4 M B Cache Expansion Card, then grow your system to 16 MB by adding more plug-in memory modules — enough power for 64-plus users'! DPT has your solution— no matter how . you grow. Performance, compatibility and upgradability make SmartCache Pius the only SCSI controller you'll ever need, For details, contact Distributed Processing Technology, 140 Candace Drive^Mait- land, FL 32751. Phone (407) 830-5522; FAX (407) 260-5366. In Europe (UK) phone 44 04 884 718 FAX 44 04 884 8892. ' Circle 95 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 96). NETWORKING WINDOWS CONFIGURATION AND START-UP FILES PC client Network server C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT calls network batch file I Do'NET.BAT ipx wuaaaumm NETBIOS NET 3 F: LOGIN -- -F: LOGIN " ' ■■ ■ ' IIHIIII W IP ■ II I Hf ^NUfl^l1 J i N I i> ' I ; ' ' d Asks for name and password. Maps drives. Sets environmental variables using files such as SYS: PUBLIC\BATCH\ENVISET.INC and then calls a Windows batch file such as SYS: PUBLiC\BATCH\DOWIN.BAT, which then samples the environmental settings, sets up your locations, and launches Windows such as F:\PUBLIC\WIN30 VGA. You should plan on having some configuration files on the server, and others (as shown) on each client machine. Each configuration and start-up file has an appropriate location. In many cases, network users take ad- vantage of the MS-DOS SHARE com- mand when files are shared between pro- cesses. If you want to run Windows from a shared network directory in some net- working environments, the SHARE command can cause system problems, and it is best not to use it. Make sure that the users' Windows di- rectory and the shared Windows direc- tory are in the PATH and in this order. For example, PATH=F:\\USERS\\USER1;F: \\ PUBLIC \\WIN30 Menuing Windows 3.0 comes fully equipped with an object-oriented menu front end that can use network search paths at the dis- cretion of the administrator. You can eas- ily configure Windows 3.0 menus for both individual users or groups, but users can encounter problems when they try to access their server files from different machines. Dart, one of the pioneers of installing Windows in a network setting, claims that "the single biggest problem is for the administrator to overcome the mind-set of 'one user to one machine.' Users have a tendency to swap, borrow, or otherwise log into machines that are not their own. Administrators thus have to differentiate between machine-specific settings in 302 BYTE- MARCH 1991 Windows, such as video type, and user- specific variables, such as screen colors and preferred printers." You should build flexibility into log-in scripts. If a user who normally logs in from a VGA system logs in from a ma- chine with a CGA monitor, the log-in script must be able to detect this to pre- vent the system from hanging. Printing on the Network Often, a large LAN environment can have many different printers in use. Since most users find it tedious to page through multiple printer selections each time they start an application, it is impor- tant to display only those printers that will be used most often. You must be careful to configure the system properly. Windows can make use of environmental variables to achieve the desired result. Printing on the network using Win- dows 2.11 was relatively straightfor^ ward, provided that you did not have more than three local and/or network printers. The Windows Control program allowed the linking of printers to the LPT1, LPT2, and LPT3 logical devices. This corresponds with Novell's ability to "capture" print queues to LPT1, LPT2, andLPT3. As an example, if you had just a local dot-matrix printer, a networked Hewlett-Packard LaserJet, and a net- worked PostScript printer defined, it was easy to configure the system using LPT1, LPT2, and LPT3. However, if you were confronted with more than three printers, you had to use environ- mental variables to preselect the desired printers before entering the master Win- dows program. The unwelcome alterna- tive was to extensively train users in the use of the Control program. Although this problem has not been completely overcome in Windows 3.0, the situation has significantly improved; you can directly access network queues, so you (or users) can see what print jobs are in the queue, delete print jobs, and re- select printers easily. The users should set their defaults via the CAPTURE command in their initialization batch file before loading Windows, eliminating the need to use environmental variables. Avoiding Problems Sometimes, network operating software is loaded into upper memory (640K bytes to 1 megabyte) or high memory (the first 64K bytes above 1 MB). There is a good chance that this will cause Windows to lock or fail during operation. If this hap- pens, try loading the network software in conventional memory (the first 640K bytes). (See the section on QEMM.SYS 5.1 in "Making Windows Work" for more information.) Although SETUP modifies the PATH statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, make sure that this statement appears be- fore any network calls. Most network log-in scripts or procedures can redefine the path and map drives. Make sure that the network PATH and MAP statements are set properly for your Windows con- figuration. If you have problems with SETUP for a machine on a network, try SETUP /I when you run SETUP. The /I option dis- ables SETUP'S hardware detection abili- ties. However, this may only be a short- term fix. For example, most ARCnet network interface cards (NICs) use a de- fault base address of 2E0 hexadecimal that runs in direct conflict with SETUP'S desire to test for an 8514 video card. If you are not using (and never plan to use) an 8514 video card, the SETUP II op- tions solve this conflict. A more com- plete solution would be to change the base address of the NIC to somewhere in the 300h-to-340h range. If you are experiencing poor perfor- mance from your network printer (e.g., bad page breaks, wrong font selections, or blank lines), you may need to change your NetWare print job configuration. Using the PRINTCON utility, set the Auto Endcap and Enable Timeout set- tings to "no." continued PC-MOS The Multiuser DOS Platform For The '90s The 386 and now the 486 microprocessors have focused a lot of attention on the multiuser, multi- tasking possibilities of advanced PCs. A myriad of software and hardware manufacturers are promis- ing a new age of multiuser options in the '90s. But when you take a closer look, only one solu- tion focuses on the features you want and antici- pates the capabilities you need to use your PCs to their greatest potential. That solution is PC-MOS™ from The Software Link, the first DOS-compatible, multiuser, multitasking operating system. A Network Alternative The advantage to the PC-MOS shared processing solution is its ability to maximize the available memory on your PC, taking full advantage of ex- tended memory and sharing it with up to 25 users on inexpensive terminals or monitors. You can share data with the same speed and integrity of a network solution without the expense of network cards and the waste of under-utilized PCs. And no additional investment is required to get the multi- tasking capabilities inherent in PC-MOS. A Network Enhancer For affordable network expansion, PC-MOS servers can be connected to other servers with The Software Link's LANLink or with the PC-MOS PC-MOS is a trademark of The Software Link. All other products relerenced are trademarks of their respective companies. Prices, policies and specifications subject to change without notice. GATEWAY™ to Novell's NetWare®. This connectiv- ity lets a business configure its automation systems for departmental efficiency and expand affordably as needs grow with LANs or even WANs. DOS Compatible The PC-MOS alternative is clear: DOS compati- bility means your users can continue to use all the popular software packages. And that means no investment loss, no retraining and no limitations in available applications. An Unbeatable Solution The next decade of shared processing will be clouded with choices. Only one operating system was first to offer you DOS-compatible, multiuser, multitasking solutions. Only one operating system continues to provide unbeatable multiuser solu- tions for over 150,000 users. PC-MOS from The Software Link. Call today and set your computing sights on a more productive horizon. THE SOFTWARE LINK 1-800-451-LINK 3577 Parkway Lane, Norcross, GA 30092 (404)448-5465 FAX: (404) 263-6474 TELEX: 4996147 SWLINK VARS and RESELLERS: Ask about our Sales Support Program GSA Schedule/GSOOK 90 AGS6448 Circle 292 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 293). NETWORKING WINDOWS Under Windows 2.11, the WIN. INI file was usually the Achilles' heel for most networks. Windows 2.11 had the annoying feature of writing only part of the modified WIN. INI file to the cur- rently resident directory location. These directory locations containing partial or "orphaned" WIN. INI files resulted in unpredictable program execution. The LAN administrator needed to have the system configuration disciplined so that this would not occur. Under Windows 3.0, the condition has been corrected by making the Program Manager aware of the location of the various master .INI files. (See the text box "SYSTEM.INI Settings" on page 306.) Novell Networks Windows is compatible with NetWare 2.10 or higher. Both the network shell components and NetWare utilities must be version 3.01 or higher. These files in- clude NET3.COM, NET4.COM, NET- BIOS. EXE, IPX.COM, and BINDFIX .EXE. While you are at a DOS prompt in Windows, you should never attempt to log in, log out, or attach to the network server— it will hang your system. Always perform these functions from the Win- dows Control Panel. If you are seeing file error messages, you most likely need to increase your file handle size from the NetWare default of 40 files to 60 files. You can do this by adding the following line to SHELL .CFG: file handles = 60 If you want to show the directory en- tries dot (.) or double dot (. .) in NetWare (as MS-DOS would), add the following line to SHELL.CFG: show dots = on The NetWare 3.01 shell can emulate these entries without problems in Win- dows (earlier versions of the NetWare shell will cause problems). This helps applications when they're listing files and directories. When Windows is installed for Net- Ware, SETUP adds the loading of the utility NWPOPUP to the [WINDOWS] section of your WIN. INI file: load=nwpopup . exe This utility displays all your incoming network broadcast messages. If you want to take advantage of SWAPFILE, how- ever, you must first temporarily disable NWPOPUP. You can do this by selecting the Disable Broadcast Messages option from the Network section of the Control Panel. (See chapter 13 of the Windows User Guide on setting up Swapfiles.) Mapping NetWare Drives If you redirect drives through mapping techniques— for example, if drive G on your path represents the mapped physical directory SERVER\\SYS VOLUME \\USER\\ USER 1 -Windows will only show the root directory (Server \Sys Volume) and in some cases may actually redirect the drive itself to the root direc- tory. To correct this situation, you must use the MAP ROOT command for each drive you want mapped before starting Windows. The MAP command should now read as follows: MAP ROOT G: = SERVER 1 \ \ SYS : 0NE\\USER\\USER1 continued For the IBM PC, XT, AT PC DOS* or MS DOS* SOLID STATE DISKETTE AND DRIVE EMULATORS FOR DISKLESS SYSTEMS • Diskless systems with local DOS and program storage for client LAN terminals, and embedded and industrial control systems. • Single or dual disk emulation of 5 1 /i" or 3 1 /2" diskettes. • EPROM, Flash EEPROM and SRAM technology. Flash EEPROM models are electrically erasable. SRAM models are battery backed. EPROM models are ultraviolet erasable. • On-board EPROM programmer— simply copy a diskette to program the EPROMs or Flash EEPROMs. Flash EEPROMs remotely programmable on LANs. • Two Autoboot modes, a File (read) and a Programming mode —automatic disk drive designation set-up during booting. • Utilities and Users Manual included. • List prices from $195. OEM prices available. mmm CURTIS, INC. I I" 5 * J 2837 North Fairview Ave.* St. Paul, MN 55113 L == l 612/631-9512 • Fax 612/631-9508 * IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 and PC DOS are trademarks of IBM; MS DOS is a trademark of Microsoft (MOMBfCflra ) Protects while, yc type! - Remains in Place while you use your computer. ■ Avoids Costly Repairs. Protects delicate electronics from dust, spills, smoke, ashes, staples. ■ Soft, Flexible, retains normal keyboard feel. ■ Washable, Durable High-Tech Polymer lasts years. * Hundreds of Models. SafeSkin is available for most PCs, laptops, workstations and clone keyboards. ■ Office « Home "Factory ■Classroom" Laboratory List Pnce $29.95/ Please call or write for free color KEYBOARD PROTECTOR Merritt Computer Products, Inc. I Red Bird Center Dr., Suite 150 ■ Dallas, Texas 75237 (214)339-0753 ■ FAX (2141 339-1313 304 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Circle 81 on Inquiry Card. Circle 1 77 on Inquiry Card. MORE THAN YOU ASKED FOR? Contact Us To Stop Unwanted Advertising Mail. Most folks like advertising mail. They get special offers, sweepstakes chances, free gifts, good prices on things they can't find anywhere else. And shopping by mail or phone is quick and simple. But if you're one of those people who would rather not receive advertising mail, we can help. Send us your name and full address and we'll tell partici- pating national mailers to remove your name from their mailing lists. After all, they want to talk to people who want to listen. Mail Preference Service Direct Marketing Association 1 1 West 42nd Street P.O. Box 3861 New York, NY 10163-3861 Name Street Apt. City State Zip Variation of my name Megatel PC+® PC XT Compatibility On a 4" x 6" Board • 3 Serial Ports • 3 watts (typical) • XT Bus Expansion • Real Time Clock • NEC V-40® Processor • SCSI Hard Disk Control • Up to 768k Main Memory • Wilf boot PC, MS and DR DOS™ • UptolOMhzCPUCIock Freauency • Floppy Disk Control (1.44 M support) • Hercules, Monochrome, CGA Video/Color LCD Controller • Complete RS-232C Drivers Megatel Computer Corporation (416) 245-2953 FAX (416) 245-6505 125 Wendell Ave, Weston, Ontario M9N 3K9 Densitron Corp 2540 West 237th St., Torrance, CA 90505 (213) 530-3530 FAX (G2/G3) (213) 534-8419 Telex 1 1 : 91 0- 349-6200 Europe/UK 0959 76600 REPS: Italy Austria 39 331 772 000 43 222 587 6475 Germany Finland 49 6074 98031 f* ^ U. j 4 > Q | 358 0757 1711 44 95971011 /■*_ J-. PI- ^1 464097 1090 Netherlands L^QrlQQQ oTQllQ Norway 31838 541301 ' , . , _ 7 47 986 9970 Australia Hflll SlY Denmark 6103 568 0988 IIWII VIA 45 244 0488 France 33 1 49 65 2550 Trademarks: IBM XT* - IBM Corp. V-40- NEC Corp. Hercules -Hercules Corp M5+DR DOS - Digital Research Ltd. Quark- F. + K. Moixrtocturing Co. — megatel — Circle 347 on Inquiry Card. NETWORKING WINDOWS SYSTEM.INI Settings You can modify many of the set- tings included in the SYSTEM .INI file to correct or improve Windows' performance on a network. A unique version of SYS- TEM.INI must reside in each user's personal Windows directory or match the user's environment settings. There- fore, each version of SYSTEM.INI has to be modified to have the full effect. Here are some descriptions and sugges- tions regarding the most critical set- tings. The [Boot] Section Network. drv= Specifies the network driver filename you are using; the de- fault is none. Most network driver choices are available using SETUP. You modify this setting by choosing the SETUP icon located in the Main group window and modifying your network choice. If you want to install a network driver that Windows doesn't provide, you need to run SETUP all over again from MS-DOS. The [Standard] Section SYSTEM.INI's [Standard] section con- trols systems running in standard mode. Int28Filter= A numeric setting that determines the number of INT28 hexadecimal interrupts that are gener- ated to software loaded before Windows while your system is idle. The default value is 10. Increasing the value im- proves Windows' performance but can cause conflicts with memory-resident software such as network shells. Chang- ing the setting to eliminates the inter- rupts. Users of communication applica- tions on a network should be aware that the lower the value of Int28Filter, the higher the system overhead, which can cause conflict with the communication application. NetAsynchSwitching= Controls whether Windows provides the ability to switch away from an application after it has made an asynchronous NetBIOS call. The default value of establishes that task switching is not available. With a value of 1 , task switching is available. Network users should determine if any of their applications will receive net- work messages while switched to other applications; if an application does re- ceive messages and you have a setting of 1 , your system may fail. NetHeapSize= A numeric setting (in kilobytes) that determines the size of the buffer pool allocated in convention- al memory (640K bytes) for moving data over a network. The default value is 8, but many networks require a bigger buffer size. The larger the buffer size, the smaller the amount of memory pro- vided to applications. The [386Enh] Section SYSTEM.INI's [386Enh] section con- trols 386 systems with at least 2 mega- bytes of memory and running in en- hanced mode. AllVMsExclusive= A Boolean set- ting that controls whether an MS-DOS application can run in a window or must run in exclusive full-screen mode, re- gardless of the settings in the program information file. The default setting is false. If the setting is true, network users will see an increase in the time it takes for Windows sessions to be com- pleted. FileSysChange= A Boolean setting that controls whether the File Manager automatically receives messages from non-Windows applications when those applications create, delete, or rename files. If the setting is false, a virtual ma- chine can perform file manipulation while running independently of the File Manager. If it is true, all messages auto- matically go to the File Manager, and system performance is degraded. InD0SPolling= A Boolean setting that determines whether other applica- tions can run when memory-resident software has the InDOS flag set. The de- This will make the directory USER\ \ USER1 appear to be the root of drive G. We recommend that you only use the MAP ROOT command for directories with program files. The MAP command should be used for directories with data files so that the user can move around within subdirectories. Here is an ex- ample: MAP ROOT G:SERVER1 \ \ SYS:ONE \\PUBLIC\\WINAPPS MAP SrSERVERl \ \SYS:ONE\ \ USERS\USER1\WINDATA Windows in enhanced mode can do some additional adjusting of your net- work drive mappings. In standard mode, all drive mappings that are changed while inside Windows are reset to the original mappings when you exit Win- dows. For example, changing drive G to represent \\PUBLIC\\WINAPPS from \\USER\\USER1 will be reset to \\USER \\USER1 on exit. In enhanced mode, you can make all drive mappings stay in place even after leaving Windows by adding the following line in the [NET- WARE] section of your SYSTEM.INI file: RestoreDrive=False The default for each virtual machine in enhanced mode is to have its own (Local) set of drive mappings. Thus, changing the mapping in one machine does not affect the other. If you want to have mapping (or any mapping change) affect all virtual machines (Global), use the following setting in the [NETWARE] sectionofSYSTEM.INI: NWshareHandles=True Microsoft LAN Manager Early versions of LAN Manager 1 .x will not run with Windows; they will need to be upgraded. Also, you should be aware that the software cannot be loaded into high memory. LAN Manager 1.x Enhanced includes pop-up services that enable you to see in- coming broadcastmessages. This feature can cause problems with Windows' dis- play. If you want to have pop-up services, you use the LAN Manager WinPopup utility, which is designed to work with Windows. The utility should be located in the LAN Manager NETPROG direc- tory and should also be included in your path. To have the utility start with Win- dows, you would use the load option in the [WINDOWS] section of WIN. INI, as follows: 306 BYTE- MARCH 1991 NETWORKING WINDOWS fault setting is no. You must change the setting to yes if your memory-resident software needs to be in a critical section to perform operations off an INT28 hook. When the setting is yes, system performance is degraded. INT28Critical= A Boolean setting that specifies whether a critical section is required to handle INT28h interrupts for a memory-resident software applica- tion. The default setting is true. If your network's virtual device does internal task switching on INT28h interrupts and the system is crashing, you may need a critical section. If you do not need a critical section, change this set- ting to false; this should improve Win- dows' task switching. NetAsynchFallback= A Boolean setting that can require Windows to try to save a NetBIOS request if it is failing. The default setting is false. Windows has a global network buffer to handle data; if sufficient space is not available in this buffer when an application makes a NetBIOS request, Windows fails the request. If you change this set- ting to true, Windows tries to save the request by creating a buffer in local memory and preventing all virtual ma- chines from processing until the data has been properly received and the time-out period has passed. The time- out period is controlled by NetAsynch- Timeout. NetAsynchTimeout= A setting (in seconds to one decimal place) that de- termines the length of a time-out period if Windows is attempting to save a fail- ing NetBIOS request. The default is 5.0 seconds and applies only if NetAsynch- Fallback is set to true. NetDMASize= Determines the buf- fer size (in kilobytes) for NetBIOS transport software. The buffer size al- ways represents the largest value estab- lished by this setting or the value estab- lished by DMABuf fersize. Network= Represents the 386 en- hanced-mode synonym for Device. The default is none and is controlled by SETUP. PSPIncrement= A setting (numeri- cal from 2 to 64) that tells Windows to reserve, in 16-byte increments, addi- tional memory for each successive vir- tual machine if UniqueDOSPSP is true. Ref lectD0SInt2A= A Boolean set- ting that tells Windows to run through or reflect DOS INT 2A signals. The de- fault is false, which instructs Windows to run through this type of signal, pro- viding more efficiency. If you have memory-resident software that requires knowledge of INT2A messages, change the setting to true. TimerCriticalSection= A setting (in milliseconds) that tells Windows to go into a critical section around any tim- er interrupt code and use the time-out period specified. A value greater than guarantees that only one virtual ma- chine at a time will receive time inter- rupts. Some network memory-resident software will fail if a value greater than is not used. System performance slows with the use of this setting. TokenRingSearch= A Boolean set- ting that instructs Windows to look for a Token Ring network adapter on ma- chines with the IBM AT architecture. The default is true. This search can in- terfere with another device. UniqueD0SPSP= A Boolean setting that can instruct Windows to start every application at a unique memory address (PSP). The default setting is false. If the setting is true, each time that Windows creates a new virtual machine to start a new application, a unique amount of memory below the application is re- served. PSPIncrement controls the amount of memory that is reserved. This approach guarantees that applica- tions in different virtual machines will start at different addresses. In some net- works, the load address of the applica- tion is used to identify each process on the network. load=winpopup. exe If you do not want this feature, remove the messenger and netpopup arguments from the line wrkservices in LAN- MAN. INI (the LAN Manager root di- rectory). For LAN Manager 2.0 En- hanced, Windows needs to have the DLLs NETAPI.DLL and PMSPL.DLL in the LAN Manager NETPROG direc- tory and in your PATH. Other Networks For networks that support MS-NET and NetBIOS, be aware that the Print Man- ager cannot handle multiple print queues, so print jobs may be listed im- properly. To run Banyan Vines 4.0 with Win- dows in enhanced mode, you need to ob- tain patch 'OH.' When running Win- dows in enhanced mode, you can run only one application at a time that makes use of NetBIOS. For example, if you are printing to a remote printer from a Win- dows application or running an applica- tion that uses NetBIOS, be sure to close all other virtual machines. Also, you should remember that if you want to use Windows printing functions and run non-Windows applications with Vines 4.0, you need to have NetBIOS loaded. For 3Com networks, be aware that 3 + Share and 3-fOpen LAN Manager use completely different drivers. Also, if you are going to use a 3Com XNS proto- col stack, the following item must be in- cluded in the [386Enh] section of SYS- TEM.INI: TimerCritical Section = 10000 If you are not going to use the XNS stack and are having problems, just remove that line. Final Thoughts The key to installing Windows on a net- work is planning. Even though your user base may be pressuring you to install Windows right away, there is simply no substitute for a thorough definition of your requirements and an implementa- tion plan. Taking the time for such preparation may delay your initial installation. In the long run, however, it will save you time and effort. ■ Jeffrey H. Lubeck and Bruce D. Schatz- man are systems consultants in the Seat- tle area. They provide systems design and implementation services throughout the U.S. You can reach them on BIX do "editors. " MARCH 1991 -BYTE 307 SALE!SALE!SALE! $3.00 each or 6 for $ 1 5.00 U.S. includes shipping and handling. $4.00 each or 6 for $20.00 Foreign includes shipping and handling. BYTE BACK ISSUES Limited Quantities — Order Now! 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 January February March April May June July August September October November December Inside the IBM PCs □ BYTE '83-'84 Index $2.00 □ BYTE '85 Index $2.00 □ BYTE '88 Index $2.00 Available Issues □ Special Bound Copies of BYTE Volume III, Part 1— January 1978 through June 1978 Volume III, Part 2— July 1978 through December 1978 $7.95 U.S. includes shipping and handling $9.95 foreign includes shipping and handling □ Check enclosed. Payments from foreign countries must be made in U.S. funds payable at a U.S. bank. Name_ Address . City Postcode. Country— . State _ _City_ .Zip. Please indicate which issues you would like by checking (V) the boxes. Send requests with payments to: BYTE Back Issues One Phoenix Mill Lane Peterborough, NH 03458 (603)924-9281 Charge: □ VISA □ MasterCard Card § Exp. Date . Signature _ SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED STEVE APIK Lossless Data Compression At first glance, the concept of data compression seems too good to be true. The idea of shrink- ing information without losing any of it looks to be a something-for-nothing proposition that violates what should be one of Newton's lesser-known laws: the law of conservation of data. Despite the aura of mystique that surrounds it, data compression is based on a simple idea: mapping the representation of data from one group of symbols to an- other, more concise series of symbols. Data-compres- sion programs and dedicated compression hardware use several different algorithms to achieve this end. Two compression schemes, Huffman coding and LZW coding (for Lempel and Ziv, its creators, and Welch, who made substantial modifications), form the basis for much of the compression that we use from day to day. These techniques also represent two distinct schools of compression algorithms. An understanding of how each algorithm works provides an excellent background in compression in general. Both Huffman and LZW coding are lossless com- pression techniques. They are appropriate to use for compressing any kind of data because the expanded representation is identical to the original input to the compressor. Joint Photographies Experts Group (JPEG), Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) (see "Putting the Squeeze on Graphics," December 1990 BYTE), and other cutting-edge image-compression al- gorithms achieve fantastic compression ratios at the ex- Two algorithms- Huffman coding and LZW coding— are at the root of most compression ILLUSTRATION: BOB CONGE © 1991 pense of exact data reproduc- tion. These techniques work well for images and sound data, but they are not appro- priate for general data. Huffman coding, original- ly proposed sometime in the early 1950s, reduces the num- ber of bits used to represent frequent characters and in- creases the number of bits used for infrequent charac- ters. The LZW method, on the other hand, encodes strings of characters, using the input stream to build an expanded alphabet based on the strings that it sees. These two very different approaches both work by re- ducing redundant information in the input data. Huffman Coding Huffman coding is probably the best-known method of data compression. The simplicity and elegance of the technique have made it a longtime academic favorite. But Huffman codes also have practical applications; for example, static Huffman codes are used as the last stage of JPEG compression. The MNP-5 data-compres- sion standard for modems (see "4800 Bits, No Errors," June 1989 BYTE) uses dynamic Huffman compression as part of its process. Finally, Shannon-Fano coding, a close relative of Huffman coding, is used as one stage in PKZIP's powerful "imploding" algorithm. continued MARCH 1991 -BYTE 309 SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED Huffman coding works on the premise that some symbols are used more often than others in data representation. The most common representation, the ASCII alphabet, uses 8 bits for each character. In English, the letter e is considerably more likely to appear than the letter q, yet w e use the same number o f bits to rep- resent each. If we used only 4 bits for an e and 12 bits for each q f we would save some bits whenever storing English text. Huffman coding formalizes this idea of relating symbol length to the proba- bility of a symbol's occurrence. Static Huffman coding requires you to have a table of probabilities before you begin compressing the data. This table can be compiled from statistical observations (such tables have been compiled for in- puts like English), or the compressor can prescan the input data to find the symbol probabilities before it starts to compress the data. The compressor and decompressor can construct an encoding tree with this probability information. The encoding tree is a binary tree with one leaf for each symbol. To construct the tree, the com- pressor starts with the two symbols of lowest probability. It then combines these two as two leaf branches under a node; this node, in turn, is assigned the sum of the two probabilities. The com- pressor then considers this node along with the rest of the symbols in the proba- bility list, and it again selects the two least probable items. It continues to build and combine nodes until it builds a single tree, with the probability at the root equal to 1 . The resulting tree has leaves of vary- ing distance from the root. The leaves that represent the symbols with the high- est probability dre closest to the root, while those with the lowest probability are the farthest away. To encode a symbol, the compressor finds the path from the root of the tree to Listing 1 : Dynamic Huffman compression/expansion pseudocode. All structure references are simplified for readability. Unless explicitly noted, structures are elements of the Tree array. For example, char, parent should properly read Tree [char ] . parent. PROCEDURE huffman compress tree <- ROOT // initialize the tree add_node (empty leaf, ROOT, 0) // add the empty leaf to the tree char <- (next character from buffer) / / read in the first character / / add this char to the tree / / send the first character / / as a literal character add_node(char, ROOT, 1) write char to output buffer WHILE (input buffer not empty) / / read in a character char <- (next character from buffer) IF (char is not known) transmit (empty leaf code) write char to output buffer / / send the literal character update_tree (empty leaf code)// adjust the tree IF (all nodes not full) / / add to the tree add_node(char, empty leaf, 1) / / move empty leaf add...node( empty leaf, empty leaf, 0) ELSE // last node to add / / assign empty leaf info to char char.parent <- empty leaf. parent ELSE // this character is known transmit(char code) update_tree (char code) // adjust the tree CONTINUE PROCEDURE huffman expand tree <- ROOT / / initialize the tree add_node (empty leaf, ROOT, 0) // add the empty leaf to the tree char <- (next char from buffer) // read in literal first character add this char to the tree write the first character add_node(char, ROOT, 1) // write char to output buffer / / WHILE (input buffer not empty) char <- incode (buffer) // read in a code update_tree (char code) // adjust the tree IF (char=empty leaf) char <- next char from buffer// read in literal character IF (all nodes not full) // add to the tree add_node(char, empty leaf, 1) // move empty leaf add_.node( empty leaf, empty leaf, 0) ELSE // last node to add / / assign empty leaf info to char char.parent <- (empty leaf .parent) write char to output buffer CONTINUE / / Huffman compression support routines / / assume expander has same tree structure as compressor for / / readability. In reality, each expansion tree node has daughter // pointers as well as a parent pointer. / / add a node to the tree PROCEDURE add_node (code, parent, branch) code. parent <- parent / / assign parent pointer code.bit <- branch / / assign bit for this code code.weight_ptr <- (next available spot in weight list) IF (code is a character) Weightlist[code.weight_ptr] <- 1 ELSE //code is the empty leaf Weightlist[code.weight_ptr] <- END IF PROCEDURE update_tree(code) WHILE (code != ROOT) Weightlist[code.weight_ptr] ++ // increment weight IF (Weightlist[code.weight_ptr] = MAXVEIGHT) scale (weightlist) IF (Weightlist[code.weight_ptr] > Weightlist[code.weight_ptr-l] //if weight is greater than / / that of node listed above // it in the weight list swap_node<-(heaviest node, which is lighter than code) IF (swap_node != code.parent)// don't swap if parent-child swap(swap_node, code) code<-code. parent CONTINUE PROCEDURE transmit (code) DO push code.bit // code< -code.parent WHILE (code != ROOT) pop bitstack PROCEDURE incode (buffer) code<-R00T DO bit<-(next bit from buffer) IF (bit=0) code<-code.zero_daughter ELSE code<-code.one_daughter WHILE (code. daughter != NULL) RETURN code / / transmit a Huffman code push this code's bit on a stack / / move to parent node / / send the bits to output // read a Huffman code / / start at the root / / read in a bit / / Jump to zero child / / or one child // until you find a leaf // leaf location is its value 310 BYTE • MARCH 1991 SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED the symbol 's leaf. Suppose the compres- sor wants to encode the letter s. It starts at the leaf corresponding to s and jumps to the parent node, noting which branch (0 or 1) it was on. It continues to jump up the tree until it reaches the root. The list of branches, when reversed, describes the path from the root to s\ This is the symbol's Huffman code. High-probability characters are close to the root, so their codes are short. Low- probability characters are far from the root and have longer codes. To decode, the decompressor takes the code and processes it in reverse. That is, it starts at the root of the tree. If the first bit in the code is a 1 , it jumps to the node on the 1 -branch from the root. It continues reading bits and jumping until it reaches a leaf; the symbol at the leaf is the decoded character. One more property of the Huffman tree bears discussion. Because symbols are always leaves, symbol nodes never have any children. When the decompres- sor gets to a leaf node, it knows to stop reading from the input immediately be- cause it knows it has reached a leaf. In other words, one Huffman code is never the prefix of another. This means that al- though code lengths are variable, the compressor always knows when one code ends and another begins, and there is no need to explicitly place delimiters be- tween codes. Dynamic Huffman Coding The greatest difficulty with Huffman codes, as you probably noticed from the discussion above, is that they require a table of probabilities for each type of data to compress. This is not a problem if you know you will always compress English text; you simply provide a suitable En- glish text tree to the compressor and de- compressor. The JPEG protocol defines a default Huffman tree for compressing JPEG data. In the general case, when you don't know the symbol probabilities for your input data, static Huffman codes can't be used effectively. Fortunately, a dynamic version of Huffman compression can construct the Huffman tree on the fly while reading and actively compressing. The tree is constantly updated to reflect the chang- ing probabilities of the input data. Listing 1 contains a pseudocode ver- sion of a dynamic Huffman compres- sion/decompression program. The actual code, which is available from the usual sources, is written in 8088 assembly lan- guage. These programs are based on an algorithm described in reference 1, which cites a number of original sources. Reference 2 presents a more efficient, al- though complex, algorithm for dynamic Huffman compression. The key to starting with an uninitial- ized tree is the introduction of an empty leaf. The empty leaf is simply a leaf node with no symbol attached to it; this leaf has zero probability. The initial tree, held by both the compressor and de- compressor, has only the root and a sin- gle empty leaf. The compressor starts the ball rolling by reading in a character. It attaches this character to the 1 -branch of the root, leaving the empty leaf on branch 0. It then sends this character to the decom- pressor as a literal ASCII code, and the decompressor makes the same adjust- ment to its tree. For each character read thereafter, the compressor performs the following steps. First, it checks to see if the code is ^Writing a TSR is exceptionally easy" ... and now it's inexpensive too! Now you can turn Turbo Pascal programs into rock solid TSRs with ease. TSRs Made Easy lets you create conventional TSRs or swapping TSRs that use only 6K of RAM. TSRs Made Easy provides ■ TSR swapping to EMS, XMS, or disk ■ selectable hot keys ■ keyboard macros ■ unloadable TSRs ■ 8087 TSR support ■ interface to transient programs ■ ISR handling, and more. TSRs Made Easy includes full source, complete documentation, and plenty of small example and demo programs. You pay no royalties. ** Writing a TSR. . .is exceptionally easy. The documentation is extremely readable and well done. " Computer Language, May 1990 One of programming's most formidable tasks is now very simple... and very affordable! TSRs Made Easy, only $49. New! Object Professional for Ibrbo Pascal 6.0 Object Professional version 1 . 1 is fully updated for Turbo Pascal 6.0. New are SAA/CUA style dialog boxes, draggable windows, XMS/EMS 4 support, and more. Object Professional includes over 100 object types that will multiply your productivity. Included are windowing and menu systems, menu and data entry screen generators, data object types, and routines that provide swapping TSRs. You'll get up to speed fast with clear documen- tation, on-line help, full source code, and hot demo programs. ** The range of objects is fantastic. Object Professional could save you man-years of effort. " Jeff Duntemann Object Professional, only $189. Call toll-free to order: 1-800-333-4160 TSRs Made Easy has exactly the same TSR routines as OPro. TSRs Made Easy requires Turbo Pascal 6.0, 5.5 or 5.0. OPro requires Turbo 6.0 or 5.5. 5.25" and 3.5" disks included. Add $5 per order forstandard shipping in U.S./Canada. Call for other shipping charges. Registered owners of OPro may update to version 1.1 for $20, include your serial number. IU33 m ■gu^- 9AM-5PM PST Monday through Friday, USA & Canada. For more information call (408) 438-8608, fax to (408) 438-8610, or send mail to CompuServe ID 76004,26 1 1 TurboPower Software P O Box 66747 Scotts Valley, CA 95067-0747 Circle 309 on Inquiry Card MARCH 1991 -BYTE 311 SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED in the encoding tree. If the code is there, the compressor sends it in the same fash- ion as in the static case. If not, it sends the code for the empty leaf. Then it sends the new character as a literal ASCII code. Finally, the compressor adds two codes, one for a new empty leaf on branch and one for the new code on branch 1. When the tree is full (i.e., when all characters have been seen), the compressor just changes the last empty leaf node into the last character. The decompression program can make adjustments to its tree because it has exactly the same tree as the compres- sor. When it receives an empty leaf code, it reads the next code from the com- pressed data as an ASCII literal. It then employs the same update routine as the compressor uses to update the tree. The empty leaf and the uninitialized tree don't solve the problem of keeping track of changing probabilities, however. To do that, you need to introduce weights ichard Fink, President ! of RainTree Computer r Systems, writes, "...What it [Periscope] offers is probably the most compre- hensive debugging capability on the market today. And for you and me, that means getting to market sooner. Getting to market with a cleaner product. That's an objective we all know about." Periscope handles the level of debug- ging you need. Whether you're developing appli- cations written in a high-level lan- guage, doing " low-level system development, or something in be- tween, Periscope can help you find the bugs. Randy Brukardt, a developer of the Janus Ada com- piler, writes, "I couldn't imagine using anything else.. .It is just as useful debugging my Ada code at the source level as it is for finding bugs in assembler code, even TSRs and device drivers." There's just not For example, you much you can't can debug device debug with drivers and Periscope. TSRs, child pro- cesses, and soft- " ware interrupts. You can trace DOS and debug foreground and background programs in the same session. Large programs are no problem. Periscope supports Plink and .RTLink overlays, and Windows 3.0 programs in real mode. You can monitor software running on another system. And you can debug the boot process, hardware interrupts, and real-time code. The Periscope software runs on 8088 through 80486 machines, supports 80386/80486 debug registers, and runs with 386 control programs in the system. There's a Periscope model for every budget. Periscope Model H includes a breakout switch and the new Version 5 software. Tlte new software, included with ail models, features a menu system that makes Periscope easier than ever to learn and use. Start saving money today. Call Toll-Free: 800-722-7006 Overseas, call: UK - Roundhill Computer Systems. 0672 84 535: Germany - H+B KDV, 07542 fiiS»; CmnFood. 02534 7093; Swcdcn- UnSofl, 013 124780; Denmark - Ravenholm Computing. 02 88 72 49: Australia - BJK Enter- prises, 02 858 50115 Prices start at $195 for soft- ware-only Model II-X. Model II with its handy break-out switch is $225. Modell with 512K of write-protected RAM is $595 for PCs and $695 for PS/2s. Model IV with its real-time hardware trace buffer and breakpoints is $1895 to $2395, depending on your processor and its speed. We'll be happy to help you decide which model you need. The xy Periscope Company, Inc. 1197 P( 30361, USA • 404/B75-B0B0 FAX 404/872-1 973 to each node in the tree and update these weights as you process the input data. You also need to maintain a list of node designations (and weights) sorted by weight. Each character starts at weight 1 (the empty leaf starts at 0). Whenever the compressor transmits a character that is in the table, it increments the weight of that character's node. If this change makes the character node heavier than nodes that are listed higher in the weight list, the compressor swaps the character node with the heaviest node that is lighter than the character node. By swapping, I mean trading parent nodes and branch designations only; the children of the swapped nodes are not affected, so there is no danger of a leaf node becoming in- ternal, or an internal node becoming a leaf. The compressor then jumps up the tree to the character's parent, which may have changed with the last swap. It con- tinues the process with the parent and on up the tree until it gets to the root. The figure shows the early stages of dynamic Huffman tree construction for a very simple input. You can follow the ad- dition of new leaves via the empty leaf mechanism as well as by node swapping in this diagram. Huffman Gotchas As usual, there are a few snags when you're actually implementing the dy- namic algorithm, regardless of its ele- gance. The first problem is that you can't perform node swapping while transmit- ting a code, although both require you to start at a character node and hop up the tree parent by parent. You can't do the two procedures at the same time, be- cause swapping nodes causes the parent to change, which causes the code trans- mitted to change. You would send a code to the decompressor before it knows what to do with it. A way around this dilemma is to make two passes in the compressor— one for transmitting and one for updating. The decompressor also makes two passes- one for receiving (going down the tree) and one for updating (going back up). The second problem occurs because of the empty leaf. Because the empty leaf has zero weight, it is possible for a sibling of the empty leaf to become heavier than its parent at the start of the update pro- cess. However, swapping between child and parent will scramble the tree, leaving the parent as its own child. Fortunately, simply aborting any swap between child and parent solves the problem. Finally, there isn't any way for the 312 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Circle 290 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 291 ). lioi HI -Jr. _z_ -.' • ■ —i -tii 1 VAX/VMS CTREE PLUS™ j r r i- i j i~— a . JTJ 1\J J -J lj L ^'] : 'j'j J J J j'j''j'j'j'i^ r m .^" 0-tf ■ Develop on over 100 platforms — without reprogramming! Forget the tedious, time consuming and expensive reprogram- ming required to move from one environment to another: With c-tree Plus" you don't change source code at all — just recompile, link and you're running on platforms ranging from Cray supercom- puters to Zenith laptops! Over 100 environments are supported, including: ■ Windows 3 ■ DOS ■ UNIX ■ OS/2 ■ VAX/VMS ■ Mac ■ SUN ■ RS-6000 Forget byte order, memory model, integer size or data alignment hassles — c-tree Plus manages it all automatically, regardless of processor architecture. And c-tree Plus even provides a utility to port your pre-existing data files in place. ■ Whether you need single, multi-user, client/server or LAN configurations, c-tree Plus supports them all! Now you don't have to make a choice between configurations — c-tree Plus supports them all. The same application can use c-tree Plus as a powerful data management engine or as a client front-end to the FairCom Servers. ■ Put the latest data management technology to work in your applications! Outstanding new features make c-tree Plus the developer's "product of choice!' Features include: ■ True transaction processing* ■ Superfiles ■ Resources ■ Full ANSI-standard SQL functionality* ■ Batched operations ■ Ultra-high speed data & index cache ■ Row & key level locking ■ FREE FairCom* Server (Developer's Version) ■ No run-time royalties ■ Full source code ■ Extensive tech support. ■ Order your copy of c-tree plus today! Start putting the power of new c-tree Plus to work in your applications right now — call FairCom today! (800)234-8180, Ext. 1 * — when used in conjunction with the FairCom Servers FAIRCOM Circle 1 10 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: V SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED DYNAMIC HUFFMAN TREE CONSTRUCTION Input: This(space)is A /\ X A, Th 2 2 A A 1 'i T, ft, A 2 3 3 4 A A A A A A A* A r ' e (space)! e (space)! Tree after T After s After (space) Final tree e = empty leaf T : = node T, weight 1 Other numerals indicate node weight Output: T0h00i100s000(space)01 1 1 1 T h i s (space) / s The Huffman encoding tree changes to respond to changing character probabilities in this dynamic example. At first, all the transmissions are empty leaf code /literal character combinations. When i and s are transmitted a second time, the compressor uses their codes instead of literals. As s is reused, it moves higher up the tree, shortening its corresponding code. LZW COMPRESSION Table 1 : An instance of compression, at code 258. The compressor saves a code by transmitting 258 instead of is, the literal representation. Strings are stored in the LZW table as code-character combinations rather than full strings. Input Compression table Compressed string Expansion table T h i s (space) / s (space) a 256-7+/? 