InfoWorld articles from July 1994

InfoWorld archives from July 1994

Quantum buys Digital storage business unit. (DEC's disk and tape drive, solid state and thin film businesses) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... Quantum Corp. announced last week that it acquired most of Digital Equipment Corp.'s storage business unit. The $400 million deal buys Digital's disk drive, tape drive, solid state, and thin film businesses. It also includes the purchase of...

Axil expands Sparc-compatible line; firm also developing its own ASICs. (application-specific integrated circuits, Axil Computer Inc's Axil320, Axil245 and AxilServer S/311 workstations equivalent to Sun Microsystems workstations) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Axil Computer Inc. this week will introduce two new workstations and will ship a departmental server that was announced last October. In addition to shipping its Sparcstation 5 and Sparcstation 20-compatible workstations, Axil said it is now...

IBM moves into reseller market with Fast SCSI-2 drives. (hard drives) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... IBM's storage systems division is now shipping four new 3.5-inch Fast SCSI-2 disk drives available through resellers and directly from IBM. Previously, IBM drives had been sold to other IBM divisions or to third-party manufacturers who put...

Procom ships CD Tower for LANs. (Procom Technology's CD Tower Ethernet Series) (Brief Article) (Product Spotlight) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Procom Technology Inc.'s CD Tower Ethernet Series will be equipped to handle as many as seven of the drives, the company said. Scheduled to ship the first week of next month, the tower system is designed to be used with Novell Inc. network...

ATM start-up set to take on internet giants. (Agile Networks to market ATMizer backbone switch) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Start-up Agile Networks Inc. will ship next month an ATM-based backbone switch designed to simplify the arduous task of designing enterprisewide internets by limiting the number of devices needed. The Asynchronous Transfer Mode-based ATMizer...

IBM sets PowerPC rollout for October: NT will be bundled with systems. (IBM PowerPC microcomputers to ship with Microsoft Windows NT 3.5 and AIX 4.1 operating systems)
July 25, 1994... After all the fits and starts, IBM will finally launch the first of its PowerPC PCs in October, based on 66-MHz and 80-MHz 601 processors running the Windows NT 3.5 and AIX operating systems. The decision to announce the systems in October...

NVidia planning multimedia solution; lower priced chip promises 3D graphics, video, audio. (Media Accelerator chip) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... NVidia Corp. intends to provide a multimedia solution that packs graphics, video, and audio into a single chip. NVidia's Media Accelerator chip, which will debut this fall, will handle two-dimensional and three-dimensional graphics,...

Versa V notebooks offer improved color, graphics; new line's prices start at $2,999. (NEC Technologies Inc) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Enhanced color display options and local bus-based graphics are part of the new Versa notebook line being introduced by NEC Technologies Inc. The Versa V series will offer users a choice between 9.5-inch dual-scan passive matrix color and...

Qume expands monitor line. (QM1791, QM1570, QM1450 and QM1438 energy-efficient models) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Qume is now shipping four energy-efficient monitors, including a 17-inch display that lists for $908. The 17-inch QM1791 offers resolutions as high as 1,600 by 1,280 with a refresh rate of 60 hertz. The monitor features a dot pitch of .26mm...

HP pushes scientific imaging apps. (virtual reality system developed with Division Inc based on HP 9000 Series 700 Model 715 and 735 workstations running dVise virtual reality software and dVS run-time virtual reality environment) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... Third parties will be providing high-end graphics solutions for Hewlett-Packard Co.'s workstation line, as the company has entered into a number of agreements with virtual reality and imaging companies. The agreements are designed to provide...

Sentinel Sentry-E server offers fault-tolerant design. (Sentinel Systems Inc) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... A multiprocessor, fault-tolerant system based on standard PC microprocessors and with an entry-level price of $50,000 has been introduced by Sentinel Systems Inc. The entry-level Sentry-E system comes equipped with dual channels, each of...

Silicon Graphics adds to server line. (Challenge S and Challenge DM graphics systems) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) expanded its graphics server line earlier this month by introducing two Challenge series servers, with prices starting at $12,250. The single- and four-processor servers fill out the low end of the Challenge line,...

Synchronize system clocks with remote LAN access products. (question-and-answer) (Help Desk) (Column)
July 25, 1994... Q: I need to synchronize the clocks on computers in several remote sales offices. Each of these computers uses Symantec Corp.'s Norton pcAnywhere to call an Artisoft Inc. LANtastic node in my office, run batch files and applications, and...

Pipeline. (News/Networking)
July 25, 1994... SHIPPING Caere releases Power Mac OmniPage Pro Caere Corp. is shipping OmniPage Professional 5.0 for the Power Macintosh. The $695 optical character recognition (OCR) software uses gray-scale information to optimize accuracy and includes...

Intel targets mainframes, minis with P6: chip optimized for server users.
July 25, 1994... In an effort to move its P6 microprocessor deep into the heart of the enterprise, Intel Corp. is putting finishing touches on its next-generation chip that should distance it from its x86 past. Intel will initially introduce a 133-MHz P6 with...

Mactivity moves Macs into enterprise. (product releases at 1994 show) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Apple Computer Inc. and a host of third parties last week at Mactivity '94 announced products aimed at improving manageability of Macintoshes in enterprise networks and products that link Macs to other resources. Apple...

Network General saves time on net management. (Reporter report generation software) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... A new companion tool to Network General Corp.'s line of network analyzer products will use the collected data to automatically produce 20 different reports with more than 80 viewing options. The Reporter software, expected to ship in August...

Ethernet meets FDDI on Alantec virtual LAN hub; backplane's capacity expandable. (PowerHub 7000) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Alantec Corp. is shipping an upgradable high-performance switching hub that can link Ethernet and FDDI users onto a unified virtual LAN. The PowerHub 7000 comes with an expandable backplane that supports traffic as heavy as 3.2 gigabytes per...

Pipeline. (Software)
July 25, 1994... MACTIVITY Farallon debuts hubs for small workgroups Farallon