257-/7+/ 258-/+S 259— s+ (space) 260— (space)+/ 261 —258+ (space) 262— (space)+a T h i s (space) 258 (space) 256-7+/? 257-/7+/ 258-/+S 259— s+ (space) 260-(space)+/ 261 -258+(space) decompressor to detect the end of trans- mission if the compressor must send out full bytes (as in a file-compression pro- gram). Suppose, for example, a trans- mission is 81 bits long. When the de- compressor reads the first bit of the eleventh byte, it has no way of knowing that it's the last significant bit and that the remaining 7 are garbage. Therefore, the file-compression code must prepend a file length to the compressed data, making it a few bytes longer. LZW Compression The LZW algorithm, which was first presented by Welch in 1984 (see refer- ence 3), has become a widely used tech- 314 BYTE • MARCH 1991 nique during the last few years. Compu- Serve's GIF file format uses LZW compression, as do ARC, Unix's com- press, Stuffit, and PKZIP. The algo- rithm itself is patented by Sperry. Although straightforward in concept, the LZW algorithm can be a little diffi- cult to implement on a real machine with real constraints. Despite some complex- ities, however, the technique is powerful and fast enough to make it popular. LZW works by extending the alpha- bet—it uses the additional characters to represent strings of regular characters. To use LZW compression on 8-bit ASCII codes, you extend the alphabet by using 9-bit or larger codes. The additional 256 characters that the 9-bit code gives you are used to store strings of 8-bit codes, which are determined from strings in the input. The compressor maintains a string table with strings and their correspond- ing codes. The string table corresponds to the extended alphabet. Initially, the compressor starts with a string table with only the 256 literal codes defined. If you're using 9-bit codes, the string table has an additional 256 empty entries; if you're using 10-bit codes, it has 768 empty entries, and so on. The compression algorithm works like this: Start with a null string. Read in a character, and append it to the string. If the string is in the string table, continue reading and appending characters until you find a string that is not. Add this string to the string table. Write the code for the last known string that matched the output. Use the last character as the basis for the next string, and continue reading until you run out of input. That's really all there is to it. Table 1 shows an example of LZW compression, using the same simple in- put in the figure. The compressor reads in the initial Tand appends it to the null string. The string T is a literal character, so it is in the table. Next, the compressor reads an h and looks up Th in the string table, where it doesn't find it. It adds Th to the table at the next available position and sends out the last known string, T. It continues reading characters and adding strings until the input is exhausted. This short and simple sample input shows only one instance of compression, when the code 258 is sent out instead of the string is. If I were using 9-bit codes, I would have sent eight 9-bit codes to rep- resent This is a for 9 bytes either way and for break-even performance. Longer, more realistic inputs, of course, let you build a longer and more effective string table. The more repetitive that strings ap- pear, the more you can compress. Unfortunately, this simple compres- sion algorithm eats memory like pop- corn. Every time the compressor finds a new string, it adds it to the table. Each string that it adds is of variable length, which can lead to a storage nightmare. Luckily, there is a simple way out. As you may have noticed, each new string is actually an old string plus a new charac- ter. Instead of storing strings explicitly, you can store them as code and appended character combinations. Table 1 shows this storage method. Code 261, for ex- ample, is stored as 258 + (space) rather than "j\y(space)", which is the string that it represents. continued on page 386 owe r lhrHli)t*trfoftnaaccCG»nplcT ' "Power C is a heavy- weight contender - at a bantamweight price " Stephen Davis - PC Magazine Power C combines a high-performance C compiler with superb documentation, at a price that brings chuckles from over 50,000 satisfied customers. That's because Power C per- forms favorably against compilers costing 10 times as much. And you can't buy a compiler that's more reliable or easier to use - at any price. Perhaps that's why Power C has won Computer Shopper's Best Buy award for three years running. • compatible with ANSI C standard • integrated Make utility • library of over 450 functions • IEEE software floating point • supports 8088/286/386/486 CPU • memory resident program support • supports 8087/287/387 math chips • small/medium/ alrge memory models • mixed model with near/far/huge • allows arrays larger than 64K • CGA, EGA, VGA & Hercules graphics • 650 page manual with tutorial "On sheer audacity for price- performance ratio, we loved Mix's products" Power Trace 1 Tim Parker - Computer Language software Get a FREE copy of Master C (limited time offer) The Waitc Group's Master C Published by the highly acclaimed Wake Group, Master C is a revolutionary book/disk package that turns your PC into a C instructor. Master C teaches you, quizzes you, notices problems you are having, and recommends action. In a pilot study at IBM, students using Master C retained 19% more knowledge than students who learned from a lecturer. Now you can receive this $44.95 package absolutely FREE when you purchase all four Power C products described above. Just ask for the Master Pack. "Master C eschews flash for elegant competence, and it works!" JeffDunteman - PC Techniques 19 s TbeState-oWw^Art C Dtbusgcr |y ^ V |T V Power C Library Source includes our Power C assembler, plus the C and assembly language source code to over 450 functions in the Power C library. Unlike our competitors, who charge $150.00 or more for library source code, we've made ours very affordable. Power C BCD 1 Business Math includes binary coded decimal floating point routines and financial functions to calcu- late interest, depreciation, etc.. BCD routines are used for dollars and cents calculations to eliminate inaccuracies caused by rounding. Power C requires DOS 2.0 or later, 320K memory, 720K disk space. Master C requires DOS 3.0 or later, 384 K memory, hard disk. The Ctrace debugger is where Mix really shines. It is magnificent. " David Weinberger Power Ctrace combines state-of-the-art technology with a friendly interface, making it very easy to find and correct your programming mis- takes. No time consuming edit/compile cycles are needed to track down bugs. Simply compile your program once with the trace option, and Power Ctrace does the rest. Multiple windows display your C source code, the values of all your program vari- ables, program output, watch points, and assembly instructions. Put Power Ctrace to work for you, and we guarantee that you'll be a more productive C programmer. Order line: 1-800-333-0330 Technical Support: 1-214-783-6001 Fax: 1-214-783-1404 Mix Software, 1 1 32 Commerce Drive, Richardson, TX 75081 60 day money back guarantee B Name Street City n State. _Zip_ Telephone _ □ Please send me a free brochure Paying by: 3 Check □ Money Order □ MC 3 Visa D Amex D Discover Card # Exp_ Disk Size: H 5i/V □ 3i/2 H Product(s) (Not Copy Protected) □ Power C ($19.95) $_ □ Power Ctrace ($19.95) $_ □ Power C Library Source ($10) $_ □ PowerC BCD Business Math ($10) $_ $_ L □ Master Pack ($59.90) (includes all of the above plus Master C) Add Shipping ($5 USA- $ 1 Canada - $30 Foreign) $_ Texas Residents add 8.25% Sales Tax $_ Total amount of your order $_ _l Circle 1 86 on Inquiry Card. Discover Parallel * Processing 0^^^^M Number Smasher® 860 Quadputer™ The Microway Quadputer is the world's most pop- ular PC Transputer develop- ment environment. It can be purchased with two to four Transputers and one to four megabytes of RAM per proces- sor. The Quadputer runs all the popular Transputer development software, all of which is available from Microway. It is compatible with our Monoputer™ which provides 1 to16 megabytes of RAM and a single T800, our Videoputer™ which comes in VGA and higher resolution versions and is pow- ered by a memory mapped pair (T800 and 34010), and our Linkputer™ whose cross bar switching network can dynamically link up to 32 Transputers. Finally, all Microway Transputer products can be used with our Number Smasher- 860 to provide out-of-this-world numeric performance! For more information, please call 508-746-7341. The highest performance copro-. cessor card to ever run ih a PC, Number Smasher-860 delivers up to, 80 million single precision floating point operatidhs per second at 40 MHz and produces over 10 Linkpack mega- flops. The board comes J ■ standard with an ISA inter-* ' . face, two Transputer Link Adaptors that allow it to interface with a Microway Quadputer or Videoputer, your choice of our NDP Fortran, C or Pascal for the 80860, plus 8 megabytes of high speed memory. NDP Fortran-860, G«Q$t +860 Microway NDP 860 Compilers make it easy to recompile your favorite mainframe, 80386 or PC applicaton for the 80860. The resulting code runs on our XTEND-860™ environment under DOS, UNIX or XENIX. The World Leader in PC Numerics Corporate Headquarters, Research Park, Box 79, Kingston, MA 02364 TEL 508-746-7341 • FAX 508-746-4678 U.K. - 32 High St., Kingston-Upon-Thames, 081-541-5466 • Italy 02-74.90.749 * >rmanv 069-75-2023 • Jaoan 81 3 222 0544 NDP Fortran-860* Micro l Way ■ ■Ml F=l ll» Mi itM*M*E I*l*mm*Lfi UNDER THE HOOD ROGER C. ALFORD The IDE Hard Disk Drive Interface Seasoned computer users recognize the names of the common hard disk drive interfaces: ESDI, ST506, and SCSI. Now there's a new kid on the block— Intelligent Drive Electronics. The IDE interface, also known as the AT bus interface, turns up in more and more AT systems nowa- days. IDE combines features of the other three inter- faces and adds some extra benefits of its own. It's al- ready a preferred interface and a de facto standard in the AT industry, and it's on its way to becoming a full- fledged ANSI standard. IDE will likely be the demise of the ST506 interface, and it will banish ESDI and SCSI to use in only the highest-capacity applications in AT systems. The physical IDE interface is little more than an ex- tension of the AT I/O-channel expansion bus. The ac- tual hard disk drive controller is integrated onto the cir- cuit board of the hard disk drive. As a result, IDE is a very simple interface from a circuit standpoint: some bus buffers, address decoding, and little else. A single ribbon cable connects the drive to the host system, at- taching to mating header connectors on the host and drive. The interface circuitry is so simple and inexpen- sive that it can be easily integrated directly onto the motherboard of an AT system, freeing the expansion slot that's required to accommodate a standard hard disk drive controller. (In case you're wondering, most IDE implementations also provide floppy disk drive support on the motherboard.) A de facto standard interface threatens to displace ST506, ESDI, and SCSI for most AT-class systems The IDE drives are fast like ESDI drives and intelligent like SCSI drives, and they look like standard AT ST506 interfaces to the system. Most IDE drives have 34 or more sectors per track and run at a 1-to-l interleave— the same as typical ESDI drives. The 1- to-1 interleave results in very high performance. Most of these drives also have a 32K- or 64K-byte memory buffer that allows sector caching, resulting in even faster effective operation. Making the IDE interface appear the same to the sys- tem as the ST506 controller that's traditionally in- cluded with AT systems (including IBM's original 6- MHz model) allows these computers to use IDE drives with the standard AT ROM BIOS; no BIOS modifica- tions or extensions are required. And even with its sev- eral advantages, the overall cost of an IDE hard disk subsystem is less than that of the alternatives. In short, the IDE interface is a great idea. Figure 1 shows a traditional AT ST506 implementation; figure 2 shows an IDE implementation. A Historical Perspective Compaq provided the initiative that led to the develop- ment of IDE. In late 1984, Compaq approached West- ern Digital, a leading manufacturer of hard disk drive ILLUSTRATION: MARK FISHER © 1991 MARCH 1991 -BYTE 317 UNDER THE HOOD TRADITIONAL AT ST506 HARD DISK DRIVE IMPLEMENTATION 34-conductor drive cable Dual hard (ST506)/f!oppy disk drive controller board System motherboard 20-conductor drive,cable Power connector mwmrwifn Drive circuit board ST506 'hard disk drive (upside-down) Figure 1 : A traditional ATST506 hard disk drive implementation. controllers, about developing an ST506 controller that could be mounted directly onto a hard disk drive, with a single 40- conductor ribbon cable connecting the controller to a simple interface circuit at the system. This project was the birth of the IDE interface. Compaq then approached Imprimis (which is now part of Seagate) in 1985 to integrate the controller electronics onto the circuit board of one of Imprimis' s Wren drives. Working under an aggres- sive development schedule, Imprimis succeeded in integrating the Western Digital circuitry onto the Wren drive controller board, creating the first IDE hard disk drive. Compaq became the first computer manufacturer to ship IDE drives in its systems. By integrating the controller circuitry onto the drive's electronics board, an en- tire circuit board and some of the inter- face electronics could be eliminated. The result was little additional cost to the hard disk drive, but a substantial savings in the hard disk drive interface. Seeing the many benefits of the IDE interface over the standard interface al- ternatives, other drive manufacturers be- gan to implement the interface on their drives, and more AT system makers be- gan incorporating the drive interface into their designs. System manufacturers that did not yet include the IDE interface on their motherboards instead offered an adapter board, or "paddle board," that plugged into an expansion slot to support the IDE interface. Over the past two years, the IDE inter- face has received phenomenal accep- tance while continuing to evolve. Al- though IDE first appeared on 5 X A -inch Wren drives, it really came into its own on 3!/2-inch drives, where it has become the dominant interface. It's also begin- ning to appear on the newer 2!/2-inch drives. As usage increased, the lack of an offi- cial IDE standard left substantial room for variations in the implementation of the interface among drive vendors and system implementors alike. This resulted in a variety of irritating incompatibilities that kept the interface from working con- sistently for all IDE system and drive designs. Increasingly aware of the variations in IDE implementations (as well as similar problems with SCSI implementations), a group of drive, system, and software manufacturers created a common-ac- cess-method committee to establish stan- dards in these areas. The CAM Commit- tee was formed in October 1988, and the first working document of the AT At- tachment (ATA) interface (the new name assigned to the IDE interface) was intro- duced in March 1989. After some revisions, an ATA draft proposal was finally submitted to the X3T9.2 ANSI working group in late 1990, and it is scheduled for processing sometime during the first half of this year. The interface is now on the road to becoming an official standard. (The technical information presented in this article is based on revision 2. 1 of the CAM Committee ATA draft proposal.) A Closer Look Like SCSI, IDE is a logic-level interface, not a device-level interface like ST506 and ESDI. SCSI and IDE drives are intel- ligent; they accept high-level commands such as Format Track and Read Sector, and the electrical interface transfers commands and data between the system 318 BYTE • MARCH 1991 FIGURES: MIKE PRENDERGAST © 1991 UNDER THE HOOD IDE HARD DISK DRIVE IMPLEMENTATION IDE interface connector IDE interface support chips" System motherboard 40-conductor drive cable Power connector Drive circuit board _IDE hard disk drive (upside-down) Figure 2: With IDE, the hard disk drive controller moves onto the hard disk, freeing an expansion slot. Simple, inexpensive circuitry on the motherboard is all that 's needed to accommodate an IDE drive. and the drive in 8- or 16-bit chunks. By contrast, an ST506 controller must control every low-level operation of the attached drive, including head selection and stepping to tracks. This means that intelligence has to reside on the ST506 controller. Much of the magic of IDE comes from the intelligence of the drives. While looking at the technical specifics of IDE, keep in mind that the electrical interface itself is very simple, and all the significant functional elec- tronics are on the drive itself. The IDE interface consists of 40-pin header connectors on the system and on the drive, and a single interconnecting 40-conductor ribbon cable. Pin 20 is re- moved from the header connectors and plugged into the cable connectors to pre- vent the cable from being incorrectly connected. Most of the IDE signals con- nect directly to AT I/O channel signals. Table 1 shows the IDE interface signals, along with signal directions and their re- spective AT I/O channel signal connec- tions. All the IDE signals are TTL-com- patible. Note that some signals are op- tional. The only IDE signals that do not di- rectly connect to AT I/O channel signals are CS1FX-, CS3FX-, SPSYNC, DASP-, and PDIAG-. The first two signals are the chip selects (address de- coding signals) for the drive command- block registers and control-block regis- ters. For compatibility with the IBM standard ST506 hard disk drive control- ler, the chip selects are active in the 1 F0 to 1F7 and 3F0 to 3F7 I/O-addressing ranges. The control registers for the AT floppy disk drive controller are also in the 3F0to 3F7 range but are not present on the IDE drive. Table 2 lists the various hard disk drive registers defined at these addresses; for completeness, I have also listed the floppy disk drive controller registers. The IDE interface supports up to two drives on its 40-conductor cable in daisy- chain fashion. The primary drive, drive 0, is referred to as the master, while the secondary drive, drive 1, is the slave. A jumper, or switch, on each drive is used to determine whether it is drive or drive 1. SPSYNC, DASP-, and PDIAG- are the drive intercommunication signals and are used in two-drive implementa- tions. The optional SPSYNC (for spindle sync) allows the master drive to generate a synchronous signal (e.g., from the drive's index pulse) to the slave drive, al- lowing the slave to synchronize its rota- tion with the master. Disk mirroring would be one application for such syn- chronization; however, most existing IDE drives do not implement the SP- SYNC signal. Some earlier IDE drives used pin 28 for the DALE (drive address latch enable) signal instead of SPSYNC. However, DALE is not required, and it serves no useful purpose. DASP — (drive active/drive 1 present) is an open-collector signal that has dif- ferent functions at different times. Dur- ing power-on initialization or within 400 milliseconds of the time RESET- is ne- gated (i.e., removed), drive 1 must assert this signal (i.e., pull it low) to inform the master of its presence. If the master does not see the signal asserted within 450 ms of when RESET- is negated, it assumes there is no slave drive. If the slave is pres- ent, it must then negate DASP - after it receives its first valid command from the system, or within 31 seconds (a good, round number), whichever comes first. After DASP- has been negated, or if no MARCH 1991 -BYTE 319 UNDER THE HOOD slave is present, the DASP- signal can be used anytime by either drive as a drive-activity indicator. If that happens, it generally operates an LED indicator. Some prestandard IDE drives use this line strictly as an activity indicator and include on-drive jumpers to tell the drive that it is the only drive on the interface (or, for example, the master of a two- drive implementation). Since these drives do not follow the new standard, they will generally not work properly as drive 1 in a two-drive implementation if drive conforms to the new standard. Since they do not look for the slave-pres- ent indication on the DASP— line, how- COMPARISON OF IDE AND AT I/O CHANNEL SIGNAL CONNECTIONS Table 1 : With the exception of the chip selects and drive intercommunication signals, IDE signals connect directly to AT I/O channel signals (N/A = not applicable). IDE signal name IDE connector pin assignment AT I/O channel signal and pin assignment Signal Optional? direction RESET - 1 RESET DRV (inv*) B2 To drive No Ground 2 Ground N/A N/A No DD7 3 SD7 A2 Bidirectional No DD8 4 SD8 C11 Bidirectional No DD6 5 SD6 A3 Bidirectional No DD9 6 SD9 C12 Bidirectional No DD5 7 SD5 A4 Bidirectional No DD10 8 SD10 C13 Bidirectional No DD4 9 SD4 A5 Bidirectional No DD11 10 SD11 C14 Bidirectional No DD3 11 SD3 A6 Bidirectional No DD12 12 SD12 C15 Bidirectional No DD2 13 SD2 A7 Bidirectional No DD13 14 SD13 C15 Bidirectional No DD1 15 SD1 A8 Bidirectional No DD14 16 SD14 C17 Bidirectional No DDO 17 SDO A9 Bidirectional No DD15 18 SD15 C18 Bidirectional No Ground 19 Ground N/A N/A No (keypin) 20 N/A N/A N/A No DMARQ 21 DRQx N/A From drive Yes Ground 22 Ground N/A N/A No DIOW- 23 -IOW B13 To drive No Ground 24 Ground N/A N/A No DIOR- 25 -IOR B14 To drive No Ground 26 Ground N/A N/A No IORDY 27 IOCHRDY A10 From drive Yes SPSYNC 28 N/A N/A Interdrive No DMACK - 29 - DACKx N/A To drive Yes Ground 30 Ground N/A N/A No INTRQ 31 IRQ14 D7 From drive No IOCS16- 32 -I/OCS16 D2 From drive No DA1 33 SA1 A30 To drive No PDIAG - 34 N/A N/A Interdrive No DAO 35 SAO A31 To drive No DA2 36 SA2 A29 To drive No CS1FX- 37 N/A N/A To drive No CS3FX- 38 N/A N/A To drive No DASP- 39 N/A N/A From drive 2 No Ground 40 Ground N/A N/A No Notes: 1 The IDE Reset signal polarity is inverted from the AT bus signal. 2 DASP - is also an interdrive signal. ever, they will usually work acceptably as drive with a slave drive that con- forms to the new standard. PDIAG — (passed diagnostics) is a sig- nal used by drive 1 to tell drive when (and if) it has passed its diagnostics fol- lowing a power-up or a reset. Drive uses this information to inform the sys- tem of a drive 1 failure. Most of the IDE interface signal func- tions are straightforward and obvious. RESET - (drive reset), as the name sug- gests, is from the reset signal generated by the system (although it is inverted from the actual reset signal on the AT I/O channel). DD0-DD15 (drive data bus), DA0-DA2 (drive address bus), DIOR- (drive I/O read), and DIOW- (drive I/O write) form the fundamental bus and strobe signals used to communicate back and forth between the system and the drive. INTRQ (drive interrupt) generates interrupt requests to the system (typical- ly for data, or sector, transfers), and it is usually connected to system interrupt IRQ14. IOCS16- (drive 16-bit I/O) tells the system when 16-bit transfers are to take place; when it is unasserted, 8-bit transfers take place. The optional IORDY (I/O channel ready) signal is negated (i.e., dropped low) if the drive needs to extend the cur- rent host transfer cycle; otherwise it's in a high-impedance state (a pull-up resis- tor resides on the system motherboard); most existing IDE drives do not use this signal. Two other optional IDE interface sig- nals are defined that should help future IDE drive implementations achieve even better performance: DMARQ (DMA re- quest) and DMACK- (DMA acknowl- edge). Current ST506 data transfer oper- ations (and, thus, virtually all existing IDE transfer operations) take place using programmed I/O (PIO); that is, the pro- cessor directly handles all data transfers between the controller and memory. The processor must, for example, read a word of data from memory, write it to the con- troller, and then repeat this process 255 times to transfer a single sector to the controller. By supporting DMA, the pro- cessor can "rest" while the DMA con- troller transfers the data from the system memory to the controller (on the IDE drive) or vice versa, at up to twice the transfer rate of PIO. Before the introduction of the current IDE draft proposal, some IDE drive manufacturers, most notably Conner Pe- ripherals, chose pin 21 for IORDY in- stead of the now-standard pin 27. As a result, some existing drives put IORDY on both pins 21 and 27 (for backward and 320 BYTE- MARCH 1991 UNDER THE HOOD current compatibility), since the drives do not support DMA operations and do not need the DM ARQ signal on pin 2 1 . The current IDE draft proposal speci- fies a maximum cable length of 18 inch- es, although it includes provisions for greater distances if signal integrity is controlled. Most IDE drive manufactur- ers specify a maximum cable length of 24 inches. Fortunately, there is a reason- able amount of leeway in these specifica- tions. (I have seen IDE drives run suc- cessfully on 6-foot cables, although this is not recommended.) IDE's cable length limitation is one of the few specifications that can be consid- ered a notable drawback when compared to the several feet of cable that are al- lowed in ST506 and SCSI implementa- tions. In reality, however, IDE drives rarely need to be more than 1 8 to 24 inch- es from the system interface connector, since the drives are mounted directly in- side the AT chassis. Being intelligent, IDE drives can ac- cept and respond to many commands from the host system. You issue a com- mand to the drive by initializing any ap- propriate support registers and then writ- ing a command byte to the drive's com- mand register (at I/O address IF 7 hexa- decimal). The commands fall into two categories: mandatory and optional. The only mandatory commands are those supported by the original IBM AT ST506 hard disk drive controller. The IDE commands (both the manda- tory and the optional ones) further subdi- vide into three operational classes, ac- cording to how the drive handles the request. Upon receiving a Class 1 com- mand, the drive sets the BSY (busy) bit in its status register within 400 nanosec- onds. Upon receiving a Class 2 com- mand, the drive sets the BSY bit, sets up its sector buffer for a write operation, sets the DRQ (data request) bit in its sta- tus register within 700 microseconds, and then clears its BSY bit. Upon receiv- ing a Class 3 command, the drive re- sponds the same as for a Class 2 com- mand, but it is allowed up to 20 ms to set its DRQ bit. Table 3 lists the IDE com- mands described in the current draft pro- posal. While it is impossible to discuss the operation of all the IDE commands in this limited space, the optional Read Multiple and Write Multiple com- mands deserve special note. Whereas the standard AT ST506 controller can only execute Read Sector and Write Sector commands, which require interrupt pro- cessing at the completion of each sector transfer, the IDE "multiple" commands permit multiple sectors to be transferred without intervening interrupts, yielding better data transfer performance. AT Support of IDE Drives Since the original intention was for IDE drives to work just like standard AT ST506 drives, most existing IDE drives support only the mandatory commands. As BIOS support for the optional com- mands becomes available, an increasing number of IDE drive vendors will cer- tainly be including support for these commands. The ROM BIOS in an AT system has a drive table that includes the drive param- eters for all hard disk drive types sup- ported by the BIOS. The parameters for each drive type in the table include num- ber of cylinders, number of read/write heads, number of sectors per track, and write-precompensation (if any). The ma- jority of the traditional AT ST506 drives employ MFM encoding, which corre- sponds to 17 sectors per track; therefore, most AT drive-table entries specify 17 sectors per track. Most newer drives em- ploy RLL encoding, corresponding to 26 sectors per track, so the drive table in most AT BlOSes now includes at least several entries for 26-sector-per-track drives. Existing AT BlOSes do not normally have drive-type entries with the 34 or more sectors per track common to most IDE drives. In the past, this sector den- sity has been traditionally reserved for SCSI and ESDI drives. Since one of the primary goals of IDE was to allow prop- er operation with existing AT BlOSes, these drives take advantage of their intel- ligence and make themselves look differ- ent than they really are. For example, the CP3044 drive from Conner Peripherals has 1047 cylinders, two heads, and 40 sectors per track. Even with a custom drive-table entry in an AT BIOS, this configuration could not be supported, since the BIOS can only handle a maximum of 1024 cylinders. The CP3044 drive, however, operates in a translate mode that makes the drive ap- pear to have 980 cylinders, five heads, and 17 sectors per track. Note that the number of sectors is nearly the same (1047 x 2 x 40 = 83,760 sectors, com- pared to 980 X 5 x 17 = 83,300 sec- tors), so the total drive capacity is effec- tively unchanged. Most drives have an equal number of sectors on every track. However, since the platters rotate at a constant speed, data is stored more densely on the tracks closest to the spindle. That makes the data density of the innermost track the limiting factor in storing data on the plat- ters. For greater capacity, some IDE drives take advantage of zone recording, in which an attempt is made to keep the linear density of the stored data fairly constant so the tracks (or cylinders) are divided into zones. For example, the Quantum ProDrive LPS 52AT drive has three recording HARD DISK DRIVE REGISTER DEFINITIONS Table 2: For compatibility with the standard ST 506 controller, chip selects are active in the 1F0-W-1F7 and 3F0-W-3F7 1/O-addressing ranges (N/A = not applicable). I/O address Read register Write register Hard or floppy? 1F0 1F1 1F2 Data register Error register Sector count Data register Write precomp Sector count Hard Hard Hard 1F3 Sector number Sector number Hard 1F4 1F5 1F6 Cylinder low Cylinder high Drive/head Cylinder low Cylinder high Drive/head Hard Hard Hard 1F7 3F2 3F4 Status register N/A Main status Command register Digital output Main status Hard Floppy Floppy 3F5 Diskette data Diskette data Floppy 3F6 N/A Fixed disk Hard 3F7 Digital input Diskette control Hard/floppy* Notes: ' The digital-input register includes 7 bits for the hard disk and one for the floppy disk. All I/O addresses are in hexadecimal. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 321 UNDER THE HOOD zones. Zone has 49 sectors per track, zone 1 has 42, and zone 2 has 35. Such a configuration would be impossible to specify in a standard AT BIOS drive table, but an IDE drive can operate in its translate mode and appear to the system as a standard AT drive with 17 sectors per track on all cylinders. The transla- tion for the Quantum drive is 751 cylin- ders, eight heads, and 17 sectors per track. IDE drives vary in how they handle the logical-to-physical sector translation. Most support only fixed translation, in whichthe drive's logical (AT) configura- tion must be used only as specified. Other drives offer variable translation, where any entry in the AT BIOS's drive IDE COMMANDS Table 3: Mandatory commands are those supported by the original IBM AT ST506 controller. When BIOS support for optional commands, such as Read Multiple and Write Multiple, materializes, drive vendors will be able to support IDE's advanced capabilities. All command codes are in hexadecimal; N/A = not applicable. Command Class Command Optional? code Check Power Mode 98 E5 Yes Execute Drive Diagnostic 90 No Format Track 50 No Identify Drive EC Yes Idle 97 E3 Yes Idle Immediate 95 E1 Yes Initialize Drive Parameters 91 No Recalibrate 1x No Read Buffer E4 Yes Read DMA (with retry) C8 Yes Read DMA (without retry) C9 Yes Read Multiple C4 Yes Read Sector(s) (with retry) 20 No Read Sector(s) (without retry) 21 No Read Long (with retry) 22 No Read Long (without retry) 23 No Read Verify Sector(s) (with retry) 40 No Read Verify Sector(s) (without retry) 41 No Seek 7x No Set Features EF Yes Set Multiple Mode C6 Yes Set Sleep Mode 99 E6 Yes Standby 96 E2 Yes Standby Immediate 94 E0 Yes Write Buffer 2 E8 Yes Write DMA (with retry) 3 CA Yes Write DMA (without retry) 3 CB Yes Write Multiple 3 C5 Yes Write Same 3 E9 Yes Write Sector(s) (with retry) 2 30 No Write Sector(s) (without retry) 2 31 No Write Sector(s) (with retry) 2 32 No 1 Write Sector(s) (without retry) 2 33 No Write Verify 3 3C Yes Vendor unique N/A 9A N/A Vendor unique N/A C0-C3 N/A Vendor unique N/A 8x N/A Vendor unique N/A F5-FF N/A Reserved: all remaining codes table can be used as long as the total num- ber of sectors in the chosen drive type does not exceed the total number of phys- ical sectors on the IDE drive. Because any precompensation that may be needed is handled internally, IDE drives ignore the precompensation value in the AT BIOS drive table. Other IDE Advantages In addition to the many advantages that I have already described, IDE drives shine in other areas as well. A large number of IDE drives include a special feature called automatic bad-sector remapping, which helps ensure long-term reliability. These drives have spare sectors that are reserved for future use. When the drive detects a sector-read error several times in succession, the data is recovered (us- ing the Reed-Solomon error-correction code that is stored with the sector) and stored in one of the spare sectors. The bad sector is then tagged as unusable, and the new sector is put into the drive's lookup table as the replacement for the bad sector. IDE drives generally have power-con- sumption advantages over other drives. A large majority of IDE drives are of the 3!/2-inch form factor and are often used in applications where minimal power consumption is desirable. As the trend continues toward increased usage of 2!/2- inch drives and low-profile (1 -inch-high) 3!/2-inch drives, even more emphasis is being placed on using very-low-power components on these drives. The current draft proposal includes commands to place the drive in one of four power con- ditions: Active, Idle, Standby, and Sleep, in order of diminishing power consump- tion. When implemented, this will be es- pecially important for battery-operated laptop computers. The Dark Side of the Force While my description of IDE up to this point has been glowing— and justifiably so— there are, inevitably, some draw- backs. The most obvious one is the lack of standardization. With the introduction of the draft proposal and the current standardization efforts, however, the in- compatibilities that have surfaced in varying implementations should gradual- ly disappear. As anyone who has been around the PC industry for a while can attest, 100 percent compatibility is a very difficult and elusive goal. This is no less true with IDE. While every attempt has been made to make IDE drives look like standard AT ST506 drives to an AT, the imple- mentation of this facade has not always 322 BYTE* MARCH 1991 ".■ *V1 111 ■■A. JO Qg| tL. 1 at! '32* • 1 w~ \ i 5: ^i^V -**;t^**. v> * 1} - , 4 i t SH 1 ^^ j J ' i r-r* sg J ' rs li&L ->.,¥' •* IB ■ ::** wcr Meter on a Compaq Deskpro 386 33MHz s stored trademarks and Plus Hardcard II XL i? a iradenu Witness The Dawn OfThe 9ms Era. The New Hardcard II XL. More speed, more room, more power, less price. We developed a drive that delivers truly remarkable perfor- mance for 286/386 systems. With a price competitive to your typical, standard, everyday 28ms disk drive. More speed. Hardcard II XL's™ 9ms effective access time 1 and 1.4 MB per second sustained transfer rate 2 mean your system runs 8 or 9 times faster than one with the typical 28ms drive. More room. 50 and 105 MB capacity. More power to take Windows™ 3.0 and OS/2® to new performance heights. More power. You'll literally feel the difference in your system. It's more of everything. Except price. For more information on your nearest dealer, call 800-624-5545 in the U.S. ra % and Canada. PlUS^j* IN TRO D UCi NG HARDCARD // XL .: Circle 224 on Inquiry Card. UNDER THE HOOD been perfect, even though the registers look the same and the commands work identically. Subtleties sometimes creep in and spoil everything. In one case, for example, a company's employees were happily using a 100- megabyte IDE hard disk drive on their 386-based DOS system. They subse- quently installed an IBM Token Ring network, a Qualitas 386Max driver, and a custom application program. This con- figuration had run successfully in the past with a standard ST506 drive, but oc- casional data-read errors started occur- ring when running with the IDE drive. Replacing the drive with another of the same type did not fix the problem. It turned out that 386Max and the IDE drive did not get along very well. When 386Max switched into protected mode, the drive could not respond fast enough to commands. Ironically, an earlier re- lease of 386Max worked fine, as did the similar QEMM-386 driver from Quar- lllllllll w * 8051 & 68HC11 PC-Based In-Circuit Emulators Nohau Covers All Your Development Needs for 051 and 68HC11 Families! Tl You can start your debugging with this FREE demo simulator, to 512 bytes of code, assembler, C, or PL/M and do full debugging/simulation in assembly and source level. A great way to get started for FREE. Wv^i antastic for schools! Just call and we'll send it! The full-blown simulator is an extension of the DEMO. You can load up to 64K of code and use 64K of XDATA space. You can program an "external environment" to interact with your code to simulate your target system. The emulator is the hard- ware extension of the simulator! The 24MHz real-time emulator has been the industry standard for years. With its complex breakpoint logic and advanced trace, nobody can beat it for performance. Plug-in or RS-232 configuration. All 8051 derivatives are supported! noHau CORPORATION 51 E. Campbell Avenue, (408) 866-1820 • Campbell, CA 95008 FAX (408) 378-7869 terdeck. An IDE drive from a different manufacturer worked successfully in the application and solved the problem; its internal timing was just different enough to matter. These kinds of anomalies will likely go away as the IDE drive market matures. IDE drives also differ from standard ST506 drives when it comes to tradition- al hard disk utilities. For example, IDE drives are low-level-formatted at the fac- tory, and you cannot employ any low- level-format utility to reformat the drive. Remember, the IDE drive has only a log- ical appearance to the AT, so a standard low-level-format utility could not work correctly. Similarly, other utilities that attempt to modify the drive's sector interleave to determine the best performance point will not work. Virtually all IDE drives are configured for a 1-to-l interleave in- ternally, and they don't support inter- leave changes. Even drive-performance benchmark utilities will not be complete- ly accurate. For example, when measur- ing seek time or head-select time, only the logical heads are "moving," and the actual physical movement of the drive's heads will be much less (perhaps one- fourth as much). IDE is rapidly becoming the dominant hard disk drive interface in the AT mar- ketplace, and for some very good rea- sons. It offers manufacturers and users a "win-win" drive alternative. IDE drives are less expensive than their controller/ drive combo counterparts, yet they offer more flexibility, better functionality, AT compatibility, faster speed, and easier implementation. Better yet, the ATA in- terface specification is now well on its way to official ANSI standardization. IDE drives are now available with capac- ities of up to 300 MB, and even larger disks loom on the horizon. Odds are that there's an IDE hard disk drive in your future. ■ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS / would like to thank Dal Allan ofENDL, Allen Cuccio of Western Digital, and Steve Ksiaszczak of Quantum for their valuable assistance in the preparation of this article. Roger C. Alford is the president of Pro- grammable Designs, a Michigan-based consulting firm specializing in electron- ics design. He can be reached on BIX do " 'editors. " Your questions and comments are wel- come. Write to: Editor, BYTE, One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458. « — Circle 202 on Inquiry Card. FREE Software Instantly On-Line With BYTE DEMOUNK Download free demo software from top publishers directly to your computer. . .for just the cost of a phone call! BYTE DEMOUNK lets you preview software instantly by calling the telephone number in the city nearest you. All you need to access BYTE DEMOUNK is a PC, a modem and a telecommunications program. The latest demo software is at your fingertips for your evaluation. r s / Call BYTE DEMOUNK today to connect with these free software demos— It's only a phone call away! Free Demo Download 61 7-861 -9767* 'Call the nearest DEMDLINK office after 6 pm for a reduced phone charge. Telecom settings: 2400 or 1200 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, and no parity. Enter DEMOLINK at the prompt. Chicago Los Angeles New York San Francisco Toronto Washington, DC 312-616-1071 213-383-9856 212-797-5620 415-434-4510 416-960-3187 202-463-4920 Here are the software packages available on DEMOLINK: C-scape With Look & Feel Cscape is a programming tool for C programmers. It is a powerful, object-oriented interface management system that includes a function library and a screen designer. The C-scape library is an extensive collection of functions for working with windows, data entry screens, input validation, menus, text editing, and hypertext context-sensitive help. The Look & Feel Screen Designer is an interactive screen editor that generates C source code for the screens or saves them in a file callable at runtime. C-scape training is offered by Oakland Group each month in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Seattle, Washington; and Berlin, Germany, and at various times by the Oakland International Technical Network of companies that sell and support C-scape in countries around the world. Select the file cscapcexe Lotus Magellan 2.0 Lotus Magellan 2.0 lets you find, view and use all the information on your PC. You can view your files as they appear in your favorite program. Explore your hard disk for concepts, files, or words— regardless of their location or which application was used to create it. Launch into any application by pressing a single function key to automatically retrieve the file. Lotus Magellan— instant access to all the information on your PC! Select the file magellan.exe Multi-Platform Zortech C++ Zortech's multi-platform C++ compilers provide all the benefits of industrial strength C + + with the speed and code size you would expect from the best C compilers. Only Zortech can give you total portability to MS-DOS, Windows 3.0, OS/2, DOS 386, UNIX 386 and Macintosh. No matter what platform you choose a significant performance increase will be realized. What platform will you be developing on next year? Zortech's quality line of multi-platform C + + products keeps your options exactly how they should be. Open. Download our demo disk and see our multi-platform tools first hand. Select the file zortech.exe Circle 54 on Inquiry Card. EXPERT ADVICE Experts from the worlds of IBM, Macintosh, Unix, and networked computing present inside information, advice, and tips for getting the most out of your computer. \Jmr* f*r av^ l %"'i g MARTIN HELLER Beyond DOS DON CRABB Maclnatlons DAVID FIEDLER The UNIX /bin BARRY NANCE Networks BEYOND DOS: WINDOWS AND OS/2 Windows Programming Made Easy Martin Heller I was first going to call this particular column "End- User Programming in Win- dows." But after I got into the subject, I realized that the question of who is an end user hasmany answers. We haven't gotten to the point where the average secretary can inte- grate half-a-dozen Windows programs; but a beginning BASIC programmer might do fine. You just need a few pro- gramming concepts and the patience to read manuals. Integration Tools Some simple integration tools are built into Windows: the Program Manager, the WIN .INI file, and the Recorder. You can download other tools from BIX and buy many more. But I'll start with what you al- ready have. (If you're not at your computer now, you might want to go there later and try out some of this.) Take a look at your WIN .INI file. The simplest way to do this is to run SYSEDIT. If you don't already have SYS- EDIT in one of your Program Manager groups, add it now: Pull down FILE/NEW, click on OK, tab once, and type SYSEDIT in the command- line edit control of the Pro- gram Item Properties dialog box. Click on OK, and you should see the SYSEDIT icon in the group you selected. Now, double-click on the SYS- EDIT icon. It will open four files: CONFIG.SYS, AUTO- EXEC.BAT, WIN. INI, and SYSTEM.INI. Click on WIN .INI to bring its editing win- dow to the top. You'll see something like the following: [windows] load=saver winexit timelin3 run= Beep=yes You don't need C to automate the Windows environment Spooler=no NullPort=None You may see different things to the right of the equal signs, but the keywords to the left of the equal signs should be the same. The load= line determines what programs should automatically be run as icons when Windows starts; the run= line deter- mines what programs should be automatically run as win- dows when Windows starts. I start every Windows session with a screen saver, an icon that helps me leave Windows quickly, and a time-and-date display. You can download all three of these utilities from the "microsoft listings" area on BIX. I don't list any programs on the run= line because I don't always run the same pro- grams. But if I were using Windows primarily for word processing and spreadsheets, I might list something like run=winword excel. You can even list COMMAND.COM on the run= line, if you always want to start a DOS session within Windows. However, the run= and load= lines work only at the beginning of your Windows session, just as your AUTOEXEC.BAT file works only at the beginning of your DOS session. You can automate things you do during a Windows ses- sion using the Recorder; you will find the Recorder icon (a camcorder) in the Accessories program group. Recorder can watch your mouse-clicks and key presses and play them backon demand (and even as- sign scripts to function keys); it's useful for speeding up all sorts of repetitive tasks and for building your own demon- stration and testing scripts. Softbridge Softbridge developed the Re- corder for Microsoft, and, as Martin Heller is a consultant, programmer, and writer in Andover, Massachusetts. He has a Ph.D. in physics. You can contact him on BIX as "mheller. " 326 BYTE • MARCH 1991 ILLUSTRATIONS; RANDY LYHUS © 1991 HANDS ON you might expect, it has a big brother you can buy directly from Softbridge. Actually, it has two big brothers: Bridge Batch and Bridge Tool Kit. Bridge Batch ($179) gives you a batch language for Win- dows, a dialog box and batch file editor, and a recorder that integrates with the batch lan- guage. You can integrate an entire workstation with Bridge Batch, as long as you don't need to include DOS programs in the mix. If you do need to integrate DOS and Windows programs, Bridge Tool Kit ($695) adds the capability to feed key- strokes to DOS programs, pass messages between DOS and Windows programs, and send messages over a LAN. For one-off integration jobs, this is just what the doctor or- dered, although the Bridge run-time royalty structure might discourage integrators with more than a few clients for a given job. The concept of a batch lan- guage for Windows has re- ceived more than a little atten- tion recently. Beyond the control structures (e.g., IF... THEN clauses), vari- ables, and means to pass com- mands to the environment that you need in a DOS batch lan- guage, a Windows batch lan- guage has to be able to create windows, message boxes, and dialog boxes. To be really useful, it also needs to sup- port Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE). Bridge Batch does all this, as does Asymetrix's ToolBook. For that matter, so do the Excel and Word for Windows macro languages. ToolBook The Bridge batch language looks much like BASIC (see listing 1). ToolBook's Open- Script language looks more like structured English (see listing 2). You can find out more about ToolBook quickly by taking the "Tour" that comes with Windows and playing with the DayBook application. Don't be put off too much by the lack of speed in the ToolBook demonstrations: These applications use huge, colored bit maps that slow them down terribly. And, of course, ToolBook will be faster Real Soon Now. ToolBook can be pro- grammed by recording your keystrokes and mouse-clicks, just like the Recorder. You can then edit the ToolBook code, adding control struc- tures and deleting extraneous commands. This approach is a big time-saver compared to writing all the code by hand. Microsoft's Approach Word for Windows 3.0 takes the same approach: You can automate almost any Word for Windows operation by re- cording a macro, and then you can edit the macro to your heart's content. Actually, macro is a misnomer here. Word for Windows' (and Word for Presentation Man- ager's) language, WordBA- SIC, is much more than a macro language: It is a full- blown structured BASIC in- terpreter with a syntax like QuickBASIC, a complete set of word processing primi- tives, an integrated debugger, and a full set of commands to control other applications (see listing 3). If you have Word for Win- dows and know a little BA- SIC, you can use WordBASIC to integrate almost your entire Windows desktop— you don't even need Bridge Batch or Listing 1 : Bridge Batch provides a mixture of traditional and Windows-specific script capabilities. REM Example Bridge DDE script REM Make Bridge small and start Excel MINIMIZE; WARNING OFF; EXEC /n: excel excel; MOVE 8 12 90 80 IF %erTOT% PAUSE "Microsoft Excel did not start"; RETURN REM Tell Excel to connect DDE commands to "sheetl". REM Sheetl is the default empty spreadsheet when Excel starts. x = DDE.INITIATE(DDEexcel, excel, sheetl) IF %x% GOSUB ErrReturn "dde. initiate failed: (%x%)" < other commands > : ErrReturn GOSUB ShowMsg 56 1 IF APP.EXIST(excel) SELECT excel; CLOSE EXIT Listing 2: HyperTalk programmers will feel right at home with ToolBook 's OpenScript. - You will need to assign a value to pClipField. One - of the best ways of getting that value is to select - a field and get its uniqueName. to handle COPYSCRIPTTOCLIPBOARD fScriptID set text of (pClipField of this book) to script of fScriptID set sysLockScreen to true send Background select text of pClipField of this book send cut send foreground set sysLockScreen to false end ToolBook for about 80 per- cent of what you'd want to do. You don't need to write C pro- grams, either. You do need to understand how to use all the programs you want to inte- grate, and you need to under- stand DDE. This is not to say that you won't have to do any pro- gramming. You'll do a lot of programming. But it will be in BASIC, and you'll be able to do a lot of it by pointing and clicking. This is not specula- tion: A big law firm in Seattle has all its document handling automated on a LAN with Word for Windows, some cus- tom WordBASIC, and a hand- ful of other Windows applica- tions. The users think they are using Word all the time; in reality, many applications are active, all communicating with DDE and controlled from Word. There are a few problems learning to write WordBASIC right now. The silliest one is that the Word for Windows technical reference is not sup- plied with the rest of the prod- uct; it's a fulfillment item for an additional $25. It isn't all that good once you get it, either— not much of an im- provement over the TECH- REF.DOC file that is sup- plied with Word. There's no dialog box editor, so you have to program your dialog boxes, guessing about dimensions and correcting them after you have seen the dialog box on the screen. And there isn't much in the way of examples to look at— just a few pro- grams in the file EXAM- PLES. DOC. Microsoft didn't get where it is today by making things difficult for programmers. I've had a look at the new, im- proved Microsoft Word for Windows and Presentation Manager technical reference, and it's all that a moderately experienced BASIC program- mer could want for learning WordBASIC. An additional manual writ- ten for Microsoft by Wextech Systems, Using WordBASIC, MARCH 1991 • BYTE 327 Circle 92 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 93). Video In. Truly affordable video imaging for IBM PC and Macintosh computers. ComputerEyes includes everything you need to capture 8- or 24-bit color (or 8-bit gray scale) images from any composite or S-Video source. Captured images can be used with all popular paint, animation, database, presentation, and publishing programs. Call today for more information and free demo disk. Digital Vision, inc. 270 Bridge St., Dedham, MA 02026 (617)329-5400 To order call (800) 346-0090 COMPUTE Professional Series Color Video Digitizers For Under $450. Digital Vision E S Laptop Computers External SCSI Hard Drives using the parallel port Half Shell 1.4"x5.5"x7.5" 2.25 lb Hermit Crab 2.8"x5.5"x7.5" 4 lb extra shock Hard Drives low power 20MB to 120MB $589 A-Hivejr 2.2"x7.1"x7.1" 6 lb A-Hive 4.3"x9.6"x9.9" 11 lb Hard Drives 20MB to 1 GB from $589 Tape D rives 50MB to 1.3GB Cartridge Drive 44MB $819 Floppy Drives 720K to 3MB Tulin Corporation Tel: 408 432 9025 2156H OToole Ave., San Jose, CA 95131 Fax:408-943-0782 HANDS ON Listing 3: WordBASIC is a full-fledged language that can control Word 's editing primitives and Windows ' user- interface objects. Sub MAIN Marker$ = "@" IndentSpaces = 5 'spaces marking a new paragraph A$ = "5" A$ = InputBox$("How many spaces mark a new paragraph? [default 5] ",\ "Define Paragraph", a$) 'if the user typed a digit, use it If Val(A$) <> Then IndentSpaces = Val(a$) 'create the string of spaces Spaces$ = String$(IndentSpaces, Chr$(32)) 'go to start of document StartOfDocument 'Replace all hard carriage returns with Marker$ EditReplace .Search = ""p", .Replace = Marker$, .WholeWord = 0, \ .MatchCase = 0, .Confirm = 0, .Format = 'Replace single Marker$ followed by Tab with hard carriage return EditReplace .Search = Marker$ + ""t", .Replace = ,r p", .WholeWord = 1, \ .MatchCase = 0, .Confirm = 0, .Format = 'Replace single Marker$ followed by IndentSpaces with hard carriage return EditReplace .Search = Marker$ + Spaces$, .Replace = "V, .WholeWord = 1, \ .MatchCase = 0, .Confirm = 0, .Format = 'Replace hard carriage return pairs with a single hard carriage return EditReplace .Search = Marker$ + Marker$, .Replace = "V', -WholeWord = 0, \ .MatchCase = 0, .Confirm = 0, .Format = 'Replace all remaining hard carriage returns with a space EditReplace .Search = Marker$, .Replace = " ", .WholeWord = 0, \ .MatchCase = 0, .Confirm = 0, .Format = End Sub nicely bridges the gap be- tween the Word user's refer- ence and the Word technical reference, and it comes with some (documented!) sample WordBASIC programs. One of the goodies in here is a set of macros for translating Ex- cel dialog boxes into Word di- alog boxes— and a copy of the Excel dialog box editor. This isn't as nice as having a real dialog box editor for Word, but it works. Microsoft has put together the rest of the needed materi- als, too. There's a little on- line reference called the WordBASIC Advisor, a col- lection of macros to integrate various Windows programs (at this writing, WordScan, Da Vinci E-mail, MathType, PackRat, and Superbase) with Word, and several useful ex- amples (e.g., a set of macros to convert vowels to their ac- cented forms). When this will be debugged and generally available, I can't say— maybe by the time you read this ar- ticle. 328 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Circle 308 on Inquiry Card What's Ahead The next step in integrating Windows applications is a lit- tle f urtherout on the horizon: embedding and linking, or Extensible Compound Docu- ment Architecture (ECDA). Windows documents now can have hot links to other pro- grams using DDE, but there is no standard way of using DDE. Every application has its own unique macro lan- guage and its own meaning for "data item." The embed- ding-and-linking specifica- tion adds a standard list of topics for DDE conversations and standard ways for appli- cations to implement actions such as inserting a new object (e.g., an Excel graph) into a container (e.g., a Word docu- ment). The ECDA technology has been implemented once al- ready: Microsoft's Power- Point does its charting using an external application. PowerPoint and its graph module communicate with embedding and linking. ECDA promises to make the integration of applications even easier for the end user— at the cost of more work for Windows application devel- opers. ■ COMPANIES MENTIONED Asymetrix Corp. 110 1 10th Ave. NE, Suite 717 Bellevue, WA 98004 (206) 462-0501 Circle 1 1 46 on Inquiry Card. Microsoft Corp. One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 (800) 426-9400 (206) 882-8080 fax: (206) 883-8101 Circle 1 147 on Inquiry Card. Softbridge, Inc. 125 Cambridge Park Dr. Cambridge, MA 02140 (800) 325-6060 (617) 576-2257 fax: (617) 864-7747 Circle 1 148 on Inquiry Card. IMAGINATIONS The Business Macintosh Don Crabb A good deal of ink has been spilled in the past year about whether the Macin- tosh is really a business com- puter. Complaints about its software standards, operat- ing-system proclivities, and networking prowess have showered in, mostly from the usual suspects. Mac detrac- tors complained ad nauseam about its graphical user inter- face getting in the way of power users. Fortunately, most of this carping has fi- nally died because, in a su- preme irony, Microsoft vali- dated the Mac's GUI with its own Windows 3.0 for PCs. Amid all this journalistic carnage, an interesting soft- ware trend has emerged on the Mac: simulation and model- ing systems. As it has done with desktop publishing, desktop presentations, desk- top communications, and desktop multimedia, the Mac has "desktopped" yet another important category of busi- ness software— the desktop simulator. The Mac makes a nearly ideal simulation/mod- eling engine, at least in its more robust configurations (i.e., a color Mac Ilex or bet- ter), because of its blend of a well-established GUI, good floating-point performance, and an impressive color dis- play for simulation anima- tions. Simulation and modeling has grown slowly on the Mac (and hardly at all on non-Mac platforms) because it's a high- ly technical subject that is often difficult to learn and master. However, new prod- ucts are breaking down those learning and usage barriers and making the underlying mathematics of simulations (i.e. , ordinary and partial dif- ferential equations [ODE/ PDE]) more accessible. New versions of Extend, an object-oriented program from Imagine That (San Jose, CA), and I Think, a powerful busi- ness desktop simulator from High Performance Systems (Hanover, NH), have given these subjects a big boost. (I'll talk about I Think later in this article.) Just as Multiplan and Excel introduced Mac busi- ness users to the goal-seeking and what-if possibilities of automatically updated (if static) financial models, Ex- tend and I Think are introduc- ing those same users to the power of dynamic models and simulation systems. A year from now, I expect managers to search for solu- tions by using these desktop simulators to model their busi- ness problems. A fully ani- mated desktop model, which uses visuals and sound to show how a business works and dis- plays dynamic I/O over time, will be highly instructive. Several years from now, these same managers will wonder how they ever got along with- out desktop simulations— just the way they think of spread- sheets today. I expect several large soft- ware houses to enter the desk- top simulator market over the next year, which will validate Modeling and simulation promises to be a hot new category of business software for the Macintosh this growing category of soft- ware yet again. You should also expect to find that some enterprising developers will wed the systems-modeling ca- pabilities of desktop simula- tors to project management applications such as Project Scheduler 4 and MacProject II. This will produce hot new hybrid applications that will be able to simulate complex business projects and create suggested plans and schedules Don Crabb is the director of laboratories and a senior lec- turer for the computer science department at the University of Chicago. He is the author of a new book, Using Filemaker Pro (Simon & Schuster/ Brady Books). He is also a contributing editor for BYTE. He can be reached on BIX as "decrabb." MARCH 1991 -BYTE 329 for implementing them. That is the kind of "intelligent com- puting agent" that Apple has been talking about for a couple of years now, and it's likely to make an appearance by late this year. Of course, if interapplica- tion communication is every- thing that Apple cracks it up to be, such hybrid applications should be easy to implement once a data structure for repre- senting a dynamic model is agreed upon. Like most ad- vances in personal computing over the last 20 years, the big breakthrough will come when a widely accepted modeling file structure is adopted. Software of the Month: I Think Stella2.10, from High Perfor- mance Systems, was a first- rate business simulation/mod- eling program for the Mac. I Think is much more than an upgrade of Stella 2.10: It has been entirely rewritten. An educational version that in- cludes scientific-modeling ca- pabilities is available as Stella II. I Think takes Stella and ex- tends its capabilities in many areas, especially in how mod- els are animated and graphics are incorporated. It also pro- vides numerous extensions to the ODE. I Think, however, is a business tool, designed from its first line of code to let you create business and financial models and create output that you can use for its predictive as well as analytic prowess. I Think uses three simula- tionalgorithms: Euler's meth- od, second-order Runge-Kut- ta, and fourth-order Runge- Kutta (see "The Runge-Kutta Methods, " April 1986 BYTE) . You can also selectthe appropriate step size and the integration method used for each I Think model that you create. It even includes the documentation that lets you translate a system of ordinary differential equations into an I Think model. In short, I Think is sort of a visual think- ing tool that can model busi- ness processes, letting you test ^■■■■■HH^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H L. A "A y^T ",c r : 9 y\ 1 iMMtiVtty Am!, v* '.v. i.i. ( -.••4,-t •v.I/'Wu foi 1*0*1 VarltstM fiJC * -r*ni\m*K'Antf i <»*; t O'll J 9499 •1 SM4» 6 141 T »?<» » OI» -j-'**)-™*- / Think running a business simulation. plans and scenarios on your Mac before you commit money and resources to a real project. I Think is a discrete systems simulator that takes the idea of what-if analysis pioneered by spreadsheets and makes it both dynamic and visual. It lets you visualize the relation- ships between events, out- comes, and inputs in a way that is simply not possible with a spreadsheet table of numbers. Because I Think always dis- plays the dynamic picture of your model, you can see how each process contributes to the overall success or failure of your plan. Unlike a spread- sheet, where you spend a lot of time analyzing the numeri- cal output of your efforts, I Think lets you concentrate on the processes creating that output. The screen shot gives you some idea of I Think's orienta- tion. It shows three I Think windows: the diagram, the in- put variables, and an output graph. The diagram window is where you create your I Think simulation, using symbols to represent different kinds of simulation variables and out- comes. Arrows indicate the flow within the model. You can explode each node by dou- ble-clicking to add data to it or to modify its behavior and time constraints. Input variables can be 1 isted in tables like those in the screen, where they can be al- tered quickly. Graphical out- put, shown here as a line chart, can also be customized to help reveal the important opera- tional peculiarities of your model. I Think also lets you exchange your model data with other Mac software for further analysis, and you can incorporate Paint or PICT images as part of your model diagram, as well as sounds. What is I Think good for? A better question would be, what isn't it good for? Just about any business situation or project can be modeled using I Think, and you can gather valuable model output long before you commit to the real scenario that your model suggests. I Think gives you a real what-if planning tool that takes into account the dynamic and vi- sual nature of most business processes (and scientific ones with its Stella II incarnation). Tip of the Month: HandOffH The Mac can be a pretty inhos- pitable place to work some- times, especially when you've come up against one of my fa- vorite warnings: "Application Not Found. The application is busy or missing." Which translates into, "You lose." Rather than putting your fist through your monitor (a costly but perfectly satisfying re- sponse) when that alert pops up, try to keep your hands off the problem, using HandOff II from Fred Hollander's Hand- OffCorp. HandOff II lets you assign applications to open files that you do not have the original applications for. Naturally, this won't help if you are try- ing to open a 4th Dimension file with SuperPaint, but it works well when you want to open old Mac Write 4.5 files with MacWrite II or Nisus 3.01, or open old Multiplan files with Excel. As long as the application you specify can read the file format, you're in business. The beauty of Hand- Off II is that you make this correspondence between the existing application and file creator only once. After that, HandOff II intercepts the file type and opens it with the des- ignated application. You can also interrupt this feature whenever you want, in case you have acquired the neces- sary program. HandOff II includes a lot of ITEMS DISCUSSED Extend 1.1 $495 Imagine That, Inc. 151BernalRd.,Suite5 San Jose, CA 951 19 (408) 365-0305 fax:(408)629-1251 Circle 1 1 49 on Inquiry Card. HandOff II $79.95 HandOff Corp. P.O. Box 811 Allen, TX 75002 (214) 727-2329 fax:(214)727-1122 Circle 1 1 50 on Inquiry Card. IThinkl.O $450 Stella II ■. $450 High Performance Systems, Inc. 45 Lyme Rd., Suite 300 Hanover, NH 03755 (603)643-9636 fax: (603) 643-9502 Circle 1151 on Inquiry Card. 330 BYTE* MARCH 1991 SAVE 50% EXPLORE UNIXWORLD . . . RISK FREE! YES ! Start my one-year (12 issue) subscription for only $18.00, that's 50% off the newstand price. NAME: (PLEASE PRINT) TITLE: COMPANY NAME: ADDRESS: □ HOME □ OFFICE CITY: STATE: ZIP: □ BILL MEATS18.00* □ PAYMENT ENCLOSED. PLEASE CHARGE MY: D VISA D MASTERCARD C AmEx CARDtt: EXP DATE: SIGNATURE; __ 'U.S.A. ONLY Canadian: 1 yr. $24. Other Foreign: 1 yr. $38. All Foreign orders must be prepaid in U.S. Funds. Please complete all questions to qualify for the rates shown above. Subscriptions at the above rates are limited to persons with active professional, functional, and managerial responsibilities in UNIX or XENIX Computing. Other subscriptions: $36 a year in U.S., Canada: $48, Other Foreign: $76. CIRCLE ONE ONLY My Company's Primary Business a. Mfg. of Comp./Comp. Equip. Mfg. (except Comp./Comp. Equip. Systems Integrator/House Software Developer VAR, Dealer or Distributor Communications/Telephone Transportation/Utilities Mining or Construction Fin./lns./Real Estate WhJse. or Retail Trade Consulting Government or Military School or University Other: Medical/Dental/Legal Research/Development Your No-Risk Guarantee: I may cancel 6-8 weeks for processing. CIRCLE ONE ONLY CIRCLE ONE ONLY CIRCLE ALL THAT APPLY My Primary Job Function The Number of 1 Purchase/Influence a. Corp. or Fin.Mgmt. Employees At All The Purchase b. MIS/DP Mgmt. Locations Of My Of The Following: c. Office Mgmt./Admin. Company a. Mainframe Computers d. Telecommunications a. Under 10 b. Minis/Superminis e. Systems Integration b. 10-49 c. Micros/Supermicros f. Design or Dev Eng. c. 50-249 d. Workstations g- Prog./Software Dev. d. 250-999 e. Board Level Products h. Research/Analysis e. 1,000-4,999 f. Terminals L Marketing or Sales f. 5,000 or more g. Printers J- Purchasing h. Disk Drives k. Mfg. /Production Distribution i. i- Tape Drives Modems/Multiplexors m. Education/Teaching k. LAN Equipment n. Consulting 1. Software o. Gov./Public Admin. P. q- Other Technical Staff/ Engineering Support EC1B50 at any t me and receive a refund for the balance of my subscription. Please allow BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS MAIL PERMIT #42 HIGHTSTOWN, NJ POSTAGE WILL PAID BY ADDRESSEE UnixWorld SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES RO. BOX 570 HIGHTSTOWN, NJ 08520-9328 NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES .LI..I.I.mI.IIL.I.I..mIIm.I.IImI.mII.I own to earth. Changing the world . UNIX is changing the world of comput- ers, the world of business — quite simply, changing the world. It's revolutionizing office auto- mation. It's required for U.S. government computer contracts. It's the backbone of information strategies worldwide. The information you need . That's why you need UnlxWorld— the magazine that keeps you up to date on the rapidly chang- ing world of open systems computing. Each issue brings you the latest product trends and technical advances that can affect your business. The inside story on some of the world's biggest high-tech companies. Easy-to-understand program- ming tips and tutorials that can help you and your company use UNIX to its fullest. And unbiased hardware and software reviews to help you invest wisely when you buy. The whole UNIX- verse . UndcWorld's in-depth features go beyond dry technical facts, to show how the pieces fit together — to tell you what's important about the advances and the strategies that are changing your world. And UnixWorld con- sistently offers the freshest, most down-to-earth writing you'll find in any computer publication. Subscribe and Save . Subscribe today 7 , and receive the next 12 Issues of UmxWorld tor just half the regular newsstand price. Save even more by ordering for two or three years. You can't lose — every subscription to UxlxWorld comes with a no- risk guarantee.* lyear $18.00 (save 50%) 2 years $32.00 (save 55%) 3 years $42.00 (save 60%) Subscribe now! Call toll- free: 1-800-341-1522 UNIXWORLD > If you're into UNIX, you need UnixWorld Magazine. UNIX is a registered trademark of AT&T. UNIX WORU' .filiated with AT&T. +UNtxWom.D's no- risk guarantee: If not satisfied, cancel and receive a full refund for the balance of your subscription. A McGraw-Hill publication other goodies, such as a pop- up menu for launching appli- cations (a la On Cue), the abil- ity to control the color depth and sound level of each appli- cation you launch, and auto- matic fixing of bundle bit anomalies. There's also sup- port for the Desktop Manager (which fixes the Finder's problems with large hard disks full of files and folders). If HandOff II still won't solve your problems because THE UNIX /bin Tricks of the Unix Gurus of file incompatibilities, you can try Abbott Systems' Can- Opener (which can open virtu- ally any file type— text, Paint, or PICT) or On Technology's On Location for a glimpse in- side a recalcitrant file. ■ David Fiedler Sometimes the obvious isn't. One person's chal- lenge can be another's frustra- tion. This month, I've decided to provide acoupleof hints that I've found useful in the past. Some of these may seem sim- ple to advanced readers, but they have saved many people a great deal of time and trouble in a pinch. On the other hand, they may just be thought-pro- voking enough to help you solve a problem that you've al- ready been working on— per- haps a different type of thing altogether. More Than One Way to Replace a Cat On some Unix implementa- tions, a crashed root file sys- tem disk or inadvertent loss of the executable kernel (that file called / unix) means you're in for a long, backbreaking ses- sion of reloading much of the system. Hopefully, you also have good backups of your own files, too. SCO Unix and Xenix sys- tems give you the option of creating a custom "emergency boot floppy." This lets you boot up your system with one or two floppy disks and access information that's still on your David Fiedler is executive pro- ducer of Unix Video Quar- terly and coauthor of the book Unix System Administration. He has helped start several Unix-related publications. You can reach him on BIX as "fiedler. " <$*> of ;/aeW ffj Tips on disaster recovery, logging calls, and getting rid of garbage files hard disk drive. Frequently, you can easily restore your sys- tem via tape or f sck manipu- lations if you've gone to the trouble of creating the boota- ble floppy disk. But the limited amount of space on these floppy disks means that few commands can fit on them. In fact, such com- mands as cat and cp are in- stalled only if there's extra room available (some disk in- stallations don't even have Is). You would be amazed how important these com- mands are when you don 't have them readily to hand. So what can you do in such a situ- ation (or in any emergency situation where basic com- mands are missing)? The important thing is to keep calm and remember the basics. Many Unix commands have more than one method of operation. In the case of the missing Is, you could type # echo * while in a directory (echo is usually built into the shell). If cp isn't there, you'll probably have dd available, and you can always use § dd if=onefile of=another And even if cat is missing, you can still look at things with dd: § dd if=file of=/dev/tty Don't forget redirection. If you have to look at a critical file under these conditions (or if your entire printer spooler has gone crazy), you can al- ways print files by simply copying them to the right de- vice. The following are all equivalent: § cat file > /dev/ttyla # cp file /dev/ttyla § dd if=file of=/dev/ttyla assuming, of course, that your printer is plugged into port /dev/ttyla. Logging a Communications Session Want to keep a log file of a modem call to another system but don't have any optional communications software that does this for you? Use the plain old cu program but with a twist: $ cu | tee logfile and everything should be saved just fine. You can often use this technique with other programs; it even works for capturing the output of sev- eral seconds' worth of screen- oriented programs like stars or worms, which can then be mailed to innocent coworkers (you should be sure to set your terminal environment to match theirs before you run the program). Getting Rid of Those Unwanted Pests It's not extermination of ver- min or even murder I'm talk- ing about here, but files. The kinds of files that you created by a slip of the finger, or by a test program that created a filename from uninitialized memory. The kinds of files whose names are -foo or *f5jx, or that are composed of control characters so that you couldn't type them even if you wanted to (and you do want to, very much) . How can you get rid of them? Users of recent releases of Unix don't have the hyphen problem. There's a new op- tion to the rm command that 332 BYTE- MARCH 1991 I • N • T • R • O ♦ • . D • u£ C • I • N • G /3270- .Coax- CLEO's 3270LINKix™pro- vides complete, cost-effective mainframe connectivity for your UNIX systems. You just plug in a coax board (our own or any IBM advanced coax adapter or com- patible), load the software, and Application Program Interface link to your mainframe through a remote or channel-attached IBM 3174/3274 controller. With 3270- LINKix, you get full emulation of IBM 3278 monochrome display terminals (models 2-5) and 3279 color ter- minals (models 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B), in CUT or DFT mode. You also get full IBM 3287 printer emulation (LU Types 1 and 3) for your UNIX-attached ASCII printers. UNIX systems supported include SCO's UNIX System V 3.2, AT&T's UNIX System V/386, Interactive Systems' 386/ix, and others. Features include: ■ Application Program Interface (HLLAPI 3.0) ■ INDSFILE file transfer for CMS, TSO, and CICS ■ Up to five sessions, with sup- port for SNA or channel-attached non-SNA communications, in DFT' ■ User-configurable keyboard mapping ■ Easy menu-driven interface 15 sessions, for SNA or channel- attached non-SNA, in DFT To learn more, call us today at 1-800-233-2536. Or write to us at 3796 Plaza Drive, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108. FAX: 313/662-1965. CLEO CLEO Communications A Division of Interface Systems, Inc. AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE! In Europe callSintec Peripherals Ltd. in Slough, England, at 0753-811888 (FAX: 0753-811666). allows filenames to begin with a hyphen; the option is a double hyphen. Therefore, typing $ rm foo will properly delete a file called -foo. Without this modification, the rm com- mand sees the hyphen as an option lead-in, rather than a filename. There are several classic ways of getting around this problem, some of which work on various systems and fail on others. For hyphens, you can type rm . / - f oo, using the dot and slash to hide the hyphen from the rm com- mand. You can also type $ mv -foo foo $ rm foo on some systems where the mv command itself has no op- tions. Or you can try the / etc /unlink command, which also has no options. If your filename starts with an aster- isk, where a mistake could cost you all the files in your direc- tory, be more careful when you type the rm command: $ rm -i \*f5jx *f5jx: ? y In this case, the preceding slash again hides the asterisk from the shell, preventing it from expanding the asterisk into its usual meaning of "all filenames in this directory not preceded by a dot." The -i (interactive) option to rm forces it to prompt you for every file that it intends to re- move, which gives you a chance to correct any possible mistakes at the last moment. In this case, your answer of y means yes, remove the file. Is your system haunted? Do you hear bells every time you type Is? You've probably got a Control-G in a filename! For really hard-to-type file- names (ones that contain such fun characters as octal 206 and the like), you'll soon find out about the -b option to the Is command. But let the sys- tem do the work for you. Sim- ply capture the filename by Is -al > / tmp / foo and then edit /tmp /foo to remove all filenames other than the one you're interested in. Then just add an rm before your funny filename, return to the shell, and execute sh /tmp /foo to remove your pesky file. As long as I'm discussing eighth-bit characters, I recom- mend getting a copy of f m (File Modifier) by Tony Field and D. Jason Penney. It's a hexa- decimal/ASCII file editor with an excellent user inter- face (better than that of some commercial programs), and it's available under the GNU licensing terms (i.e., free). With f m, you can save the day by patching binary files that otherwise couldn't be modi- fied. It won't work on directo- ries, although a real diehard could use it on the raw disk. You Deserve a Break Today Everyone's entitled to a little fun. Heck, after slaving away all day over a hot terminal, surrounded by awking greps, you have probably earned a lot of fun. Unix, while clearly a serious operating system for commercial uses, also has its fun side. After all, Unix got started when Ken Thompson was looking for a machine to run a Space War game on, and the / usr / games directory has been a popular one ever since. One trick of the Unix gurus is to relax once in a while. Don't get me wrong; I'm Multiple-Chote 1 Our Hostess multiuser serial controllers are an excellent choice for u p t o eight occasional users. The Hostess 550 provides buffering for even higher performance. And for truly high perfor- mance, choose the Ultra 8. 334 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Expand up to 16 users with the Ultra 16 high performance intelligent serial controller. But if your multiuser requirements are more modest a 16 poit Hostess 550 controller makes an equally intelligent choice. Our Ultra Cluster gives you the flexibility and power for virtually limitless growth. Starting with an Ultra 8 base board, you can expand 16 users at a time, while maintaining current levels of performance every step of the way. Multiply Your Choices At Comtrol we pioneered multiuser technology. And we know that there are no single solutions to multiuser en- vironments. That'swhywe offer more choices than any other company. ..from text to graph- ics... for modest users to over 64 users supported by a single PC. And we've notonlymultipliedyourchoices, we've multiplied performance, allowing you to expand without the high cost of adding computers. Multiplied Performance No company offers you more perfor- mance than Comtrol. In fact, our new DT Express driver transforms our Ultra Series into the high- est performing con- trollers available today. DT Express dramatically reduces host I Pei forma nee remains high as you add users. I Host utilization decreases. utilization and significantly in- creases throughput by managing all data transmission and data transform functions on the con- troller. So now as you add users, no one gets caught in a wait state. MultiVision. For Choices Beyond Words When graphics enter the equation, MultiVision enters the picture. A fully functional multiuser system for up to 16 users, MultiVision speeds images to the screen at a blistering 100 megabits per second. As a result, you'll experience near instantaneous trans- mission of your graphics. With software that enhances standard operating system graphics drivers, MultiVision is compat- result = 5; } The client module calls calc_results ( ) , a stub on the client machine that sends a copy o/data_record to the server. Once the actual calc_results ( ) routine, which resides on the server, has completed, it sends an updated copy of data_record back to the client. Make Your Best Work Look Its Best! Name Definition Gamma poo T(z) = / t z - x e- l dt Jo Sine sin(x)= ~(e ix -e~ ix ) v i 2 A ) Error 2 r 2 erf(z) = —= 1 e z dz V^ Jo Bessel i r Jo(z) = — / cos(zs\n6)d6 * Jo Zeta oo £(s) = ^fc- 5 (Bs>l) fc=l PCTfcX Typesetting Software For professional publishing and the powerto produce high- quality technical documents, scientific notation, mathe- matical formulas, and tables, rely on PCT^X to make your work look its best. The next step beyond standard desktop publishing, PCT^X is the difference between average and expert. You'll get professional typesetting at amateur prices. PC MAGAZINE wrote: "(With PCTgQ. . . you can achieve incredible precision in formatting text, especially mathe- matical expressions. " INFO WORLD said: "No non-T[X-based program has such typographical aesthetics. . . enormously flexible. . . " New PCT^X 3.0, with double the page-building capacity, is now available. For 386 computers, there's PCTr^(/386 and Big PCT^/386. For a free product catalog and demo diskette call 415/388-8853. See the best for yourself! Europe: (31) 703237241 • (49) 24167001 • (49) 80248011 (49) 73126932 • (44) 742351489 • (39) 290091773 Asia: (886) 35265521 • Australia: (61) 34599671 PERSONAL INC 12 Madrona Mill Valley, CA 94941 Fax: (41 5) 388-8865 PCT|0< is a registered TM of Personal T^X, Inc. T^X is an American Mathematical Society TM. Site licenses available to qualified organizations. Inquire about PTl distributorships. This ad was typeset using PCT^C and Bitstream fonts. Circle 219 on Inquiry Card. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 339 you need to use a server whose operating system understands multiple process threads. ToRPCorNottoRPC It's technically possible to use RPCs to transform any appli- cation into a client/server sys- tem, but you wouldn't want to put small, fast-executing rou- tines in a server. The time spent in communicating the data back and forth would overwhelm the application and cause severe degradation. Calculation-intensive or I/O- intensive routines are good candidates for server mod- ules, assuming you have com- puters on your network that do a better job at such tasks. It's possible to use your su- perf ast 486 file server in a cli- ent/server role. NetWare 386 has a special provision for run- ning custom-written code alongside the NetWare operat- ing system. You can develop server routines as NetWare loadable modules. NetWare 386 lets you load and unload NLMs while the file server is active, and you can use Net- ware ' s debugger to inspect the server module's behavior. You write NLMs as you would any C program. How- ever, you need the NetWare Compiler/386 (a repackaged version of Watcom 7.0), and you have to use the NLM li- brary code supplied with Net- Ware Compiler/386 for the I/O and memory management aspects of the program. For fun, I created an NLM version of the E-mail applica- tion from my book Network Programming in C. The Mail NLM is a server module that simply stores and routes mail messages; the client (worksta- tion) code invokes the server routine send_mail( ) to dis- patch a mail message. Neither CPU-bound nor I/O-bound, the Mail module nonetheless has two advan- tages as a server subroutine. Because the Mail NLM is a unique NetWare object, I was able to give it the right to use a certain subdirectory on the file server and exclude other objects— the users— from accessing the subdirectory. This ensures mail privacy. Second, designing the mail module as a true "post office" makes for a cleaner architec- ture. The workstation never has to know how the mail is de- livered; it simply puts it in the mailbox and lets the server module handle routing. If you're interested in see- ing my mail program code, you can contact me c/o BYTE or on BIX and I'll send it to you on disk. Serious, mission-critical applications are excellent can- didates for client/server dis- tributed processing. I have found RPCs to be useful tools for automatically building the interface between clients and servers. Although I enjoy writing IPX/SPX communica- tions code, I shudder to think of the effort it would take to create, by hand, each link be- tween client and server mod- ules in a large application. ■ COMPANIES MENTIONED Netwise, Inc. 2477 55th St. Boulder, CO 80301 (800)733-7722 (303) 442-8280 Circle 1224 on Inquiry Card. Novell, Inc. 122 East 1700 South P.O. Box 5900 Provo,UT 84601 (800) 453-1267 Circle 1223 on Inquiry Card. Give Us Your Toughest Peripheral Sharing Problem ...or your simplest! Master Switch, the intelligent data switch front Rose Electronics, can handle it. The Master Switch series is so versatile and sophisticated, peripheral sharing becomes easy. Anyone who appreciates ease-of-operation and technologically-advanced capabilities knows the 4$*^. Master Switch is the right choice .. .for sharing printers, plotters, modems, and any device with a serial or parallel port. Here's why: Designed and manufactured in the USA. Field-proven in thousands of applications. The Master Switch answers an)' peripheral sharing challenge. Choose the intelligent data switch that handles your most complex needs, yet is easy to set up and operate... choose Master Switch. Any combination of serial or parallel ports Easy selection of peripherals User-expandable memory up to 4 megabytes Simultaneous access to all devices Rated 'fastest switch' by PC Magazine Advanced features include job queue, port contention, data collection, job control menu, initialization strings, pop-up menus, and many more • Complete technical support; one-year warranty The Low-Cost IAN Alternative With our MasterNet software, the Master Switch provides many convenient LAN functions, such as E-mail, file transfer, and director)' access. &.ROSE ELECTRONICS » (800)333-9343 FAX (713) 933-0044 • (713)933-7673 P.O. Box 742571 • Houston, Texas 77274 Call for complete information and our catalog of Switching and Sharing Solutions. Dealer inquiries welcome. 340 BYTE- MARCH 1991 Circle 253 on Inquiry Card. ASK BYTE PostScript, Too I am running an IBM XT clone with a Hewlett-Pack- ard DeskJet printer. I want to be able to access soft fonts to supplement the one supplied with the original DeskJet. At best, I would like my printer to be able to in- terpret the PostScript command language, and at the very least I would like to be able to use normal HP soft fonts, without spending more than the $400 1 originally paid for my printer. Edward Hyer Blakes, VA You should be able to upgrade for less than $400. One way to do it is through software. PostScript interpreters will take the output from your applications and translate it into PostScript. This process will work on an IBM XT, but it will be very slow. If you can bear the slow speed, this would be your best answer. Adding expanded memory will speed it up some, but that adds extra cost. Check with vendors of PostScript interpreters, including LaserGo (9369 Carroll Park Dr. , Suite A, San Diego, CA 921 21, (619) 450-4600) andAtech Software (630LaPlace Court, Suite 245, Carlsbad, CA 92008, (800) 748-5657 or (619) 438-6883), to make sure they work with the ap- plications you use. To use HP soft fonts, you will need additional RAM for your printer. Hewlett-Packard sells a 128K-byte RAM cartridge for about $125 and a 256K-byte cartridge for $1 75. How much RAM you need depends on how many fonts you plan to use in a single document. HP sells ad- ditional soft- font cartridges for between $75 and $95. Bit- stream (215 First St., Cambridge, MA 02142, (617) 497-6222) also sells soft-font cartridges. For more infor- mation and pricing of specific cartridges, call HP printer support at (208) 323-2551. I think your best bet would be the RAM cartridge from HP. You '11 get your output faster and should still stay within your budget. -S. D. Is This Bad? My PC has a 20-megabyte hard disk drive. When I formatted it the first time, the format program found 200K bytes of bad sectors on the disk. Six months later, I reformatted the disk and found that the bad sec- tors now took up 600K bytes. How does this happen? How can I prevent this problem or recover from it? Dat Dao Nguyen Montreal, Quebec, Canada The physical cause of your problem is not easy to nail down; bad sectors can arise from several sources, includ- ing head misalignment and particles of magnetic coating flaking off inside the disk drive. Either one could cause the number of bad sectors to grow over time, as you report. First thing to do: Back up your drive. Then give it a new low-lev el format. If the number of bad tracks that your new low-level format reports is very large, con- clude that your disk has suffered some kind of failure and needs to be sent to a repair shop or replaced. You may also want to look into some disk utilities for backup and recovery. See "Just What the Hard Disk Doc- tor Ordered, " January 1 990, for more information on disk utilities. — S. A. Returning Student I am writing to you concerning a change I am contem- plating. I have an old Commodore 64 home computer I was using in high school. I haven't used it in several years, but I'm planning on returning to college soon and am looking for a new computer to use at home for stud- ies and communications purposes. I want one I can use to reach my college lab computer and to talk to friends I have around the country. Could you please give me some kind of direction as to what to get (e.g. base computer, hardware, software, and networks)? Because I have expe- rience only in the BASIC language, I need a computer that is easy to learn on as well . Any help would be appreciated. Mark Clarendon Scottdale, GA If you anticipate buying a computer for use in your stud- ies, I suggest you contact the college you are planning to attend and find out what computers it recommends. Many colleges specify a particular type of machine (e.g. , Macs or PCs) for use with the college 's network. Often the college can sell the computers and software to stu- dents at a substantial discount.— S . W . Action! I am new to the programming environment and would like to make a fast-action boxing game for PCs with EGA or VGA video hardware. What is the best (i.e., the fastest) language for this? Also, in your April 1989 issue, I found an article on the RenderMan interface. Is this a set of routines compat- ible with assembly language and C? Lester Rich Address unavailable By "fastest" I assume you mean in regard to execution time, rather than development time. If so, assembly lan- guage is the ticket— you can 't go much faster than well- written assembly language. Of course, given that you 're new to programming , picking assembly language as your development tool could mean that you '11 spend a great portion of your time learning what the different instruc- tions mean. It might be best to select a high-level language to start out with— Pascal, C, or Modula-2— to develop the algorithms for your game. Then, as you become com- fortable with programming and the direction your prod- uct is taking, you can convert speed-critical portions of your game to assembly language. To quote an adage I've seen often: "Get it working today; optimize it tomorrow. " RenderMan is actually an interchange standard devel- oped by Pixar that allows output from modeling software to drive Pixar 's rendering software. In simple terms, this means that if you want to display a three-dimensional scene on the computer monitor, you tell RenderMan what objects are in the scene, where they 're located, MARCH 1991 -BYTE 341 ASK BYTE where the light sources are, what the viewing angle is, and so on, and Rend erMan paints the picture complete with textures and highlights and shadows. Rend erMan is written in C, so calling it from C is likely to be the easiest means of using RenderMan. (Other languages can call the RenderMan routines, provided they adhere to proper calling conventions.) If you 're seriously interested in RenderMan, I suggest that you scout the bookstores for a copy o/RenderMan Companion by Steve Upstill (Addison-Wesley, 1990). It 's a good source of information. — R. G. Don't Panic In your October 1990 issue there was a long review of different types of operating systems and WORM (write once, read many times) optical disk drives (see Comput- ing at Chaos Manor: "A Lesson in Maintenance"). The author mentioned the term panic disk and strongly sug- gested that everyone should make one for his machine. What is a panic disk and how does one make it? Mark L. Woodward Montara, CA A panic disk is essentially a DOS boot disk that contains all the files (e.g., AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, de- vice drivers, and other software) that allow you to re- start your computer from the floppy disk drive. Occasionally, when you install new software or oper- ating systems, the new software may conflict with existing software on your hard disk drive or with the computer it- self, causing the computer to "lock up " and refuse to re- spond to anything but a power-off/power-on reset. The panic disk lets you reboot the computer, gain access to your files on your hard disk drive, and make any neces- sary changes. A panic disk is good insurance should the files in your root directory become damaged or erased.— S. W. Disk List I am involved in computer repair and maintenance of field equipment for the State of Texas. The computers vary in operating system and manufacturer. Hard disk drives are among the most frequent items that require maintenance. However, general drive specifications are not available, making diagnostics, interfacing, and/or formatting difficult if not impossible. A list of the drives you have knowledge of and their general specifica- tions (i.e., model number, interface type, formatted ca- pacity, number of cylinders, number of data heads, write precomp, and reduced write current) would be greatly appreciated. RandolfB. Beck Austin, TX BYTE does not maintain lists of hard disk drive specifi- cations except for our own maintenance and repair needs. One good source of information is the Western Digital BBS: (714) 756-8176, 1200 bps, no parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, full-duplex. The BBS has a list of most brands of hard disk drives and their specifications.— S. W. Two Floppies Aren't Enough The SCSI interface is rapidly gaining popularity for many peripherals, such as hard and floppy disk drives, tape backup units, and other devices. Most PCs can control only two floppy disk drives, even though it is convenient to use more, especially for copying or back- ing up an entire disk in various formats. The standard floppy disk drives, with standard interfaces, are now ; relatively inexpensive. It would be very useful to have an adapter card that would allow one to connect several standard floppy disk drives (externally mounted, if nec- essary) in a daisy chain to the SCSI bus. Do you know of any company that sells such a card, one that would con- nect the SCSI bus from the host adapter to a chain of standard floppy disk drives? I have contacted several companies that build SCSI host adapters, but they do not have one. If it is not commercially available, do you know of a published design that I could build? Charles F. Hempstead Andover, MA SCSI interfaces, because of their relatively high cost, are usually reserved for high-speed devices that manage large amounts of storage. Floppy disk drives seem to work well enough with the standard floppy interface, so maybe that 's why no one makes a SCSI floppy disk drive. If you 'd settle for a standard PC floppy disk drive interface card that handles four drives, I've got two of them for you: MicroSolutions (132 West Lincoln Hwy. , DeKalb, IL 60115, (815) 756-3411) makes the Compaticard IV , and JDR Microdevices (2233 Branham Lane, San Jose, CA 95124, (800) 538-5000) carries the MCT-FDC-HD4 4 Floppy Card. Both products support four floppy disk drives, in any combination of 3 V2 -inch, 5% -inch, and high and low density. Unless you specifically need SCSI support, one of these cards should do the trick.— K. E. Organ Transplant I subscribe to your magazine regularly. Most of the time it is somewhat over my head, but I enjoy reading it. Now I have a question. I have an "old" computer, a Standard (now CompuAdd) XT, and an EGA monitor, a mouse, and a 20-megabyte hard disk drive. I need to up- grade my system to a 386. Can I buy a "stripped-down" system (i.e. , one with no hard disk drive or monitor) and put my old components in the new computer? Anthony Grieco Gadsden, AL You can certainly recycle some of the components. The monitor, video board, mouse, and hard disk drive can all be used in a 386 system. You should also be able to reuse any serial/parallel port boards, but if any of the cards has a built-in clock circuit, the clock must be disabled, be- cause it would conflict with the clock circuit on your new motherboard. You will have to invest in a new floppy/ hard disk drive controller card. I would also suggest that you obtain a larger hard disk drive of at least 40 MB. An older 20- MB hard disk drive is too small and slow for serious use with a 386 system.— S. W. ■ 342 BYTE- MARCH 1991 H e r 1 HC4 4A4 System ¥ F^ Release 4.0 • The UHC system [is] quite stable ... I did not encounter any kernel panics or serious problems. • Installation is reasonably straightforward . . . Once installed, it ran cleanly. • If I were using [generic 386/486] hardware, I would choose UHC. — Jason Levitt, UNIX Today!, Dec. 10, 1990 Copyright© 1 990 by CMP Publications, Inc., 600 Community Drive, Manhasset, NY 1 1030. Reprinted from UNIX Today! with permission. • My overall evaluation of UNIX System V Release 4.0 from UHC is very good. UHC's Technical Support Group [provided] quick, friendly and reliable technical help. — Tim Conner, The Opensystem (newsleter of the Washington Area UNIX User's Group), December 1990. ISN'T IT TIME FOR YOU TO MOVE UP TO UHC SVR4? Call (713) 782-2700 UNC 3600 South Gessner Houston, Texas 77063 (713) 782-2700 FAX (713) 782-3377 GENtiKAL MEMUI UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX System Laboratories, Inc. UHC is a trademark of U.H. Corporation. Circle 31 on Inquiry Card. SmartLynx-MC Intelligent Eight Port RS 232 Micro Channel Adapter for PS/2 Systems and Compatibles. Supports AIX, UNIX, XENIX, QNX PC-MOS and DOS. Call for Special Introductory Offer 1-800-553-1170 n QUATECH 662 Wolf Ledges Parkway Akron. OH 44311 Circle 240 on Inquiry Card. I Synchronous 1 1 Communication! 1 Boards for AT 1 Quatech synchronous/ asynchronous serial boards for PC-AT and compatibles support RS-232, RS-422, and RS-485 communication. Call for our free PC Interface Handbook: , 1-800-553-1170 G]) QUATECH 662 Wol( Ledges Parkway Akron. OH 44311 PC-AT and PC are registered trademarks of IBM Corp. Circle 243 on Inquiry Card. 1 PXB-160 16-BIT 1 1 TRUE PARALLEL 1 1 DIGITAL I/O 1 • Two eight bit ports • Latched 1/0 • DMA and 1/0 Modes • Handshakes for 16 Bit 1/0 Transfer • Programmable timer for Interrupt or DMA Transfer • External interrupt and data transfer request inputs • List Price Below $400.00 Call the Order Line 1-800-553-1170 n QUATECH 662 Wolf Ledges Parkway Akron. OH 44311 Eight Serial Ports One Board Quatech's ES-100 provides eight RS/232 serial ports in a single AT slot. RJ-11 modular connectors. 1 6450 U ARTS are standard. Optional buffered 16550 UARTS. PC-AT, ISA, or EISA compatible. Priced below $500! Quantity Pricing Available! Call for our PC Interface Handbook: 1-800-553-1170 n QUATECH 662 Wolf Ledges Parkway Akron. OH 44311 PC-AT is a trademark or registered trademark of IBM Corp. Circle 241 on Inquiry Card. Communications Data Acquisition "PS/2 Micro Channel Interfaces" n QUATECH Phone: (216) 434-3154 • FAX: (216) 434-1409 TELEX: 510-101-2726 PC-AT, PS/2 and Micro Channel are registered trademarks of IBM Corporation. Circle 244 on Inquiry Card. 2 parallel, 2 serial, 1 board Quatech DSDP-402 for PC-AT has two parallel ports, and two serial ports for any combina- tion of RS-232, 422, and 485 communication. DSDP-100, two parallel and two RS-232 ports, available at lower cost. For order info, call: 1-800-553-1170 n QUATECH 662 Wolf Ledges Parkway Akron, OH 44311 RS-422/RS-485 Boards for AT, Micro Channel RS-422/RS-485 asynchronous serial communication boards from Quatechl available in 1 to 4 ports for PC-AT and compatibles and 1 to 4 ports for PS/2 Micro Channel. Call for our free PC Interface Handbook: 1-800-553-1170 n QUATECH 662 Wolf Ledges Parkway Akron. OH 44311 PC-AT, Micro Channel, and PS/2 are trade- marks or registered trademarks of IBM Corp. Circle 242 on Inquiry Card. Digital I/O Board Single-slot Quatech PXB-721 for PC-AT has 72 digital I/O lines. Connect three choices of data acquisition modules. Supports Labtech Notebook™ Call for our free PC Interface Handbook: 1-800-553-1170 n QUATECH 662 Wolf Ledges Parkway Akron, OH 44311 LabTech Notebook is a trademark of Laboratories Technologies Corp. Circle 245 on Inquiry Card. Wave Form 20MHz-32K $1290 The WSB-100 Wave Form Synthe- sizer Board from Quatech has the best set of numbers in the market. With speed to 20MHz and a 32K memory at $1290, it's making waves in more ways than one. The WSB-100 is also a star performer as a digital pulse/word generator with the optional digital module. Call for our free PC Interface Handbook 1-800-553-1170 El QUATECH 662 Wolf Ledges Parkway Akron, OH 44311 Circle 246 on Inquiry Card. Circle 247 on Inquiry Card. Circle 248 on Inquiry Card. BYTE SHOWCASE CATALOG SHOWCASE National Instruments Zericon =2KKs3' Free 488-page full-color catalog describing instrumentation hardware and software products for personal computers and workstations. Application software for data analysis and presentation and for collecting data using instruments and plug-in boards. Features CPIB interfaces, data acquisition and DSP boards, driver level software, signal conditioning and VXI controllers. 1-512-794-0100 Circle 1 95 on Inquiry Card Affordable f : Large Format Plotters r ZEFtiCON Factory Direct Savings on Large Format Plotters Zericon is the low-price leader, offering the following plotter lines direct from the factory. The Valuline series of "D" Size plotters offers moderate performance at 15 IPS for under $2,000. The Designer series offers high performance at 25 IPS in Multi- Pen "A-E" sizes; prices under $3,000. All Zericon products are sold with a no-risk satisfaction guarantee. 40491 Encyclopedia Circle, Fremont CA 94538 1-800-727-8380 Circle 328 on Inquiry Card Hooleon CUSTOM KEYBOARD PRODUCTS Improve productivity and reduce training time by having your software commands color-coded and imprinted on your keyboard. Custom keys, SnapCap™ Keycaps, custom imprinted keytop and keyfront labels, templates, plus new macro devices and custom keyboards. WordPerfect and 5250 Emulation KeyCaps for IBM 101 -keyboard; relegendable keys for IBM®, Cherry®, Wyse® and Key Tronic®; Keytop Label kits for WordPerfect™, DisplayWrite™, Data Entry and language conversions. Call 602-634-751 5 for FREE catalog. Order Hotline 1-800-937-1337 Circle 134 on Inquiry Card Lionheart Press, Inc. « LIONHEART STATISTICAL « MANAGEMENT SOFTWAHE Pioriincmtstrfit Bwnwrfcj ■ij SNTlBI'M Sttetmna utit rf Fvt*c jttjnj '■■;.'■■■':'.";.■,; '/,;:; , -,;. ;i Llonlttart Pj.m. Inc.. AtbufB, VT, MMP T,l:(S14>l33-t3tl ft'. tltiy91$-3oat Specialty Software for Business & Industry Surveys & Questionnaires • Marketing Statistics • Quality Control • Project Planner • Inventory • Forecasting & Time-Series • Sales & Market Forecasting • Linear Programming • Optimization • Decision Analysis • Regression • Cluster Analysis • Multivariate Analysis • Experimental Statistics • Business Statistics • ANOVA These packages are reasonably priced and easy to use but comprehensive and highly sophisticated. Available for MS-DOS, Mac and Amiga. Write: P.O. Box 379, Alburg, VT 05440 51 4-933-491 8 FAX 51 4-939-3087 Circle 164 on Inquiry Card Jensen Tools Inc. 1990 YEAR-END SUPPLEMENT Ord»i Phone (602)968-6231 loll-Free FAX: (600) 366-9662 24-Houi FAX In M (602) Ail ■ 16TO Computer Service Products Computer/electronic service tools and technical support are offered in the 1991 Winter Catalog from Jensen Tools Inc. Included in the full-color catalog are tools, tool kits, test equipment and diagnostic software for servicing computers, telecommunication sys- tems, LANs and other electronic hardware, plus a broad selection of cases and shipping containers. Jensen offers a lifetime guarantee on many products, free shipping anywhere in the continental USA and free technical support. Write or call Jensen Tools Inc., 781 5 S. 46th St., Phoenix, AZ 85044. 1-602-968-6231 Circle 155 on Inquiry Card Moore Business Products Lyben Computer Systems Computer Supplies and Accessories at Discount Prices Over 3500 Items 93% of Orders Shipped Same Day Many Hard-to-Find Items 30-Day Return Policy A unique catalog company with a personal touch. Circle reader service to receive a free 100-page Introductory Catalog with special offers. 1-313-649-4500 FAX 313-649-2500 Circle 172 on Inquiry Card RAD Data Communications GREAT FORMS AND SUPPLIES PLUS MOORE SERVICE Only the Moore Computer Forms and Supplies Catalog guarantees everything you order will be in stock (or you get 10% off your next order). Top quality software- compatible forms, printout paper, diskettes, ribbons, furniture, and everything you need for your automated office are all here, backed by our Unbeatable Unlimited Guarantee™. Great products, great service, great prices! Order your FREE catalog today. (191S08) 1-800-323-6230 ext. 08 Circle 189 on Inquiry Card RAD offers quality data communication and LAN products, including: short-range modems, muxes, sharing devices, interface converters, PC products, data compressors, fiber-optics, DDS products and Token-Ring connectivity. For a free catalog, write or call RAD Data Communications, 151 W. Passaic Street, Rochelle Park, NJ 07662. 201 -587-8822 FAX 201 -587-8847 Circle 234 on Inquiry Card 346 B YTE • MARCH 1991 Advertisers: For more information contact Ellen Perham at (603) 924-2598. Annabooks Jameco Electronics Send for Annabooks' free catalog of PC- compatible engineering products. The newest publication, "AT Bus Design," has the official timing information for the AT bus and the 8- and 1 6-bit parts of the EISA bus. Over 200 pages and 100 diagrams. Author is member of IEEE P996. Available now for $69.95. VISA, M/C, Amex, COD, P.O.s OK. Annabooks, 12145 Alta Carmel Ct. #250, San Diego CA 92128 1 -800-462-1042 FAX 61 9-592-0061 Readers Circle 24 on Inquiry Card Resellers Circle 25 on Inquiry Card 30-day Money-back Guarantee... Large Selection, Competitive Prices... High Quality Technical Assistance... Our staff of 30 technicians is on hand eight hours a day to answer your technical questions before and after your purchase. 99.99% of all Products are in stock... Jameco stocks over 4,000 different prod- ucts. 99.99% of these products are avail- able for off-the-shelf shipment at any time. Fast Shipment- Most orders shipped within 24 hours. Guaranteed shipment within 48 hours for all in-stock items. 1 -415-592-8097 FAX 41 5-592-2503 Circle 1 53 on Inquiry Card Dataq Instruments CATALOG V, 1 \ j "t \ i ^EBjK H£l H g**g ,I,H, ^ DATAQ„»„^,.„ Free catalog describing instrumentation hardware and software products for PCs with competitive comparisons and application information. We specialize in real time 50,000 Hz sample rates to disk and display simultaneously. Our analysis software supports FFT, IFFT, Stats, X-Y, Digital Filtering, Integration, Differentiation, Arithmetic Operations and more. For a free catalog and demo disk, write or call Dataq Instruments, Inc., 825 Sweitzer Avenue, Akron, OH 44311. 1-800-553-9006 Circle 87 on Inquiry Card CAD Software Electronic Engineering Design System PADS design systems are the logical solution to your engineering problems. They provide workstation level features and performance at a price within the reach of any company designing circuit boards. The balance between automatic functions and interactive tools makes PADS the choice for engineers and designers. With PADS, you can get your product to the market faster with designs that work the first time. Call CAD Software today for your autho- rized PADS Reseller for a product demonstra- tion or for free PADS Evaluation Software. 1 -508-486-8929 1-800-255-7814 Circle 60 on Inquiry Card Western Telematic Migraph Connectivity Problem Solvers Western Telematic's catalog has that particular PC, mini, or mainframe connectivity device you've been looking for but could not find anywhere. It features the latest data distribution and communication product solutions including printer sharing systems, network & connectivity switches, print buffers, modems, multiplexers, line drivers, data cables & connectors. All products are made in the USA with a full three-year warranty. • Pre- & Post-sale tech support • 30-day, no-risk return policy 1-800-854-7226 Circle 320 on Inquiry Card Color & Monochrome Hand-held Scanners Now you can scan images quickly. Accurately. In exquisite detail — and 4096 colors, grayscale, or B&W, with one of Migraph's cost-effective hand-held scanners. Our literature provides the details you need to make an informed choice. Available for the IBM PC, Amiga, and Atari ST. Dealer and OEM inquiries welcome. Call 9 AM-5 PM P.S.T. 206-838-4677 1-800-223-3729 Circle 185 on Inquiry Card Best Power Technology, Inc. FREE, money-saving literature tells you how to protect your computer from power prob- lems such as surges, sags, spikes, noise, brownouts, blackouts and lightning. These power problems can damage delicate equipment and cause loss of valuable data. Learn how Best Power Technology's uninterruptible power systems, ranging from 500 VA to 1 8 KVA, can protect your computer. Contact: Best Power Technology, Inc., P.O. Box 280, Necedah, Wl 54646. 1-608-565-7200, ext. 2167 Toll-free 1-800-356-5794, ext. 2167 Circle 41 on Inquiry Card Intel Corporation Choosing the right architecture for your embedded design is one of the most important decisions you face today. For successful embedded microcontroller development, Intel offers you a complete line of emulators, compilers and debuggers for the MCS®-51, MCS®-96, i960, x86, Intel 386™, 486™ families of Intel architectures. Our Development Tools Catalog lists all our embedded tools products in one guide. Call us at 1-800-874-6835, or FAX 503-696- 4633 for your free copy. Intel Corporation, DTO, 5200 NE Elam Young Parkway, JF1-1 5, Hillsboro, OR 97124 1 -800-874-6835 FAX 503-696-4633 Circle 146 on Inquiry Card MARCH 1991 -BYTE 347 THE BUYER'S MART A DIRECTORY OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THE BUYER'S MART is a monthly advertising section which enables readers to easily locate suppliers by product category. As a unique feature, each BUYER'S MART ad includes a Reader Service number to assist interested readers in requesting information from participating advertisers. Effective January 1, 1991. RATES: 1 issue— $675 3 issues— $625 6 issues— $600 12 issues— $525 Prepayment must accompany each insertion. VISA/MC Accepted. AD FORMAT: Each ad will be designed and typeset by BYTE. Advertisers must furnish typewritten copy. Ads can include headline (23 characters maximum), des- criptive text (250 characters is recommended, but up to 350 characters can be accommodated), plus company name, address and telephone number. Do not send logos or camera-ready artwork. DEADLINE: Ad copy is due approximately 2 months prior to issue date. For exam- ple: November issue closes on September 8. Send your copy and payment to THE BUYER'S MART, BYTE Magazine, 1 Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458. For more information call Brian Higgins at 603-924-2656. FAX: 603-924-2683. ACCESSORIES ACCESSORIES BAR CODE RADIOACTIVE? Plot it on your PC with The RM-60 RADIATION MONITOR Serial or printer port. Detects: ALPHA •BETA -GAMMA -X-RAY. MicroR, 1000 times the resolution of standard geiger counters. Excellent for tracking RADON GAS. Find sources. Plot: • Background • Cosmic Rays • Clouds • Foods Call/Write for PC MAGAZINE review. • TSR • GM Tube VISA/MASTER Phone orders. Not satisfied? Full refund. Tel: (302) 655-3800 Aware Electronics Corp. RO. Box 4299, Wilmington, DE 19807 $149.50 Inquiry 701. HEWLETT PACKARD Buy — Sell — Trade Laser Jet ll/IID Color Pro (7440) Laser 2000 2 Meg/4 Meg upgrades HP-7550A Desk Jet Draft Pro DXL/EXL Rugged Writer Draftmaster l/ll Electrostatic Plotters C1600 (D Size)/C 1601 (E Size) Science Accessories Corporation Sonic Digitizers 36" x 48" (2750) 60" x 72" (3175) T. E. Dasher & Associates 4117 Second Ave. S., Birmingham, AL 35222 Phone: (205) 591-4747 Fax: (205) 591-1108 (800) 638-4833 Inquiry 706. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LABELING SOFTWARE On EPSON, IBM, OK! dot matrix or LaserJet. Flex- ible design on one easy screen. Any format/size. Up to 120 fields/label. 18 text sizes to 3"-readable at 100'. AIAG, MIL-STD, 2 of 5, 128, UPC/EAN, Code 39. File Input & Scanned logos/symbols (PCX)— $279. Other programs from $49. 30-day $$ back. Worthington Data Solutions 417-A Ingalls St.. Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (408) 458-9938 (800) 345-4220 CUT RIBBON COSTS! Re-ink your printer ribbons quickly and easily. Do all cartridge ribbons with just one inker! For crisp, black professional print since 1982. You can choose from 3 models: Manual E-Zee Inker — $39.50 Electric E-Zee Inker — $94.50 Ink Master (Electric) — $189.00 1000s of satisfied users. Money-back guarantee. BORG INDUSTRIES 525 MAIN ST., JANESVILLE, IA 50647 1-800-553-2404 In IA: 319-987-2976 NeuralWorks Explorer NeuralWorks Explorer is a neural net tutorial that provides the novice user with a method of learning neural net theory as well as an environ- ment in which to build practical real time applica- tions such as targeted marketing, stock prediction, process control and mora. PC and MAC. Price $99.00. Visa/MC accepted. University discounts available. NeuralWare, Inc. 412-787-8222 BAR CODE READERS For PC, XT, AT, & PS/2, Macintosh, and any RS-232 terminal. Acts like 2nd keyboard, bar codes read as keyed data. With steel wand— $399. Top rated in independent reviews. Works with DOS, Xenix, Novell, Alloy, -ALL software. Lasers, magstripe, & slot badge readers. 30-day $$ back. Worthington Data Solutions 417-A Ingalls St., Santa Cruz. CA 95060 (408) 458-9938 (800) 345-4220 Inquiry 702. Inquiry 707. EXTENDER: Attach KB/Monitor up to 600' from CPU COMPANION: Add a 2nd or 3rd KB/Monitor— 600' from CPU COMMANDER: Control 2 to 96 CPU's with a single KB/Monitor PH0NEBO0T: Boot or reboot PC by Phone FREE DEALER KIT CYBEX CORPORATION 2800-H Bob Wallace, Huntsville, AL 35805 205-534-0011 International Fax 205-534-0010 See our ad on page 150. NEW TECHNOLOGY CAREERS Build a Computer with Amazing Network Resonance The "Goldilocks" factor is the basis of machine intelligence, plus super matrix memory. Other fields ready for exploita- tion: MASS-ENERGY equivalence space-drive, photon generator, traction ray, etc. The fundamentals of mind pro- gramming for problem solving. All illustrated. It's all in a unique book for innovators, PHYSICS 2001. Postpaid $40 (US); $45 (Canadian). Visa Okay. MONEY BACK if not satisfied. Write for free information. TECH. DEPT. PETER HORSLEY PUBLICATIONS 115 Riverbirch Cres. S.E., Calgary, AB., Canada, T2C 3M1 PORTABLE READER Battery-operated, handheld reader with 64K static RAM, 2x16 LCD display, 32-key keyboard, Real- Time-Clock. Wand or laser scanner. Program prompts and data checking through its own key- board. Easy data transfer by RS-232 port or PC, PS/2 keyboard. Doubles as On-Line Reader. 30-day $$ back. Worthington Data Solutions 417-A Ingalls St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (408) 458-9938 (800) 345-4220 Inquiry 703. Inquiry 708. FOR 386, 286 & PC Modem 24D0BPI Int. $ I WOK PC Memoiy Card $ 29 MGP Graphic caid+P po ts $ 25 XT H0/00 FD Controller $ 32 XT IK) (F/S/P/G/C) $ 29 XT-10/286-12M/8oard $65/130 38625MHz M/Board $695/795 FaxModem4800/9600INT $139/259 2M AT Memory Card $ 99 16 Bits 600x600 VGA Card $ 72 AT HD/FD Card MFM/RLL $89/119 AT 1/0 (S/P/G). 1S/2S $19/25 386SX-16M/Board $360 386-33 64K Cache M/Board $890 (Call for Complete Price List III) KOPEC INTERNATIONAL CO. 838 N. Glenville Dr., Richardson, TX 75081 Order: 800-654-8008 Tech: 214-907-1958 Fax: 214-907-1963 Software Engineer Do Your Own Windows! At last a LISP programming environment which takes advantage of a GUI and protected mode on the PC. Software Engineer™ for Windows'* 3.0 is a complete programming environment. It includes a LISP-aware text editor, allowiing, quick, easy and interactive Win- dows development. Software Engineer supports DOE, GDI, the clip- board, dialog boxes and menus. Software Engineer is priced at $249.95. Raindrop Software Corporation 845 E. Arapaho, Suite 105, Richardson, Texas 75081 (214) 234-2611 Fax (214) 234-2674 See our ad on page 152. PRINT BAR CODES/BIG TEXT FROM YOUR PROGRAM Add bar codes and big graphics characters to your program. Print from ANY MS-DOS language. Bar codes: UPC, EAN, 2 of 5, MSI, Code 39. Epson, Oki, IBM dot matrix text up to Vz". LaserJet up to 2". Font cartridges not required. $179-$239. 30-day $$ back. Worthington Data Solutions 417-A Ingalls St., Santa Cruz. CA 95060 (408) 458-9938 (800) 345-4220 Inquiry 704. Inquiry 709. FREE DEMOS, VIDEOS! Hundreds of freebies direct from top computer cos.— working models, VCR videos, books, valuable info., etc. All yours to keep. Demos work with most systems. Send $6.99 (free p&h) for listing of over 200 companies— most with 800 nos. Check or M.O. payable to: LOUIS PUCCIO 90 CHURCH ST., BOX 2 517, NY, NY 10008 Inquiry 705. 348 BYTE- MARCH 1991 muLISP® 87 for MS-DOS Fast, compact, efficient LISP programming environ- ment. muLISP programs run 2 to 3 times faster & take 1 /2 to 16 the space of other LISPs. 450 Com- mon LISP functions, multi-window editing & debug- ging, flavors, graphics primitives, lessons & help, demo programs, comprehensive manual. Soft Warehouse, Inc. 3615 Harding Ave., Suite 505, Honolulu, HI 96816 (808) 734-5801 Inquiry 710. BAR CODE READERS Keyboard emulation for PC/XT/AT & PS/2's, all clones and any RS-232 Terminal. Transparent to your operating system. Available with Steel wands, Lasers, Slot & Magstripe Readers. Same day shipping, 30-day money-back guarantee. One-year warranty. Reseller discounts available. AMERICAN MICROSYSTEMS 2190 A Regal Parkway, Euless, TX 76040 (800) 648-4452 (817) 571-9015 FAX (817) 685-6232 BAR CODE BAR CODE BAR CODE PRINTING SOFTWARE • MS/PC DOS SYSTEMS • 9 & 24 PIN DOT MATRIX • H-P LASER JET/PLUS/SERIES II • MENU-DRIVEN or MEMORY RESIDENT • CODE 39, I 2/5, UPC A/E, EAN 8/13 • BIG TEXT & BAR CODE SOFTFONTS AMERICAN MICROSYSTEMS 2190 A Regal Parkway, Euless, TX 76040 (800) 648-4452 (817) 571-9015 FAX (817) 685-6232 PC BAR CODE SPECIALISTS Bar code readers designed for fast, reliable, cost- effective data entry. They emulate your keyboard, so scanned data looks just like it was typed in! Choose from stainless steel wand, laser gun, card slot reader, and magnetic stripe scanner. Also, powerful Bar Code and Text printing software. Great warranty. Generous dealer discounts. Seagull Scientific Systems 15127 N.E. 24th, Suite 333, Redmond, WA 98052 206-451-8966 PCB & SCHEMATIC CAD-$195 "EASY-PC" for single sided and multilayer boards to 17" x17" with up to 1500 IC's including surface mount. Phenomenally fast and easy to use. Over 7000 copies sold. Needs PC/XT/286/386 CGA/EGAJVGA. Output to laser jet/in kjet/dot matrix printer, pen-plotter, photo-plotter and NC Drill. For full info circle inquiry # or contact us direct. VISA/MC/AMEX accepted. DEALERS WANTED. NUMBER ONE SYSTEMS LTD. Harding Way, St. Ives, Huntingdon, Cambs, England, PE17 4WR Tel 011-44-480-61778 Fax 011-44-480-494042 Inquiry 716. Inquiry 722. BAR CODE PRINTING Print bar codes from your custom program. ANSI C routines generate and print Code39, I25, Codabar, UPC A/E, EAN 8/13 and supplements. Supports LaserJet, OKI, and EPSON and custom printers. Works with UNIX/XENIX, MSDOS and others. All SOURCE CODE included. No royalties. Single pattern $85. All patterns $250. Infinity Computer Services, Inc. P.O. Box 269, Coopersburg, PA 18036 Voice: 215-965-7699 BBS: 215-965-8028 BAR CODE READERS Among the best and most widely used bar code decoders. Reads all major codes (39, I 2/5, S 2/5, UPC/EAN/JAN, CODABAR, MSI). Connects between keyboard and system. IBM, PS/2, MAC, DEC-VT com- patible. OS & software independent. Same day ship. 2 Year Warranty (pen incld). Large Reseller Discounts Solutions Engineering 4705 Langdrum Lane, Bethesda, MD 20815 (800) 635-6533 (301) 652-2738 CAD-DRAWING VIEWSTATION "Allows non-CAD users to view drawings on PCs, print, plot, attach personal notes, and hyper-link between files. Change views and layers. Accurate entity representation. Easy to use. • Sirlln VIEW/DWG for AutoCAD DWG files: $295 • Sirlin VIEW/PLUS for DWG, DXF, HPGL and dBase: $395 Developers: ask about linkable Sirlln VIEW/LIB. Dealers welcome. Sirlln Computer Corporation 225 Lowell Road, Hudson, NH 03051 (603) 595-0420 Fax (603) 595-7779 Inquiry 711. Inquiry 717. Inquiry 723. CAD/CAM PC-Wand Bar Code Solutions Bar codes are easy with a FULL line of readers & printers. They plug & play with your existing systems, most all makes of CPU/printer/terminal/software in your office, store, truck, factory or warehouse. Our bar code DOS programs print on matrix or laser printers. 30 day refund, 1 year warranty. International Technologies & Systems Corp. 655-K North Berry St., Brea, CA 92621 TEL: (714) 990-1880 FAX: (714) 990-2503 DATA INPUT DEVICES Bar Code, Magnetic Stripe Readers & SmartCard Encoder/ Reader for microcomputers & terminals, including IBM PS/2 & others, DEC, Macintosh, AT&T, CT, Wyse, Wang. All readers connect on the keyboard cable & are transparent to all soft- ware. UPC & 39 print programs, magnetic encoders, & por- table readers are also available. TPS Electronics 4047 Transport, Palo Alto, CA 94303 415-856-6833 Telex 371-9097 TPS PLA 1-800-526-5920 FAX: 415-856-3843 STEPPER MOTOR CONTROL FROM A PRINTER PORT! Airi/|/ Indexer Lpr* software fcOAQ NEW VERSION 2.0 $*W • Controls up to six motors simultaneously • Linear and Circular Interpolation. • New features to accommodate machine control. • Easy-to-use DOS device driver. Super Manual. • CAD-CAM interface available. Corporation, 1422 Arnold Ave. Ability Systems K',S 5 ,65M338 Inquiry 712. Inquiry 718. Inquiry 724. BAR CODE READERS Bar code readers designed for operating simplici- ty and reliability. PC wedge and RS232 readers distinguished by superior wand. Portable reader has a large keypad and doubles as a fixed reader. Friendly advice given. PACIFIC MICROSYSTEMS 2560 9th Street, Suite 214M, Berkeley, CA 94710 (800) 242-5271 Fax (415) 644-2731 VARIANT MICROSYSTEMS BAR CODE READERS DELIVER WAND/LASER/MAGNETIC CARD CONNECTIVITY • Keyboard wedges (Internal/External) for IBM PC/XFAi; PS/2 and portables. • RS232 wedges for WYSE, Link, Kimtron terminals • Bar code and label printing software • Full two-year warranty • 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee • Extensive VAR/Dealer Discounts 3140 De La Cruz Blvd., Suite 200/Santa Clara, CA 95054/(408) 980-1880 B00-666-4BAR FAX: (415) 623-1372 CAD/CAM Developer's Kit Save months writing AutoCAD ADS or standalone CAD/CAM applications! (617) 628-5217 Building Block Software PO Box 1373 Somerville, MA 02144 Inquiry 713. Inquiry 719. Inquiry 725. CABLES AND ACCESSORIES 5-YR. WARRANTY AT PERCON PERCON decoders are now covered by a five- year limited warranty. That means you won't spend one cent replacing your PERCON bar code decoder for five full years. That's reliability you can count on! PERCON 1710 Willow Creek Circle, Eugene, OR 97402-9153 Phone: (800) 873-7266 FAX: (503) 344-1399 SPECIAL-PARALLEL-PRINTER CABLES for PC's and similar systems 10 FT US $ 77 100 FT US $282 300 FT US$708 All intermediate lengths available on request. Dealers are welcome. Delivery! FOB Munich, C.O.D. HOLLER EDV PEREPHERIE GMBH Boehmerwaldstr. 8A, D-8192 Geretsried, Germany Tel. 08171/31702 Fax. 08171/81275 DRAFTeasy • ONLY $399 • Professional 3D CAD software • • "Common-sense" menus • Unmatched ease ol use • Written in Assembler • Very fast and compact • Powerful features only rivaled by software costing $1000's • DXF compatible • Programmer's in- terface for BASIC, Pascal and C • 'TRY IT FOR ONLY $10 • Manual, tutorial, and working copy (SAVE/PLOT disabled) provided* COMPUTERS ETC. 4600 Chippewa Suite 204, St. Louis, MO 63116 Phone: 314-351-2513 Fax 314-351-7258 Inquiry 714. Inquiry 720. Inquiry 726. CD-ROM $49.95 E N V PRO §49.95 Bar Coded Mail gets delivered faster, costs less Everything you need to bar code envelopes and labels • Certified by the U.S. Post Office • Works with any word processor or data base • lor HP User Jet and EPSON Dot Matrix printers Pike Creek Computer Company 2 Galaxy Dr., PO. Box 9619 Newark DE 19714-9619 To Order: (302) 239-5113 Dealers call (800) SELL LOW Inquiry 715. $99 Electro-CAD $99 • Do your own Schematics / 2xPCB's / SMT • Rubber-Banding / Inter-trace FLOOD • Context-sensitive Hypertext HELP • Graphics libraries w/EDITOR • Total control of EGA/VGA for layout FREE DEMO DISK AEROUX Engineering 32 West Anapamu, Suite 228, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 (805) 962-9695 Inquiry 721. FREE CHINON CD ROM PLAYER Purchase $995 worth of Aide's workhorse CD ROM software and receive a Chinon CDS-431 Internal CD ROM drive, cable, card, and DOS extensions absolutely FREE! Aide now offers "PROGRAM- MER FRESH" shareware software by the floppy diskette. Call about our introductory offer. ALDE PUBLISHING INC. P.O. Box 1190, Glen Lake, MN 55345 800/727-9724 612/934-4239 (Voice) 612/934-2824 (Fax) Inquiry 727. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 349 THE BUYER'S MART CD-ROM CROSS ASSEMBLERS DATA RECOVERY Largest Selection and Best Price Microsoft Programmers Library & Drive $949. Computer Library $695 • Public Domain S/W $49. NEC PC or Mac Drive Kit $749 • Bookshelf-Best Pricel Drives from $499. Hundreds of titles from $29. MC A/ISA/AM EX/COD, Money-back Guarantee. Call or write for free 120-page catalog. Bureau of Electronic Publishing 141 New Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054 800-828-4766 THE SOURCE FOR CD-ROM See our ad on page 98. CROSS ASSEMBLERS/SIMULATORS New unique full-function simulators for the 8096 and 80C196 controllers, featuring ALL MODES of interrupts, plus the HSI, HSO, and A/D functions. We also support the 8048/49, 8080/85, 8051/52, and Z80 controllers with excellent, reasonably priced Cross Assemblers and Simulators. Lear Com Company 2440 Kipling St., Ste. 206, Lakewood, CO 80215 (303) 232-2226 FAX: (303) 232-8721 CRASHED? Your valuable data can be recovered! • 95% success rate • Fast turnaround • Servicing Novell, DOS, Macintosh, Unix, Xenix, OS/2, Bernoulli and morel ONTRACK DATA RECOVERY, INC. Keeping you in business is our business. 1-800-872-2599 Inquiry 728. Inquiry 734. Inquiry 740. CD ROM, Inc. CO-ROM, WORM, MAGNETO-OPTICAL DRIVES, CO-ROM DISCS FOR IBM AND MAC, OPTICAL CONSULTING SERVICES •PUBLISHING 'DISTRIBUTION 'NETWORKING QUALITY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES AT COMPETITIVE PRICES FREE CATALOG TEL. 303-231-9373 1667 COLE BLVD., SUITE 400, GOLDEN, CO 80401 FAX: 303-231-9581, CIS: 72007,544 VISA/MC/AMEX/GOV'T. POs Inquiry 729. CROSS ASSEMBLERS Relocatable GUARANTEED, PC Compatible SUPPORTED DEBUG SIMULATORS • DISASSEMBLERS EPROM PROGRAMMERS MICRO COMPUTER TOOLS CO. Phone Toll Free (800) 443-0779 In CA (415) 825-4200 912 Hastings Dr., Concord, CA 94518 Inquiry 735. DATA RECOVERY Data lost from 1/4" cartridges or 1/2" tape can be recovered almost every time. We have helped Banks, In- surance Companies, Telephone Companies, Commodity Dealers, Hospitals, Software Houses, Government Depart- ments. The list Is endless. We charge a small fixed fee for investigation and then on a time and materials basis. The QICPAK Cartridge Interchange People Vogon Enterprises Ltd. 94 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, Berkshire RG11 2JD ENGLAND Tel 44+ (0)734-784511 or -890042 Fax 44+ (0)734-890040 DATA CONVERSION Inquiry 741. DATA/DISK CONVERSION CD ROM, International A subsidiary of CD ROM, Inc. Complete world-wide sales of CD-ROM products. Send $5.00 each for IBM-based or MAC-based products catalog. Catalog includes hundreds of CD-ROM titles, CD-ROM drives, WORM drives and magneto-optical drives. International air freight delivery of all products. CD ROM, International 1667 Cole Blvd., Suite 400, Golden, CO 80401 USA Tel. 303-231-9373 Fax 303-231-9581 CompuServe 72007,544 MEDIA CONVERSION/DATA TRANSLATION More than just a straight dump or ASCII transfer! Word Processing, DBMS, and Spreadsheet data on Disks or Tapes transferred directly Into applications running on Mainframes, Minis, Micros, Dedicated Word Processors, Typesetters, and Electronic Publishing systems. IBM PS/2 & Macintosh supported #1 in the translation Industry! CompuData Translators, Inc. 3345 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 407, Los Angeles, CA 90010 (213) 387-4477 1-800-825-8251 THE #1 CHOICE In disk & tape conversion for many leading corporations, government agencies, law firms, and companies in every industry— worldwide. Free test • Satisfaction guaranteed Graphics Unlimited Inc. 3000 Second St. North, Minneapolis, MN 55411 (612) 588-7571 or (612) 520-2345 FAX: (612) 588-8783 Inquiry 730. Inquiry 736. Inquiry 742. COMMUNICATIONS SDLC OR X.25 SUPPORT Use Sangoma hardware and software to provide cost effective, robust and easy-to-use SDLC or X.25 links from MS-DOS, UNIX, PC-MOS, etc. All real time communication functions performed by intelligent co-processor card. Full function SNA emulation packages also available. Sangoma Technologies Inc. (416) 474-1990 WE'LL DO IT BETTER . . . FOR LESS! Conversion, Duplication, Any Format FREE TEST • SATISFACTION GUARANTEED Plus, the Personal Touch: Ask Questions and well explain it to you in simple English!!! DATACOPY SERVICE PO Box 820214. Dallas, TX 75382 1-800-969-DATA 214-272-7751 QUALITY CONVERSIONS to or from virtually ANY TAPE OR DISK FORMAT! Horan Data Services converts over 2000 formats incl. 9-track tape, 3480 Cartridge and 8", 5V4" or 3Vi" disk- ettes. All densities & most operating systems supported. Formats include EBCDIC, ASCII, databases, spread- sheets, and dedicated or PC word processors. Call 1 -800-677-8885 Hours 8:00AM to 5:30 PM Eastern Time 817 Main Street, Third Floor, Cincinnati OH 45202 Inquiry 731. Inquiry 737. Inquiry 743. COMPUTER INSURANCE INSURES YOUR COMPUTER SAFEWARE Computerowners coverage provides replacement of hardware, media and purchased software. As little as $49 a year covers accidents, theft, power surges and more. One call does it all. Call 8 am-10 pm ET. (Sat. 9 to 5) TOLL FREE 1-800-848-3469 (Local 614-262-0559) SAFEWARE, The Insurance Agency Inc. Inquiry 732. CROSS ASSEMBLERS CONVERT TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS MATH EQUATIONS • Convert WordPerfect documents to TeX, LaTeX or PageMaker • Convert TeX or LaTeX to WordPerfect, MultiMate, Word or WordStar. K-TALK COMMUNICATIONS, INC. 30 West First Ave. • Columbus, OH 43201 (614) 294-3535 FAX (614) 294-3704 Inquiry 738. IBM PC FASTER 1TO1 HP FILE COPY EASIER TO USE Update version uses windows: Call for free demo! IBM PC HP File Copy allows IBM PCs, PS/2, compatibles to interchange files with Hewlett- Packard Series 70, 80, 200, 300, 1000, 9000s. Oswego Software Box 310 708/554-3567 Oswego, IL 60543 FAX 708/554-3573 Inquiry 744. CROSS ASSEMBLERS Universal Linker, Librarian Targets for 42 Microprocessors Hosts: MS-DOS, UNIX, VAX VMS ENERTEC, INC. BOX 1312, 811 W. Fifth St. Lansdale, PA 19446 Tel: 215-362-0966 Fax: 215-362-2404 Inquiry 733. 350 BYTE- MARCH 1991 ■to America's Leaders In Data Conversion •£ DISK m DISK • TAPE m DISK OPTICAL SCANNING WE CONVERT MORE FORMATS THAN ANYONE ELSEIII IBM, DEC, VAX/VMS. APPLE, mNG, XEROX, NBI. LANIER. CPT, UNIX, WordPerfect. . . QUICK-RELIABLE-HIGHEST QUALITY NATIONAL DATA CONVERSION INSTITUTE 5 East 16th Sir., NY, NY 10003 (212) 463-7511 Inquiry 739. CONVERSION SERVICES Convert any 9-track magnetic tape to or from over 3000 formats including 3V2" 5V4", 8" disk formats & word processors. Disk-to-disk conversions also available. Call for more info. Introducing OCR Scan- ning Services. Pivar Computing Services, Inc. 165 Arlington Hgts. Rd., Dept. #B Buffalo Grove, IL 60089 (800) Convert DATABASE MGMT SYSTEMS ENTERTAINMENT GRAPHICS SAVE TIME & MONEY! OCELOT2— THE SQL! is a stand-alone database engine with a complete DB2 compatible SQL interface for developers who use BASIC, C, PASCAL, or COBOL. • packs the full power of SQL into a 640KB PC; • requires only 320KB RAM for program development; • outperforms the rest! For IBM and clones: $195 & up. Free info. OCELOT COMPUTER SERVICES INC. #1502, 10025- 106 Street, Edmonton, AB, Canada, T5J 1G7 (403) 421-4187 Inquiry 745. SeXXy Software VGA Connoisseur Collection SeXXy Disk #CC1 - FIRST customizable movie allows you to be the star and write the script! SeXXy Disk #CC2 - FIRST SOUND MOVIE- 256 sizzling VGA color graphics with actual sound and dialog) SeXXy Disk 0CC3 - Best XXX Movie - for serious collectors only. 1 set • $29 2 sets - $49 3 sets - $65 800-243-1515 Ext. 600QB 24 hrs. 7 days Add $3 s/h Add $2/set 3 1 /2" or foreign 2880 Bergey Rd. Dept. 600QB, Hatfield, PA 19440 Inquiry 751. EGAD Screen Print Prints contents of VGA, EGA, CGA displays on variety of dot-matrix, inkjet, and laser printers. Prints in gray tones or color. Crop box lets you print any region of the screen. Enlarge graphics 1 to 4 times {reduction too). Setup program for picking printer colors, etc. $35.00 Postpaid. Call or write for free catalog. LINDLEY SYSTEMS 4257 Berwick Place, Woodbridge, VA 22192-5119 (703) 590-8890 Inquiry 757. DISK DRIVES HARD DRIVE REPAIR IBM PS/2 HARD DRIVES 30MB MOD 30, 30-286 30MB MOD 50Z, 55SX 60MB MOD 50Z, 55SX, 70 120MB MOD 50Z, 55SX, 70 $350 450 695 795 New, genuine Big Blue Product with 1 yr. Warranty. Call NOW— Same Day Shipping till 5 p.m. COMPUTER TECHNIQUES Merritt Island, FL 32953-3484 Phone (407) 453-8783 Inquiry 746. NEMESIS™ Go Master® Go, a game of strategic elegance, has been a way of life in the Orient for over four thousand years. Many consider Go to be the secret of the Japanese businessman's success, "While chess is a game of war, Go is a game of market share" [President of Nikko Hotels]. Chaos Manor 1989 User's Choice Award BYTE 4/90, p.62 Toyogo, Inc. The Leader in Computer Go. PO Box F, Dept. Y, Kaneohe, HI 96744 (808) 254-1166 or 1-800-TOYOGO-9 Inquiry 752. HARD DRIVE REPAIR ALSO DATA RECOVERY FAST TURN!! CALL FOR DETAILS H&W micro labs, inc. 528-C Forest Parkway, Forest Park, GA 30050 404-366-1600 Inquiry 758. FINANCIAL SOFTWARE B EST BUY!!! HD Kits for AT: Drive, Controller, Rails & Cables 40MB - MFM - $ 269 65MB - RLL - 339 80MB - MFM - 469 150MB - ESDI - 1049 NEW, ONE YEAR WARRANTY jb TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 5105 Maureen Lane, Moorpark, C A 93021 (805) 529-0908 Fax (805) 529-7712 Inquiry 747. BrainMaker: "The most fascinating computer soft- ware I've ever seen . . . learn about this stuff !'John Dvorak, PC Mag. Predicts stocks, bonds, sales, inventories. Comprehensive documentation. Menus. Only $1951 Certified by Intel and Micro Devices Free Brochure: 916/477-7481 California Scientific Software Inquiry 753. Beat the cost of replacement! Discount rf E r* A I rf io%o« HARD DISC and FLOPPY DRIVES FULL WARRANTY PROTECTION Fast Turnaround • Data Recovery jb TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 5105 Maureen Lane, Moorpark, CA 93021 (805) 529-0908 Fax (805) 529-7712 Inquiry 759. FLOW CHARTS HARD DISC DRIVES Sales • EXCHANGE • Repair Trade In your defective drive for NEW, with FULL WARRANTY! TREMENDOUS SAVINGS! TECHNICAL SUPPORT OF COURSE! Large Inventory Hard and Floppy Drives jb TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 5105 Maureen Lane, Moorpark, CA 93021 (805) 529-0908 Fax (805) 529-7712 Inquiry 748. DUPLICATION FLOW CHARTING 3 • High resolution print outs. . . dot matrix or laser • Multi-page charts. . . portrait or landscape • Import/export capabilities • 35 shapes, 10 fonts, 4 line styles n * tt n 1 1 o b ATTnii Ca " for free demo disk! PATT0N & PATT0N 800-525-0082 ext.1303 Software Corporation 485 Cochrane Cr„ Morgan Hill, CA 95037 See our ad on page 110, Inquiry 754. DATA RECOVERY SALES of new, remanufactured and removable disk drives FULL TECHNICAL SUPPORT ROTATING MEMORY SERVICE 1506 Dell Avenue, Campbell, C A 95008 (408) 370-3113 Inquiry 760. HARDWARE SOFTWARE DUPLICATION • DISKETTE & TAPE • CUSTOM PRINTING • CUSTOM PACKAGING • FULFILLMENT MEGASOFT, INC. P.O. Box 710, Freehold, NJ 07728 (BOO) 222-0490 (908) 462-7628 Inquiry 749. EDUCATION WINDOWS FLOWCHARTER $129 RFFlow 2.0 is a professional drawing tool for flowcharts & org charts. Requires Microsoft Win- dows 3.0. 100 shapes autoadjust in size. Diagonal lines and curves. Auto line routing and re-routing. Click on a shape to bring up a sub-chart. Move charts to other apps. via the Clipboard. Call for free trial disk. RFF ELECTRONICS 1053 Banyan Court, Loveland, CO 80538 Phone: (303) 663-5767 FAX: (303) 669-4889 Inquiry 755. GRAPHICS APPLE* II & MACINTOSH" • Systems • Peripherals • Parts R0DIME 140Mb 5.25' Internal $599 external $699 Call for a CATALOG USA & Canada: 800-274-5343 International; 617-891-6851 Fax: 617-891-3556 Save up to 50% on Mac CPUs. Pre-Owned Electronics, Inc. 30 Clematis Avenue • Waltham, MA 02154 Inquiry 761. BS. & M.S. In COMPUTER SCIENCE The American Institute for Computer Sciences offers an In- depth correspondence program to earn your Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Computer Science at home. B.S. subjects covered are: MS/DOS, BASIC, PASCAL. C, Data File Processing, Data Structures & Operating systems. M.S. program includes subjects in Soft- ware Engineering and Artificial Intelligence. AMERICAN INST, for COMPUTER SCIENCES 2101-BY Magnolia Ave. South, Ste. 200, Birmingham, AL 35205 800-767-2427 205-323-6191 Inquiry 750. YOUR PHOTOS -SUPER VGA Integrated Images can convert your photographs, slides, and VHS or 8 mm video tapes to 640 by 480 (or 320 by 200), 256 color images. Many file formats available, in- cluding PCX, GIF, CUT and others. Prices start at $3.25 per picture. Discounts for quantity orders. Call or write for more information. Integrated Images Incorporated P.O. Box 10021, Lansing, Ml 48901 (517) 485-6636 Inquiry 756. ROM BIOS UPGRADES For Your IBM or Compatible • A New BIOS Upgrade Will: • Support Windows 3.0 • Support 360K. 720K. 1.2 MB & 1.44 MB Floppy Drives • User delined hard drive types • Supports VGA • Novell & Netware compatible • Expanded hard drive table • Enhanced I01/I02keyboard •100% ISM compatible • Complete documentation • Latest version • Complete set up in ROM. Dealer/Distributor Inquiries Wetcama AuthoriosdAward Software inc. DIsL 800-800-BIOS Fax 508-683-1630 800-800-2467 508-686-6468 Unlcore Software 599 Canal Street, l-awrence, MA 01840 See our ad on page 152. Inquiry 762. MARCH 1991 BYTE 351 THE BUYER'S MART HARDWARE/COMPUTERS INVENTORY MANAGEMENT MAGAZINE INDEXES TDS9092 Forth Embedded Computer Priced correctly for building into productsthis board has small size, low power and high level language. It interfaces to LCD & keyboard and has on-board multitasking, interrupts, dual RS232 ports, RAM, non-volatile EEPROM, l 2 C bus and 35 I/O lines. Optional precision A-D and battery-backed RAM. A data logger can run 12 months on a small battery. Use for machine control, data logging, robotics instruments and automation. Call or fax for details. Now $179 (25 qty) The Saelig Company 1193 Moseley Road, Victor, NY 14564 Phone (716) 425-3753 Fax (716) 425-3835 dFELLER Inventory Business inventory programs written in modifiable dBASE source code. dFELLER Inventory $150.00 Requires dBASE II or III, PC-DOS/CPM dFELLER Plus $200.00 with History and Purchase Orders Requires dBASE III or dBASE III Plus (For Stockrooms) Feller Associates 550 CR PPA, Route 3, Ishpeming, Ml 49849 (906) 466-6024 BYTE® INDEX BINDEX: the COMPLETE keyword index to BYTE magazine for IBM-compatibles. Easy-to-use, com- pact, comprehensive. Updated quarterly. 1990 & 1991 editions $49.95 each. Tax, shipping included. Money-back guarantee. Esc 6197 Highway E, Abrams, Wl 54101 (414) 826-5362 Inquiry 763. Inquiry 769. Inquiry 775. LANS MAILING LIST PROGRAMS SC/FOX™ EMBEDDED COMPUTERS PC Parallel Coprocessor Plug-In Boards: 15 MIPS avg 50 MIPS burst using the SC32 32-bit CPU or the 16-bit Harris RTX 2000™ VME Master/Slave System Controller SBC: 18 MIPS avg 70 MIPS burst, uses RTX 2000 cpu, SCSI, 2ser, 1 ptr ports, to 640K bytes. Stand-Alone Single Board Computers: 18 Ml PS avg 60 MIPS burst, 3U or 100x100mm Eurocard-size using either SC32or RTX 2000. Ideal for embedded real-time control, data acquisition, robotics, and signal processing. OEM software development system included. SILICON COMPOSERS INC (415) 322-8763 208 California Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94306 Inquiry 764. HARDWARE/CONTROLLERS The $25 Network Try the 1st truly low-cost LAN • Connect 2 or 3 PCs, XTs, ATs • Uses serial ports and 5-wire cable • Runs at 115K baud • Runs in background, totally transparent • Share any device, any file, any time • Needs only 14K of RAM Skeptical? We make believers! Information Modes P. O. Drawer F, Denton, TX 76202 817-387-3339 Orders 800-628-7992 Inquiry 770. YOURS FREE! "How to Manage Your Mailing List" ArcList 8 & AccuMail" are two powerful programs for your IBM or compatible PC: • Duplicate Recognition • Postal Discount Presorts • Label Design & Printing • Carrier Route and Zip+4 Insertion • Address Correction • dBase* Compatible Call 800-368-5806 for a FREE GUIDE Group 1 Software, Inc. 6404 Ivy Lane, Dept. BIT-31, Greenbelt, MD 20770-1400 Inquiry 776. SINGLE BOARD DATA ACQUISITION & CONTROL Single Board Computer based on Hitachi's 64180 processor has optimum features for dedicated control tasks where System Failure cannot be tolerated. Features include: Low Power CMOS • 16 chan. 13 bit A/D • 2, 16 bit Timers • 2 RS232/485 Ports • EEPROM • 192K Memory • 32 Digital I/O lines • Watchdog Timer • Dim 5.25 x 8. Options: 2 chan. 12 bit D/A • Battery backed RAM/Clock • Embedded FORTH & BASIC Languages • Networking • PC support. E-PAC 3000 S449.00 E M A C INC. P. O. Box 2042, Carbondale, IL 62901 (618) 529-4525 Inquiry 765. LAN SCHEDULER Automates LAN BATCH processing. Jobs are scheduled on specified nodes. Conditional job scheduling, sophis- ticated calendar. Log keeps job history including DOS errors. Activated by TSR at any specified time. Supports IBM, NOVELL, and other Netbios LANs. LAN license— $550. MICROWORK CO. 47 West St. Andrews, Deerfield, IL 60015 (708)-940-8979 Inquiry 771. MAIL WITH MAIL MASTER... It's genuinely easy to learn and use • Con- tains 200 pre-written letters • Uses zip codes to automatically enter cities and states • Prints labels, letters and reports • Eliminates duplicates • Holds unlimited records • Costs $99.95 ThinkSoft Corp., 1-800-533-3466 1220 Broadway, Suite 604, NY, NY 10001 Inquiry 777. LAPTOP COMPUTERS MEMORY CHIPS STEPPER 3 MOTOR CONTROL FROM SERIAL PORT 3 Channels of Stepper/DC motor/2.4A PWM per card. Half step, S curve accel, to 5000 steps/sec. RS232 3 wire or, RS485 2 wire. Simple, powerful ascii command set. 4 cards (12 motors)/port. On board switcher provides power for logic from motor supply of 7-30 vdc. High output I/O and A/D conver- ters also available. All boards 4"x5 1 /2" $245 single qty. $210/10+ STRADA AUTOTECH INC. P.O. Box 188, Elgin, Ont Canada K0G 1E0 TEL: (613) 359-1029 Inquiry 766. HARDWARE/COPROCESSOR Laptop Savings Laptops: Toshiba • Zenith • NEC • Sharp • Epson • Mitsubishi • Compaq • Leading Edge • Hyundai • Panasonic • Packard Bell • Texas Instruments • Fora • Tandon Also; Full Range of Laptop Accessories Computer Options Unlimited 12 Maiden Lane, Bound Brook, NJ 08805 Phone: 201-469-7678 To order: (800) 424-7678 9-9 M-F 9-5 Sat. 6 days Worldwide sales Inquiry 772. PRICE MEETING & BEATING! DRAMS SIMMS/SIPPS 64K x 1-12,10 64K x 4-80 256K x 1-15, 12, 10, 80, 70, 60 256K x 4-80 tMEG x 1-10,80,70,60 INTEL/CYRIX/IITMATH COS 256K x 9-10, 80, 70, 60 1MEG x 8-10,60,70 1MEG x 9-10,80,70,60 4MEG x 8-80 4MEG x 9-80 PS/2 TYPE SIMMS 80287-8,10 80387-SX, 16, 20, 25, 33 Model 30 286 Model 50,55,60,70,60 CALL DRAM COMPANY P.O. Box 590127 • S.F., CA 94159 (800) 488-DRAM (415) 398-2987 Inquiry 778. DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSOR DSP products for the IBM PC/XT/AT. Our TMS320C25 based Model 250, with extensive software, features 250 Khz multi-channel A/D and D/A, up to 192 Kwords RAM, very high throughput to PC RAM and disk, and is priced competitively with traditional Analog IO boards. Call us about your applications. DALANCO SPRY 89 Westland Ave., Rochester, NY 14618 (716)473-3610 IBM CONVERTIBLE MEMORY-128K $79 256K $225 384K $295 MODEMS-Standard $75 Enhanced $175 CRT ADAPTER-for monitors $99 SERIAL/PARALLEL ADAPTER-$120 MONITORS-Monochrome $115 Color $349 COMPACT Carrying Case $39 ENHANCED LCD-S79 BATTERY -$89 HARD DRIVES-20 Meg-$495 40 Meg -$695 MORE ACCESSORIES AVAILABLE COMPUTER RESET P.O. Box 461782, Garland, TX 75046 Phone (214) 276-8072 BBS & FAX (214) 272-7920 FREE FREE FREE • Need memory for IBM or MAC? • Want to pay the lowest possible price? • Want superior service? • Want free advice? • Wholesale source! Shipping worldwide! • International FAX: country code+402-691-8548 24 hrs. 7 days • International Direct; country code+402-691-8248 24 hrs. 7 days • Free call! Free Info. McDonald and Associates 1-800-338-1531 24 HRS 7 DAYS (U.S.) 1-800-242-5751 FAX LINE 24 HRS 7 DAYS (U.S.) Inquiry 767. Inquiry 773. Inquiry 779. INVENTORY MANAGEMENT LAPTOP PERIPHERALS OBJECT-ORIENTED STOCK-MASTER 4.0 Commercial grade Inventory management software at micro prices. • Supports all 12 • Stock Status Reporting transaction types • Activity History Analysis • Trend Analysis • Bill of Materials • Quality Control • Purchase Order Writing • Multiple Locations • Order Entry • Purchase Order Tracking • Material Requirements • Open Order Reporting • On Line Inquiry • Serial/Lot # Tracking Applied Micro Business Systems, Inc. 177-F Riverside Ave,, Newport Beach. CA 92663 714-759-0582 Inquiry 768. 352 BYTE LAPTOP POWER ADAPTERS AC and DC input TOSHIBA INTERNAL CARDS Fax/modems: 9600/2400 bps, software, acoustic port Modems, exp: 2400 bps, acoustic or serial port Modem, dedicated: 2400 bps (notebooks, T31&3200SX) Serial IO cards: RS232, RS422, SCSI, HPIL, barcode Contact us for more information: PRODUCT R&D Corporation (Calif). 805/546-9713, Fax: 805/546-9716 Inquiry 774. Improve Your Productivity Are your programming skills out of date? Get the tarts you need. Object-oriented vocabulary, examples, ven- dors, bibliography. No hype, no editorials, just compact, complete explanations. Source code for C & C + + ex- amples included on diskette. Satisfaction guaranteed. Send for free information. bllk-werm Information Services™ Dept B2, 16776 Bernardo Ctr. Dr., Ste. 110b, San Diego, CA 92128 24 hr FAX: (619) 489-0778 VISA & MasterCard accepted Inquiry 780. MARCH 1991 OPTICAL DISK PUBLIC DOMAIN SECURITY ODIN & VOICE IMAGING SYSTEMS ARCHIVING & RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS Utilizing WORM optical disk storage. ODIN runs on Unix workstations. VOICE runs on MS-DOS personal com- puters. Witt scan documents up to "E" size. Proven system. Available now! Telephone: 1-800-843-9377 Indus MIS, Inc. 340 S. Oak St., West Salem, Wl 54669 Inquiry 781. PROGRAMMERS' TOOLS FREE SOFTWARE FOR IBM®/clones TRY US! GET 15/5.25" or 6/3.5" Disks full of our best selling software— FREE. Great games, utilities, business, educational, and desktop publishing, plus our 3000 disk catalog. Pay only $5.00 shipping/handling. INTERNATIONAL SOFTWARE LIBRARY 619-942-9998 Inquiry 787. VIRUS ELIMINATOR BOARD Prevents virus infections that invade while the system is on. Protects existing files from over 100 known virus infections. Activated prior ro DOS loading. Password protection with bat- tery backup. Keyboard lock for added security. Does not occupy any RAM or impact system performance. For IBM Compatibles. Supports Novell workstations. Takes only minutes to install. Provides highest level of system security. S199.95 + S5 S/H Information Systems for Profit P.O. Box 4529, Middletown, NY. 10940 1-800-274-3007 Inquiry 793. HYPERINTERFACE ™ II Menu Creator™ — An interactive WYSIWYG editor to generate a menu-driven user interface for your software. Screen Creator — An interactive WYSIWYG editor for quick and easy screen design and a screen database manager for your software. Advanced Library — Ex- tended capability for data entry for your programs. FOR- TRAN, Pascal, C, BASIC supported. Avanpro Corp. P.O. Box 969. Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 (213) 454-3866 HUNDREDS OF NEW PROGRAMS AS LOW AS $1.29. LATEST VERSIONS FREE CATALOG. 1-800-292-DISK (3475) EVERY PROGRAM CHECKED FOR VIRUSES PRINCETON SOFTWARE INC. 200 WALL STREET, PRINCETON. NJ 08540 BIT-LOCK® SECURITY Piracy SURVIVAL 8 YEARS proves effectiveness of powerful multilayered security. Rapid decryption algorithms. PARALLEL or SERIAL port-transparent security device. Complemented by economical KEY- LOK w and multifeatured COMPU-LOCK m including countdown, timeout, data encryption, and multiproduct protection. (Dos/Unix/Mac). Also, access control. MICROCOMPUTER APPLICATIONS 3167 E. Otero Circle, Littleton, CO 80122 (303) 770-1917 Inquiry 782. Inquiry 788. Inquiry 794. QuickBASIC Dialog Boxes: $95 Dialogic creates SAA text dialog boxes exactly like those in Microsoft's current "Quick" environments. Low-level assem routines ♦ Mouse support ♦ BASIC source code ♦ Crescent Software P.D.Q. 2.12 support ♦ Fully customizable ♦ Single-/Multi-tasking modes ♦ 2 compression utilities ♦ Supports BASIC 4.x, 6.x, 7.x ♦ Demo/tutorial ♦ 100+ pages of doc w/ examples 800-DIALOG-1 VISA/MC/Check + $6 s/h USA Dialog Software • Box 9889 At 1101 Wilson Blvd. Arlington • VA • 22209-0889 • USA • 703-528-1505 Inquiry 783. 325 MEGABYTES Virus Free Share Ware Dealers/Sysops/Educators.. Instant IBM Shareware Library for your Customers, user group or Students. Distributed in 25 Megabyte in- crements on HD 1.2/1.4 diskettes. $39.00 for first 25 Megabytes, then add $40.00 for each 25 Megabyte increment. Add S3.00 postage tor each 25 Megabyte increment. Add $4.00/25 Meg increment for 1.44 diskettes. Orders Only: 1-800-876-8496 Info/Tech: 1-405-524-5233 SHARE-NET POB 12368, Okla City, OK 73157 No Surcharge for Visa/MasterCard We gladly accept PO's Irom Educational. Fed/State Agencies CopyControl YOUR POWER TO PROFIT • Ultra secure • Cost effective • Choose where, when and usage rate • Change parameters by phone • No messy dongles or special disks • Hard disk and LAN support Choose the NEW Generation Copy Protection FREE Demo Disk and Info 1-800-237-8400 ext. 212 MICROCOSM INC. 40 Wall Street, Suite 2124, New York, NY 10005 Inquiry 789. Inquiry 795. PLOT= >SOURCE.PAS Unique full-function viewer for HPGL files and automatic code generator (requires Turbo Pascal) PLOT- >PASver. 1.0 Lit. 80000 (about $67) plus S&H. Visa/ MasterCard Accepted DRAW with AutoCAD, DesignCAD3D, Corel Draw, Freelance, Oread, etc, . . . ; PLOT to file; RUN PLOr- >PAS: view, zoom, pan, scale, cut. . .and ENTER: your code is ready. NEW: with source for custom output TPU, demo programs, 3.5" and 5.25" media, manual. Ing. Marco Sillano Via Massimi 154, 100136 — ROME, fTALY Inquiry 784. FREE CATALOG FOR IBM PD AND SHAREWARE SELECTED PROGRAMS LATEST VERSIONS Low as $1.50 SOFTSHOPPE, INC. TEL: 800-829-2378 • 313-761-7638 FAX: 313-761-7639 P. O. Box 3678, ANN ARBOR, Ml 48106 Inquiry 790. SECURITY HANDS OFF THE BOARD® 1/2 SIZE SECURITY BOARD Stop floppy boot — Require password to boot PC Real-time disk encrypt — prevent boot sector virus Prevent DOS FORMAT/FDISK and low-level formats Set hard disk READ ONLY or turn ON/OFF Turn floppies, printers and COM ports ON/OFF IBM XT, AT Bus — DOS V3.0+ — $149.95 + $5.00 S/H SYSTEMS CONSULTING INC. PO BOX 111209, Pittsburgh, PA 15238 (412) 781-5280 Inquiry 796. SHAREWARE EDLIN Alternative Frustrated using EDLIN? Switch to EdFile — A full- screen text editor with dozens of features like: • WP Type Edit Features • Files up to 6 MB • Super Copy (Merge) • 255 Char. Lines • On Screen Help • Undelete Lines 800-345-3808 ( VIS A/MC) $49.50 + 3.50 S/H MIPS, Inc. • Box 3072 •Hammond, LA 70404 Inquiry 785. FIGHT PIRACY! Since 1986, companies worldwide have been choosing Az-Tech security products. If you demand the strongest protection available, why not choose one of these "proven leaders": • EVERLOCK Copy Protection • EVERTRAK Software Security • EVERKEY Hardware "Key" Software Security For IBM and Compatibles. 30 day money back guarantee. Free info and demo disk available. Az-Tech Software, Inc. 305 East Franklin, Richmond, MO 64085 (800)227-0644 ^ |!3| JSSS Inquiry 791. NO NEED TO PAY FOR THOSE PROGRAMS YOU DONT WANT! ALDE PUBLISHING now offers 5V*" floppy diskettes with selected programs for your individual needs and applications. Call about our introductory offer and choose from a great selection of programmer fresh software. ALDE PUBLISHING INC. PO BOX 1190, Glen Lake MN 55345 800/727-9724 612/934-4239 (voice) 612/934-4239 (FAX) Inquiry 797. PUBLIC DOMAIN SHAREWARE FOR IBM™ AND COMPATIBLES FREE 112 PAGE CATALOG OVER 3000 PROGRAMS CALL 1-800-245-BYTE (2983) BEST BITS & BYTES P.O. Box 8225-B, Van Nuys, CA 91409 FOREIGN COUNTRIES SEND $4.00 FOR SHIPPING Inquiry 786. THE ULTIMATE COPY PROTECTION • Completely Menu Driven • Defeats all Hardware/Software Copiers uuite • No Source Code Changes simply • Multiple Layering The Best • No Damaged Media Ways To • Full Hard Disk Support • Unlimited Metering Your Valuable • FREE Demo Disk Software Investment STOPVIEW™ STOPCOPY PLUS™ BBI COMPUTER SYSTEMS ® (301) 871-1094 14105 Heritage La.. Silver Spring, MD 20906 FAX: (301) 460-7545 Inquiry 792. FREE SOFTWARE FOR IBM®/clones Monthly, get 5 disks with 10+ latest programs plus catalog — FREE! Pay only $5.00 for 5/5.25" or $6.95 for 3/3.5" disks. Join today for only $19.95 membership fee and get your first volume of software— FREE! SOFTWARE OF THE MONTH CLUB® 619-942-9939 Inquiry 798. MARCH 1991 BYTE 353 THE BUYER'S MART SOFTWARE/ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE/ENGINEERING SOFTWARE/GRAPHICS dBASE BUSINESS TOOLS • GENERAL LEDGER • PURCH 0RD/INVN1QRY • ORDER ENTRY • ACCOUNTS RECVABLE • JOB COSTING • JOB ESTIMATING • BILL OF MATLS • SALES ANALYSIS • PAYROLL • ACCOUNTS PAYABLE $99 ea. + S&H dATAMAR SYSTEMS Cred. Card-Check-COD 4876-B Santa Monica Ave. San Diego, CA 92107 (619) 223-3344 CIRCUITS: SPICE for PCs Non-linear DC & Transient, Linear AC Analyses * Version 3C1 with BJT, MOSFET, JFET, diode, etc. models. NUTMEG postprocessor with Screen Graphics. Operating Shell, Hypertext Help & circuit file Editor included. * Version 2G6 now includes Operating Shell, circuit file Editor & NUTMEG compatibility. Northern Valley Software 28327 Rothrock Dr., Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90274 (213) 541-3677 RAINDROP™ FAST, compact PrtScrn Utility for end users AND developers. Hardcopy as fast as 10 sees. Average binary size - 6 kbyte. 14 video graphic standards. Scale, rotate, colorize and more. "CALL" from user-written programs. Complete 9- & 24-pin dot-matrix, Inkjet, and laserjet library S44.95+S3 s/h. ECLECTIC SYSTEMS 8106 St. David Ct., Springfield, VA 22153 (703) 440-0064 Inquiry 799. Inquiry 804. Inquiry 810. SOFTWARE/BUSINESS DATA ENTRY SOFTWARE Full featured, heads-down data entry with two-pass verification, edit language, operator stats, much more! Designed for the PS/2® , PC, XT, AT or compatibles. PC's from $395 LAN version available FREE 30 day trial Computer Keyes Tel: 206/776/6443 21929 Makah Rd., Fax: 206/776-7210 Woodway, WA 98020 USA: 800/356-0203 Worstcase Gets Even Better! Analog Circuit Simulation ECA-2 Electronic Circuit Analysis offers the best Monte Carlo and Worst-Case analyses with all this and MORE included: • AC, DC, Transient • Interactive/batch modes Fourier, Temperature • Full nonlinear simulator • Sine, Pulse, PWL, SFFM, • On Line, Real Time and Exponential Graphics generators • Multiple plots Tatum Labs, Inc. 3917 Research Park Dr., B-1, Ann Arbor, Ml 48108 (313) 663-8810 PEN PLOTTER EMULATOR FPLOT turns your printer into an HP pen plotter. Fast hi-res output, no jagged lines. Vary line width, color. Screen preview with zoom and pan. Stand-alone, background, and device driver modes. Works with most CAD and graphics programs. Supports most printers. New version 3. $119+$3 S&H. 30 day money back. VISA/MC/Check/MO. FPLOT Corporation 24-16 Steinway St., Suite 605, Astoria, NY 11103 718-545-3505 Inquiry 805. Inquiry 811. SOFTWARE/CONSTRUCTION SOFTWARE/GEOLOGICAL REMODELER'S DREAM Material Estimating and Cutting Lists. For Homeowners and Remodelers. Menu Driven with Prompted Inputs and no learning time required. Only 256K required on any IBM PCs or com- patibles. See Jerry Pournelle, Chaos Manor, review in January 1991 BYTE on page 86. VISA/MC/AMEX accepted. Only $99 WORKHORSES INC. 805 B 14th St., Golden, CO 80401 (BOO) 777-2477 Inquiry 800. SOFTWARE/ENGINEERING GEOLOGICAL CATALOG Geological software for log plotting, gridding/con- touring, hydrology, digitizing, 3-D solid modelling, synthetic seismogram, fracture analysis, image pro- cessing, scout ticket manager, over 50 programs in catalog. Macintosh too! Please call, or write, for Free Catalog! RockWare, Inc. 4251 Kipling St., Suite 595, Wheat Ridge. CO 80033 USA (303) 423-5645 Fax (303) 423-6171 Inquiry 806. SOFTWARE/GRAPHICS GRAPHICS PRINTER SUPPORT AT LAST! Use the PrtSc key to make quality scaled B&W or color reproductions of your display on any dot matrix, inkjet, or laser printer (incl. Postscript) in up to 64 shades of gray or 256 colors. GRAFPLUS supports all versions of DOS with IBM (incl. EGA, VGA, Super VGA), Her- cules, or compatible graphics boards. Linkable/OEM versions available. $59.95 Jewell Technologies, Inc. 4740 - 44th Ave. SW, Seattle, WA 98116 1 (800) 284-2574 (206) 937-1081 Inquiry 812. DIGITAL DESIGNERS MINIMIZE YOUR LOGIC Karnaugh Map Solver for PC's Combinational, Se- quential, Mealy & Moore State Machines, 2-14 Inputs, Any # Outputs, Sum of Products, Prod of Sums, JK, D, SR, and T Flip Flops, Expert Ref- erence & Tutorial. 60 Day $ Back: $110 + $5 P&H GOBI LABS: (407) 297-0862 FORTRAN TECHNICAL GRAPHICS TEKMAR is a graphics library for the VGA, EGA or Tec- mar Graphics Master. Similar to PLOT-10, includes WIN- DOW, VIEWPORT, AXIS. Support for HP. HI plotters. Curve fitting, complete plotting program. Log, semi-log, multi-axis, 3-D, contours. Jerry Pournelle (Aug 86 Byte): "As good as any I have ever seen..." Demo disks, literature available. Advanced Systems Consultants 21115 Devonshire St. #329, Chatsworth, CA 91311 (818) 407-1059 FORTRAN GRAPHICS GRAFMATIC/PRINTMATIC/PLOTMATIC LIBRARIES GRAFMATIC-FORTRAN callable graphics Library for creating 2-D and 3-D graphics, contour plots and solid models. PRINTMATIC and PLOTMATIC provide high resolution FORTRAN callable printer and plotter drivers for your graphics. $249.95 Supports Microsoft/Lahey/RM FORTRAN compilers. Jewell Technologies, Inc. 4740 44th Ave. SW, Seattle, WA 98116 1 (800) 284-2574 Inquiry 801. Inquiry 807. Inquiry 813. Macintosh CAE Tools • Run SPICE On ALL Macintosh Computers Intusoft has a complete analog circuit simulation system in- cluding everything from Spice • Unlimited Circuit Size simulation using advanced • Extensive Model Libraries de vice models to interactive waveform processing. Starting at • Waveform Display $95 f0 r IsSpice, the complete • Plotting/Graphics Output system sells for under $600. intusoft The leader in low cost. P.O. Box 710, San Pedro, CA 90733-0710 tull featured CAE tools (213) 833-0710 FAX (213) 833-9658 Inquiry 802. QuickGeometry Library All the C geometry and DXF routines you expect. . .and more! (617) 628-5217 Building Block Software PO Box 1373, Somerville, MA 02144 Inquiry 808. GRAPHIC TOOLS LIBRARY XGLIB: Very fast. User coordinates. User defined Window & viewports. Circles, ellipses, ovals, sectors, polygons & splines. Thick lines & arcs. Fill & hatch patterns. POLYARC engine. Plots and charts. Text scale, align. Screen print and TSR utility. All drawing and mouse functions work in Super VGA modes. Draw in bitmaps. Modes up to 1024x768x16-256. $195. Most "C". MS Basic 4.0-7.1. NOVA INC. 2500 W. Higgins Road, #1144 Hoffman Estates, I L 60195 CALL 708-882-4111 fax 708-882-4173 Inquiry 814. SIMULATION WITH GPSS/PC™ GPSS/PC* is an MS-DOS compatible version of the popular mainframe simulation language GPSS. Graphics, animation and an extremely interactive en- vironment allow a totally new view of your models. If you are contemplating the creation or modification of a complex system you need GPSS/PC to help you predict its behavior. Call now. MINUTEMAN Software P.O. Box 171/Y, Stow, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (508) 897-5662 ext. 540 (800) 223-1430 ext. 540 Inquiry 803. 354 BYTE The Ultimate CAD/CAM Engine TurboGeometry Library 3.0. The most complete tool box of 2D & 3D routines available today! Over 300 routines. Sur- facing, Solids, Hidden line, Volumes, Areas, Transforms, Perspectives, Decomp, Clipping, Tangents & more. 30 day guar., $199.95 w/source S&H Incl. Foreign $225.00. MS/PC DOS 2.0+. Turbo Pascal, Turbo C, MSC, MIX C. Zortec C + + . VISA/MC, PO, Chk, USA funds only. Disk Software, Inc. 2116 E. Arapaho Rd., #487, Richardson, TX 75081 (214) 423-7288, (800) 635-7760, FAX (214) 423-7288 Inquiry 809. /mageAccess® Create or work with image files? /mageAccess, a quick way to search, display, print and organize. Create a data-base of pictures for EGA, VGA, 8514A, MSP, PCX, TIFF formats, needs MS-DOS, 512K. See Jerry Pournelle's recommen- dation in InfoWorld 11/12/90. $49.95 USA, $59.95 Overseas. Check, M.O., P.O. Satisfaction guaranteed. Wierenga Software P.O. Box 595, Muskegon, Ml 49443 Inquiry 815. MARCH 1991 SOFTWARE/LANGUAGES SOFTWARE/SCIENTIFIC STATISTICS IntegrAda Standard Air Force PC Ada Compilers & en- vironments for MS-DOS and UNIX. Integrated programming systems include validated Ada compilers, language sensitive editors, com- plete libraries and other Ada programming tools. FREE demo. AETECH, Inc. From $795 380 Stevens Ave.. Ste. 212 Solana Beach, CA 92075 (619) 755-1277 Fax: (619) 755-7540 FREE CATALOG A great selection of scientific software products for plotting, non-linear curve fitting, chemical equi- librium, simulation, statistics, symbolic algebra, and more. Prices range from $150-$1000. Call: 1-800-942-MATH MicroMath, Salt Lake City, UT 84121-0550 NCSS 5.x Series — $125 Easy-to-use menus & spread sheet. Multiple regression. T-tests. ANOVA (up to 10 factors, rep. measures, covariance). Forecasting. Factor, cluster, & discriminant analysis. Nonparametrics. Cross Tabulation. Graphics: histograms, box, scatter, etc. Reads ASCII/Lotus. Many new add-on modules. NCSS 329 North 1000 East. Kaysville. U T 84037 Phone: 801-546-0445 Fax: 801-546-3907 Inquiry 816. Inquiry 822. Inquiry 827. FINAL LIQUIDATION!! IBM ' Compilers, SAVE UP to 80%! Title Retail Sale COBOL V2.0 (3'.*" 4 SV*") $900 $100 Prof. FORTRAN V1. 3 (3V2" &5V4") $795 $90 C Compiler {3Vz" or 5V4") $395 $50 BASIC Compiler V2.0 (3Vz") $495 $ 50 Macro Assembler V2.0 (3Vz" or 5Va") $195 $ 40 VISA. MC, Check accepted. S and H fee $10 per order THE COMPUTER PLACE, INC. 12105 Darnestown Rd. #9A Tel: (301) 330-6016 Gaithersburg, MP 20878 Fax; (301) 926-3415 Real-Time Graphics & Measurement/Control Tools TurboC, Microsoft C, Turbo Pascal Send for datasheets on our NEW Real-Time Graphics and Measure- ment/Control Tools for Turbo C/C+ +, Microsoft C and Turbo Pascal- Process Contiol Bargraphs Thermocouple Linearization Fast Scrolling Graphs Polynomial Cuive fitting Real-Time Meters PID Control Annunciator Panels 32,768 point FFT's Real-Time Mouse Support 19.2KB RS-232 Communications Quinn-Curtis 21 Highland Circle, Needham. MA 02194 USA Tel. (617) 449-6155 Fax (617) 449-6109 UNISTAT-IV Statistical Package Menu/mouse driven stats package featuring a fully-fledged spreadsheet, a wide range of statistics and powerful graphics. Export/Import Lotus, dBase 3&4, .DIF, Sylk, fixed and free format ascii. String data and missing data handling. Full array of 20 and 3D plots, charts and histograms, cui^ and distribution fitting. More than 40 parametric and nonparametric tests, crosstabulation, breakdown, OLS, weighted, polynomial and stepwise regressions, balanced/unbalanced ANOVA, ANCOVA etc. Demo system and 440pp. user's guide available separately US & Canada: S395- A0H0C Int. Dept BT. 28 Brunswick Woods Dr.. East Brunswick. NJ D8816. Tel: 201-254-7300, Fax: 201-254-7310 Elsewhere: £295. UNISTAT Ltd. Dept BT, P0 Box 383, Highgate. London N6 SUP, England. Tel: +44 (0)B1 683 7155. Fax: +44 {0)81 444 9512 Inquiry 817. Inquiry 823. Inquiry 828. SOFTWARE/MARKETING SOFTWARE/TRANSLATORS TRANSLATORS The "Software Success Reference Book (1987-1988)" is a MUST READ if you want to market your software products successfully. Written by David H. Bowen, publisher of Soft- ware Success^ the monthly newsletter on successfully run- ning a software business, the Reference Book is a 268-page guide, organized by topic. Covers Lead Generation. Promo- tion, Pricing, Distribution, Support, etc. Only $25. Check or Credit Card (Visa/MC/AEX). 100% Money Back Guarantee Software Success PO Box 9006, San Jose, CA 95157 (408) 446-2504 FAX (408) 255-1098 100% PASCAL - C P2C translates Turbo Pascal 3/4/5 into C code (Turbo, Microsoft, TopSpeed, ANSI) and suppoils all TP features: sets, nested func- tions, with, variant records, strings, files, interrupts, const expres- sions, graphics, units, dynamic memory management, mem & port arrays, absolute variables: in short— everything except inline and object-oriented features. Comes with full TP runtime library emulation and automatically generates project, make, header, and C files. English manual (130+ pages) included. Professional Edition in- cludes complete source code for emulation library. Standard Ed. $395 Professional Ed. $595 (MC. VISA, AMEX) LAUER & WALLWITZ GmbH, Erlkoenigweg 9. D-6200 WIESBADEN, Germany, Phone +49 (611) 42771 FTN77 Conversion to QuickBASIC Conversion program and guide. Performs the tedious part of con- vening. 100% translation for simple programs. Formatted I/O, sim- ple and complex math libraries included (complex math code not converted). A guide to translation of problem code (ASSIGN, a*CKSPACE, BLANK. COMPLEX. ENTRY, EQUIVALENCE, EX- TERNAL. INTRINSIC. INQUIRE. RETURN #, Assigned GOTO) is provided. Also useful for non-FTN77 Fortran conversions. QB source code is included at $295 (check or money order). Con- versions are also available by contract. MSS Designs P. O. Box 12734, Portland, OR 97212 (503) 287-8072 Inquiry 818. Inquiry 824. Inquiry 829. SOFTWARE/MATHEMATICS TYPESETTING MATH EDITING for the pc x 2 = Y* • MathEdit constructs math equations to be insetted into WordPerfect. Word. WordStar, and others. • WYSIWYG interface— no codes need to be learned. • MathEdit-$199 COMMUNICATIONS Columbus. Ohio 43201 (614) 294-3535 Inquiry 819. FORTRAN77-to-Structured C TRANSLATOR FORTRAN PROGRAMMER'S ASSISTANT II converts spaghetti FORTRAN into neat, maintainable C code. Run- time library source and C tool set included. This re- engineering package makes your conversions a snap and significantly reduces your conversion costs and future maintenance costs. II Plus can upgrade your old FORTRAN to structured FORTRAN. Version for C + + also available. Easy to use. At low prices. Go Assistant ll/IIPius. Save time & effort. Please call, or write for more information. MICROTOOLS Box 2745-B, Santa Clara. CA 95055, U.S.A. (408) 296-3478 Fax (408) 243-7688 Inquiry 825. SOFTWARE/VOICE CATALOG $99.99 Prepares typesettings for creating catalogues, brochures, etc., both in color and B&W. Imports text from a text editor and inputs color video pictures directly from OCULUS-10 (by Cor- eco) or from PCX color format files (mode 13h). Exports PCX color files. Supports HP PaintJet and laserjet II printers. CATALOG requires the use of Pizazz Plus*" (by Applications Techniques) to print. For XT or AT compatibles with 640K RAM and mouse. Specify XT or AT when ordering. Backus Computer Services P.O. Box 830793, San Antonio, TX 78283-0793 (512) 433-4982 Inquiry 830. UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER MATHEMATICIANS-ENGINEERS Have you ever seen functions of a complex variable? Would you like to really understand differential operators like div, grad and curl? How about a peek into the fourth dimension? Call or write for information on our latest PC and Macintosh software. Lascaux Graphics 3220 Steuben Ave., Bronx. NY 10467 (212) 654-7429 Inquiry 820. SOFTWARE/SCIENTIFIC MULTI-VOICE® TOOLS MultiVoice Tools is a complete development Toolkit lor Pascal or "C" to access all the features for most speech processing boards available today. It helps you write MULTI-LINE VOICE APPLICATION systems in minutes. A number of programming examples are provided. All programs and libraries are delivered with source code. Dialogic, Rhetorex, Pika: $599. Watson (Single Line): $99- ALSO AVAILABLE: FAX Programmer's Toolkit ($199). Based on CAS specifications. Visa/MC accepted. ITI Logiciel 1705 St. Joseph E, Suite 4, Montreal, Can. H2J 1N1 (800) 567-8765 or (514) 861-5988 HOW TO PROTECT YOUR COMPUTER And Make It Last Longer FREE money-saving literature tells you how to protect your com- puter and make it last longer with an uninterruptible power supply. 500VA through 18KVA models from the world's largest manufac- turer of single-phase UPS. Best Power Technology, Inc. P.O. Box 280, Necedah, Wl 54646 Toll-Free (800) 356-5794, Ext. 2127 Telephone: (608) 565-7200. Ext. 2127 Inquiry 831. STATISTICS UTILITIES Chaos/Nonlinear Dynamics DYNAMICAL SOFTWARE I and II $250 / $350 Ordinary and Delay Differential Equation Solvers • Bifurcation Diagrams • Basin Boundaries • 2- and 3-D Plotting • Poincare Sections • Return Maps • Spectral Analysis. Fractal Dimensions, Lyapunov Exponents CHAOS IN THE CLASSROOM Instructional Programs Maps and Bifurcations $49.95 Fractals and Julia Sets $59.95 DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS, INC. P.O. Box 35241, Tucson, AZ 85740, (602) 292-1962 Inquiry 821. Statistical Advisor Speaks English! Statistical Navigator Professional" lets you describe your research goal in plain english then guides you to the ap- propriate statistical analysis. Natural language interface, detailed report, extensive hypertext help, & pull-down menus. $150+s/h. VISA, MC. AMEX. PO #, Check. The Idea Works, Inc. 607 Jackson St., Columbia, MO 65203 1-800-537-4866 FAX 1-314-875-5812 Outside USA: 1-314-875-5827 Inquiry 826. COPY AT TO PC— BRIDGE-IT 3.5 "CPYAT2PC" RELIABLY writes 360KB floppies on 1.2 MB drives, saving a slot for a second hard disk or tape back-up. Only $79.00 + S/H "BRIDGE-IT 35" is a DEVICE DRIVER supporting 3'A" 720KB/1.44MB drives for PC/XT/AT without upgrading DOS/BIOS. Only S39.00 + S/H BRIDGE-IT 35 BUNDLED WITH INTERNAL 1.44MB DRIVE AT $129.00 + S/H VJSWMC/COO UPS B/H MICROBRIDGE COMPUTERS 655 Sky Way Suite 220, San Carlos, CA 94070 1-415-593-8777/CA) 1-415-593-7675 (FAX) 1-416-855-1993 (CANADA) 1-800-523-8777 0908-260-188 (UK) 04745/1689 (FRG) Inquiry 832. MARCH 1991 BYTE 355 UTILITIES UTILITIES WINDOWS TOOLS Recover deleted files fast! Disk Fxplorer now includes automatic file recovery. Mdu type in the deleted file's name, Disk Explorer finds and restores it. Disk Explorer also stoA/s what's really on disk; view, change or create formats, change a file's status, change data in any sector. MS-DOS $75 U.S. Check/ Credit card welcome. QUAID SOFTWARE LIMITED 45 Charles St. E. 3rd Fl. Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4Y 1S2 (416) 961-8243 Why You Want BATCOM! BATCOM is a batch file compiler that transforms your .bat files to .exe files to make them faster. BATCOM extends DOS with many new commands so you can read keyboard input, use subroutines, and much more. In addition, BATCOM protects your source code. No royalties! Only $59.95. Order today! Wenham Software Company 5 Burley St., Wenham, MA 01984 (508) 774-7036 Inquiry 834. VOICE MAIL/AUTO ATTENDANT Hermes DDE Library The Hermes DDE Library is a powerful library of high level routines for MS-Windows™ programmers. Hermes provides support for DDE at a much higher level than that provided in the Windows SDK. Your program attains added functionali- ty by interacting and communicating with other Windows ap- plications. Compared to the Windows SDK, Hermes reduces the code required to implement DDE by hundreds of lines of 'C Hermes is priced at $295. Raindrop Software Corporation 845 E. Arapaho, Suite 105, Richardson, Texas 75081 (214) 234-2611 Fax (214) 234-2674 See our ad on page 152. Inquiry 836. WORD PROCESSING COPYWR1TE CopyWrite Removes Copy Protection No more diskettes, . |C <^ c manuals or Uo $75 codewheels. 1000's of products copied. QUAID SOFTWARE LIMITED 45 Charles St. E. 3rd Fl, Dept B. Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4Y 1S2 (416) 961-8243 Fax (416) 961-6448 Complete PC CAM™ Users! Upgrade to a Multiple-line Voice Express® I This system picks up where the CAM leaves off with these added features: • All lines share the same files • Selectable recording quality • Supervised call transfer options • Automalic time-based changes • Tree structuring capabilities • Order entry & survey capabilities • System messages re recordable • Expandable To order, hear demo, or to request moie information: Call (614) 870-3838 Verslcom Communications® 1115 Wimbeldon Blvd., Columbus, OH 43228 FARSI / GREEK / ARABIC / RUSSIAN Hebrew, all European, Scandinavian, plus either Hindi, Pun- jabi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Thai, Korean, Viet, orlPA. Full- featured multi-language word processor supports on-screen foreign characters and NLQ printing with no hardware modifications. Includes Font Editor. $355 dot matrix; $150 add'l for laser; $19 demo. S/H in U.S. incl'd. Req. PC, 640K, graphics. 30-day Guarantee. MC/VISA/AMEX GAMMA PRODUCTIONS, INC. 710 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 609, Santa Monica, CA 90401 213/394-8622 Tlx: 5106008273 Gamma Pro SNM Inquiry 835. Inquiry 837. REMOVE HARDWARE LOCKS Software utility allows for the removal of hardware locks. Don't wait for your lock or key device to fail or be stolen. Guaranteed to work! The following packages are available: PCAD $199.00 CADKEY $ 99.00 MICROSTATION $99.00 PERSONAL DESIGNER $19900 MasterCAM $250.00 SmartCAM $250.00 TANGO PCB $ 99.00 CADVANCE $99.00 PLUS SHIPPING AND HANDLING PHONE (204) 669-4639 FAX (204) 668-3566 VISA and MASTERCARD Welcome SafeSoft Systems Inc. 191 Kirlystone Way, Winnipeg, MB, Canada, R2G 3B6 YOUR SALES MESSAGE about the special computer product or service that you provide belongs in print. THE BUYER'S MART can help you reach computer professionals and produce valuable inquiries for your company! Call Brian Higgins for more Information 603-924-3754 or Fax: 603-924-2683 Inquiry 833. VOICE MASTER KEY® SYSTEM II VOICE RECOGNITION & SPEECH RESPONSE FOR IBM PC/XT/ AT/386, PS/2, LAPTOPS, COMPATIBLES VOICE MASTER KEY* *r« , covokmc. W tJT AUTO HIGH L #F , #* FOR PRODUCTIVITY, PRESENTATIONS. SOFTWARE DESIGN, ENTERTAINMENT. LANGUAGE TRAINING, EDUCATION. MORE... SPEECH/SOUND RECORDING AND PLAYBACK. Desktop Audio sound editing allows you to create custom sound applications. Variable sample rate (to 20 KHz) and compression levels. A four-voice music synthesizer is included also! VOICE RECOGNITION TSR utility allows you to add voice command keyboard macros to your CAD. desktop publishing, word processing, spread sheet, or entertainment programs. Up to 64 voice commands in RAM at once-more from disk. HARDWARE SYSTEM contains built-in speaker with separate volume and tone controls, external speaker and headphone jacks. Enclosure made of sturdy vinyl-clad steel. Attaches to parallel printer port without affecting normal printer operation (U.S. Patent 4,812,847). Headset microphone, printer cable, 9 volt AC adapter (110 volt UL/CSA listed), and comprehensive user manual included. QUALITY THROUGHOUT. MADE IN USA. ONLY $219.95 ORDER HOTLINE: (503) 342-1271 Mon-Fri. 8 AM to 5 PM PST Visa/MasterCard, company checks, money orders, CODs (with prior approval) accepted. Personal checks subject to 3 week shipping delay. Specify computer type when ordering. Add $5 shipping charge for delivery in USA and Canada. Foreign inquiries contact Covox for C&F/CIF quotes. OEM configurations available. 30 DA Y MONEY BACK GUARANTEE fF NOT COMPLETEL YSA TISF/ED. CALL OR WRITE FOR FREE PRODUCT CATALOG COVOX INC. 675 Conger Street Eugene, Oregon 97402 TEL (503) 342-1271 FAX (503) 342-1283 BBS (503) 342-4135 356 BYTE • MARCH 1991 Circle 79 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 80). MULTI-SPEED !!! 9 TRACK TAPE SUBSYSTEM for IBM PC/AT/386 1 YEAR WARRANTY • IBM/ ANSI compatible at 800*/1 600/3200 bpi • Controller, cables and software included • Interfaces for PS/2*, Xenix* and DEC* • SCSI*, AT or MCA* Bus I/O at 25/50/100 ips. *OPTION AL SHOWN W/OPTION AL D U S T COVE R AKSystems Inc 20741 Marilla St. Chatsworth CA 91311 TEL81 8/709-81 00 FAX: 818/407-5889 Circle 346 on Inquiry Card. Circle 282 on Inquiry Card. The Fastest 80486 & 80386 15 Mips, Faster ThanEverexStep&ALR Circle 67 on Inquiry Card. NEW BABY SIZE FEATURE • 64/256K Write Back Cache • Transparent Refresh/Weitek • 32 Bit Memory Expand to 64MB • UNIX, OS/2 & NOVELL Compatible • 1 Yr Full Warranty • Complete Documentation SYSTEM BOARD MODEL CACHE 486/33 64K 486/25 64K 386/33 64K 386/25 64K •256K Cache Available MIPS 15.0 11,4 8.3 6.2 OK 2295 1699 989 889 4M 2495 1189 1089 Complete Desktop System With 1.2 MB Floppy, HD/Floppy Controller, 101 Keybrd And 4MB Memory MODEL 486/33 486/25 386/33 386/25 BASE MONO VGA 2895 3045 3295 2299 2499 2699 1589 1739 1989 1489 1639 1889 SUPER TOWER] * Tower Add $200 & Hard Disk Available $335 Qty. 5 VGA 315.00 MULTISCAN 415.00 SUPER VGA 345.00 FLOPPY 5.00 HARD DISK 5.00 INTEL MATH-CO 80387-20 345.00 80387-25 435.00 80387-33 540.00 • 5 Half Ht. Drive Bay • 2 Full Ht. Drive Bay • 250 Watt UL/Power Supply • Dual Fans • Double Security Lock • Wheels / Caster • Front Display Panel • Excellence For UNIX & NOVELL Server • UPS Optional TP ENTERPRISE INC. 4M x 9 - 80 300.00 1M x 9 - 80 59.00 1M x 9 - 70 69.00 ■mzagmna MAXTOR 4170E 150MB 899.00 MAXTOR 4380E 330MB .... 1349.00 MAXTOR 8760E 650MB .... 1994.00 47273 Fremont Blvd., Fremont, CA 94539 Tel: 41 5-623-3818 Fax: 41 5-623-3840 dBASE Data Entry The TransTerm 5 is a work station data entry/display terminal for on-line shop floor data collection into PC/AT based systems. The unit is one of a family of such terminals which feature LC displays for operator prompting and data entry via a membrane keyboard or an optional barcode wand (Code 39). A multi-terminal polling controller (up to 250 stations) and a dBASE III + compatible software package are also available. System costs below $300.00 per station. Call for info. Options— backlighting for display, RS-422 I/O. 20 Ma current loop I/O, dBASE is a registered trademark ol AshtonTate. Inc. CaflPUT£RV15£,,Nc 302 N. Winchester • Olathe, KS 66062 • 91 3-829-0600 • Fax 91 3-829-081 ^OcMPucom 9,600-38,400 bps MODEM+FAX...$279 NOW you can afford a SPEEDMODEM.** Raw speed of 300 - 9600 bps and 4:1 data compression push throughput up to 38,400 bps. Dynamic Impedance Stabilization- provides robust performance on noisy telephone circuits. A 9600 bps send/receive, full-featured FAX is included on the same card. Total communications capability-only $279. It comes with a 30-day money back guarantee and a 5-year warranty. BYTE magazine said our 2400 bps modem was "a real deal"*. ..well we've done it again... our COMBO « is setting a new standard for value and performance. See for yourself... •3/89p.io2 (408)732-4500 CALL NOW 800 ACT ON IT (800)228-6648 DISKETTE DUPLICATOR OVER 300 DISKS PER HOUR SIMPLE AND FAST FROM $1595. Circle 73 on Inquiry Card. Circle 36 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 37). MARCH 1991 -BYTE 357 Circle 84 on Inquiry Card. Circle 210 on Inquiry Card. JOIN A DATA ENTRY REVOLUTION! With the software super-hero Is it OCR? Is it a database? No! It's Paper Keyboard, the first and only computer aided data entry software for microcomputers. Unleash the power of your desktop scanner on mounds of paper forms. This mild mannered software reads block printing and multiple choice data from scanned forms automatically into your database with supernatural speed and accuracy. • Faster than a speeding data entry clerk! • Able to leap stacks of forms in a single pass! • More accurate than existing technologies! • PC Windows 3.0 and Macintosh versions $895 with 30 day guarantee SPECIAL! only $79 Evaluation package Datacap Inc. 5 West Main, Elmsford, N.Y. 10523 (914) 347-7133 Fax (914) 347-7136 v W Spectacular Performance. Now Playing On 9-Track Tape. If you're looking to connect 9-track tape to your PC, Overland Data offers an all-star cast of complete subsystems. They are equally at home playing for all IBM PC compatibles or PS/2's, under DOS, UNIX, XENIX, PICK & NOVELL, 800 to 6250 bpi. They perform EBCDIC-ASCII conversions and backup brilliantly. And the supporting cast can't be beat. Two year warranty on controllers, one year on tape drives. Expert help by phone. 30 day, money back application guarantee. And ten years experience as founder and leader of the industry. All of which means spectacular performance play after play. To reserve your seat, call us at: 1-800-PC9-TRAK ffli OVERLRtlD DRTR um 1-800-729-8725 • 1-619-571-5555 • FAX 1-619-571-0982 • TELEX 754923 OVERLAND UNIX The Best Solution To Office Automation Today, it's not a question of whether to automate your office, but rather how to do it. Smart small businesses rely on the proven capabilities of Unix single and multiuser systems. Unix combines multitasking, communication, and networking with mainframe power. Let Archer Business Products, Inc. put the power of Unix to work for you. We sell and support the following UNIX®/ XENIX® products: • Operating Systems • Spreadsheets • Database Management Systems •Word Processors • Office Automation Call now to place an order or receive a free catalog: 1-800-288-8996 FAX: (918) 582-4823 8am-5pm Central, Monday thru Friday Archer business products, inc. 427 South Boston Avenue, Suite 614 Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103 UNIX is a registered trademark of AT&T. XENIX is a registered trademark of MICROSOFT CORP. FAST PS/2 & AT DISKS. Failsafe Novell Subsy terns "*\ Flawless Performance The power user's first choice. Perisol's subsystems offer failsafe peak performance without stretching your budget. DOS, OS/2, Xenix, Netware 286 &*" 386 for both AT & PS/2s. No compatibility issues. No problems. It's that simple. / Caching Controllers / Disk Mirroring & Duplexing / Torture-Tested Drives with 24-hour Burn-in 1GB Opticals 1 GB Erasable Optical Subsystem For Novell $5249 For DOS $4851 'We back our 5.25" Drives for 5 Years!" Straight From the Box Integration! System Capacity Access Interface Price AT 86 MB 18 ms IDE $455 AT 120 MB 18 ms ESDI $803 AT 120 MB 18 ms IDE $549 AT 158 MB 14 ms ESDI.SCSI $996 ■■=;.. AT.. 200 MB 15 ms IDE $871 y AT 213 MB 1 5 ms SCSI $961 d AT : 338 MB 16 ms ESDI.SCSI $1443 AT 652 MB 16 ms ESD1,SCSI $2065 PS/2 150 MB 14 ms ESDI $1269 PS/2 330 MB 16 ms ESDI $1736 PS/2 652 MB 16 ms ESDI $2343 Drive, Controller, Cables and Software included with Subsytems. Call for Perisol's Complete Product Catalog 800-447-8226 Fax: 408-988-4431 Support: 801-228-8489 International Tel: 418-988-2232 r T? L....... 1 1 TECHNOLOGY 358 BYTE- MARCH 1991 Circle 28 on Inquiry Card. Circle 2 1 8 on Inquiry Card. Circle 312 on Inquiry Card. COLLIMATOR PEN (INFRA-RED) LASER DIODE (INFRA-RED) LASER DIODE (VISIBLE-RED) LASER DIODE (VISIBLE-RED) UNICORN - YOUR I.C. SOURCE! • Output: 2.5 mW (max.) • Current: 90-150 mA • Operating Voltage: 2.2-2.5V •Wavelength: 820nm • Collimation: .18mrad (typ. • Size: 11mm diameter STOCK # SB1052 PRICE $39.99 POWER SUPPLY -Input: 115/230v • Size 7" L x 5V«" W x 2Vz H • Output: +5 volts @ 3.75 amps f • Output: +12 volts @ 1.5 amps . • Output: -12 volts @ .4 amps STOCK # PRICE PS1003 $19.99 LASER DIODE (VISIBLE-RED) • Output: 10 mW (max.) • Current: 90-150 mA • OperatingVoltage: 2.2-2.5V • Wavelength: 820nm STOCK # PRICE SB1053 $9.99 • Output: 5 mW (max.) • Current: 65-100 mA • OperatingVoltage: 1.75-2.2V; • Wavelength: 780nm STOCK # PRICE LS022 $19.99 • Output: 4 mW (max.) • Current: 20 mA • OperatingVoltage: 2.2-3.0V ■ Wavelength: 665nm STOCK # PRICE LS3200 $109.99 iwicorn mm ELECTRONICS ^^ ANTI-STATIC SCREEN WIPES DISC DRIVE & COMPUTER CLEANING KIT • Output: 3 mW • Current: 85-100 mA • Operating Voltage: 2.3-3.0V • Wavelength: 670nm STOCK # PRICE LS9200 $49.99 • Individually wrapped • Dispenser pack STOCK # DESC. PRICE SB1104 25 $1.99 SB1107 100 $4.99 • Includes: Cleaning swabs, head- cleaning fluid, anti-static cleaner, screen wipes and cleaning diskette. STOCK # DESC. PRICE SB1099 3 1 / 2 "kit $6.99 SB1100 5V4" kit $6.99 STOCK # 1-24 25-99 100+ STOCK # 1-24 25-99 100+ 1702 4.59 4.36 3.92 2764A 3.49 3.32 2.99 2708 6.49 6.17 5.55 TMS2564 5.79 5.50 4.95 2716 3.29 3.13 2.82 27C64 3.29 3.13 2.82 2716-1 3.79 3.60 3.24 27128-20 4.99 4.74 4.27 TMS2716 5.79 5.50 4.95 27128 4.79 4.55 4.09 27C16 3.99 3.79 3.41 27128A 4.79 4.55 4.09 2732 4.19 3.98 3.58 27C128 4.79 4.55 4.09 2732A-2 3.79 3.60 3.24 27256-20 5.29 5.03 4.53 2732A 3.69 3.51 3.16 27256 4.79 4.55 4.09 2732A-4 3.19 3.03 2.73 27C256 4.29 4.08 3.67 TMS2532 5.79 5.50 4.95 27512-20 6.49 6.17 5.55 TMS2532P 1.99 1.89 1.70 27512 5.99 5.69 5.12 27C32 3.79 3.60 3.24 27C512 5.99 5.69 5.12 2764-20 4.29 4.08 3.67 27C1024 12.99 12.34 11.11 2764 3.99 3.79 3.41 68764 13.99 13.29 11.96 2764A-20 3.99 3.79 3.41 68766 12.99 12.34 11.11 _ DYNAMIC RAMS _ STOCK # 1-24 25-99 100+ STOCK # 1-24 25-99 100+ MK4027 .59 .56 .50 4464-100 2.99 2.84 2.56 4116-120 1.39 1.32 1.19 4464-120 2.79 2.65 2.39 4116-150 .99 .94 .85 4464-150 2.29 2.13 1.96 4116-200 .89 .85 .77 41256-60 2.99 2.84 2.56 4116-250 .59 .56 .50 41256-80 2.79 2.65 2.39 4164-100 1.89 1.80 1.63 41256-100 1.99 1.89 1.70 4164-120 1.69 1.61 1.55 41256-120 1.89 1.80 1.63 4164-150 1.59 1.51 1.36 41256-150 1.79 1.70 1.53 4164-200 1.39 1.32 1.19 511000-70 6.49 6.17 5.55 4416-120 1.99 1.89 1.70 511000-80 5.99 5.69 5.12 4416-150 1.79 1.70 1.53 511000-100 5.49 5.22 4.70 ORDER SIT PHONE! 10010 Canoga Ave., Unit B-8 • Chatsworth, CA 91311 OUTSIDE CALIFORNIA: (800) 824-3432 (Orders Only) IN CALIFORNIA: (818) 341-8833 ORDER BY FAX: (818) 998-7975 Minimum Order $15.00 • 24-hour ordering available UNIVERSAL ORDER 800-678-8648 MEMORY PRODUCTS FAX 71 4-751 -2023 1378 LOGAN AVE SUITE E COSTA MESA CA 92626 WE ACCEPT VISA/MC/AMEX I PO'S FROM QUALIFIED FIRMS UNIVERSITIES AND GOVT AGENCIES WESHIP COD OPEN M-F 7AM 5PM SAT 8AM-2PM 1 20% RESTOCK FEE NONDEFECT RETURNS IBM PS/2 \\ SIMMSIPPV DRAM MEMORY JL MODULES JL CHIPS MATH COS 6450604 $139 ^ 2MG MODULES FOR 55SX. 502, 70E61/121 645060& $149 2MG MODULE FOR 70A21 6450379 $247 2MG FOR 80-1 11/311 64503Z& $135 1MG MODULE FOR 80-041 34F2933. $399 4MG MODULES 30F5360. $149 2MG KIT FOR 30-286 645Q60&. $460 2-BMG BOARD W/2MG MODEL 70 &80 &451060. $550 4MGFOR80-A21/A31 34F30ft $920 4-16MB BOARD W/4MB MODELS 70&80 COMPAQ MEMORY UtSKVHU 386 20/20 1 25/25E 286E 386S IMG MOD $11 4MG MOD $29! 1MG BRD $199 jMG BRD $49! 4X9-80NS $355" 1X9-70NS $59 1X9-80NS $53 1X9-100NS $52 1X9-120NS $51 256X9-60NS $29 256X9-70NS $24 256X9-80NS $19 256X9-100NS $17 256X9-120NS $15 MAC/AM/GA SIMMS 1X8-80NS $62 1X8-1001 1MGX1-80NS $5.50 1MGX1-100NS $5.25 1MG XM20NS $5.10 256X4-80NS $5.75 256 X4-100NS $5.50 256X1-70NS $2.95 256X1-80NS $1.99 256X1-100NS $1.95 256X1-120NS ..$1.85 256XM50NS .$1.50 EXPANSION- BOARDS FOR ALL PC'S TOSHIBA LAPTOP 2C87-8. 2C87-10 $199 2C87-12 $255 2C87-20 $289 HP LASERJET IMG $99 2MG $165 44MG $295 SERIES IIP & 3 1MG $100 2MG $169 L 4MG $299 64X4-120NS., $2.25 64X4-100NS $2.50 64X 4-80NS $ 2.95 64X1-1 SONS..... $1.05 64X1-120NS $1.50 64XM00NS $200 STATIC COLUMN 256X1-100NS $2.50 256X1-80NS $3.00 256X1 -70NS $3.95 83D87-16 $289 83087-20 $329 B3D87-25 $429 83D87-33 $519 NEWCYRIX FOR386SX 83S87-16 $270 83S87-20 $350 INTEL BOCA RESEARCH TO 2MG EXP FOR AT.S BOCARAMXT..$119 UP TO 2MG EXP FOR XT'S BOCARAM.AT/IO + MGFOR MG FOR MGFOR MG FOR 4MG FOR 2MG FOR 2MB FOR 4MB FOR 3MB FOR MB FOR T1000SE/XE.$314 T12O0XE $183 T1600 $193 T3100SX $183 T3100SX $489 T3100E $183 T3200SX $183 T3200SX $489 T3200 $274 T5100 $193 87-2 $115 80287-8 $179 80287-10 $179 80287XL $220 80387-16 $305 80387-20 $350 80387-25 $450 80387-33 $549 80387-SX $299 r RAMpAT $129 2-16MGLIM4.0FORAT'S SIMMpLY-RAM $179 2-8MG LIM 4.0 PC/XT/AT PS/2-16 $199 2-8MGMDL50.60, 55SX PS/2-32 $249 1-16MGMDL70&80 USES 1,2 OR 4MG ^ PS/2 SIMMS ^ AST6PAK286... $119 WITH 4MGS $329 AST PREMIUM 1MG MODULES ONLY $69 INTERNATIONAL ORDERS ACCEPTED 5 YEAR WARRANTY ON ALL PRODUCTS CALL THE PC UPGRADE SPECIALISTS !!! 2-8MG LIM 4.0 ONLY $119 2MG$227 3.5" FDD FOR COMPAQ ONLY 1/3 HEIGHT ONLY $129 AST RAMVANTAGE UPT0 3MG EXTENDED MEMORY W/128KONLY$47 Circle 313 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 314). MARCH 1991 -BYTE 359 E/EPROM $180 Why not buy your E/EPROM programmer from a company with over 1 2 years experience in providing both hardware and software tools? Order today, call 800- 448-8500 •Expert technical support •HEX file utilities included •Supports EPROM and EEPROMs to 32 pins •NMOSand CMOS devices to 1 MBit •A, 8, and 16 socket models available •IBM PC/XT/ AT/386 compatible SYSTEMS; INC. *1 year warranty 120 Union St., Rockport, ME 04856 Outside US 207-236-9055 • FAX 207-236-6713 Please see our a d o n page 272 The source for qualify embedded-system tools AVf)CET Free leaflets and catalogues Info# Tonic 0001 1 Printer buffers. Perhaps the simplest way to speed up a computer system. 00021 The ideal interface is like a cable: Easy to install. Invisible in use. 00031 T-Switches and Auto-switches. Optimised for easy operation. 00041 Data cables. Highly flexible. Simple to install. A well thought-out system. 00051 Interface Cards. Carefully developed to eliminate application problems. 00401 ToolArt: Useful art for computer professionals. 005 1 1 Brains beats money. Enhancements you can install yourself. 00521 UNIX-Installations. Tips&products. 00531 The right way to install a computer. W&T Products Corp. 2209 NE 54th Street Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308 Phone 1-800-628-2086 PRODUCTS Fax 1-305-351-9099 ® W&T VIDEO FRAME GRABBERS MODEL HRT 256-4 HRT 256-8 HRT 512-8 HRT 512-24 RESOLUTION 256 x 256 x 4 495 256 x 256 x 8 795 512 x 512 x 8 995 512 x 512 x 24 1995 - IBM PC/XT/AT COMPATIBLE - DIGITALIZE IN REAL TIME - COMPOSITE VIDEO IN - 24 BIT RGB OUT except model HRT 256-4 16 level gray scale out - SOFTWARE LIBRARY OF IMAGE ANALYSIS ROUTINES - FREE SOFTWARE UPGRADES TO REGISTERED OWNERS - FULL CREDIT ON UPGRADE PURCHASE IN FIRST YEAR RETURN OLD BOARD AND JUST PAY DIFFERENCE HRT PHONE 416-497-6493 HIGH RES TECHNOLOGIES P.O. BOX 76 LEWIST0N, N.Y. 14092 FAX 416-497-1988 Circle 34 on Inquiry Card. Circle 321 on Inquiry Card. Circle 1 32 on Inquiry Card. PLD Design Software Get Started with CUPL™ for only $149.95 Now you can have a PLD Starter Kit that gives you all the horsepower that the CUPL PLD compiler offers, at a fraction of the cost. For more infor- mation, call 1-800-331-7766 or 305- 974-0967. LOGICAL DEVICES, INC. Circle 341 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 342). 486BSBC i486 Single-Board Computer Qty 1: 895.00 (US$) (Without CPU or memory) Qty 2+: 750.00 (US$) (Without CPU or memory) On-board features include: • 80486 processor CPU • IDE hard disk controller • floppy disk controller • up to 32MB DRAM • real-time clock • 2 serial ports • 1 parallel port • keyboard port • optional: local 32-bit data bus For passive backplane systems (AT/ISA or EISA), BECTERM INC. 5336, Boul. de la Rive-Sud BECTERM Levis, Qc CN G6V 4Z2 Tel: (418) 835-1551 Fax: (418) 837-4068 Program Your Chips In Sets of 4 for $495.00 Special offer Now Includes: Free U V eraser, CUPL starter Kit and a $300.00 Factory Rebate with the PDT-1 EPROM, LOGICAL EPLD, Micro mvicm, inc. Progammer. 1-800-331-7766 Circle 343 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 344). LANS 9(etzzoer (^system fiirCPCs $99-$ 399 Sparen Sie Zeit SparenSie Cjetd Local Area Network Save Time • Save Money Network up to 30 PCs for as little as $99 per PC. Serial Port, Peer-to-Peer. 1 .8 Mbps Twisted Pair. 3.0 Mbps Twisted Pair. 10 Mbps Ethernet Thin Coax. U.S. Marketing, Inc. TEL: USA -615/242/8800 FAX INQUIRIES: USA •615/242/8880 Requires VGA 301 - 23 Stunning GIF Images 14.95 401 - Brilliant Color and Resolution 14.95 402 - Super Photographic Quality 14.95 501 - Unbelievable 4 minute movie 14.95 502 - Live-action movie. 4 minutes 14.95 101 - CGA/EGA Combo -3 disks 19.95 102 -- VGA Movie Combo - 501 & 502 24.95 103 - $75 Value Pack- all 5 VGA disks 49.95 Send check on money order in US dollars to: Starware Publishing Corporation P.O. Box 340203 - Deft. 10 Boca Raton, FL 33434 407-479-058B Must state age over 21 - Requires hard disk to install - S101 CGA/EGA Combo uses three low capacity floppies - All VGA disks require high capacity floppies -AddSl per3.5'disk - AddSl per disk for foreign -Please include S3S&H - FL residents add 6% sates tax Circle 270 on Inquiry Card. PC/AT Dual port Comm. Coprocessor GMM Sync2/CCP ™ • High Performance 16 bit Microprocessor. • 80X86 code compatible. • 1 or 2 Serial Ports with Full Duplex DMA. • Uses 8530 or 85C30 SCC chip. • 256k Dual Ported Ram( 512k, 1Meg - optional ). • 8k,16k,32k,64k Window Size ( Programmable ). •RS232/RS422/RS485 / V.35. ■Made in USA. Other PC/AT & PS/2(MCA) 8 530 based products available Extremely Competitive Pricing. Call for additional information Glillil 3 GMM Research Corporali •£. GMM Products Are All Made In USA. (714)752-9447 Fax(714) 752-733S i 2938 S. Daimler St., Suite 121 Santa Ana. CA 92705 Circle 39 on Inquiry Card. Circle 340 on Inquiry Card. Circle 345 on Inquiry Card. mm m l-800'950'7599 We Will Meet Or Beat Any Advertised Price! 7ie^ 386SX/16 COMPUTER SYSTEM \ Inmt 386SX 20+ COMPUTER SYSTEM 60 MG Hard Drive/12" Monitor •12' VGA Paper White '60MB RLL Hard Drive '3 Year Warranty Monitor -2 Serai Ports , l( „_„ Mlll • VGA Board w/256 . 1 Parellel Ports S{JPE " SPECIAL ' AMI Bios. . 1 Game Port REDUCED PRICE MMGOn/Bd Memory '101-Key Click Keyboard 4 *%!%(% nn ' 1 .2 Floppy Drive . 3 Button Mouse $ J C L "- 00 With 64K Cache • 14" VGA Color Monitor . 2 Serial Ports ' 3 V ear warran, V • VGA Board w/256 • 1 Parellel Poits SUPER SPECIAL •1MGOn/BdMemoiy • 1 Game Port REDUCED PRICE • 1.2 or 1 .44 FloppyDrive '101 -Key Click Keyboard mgkgk • 60MB RLL Hard Drive • 3 But:on Mouse $§499 00 Iwd 386-33 COMPUTER SYSTEM With 64K Cache •14" VGA Color Monitor • 2 Serial Poits •VGA Board w/256 • 1 Parellel Poits • 1MGOn/Bd Memory • 1 Game Port • 1 .2 or 1.44 Floppy Drive ■ 101 -Key Click Keyboard • 1 00MG IDE Hard Drive • 3 Buton Mouse •3 year warranty SUPER SPECIAL REDUCED PRICE $2159.00 MEMORY EXPANSION BOARDS ORCHID RAMQUEST 8/16 Card expandable to 32MG. lor IBM PCs, XTs, ATs. PS/2 Model 30-286 and compatibles. Support 8 and 16 bit bus. Uses 256K, 1 MG or 4MG modules. w/OK S289 RAMQUEST EXTRA 16/32 O - 8MG.0 wait state card for PS/2 Mod 50, 60 & 80 fully supports 16 & 32-bit memory access includes 1 SER & 1 PAR port free serial cable. EMS 4.0 & OS/2 compatible. Uses 256K and/or 1MG SIMMS. w/OK $279 EVEREX RAM 3000 DELUXE Up to3MG Selectable memory addresses. Expanded memoty specifications (EMS) 4.0 / OS/2 Can be used to backfill base memory up to 640K and the rest as expanded and/or extended memory uses 256K D-RAM w/OK S89 RAM 8000 Up to 8MG capacity/support to base extended or expanded memory in any combination. Fully compatible with Lotus, Intel, Microsoft, EMS 4.0. EEMS supports Multi-Tasking and DMA Multi- Tasking in hardware. Software configurable (no dipswitches to set) Full 16MG window forfutureexpansion. Zero wait state. Uses 1MG D-RAM WOK $189 BOCA RESEARCH BOCARAM/AT Provides up to 2MG LIM IMS 4.0 and/or 4MG of extended .expanded or backfill memory for 16 bit bus operates up to 16MHz. Uses 256K D-RAM w/OK $109 BOCARAM/AT PLUS Provides up to 8MG of extended, expanded or backfill memory. Operates up to 33MHz and is set thru software. Uses 1MG D-RAM w/OK $129 I BOCARAM/AT I/O PLUS Provides up to 4MG of extended, expanded or backfill memoiy for 16 bit bus. Operates up to 33 MHz and is set thru software. Has serial and parallel port. Uses 1MG D-RAM w/OK S145 TERMSAND CONDITIONS: No surcharge for MC • VISA • COD • CASH • AMEX add 4% Purchase orders from qualified firms. 20% restocking fee on non-defective returns. Prices subject to change MEMORY PRODUCTS PARAGON MEMORY CORPORATION COMPAQ MEMORY ADD-ON MODULES MODEL 1MG 2MG 4MG 8MG 386/20/20E/25/25E DESKPRO 286E, 386S $135 $375 SIM 13142 DESK PRO 286E. 386-20E,20,25,25E $313 SIM 113644 DESKPRO 386-20E. 25E $179 SIM 113645 DESKPRO 386-20E,25E $482 SIM 115144 DESKPRO 386-33.33L, 486-25.33L $163 IBM PS-2 6450603 - 1MG PS/2 55SX, 65SX, 70-E61, 061,121 $72 6450604 - 2MG PS/2 50Z,55SX/LS, 65LS, P70, 70-E61, 061 $135 6450608 - 2MG PS/2 70-A21 , A 6 1 , B21, B61 $135 34F2933 - 4MG PS/2 55SX, 55LS, 65LS, 65SX $395 34F3077-2-14MGBRDPS/2 70&80 $525 34F3011 - 4-16MG BRD PS/2 70 &80 $815 LAPTOP MEMORY 2MG Card - Toshiba Portable T3100SX 2MG Card - Toshiba Portable T3100E 2MG Card -Toshiba Portable T3200SX 2MG Card - Toshiba SIM8431 T3100E 2MG Card - Toshiba SIM8307 T3200SX $265 $259 $289 $165 $165 HP II & II 1 MB 2MB 4MB TONER HP MEMORY HP II P& III $109 1 MB $179 2MB $309 4MB $ 74 TONER $94 $125 $289 $70 MATH CO PROCESSORS 386 MATH CO-PROCESSORS 16MHz 20MHz 25MHz 33MHz SX CYRIX (83087) $305 $350 $450 $549 IIT(3C87) $305 $350 $450 $549 INTEL (80387) $305 $350 $450 $549 $290 286 MATH CO-PROCESSORS 6MHz 8MHz 10MHz 12MHz 12.5MHz 20MHz IIT(2C87) - $185 $219 - $280 S324 INTEL (80287) $120 S183 $208 S280 - HARD DRIVES KALOCK20MBXT20MB,MFM,3 5HH,40ms $149 KALOCK 30MB 65MS MFM $169 MITSUBISHI 60MB, 5 25 HH, RLL, 28ms $319 TOSHIBA 1 00MB 25MS IDE $499 WD40MB28MSIDE $249 FLOPPY DRIVES 360K DS, DD 1.2MG FD 1.44MG FD VIDEO ADAPTERS TREND VGA w/256 no Expand VGA w 256 Exp. 512 VGA w 256 Exp. 1MG MONO CARD w/parallel port CGA CARD 2/parallel port $45 $105 $25 S25 Full Line Of XT 286 & 486 Systems Available / As Well As A Full Line Of Everex Computers Olympus Hills Shopping Ctr,* 3955 South Wasatch Blvd. S.LC.UT 84124 • (801) 278-5112 • Fax - (801) 278*5470 Circle 303 on Inquiry Card. 1991 PC BUS Data Acquisition & Control Reference Guide Total Solution for PC-based Industrial and Laa Automation , ,_ _ , . _._ ,_„...__,_ . A ^ D? d/a, DIO • Signal Conditioning 9BBF- m ' RS232/422/485 ™5^- ~_ • Industrial PCs Iffe^^? • 286/386/486 W-M mw m cards NUHir^W . ram/ROM Disks [> - 'ifilf 1 ^ • Application Software Free 120 page reference guide for quality minded, budget conscious engineers. 408-293-6786 1310 'Hilly Rd. #115, San Jose, CA 95122 FAX 408-293-4697 All-in One 80286-12 CPU Card 4fMlr PCA-6125 $395 12MHz 80286 microprocessor • Socket for 80287 math coprocessor • AMI BIOS assures compatibility • Memory configuration: 512K, 1M, 2M & 4M • Built-in interface for 2 IDE H/D and 2 F/D • On-board: 1 parallel/2 serial ports VLSI CMOS for low power consumption 408-293-6786 1310 Tully Rd, #1 15, San Jose, CA 95122 FAX 408-293 -4697 RAM/ROM Disk Card PC,790 f ° r " DiSkleSS " PC • Replaces mechanical disk drive by solid-state disk • Interchangeable SRAM or EPROM memory module • Supports up to 4 cards in a single PC with power-on autoboot capability • Ideal for high speed, heavy duty access and high reliability applications USA & Canada: San Jose,CA 'lei: 408-293-6786 Fax: 408-293-4697 Europe & Asia: Taipei, Taiwan Tel 886-2-9184567 Fax: 9184566 Circle 1 6 on Inquiry Card. Circle 1 6 on Inquiry Card. Circle 1 6 on Inquiry Card. (E)EPROM PROGRAMMER the 1 □ Versatile □ Fast □ Reliable □ *$595 ■ Supports virtually every EPROMs and EEPROMs up to 32 pins ■ Operates with any terminal or computer running a terminal emulation software ■ Baud rate from 110 to 57.6K bps with automatic baud selection ■ Device selection by manufacturer and device number ■ Uses the manufacturers' recommended programming algorithms for maximum speed and reliability ■ Automatic verification at margin Vcc voltages ■ Operates directly with 8, 16 and 32 bit word sizes ■ Supports Binary, Motorola, Intel and Hex files ■ 512 Kbits RAM standard {1 Mbits optional) ■ Non-volatile memoiy to save and restore set-ups ■ Operation manual and terminal emulation software for the IBM PC/AT/386 included ■ One year free software update and one year warranty fninranran micept instruments inc. Ull U L5 13 Lai U 377 Julien St., Cap De La Madeleine Quebec G8T 6W6, Canada (819) 376-8086 • Puce is in U.S. dollars and mcljdDS duly. Price and specrficalions are subjecl to Circle 1 79 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 180). 8051/8052 BASIC COMPILER! Full floating-point numbers, integer, byte antl bit extensions. Fully compatible with MCS BASIC 52. Runs on IBM-PC or compatible. $295.00 Call Now! 603469-3232 Binary Technology, Inc. Mam Street . PO Box 67 • Meriden. NH 03770 "WW i VOICE MAfL'TELEMARKETING ^0 ■ CALL PROCESSING Le\ Powerline transform your PC/XT/AT/386 o : into a multi-line voicejprocessing command^,* 5 center. Have youWomputer intelligently 2 process your sates, inquiries and mes- g- 1 sages. Complete package. ^'* , Single LinepgmOuth) . .$295.00 a 4T Mum-Line...; ... $895.00 £ (Developer/OEM packages available) z VISA • MC ■ AMEX ■ COD 3 Call: (415) 522-3800 FAX: (415) 522-5556 1 TALKING TECHNOLOGY, INC. 8 1125 ATLANTIC AVE., ALAMEDA, CA 94501 Circle 281 on Inquiry Card. TAPE SUBSYSTEM for PC/XT/AT/386 Qic „ AS 400 11-160? CALL: 1-800-969-3282 TEL: 214-272-7751 FAX: 214-487-0265 BATAC®PY SERVICE of Texas, Inc. P.O. Box 820214 Dallas, Texas 75382 C ross-Assemblers from $50.00 Simulators from $100.00 Cross-Disassemblers from $100.00 Developer Packages from $200. 00 (a 50.00 Savings) Make Programming Easy Our Macro Cross-asse mblersare easy to use. With powerful conditional assembly and unlimited includefiles. Get It Debugged-FAST Don't wait until the hardware is finished. Debug your software with our Simulators. Recover Lost Source! Our line of disassemblers can help you re-create the original assembly language source. Thousands Of Satisfied Customers Worldwide PseudoCorp has been providing quality solutions for microprocessor problems since 1985. Processors Intel B048 RCA 1802.05 Intel 8051 Intel 6096,l96kc Motorola 6800 Motorola 6801 Motorola 68HCH Motorola 6805 o301 Motorola 6809 MOS Tech 6502 WDC65C02 Rockweil 65C02 Intel 8080,B5 Zlog Z80 NSC 800 Hitachi HD64180 Mot. 68kAlO Zitog 28 aba Super 8 • All products require an IBM PC or compatible. For Information Or To Order Call: PseudoCorp 716 Thimble Shoals Blvd, Suite E NcwportNcws, VA 23606 (804) 873-1947 FAX:(804)873-2154 Circle 229 on Inquiry Card. Adapter Boards for PS/2's & XT/ATs Add Parallel, Serial, or Special Ports for IBM Models 50, 55, 60,70,80 • 100% compliance to MCA spec • Quantity and dealer discounts available Parallel Port $129 Dual Serial $199 DualGamePort $129 Dual RS422/485 $295 Serial Port $145 Quad Serial $295 Dual Parallel $189 GPIB-IEEE488 $379 Parallel + Serial $189 Quad RS422/485 $495 XT/AT Adapters LPT/Serial Conv. $189 GPIB-IEEE488 $199 EZBarcode" Readers for PS/2, PC/XT/AT, & Mac/ADB : SfSMrSSffi I II II lllll 111 III mi • Plastic. Metal. CCD, Laser Wands • Mag-stripe and Barcode swipe options • Low cost: Unit one prices from $289 1-800-533-6116 Method Systems, Inc. 3511 Lost Nation Road • Willoughby, O H 44094 • 216-942-2100 Circle 83 on Inquiry Card. Circle 1 78 on Inquiry Card. MM :n: ■Ml PS/2 model 30/286-30 meg ...1795 PS/2 model 50Z/286-60 meg PS/2 model 55SX/386SX-60 meg .. ...2395 ...2695 PS(2 model 70/386-120 meg ...5595 PS/2 model 80/121-120 meg *** Monitor Extra *** NEW camPAa Compaq 286E-40 meg 1995 Compaq 386/20E-1 00 meg with 4 meg memory 3595 Compaq 386S-1 00 meg with 2 meg memory 2795 Other models CALL *** Monitor Extra *** LOW PRICE LEADER SINCE 1983 EVEREX- Everex System I CALL Everex Step 286/12-1 meg 40 meg VGA card and monitor Everex System II CALL EverexStep386SX-2meg 40 meg VGA card and monitor Everex System III CALL Everex Step 386/33-4 meg 150 meg VGA card and monitor * Call for models & configurations * Inovell SPECIALS ELS I 599 ELS II 1250 Advance 286 V 2.15 2150 Advance SFTV 2.1 5 2999 LAPTOP Texas Instruments TM2000 2595 Compaq LTE/286-40 2975 Sharp 6220 2595 CALL FOR OTHER BRANDS LAPTOP ACCESSORIES Memory 1 meg Toshiba 1000SE 190 2 meg Toshiba 31 00SX 210 2 meg Toshiba 3200SX 210 2 meg Toshiba 5200 220 1 meg Compaq SLT 280 AGI COMPUTER AGI386SX-1 meg 1595 40 meg VGA card and monitor CALL FOR OTHER MODELS AST 386SX-2 meg 2195 40 meg VGA card and monitor CALL FOR OTHER MODELS DISKS DYSAN5.25HD/3.5HD 13/26 MAXELL 5.25 HD/3.5 HD 12/25 Minimum 10 box order WE STOCK CITIZEN OKIDATA EVEREX HITACHI GOLD STAR PC MOUSE LOGITECH MITSUBISHI NEC PRINCETON GRAPHICS AMDEK WYSE HOUSTON INSTRUMENTS HAYES SONY MICROSOFT MICE CALCOMP ACER IRWIN & ARCHIVE TAXAN TOSHIBA SAMSUNG MAGNOVOX TAPE BACK MONITORS I NEC Multisync HA . .499 NEC Multisync 3D. .649 Emerson VGA .340 NEC Multisync 5D .. 2350 Sony 1304 ..659 Sony 1302 .619 INTEL COPROCESSORS 8087-3 ...105 8087-2 ...145 80287-8 ...225 80287-10 .249 80387-16 ....395 80387-20 ...425 80387-25 ...495 80387-33 ...599 SOFTWARE SPECIAL dBase IV 455 WordPerfect 5.1 260 Aldus Pagemaker 495 Ventura Publisher ....525 Clipper 535 WordStar 5.5 150 EasyExtra 40 NOVELL Authorized Dealer PACIFIC OATA PRODUCTS P. Page II 345 P. PagellP 355 P. 1-2-4 Mem II 140 P. One Meg IIP 145 P. 25 in One 250 P. Headlines 245 LAN BOARDS 8 bit Arcnet ..110 16 bit Arcnet .220 8 bit Ethernet .190 16 bit Ethernet 275 8 port Active Hub 325 Token Ring Card .399 Tokenhub 4-port .355 Call for other LAN Accessories SPECIALS HP Scan Jet .1425 Hp Paint Jet ...965 Lotus Ver. 3.0 ... ....355 Kodak 150P ...355 Complete Fax Board ...399 Okidata 391 ...625 Epson LQ1050 .. ...660 Panasonic 1124 ...319 HP-7475 Plotter .1595 SummaGraphic . ....365 LASER PRINTERS HP Laser HID ...2550 HP Laser 2P 995 HP Laser III ...1650 Panasonic 4450 . ...1395 Brother HL-8-E ... ...1895 NEC LC 890 ...3195 Toshiba Laser 6 . ...1095 MODEMS Everex 2400 Int/Mnp . ...179 Hayes 2400B ...315 Hayes9600B .875 USRobotics Hst/Dual . .1150 More in stock ...Call Corporate Accounts Welcome Call for Volume Discounts Consultants Call for Pricing Exports Available Computerlane Outside California: 1-800-526-3482 inside California: 818-884-8644 • FAX: 818-884-8253 221 07 Roscoe Blvd., Canoga Park, CA 91 304 • 1/2 Block west of Topanga Hours: Monday - Friday 9 -6 Saturday 10-6 Compaq is a Registered Trademark of Compaq. IBM is a Registrered Trademark of International Business Machines. ALL QUOTED PRICES ARE CASH PRICES ONLY Visa and MasterCard 3% higher, American Express 5% higher Prices subject to change without notice. 'Quantities are limited Circle 72 on Inquiry Card. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 363 ARCTANGENT $695 PROFESSIONAL MAIL Complete Mailing List Management Softiva re I he most advanced, professional-level mailing list management system available for IBM and compatible microcomputers. Save thousands of dollars on postage, printing, and processing costs. • Unlimited number of names and addresses • Sophisticated merge/purge duplicate detection • Complete postal presorting and barcoding • Custom letters, labels, reports • Conveit data from dBase, ASCII, other formats ^^^^^ = Arc Tangent, Inc. =-A-r^= 121 Gray Avenue If ^k H Santa Barbara, CA 93101-1831 ^■k (805) 965-7277 Circle 27 on Inquiry Card. ^eV LPC Serial/2A ? HDLC/SDLC Data Communication Controller for IBM PC/AT Bus Dual Channel Synchronous Controller (Z85C30) Runs 800K BAUD Full Duplex DMA HDLC LapB software option d T - Computer Modules. Inc. 2348C Walsh Ave. Santa Clara, CA 95051 Tel: (408) 496-1881 Fax: (408) 496-1886 IBM PC/AT is a trademark oflBM.Inc IMAGING CARDS • Complete software • Real time grab/display • PC/XT/AT/386 compatible CV-512 Advanced 8 bit board. 512 x 480 or 256 x 240 (4 images), in/out LUTS. 4 inputs, "ping pong" buffers, 24 bit RGB output $1,095 CV-02 256x240x8 bits, 2 inputs, cursor. 24 bit RGB output S595 CV-03 6 bit CV-02, 8 bit output S469 Control Vision # P.O. Box 596, Pittsburg, Kansas 66762 800/292-1160. 316/231-6647 Circle 76 on Inquiry Card. SCHEMATIC TO PCLAYOUT $500 INCLUDES AUTO ROUTER EZ-R0UTE Version II from AMS for IBM PC. PS/2 and Com- patibles is an integrated CAE System which supports 256 layers, trace width from 0.001 inch to 0.255 inch, flexible grid, SMD components and outputs on Penplotters as well as Photo plotters and printers. Schematic Capture $100, PCB Layout $250, Auto Router $250. FREE EVALUATION PACKAGE 30 DAYS MONEY BACK GUARANTEE 1-800-972-3733 or (305] 975-9515 ADVANCED MICROCOMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC. 1321 N.W. 65 Place - Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309 RENTALS Our unique service provides you a short-term solution to your computer needs.' IBM • COMPAQ MACINTOSH •LASERS PORTABLES •LAPTOPS Next Day Delivery Available Computer Rental CALL TOLL FREE 800-785-4727 Circle 214 on Inquiry Card. FREE CATALOG I RS-232C INTERFACE & MONITORING EQUIPMENT CATALOG/" 7 WRITE or CALL for YOUR FREE COMPREHENSIVE B & B ELECTRONICS CATALOG TODAY! Pages and pages of photographs and illustrated, descriptive text for B&B's complete line of RS- 232 converters, RS-422 con- verters, current loop convert- ers, adapters, break-out box- es, data switches, data split- ters, short haul modems, surge protectors, and much, much more. Most products meet FCC Part 15J. Your RS-232 needs for quality, service and competitive prices will be more than met by B&B ELECTRONICS. Manufacturer lo you, no mid dleman! Money-back guarantee! Same-day shipment! One-year warranty on products! Technical support is available. Write For Your FREE Catalog Today! I&H electronics SV MANUFACTURING COMPANY 4000 Baker Road P.O. Box 1 040 • Ottawa, IL 61350 Phone: 815-434-0846 Circle 70 on Inquiry Card. Circle 20 on Inquiry Card. Circle 38 on Inquiry Card. DATA ACQUISITION Systems for Lab, Factory & Field • PC Software Included • Serial, Modem, & Bus • Stand Alone Ability ■: - Laptop & Handheld . PC & MAC Cards fi • Inexpensive OEM & VAR • RTUs FREE CATALOG & DEMO DISK ! Manufacturers of Measurement & Control sys- tems for Laboratory. Industrial. & Field applica- tions. Specialists in Battery-Powered systems \ V Call for applications info: (201) 299-1615 RO. Box 246: Morris Plains. NJ 07950 U.S.A. Instant Microcontroller Instant C Programming Don't use a microprocessor, use a SmartBlock™ microcontroller module to build your custom controller. Our low cost Dynamic C™ makes programming a snap. 3.5 x 2.5 inch module includes microprocessor, memory, time/date clock, eeprom, watchdog, serial ports and more. As low as $59. The efficiency of a custom design without the headaches. Z-World Engineering 1340 E. Covell Blvd., Davis, CA 95616 Tel: (916) 753-3722 Fax:{916)753-5141 Little Giant" C Programmable Controller This shirt pocket sized computer interfaces directly to the outside world. Use it to control anything. Instantly program- mable using your PC with Dynamic C. ROM and bat- tery backed RAM to 1024k bytes. 8 Channel, 10/ 12 bit, A/D with conditioning. High voltage and current drivers. Battery backed time and date clock. Watchdog and power fail. 4 serial channels. 24 parallel l/Olines. Timers. Integral powersupply. Terminations for field wiring. Expansion connec- tor. Plastic or metal field packaging available. OEM versions from $199.00. Z-World Engineering 1340 Covell Blvd., Davis, CA 95616 (916) 753-3722 Fax: (916) 753-5141 Circle 105 on Inquiry Card. Circle 329on Inquiry Card. Circle 330 on Inquiry Card. I SOFTWARE Satamia Accpac BPI Network Accpac BPI Pa /roll v3.0 Accpac BPI Easy GnfAcd Accpac BPI Easy Payroll Accpac BPI Pius GL Bedford Acdng Check It OAC Easy DAC Easy Bonus pack wLI DAC Payroll v4. 1 Debars & Sense (3 1| w.Fcxecast GREAT AMERICAN; O^MeP'oisvZOe Accounts Payable Accounts Receivable Payroll Time Slips 111 V3.4 One Write JKLasseMncorrflTax Money Matters vl.O S58 Peacntree HI w Data Query %M\ PeacMree Db'e Bonus End; S2i Profitwise Bus. 10 pak Pro lit wise 'Solomon report & graph Quicken v4,0 Tobias Managing your I S165 £129 SI2D SI29 SI79 5158 S136 S10S Tobias tax Cut Tobias Managing Your S Turbo Tax w90 Wealth Bmider Turbo Tax Professorial Time Slips 111 S158 BSBEaan Adobe IllustratoryWindows S280 Finessev3.1 S94 Harvard Graphics Draw Prtner$85 PageMaker 5.01 S467 PC Paintbrush IVptus St04 Perform w.Des^DerA filler S154 Pnntehop S34 Publish ltvl.2 S129 Publishers Paintbrush S158 VenluraPublishingv3.0 S547 Ventura ProExlensiO ) S388 Arts& LettersvG.O S390 Autodesk Animator S236 DanBricklm'sPage Garden S65 Corporate Ladder S46 Draw Perfect S262 Freelanie Plus3 ,01 S3U GoScnptv3 S115 Go^criptPlusv3X^^S222 Auto SketcrnO.O Design CAD 2D v4.2 Design CaD3Dv3.1 Generic CADv5.0 S139 S143 S187 S215 5174 S272 onProDeveloper S481 a Perfect 2.1 S255 perv5 5488 iselVvl.1 S467 DbaselVDevelopers Edition S81 7 DataEasev4.2 S450 B Publisher Pro 5389 _B Publisher Repor: Maker S166 Foxbase386v2.1 S289 Foxbase Plus S178 Foxbase Provl.O S453 Lotus Agerda 1.01 S279 >x v3 5 i 5298 5272 S65 S354 Excel Lotus 123 ver. 2.2 Lotus 123ver. 3.1 Lucid 3Dv2.0 Multiplaii 4.01 Plan Perfects. 1 Quattro Oiattro Prov2.0 SuperCalcS VP Planner SuperCalcVLAN VP Planner 3D 5245 S328 S403 S3Da Omni Mouse II Bus w 'Paint Omni Mouse II Senal w Pajn MS Business 5 Pack PC Track Ball Serial 557 Summa Sketch II 12x12 S315 Summa Sketch II 12x18 Pro S569 Trakman Bus/Senal S81 While Mo use Bus/S erial S64 razsMa Enable (OA) S408 Framework III $434 MS Works 591 PFS: First Choice 593 Smartware II w/Spell checker S426 ■.•Mikimaaa 3.5' DS/DD 100 S88 3.5' High Density 100 SI 64 5.25" DS/DD 100 S5B 5^5^jchDenatyl0^^S98 5117 5376 AMI 11 'jssonalvl.2 MSWordvS.O 5211 MS Word Companion S28 MS Word for Windows vl.1 S298 MS Word for Windows Upgrade S138 PFS; Professional Write V2.2S149 Volkswriter 4 ¥,'■ Correct Grammar Volkswriter Deluxe Plus WordPerfectS.1 Word Perfect Library Word Perfect Ottee 5 pak Wordstar 2000 Plus vj.5 XyWnte Ul Plus S600 S388 '■■:,■: S-'£a MS Word Xenix MS MultiPlan Xenix SCO FoxBase SCO Lynx SCOVPIX3S6v1.2 SCO Xenix 38Sver.2.3.i SCO Xenix 286ver. 2.3 .2 . SCO Xenix 386 Complete S1TOB SCO Xenix 286 Complete S898 WordPerfect Xenix v5.0 $488 IMKU Carbon Copy Plus 5.2 S114 CompuServe Membership kit 51 9 CrosstalkXVI S102 - w-ndows 5116 Crosstalk Mark IV v2.0 S122 Direct Access v5.0 S58 Fastwire II S69 Laplmklll " " M m •III PC Anywhere IV Procom Plus Remote 2 Smartcom II Smartcomlllvl.2 Smartcom 320 Close-up Co/session Relay Gold w 3135 S102 S1 12 5154 ESH M m a Paradox^.. . PFSProlFile v2 S169 0&ADataBasev3.Q S214 R;BaselorDOS 5497 Revelation Advance v-2.0 5507 Revelation Advance RuntimeS125 DBXLDamond 1.3 5133 RapidFile1.2 S118 R&R Re en Wtrterv33 S100 MS Basic Pro develop ssln """ MS Fortran Compiler v5.0 MS Quick Pascal vl.O TurboBasicl.1 565 Turbo C 2.0 S182 Turbo C Pro 5158 TuiboPascal5.5ProPack S194 Microsolt Pascal S180 Micro Windows Dev S307 Tu bo Power Tools Pius 596 TujhoFWM£X^^^$100 Cotonx (VGA. Paint) v1.3 Corel Draw Deluxe Paint IIEnhanced S75 Designer v3.1 S424 First Publishers Power Pack S87 Flowcharlmglll 5132 FormToolsv30 S54 FormWorks w/fill & file 581 Graphicinthe BoxExecutiveS159 HarvardGraphicsv2.3 5299 Harvard Graphics Draw P tnr 585 Impress S68 LotusFreelance Plus v3.01 5321 PC Paintbrush (for Windows) S7B PC Paintbrush lv+ 5104 PFSFirstPublisherAitGlliy S74 Pizzaz 542 VP Grafix S58 PnniMaster Plus S33 Accpac BPI Network DataEase LAN 3 pack S439 DBase IV LAN S598 FoxBase LAN S624 l . - Network node S 15 1 MS Word Network node S118 Novell Netware ELS 1 2 01 A 5506 Novell Netware ELS II S1245 Paradox Network S626 PFS Professional LAN S286 Q&ANetworkPak(8user) S251 R Base for DOS 1-6Netwrk 5654 Supercalc 5 LAN S298 Ventura Publisher Network 5758 Word Perfect additional user Si 62 W.Z'k-o S208 Complete Hand Scan 400 5174 Complete Full PgeOCR/FP S2SB CAT Reader 1/2 page 5139 CAT Reader Full Page S224 DFI OCR S64 DFI OCR Deluxe S147 Miiilli.l^W 535 W4 S71 Hi, ~5? m 548 S22 lD!rPlusv3.5 386totheMaxv5.0 Above Diskv4.0 Backup Pro Brooklyn Bndgev3.0 Carousel Copy ll PC v5.2 Desqview Desqview 386 v2.3 Direct Access v5.0 Fastback Plusv2.l Formworks w;f>ll& file Headroom Laplmklllv3.0 Lotus Magellan v2.0 Mace UlilitiesvS.O MS Window sv 3.0 Move'Em No lonCoitiniander3.0 Norton UtilitiesAdvnced 5.0 S11 PC Tools Deluxev6.0 S8 PopDrop3.1 52 Pop Drop Plus $5 Sidekick Plus 513 Spinwritell vl.1 56 Xtree Pro 54 XtreeProGoldv1.4 57 Allways for lotus S11 Allways for Symphony Batle y watch 2.r ;.,:.a S38 15 Strike Eagle II F-1 5 Combat Pilot F-19Stea1hFighler King's Quest I. ll. III. I\ Hunt for Red October Leisure Suit Larry I Leisure SuitUrryll.il Mac Scuba MS Flight S:mu!ator4. CH Flightslick satj PC Globe 534 PC USA 534 Red Storm Rising $36 Sim City S28 Tetris St 8 Their Finest Hour S35 Tongue of the Taman $24 Tracon S35 Welltris 518 X-Men: Madness Murder'.': rfd S25 *MBg ' 5109 $78 568 ^.:. £274 $207 Hyundai VGA 720x400 MtSU _ isync 1391 Sony 1304 Multiscan Sony 1302Multiscan Sony 1320VGA NEC Multisync 2A NEC Mult 3D NEC4D NEC5D Packard Bell 12" Packard Bell 14- VGA (white) S299 S479 S499 S649 S498 5599 $1165 S2095 S89 S110 $149 S399 1024x768 IBM: 8503 12" mono 851214 "mono 851 3 1 2" color 8514 16" QCKE (COMPUTERS $1998 1 lb. POQET $999 6 lbs 286-40MB $898 # 1MB RAM, 3.5" floppy # Ports for: VGA monitor; keybrd; 2 serial, 1 parallel. Portable ATARI po* ahc $339-$l5 PALMTOP B0CBB. M S DOS cor npatible. Lotus 123 file compa Ible. Word Processor. Ad- dress Book. A ppointment Di'ary, Phone Dialer, Up/Dov\ mloadthru parallel port to printers/ PG/X" ["'AT/386 COMPUTER BA/AAR 800-383-3199 , orders only ■ 714-898-8626 ' customer service/foreign orders JJ FAX: 714-891-1202 §§ /l-F: 6a.m.-6p.m. Sat/Sun 7a.m.-2p.rri& APTOP & NOTEBOOK COMPUTERS iub wYBARJ ^**»| m^ ) SHARP Notebook PC 6220 $79/n # 286-12Mhz # 20MB hard drive # Backlit super twist VGA-LCD # Weighs 4.4 lbs. -11"x8.5"x14" Memory UTHA " MATH CDs TOSHIBA T 1000 786k co , d $259 T1000/SE/XE2MB $299 T1200XE2MB $197 T1600/3100/3200/ T5200 2MB $197 T3100SX/3200SX 4MB $499 SHARP SHARP 6220 1MB/2MB $199/498 SH5541 1MB $499 PANASONIC P4420 Laser 1MB $210 P4420 Laser 2MB $279 P44501 Laser 1MB $199 P4450I Lose; 2MB $249 EPSON LP 6000 Laser U-b $199 LP 6000 Laser 2w» $225 ZENITH Super Sport 1MB/4MB $179/Call Z386-20/25/33 1MB/2MB $145/249 4MB $649 Z386SX2MB $199 $189 COMPAQ SLT 1MB LTE286 1MB/2MB $164/225 DeskPra 286- 20/20E/25/286-E 1MB/4MB $165/440 DeskPra 386S 1MB/4MB $165/495 DeskPra 386/33 2MB $295 IBM PS/2 Mdl 30/502/60 512K/2MB $75/225 Mdl70.E»i/HilMB $125 Mdl 70 A-21 2MB $245 Mdl 80 141 1MB $199 Mdl 80 111/211 2MB $299 4019 Laser 1MB $179 HP LaserJet HP ll/IID jooSX 80287-8 80287-10 80287-12 80387-16 80387-20 80387-25 80387-33 HASmiik SCqII $125 $195 $204 $269 $295 $389 $455 3i :/328 1MB/2MB HP IIP/111 1MB/2MB $99/149 99/149 $249 Everex 2496 ■&/; Hayes JT 9600 $459 9600 FAX + 2400 Modem card $299 Complete PC 9600 S347 9600 Fax/modem $184 Intel Sansfa xtion $399 2400 int 2400 ext $89 9600 int v.32 S398 9600 ext v.32 S398 Aochor2400i/ex $82/116 2400 MNP i/e $155/225 9600 v32 MNP5 i $745 Ewr« 2400 MNPS i $175 2400 MNP5 ext $194 Laptop n Bookmark Plus Cruise Co itrol Dan Bricklin's Demo ll GoScriptvS.O Go Script Plus v3.0 Xlree Net V Feature vt 67 V Feature Plus v2 57 Optune S36 S89 S24 $134 S115 5222 5208 FAX $15 Paxph"'e15 $419 RxF50 JCaLT Fax phone 20 FaX phone 23 Fax phone 26 FaX phone 35 Fax 222 Fax 270 Fax 350 Fax 450 Fax 630 Fax 705 Fax 770 Fax 850 S569 S749 $895 $865 $1099 $1399 $1595 $1845 $1899 $2149 S3399 $2849 KXF90 KX 110 KXF220 KXF320 SCALL SCALL $899 $1335 Fax85 Fax 90 Fax 95 Fax 105 Fax1010 Fox 1000L Fox 2800L /mc $1299 $1449 S1795 $1819 $2795 $2995 $2299 UF127 UF170 UF270 UF270M UF 300 Inkjet M900 M1100 M1850 F25 ■F37 F40 F45 Samsung 1010 Samsung 11 00 $395 $499 $698 $769 $849 $1110 S1299 $399 $409 T3450 T3750 i0 Inkjet $ $559 $925 $1089 $1198 $1498 $619 $699 F0 215 FO230 F0 333 FO510 FO550 FO750 FO800 FO 5200 F0 334 $499 S599 S699 S759 $1199 $1499 $1695 $2499 SCall RF810 RF860 RF910 RF920 Ricoh PF-1 Fax 15 Fax 80 $399 $625 $499 $699 $949 $665 $1199 Audiovox 1000 $359 Avox3000w/cutter$549 AF2000 M0..2Z0V $499 MITSUBISHI Access Portable fax F10 S869 Guis 1 10/220V $499 l^'V" •_ Optune ^3 EJBEESa ■lEUdlhUhMI Harvard Prmert Ma anpr III SM4 ff '. ? ■ „ ■"'■ ■* '* '" ", g? Harvard Project Ma ager III S394 Microsoft Project 4,0 5323 MSMultiplan 5128 Org&ArJvanced S62 SuperProied Expert vl.1 5420 Timehnev4,0 S4356 VP Planner 3D S132 Timelme Graphics S114 MM#jm*ii Kensington ExpitMsePS/2 S103 L091 Mouse Hi-res XTiAT 575 Masterpiece S86 MasterpiecePlus S92 MSB us/Serial Mouse S96 M S B us/Serial Mouse wiWmrJows S144 Forthe Record Mavis Beacon TeachesTyping S59 PC Logo (new ver) S46 Perso nal Lawyer 534 Carme n San Diego: Where in theWorld S28 WheteinTlme S28 Where in tneUSA S26 Resume Maker $27 Will Makerv4 01 S36 Battle Chess S28 CalrfomiaGames S14 CaWornia Games II 531 ChessMaster2lG0 533 SCANNERS Sharp JX IOO $665 Sharp JX 300 $2395 Sharp JX 450 $4195 ChinonDS3000 $549 Chinon DS 3000/OCR $699 Epson Color $Call HP Scanjet $1385 Oscam 400dpl full pg + doc feed + OCR $695 Panasonic 505U $784 ■i $1078 $989 $165 $499 Panasonic 506U Panasonic 307U Complete PC i/2 pg Complete PC full pg Logitech 5" ScanMan + OCR DEST 81/2 scan + OCR Mars 400*01 4 Hand + OCR Mars800dpi 5" HandScan + OCR $299 $299 $699 $179 COMPUTER Telephone Product Center 12603 Hoover St, Garden Grove, CA 92641 Terms:Theseare pre-payment prices discounted 2.9% for cash. Discover, VISA/MC/AmEx are not considered pre-payment. Restocking 20%. We accept Cashiers Checks. WE CHECK FOR STOLEN CREDIT CARDS. Prices and AD 400BYT avai ' abi ' i,y sub ' ecltochan 9 e ' a " salesare ^ na '' De ^ ec,ive ' ,ems re P aired - in warranty. A $5.95 handling charge will be added to all orders. NO RETURNS. Monthly financing payments are approximations only. TOSHIBA MONTHLY PAYMENTS SHARP TEXAS INSTR. ZENITH LAPTOPS NEC LAPTOPS MITSUBISHI VIP 286-210 2 FD $1265 S COMPAQ LAPTOPS ALTIMA MITSUBA A.E.G. OLYMPIA 386SX 40M6 VGA SCall $89 r LEADING EDGE 6SX 40MB VGA S18 EVEREX SANYO BONDWELL FORA PACKARD BELL S6A/GA20 $1995 S53 SAMSUNG DESKTOP 486- 25mhz 4MB RAM; 100MB VGA ILT 386SX VGA 60 120MB SCall (SQ^QQ EPSON LAPTOPS fgT/mo GOLDSTAR HYUNDAI TANDON PANASONIC Goldstar 386-20 128MB VGA $1699 386-33 40MB VGA $1895 386SX Goldstar FINANCING EH. Circle 286 on Inquiry Card. MULTI FUNCTIONS IN ONE INSTRUMENT MFI-421 FEATURES ■ Frequency counter • Range: 1 hz - 100 Mhz • Sensitivity: 1 hz - 60 Mhz (15mV) 60 Mhz - 100 Mhz (25mV) • Accuracy: ±(1 hz + 1 dgt + Time base error) • Display: 8 digits LED w/units annunciator ■ Function generator • Frequency: 0.02 hz - 2 Mhz • Output waveform: Sine, Square, Triangle, Skewed sine, Ramp, Pulse, TTL level square • Output: 0.1 Vpp - 20 Vpp • Output impedence: 500/60012 ■ Digital multimeter: 3.5 digit LCD Display • Auto ranging (DCV, ACV, Q. DCA, ACA) • Basic accuracy: ± (0.5% + 2 dgts) ■ Power supply • Triple output, 0-50V, 0.5A Max; 15V, 1A; 5V, 2A 21312 TEL (408) 745-7974 FAX (408) 745-1401 Circle 323 on Inquiry Card. UNIVERSAL PROGRAMMER • Programs PLD, E(E)PROM (up to 4MB), Bipolar PROM & Microcontroller • Tests TTUCMOS logic & D/S memory • Software controlled 40-pin universal device programmer - Interfaces with IBM PC/XT/AT/386 or compatibles • Reliable and fast programming with Normal, Intelligent, Interactive, Quick pulse algorithms • Accepts JEDEC, INTEL extended HEX, Motorola S, Tektronix HEX, Binary formats • Manages 8, 16, and 32-bit word split • Supports most compilers In JEDEC format • High speed parallel interface card to PC *5rerc 764 San Aleso Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086 TEL (408) 745-7974 FAX (408) 745-1401 Circle 324 on Inquiry Card. COMPLETE DATA ACQUISITION CARD FOR IBM PC/XT/AT MCP-550 I/O MASTER CARD FEATURES • High performance, low cost data acquisition card with multi-functions: A/D, D/A, D/l, D/O • Maximum sampling rate of 100,000 samples/sec with option or 60,000 samples/sec (standard) • Industry standard 12-bit resolution • 16 single ended or 8 differential A/D channels • Two 12-bit monolithic multiplying D/A channels • TTL compatible 24 D/l & D/O channels • Switch selectable analog input range: 0-10 V or +10V • Can be used with MCE-730: a versatile 16 channel analog input multiplexing and signal conditioning card • Complete support of vendor application S/Ws such as Labtech Notebook, ASYST... 235E2 TEL (408) 745-7974 FA XJ4 08) 745-1401 Circle 325 on Inquiry Card. QIC 'n Easy Access to all your Data Everytime OqicpakO The QICPAK family provides unique facilities to access 1/4" (QIC) data cartridges created on a wide range of Micros, Minis and Mid- Range Systems using your PC. This gives you a secure, tow cost, fast and high capacity alternative. QICPAK's facilities cover all aspects of cartridge processing, including: • Extracting data directly from the cartridge into packages such as Lotus 123 or DBASE or for use in Mail Merge applications. • Data files can be extracted by QICPAK from cartridges recorded on many systems, including: IBM System 36/38. ISM AS/400. IBM PCRT, Apollo, Everex. Maynard, Mountain, Sun, Sytos, UNIX and XENIX systems etc. • QICPAK's High Speed Cartridge Duplication gives complete in-house control. • QICPAK's Backup & Restore facilities are UNIX tar compatible • Custom applications, eg recorded information may be protected from unwanted access providing secure interchange of your confidential information. • Source in Microsoft & Turbo C, Turbo Pascal and BASIC is provided. We provide both QICPAK Kits for use with existing 1/4" cartridge drives and also complete internal & external solutions. Support is by the developers. VOGON VOGON ENTERPRISES LIMITED 94 Easthampstead Road, Wokingham, Berkshire RG11 2JD England Tel: (44) 734 784511/890042 Fax: (44) 734 890040 IG PROMPT DELIVERY!!! SAME DAY SHIPPING (USUALLY) QUANTITY ONE PRICES SHOWN for JAN. 27, 1991 DYNAMIC RAM 4M Board for hp LJ' SW/2MB $160.00 SIMM 2M IBM PS/2 Model 70 145.00 SIMM 4Mx9 80 ns 285.00 SIMM 1Mx9 80 ns 49.00 4Mbit 4Mx1 80 ns 38.00 4Mbit 1Mx4 80 ns 47.00 1Mbit 1Mx1 80 ns 5.25 41256 256Kx1 100 ns 2.40 41256 256Kx1 120 ns 2.30 44256 256Kx4 100 ns 5.25 4464 64Kx4 100 ns 1.95 41264* 64Kx4 100 ns 5.95 EPROM 27C1000 128Kx8 200 ns $14.00 27C512 64Kx8 120 ns 8.50 27256 32Kx8 150 ns 6.75 27128 16Kx8 250 ns 3.65 STATIC RAM 1Mbit 128Kx8 100 ns $15.00 I62256P-10 32Kx8 100 ns 6.95 J SAT DEL ON | FED-EX ORDERS RECEIVED BY: I Tfc S-2 $LU4h I Fr: PI $17,00 1 1> 1 COD AVAILABLE -10 pm:SHIP VIA FED- EX ON SAT. MasterCardVISA or UPS CASH COD MICROPROCESSORS UNLIMITED. INC. r E S s o P K eo ;^r (918) 267-4961 No minimum Order. Please nole prices subjBCL to Change! Shipping, insurance extra, up lo S! tor packing materials Circle 31 9 on Inquiry Cord. Circle 1 84 on Inquiry Card. VERBATIM MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTS SONY • BASF VIDEO CAPTURE BOARDS 512 x 512 resolution 24 bit - RGB 16 mil. clrs $1875 100% CERTIFIED 8 bit - 256 gray levels $895 LIFETIME WARRANTY FREE Menu driven Image 5V4" DS/DD $ .39 each Processing Software 5 1 /4"DS/HD .59 each 10 FREE hrs C development 3V2" DS/DD .59 each for YOUR application! 3V2"DS/HD 1.04 each C Graphics Library Price based on mix/match qty. of 300 in bulk. Digitize at Video rate ! Includes Tyvek sleeves and label kits. NTSC Composite Video In/Out PREFORMATTED • COLORS • TAPES IBM AT/386 compatible 1 YEAR WARRANTY 30 day Money Back Guarantee. MEGASoft KCX Bo* 710, Behold, M 07728 1 753 Mass. Ave. 800-222-0490 EECS Cambridge MA 021 40 InNJ 908-462-7628 Tel: 617-498-9838 FAX: 617-491-6808 FAX 908-462-5658 Intelligent Solutions SCSI CONTROLLERS FOR ISA & MCA TheOnlyDCBsto Consider for NetWare! NEW! PROCOMP F-DCB for NetWare has on-board boot & floppy support. NEW! DRAVADD & DRANLM deliver super hard disk & erasable optical performance under NetWare. Use with NetWare 286 & 386. (Also, driven* for OS/2, DOS and XENIX.) NEW! Create fully NetWare Ready compatible drives using DCBSET 5. Phone:(216) 234-6387 FAX: (216) 234-2233 tyflWP The SCSI Professionals 6777 ENGLE ROAD, CLEVELAND, OH 44130 Circle 226 on Inquiry Card. 6 <§$£ Made in U.SJL JC GOLD CARD ■The JCS 486, the New Performance [Leader In Personal 486 Systemboards * Intel 80486/25(B6) CPU * 8KB Cache integrated in CPU * Molh Coprocessor integrated in CPU * Shadow RAM for Video & System BIOS " Second Level Cache Memory expandadable to 512KB * Weitek 4167 nuneric coprocessor socket * 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE I 486 Complete System $3195 fncfccfe 4MB Memory, 150MB ESDI HDD, ESDI Cache Cortroltec, \2 or 1.44MB FDD, MS DOS, AT VO, 101 Keyboard I 80386/20 CPU Bd, C&T chipset $615 80386/25 CPU Bd, C&T chipset $665 | 80386/25 Cache Bd, C&T chipset $845 Dealer Inquiries welcome Jemlnl Electronics (408)727-9986 [ 3400 Do La Cruz BJvd, Unl T ' ' FAX S*rta Clara Ca, 95054 (408)727-7687 Circle 1 75 on Inquiry Card. Circle 101 on Inquiry Card. Circle 154 on Inquiry Card. MEMORY! FIRS1>^"\ WE ACCEPT PURCHASE ORDERS FROM UNIVERSITIES, QUALIFIED FIRMS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. WE ACCEPT INTERNATIONAL ORDERS 3 day International delivery available via Federal Express or DHL! CALL (714) 588-9866 ,JZ£L» FAX (714) 588-9872 SmURCE Xj^^y INTERNATIONAL, INC. GREAT PRICES, PRODUCTS AND SUPPORT! 100% COMPATIBLE OR YOUR MONEY BACK LASER MEMORY IBM MEMORY Model PS/1 512K Kit 1057035 $99.00 2MB IBM PN N/A $399.00 Models 30-286, Exp. Board 1497259 512K Kit 30F5348 $49.00 2MB Kit 30F5360 $139.00 Models 70-E61/121,55SX,65SX 1MB 6450603 $79.00 Models 70-E61/121,50Z,55SX,65SX 2MB 6450604 $139.00 Models 55SX, 65SX, 34F3077 & 34F3011 4MB 34F2933 $399.00 Model 70-A21 2MB 6450608 $149.00 Model 80-141 1MB 6450375 $129.00 Models 80-111/311 2MB 6450379 $239.00 Models 80-A21/A31 4MB 6451060 $549.00 All Models 70 and 80 2-8MB Board w/2M 6450605 $459.00 2-14MB Board w/2M 34F3077 $539.00 4 -16MB Board w/4M 34F3011 $825.00 Models 50, 55Z, 60 & 65SX 2-16MB Board w/2MB 6450609 $589.00 Hewlett-Packard LaserJet UP, III and MID 1 MB 33474B $89.00 2MB 33475B $159.00 4MB 33477B $279.00 Hewlett-Packard LaserJet II & IID 2MB 33444B $169.00 4MB 33445B $289.00 IBM Laser 4019 and 4019e 1MB 1039136 $169.00 2MB 1039137 $219.00 3.5MB 1 038675 $299.00 Canon LBP-4 ! ! N E W ! ! 1MB S63-2230 $199.00 2MB S63-2230+ $339.00 Canon LBP-8I1, 8IIR, 8IIT 2MB S63-1880 $179.00 4MB PN N/A $289.00 OkiLaser 400 ! ! N E W ! ! 1MB 70014701 $179.00 2MB OKI PN N/A $229.00 Epson EPL6000 2MB IBS401 $289.00 4MB PNN/A $429.00 Panasonic 4450I and 4420 1MB KX-443 $169.00 2MB KX-441 $229.00 4MB PNN/A $349.00 Zenith Z-386/20/25/33 & 33E 1MB ZA36/3800ME $79.00 4MB ZA3800MK $419.00 Zenith Z-386/25 & 33 2MB ZA3600MG $149.00 Zenith Z-386 SX 2MB Kit Z-605-1 $149.00 Zenith TurboSport 386e 1MB ZA-3034-ME $259.00 4MB PNN/A $589.00 ZENITH MEMORY AST MEMORY COMPAQ MEMORY DeskPro 286-E.386-20/20E/25 1MB 113131-001 $119.00 4MB 113132-001 $319.00 DeskPro 386S/16 1MB 113646001 $119.00 4MB 112534-001 $319.00 DeskPro 286N, 386N and 386SX and 20 1MB 118688-001 $79.00 4MB 118690-001 $419.00 DeskPro 386N, 386SX and 20 2MB 118689-001 $149.00 DeskPro 386-33, 486-33 & SystemPro 2MB 115144-001 $169.00 8MB 116561-001 $1299.00 DeskPro 386-20e and 25e 1MB Board 113644-001 $189.00 4MB Board 113645-001 $489.00 DeskPro 386S 1MB Board 113633-001 $189.00 4MB Board 113634 001 $489.00 DeskPro 386/16 (Populate in this order) 1MB Kit 108071-001 $135.00 1MB Board 108069-001 $349.00 2MB Board 1 08069/71-001 $449.00 4MB Board 108070-001 $799.00 8MB Board 108070/72-001 $1399.00 Bravo/286 128K Kit 500510-011 $29.00 Premium 386C and 386-16 1 MB Kit 50051 0-007 $85.00 4MB Kit 500510-008 $289.00 Premium 386-20 1MB Kit 500510-003 $99.00 4MB Kit 500510-004 $319.00 Bravo 386-SX, WS/286;386 and 12 2MB Kit 500510-002 $149.00 4MB Kit 50051 0-008 $289.00 Premium 386-SX/16/25/33 & all 486 models 1 MB 500718-002 $79.00 Premium 486 2MB 500718-004 $219.00 Premium II 386SX/20, 386SX/16 1 MB 500780-003 $109.00 4MB 500780-004 $589.00 Premium 386/33T, 486/25 (ALL), Bravo 486/25 8MB PNN/A $1169.00 WE ALSO HAVE MEMORY FOR CUPID-32 500818-001 AND 500722- 004...CALL NOW- Series 9000/400T and 425T 4MB Kit H98229C $999.00 8MB Kit H98229B $1999.00 16MB Kit HP PN N/A $3159.00 32MB Kit H98229E $6319.00 VectraQS/16S& ES/12PC 2MB Kit D1354A $139.00 Vectra C-S/16S and RS/20PC 1MB Kit D1540A $79.00 4MB Kit D1542A $279.00 Vectra QS/20PC, RS/25PC, 20C and 25C 1MB Kit D1640A $79.00 4MB Kit D1642A $279.00 Vectra 486 PC 1MB Kit D2150A $89.00 4MB Kit D2151A $419.00 Vectra 486PC and 386/25 PC 8MB Kit D2152A $829.00 Vectra 386/25 PC 2MB Kit D2381A $159.00 HEWLETT-PACKARD MEMORY BRAND NEW! Canon LBP-4 memory board 1MB $229.00 2MB $399.00 Okidata OL-400 1MB $229.00 2MB $399.00 Toshiba portable T1000LE & 2000SX 2MB $299.00 4MB $649.00 8MB $1199.00 Call for all other makes and models m TOSHIBA - Model 1000SE, XE, LE and 2000SX 1MB $269.00 2MB $299.00 Model 1000LEand 2000SX 4MB $749.00 8MB $1399.00 Model T1200XE 2MB $179.00 ModelT1600 2MB $179.00 Model T3100E 2MB $179.00 Model T3100SX 2MB $1 79.00 4MB $499.00 Model T3200SX 2MB $179.00 4MB $499.00 Model T3200 3MB $299.00 Model T5100 2MB $179.00 Model T5200.T8500 2MB $179.00 8MB $1189.00 COMPAQ Portable III 512K $39.00 2MB 135.00 Portable 386/20 1MB $285.00 4MB $845.00 Portable LTE 286 1 MB $135.00 2MB $185.00 NEW! 4MB $795.00 SLT-286 1 MB $165.00 4MB $795.00 SLT-386 1MB $225.00 2MB $395.00 NEW! 4MB $875.00 ZENITH SuperSport 286 and 286e 1MB $179.00 SuperSport SX and 286e 2MB $325.00 SuperSport SX 2MB A or B $295.00 TurboSport 386e 1MB $259.00 4MB $589.00 NEC ProSpeed 286 and 386SX/16 1MB $289.00 2MB $442.00 4MB $749.00 ProSpeed SX/20 1MB $309.00 4MB $709.00 ProSpeed 386 2MB $489.00 8MB $1659.00 Memory upgrad manufactured by: \T "A APRtCORN TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION PARAGON MEMORY CORPORATION EXPANSION BOARDS Everex RAM 3000 Deluxe Up to 3MB of base, expanded and/or extended memory. EMS 4.0 compatible with no wait stales. Uses 256Kx1 Dram. with OK: SIM159 $99.00 with 512K: SIM159-05 $139.00 BocaRam/XT Up to 2MB of expanded memory for any IBM PC, XT and 8-bit PC bus compatibles running at CPU speeds upto12MHz. LIM 4.0 compatible. Uses 256K Dram. with OK: SIMXT00 $119.00 with 51 2K: SIMXT05 $149.00 BocaRam/ATPIus Up to 8MB for any AT or 16 bit compatible machines running up to 33MHz. Offers conventional, expanded and/or extended memory, provides a maximum of 8MB LIM/EMS 4,0. Uses 1x1 Dram. with OK: SIMAT80 $119.00 with 2MB: SIM A 182 $239.00 Orchid8/16 Upto 32MB for IBM AT, or 16-bit compatible. Use as convenlional. expanded and/or extended upto 32MB using 256K, 1MB or 4MB industry standard SIMMs. with OK: SIM1900 $239.00 with 1MB: SIM1900-05 $299.00 IBM TYPE 4Mx9-80 $299.00 1Mx9-12 $54.00 1Mx9-10 $56.00 1Mx9-80 $58.00 1Mx9-70 $60.00 256x9-12 $16.00 256x9-10 $17.00 256x9-80 $18.00 256x9-60 $20.00 APPLE-MAC 4Mx8-80 $279.00 1Mx8-12. $48.00 1Mx8-10 $50.00 1Mx8-80 $52.00 256x8-12 $14.00 256x8-10 ...$15.00 256x8-80 $16.00 1MX1 1MX1-12 $5.00 1MX1-10 $5.50 1MX1-80 $6.00 1MX1-70 $6.50 1MX1-60 $7.50 256KX4 256KX4-12 $5.00 256KX4-10 $5.50 245KX4-80 $6.00 256KX1 256KX1-12 $1.80 256KX1-10 $1.90 256KX1-80 $2.00 256KX1-70 $2.50 256KX1-60 $3.00 STATIC COLUMN ALSO AVAILABLE CALL TOLL FREE FROM ANYWHERE IN THE U.S. OR CANADA! ORDER NOW: 1-800-535-5892 • NO SURCHARGE ON MC OR VISA • Terms: AmEx (+4%), Visa. MC, COD/Cash, Net 30 on purchase orders from qualified firms. • 20% Restocking fee on all non-defective returns & refused orders. RMA # required. • Manufacturers part numbers are for your convenience, all products third party. • PRICES AND AVAILABILITY SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Order Desk Hours: Monday thru Friday 8:00-5:00PM Use our 24 hour-a-day voice mall or FAX! PLEASE SEND ALL P.O.'S AND MAILORDERS TO: First Source International, Inc. 36 Argonaut, Suite 140 Aliso Viejo, California 92656 Ph. (714) 588-9866 FAX (714) 588-9872 Why buy from First Source International? We make a good price a GREA T price! When you buy from FSI the price includes EXCELLENT SERVICE and SUPPORT from our TRAINED SALES STAFF. And if there's a problem, we will be here to help you. "The Only Source" for Memory! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^mu 1 1 ini ii i ■ iiiii i ii 1 1 1 1 1 1 ■ i ini i Circle 1 1 3 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 1 14). MARCH 1991 -BYTE 367 New Schematic and PCB Software With support for extended and expanded memory, HiWIRE II can handle your most demanding schematic and PCB designs quickly and easily. The unique HiWIRE editor allows you to display and edit schematics and PCBs simultaneously, us- ing the same commands for each. HiWIRE II is $995, and is guaranteed. \vi\ 1 1:1: Corporation 1801 South Street, Lafayette, IN 47904 (800) 742-6809 or (317) 448-1903 I II I DriveGuard the personal technician NOW — stop data loss before, it strikes! DriveGuard puis yon on Ihe'offensive against sud- den data loss disasters by delecting marginal con- ditions in your 5.25 in, high-density, floppy drive before they become a problem. At last you'll know when it's safe to store your valuable data on disk. Selected features: • Fast, accurate test of your floppy drive. • Resolves interchangcability problems, t Easy to use, menu driven interface. • On-line help, mono and color support. • Printed reports with lest resull history. DriveGuard is an iudispcnsiblc utility for anyone who owns or uses a PC/AT or 100% compatible computer with one or more 5.25 in, high-density, 1.2 meg floppy disk drives. 512k RAM required. Send check or money order for SS9.95+S4.00 S&H to Test Technology, P.O. Box 3601 IS, Milpilas, CA 95036. California residents add sales lax. Call (408) 946-1722, 9am to 5pm PST. "Don't boot up without it!" Complete System $1695.00 ♦New WINDOWS 3.0 Compatible Software ■ 48 Channels @ 25 MHz x 4K word deep ■ 16 Trigger Words/16 Level Trigger Sequence ■ Storage and Recall of traces/setups to disk ■ Disassemblers available for: 68000, 8088. 8086, 6801, 6811, Z80, 8085, 6502, 6809, 6303, 8031. NCI D 6438 UNIVERSITY DRIVE HUNTSVILLE, AL 35806 • (205) 837-6667 FAX (205) 837-5221 Circle 322 on Inquiry Card. Circle 287 on Inquiry Card. Circle 1 97 on Inquiry Card. 3M Data Cartridges Product* Unformatted DC300XL/P DC6Q0A DC6150- DC2Q0O;: Formatted DC2000THetamat DC2000 Kappamat DC ; 20S0 ; Rbomat mm 33047: 00310 112802; 12200 12941 12523: 12524 12808 mm $18i75ea; $20.50ea $20.6 5 ea $14,956 a S19.25ea $17.85ea $17.85ea $19;15ea In USA and Canada 1-800-258-0028 fV-' Call for free 80 page catalog! Mm. order $25.00. In Canada Mki. order $100.00. S&H: FOB Grand Rapids Ml. COD: addl $5.50. ji- Ml residents + 4% tax. Prices subject to change.--- Precision Data Products™ P.O. Box 8367 Grand Rapids, MU9518 616-698-2242 FAX:61 6-698-9047 Ml resident IHI Circle 225 on Inquiry Card. DEC/TEK Terminal Emulation 31^ EM4105 Tektronix 4105/4010/4014 DEC VT320, VT220, VT102 16 color VGA/EGA support WlaMtzttVlfllMiW/MMWFA Extensive network support gfct EM320 • DECVJ320, VT220, VT102 • True 132 column display • DOS hot key (only 170 Kb!) • Extensive network support Diversified Computer Systems, Inc. 3775 Iris Avenue. Suite 1B Boulder, CO 80301 (303) 447-9251 FAX 303-447 -1406 Circle 97 on Inquiry Card. There is a Difference. Uf&meFm Updates A programmer is not just another programmer. Ihat is why BP Microsystems is commited to bringing our customers the highest quality programmers at an affordable price. A good example of this commitment is the EP-1 EPR0M Programmer. 7he EP-1 supports virtually every 24- or 28-pin E/EPR0M. And, all of our programmers include lifetime free software updates and an unconditional money back guarantee. BP MICROSYSTEMS 1-800-225-2102 {713] 461-9430 Circle 50 on Inquiry Card. NEW FREE 272 PAGE DATA ACQUISITION & CONTROL HANDBOOK FOR IBM PC/XT/ AT, PS/2 AND COMPATIBLE COMPUTERS A/D BOARDS • SIGNAL CONDITIONING COMMUNICATION INDUSTRIAL CONTROL !• PC INSTRUMENTS • SCIENTIFIC SOFTWARE 'SEND TODAY FOR YOUR FREE 272 PAGE METRABYTE DATA ACQUISITIONS, CONTROL HANDBOOK KEITH LEY METRABYTE 440 Myles Standish Blvd., Taunton, MA 02780 (508) 880-3000 TLX: 503989 FAX: (508) 880-0179 COPROCESSOR SPECIALIST 8087 $ 82. 8087-2 122. 8087-1 151. 80387DX-16 309. 80387DX-20 351. 80387DX-25 429. 80387DX-33 532. 287XL/XLT 199. 80387SX-16 297. 80387SX-20 313. M i \u i m 3167-20 340. 3167-25 569. 3167-33 699. 4167-25 747. 4167-33 990. AMD AM80C287-10 with manual & disc $99.00 ! ^^^^^H 2C87-8 164. 2C87-10 178. 2C87-12.5 189. 2C87-20 239. 3C87-16 259. 3C87-20 279. 3C87-25 359. 3C87-33 449. 3C87SX-16 298. 3C87SX-20 CALL X83D87-16 259. X83D87-20 295. X83D87-25 368. X83D87-33 448. X83S87-16 230. X83S87-20 252. ANN & ANTHONY (DAI) 2464 El Camino Real, Suite 420 Santa Clara, CA 95051 Tel: (408) 988-5083 Fax: (408) 988-3986 !!!!!NEW!!!!! 321/0 <->RS-232 ' FINALLY ANY COMPUTER CAN HAVE I/O ' PLUGS INTO ANY STANDARD RS-232 PORI" ' 16 DIGITAL INPUTS, 16 DIGITAL OUTPUTS ' ALL I/O OPrO-ISOLATED PROTECTED ' NO ADDITIONAL HARDWARE REQUIRED ' NO MORE SPECIAL PLUG-IN CARDS ' EASY TO PROGRAM IN ANY LANGUAGE ' UP TO 4 BOARDS CONNECr TO ONE RS-232 ' IDEAL FOR REMOTE MONITOR & CONTROL ' USED IN INDUSTRY, SCHOOLS, LABS & HOBBY ' INDUSTRIAL VERSION AVAILABLE ' RS-422/485 VERSION AVAILABLE ' GRAFCET CONTROL SOFTWARE AVAILABLE ' COMES WITH PC BASIC PROGRAM DEMO DISK 'STANDARD UNIT PRICED ATONLY $349 QTY 1 ■ DEALER INQUIRIES ARE WELCOME P. SHERMAN ENTERPRISES (514) 331-3712 Circle 1 57 on Inquiry Card. Circle 22 on Inquiry Card. Circle 230 on Inquiry Card. LOWEST COST, FASTEST SERVICE, GUARANTEED QUALITY Data Acquisition & Control i€W 1 TE-158 Telephone Control Card: Take total control over your telephone communication. Direct telephone line inter- face gives you control over line connect/ disconnect, touch-tone decoding and en- coding, and detects call ^M progress. Set ^| your computer ^| to dial out auto- ^ matically, to keep trying if busy signal, control voice synthe- sizer, tape recorder with complete in/out capability. FCC approved. TE-158: $190.00 Relay Card: 8 individually con- trolled industrial relays. 3A at 120VAC, SPST. RE-140:$142 8 Bit A to D: 8 Analog inputs. 0-5.1 V.20mV steps. 7500 readings /sec. AD-142:$142 Temperature Sensor: Range 0-200°F. 10mV/°.2° Resolu- tion with AD-142. TS-111: $12 Digital Input: 8 opto-isolated inputs. Read volt- age presence or switch closures. IN-141: $65 Odin Software: PC compatible. Control relays from analog inputs or time schedules. Logging. Runs in background. OS-189:$129 Reed Relay Card: 8 reed relays (20mA at 60VDC, SPST). RE-156:$109 Digital Output Driver: 8 outputs: 250mA at 12V. For relays, solenoids, stepper motors, lamps. ST-143: $78 If you have a technical problem, call us! After 15 years in data acquisition and control, we've come to know a little. We've answered thousands of questions from customers. We'll be happy to answer yours, too. Call our FREE Technical Advice Department at (203) 656-1806, or fax us your question at (203) 656-0756. Let's hear from you! Kevin Tschudi Engineer, Alpha Products Latched Digital Input: 8 opto-isolated inputs. Each input individually latched to catch switch closures and alarm loops. LI-157: $85 Smart Quad Stepper Controller: On board micro- processor controls four motors simul- taneously. Uses sim- ple commands like "MOVE ARM 10.2 (INCHES) LEFT". Set position, ramping, speed, units... Many inputs.f or limit switches etc. Stepper motors available. SC-149: $299 FA-154 High Speed 12 Bit A/D Converter: Blinding speed at low cost! Convert at 10 fjs. Eight input channels accepting 0-5V sig- nals. Special onboard variable gain ampli- fier lets you read ^ v signals less than IjjP* §1 H.SB(1.2mv). Wk For value com- Bk binedwith speed in data acquisition and signal processing, this convener leads the pack! FA-154: $179.00 32 Channel Multiplexer: Switches up to 32 channels to a single 24 line TTL I/O: Connect 24 signals, TTL 0/5V levels or switches. (8255A) DG-148: $72 Canada Alpha Products Systems Group Canada Japan Japan Crescent Inc. I'll: vS2-4-7-h9 Spain Artixi S.C.I'. Germany SW rhuentedinik GmbH I'll Fax: +49 (0)4106 -UX* D/A converter: 4 Channel 8 Bit D/A converter with out- put amplifiers. DA-147: $149 Ph: 4l6-272o()K-i Fa.* 3-S1S-89H I'll: (93)325 70 IS : -H9 {0)4106 3998 +49(0)4106 4061 12 Bit A to D: Range: ±4V. On-board amp. 1 mV resolution. Conversion time 130ms. 1 channel; expand with RE-156orMX-155 AN-146: $153 common. MX-155:$83 Clock with Alarm: Powerful clock/ calendar. Battery backup. CL-144: $98 Italy microsystems srl I'll: (02) 33 103 420 Fax: (02) 33 103 419 Norway A/S Con-Trade I'll: ((H) 4l 8351 Rlv ( ♦ ) » 1 9472 Uruguay Jorge Card I'll: 598 2483M5 Rix: 598 2943306 Asia (Singapore) Baiam Development Agencv !\l. Ltd. Ph: 473 4918 Fax: 479 64% We back our low prices with great customer sen ice! We're a totally sen-ice- driven company. To keep our prices low and volume high, we must rely on your repeat business. Never worry about a problem with Alpha Products. We fix everything. We guarantee everything. No fine print. No excuses. We're here to make you successful. Touch Tone Decoder: Converts tones to unique values. PH-145: $87 A-Bus Proto- typing card: PR-152:$16 Motherboard: Holds up to 5 A-Bus cards. MB-120: $108 Counter Timer: Three 16 bit coun- ters/timers. Count pulses, measure frequency. CM 50: $132 These products work with IBM PC, Apple ll # Commodore and Tandy, etc. Our serial interfaces let you use any computer with an RS-232 port. A-Bus Adapters: IBM PC/XT/AT & compatibles. AR-133:$69 MicroChannel Adapter: Parallel Adapters also available for Apple II, Commo- dore 64, 128, TRS-80. AR-170: $93 Serial Adapter: Connect A-Bus sys- tems to any RS-232 port. SA-129:$149 Serial Processor: Built in BASIC for off-line monitoring, logging, decision making. SP-127:$189 Mb ALPHA /^®(§fe7(Mfe ^1-800-221-0916 242 West Avenue, Darien, CT 06820 USA Call (203) 656-1806 or Fax (203) 656-0756 Circle 1 1 on Inquiry Card. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 369 Buy with Confidence In an effort to make your telephone purchasing a more successful and pleasurable activity, The Microcomputer Marketing Council of the Direct Marketing Association, Inc. offers this advice, "A knowledgeable buyer will be a successful buyer." These are specific facts you should know about the prospective seller before placing an order: Ask These Important Questions • How long has the company been in business? • Does the company offer technical assistance? • Is there a service facility? •Are manufacturer's warran- ties handled through the company? • Does the seller have formal return and refund policies? • Is there an additional charge for use of credit cards? • Are credit card charges held until time of shipment? • What are shipping costs for items ordered? Reputable computer dealers will answer all these questions to your satisfaction. Don't settle for less when buying your computer hardware, software, peripherals and supplies. Purchasing Guidelines • State as completely and ac- curately as you can what merchandise you want in- cluding brand name, model number, catalog number. • Establish that the item is in stock and confirm shipping date. • Confirm that the price is as advertised . • Obtain an order number and identification of the sales representative. Make a record of your order, noting exact price in- cluding shipping, date of order, promised shipping date and order number. If you ever have a problem, remember to deal first with the seller. If you cannot resolve the problem, write to MAIL ORDER ACTION LINE, c/o DMA, 6 E. 43rd St., New York, NY 10017. This message is brought to you by: the MICROCOMPUTER MARKETING COUNCIL of the Direct Marketing Association, Inc. 6 E. 43rd St., New York, NY 10017 MMC MICROCOMPUTER MARKETING COUNCIL of the Direct Marketing Association, Inc. © Direct Marketing Association, Inc. 1988 370 BYTE- MARCH 1991 TOSHIBA SALE! *1998 100 MB T8500 386-25 CACHE Including Paper White VGA Monitor List Price $ 5999 Super Fast 386-25 Cache 1 00 Megabyte Hard Drive . 2 MB RAM expands to 14 MB . 1.44 MB Hi-Density 3 1 / 2 " Drive . Built-in Hi-Res VGA Color Output . Parallel Printer Port . Two RS-232C Serial Ports . Real Time Clock/Calendar Including "One Year TRW On-Site Warranty" Microsoft DOS 4.01 Quarterdeck expanded Memory Manager 386 FCC Class B Approved U.L Listed Canon BubbleJet Printer Deluxe \_ OCR Software $ 148 pATsT Full Page Scanner ■ PC/AT/386 Compatible . 200 D.P.I. pi* 8 * . Automatic Sheet Feed $248 »$328 ■^^ flHfl ^IMf Laser Sharp, 4 lb. Printer One Year Canon Warranty MATH Co-Processors I INTEL 8087 S MHz IfTTEL 8087-2 8 MHz INTEL 8087-1 10 MHz AMD80C287 12MHZ INTEL 80287 6 MHz. _ INTEL 80287XL 20 MHz _ CYRIX 83S87-16 16 MHZ . INTEL 80387 SX 16 MHz_ CYRIX 83S87-20 20 MHz_ INTEL 80387 SX 20 MHz_ CYRIX 83D87-20 20 MHz . INTEL 80387-20 20 MHz _ CYRJX 83087-25 25 MHz . INTEL 80387-25 25 MHz_ CYRIX 83D87-33 33 MHz . Intel 80387-33 33 MHz „ _ s 488 _ s 498 „ S S88 _ s 128 „ s 168 _ s 138 _ s 199 _ S Z68 _ s 298 MICE 8 Page/Minute $1!tQfl OKlLAYERESa 2 MB PostScript $ 4 QQQ FAX Cards WMMHMB 9600 Send/Receive FAX Card _ $ 128 FRECOM FAX 96 M78 FRECOM 1 Liner 96 ?288 Laser Printer OHOLAXER-AOO !698 MEMORY UPGRADES I HEWLETT PACKARD Laser 1 MB ^8 HEWLETT PACKARD Laser 2 MB *138 HEWLETf PACKARD Laser 4 MB s 228 IBM PS/2 30/286 2 MB s 138 IBM All Models Call Serial Mouse s 28 ZNK Super Mouse II w/Windows 3.0. s 88 MICROSOFT Mouse W/Windows 3.0 s 139 MICROSOFT Mouse w/Paint *99 CALCULUS EZ-FAX 48 Editors Choice TF-SS5 FAX Line and Auto-Swttcf\_ TF-300 3-Way FAX Switch. MODEMS BHi^ 1148 . s 148 ^J9B _ 5 98 _ s 148 -M98 - s 188 „_*96 _ s 288 _ s 328 TAPE BACK-UP I AT&T 40 MB CMS Jumbo 120 MB . 60 MB Tape back-up. 120 MB Tape Back-up. . s 198 _ s 21 _ s 28 2400 Internal Modem 2400 External Modem 2400 Internal Send FAX 96 _ 9600 Internal Modem . 9600 External Modem. _ $ 74 - s 488 _?498 IBM Laser 1 MB IBM Laser 2 MB IBM Laser 35 MB T.I. TravelMate 1 MB . T.I. MicroLaser 1MB. TOSHIBA T1000/SE/XE/LE 1 MB -M48 TOSHIBA SE/XE/LE T2000SX 2 MB S 228 TOSHIBA T3100SX 2 MB s 148 TOSHIBA T3100SX 4 MB *398 TOSHIBA T5200/T8500 2 MB s 158 TOSHIBA TS200/T8500 8 MB s 998 TOSHIBA All Models Call AST. COMPAQ. ALR. NEC. No Surcharge for Credit Cards! VISA I m m [ "0 ,! SERVING THE COMMUNITY FOR OVER 16 YEARS JADE COMPUTER California Torrance, Costa Mesa. Woodland Hills, San Diego, Sunnyvale Texas Georgia Arizona Dallas, Houston Smyrna Phoenix Not all items in stock at our nine retail locations (213) 973-7707 -5500 4901 W. Rosecrans Ave., Box 5046, Hawthorne, California 90251-5046 Call Toll Free 1-800-421 10 Day Money Back Guarantee We accept checks, credit cards (or purchase orders from qualified firms and institutions). No surcharge on credit card orders. CA.. TX.. GA. & AZ. residents add sales tax. Prices and availability subject to change without notice. S A.00 minimum shipping and handling charge. Circle 334 on Inquiry Card. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 371 LOWEST MEMORY PRICING GUARANTEED 2MB FOR IBMPS2 • Equivalent 1o 6450604 or 30F5360 • 5 Year Warranty Your Price 129 00 Each HEWLET PACKARD MEMORY BD • 2Meg for HPII-IIP-lll or III D (Specify) • Expandable to 4Meg Your Price 138 00 1MB DRAM • 1MB X 1 - 80NS • 5 Year Warranty Qty. 100 - 5 30 Qty. 250 - 5" Qty. 500 - 4 95 BOCA AT PLUS MEMORY BDS 16 BIT MEMORY BOARD FOR 286, 386 AT OK-BMeg Bd • 4.0 UM Compat. • New 5 Yr. Warr. • Conventional, Expanded & Extended Memory • Supports OOS, OS/2, LIM/EMS & EEMS OK -129°° 2Meg-229 00 4 Meg - 319 00 8 Meg - 499°o SIMM SPECIAL • For Apple Computers 256 X 8-120NS - 9 00 256 X 8-150NS 700 COMPAQ MODULES • Part Number 113132-001 • For Compaq Deskpro 286E. 386/20E, 25E Your Price 239 00 ! I I Compaq Model DESKPRO 286 DESKPRO 286N, 386N 3B6SX/20 DESKPRD 386/16 DESKPRO 386s DESKPRO 386/20. 25 2B6E DESKPRO 3B6/20e/25E DESKPRO 386/33, 486/25 SYSTEMPRO SLT/286 LTE/286 PORTABLE 386 Description 256 x 9 IBM 1Meg x 8 Apple IMeg x 9 IBM 4Meg x 9 IBM Memory Added 512K Kit 1MB Module 2MB Moduie 4MB Module 1MB Board 2MB Board 1MB Kit 4MB Board 4MB Kit 1MB Board 4MB Board 1MB Module 4MB Module 1MB Module 4MB Module 1MB Board 4MB Board 2MB Module 8MB Module 32MB Module -- PORTABLES -- 512K Kit INTFC BD EXP BD 2MB Kit tMB Module 4MB Module 512K Board 1MB Board 2MB Board 1MB Kit INTFC BD 4MB Board 4MB Ext Board 1MB Module 2MB Module Compaq Equiv. Pari tt 113012-001 118688-001 118689-001 118690-001 108069-001 108069 W/71 108071-001 108070-001 108072-001 113633-001 113634-001 113646-001 112534-001 113131-001 113132-001 113644-001 113645-001 115144-001 116561-001 116568-001 107331-001 107808-001 107811-001 107332-001 110235-001 110237-001 117077-001 117081-001 117081-002 107651-001 107707-001 107653-001 107654-001 108303-001 108304-001 Your Low Price 5900 124°° 188°° 448 00 Toshiba Model PORTABLE T1000SE & XE PORTABLE T1200xe PORTABLE T1600 2ggoo PORTABLE T3100e 348 00 138 00 PORTABLE T3100SX 699 00 318°° PORTABLE T3200 1QROO PORTABLE T3200SX JSIMNV JUICES 120NS 100NS tgoo 24 00 58oo 61°° 55"o 57 0D 80NS 70NS 2900 26 00 6400 7100 5900 6goo — 29900 44800 IO400 258°° 9800 23800 198»o 448°° 169 00 96500 580000 249°° 179 0D 198°° 478°° 199°° 128°° 24900 228°° 34900 49900 60NS 39oo 79°° 74°° 31 goo PORTABLE T5100 PORTABLE T5200 DESKTOP TB500 N Memory Added 1MB BD 2MBBD 2MB BD 2MB BD 2MB Kit 2MBBD 4MB BD 3MB BD 2MB Kit 4MB Kit 2MBBD 2MB Kit 8MB Kit Toshiba Equiv. Part H PC14-PA8311U Your Low Price ^|vJM^W3^Mpwili#j HUlA-HAtttlZU PC13-PA8306U PCB-PA8302U Z88 U0 178°° 158°° 1PC9-PA8341U 158°° PC15-PA8308U PC15-PAB310U 158°° 458°° PC6-PA7137U 298°° PC12-PAB307U PC12-PA8309U 158°° 458°o PC7-PA8301U 178°° PC10-PAB304U 168°° PC10-PA8313U 99500 Memory IBM IBM PS/2 Model Added Equiv. Part # PS/2 25/286 512K Kit 30F534B 30-286. 50 & 60 2MB Kit 30F5360 PS/2 50Z & 55-SX, 65SX 1MB SIMM 6450603 2MB SIMM 6450604 (Above Installed on Expansion Bd 1497259) 55SX & 65SX 4MB Module 34F2933 or 87F 9977 (Above Installed on System Bd) 50.50Z.55SX&60.65SX 2-8MB Board Zenith Model Z386/33 Z248, Z286LP.Z386SX TURBO SPRT 386.3B6e SUPER SPRT SX SUPER SPRT 286 2B6e. SX Memory Added 1MB Module 2MB Module 1MB Module 2MB Module 4MB Module 2MB Module 1MB Kit 2MB Kit 2MB Kit 2MB Kit 1MB Kit 2MB Kit ttt Zenith Equiv. Pari K ZA3800ME ZA3800MG ZA3600ME ZA3800MG ZA3B00MK Z-605-1 ZA3034ME ZA180-64 ZA1B0-86 ZA180-87 ZA180-66 ZA180-64 Your Low Price ggoo 189°° 9900 189°° 399°° 199°° 4780° 44900 449°° 44900 21900 399°° PS/2 70-E61. 061. 121 PS/2 70-A21 AX1.BX1 PS/2 80-041 PS/2 80-111.121,311.321 80-A21. A31 PS/2 ALL 70s & 80s smm 1MB SIMM 2MB SIMM 2MB SIMM 1MB Module 2MB Module 4MB Module 2-16MB Board 4-16MB Board 8-16MB Board 1497259 or 6450609 6450603 6450604 6450608 6450375 6450379 6451060 645605 OR 34F3077 OR 34F3011 Description 64 x 1 64 x 4 256 x 1 256x4 1 Meg * ft** vS 150NS -|20 195 -1 50 2" pa 5 D0 1O0NS I* 5 2 45 1" 600 5'5 TT Your Low Price 39»o 129°° 69oo 129°° 369°° 49900 79°° 129°° 139oo 1080° 168°° 378°° 398°° 58900 9490° 11J -:: dASEi JETffltMORYi 3 95 — -|99 2" 700 8°° 530 595 EVEREX MEMORY BOARDS RAM 3000 DELUXE Up to 3 Meg. (EMS) 4.0 OS/2, Back up base QQnn memory & expanded &/or extended memory. Uses 256K O-RAM yy uu RAM 8000 0-8MG capacity base, extended or expanded memory any combi- nation. Compatible w/Lotus, Intel, Microsoft, EMS 4,0, EFMS, Supports^ nnnn Multi-Tasking & DMA Multi-Tasking in hardware. Uses IMG D-RAM iyy uu RAM 10000 0-10MB extended or expanded memory. Compatible ^-Tftnri with Lotus. Intel. Microsoft. EMS 4.0 Uses 1 MB D-RAM. I /y uu Model LASERJET II & 110 HP3 & HID HPIIP CANON LBP 811. 811R. 811T IBM LASER MODEL 4019 Memory Added 1MB Module 2MB Module 4MB Module 1MB Module 2MB Module 4MB Module 1MB Module 2MB Module 4MB Module 1MB Board 2MB Board HP Equiv. Part If 33443B 33444B 33445B 33474A/B 33475A/B N/A N/A N/A N/A 1039136 1039137 SF-n Your Low Price 88°° 13800 22800 98°° 148°° 23800 98°° 148°° 238"° 148°° 198°° — OVERS TOCKED. l/^Cr • 6.5MB per minute • Wangtec 5099EN24 drive • Controller • Menu driven • Software • DC600 cartridge • Easy installation List 99900 Your Price 379 00 ~~ ■■» Wangtek 40MB backup works off floppy controller 189°° 1 1 ! IS§PiT : jprj • Direct AT Replacement • UL Appr. 1107220V • 4 Drive Connectors List 99°° Your Price 49 00 150 Watt for XT CANON "FLATBED $ .QUANTITIES LIMITED. msmmm • 14CPS Letter Quality • Manufactured by Silver Reed • IBM Centronics Parallel Interface • New 90 day warranty List 114900 Your Price 99 00 12 CPS version for 89°° Hi-LSBH CALL 800-645-7762 — • MiniScribe 3085 • MFM - 20MS - V? Height 5'A " • Works off XT or AT Harddrive Controller • 6 Month Warranty List 89900 Your Price 349 00 j • MicroScience 612 • Vz Height 514 " • MFM 6 Month Warranty List 299°° Your Price 89 00 w/8 Bit Controller Add 55°° 16 BIT HARDDRIVE CONT ROLLER j • 300 DPI • 16 Sees per page • 32 Level Gray Scale • 1 year warranty • Ready to go Interface card and cable included List 1595 Your Price 799 00 w/o Interface 499oo OPTIONS: OCR . . .199°° PC Paint By Z-Soft 1.65 79°° Sheet Feeder (also works w/HP) .299°° • Western Digital 1003MMI • 2.1 Interlea- • Works w/all MFM Harddnves List 19900 Your Price 49 00 WD 1003 MM2 same w/f loppy . 89 0D Fax Only Card, 129°° FAX CARD w/2400 BAUD MODEM ] » Automatic Group III Digital Fax* Bkg. operation • Send text. screen images, scann. pages • Hayes compat. modem built on • Fax 9600/7200/4800/2400 • Software-telephone cord .. n . . .#» n « • New factory sealed List 695 YOUr PriCB 149 00 HSKSffi v • Fully Hayes Compatible • Monitor Speaker with Volume Control • 2400/300 Baud Transmission Rale • Addressable COM 1,2.3.4 • Compatible w/IBM PC. Xi; AT & Compatibles • 2 Yr, Manu. Warranty • Full Duplex Operation • Complete w/Software • Auto Oial/Auto Answer Internal 69°° External 8900 N .;rva r r i 1 r r r r r r r r r 1 r i 1 1 1 i 1 r 1 MITSUMI: 360K V2 Ht. 5V1 . 59°° 1.2 Meg 5 l /4 Grey Face 69 DD 720K 3V'2" Drive wlbVt" mounting 69°° 1.44 Meg 3Vz " Drive w/5'A " mounting 79 00 360K Tandon TM100-2 Full HI (The original IBM) 89°° S?V 80B7 8087-2 8087-1 #11 turn ww i 8 Bit 5MHz or less 79°o 8MHz 104 00 10MHz or less 179oo 16 Bit 6MHz 8MHz 10MHz 802B7 80287-8 802B7-10 80C287-12 Laptop IDE Controller 16 Bit WO Controller 2:1 124°° 189°° 149°° 80387-16 80387-20 80387-25 80387-33 B0387-SX B0387-SX20 802B7-XL 80287-XLT 8 32 Bit 16MHz 20MHz 25MHz 33MHz S S ^^mi^^iiini] FOR HARDDRIVES 39°° 8 Bit WD Controller IO900 16 Bit Everex HD/Floppy 1.1 299°° 349°° 449°° 549°° 298°° 328°° 198°° 204°° 5900 9900 AT KIT ST125-0 20mB40msec 35" S249 ST125-1 20mB 28msec 35" S269 ST138-0 30mB 40msec 3.5" S289 ST138-1 30mB 28msec 3.5" S309 ST225 20mB 65msec S199 ST238R (RLL) 30mB 65msec S219 SK51-1 42mB 28msec $249 ST277R-1 (RLL) 65mB 28msec S339 ST4096 80mB 28msec S549 ST4144 (RLL) 120mB 28msec S649 XT kits ineludecables. software (over 32MB|tonltoller . AT kitsinclude caales.ia is. scfrwar? !I^Jlllftw?fWlllllll 14" VGA MULTISCAN 1024 X 768 .28 Dot • New 1 Yr, Warn. 14" VGA DEMO 640 X 4B0 .31 Dot • 3 Mo. Warr: • Looks New 38900 289°° FOR FLOPPYS: Super Floppy Controls 1 2, 360K. 720K & t .44 Drives 69°° ^NpiibE|HNRPPH«V^ 40 Meg 18 Mil. Sec. 200 Meg 349°° 100 Meg 18 Mil. Sec. I Mil. Sec 849°° | ^1^) I I : VIDEO; CARDS EGA Card MonoGraphics (Hercules Compatible) with Par Port Color Graphics (Hercules Compatible) with Par Port Mono Card Text Only VGA Card 1024 x 768 (256K Exp 512K) STB mono/color card . . ! i XT KIT $299 S319 S339 S359 S249 $279 S319 $389 $599 $699 (owi 32MB) L 69oo 29 0D 3900 goo ORDERS ONLY 800-654-7762 TECHNICAL / CUSTOMER SERVICE / ORDER STATUS: 702-294-0204 FAX 702-294-1168 All Products 90 Day Warranty unless staled otherwise. • WE ACCEPT INTERNATIONAL ORDERS • WE ALSO PURCHASE EXCESS INVENTORY— FAX OR CALL • NO SOFTWARE RETURNS ALL PRICES FINAL Trademarks art Registered vttiti tlselr respective Co.'s. 385, 387, 287 and SX era trademarks ol Intel Corp, NO SURCHARGE FOR MCA/ISA/AE TERMS: MC • VISA • AE • COD CASH • NET • Purchase Orders from Unlversilies, Fortune 1000 & Government Agencies • Personal Checks • COD add $5.00 * 20% Restocking Fee on Returns Within 30 Days • No Refunds After 30 Days — EXCHANGE ONLY B*JT| I S E HABLi W\ £ SE HABLA ESPANOL visa- 684 Wells Road Boulder City, NV 89005 PRICES SUBJECT 70 CHANGE SHIPPING: (min. 8 25 ) UPS Circle 1 99 on Inquiry Card. ROM BIOS UPGRADES ROM B OS FEATURES HE ROM BIOS UPGRADES SUPPORT 360K. 720K, 1.2MB & 1.44MB FLOPPY DISK DRIVES; COMPLETE SET-UP IN ROM, EGA AND VGA SUPPORT; OPTIONAL BUILT-IN DIAGNOSTICS IN ROM (AMI ONLY). NOVELL AND NETWARE COMPATIBLE; SUP- PORTS UP TO 48 DIFFERENT TYPES OF HARD DRIVES PLUS TWO USER DEFINED; 84, 101 & 102 KEY KEYBOARD SUPPORT; 100% IBM COMPATIBLE; SUPPORTS 0.1 OR 2 WAIT STATES; COMPLETE DOCUMENTATION; LATEST VERSIONS. WE ARE THE LARGEST STOCKING BIOS DISTRIBUTOR IN AMERICA! XT BIOS UPGRADES ..49.95 PHOENIX-XT BIOS 49.95 AT 286 BIOS UPGRADES mm INTEL BIOS 69.95 AMI-286 VLSI BIOS 69.95 AMI-286 CHIP & PHOENIX-286 INTEL BIOS 69.95 TECH B\OS 69.95 PH0ENIX-2B6 AST BIOS 69.95 AT 386 BIOS UPGRADES AMI-386 INTEL BIOS 69.95 AMI-386 CHIPS TECH BIOS.... 69.95 AMI-386 VLSI BIOS .69.95 AMI-386-SX INTEL BIOS 69.95 AMI-386SXCHIP & TECH BIOS 69.95 AWARD-386 INTEL BIOS 69.96 AWARO-386 CHIPS TECH BIOS 69.95 PHOENIX-386 INTEL BIOS 69.95 PHOENIX-386 COMPAQ BIOS . . .69.95 PHOENIX-386 CHIP & TECH BIOS 69.95 PH0ENIX-386-SX INTEL BIOS... 69.95 IBM BIOS UPGRADES PHOENIX-IBM-PC BIOS 79.95 PHOENIX-IBM-XT BIOS 59.95 PHOENIX-IBM-AT BIOS 89.95 AWARD IBM AT BIOS B9.95 KEYBOARD BIOS UPGRADES AMI-286/386 KEYBOARD BIOS 34.95 AWARD-286/386 KEYBOARD BIOS 34.95 PH0ENIX-286/386 KEYBOARD BIOS 34.95 UPGRADES ETC. ISCIlklMlIt \ I ID 15822 N.E.165TH ST WOOOIUVILLE. WA 98052 (800) 541-1943 - ORDERS ■*«» ^2-3634 - TECH SUPPORT Circle 315 on Inquiry Card. DEVELOPERS' TOOLS The Total Solution Programmer- The best-selling Programmer since 1985 Appreciated by over 50,000 users worldwide TUP-300 Universal Programmer & Tester (PC based) M^ A from $595.- ■ 40-Pi/i 2IF socket canbe expanded u p t o 6 8 Pin lor 8 to 68 Pins DIP or PI.CC chips. ■ Programs 20 to 68 Pin P1D (PAL. CPAL. IFL. GAL. PEEL, EPLO. EEPI.D), EPROM (up to 16 Mbit), EEPROM, Serial PROM, Special PROM. Bipolar PROM & MPU (8741/42/48/49. 8051/51FA, F8, FC/521/541/252/751/752/552/451. 8796/97, 68705. 286EU/21. TMS7742. TMS77C82. 8755A I ■Tests T7L 174/541, CMOS (40/45), SRAM. DRAM. SIP DRAM and SIM DRAM. ■Full screen edit. HEX to OBJ. 2-way or 4-way Binary File Splitter and Shuffler. 6 MPU Ois assemblers. ■34 various adapters 14 sockets, ROM-RAM. PLCC I from $95.- ■ Other high quality programmer cards at low cost available from S1 19. UVEraserlUV-32lfor32pcsat 595.- Call us today for complete product line ■1 year warranty. 30 days money back guarantee ■ 1 year free software updates and Customer Support .TRIBAL MICROSYSTEMS Tel: 1415)623-8859 Fax: (415)623-9925 44388 S. Grimmer Blvd. Fremont CA 94538 Circle 304 on Inquiry Card. UNIVERSAL PROGRAMMER & TESTER ALL-03 9 695 (FREE UPDATE) SOFTWARE FEATURES: ■ E(E)PROM:NMOS, CMOS(Up-to 4-MB) • BPROM, PAL, CMOS PAL, GAL. PEEL, EPLD, FPL.- Microcomputer(8748, -51, -C51 &Z8 Series) • IC & MEMORY TEST. • HEX to BIN ARY(INTEL:80/86, MOTOROLA: S1/S2. TEKTRONICS). • 2-Way or4-Way BINARY File splitter and shuffler.- Dump file to console in BINARY format.* Function include screen editing for BINARY DATA, ASCII and JEDEC FUSE MAP. • Security programming, Auto Programming and much more. HARDWARE FEATURES: • 40-Pin test socket wilh 40-Sets of software controlled cir- cuit and 40-Sets of TTL I/O. • 3 Groups of programmable D/A VOLTAGE SOURCE & 2 Groups of OSC output source. • 60%of Digital components in high speed CMOS HCT type. • Hardware expendable for complex device programming. • Hardware Configuration is available for Software Designers. • 'GO'-key & 'GOOD'-LED permit stand-alone machine operation. • Various Adapters(1 to 4 Sockets) — Optional. • Motorola 68705 (option) **• 7-year Warranty & 30 Days Money-Backed Guarantee "• TEL: (408) 944-9037, FAX: (408) 944-9038 C & J MICRONICS 2555 Homestead Rd, Suite #10. Santa Clara. C A 95051 Circle 59 on Inquiry Card. GET, : PC BUS DOS & .EXE in ROM AT Class Computers $299 It's easy to run stand-alone applications from ROM I Develop and download your code from a PC. then follow our simple steps to burn .exe & DOS In ROM. CPU NEC V50. lOrnhz, cmos. runs PC/AT code 1 M RAM. 256K ROM. 5 serial ports Firmware BIOS, Utilities. Monitor & Source code Expansion Standard PC/AT cards on a backplane Piggyback: Flop. Printer, Keyboard. SCSI &m Call! (303) 444-7737 Circle 1 58 on Inquiry Card. DEVELOPERS' IDOLS TPT-100 $145.- POCKET IC TESTER • Tests TTL (74/54), CMOS (40/451 and DRAM • 9V battery operated • LCD display • Search unknow IC TRE-200 $295.- 8/16 BIT ROM/RAM EMULATOR (PC based) • 8 or 16 Bit • ROM: 2764, 128, 256. 512 • RAM: 6264, 62256 • Fast down/upload • Screen edit • Disassembler (or 6 MPUs TLK-PLD PLD Learn Kit $85.- TLK-PEEL PEEL Learn Kit $85.- TLK-GAL <3AL Learn Kit $85,- TLK-8051 8051 Learn Kit $85.- • Enable beginneis to design their own PLD/PEEL/GAL/MPU within a short period of time. • Design & Experiments manuals and Experiment PCB Kit Call us today for complete product line ■ 1-year warranty 30 days money back guarantee ■ TRIBAL MICROSYSTEMS Tel: {4151623-8859 Fax: (4151623-9925 44388 S. Grimmer Blvd. Fremont CA 94538 Circle 305 on Inquiry Card. DYNAMIC RAMS 4Mx9 80ns PS2 2M 604/6 °8 1 MX9 80ns 1 MX8 80ns 256x4 100ns 1MX1 1 00ns 41464 1 oons 41256 100ns 51258 80ns 4164 120ns $220. $110. $ 52. 48 5 00 00 00 00 75 $ 2.40 $ 2.75 $ 1.70 * For quantity discount, high-speed parts, SIPP Please Call I i WftTH COPROCESSORS 3C87-33 33mHz $430.00 25mHz $350.00 20mHz $280.00 16mHz $250.00 16mHz $280.00 3C87-25 3C87-20 3C87-16 387SX-20 387SX-1 6 1 IT/CYRIX 2C87-20 20mHz 2C87-12 f2mHz 2C87-10 10mHz 2C87-8 8mHz ■ V-20 BMOmHz $260.00 $190.00 $165.00 $150.00 $140.00 + 8.5/15 I.C. EXPRESS ORDER: (800) 877-8188 Zip C ) Phone Number Fax Number A. What is your primary job function/principal area of responsibility? (Check one.) 1 D MIS/DP 2 □ Programmer/Systems Analyst 3 □ Administration/Management 4 □ Sales/Marketing 5 D Engineer/Scientist 6 D Other B. What is your level of management responsibility? 7 □ Senior-level 8 □ Middle-level 9 □ Professional C. Are you a reseller (VAR, VAD, Dealer, Consultant)? 10 □ Yes nDNo D. What operating systems are you currently using? (Check all that apply.) 12 D PC/MS-DOS 13 □ DOS + Windows 14 D OS/2 15 □ UNIX 16 D MacOS 17 □ VAX/VMS E. For how many people do you influence the purchase of hardware or software? is □ 1-25 19 D 26-50 20 □ 51-99 2i D 100 or more Inquiry Numbers 1-495 nquiry Numbers 496-990 Inquiry Numbers 991-1479 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 991 992 993 994 995 996 997 998 999 1000 1001 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 1 024 1 025 1 026 1 027 1 028 1 029 1 030 1 031 1 032 1 033 1 034 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 1067 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 1068 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 1075 1076 1077 1078 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 1079 10601081 1082 1083 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 1089 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 1090 1091 1092 1093 1094 1095 1096 1097 1098 1099 1100 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110 1111 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 1112 1113 1114 1115 1116 1117 1118 1119 1120 1121 1122 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 1123 1124 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 1130 1131 1132 1133 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 1134 1135 1136 1137 1138 1139 1140 1141 1142 1143 1144 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 1145 1146 1147 1148 1149 1150 1151 1152 1153 1154 1155 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 1156 1157 1158 1159 1160 1161 1162 1163 1164 1165 1166 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 11671168 11691170 1171 1172 1173 1174 1175 1176 1177 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 1178 1179 1180 1181 1182 1183 1184 1185 1186 1187 1188 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 1189 1190 1191 1192 1193 11941195 1196 1197 1198 1199 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 1200 1201 1202 1203 1204 1205 1206 1207 1208 1209 1210 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 1211 1212 1213 1214 1215 1216 1217 1218 1219 1220 1221 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 1222 1223 1224 1225 1226 1227 1228 1229 1230 1231 1232 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 1233 1234 1235 1238 1237 1238 1239 1240 1241 1242 1243 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 1244 1245 1246 1247 1248 1249 1250 1251 1252 1253 1254 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 1255 1255 1267 1258 1259 1260 1281 1262 1263 1284 1255 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 1268 1267 1268 1269 1270 1271 1272 1273 1274 1276 1276 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 1 277 1 278 1 279 1 280 1 281 1 262 1 263 1 284 1 285 1 286 1 287 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 803 1288 1289 1290 1291 1292 1293 1294 1295 1296 1297 1298 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 129913001301 1302 1303 1304 1305 1306 1307 1308 1308 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 815 816 817 818 819 820 821 822 823 824 825 1310 1311 1312 1313 1314 1315 1316 1317 1318 1319 1320 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 826 827 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836 1321 1322 1323 1324 1325 1326 1327 1328 1329 1330 1331 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 845 846 847 1332 1333 1334 1335 1336 1337 1336 1339 1340 1341 1342 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 848 849 850 851 852 853 854 855 856 857 858 1343 1344 1345 1348 1347 1348 1348 1350 1351 1352 1353 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 37.1 372 373 374 859 860 861 862 863 864 865 866 867 868 869 1354 1355 1356 1357 1358 1359 1360 1361 1362 1363 1364 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 870 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880 1365 1368 1367 1368 1368 1370 1371 1372 1373 1374 1375 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 881 882 883 884 885 886 887 888 889 890 891 1376 1377 1378 1379 1380 1381 1382 1383 1384 1385 1386 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 892 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 900 901 902 1367 1368 1368 1390 1391 1392 1393 1394 1395 1396 1397 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 903 904 905 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 1398 1399 1400 1401 1402 1403 1404 1405 1406 1407 1408 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 914 915 916 917 918 919 920 921 922 923 924 1409 1410 1411 1412 1413 1414 1415 1416 1417 1418 1419 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 925 926 927 928 929 930 931 932 933 934 935 1420 1421 1422 1423 1424 1425 1426 1427 1428 1429 1430 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 936 937 938 939 940 941 942 943 944 945 946 1431 1432 1433 1434 1435 1436 1437 1438 1439 1440 1441 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 947 948 949 950 951 952 953 954 955 956 957 1442 1443 1444 1445 1448 1447 1446 1449 1450 1451 1452 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 958 959 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 968 1453 1454 1455 1456 1457 1458 1459 1460 1461 1462 1463 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 969 970 971 972 973 974 975 976 977 978 979 1464 1466 1466 1467 1468 1469 1470 1471 1472 1473 1474 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 980 981 982 983 984 985 986 987 988 989 990 1475 1476 1477 1478 1479 I I / subscribe to BYTE. I I / do not subscribe to BYTE. I I Please send me one year of BYTE Magazine for $24.95 and bill me. Offer valid in U.S. and possessions only. BYTE m MARCH 1991 FREE RODUCT INFORMATION J Circle numbers on reply card which correspond to numbers assigned to items of interest to you. j Check all the appropriate answers to questions "A" through "E". J Print your name and address and mail. Fill out this coupon carefully. PLEASE PRINT. Name Title ( ) ( ) Phone Fax Company Address City 35 36 Zip Inquiry Numbers 1-493 3 4 5 20 21 22 37 38 39 9 10 26 27 43 44 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 69 70 86 87 103 104 120 121 137 138 154 155 171 172 188 189 205 206 222 223 239 240 256 257 273 274 290 291 307 308 324 325 341 342 358 359 375 376 392 393 409 410 426 427 443 444 460 461 477 478 71 72 73 74 75 88 89 90 91 92 105 106 107 122 123 124 139 140 141 156 157 158 173 174 175 190 191 192 207 208 209 224 225 226 241 242 243 258 259 260 275 276 277 292 293 294 309 310 311 326 327 328 343 344 345 360 361 362 377 378 379 394 395 396 411 412 413 428 429 430 445 446 447 462 463 464 479 480 481 108 109 110 111 112 113 125 126 127 128 129 130 142 143 144 145 146 147 159 160 161 162 163 164 176 177 178 179 180 181 193 194 195 196 197 198 210 211 212 213 214 215 227 228 229 230 231 232 244 245 246 247 248 249 261 262 263 264 265 266 278 279 280 281 282 283 295 296 297 298 299 300 312 313 314 315 316 317 329 330 331 332 333 334 346 347 348 349 350 351 363 364 365 368 367 368 380 381 382 383 384 385 397 398 399 400 401 402 414 415 416 417 418 419 431 432 433 434 435 436 448 449 450 451 452 453 465 468 467 468 469 470 482 483 484 485 486 487 97 98 114 115 131 132 148 149 165 166 182 183 199 200 216 217 233 234 250 251 267 268 264 285 301 302 318 319 335 336 352 353 369 370 386 387 403 404 420 421 437 438 454 455 471 472 14 15 31 32 48 49 65 66 82 83 99 100 116 117 133 134 150 151 167 168 184 185 201 202 218 219 235 236 252 253 269 270 286 287 303 304 320 321 337 338 354 355 371 372 388 389 405 406 422 423 439 440 456 457 473 474 490 491 84 85 562 563 584 101 102 579 560 581 118 119 596 597 598 135 136 152 153 169 170 186 187 203 204 220 221 237 238 254 255 271 272 268 289 305 306 322 323 339 340 356 357 373 374 390 391 407 408 424 425 441 442 458 459 475 476 492 493 613 I 630 ( 732 ; 749 1 768 : 783 : 800 I 817 I 834 I A. What is your primary job function/principal area of responsibility? (Check one.) 1 D MIS/DP 2 D Programmer/Systems Analyst 3 □ Administration/Management 4 D Sales/Marketing 5 □ Engineer/Scientist 6 □ Other B. What is your level of management responsibility? 7 □ Scnior-lcvcl 9 □ Professional 8 □ Middle-level C Are you a reseller (VAR, VAD, Dealer, Consultant) 10 C Yes 1 1 D No Inquiry Numbers 494-986 497 496 496 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 987 ! 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 581 565 588 587 588 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 578 577 578 582 583 584 565 588 587 568 568 560 591 592 593 594 595 599 600 601 602 60 3 604 605 606 607 60 8 609 610 611 612 616 617 616 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 820 821 822 823 824 825 626 827 628 629 830 631 832 833 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 845 646 847 848 849 850 854 855 856 857 858 859 860 861 862 863 864 865 866 667 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880 881 882 883 884 888 689 890 891 892 893 894 895 896 897 698 899 900 901 905 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 914 915 916 917 918 922 923 924 925 926 927 928 929 930 931 932 933 934 935 939 940 941 942 943 944 945 946 947 948 949 950 951 952 956 957 958 959 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 968 969 973 974 975 976 977 978 979 980 981 982 983 964 985 986 D. What operating systems are you currently using? (Check all that apply.) 12 C PC/MS-DOS 15 □ UNIX 13 C DOS + Windows 16 □ MacOS 14 D OS/2 17 □ VAX/VMS E. For how many people do you influence the purchase of hardware or software? 18 D 1-25 20 □ 51-99 19 □ 26-50 21 D 100 or more D Please send me one year of BYTE Magazine for $24. 95 and bill me. Offer valid in U.S. and possessions only. MARCH IRND009 Inquiry Numbers 987-1479 987 986 989 990 991 992 993 994 995 986 997 998 9991000100110021003 10041005100610071008100910101011101210131014101510161017 101810191020 1021 10221023102410251026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1039 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1045 1047 1048 1048 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1058 1057 1058 1059 1060 1081 1052 1083 1064 1066 1066 1057 1066 1069 1079 1071 1072 1073 1074 1075 1076 1077 1076 1079 1060 1061 1052 1083 1084 1066 1066 1057 1066 108910901091 1092109310941095109610971098109911001101 1102110311041105 110611071108110911101111 11121113111411151116111711181119112011211122 1123 1124 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 1130 1131 1 132 1133 11341135113611371138 1139 11401141 114211431144 1145114611471148114911501151 11521153115411551156 1157 1158 1159 1160 1161 1162 1163 1164 1165 1166 1167 11681169 1170 1171 1172 1173 1174117511761177117811791180118111821183118411851186118711881189 1190 1191 1192119311941195119611971198119912001201 120212031204120512061207 1208 1209 1210 1211 12121213 1214 12151216121712181219 1220 1221 1222 12231224 1225 1226 1227 1228 1229 1230 1231 1232 1233 1234 1235 1236 1237 1238 1239 12401241 1242 1243 1244 1245 1246 1247 1248 1249 1250 1251 1252 1253 1254 1255 12561257 1258 1259 1260 1261 1262 1263 1264 1265 1266 1267 1268 1269 1270 1271 1272 1273 1274 1275 12761277 1278127912801281 1282 1283 1284 1285 1286 1 287 1288 1289 1290 1291 1292 1293 1294 1295 1296 1297 1298 1299 1300 1301 13021303 1304 1305 1306 1307 1308 1309 1310 1311 1312 131313141315 13161317 1318 1319 1320 1321 1322 1323 1324 1325 1326 1327 1328 1329 1330 1331 133213331334 1335 1336 1337 1338 1339 1340 1341 1342 1343 1344 1345 1346 1347 1348 1349 1350 1351 1352 1353 1354 1355 13561357135813591360 1361 1362 1363 1364 1365 1366 13671368136913701371 1372 1373 1374 1375 1376 1377 1378 1379 1380 1381 1382 1383 1384 1385 13861387 1388 1389 1390 1391 1392 1393 1394 1395 1396 1397 1398 139914001401 1402 1403 1404 1405 1406 1407 1408 140914101411 1412 14131414 14151416 1417 1418 1419 1420 1421 1422 1423 1424 1425 1426 1427 1428 1429 1430 1431 1432 14331434 1435 1436 1437 1438 1439 14401441 1442 1443 1444 1445 1446 1447 1448 1449 14501451 1452 1453 1454 1455 1456 1457 1458 1459 14601461 1462 1463 1464 1465 1466 1467 1468 1469 1470 1471 1472 1473 1 474 147514761477 1478 1479 NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO. 176 PITTSFIELD, MA POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE BYTE READER SERVICE PO Box 5110 Pittsfield, MA 01203-9926 USA mmII..I,IIL.mII.I,ImI.LmI,I.IImImI.I PRODUCT INFORMATION Want More Information About the Proi Circle numbers on reply card which correspond to numbers assigned to items of interest to you. m rheck ail the appropriate answers to questions "A" through "E**. rs Fea WJ this Issue? Print your name and address and mail. NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO. 176 PITTSFIELD, MA POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE BVTE READER SERVICE PO Box 5110 Pittsfield, MA 01203-9926 USA .11. .1.111 II, I, I, ,1,1,,, ,1,1, II, Jul, I Fill out this coupon carefully. PLEASE PRINT. Name Title ( ) ( ) Phone Fax Company Address City State Zip nqulry Numbers 1-493 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 494 495 498 497 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 511 512 513 514 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 529 529 530 531 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 54 65 66 67 68 545 546 547 548 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 64 85 562 563 564 565 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 579 580 581 582 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 596 597 598 599 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 613 614 615 616 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 630 631 632 633 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 647 648 649 650 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 684 665 666 667 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 681 682 683 684 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 698 699 700 701 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 715 716 717 718 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 732 733 734 735 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 749 750 751 752 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 2B3 284 285 286 287 288 289 766 767 768 769 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 763 784 785 786 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 800 801 802 803 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 817 818 819 820 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 634 635 836 837 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 851 852 853 854 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 868 869 670 871 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 685 886 887 888 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 902 903 904 905 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 919 920 921 922 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 936 937 938 939 480 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 953 954 955 956 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 970 971 972 973 A. What is your primary job function/principal area of responsibility? (Check one.) 1 □ MIS/DP 2 □ Programmer/Systems Analyst 3 □ Administration/Management 4 D Sales/Marketing 5 □ Engineer/Scientist 6 Q Other B. What is your level of management responsibility? 7 □ Senior-level 9 □ Professional 8 D Middle-level C. Are you a reseller (VAR, VAD, Dealer, Consultant)? 10 □ Yes 11 Q No D. What operating systems are you currently using? (Check all that apply.) 12 D PC/MS-DOS 15 □ UNIX 13 D DOS + Windows 16 □ MacOS 14 □ OS/2 17 □ VAX/VMS E. For how many people do you influence the purchase of hardware or software? 18 D 1-25 20 D 51-99 19 D 26-50 21 D 100 or more Inquiry Numbers 494-986 498 498 500 501 502 503 504 505 508 507 508 508 510 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 532 533 534 535 536 537 539 539 540 541 542 543 544 549 560 551 552 553 554 555 556 657 558 559 560 561 568 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 575 577 575 583 584 585 586 587 583 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 804 805 806 807 806 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 821 822 823 824 825 826 827 828 829 830 831 832 833 836 839 840 841 842 843 844 845 846 847 846 849 850 855 856 857 858 859 880 861 862 863 864 865 866 867 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 860 881 882 883 884 889 890 891 892 893 894 895 696 897 898 899 300 901 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 914 915 916 917 918 923 924 925 926 927 928 929 930 931 932 933 934 935 940 941 942 943 944 945 946 947 948 949 950 951 952 957 958 959 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 968 969 974 975 976 977 978 979 980 981 982 983 984 985 986 □ Please send me one year of BTTE Magazine for $24.95 and bill me. Offer valid in U.S. and possessions only. ^^ IRND009 Inquiry Numbers 987-1479 987 988 989 990 991 992 993 994 995 996 987 989 9891000100110021003 10041005100610071008 100910101011 101210131014101510161017101810191020 1021 1022 1026 1024 1026 1026 1027 1025 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1055 1057 1055 1055 1060 1081 1062 1063 1064 1055 1068 1067 1068 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 1075 1076 1077 1078 1079 1080 1081 1062 1083 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 108910901091 1092109310941095 1096109710981099110011011102110311041105 1106110711081109 1110 1111 1112111311141115111611171118111911201121 1122 112311241125 112611271128112911301131 1132 113311341135113611371138 1139 1140 1141 1142 1143 1144 1145 1146 1147 1148 1149 1150 1151 1152 1 153 1154 1155 1156 1157 115811591160116111621163116411651166116711681169 117011711172 1173 1174 1175 1176 11771178 1179 11801181 HB2 11831184 1185 1186 11871188 1189 1190 1191 1192 1193 1194 1195 1196 1197 1 198 1199 1200 1201 1202 1203 120412051206 1207 1208 1209 12101211 12121213 1214 1215 12161217 1218 1219 12201221 -222 1223 1224 1225 1226 1227 1228 1229 1230 1231 1232 1233 1234 1235 1236 1237 1238 1239 12401241 1242 1243 1244 1245 1246 1247 1248 1249 1250 1251 1252 1253 1254 1255 1256 1257 1258 1259 1260 1261 1262 1263 1264 1265 1266 1267 12681269 1270 1271 1272 1273 1274 1275 1276 1277 1278 1279 1280 1281 1282 1283 1264 1285 1286 1287 12881289 1290 1291 1292 12931294 1295 1298 12971298 1299 1300 1301 1302 1303 1304 1305 1306 1307 1308 1309 13101311131213131314131513161317 1318131913201321 1322 1323 132413251326 1327 1328 1329 13301331 1332 1333 13341335 1336 1337 1338 13391340 1341 1342 1343 1344 1345 1346 1347 1348 1349 1350 1351 1352 1353 1354 1355 1356 1357 1358 1359 1360 1361 1362 1363 1364 1365 13661367 1368 1369 1370 1371 1372 1373 1374 1375 1376 1377 1378 1379 1380 1381 1382 1383 1384 1385 1386 1387 1388 1389 1390 1391 1392 1393 1394 1395 1396 1397 1398 1399 14001401 1402 1403 1404 1405 1406 1407 1408 1409 14101411 1412 14131414141514161417 1418 1419 1420 1421 1422 1423 1424 1425 1426 1427 1428 1429 1430 1431 1432 1433 1434 14351436 1437 1438 1439 1440 1441 1442 1443 1444 1445 1446 1447 1448 1449 1450 1451 1452 1453 1454 1455 1458 1457 1458 1459 1480 1461 1462 1463 1464 1465 1466 1467 1468 1469 1470 1471 1472 1473 1474 1475 1476 1477 1478 1479 Subscribe to BYTE now ind 5AVE up to 56% PLUS, et the annual IBM PC Ipecial Issue as an EXTRA 30NUS! EE3 *> pr-PRICED 1WORKSTATIONS BVTE IBM Special Edition Baiter (UK •£•!.<•': '^vtW* • Stay in the know on all major microcomputer products and Innova- tions • Save time and money — invest in the best equip- ment for your needs • Harness the maximum power of your micro. Subscribe today ind save! n a hurry? ;all Toll-Free 1-800-257-9402 Enjoy MORE SPEED! SAVE up to $71 .03 PLUS get the extra IBM PC Special Issue Send me BYTE for: I | 1 year (12 issues) for $19.97 (Save 52% off the newsstand cost) | | 2 years (24 issues) for $39.97 (Save 52% off the newsstand cost) ] 3 years (36 issues) - $54.97 SAVE 56% off the newsstand cost Name. Company. Address — City/State/Zip LJ Payment enclosed LJ Bill me No-Risk Guarantee: If dissatisfied, cancel anytime for a full 1 00% refund. Your subscription will start in 6-8 weeks. Watch for it! Single copy $3.50. Basic subscription rates are: 1 year $29.95, 2 years $54.95, 3 years $74.95 IB13018 Profit from MORE POWER! SAVE up to 56% PLUS get the extra IBM PC Special Issue Send me BYTE for: I I 1 year (1 2 issues) for $1 9.97 (Save 52% off the newsstand cost) I I 2 years (24 issues) for $39.97 (Save 52% off the newsstand cost) ] 3 years (36 issues) - $54.97 SAVE 56% off the newsstand cost Name. Company. Address _ City/State/Zip LJ Payment enclosed LJ Bill me No-Risk Guarantee: If dissatisfied, cancel anytime for a full 1 00% refund. Your subscription will start in 6-8 weeks. Watch for it! Single copy $3.50. Basic subscription rates are: 1 year $29.95, 2 years $54.95, 3 years $74.95 1B13018 Gain MORE APPLICATIONS! SAVE up to 56% PLUS Send me BYTE for: ] 1 year (12 issues) for $19.97 (Save 52% off the newsstand cost) ] 2 years (24 issues) for $39.97 (Save 52% off the newsstand cost) I I 3 years (36 issues) - $54.97 1 — ' SAVE 56% off the newsstand cost get the extra IBM PC Special Issue Name Company . Address __ City/State/Zip LJ Payment enclosed LJ Bill me No-Risk Guarantee: If dissatisfied, cancel anytime for a full 1 00% refund. Your subscription will start in 6-8 weeks. Watch for it! Single copy $3.50. Basic subscription rates are: 1 year$29.95, 2 years $54.95, 3 years $74.95 IB13018 BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO. 42 HIGHTSTOWN, NJ POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE: BYTE Subscription Department P.O. Box 558 Hightstown, N.J. 08520-9409 NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES I.hLImI.Im.I.III.mLIm.ImIIIm.I.ImmII.I BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO 42 HIGHTSTOWN, NJ NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE: EVTE Subscription Department P.O. Box 558 Hightstown, N J. 08520-9409 mImImI.I.,,I.III..,I,L,ImIII.„I,LhII.I BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO. 42 HIGHTSTOWN. NJ NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE: EVTE Subscription Department P.O. Box 558 Hightstown, NJ. 08520-9409 I I ! I I I I 1 I I ! Detach and mail card now to SAVE up to 56% -I I I I on BYTE . . . PLUS, get the annual IBM PC Special Issue as an EXTRA BONUS! Order even faster by phone: \ Call Toll-Free 1-800-257-9402 weekdays 9-5 EST. In NJ, call 1-609-426-5535. I,„l..l..l.l...l,lll...l.l.„l„lll,„l,l,„,ll.l JDR Microdevices ORDER TOLL-FREE 800-538-5000 BUY WITH CONFIDENCE FROM JDR! • 30-DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE • 1 YEAR WARRANTY • TOLL-FREE TECH SUPPORT INTEGRATED CIRCUITS DYNAl MIC RAMS ! PART* SIZE SPEED PINS PRICE 4116-150 16384x1 150ns 16 1.49 4164-150 65536x1 150ns 16 2.49 4164-120 65536x1 120ns 16 2.89 4164-100 65536x1 100ns 16 3.39 TMS4464-12 65536x4 120ns 16 3.95 41256-150 262144x1 150ns 16 1.95 41256-120 262144x1 120ns 16 2.15 41256-100 262 A 44x1 100ns 16 2.25 41256-80 262144x1 80ns 16 2.75 414256-100 262144x4 100ns 20 8.95 414256-80 262144x4 80ns 20 9.95 1MB-120 1 048576x1 120ns 18 7.95 1MB-100 1048576x1 100ns 18 8.95 1MB-80 1048576x1 80ns 18 9.95 1MB-70 1048576x1 70ns 18 10.75 1MB-60 1048576x1 60ns 18 11.05 SIMM/SIP MODULES 1 Bl PART* SIZE SPEED FOR PRICE 41256A9B-80 256K x 9 80ns SIMM/PC 33.95 421000A8B-10 1MBx8 100ns SIMM/MAC 79.95 421000A9B-10 1MB x9 100ns SIMM/PC 79.95 421000A9B-80 1MBx9 80ns SIMM/PC 89.95 421000A9B-60 1MBx9 60ns SIMM/PC 99.95 256K9SIP-80 256K X 9 80ns SIP/PC 33.95 256K9SIP-60 256K X 9 60ns SIP/PC 39.95 1MBX9SIP-10 1MBx9 100ns SIP/PC 79.95 1MBX9SIP-80 1MBx9 80ns SIP/PC 89.95 MATH CO-PROCESSORS inteT •Software guide •S Year Warranty PART# SPEED PRICE 8087 5 MHz 89.95 8087-2 8 MHz 129.95 3087-1 10 MHz 169.95 80287-XL 12 MHz 247.95 80387-16 16 MHz 359.95 80387-16 16 MHz 359.95 80387-20 20 MHz 399.95 f**fr 80387-25 25 MHz 499.95 80387-33 33MHz 649.00 ► 80387-SX 16 MHz 299.95 BQ387-SX20 20 MHz 399.95 CYRIX CO-PROCESSORS STATE-OF-THE-ART TO SAVE YOU LONGEVITY WORRIES! MANUAL & SOFTWARE GUIDE, FULL 5-YEAR GUARANTEEI 83D87-16 16 MHz ..$299.95 83D87-33 33MHz $549.00 83D87-20 20 MHz 319.95 83S87-16(SX) 16MHz ..269.95 83D87-25 25MHz 419.95 83S87-20 (SX) 20MHz .329.95 EPROMS iffftfT PART* SIZE SPEED Vpp PINS PRICE 2716-1 2048x8 350ns 25V 24 4.95 2732A 4096x8 250ns 21V 24 3.95 2764 8192x8 450ns 12.5V 28 3.95 2764-250 8192x8 250ns 12.5V 28 3.95 2764-200 8192x8 200ns 12.5V 28 4.49 27128 16384x8 250ns 12.5V 28 3.95 27128A-200 16384x8 200ns 12.5V 28 4.95 27256 32768x8 250ns 12.5V 28 4.95 27C256 32768x8 250ns 12.5V 28 5.95 27512 65536x8 250ns 12.5V 28 5.95 27C101-20 131072x8 200ns 12.5V 32 17.95 EPROM PROGRAMMER • PROGRAMS 27XX AND 27XXX EPROMS UP TO 27512 • SPLIT OR COMBINE CONTENTS OF DIFFER- I ENT SIZED EPROMS (VARIOUS FORMATS AND VOLTAGES) • READ, WRITE, COPY, BLANK CHECK AND VERIFY* HEX TO INTEL HEX CONVERSION SOFTWARE MOD-EPROM $ 129 9s n DATARASE II EPROM ERASER •SMALL SIZE! • ERASES ALL SIZE EPROMS UP TO 4 ATA TIME -WALL PLUG POWER SUPPLY DATARASE II LITHIUM BATTERIES FOR 286/386 •WITH CONNECTOR -VELCRO MOUNTING LITHIUM-6.0V L MORE AVAILABLE —CALL US! RE H Of s 39 95 MCT'S MODULAR PROGRAMMING SYSTEM USE 1 SLOT TO PROGRAM EPROMS, PROMS, PALS & MORE! HOST ADAPTOR CARD/CABLE $ 29 95 • UNIVERSAL INTERFACE FOR THE PROGRAMMING MOD- ULES! • SELECTABLE ADDRESSES PREVENTS CONFLICTS MOD-MAC UNIVERSAL MODULE $ 499 95 PROGRAMS EPROMS, EEPROMS, PALS, BI-POLAR PROMS, 8748 & 8751 SERIES DEVICES; 16V8 AND 20V8 GALS (GENERIC ARRAY LOGIC) FROM LATTICE, NS, SGS • TESTS TTL, CMOS, DYNAMIC & STATIC RAMS •LOAD DISK, SAVE DISK, EDIT.BLANKCHECK, PROGRAM, AUTO, READ MASTER, VERIFY AND COMPARE • TEXTOOL SOCKET FOR .3" TO 6" WIDE I CS (8-40 PINS) MOD-MUP $499.95 MOD-MUP-EA 4-UNIT ADAPTOR $99.95 EPROM MODULE $ H9 95 • PROGRAMS 24-32 PIN EPROMS, CMOS EPROMS & 16K TO 1024K EEPROMS • HEX TO OBJ CONVERTER • AUTO, BLANK CHECK/PROGRAM/VERIFY • VPP 5, 12.5, 12.75, 13. 21 & 25 VOLTS • NORMAL, INTELLIGENT.INTERACTIVE& QUICK PULSE PROGRAMMING ALGORITHMS MOD-MEP $1 1 9.95 MOD-MEP-4 4-EPROM PROGRAMMER $169.95 MOD-MEP-8 8-EPROM PROGRAMMER $259.95 MOD-MEP-16 16-EPROM PROGRAMMER $499.95 PAL MODULE $ 249 95 • PROGRAMS MMI, NS, Tl 20 & Tl 24 PIN DEVICES • BLANK CHECK, PROGRAM, AUTO, READ MASTER VERIFY AND SECURITY FUSE BLOW MOD-MPL PAL DEVELOPMENT SOFTWARE $ 99? 5 ENTRY LEVEL PAL DEVELOPMENT KIT FROM CUPL MOD-MPL-SOFT OTHER PROGRAMMING MODULES... MOD-MMP MICROPROCESSOR PROGRAMMER 179.95 MOD-MIC DIGITAL IC & MEMORY TESTER 1 29.95 MOD-MBP BI-POLAR PROM PROGRAMMER 499.95 MOLDED CABLES 100% SHIELDED • 6, 12 OR 25' PRINTER CABLES • DB-25 TO 36-PIN CENTRONICS CBL-PRINTER 6 FT. CABLE $9.95 CBL-PRNTR-12 12 FT. CABLE $12.95 CBL-PRNTR -25 25 FT. CABLE $15.95 CBL-PRNTR-RA RIGHT ANGLE PRINTER CABLE $15.95 CBL-DB25-MM DB25 MALE-DB25 MALE 6 FT $9.95 CBL-DB25-MF DB25 MALE-DB25 FEMALE 6 FT $9.95 CBL-9-SERIAL DB9 FEMALE-DB25 MALE 6 FT $6.95 CBL-CNT-MM 36-PIN CENTRONICS-M/M $14.95 CBL-KBD-EXT KEYBOARD EXTENSION $7.95 CBL-MNT-9 9-PIN MONITOR EXTENSION $6.95 MANY MORE AVAILABLE —CALL US! SUM GENDER CHANGERS f^0 GEN-25MM DB25 MALE/MALE .'.T$4.49 GEN-25FF DB25 FEMALE/FEMALE $4.49 GEN-9MM DB9 MALE/MALE $3.95 GEN-9FF DB9 FEMALE/FEMALE $3.95 GENDER-VGA DB9-HIGH DENSITY DB15 ADAPTOR $4.95 GENDER-9-25 DB9 TO DB25 SERIAL ADAPTOR $4.95 GENDER-NM NULL MODEM ADAPTOR DB25P-DP25S . $4.95 MANY MORE AVAILABLE —CALL US! BREAKOUT BOXES RS-232 BOX W/24 SWITCHES, 12 LINE MONI- TORS • 10 BI-POLAR LEDS; JUMPER WIRES BRBOX-BO $34.95 DATA SWITCHBOXES RSS-2 2-WAY DB25S $24.95 RSS-3 3-WAY DB25S $27.95 RSS-4 4-WAY DB25S $29.95 RSS-XSERIAL CROSSOVER ....$29.95 RSP-2 2-WAY FEMALE CEN36 . $24.95 RSP-3 3-WAY FEMALE CEN36 . $27.95 RSP-4 4-WAY FEMALE CEN36 .$29.95 RS9-2 2-WAY DB9S $24.95 RS9-4 4-WAY DB9S $29.95 RSP-XPARALLEL CROSSOVERS29.95 MANY MORE AVAILABLE PROTOTYPE CARDS f~~~ ■ HlPDS-601 8-BIT SOLDERLESS 8088 * _ - g ~ BREADBOARD WITH DECODE * 79 • ADDRESS DECODING LOGIC, DATA BUFFERING, 2 LSI CIR- CUITS FOR PROGRAMMABLE DIGITAL I/O & COUNTER-TIMER FUNCTIONS • LOGICALLY GROUPED* ACCESSES ALL 62 I/O SIGNAL CONNECTIONS • CLEARLY LABELLED BUS LINES • ACCEPTS UP TO 24 FOURTEEN-PIN ICS ACCEPTS 9, 15.25 OR 37-PIN D-SUB CONNECTORS PDS-601 $79.95 PDS-600 ABOVE CARD WITHOUT DECODE $49.95 PDS-611 16-BIT BUS BREADBOARD WITH DECODE . $89.95 PDS-610 ABOVE CARD WITHOUT DECODE $59.95 MORE PROTOTYPE CARDS: FR-4 EPOXY GLASS LAMINATE WITH GOLD-PLATED EDGE- CARDFINGERS AND SILK-SCREENED LEGENDS JDR-PR1 8-BIT WITH +5V AND GROUND PLANE $27.95 JDR-PR2 AS ABOVE, WITH I/O DECODING LAYOUT ..$29.95 JDR-PR2-PK PR2 BUFFERING/DECODE PARTS KIT ...$8.95 JDR-PR10 16-BIT WITH I/O DECODING LAYOUT $34.95 JDR-PR10-PK PR10 BUFFERING/DECODE PARTS ...$12.95 JDR-PR16 16-BIT WITH I/O DECODING FOR PS/2 $49.95 JDR-PR16PK PR16 PARTS KIT $15.95 EXT-8088 8088-COMPATIBLE EXTENDER CARD $29.95 EXT-80286 286-COMPATIBLE EXTENDER CARD $39.95 1PCODE DIAGNOSES SYSTEM PROBLEMS! R P A Vt ; $4095 TO DIAGNOSE. PLUG IT INTO A CARD SLOT READ THE INDICATOR DISPLAY & CHECK THE MANUAL FOR THE CORRESPONDING POWER-ON SELF-TEST CODE. SWITCHLESS AND JUMPERLESS DESIGN. COMPATIBLE WITH 80286 AND 80386-BASED SYSTEMS. PCODE $49.95 tM ! LET TWO OR MORE PC'S USE SAME DEVICE OR VICE-VERSA HIGH-TECH SPOTLIGHT 7gB When a computer system spends much of its time waiting for peripherals like the hard disk and video display, it is said to be "I/O bound." An I/O bound computer is very common in the IBM-compatible world. First we wait for the disk drive to become ready, then seek, then rotate to the proper postion (sector) and finally read in or write out the information being used. If the pro- gram happens to be performing a "sort" operation on disk data, we may be able to watch the drive light go on and off for minutes at a time. In a situation like this, a faster processor will make little difference. The fastest 386 motherboard around might only make that sort operation 15% faster. If you find yourself waiting for your hard drive, consider this: the average drive purchased 3 years ago took 85 milliseconds to postion the heads over the proper track, and after postioning required 4-5 revolutions of the disk to read 8.5K of data. Many of today's drives average 28 milliseconds to get on track and with a 1:1 interleave can read the track in 1 revolution— a tremendous difference! By the way, you can use your older disk as a second drive. It won't seek any faster, but with a 1: 1 intereleave instead of 4: l, at least it will no longer require four revolutions to read one track! Derick Moore, Director of Engineering KEY Circle 6 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 7). MARCH 1991 -BYTE 383 BUY WITH CONFIDENCE FROM JDRl • 30-DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE • 1 YEAR WARRANTY • TOLL-FREE TECH SUPPORT YOUR MOTHERBOARD CONNECTION! MINI 25MHz 386 • NORTON SI 23.0 • LANDMARK AT SPEED 26.3 "THE FASTEST NON-CACHING MOTHERBOARD THAT WE TESTED. "—BYTE MAGAZINE, APRIL 1990. • MEMORY INTERLEAVING FOR NEAR ZERO WAIT STATE • SOCKETED FOR 80387 CO-PROCESSOR • USES 80NS 256K OR 1MB SIMMS • 16MB RAM CAPACITY: 8MB ON BOARD, 8MB USING OPTIONAL RAM CARD (0KB INSTALLED) • FIVE 16-BIT SLOTS.TWO 8-BIT SLOTS, ONE 32-BIT SLOT FOR PROPRI- ETARY RAM CARD MCT-M386-25 $799.00 $ 119S 33MHz CACHE 386 • NORTON 5/ 4S.9 • LANDMARK AT SPEED 50.8 • 33MHz 80386 CPU • 64K ZERO WAIT STATIC RAM CACHE • EXPANDABLE TO 16MB ON BOARD USING 80NS 256K OR 1MB SIMMS (0KB INSTALLED) • SOCKETED FOR 80387-33 OR WEITEK MATH CO-PROCESSOR • 8 16-BIT EXPANSION SLOTS • AMI BIOS ASSURES IBM COMPATIBILITY • 8/33MHZ KEYBOARD ADJUSTABLE SPEEDS MCT-386MBC-33 $1 195.00 MCT-386MBC-25 25MHZ VERSION $999.00 $2495 NEW! CACHE 486 • LANDMARK AT SPEED 114.5 HIGH-PERFORMANCE STANDARD SIZE MOTHERBOARD FOR CAD/CAM/CAE WORKSTATION TASKS, LAN SERVER, MULTI-TASKING, MULTI-USER OR UNIX APPLICATIONS • INTEL 80486-25 CPU WITH INTERNAL 80387 FPU AND 8K CACHE • 128K CACHE MEMORY ON BOARD • EXPANDABLE TO 16MB ON BOARD USING 1MB X 9 SIMMS OR 256K X 9 SIMMS (0K INSTALLED) • SOCKETED FOR WEITEK 4167 MATH CO-PROCESSOR • EIGHT 16-BIT BUS SLOTS • AMI BIOS • SOFTWARE SELECTABLE SPEEDS • FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH OS/2, NOVELL, DESQVIEW, UNIX, WINDOWS AND WINDOWS 3.0 MCT-486MB25 $2,495.00 790 12MHz 286 $ 199 95 • NORTON SI 14.0 • LANDMARK AT SPEED 15.9 • 12/6MHZ KEYBOARD SELECTABLE SPEEDS • EXPANDABLE TO 4MB ON BOARD USING 80NS 256K OR 1 MB SIMMS (0KB INSTALLED) • FIVE 16-BIT, AND THREE 8-BIT SLOTS • AMI BIOS 'SOCKETED FOR 80287 MATH CO-PROCESSOR MCT-M286-12 $199.95 16MHz MINI 386SX $ 399 95 • NORTON SI 15.3 • LANDMARK AT SPEED 20.8 • USES 16MHZ INTEL 80386SX CPU • EXPANDABLE TO 8MB ON BOARD • AMI BIOS • CHOOSE FAST WAIT STATE OR 1 WAIT STATE FOR ECONOMICAL USE OF SLOWER RAM • FIVE 16-BIT AND THREE 8-BIT EXPANSION SLOTS • CHIPS & TECHNOLOGY NEW ENHANCED ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY (NEAT) CHIPSET • SOCKET FOR 80387SX-16 COPROCESSOR •8.5" X 13" SIZE FITS IN MINI-286 AND FULL-SIZE 286 CASES MCT-386SX $399.95 MCT-386SX-20 20MHZ VERSION $499.95 20MHz NEAT 286 $ 389 95 • NORTON SI 21.0 • LANDMARK AT SPEED 26.3 • EXPANDABLE FROM 8MB ON BOARD • 20/10MHZ KEYBOARD SELECTABLE SPEEDS • AMI BIOS • CHIPS & TECHNOLOGY NEW ENHANCED ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY (NEAT) CHIPSET • SHADOW RAM AND PAGE INTERLEAVED MEMORY • FAST0 WAIT STATE OR 1 WAITSTATE FOR SLOWER RAM • FIVE 16- BIT AND THREE 8-BIT SLOTS • SOCKET FOR 80287-12 MATH CO-PROCESSOR MCT-M286-20N $389.95 MCT-M286-16N 16MHZ286/NEAT CHIPSET $289.95 MCT-M286-12N 12M HZ 286/NEAT CHIPSET $269.95 10MHz8088nortons,2.i $ 99 95 • 8088- COMPATIBLE; OPERATES AT 4.77/10MHz •KEYBOARD SELECTABLE CLOCK SPEEDS • SOCKET FOR 8087-1 COPROCESSOR • 8 SLOTS • MCT BIOS • 640K RAM CAPACITY (0KB INSTALLED) MCT-TURBO-10 $99.95 MONITORS NEC-MULTI-3D $ 649 •1024X768 RESOLUTION -.28MM DOT PITCH • COMPATIBLE WITH 8514A, SUPER VGA, APPLE MAC II, VGA, EGA & CGA NEC-MULTI-3D $649.00 JDR-MULTI MULTISYNCH MONITOR $429.95 CM-1440 SEIK014" DUAL FIXED FREQUENCY .$599.00 CM-1450 SEIKO 14" NON INTERLACED VERSION$749.00 | VGA-MONITOR VGA MONITOR $379.95 MONO-VGA PAPERWHITE VGA MONITOR $139.95 EGA-MONITOR EGA MONITOR $339.95 GM-1489 14"SCREEN MONOCHROME $139.95 MONO-SAMSUNG 1 2" FLAT SCREEN $129.95 VGA ' PACKAGE j $ 499 95 \ VGA COLOR AND CLARITY AT AN EGA PRICE! • 8/16 BIT VGA CARD IS COMPATIBLE WITH IBM VGA • 640 X 480 RESOLUTION IN 16 COLORS • HIGH RESOLUTION ANALOG MONITOR • EGA/CGA/MONO AND HERCULES COMPATIBLE • DRIVERS FOR WINDOWS, GEM, LOTUS 1-2-3, SYMPHONY, AUTOCAD & VENTURA VGA-PKG .$499.95 INPUT DEVICES 101-KEY $69 95 101-KEY WITH 12 FUNCTION KEYS -286/386/486 COMPATIBLE BTC-5339 $69.95 FC-3001 101-KEY.12F-KEYS& CALCULATOR $74.95 BTC-5060 84-KEY WITH 10 FUNCTION KEYS $59.95 $ 179 DFI SCANNER & PC PAINTBRUSH SCAN IMAGES UP TO 4.1" WIDE AT 100, 200,300 OR 400 DPI IN BOTH DIRECTIONS • B&W, HALF-TONE (3 MODES) ; 32 GRAYSCALE LEVELS • HERCULES/ CGA/EGA/VGA COMPATIBLE • IMAGE EDITOR UTILITY • 8-BIT 8088 OR 286/386/486 COMPATIBLE CARD (NO SERIAL PORT REQ) • IMAGES TOOLS HS-3000 $179.95 $ 599 COLOR HAND SCANNER! • 400 DPI16- COLOR DITHER MODE; , 200 DPI16-SHADE GRAY-SCALE MODE • MONO MODE FOR B&W LINE ART AT 100, 200, 300 OR 400 DPI •ZSOFTPAINTBRUSH VI PLUS CHS-4000 $599.00 LOGITECH $ QQ 95 TRACKMAN W USES LESS SPACE BECAUSE IT'S \ \ STATIONARY! • RESOLUTION \ \ ADJUSTS TO 300 DPI • INCL V MOUSEWARE UTILITIES, XJT- MOUSE-2-3 MENU SHELL ^^ • REQ. 256KMIN. MEMORY /"A, TRACKMAN $99.95 SERIAL VERSION— NO CARD REQ. TRACKMAN-B $99.95 BUS VERSION. INCL. SHORT BUS CARD FOR 8088, 286, 386 LOGITECH MICE •THREE-BUTTON SERIES 9 • 320 DPI RESOLUTION • SERIAL PS/2 COMPATIBLE. LOGC9 SERIAL MOUSE $98.95 LOGC9-P SERIAL MOUSE WITH PAINTSHOW $109.95 k LOGC9-CP SERIAL MOUSE WITH PRINSHOW $89.95 LOGC9-C SERIAL MOUSE $79.95 LOGB9 BUS MOUSE $89.95 LOGB9-P BUS MOUSE WITH PAINTSHOW $104.95 •NOT PS/2 COMPATIBLE 95 4800/2400 BPS FAXMODEM 9 119 • 4800 BAUD GROUP III FAX TRANSMISSION ONLY • 2400 BPS DATA MODEM • W/MENU DRIVEN PROFAX SOFTWARE • SENDS DOS TEXT. PCX & TIFF FILES TO FAX TRANS. MCT-FAXM $119.95 MCT-24I INTERNAL 2400 BAUD DATA MODEM $89.95 VIVA 2400 $44*95 BAUD MODEM > H9** • 2400/1200/300 BAUD OPERATION • HAYES AT COMMAND SET COMPAT. -EXTENDED S-REGISTER PROGRAMMING- SPEAKER 2ND PHONE JACK* AUTO DIAL TONE/ REDIAL • STD. RS-232C INTERFACE VIVA-24E $119.95 VIVA-24MNP $149.95 ERROR CORRECTING VERSION FAX/PHONE SWITCHER ROUTES CALLS FROM 1 PHONE LINE TO YOUR FAX, MODEM AND ANSWERING MACHINE! • OPERATES ON SINGLE OR MULTI-LINE SYSTEMS * AUXILLARY PORT FAXM-SWITCH $1 09.95 A CUSTOMER SERVICE 800-538-5001 TECHNICAL SUPPORT 800-538-5002 LOCAL/INTERNATIONAL 408-559-1200 FAX 408-559-0250 MON.-FRI. 7 A.M. TO 5 P.M., SATURDAY, 9 AM. TO 3 P.M. ORDER TOLL-FREE 800-538-5000 384 BYTE- MARCH 1991 Circle 6 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 7). ■jpJDR Microdevices s :r 2233 BRANHAM LANE. SAN JOSE CA 95124 • r< BUY WITH CONFIDENCE FROM JDR! UPRIGHT CASE $249M • FOR STANDARD, FULL SIZE AND MINI-MOTHERBOARDS • 250 WATT POWER SUPPLY • MOUNTS FOR 3 FLOPPY AND 4 HARD DRIVES • TURBO AND RESET SWITCHES • SPEED DISPLAY, POWER, DISK LEDS • MOUNTING HARDWARE, FACEPLATES AND SPEAKER INCL. CASE-100 $249.95-. MORE CASES... CASE-200 UPRIGHT HOLDS 11 DRIVES $499.95 CASE-120 MINI-UPRIGHT W/200 WATT PS $199.95 CASE-70 FULL SIZE 286 STYLE CASE $89.95 CASE-50 MINI-SIZE 286 STYLE CASE $59.95 CASE-FLIP FLIP-TOP XT-STYLE CASE $39.95 CASE-SLIDE SLIDE TYPE XT-STYLE CASE $39.95 CASE-JR MINI SIZE CASE WITH 150W PS $149.95 . CASE-JR-200 MINI SIZE CASE WITH 200W PS $189.95 F)-DA Y MONEY BACK GUARANTEE YEAR WARRANTY TOLL-FREE TECH SUPPOi <&r SEsgate hard drive kits «b*279 POWER SUPPLIES 059 95 135 WATT FOR 8088 PS-135 135 WATT FOR 8088 - U.L. APPROVED $59.95 PS-150 150 WATT FOR 8088 - U.L. APPROVED $69.95 PS-200X 200 WATT FOR 8088 - U.L. APPROVED $89.95 PS-200 200 WATT FOR 286/386 - U.L. APPROVED $89.95 PS-250 250WATT FOR 286/386 $129.95 j $gg95 1.44MB r 3-1/2" DRIVE • 80 TRACKS • 135 TPI • HIGH DENSITY ■ READ/WRITE 720K DISKS, TOO • INCLUDES ALL NECESSARY MOUNTING HARDWARE FDD-1 .44X BLACK FACEPLATE $99.95 FDD-1.44A BEIGE FACEPLATE $99.95 FDD-1 .44SOFT SOFTWARE DRIVER $19.95 MF355A 3-1/2" MITSUBISHI 1.44MB. BEIGE $129.95 MF355X 3-1/2" MITSUBISHI 1.44MB, BLACK $129.95 FDD-360 5-1/4" DOUBLE-SIDED DD 360K $69.95 FD-55B 5-1/4" TEAC DOUBLE-SIDED DD 360K $89.95 FDD-1.2 5-1/4" DOUBLE-SIDED HD 1.2M $89.95 FD-55GFV 5-1/4" TEAC DOUBLE-SIDED HD 1.2M $99.95 "Thanks again for the high quality your company provides. " — D.DuBois, San Jose, CA ' MODULAR CIRCUIT TECHNOLOGY INTERFACE CARDS DRIVE CONTROLLERS MULTIFUNCTION I/O CARDS 1.44MB FLOPPY lul l |l||i|Jlll ll ig i MULTI I/O CARD $59.95 ^ jfe*- '■' • SERIAL PORT • CLOCK/CALENDAR WITH BATTERY S JJQ95 ' PARALLEL PORT IS ADDRESSABLE AS LPT1 OR LPT2 :S^t« M f?o T p B pes MULTI I/O FLOPPY $79.95 (360K. 720K 1 2MB r 44MB) ^^^^^J . SUPPORTS UP TO 2 360K FLOPPIES • USER SELECT AS PRIMARY ' SERIAI - PARALLEL, GAME PORT AND CLOCK/CALENDAR OR 2ND (3RD OR 4TH) FLOPPY MCT-MIO MCT-FDC-HD $49.95 16-BIT MULTI I/O CARD $59.95 HIGH DENSITY 4-FLOPPY CARD $59 95 ' serial, parallel and game ports • uses 16450 • INTERFACES UP TO 4 FLOPPY DRIVES • CABLES FOR 4 f^T^ST^^ ^ ^ "^ ^^ 0PERAT '° N INTERNAL DRIVES • BIOS FOR ANY COMBO OF DRIVES MCT-AIO MCT-FDC-HD4 16-BIT ALL-IN-ONE-CARD $129.95 FLOPPY DISK CONTROLLER numbits)// increase the bit size? numbits++ basecode <- char // start of next string CONTINUE outcode (basecode, numbits) PROCEDURE LZW Expand next_code <- MAXCHAR+1 numbits <- MINBITS // bits to represent a char + 1 code <- incode (buffer, numbits) // read a variable-length code write code to output / / write out this character lastcode <- code / / start with this character WHILE (input buffer not empty) code <- incode (buffer, numbits)// read another character IF (code not in table) // is this the special case? // this is the special case handler for codes not in the table outstring(lastcode) // send out the last string again write lastchar to output / / and a duplicate first char ELSE / / the normal case outstring(code) // send the string for this code / / get the new last char lastchar <- (first char from output string) / / add a new table entry lastcode, next_code) add_code ( lastchar, lastcode <- code IF (table full) clear(codelist) IF (table has been filled) // clear some entries and put // their codes in the list of // available codes // get another code from the list next_code <- (next code from codelist) ELSE next_code++ //or just use the next code IF (log2 (next_code) > numbits) // increase the bit size? numbits++ CONTINUE // LZW compression support routines // Note: expansion string table is indexed, while compression table / / is hashed by char and basecode. Therefore, add_code and clear / / shown here are appropriate for the compressor. / / Actual adcLcode and clear used by expander are not //as complex. PROCEDURE lookup (char, basecode, tableoffset) // find the table entry (table // offset is passed by reference) tableoffset <- hashfunction (char, basecode) DO FOREVER IF (tableoffset is a filled table entry) IF( tableoffset. char = char AND tableoffset. basecode=basecode) RETURN FOUND ELSE tableoffset <- rehash (char, basecode) ELSE RETURN N0T_F0UND CONTINUE PROCEDURE add_code (char, basecode, code, tableoffset) tableof fset.code <- code // update the fields at tableoffset. char <- char // location in the table tableoffset.basecode <- basecode x_index[code] <- tableoffset // update the cross-reference table PROCEDURE clear (codelist) // clear part of the table STATIC bits_in._oldest <- MINBITS // keep track of oldest leaves FOR (entry<-0) TO (entry=TABLESIZE) mark x_index[entry] as a leaf // mark every cross-index entry FOR (entry<-0) TO (entry=TABLESIZE) notleaf <- x_index[entry]. basecode unmark x_index[notleaf] // unmark those used as other // node's basecodes FOR (each entry represented by bits_in_oldest bits) IF x_index[entry] is marked as a leaf / / erase the oldest leaves and add entry to available code list mark table entry as empty // recycle their codes bits_in._oldest++ // update oldest leaves IF bits_in._oldest > MAXBITS bits_in_oldest <- MINBITS // wraparound PROCEDURE outstring(code) IF (code is a literal character) write code to output buffer RETURN WHILE (code is not a literal character) push code. char // push the character for this node code<-code. basecode // jump to the previous location push code // save the last code (the literal) pop string to output buffer // pop the string we've built 386 BYTE- MARCH 1991 SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED Expanding LZW Like the dynamic Huffman algorithm described earlier, LZW coding does not require you to pass a decoding table to the expander along with the compressed data. The LZW expander can build its own table from nothing but the codes in the compressed data. The expansion program starts with a table, just like the compressor's, with only literal data defined. It begins by reading the first character from the com- pressed input. It sends this character to the output, but otherwise it just holds onto the character to form the basis for the next string. For each code after the first that the expander reads, it generates a string and makes an update to the string table. The expander first uses the string table to translate the code value to an output string. For nonliteral codes, it back- tracks through the code/character com- binations of the string table, pushing characters onto a stack as it goes. When the expander reaches a literal code, it pops the stack to produce the output string. In addition, each code after the first one causes a table update. For the second code, the expander adds a code made up of the first code, plus the first character in the string described by the second code. For each code thereafter, the ex- pander adds the last code translated plus the first character in the current string to the table. The resulting table is an exact duplicate of the compression table, which changes with each code received. Welch describes a special-case situa- tion that complicates the expansion algo- rithm slightly. A certain type of string can cause the compressor to output a code before the expander has it in its table. This situation occurs when strings of the form XandXandX appear and the string Xand is already in the table. In this case, the compressor will send the code for Xand (because it already knows that string) and then add XandX to the table. It will then start with the middle X, find the next group of characters that it knows is XandX, and send the code for XandX before the expander knows its meaning. You can handle this special case by adding a few lines of code in the expan- der program. If the expander receives a code that it doesn't recognize, it knows that it has encountered this singular case. In the above example, the expander re- ceives the code for Xand and then an unknown code. It writes out the last translated code again {Xand) and then the first character from that code (X). It then adds a combination of these charac- ters (XandX) to the table, which puts it back in sync with the compressor. Enhanced LZW Two enhancements to the basic LZW al- gorithm, variable-length codes and table clearing, make for a more flexible and robust compressor. With fixed-length output codes, you must decide up front how many bits to use for encoding the compressed data. If you use a small number of bits, the table fills quickly and compression drops off rapidly. If you use a large number of bits, the overhead for each code that you do not successfully compress is enormous. The sample code (see listing 2) uses variable-length codes to work around this problem. Initially, it uses 9-bit codes. When the compressor runs out of 9-bit codes, it switches to 10 bits, and on up through 13. It then uses 13 -bit codes for the rest of the output. Listing 2 shows that the compressor in- creases the bit length when the next code to add to the table requires more bits than allowed by the current bit length. This is not the next code to output; the next code to output will be the code that matches the next part of the input. However, be- cause the expander and compressor use this same method for determining which code in the table to use next, they make the switch in bit sizes simultaneously. Even with a 13 -bit table, the LZW compressor will eventually run out of string locations. One way to handle this problem is to stop adding entries and use the strings in the table to compress the rest of the input. This will result in poor compression if the type of data changes from one part of the input to another. You could also clear the table when it becomes full and start building the table again with the new data. Although this method makes the compressor more flexible than the do-nothing approach, it will also result in reduced compression while the table is mostly empty. Listing 2 uses a partial-clearing ap- proach to freshen the string table when it becomes full. The code clears only some of the older strings in the table when it becomes necessary. Because the string data is stored as base code/character combinations, you can't merely keep track of the least fre- quently or least recently used strings in the table and later eliminate them when the table is full. You can eliminate only the nodes that are not used by other codes as base codes (the leaves). It makes sense to keep track of the age of each leaf by the number of bits re- quired to describe its code. When the table fills, you can remove all the 9-bit leaves and reuse their codes. When the table fills again, you can recycle the 10- bit leaf codes. Once the 13-bit leaves have been reused, you can go back to re- moving 9-bit leaves and continue in this manner indefinitely. To determine which node is a leaf and which is not, the table-clearing routine takes a relatively brute force approach. First, it marks all the nodes as leaves. It then goes through the table, looking at base codes. Each base code is the code of a node that is not a leaf, so it unmarks the node that corresponds to that code. Unfortunately, there is one more com- plication in finding the leaves to elimi- nate. The compressor stores its string table in a hashed array because it must try to find codes in the table knowing only their base codes and appended char- acters. For the clearing routine to find codes given the code itself, you can use a cross-index table that maps sorted codes to table locations. While this uses up a good chunk of memory (16K bytes for 16-bit pointers and a 13 -bit table), it pro- vides for quick table access by either the code or contents. The Sample Code To try out these two compression algo- rithms, I wrote two assembly routines designed to be called from programs written in C. (The full text of these rou- tines is available in electronic format. See page 5 for details.) Both take an in- put and output file handle, compressing data from the input file and writing it to the output file. Even if you don't need to write your own compressor, a little background in data compression is useful. Although data compression may appear complex and fraught with danger, it's actually valuable and reliable, as you can see. ■ REFERENCES 1. Storer, James A. Data Compression: Methods and Theory. Computer Science Press, 1988. 2. Vitter, J. S. "Design and Analysis of Dynamic Huffman Codes." Journal of the Association for Computing Machinery, Oc- tober 1987. 3. Welch, Terry A. "A Technique for High Performance Data Compression." Com- puter, June 1984. Steve Apiki is a BYTE Lab testing editor/ engineer. You can reach him on BIX as "apiki. " Your questions and comments are wel- come. Write to: Editor, BYTE, One Phoe- nix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 387 PRINT QUEUE HUGH KENNER More Mathematical People The successor to a 1985 literary gem is just as delightful as the original Bill Gosper has "no patience at all" with "these damned PC's" (they're too small). Nor patience either with physicists, who have "the most abysmal taste in pro- gramming environments": They fancy the software equivalent "of a junk- strewn lab with plug boards, bare wires and alligator clips." No, Bill Gosper ("a cycle junkie") lusts after clean algo- rithms; also, the biggest and fastest supercomputer there is, so long as it's well out of reach of physics types. Bill Gosper is talking to Donald J. Al- bers, the man whose idea that the talk of math whizzes might be both instructive and fun led to the book Mathematical People, a golden oldie of 1985. We're now sampling its successor, More Mathe- matical People (Harcourt Brace Jovano- vich, 1990, $29.95). The 18 interviews were conducted by Albers, Gerald L. Alexanderson, and Constance Reid. Their copiously illustrated book is an end-to-end delight. And Bill Gosper? Approximately, a man with a passion for continued frac- tions, which he likens to chopsticks: Awkward at first, but once used to them, we're pitying "those poor Europeans who must grab their salad greens with a sour-tasting, bent metal object with no moving parts ." He long ago found he dis- liked typing 3 . 14 when he meant pi, "be- cause no matter where I stopped, there I was introducing an error at a place where there was no error." For "the decimal expansion of an irrational number does not repeat"— it burbles as if at random— whereas Gosper's continued-fraction version of pi will chirp "2" forever once it's past a mere 17 terms. If you can't get excited by that, well, you're not Bill Gosper. Nor have you his fascination with potentially exact results. In 1985, Gosper "briefly captured the pi-digit calculation record. " Not that he coveted all those random-seeming decimal digits. "Who wants a number that hasn't finished describing itself?" But "people are willing to tolerate an error in a num- ber, just for the convenience of not having a string of digits hanging off it." Utility is not the point. If we're calculating the circumfer- ence of the earth, the difference between a 5-place pi and a 6- place is about half an inch. So what's nagging Gosper in the 388 BYTE* MARCH 1991 zone of million-place pi is something purely aesthetic. A cliche, yes: math, an aesthetic domain. But a cliche into which the talk in More Mathematical People breathes welcome life. In high school, Gosper was a "nerd" who got good grades, and what pointed him toward MIT was the thrill of all those computers. There was even a PDP-1 they'd let students use, unsupervised! "That's where it all started." And that's one kind of aestheti- cism: a come-hither from sleek unknown potential. And here is Fred Mosteller remembering a sophomore ec- stasy. Probability that the sum of three dice will yield 10? "We all got the answer by counting on our fingers." But what about six dice, and the likelihood of getting 18? Wouldn't we still be home counting? The boy who had the wit to ask that question had a teacher with the wit to send in someone who knew. "So we went to his office, and he showed me a generating function. It was the most marvelous thing I had ever seen in ILLUSTRATION: GREG HALLEY © 1991 A mathematics. ... It was a total retranslation of the meaning of numbers. I really thanked him." (Up until that time, Mosteller had thought that the use of such things was "just to create home- work problems for innocent students.") And Bill Thurston, remembering an abacus from when he was tiny; "I was just so amazed that ten of these beads made one of these, and ten of these— you could get up to really huge num- bers." He also remembers, from later, "Martin Gardner's col- umn in Scientific American." (So do other interviewees. There's a thesis awaiting, some day, about Gardner's good-ge- nie pressure on modern math. Thus, his column was where the game of Life was first published, and that game is Bill Gosper's other passion: "So many existence theorems for behavior." If you remember Life's "Glider Gun," well, it was Gosper, two decades ago, who felt he was "approaching a demi-god" when he worked up the nerve to report that to Gardner. He and some pals had discovered it while they were at MIT.) Back to Thurston, though, who states the Immersion Theorem as technically as you please— "The space of immer- sions of a manifold in another manifold is homotopically equivalent to the space of bundle injections from the tangent space of the first manifold to the tangent bun- dle of the second"— and then lets on that he's helping with a computer program to make that vivid via movies. Then pros might get turned on: "Most of them have never heard of the Immersion Theorem. " But the real target audience? High school math students, on whom the film could perhaps have such an effect as the abacus had on Thurston. It's been proved that immergence can help you turn a sphere inside out, and that will be something to see. "I always try to put pictures in my papers"— as most mathematicians, he could have pointed out, don't. Most mathematicians will also swear up and down that by golly they never go near such things as computers. Thurston thinks they could do "a little catching up on that subject." He also hints that more than a few of them may be closet computerists who stay in the closet for fear of loss of face. Here's the moment for a brief detour via N. David Mermin's Boojums All the Way Through (Cambridge University Press, 1990, $49.50), a book I chanced to pick up in Paris last sum- mer, the day I also picked up an illuminating fact: The 40-odd pages of computer-related listings in the Paris Yellow Pages are all gathered under one heading, "Informatique." Informatique— information— that's Mermin's bag. He's made a career, running parallel with his career as theoretical physicist at Cornell, out of the simple perception that "physics, limply expressed, is less fun." Scientists, he reminds us, wrote beautifully through the nineteenth century into the early twen- tieth. (A phrase the young James Joyce treasured— "a day of dappled seaborne clouds"— was something he'd found in a book about geology.) Thereafter, the blight; and reading scien- tific papers became "an act of tedious drudgery." A boojum, as we learn from Lewis Carroll's poem "The Hunting of the Snark," was a singular variety of snark that caused whoever met it to "softly and suddenly vanish away." That was just the word, Mermin realized, for a mathematical singularity— never mind the details— that caused a supercur- rent to vanish from liquid helium-3 at superlow temperatures. The title essay of his book recounts, hilariously, his long cam- paign to get boojum enshrined in the technical literature. You'd large number of mathematicians swear up and down that they never go near such things as computers. not want a part in any bureaucracy our man has decided to out- flank. By February 1988, boojum had appeared "in the instru- mental plural (budzhumami) in the title" of something in a So- viet journal. Now that's infiltration. See the book for a play-by- play of the long campaign. See the book, too, for such gems as "What's Wrong with This Library?," which commences from a 1961 perception that, by extrapolation from its then rate of growth, Physical Re- view would soon be filling bookshelves at a speed exceeding that of light. By now, never mind Physical Review, "keeping up with everything is driving the libraries into bankruptcy." So "the default response to a request to be on the editorial board of a new publication should be an emphatic no, accompanied by a reasoned statement of why the journal should not be started at all." Also, "we should all think twice before writing yet an- other article." Important to draw back from "that dreaded point beyond which no information is conveyed." What's conveyed in More Mathemati- cal People— I'm back to that— is chiefly zest; if zest is not a mathematical truth, it's a truth about where math comes from. Here's Cathleen S. Morawetz (the S stands for Synge, and she's a grand- niece of J. M. Synge, the Irish play- wright). How come she was working in magnetohydrodynamics? She remem- bers a teaser who'd hint that it "wasn't very feminine." Her reply: "Most wom- en—in fact, most people— don't have the broad education that I got in Toronto. I learned a lot of physics. I took circuit theory as an undergraduate and a little bit of elasticity and optics. ..." What she doesn't mention is that her father— the playwright's nephew- chaired the University of Toronto math department in those days; he later took charge of the Institute of Advanced Study in Dublin, where Schrodinger was a par- ticipant. A relative, R. L. M. Synge, was 1952's chemistry Nobelist. So some things run in the blood, never mind what's "feminine." I remember her as Cat Synge. We graduated from Toronto the same year (1945), she in "M & P" (math and phys- ics), I in English language and literature. I endorse everything she says about Toronto education. Those curricula were long since gutted by egalitarian fury. We're scanning intricate webs; there are many ways for mathematicians (or writers) to find out that that's what they are. The great John Millington Synge, by the way, seems to have been the black sheep of the family: neither a scientist nor a cler- gyman. Had he lived past 37 (when he'd written a mere six plays), he might have been coequal of Shakespeare, whose first six plays barely matter. Destiny, vocation, finding out what you're meant to do: More Mathematical People is never far from such themes. Cat has appended a note to her interview: "I find I may have emphasized the need to escape from the devils of mathematics to embark on the pleasures of the real world. But it works both ways, and sometimes the devils of the real world drive one into the pleasures of studying mathematics." ■ Hugh Kenner is a professor of English at Johns Hopkins Univer- sity. He writes for publications ranging from the New York Times to Art & Antiques. His recent books include Mazes and Historical Fictions. He can be contacted on BIX as "hkenner. " Your questions and comments are welcome. Write to: Editor, BYTE, One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458. MARCH 1991 -BYTE 389 STOP BIT OPINIONS TOM YAGER Open Season on Unix? Popular versions of Unix have a long way to go before they are truly open systems Sometime during the last 10 years, the word open crept into the homespun lexicon of computer- dom. It was born when users began installing cards in their own computers and has decom- posed to its present, meaningless, hype-laden existence. This helpless word's demise is thanks partly to the rise in popularity of Unix, something else that seems destined to lose its meaning and worth. As close as I can figure, "open" is supposed to re- volve around a voluntary cooperation among competi- tive concerns. If you believe the headlines, every Unix computer vendor in the world has agreed that users deserve to expect a certain amount of predictability when moving from one ven- dor' s system to another. This is largely a user-in- terface issue, and "stan- dards" like Windows and Presentation Manager fix things for users of DOS and OS/2. That's thanks, of course, to Microsoft, which is powerful enough to create standards as if with a magic wand. Formerly, I didn't buy into this kind of "proprietary openness" (I hope Microsoft doesn't start using that phrase in its ads), but watching the purveyors of true openness flail around has left me rethinking my position. My first disappointment was with the mythical beast that's called the 386 Unix Binary Compatibility Stan- dard (BCS). Mythical, because it fails to cover net- worked and graphical applications, two areas that give Unix its appeal to new users. But most software ven- dors don't want to package a different version of an ap- plication for each of the several flavors of PC Unix, so they are choosing to port to only a single Unix or just forgetting the whole thing. I don't blame the software companies; until the bickering dies down and the binary standard becomes more than a skeleton, it's best to choose a seat and stay put. To their credit, I did get belated press releases from both The Santa Cruz Operation and Interactive Sys- tems, stating that they (along with AT&T and others) would be extending the System V release 3.2 BCS to include things like networking and X Window System. But I got two separate press releases, one from each company, and each failed to so much as mention the name of the other. That filled me with confidence. But if there is to be a proper binary standard, it better not take too long to congeal; workstation prices are drop- ping so quickly that there may be little advantage to PC Unix in the near future. So, I got to thinking that maybe the best kind of openness is Microsoft's, the kind controlled by one company. In the Unix domain, I figured that Sun Mi- crosystems was a good example of this, with its licens- ing of SPARC hardware and software. After all, more than a dozen companies have signed up to crank out Sparcstation clones, and they'll all be running SunOS 4.1. How forward-thinking, I thought, for a company to license not only its CPU design, but its latest operat- ing system as well. Once again, openness has its price. It seems that Sun plans to hinder its licensees by keeping certain "value- added" parts of the operating system to itself— like the extract-unbundled utility, used to install virtually every third-party SPARC application, and program- ming support for the audio I/O port. The list of holes blown in licensed versions of SunOS goes on. This confuses me, because Sun is passing up a major opportunity to make money. Since most clones will be sharing networks with real Sun machines, those missing parts of SunOS will be just a network packet away. Users will copy the missing software, and each transfer will be money out of Sun's pocket. Sun could broaden its licensing policy and fill the gaps, and SunOS could then be SunOS, regardless of the label on the system. Would that be giving too much away? Hardly. Sun has the higher-performance Sparc- station 2 all to itself. Sun needs to tread carefully in open territory; users expect licensed SunOS to behave like Sun's own, and that means no surprises. Sun should also dump Sun- View, the unattractive and cumbersome proprietary windowing system shipped standard with licensed SunOS, and replace it with OpenWindows 2.0. While Unix is winning converts far and wide for its versatility, the companies in the best position to push it over the edge toward real success are still straining at gnats. Perhaps the recession will scare a few players into smarter thinking. ■ Tom Yager is a technical editor for BYTE. He can be reached on BIX as "tyager. " Stop Bit is a forum for informed opinion on personal com- puting topics. The opinions expressed are those of the au- thor and not necessarily those of BYTE. Your contributions and comments are welcome. Write to: Editor, BYTE, One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458. 390 BYTE • MARCH 1991 ILLUSTRATION: STEVE TURK © 1991 Integrated Solutions for Data Acquisi r\ MmmMMBM fe®0W@ta o olSUTid f?\V (&\: % VMW^o f©(s DATA ACQUISITION GPIB Plug-in Data Acquisition VXI RS-232 DATA ANALYSIS DSP Statistics Curve Fitting Array Operations +> DATA PRESENTATION File I/O Front Panel Graphical User Interface Hardcopy Output IEEE-488.2 Interfaces DSP Hardware jj-j.j. a asu Plug-in Data Acquisition VXI Controllers M! I"'r l - l"fGSi lEkl El Kii?i| SSf53 ;#■■. «.! i,^ Bi .. «,£ ,, CJ j3^ : : ;■'■ ;: * j J juaj ■• ■ _!J JJJ JJ -1-t.a 3 ^=j: LabVIEW2 Graphical User Interface Macintosh Analysis Software *"' ' "'' itfilifSi i ■! All!) - ■.-.,;.-,-.-, Software for RS-232 Instruments man LabWindows 2.0 Graphical User Interface DOS-Based Analysis Software And Here Are Two Great Ways to Learn More About Your Choices! New 1991 Catalog Use our new 1991 color catalog to learn about the latest instrumentation technology for personal computers and workstations. Our How to Choose section guides you through your product selection. Each section has a tutorial to help you evaluate your product choices to meet your application needs. In addition, cross references through- out the catalog assure that you select a well integrated system. Call for a free catalog. (512)794-0100 (800) 433-3488 U.S. and Canada 6504 Bridge Point Parkway Austin, TX 78730-5039 * tr. national instruments; The Software is the Instrument® New Technical Seminar Attend our technical training seminar to learn about using personal com- puters for data acquisition, analysis, and presentation. This informative seminar teaches you how to identify signals, choose the most efficient way to acquire the signal, perform the correct analysis on them, and effectively present the results. Call for scheduling information. NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS FRANCE 1 48 65 33 70 NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS GERMANY 089 436 1447 NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS rTALY 02 4830 1892 NIHON NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS K. K. (JAPAN) 03 788 1921 NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS SWITZERLAND 056 45 58 80 NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS UNITED KINGDOM 0636 523545 Circle 1 96 on Inquiry Card. . * S...WE STARTED IT ALL |=£ ■ lS:mf±Sf± | I n 1983, we introduced *s first laptop computer* We went on to engineer built-in software, and hard drives in notebook- size PCs* asy-to-read screens ' --.i: •■• '.iii-'ri r-VzJ AND NOW... THE NEW TANDY® 2810 HD NOTEBOOK PC, 286 Power The 80C286 micro- processor runs at 16 MHz for speed- intensive applications like Microsoft 9 Windows. VGA Graphics Brilliant clarity with 640 x 480 graphics and a shaip 16/3 2 -gray scale. Built-in Hard Drive 20 megabytes of internal storage for rapid access, plus a 3.5" 1.44MB floppy drive. MS-DOS® 4.01 The latest version of MS-DOS (4.01) comes already installed on the built-in hard drive. DeskMate® Interface The DeskMate Graphical User Interface with ten applications is installed on the hard drive for instant- on ease of use. Resume Mode Lets you shut off and come back right where you left off— also shuts down automatically to save battery life. External Support Attach a 101 -key key- board, a VGA color monitor, a printer, an external floppy drive and more. 1MB Memory Expandable to five megabytes. DESKTOP PERFORMANCE IN A 6.7-lb. PORTABLE Continuing our tradition of innovation, the Tandy 2810 HD is a lightweight laptop for heavy use— at the office, at home, or on the road. With extremely durable construction, it's built for travel— but it can also support a full-size keyboard and H^Jm — jfa_ mMr monitor for true desktop power. AT® compatibility, JB ImOOT O m iluCIl stunning VGA graphics and DeskMate® productive JUVIEMCJYS ity software. Only at Radio Shack. Again. TECHNOLOGY Radio Shack is a division of Tandy Corporation. Microsoft and MS-DOS/licensed from Microsoft Corp. AT/Reg. TM IBM Corp. Circle 235 on Inquiry Card.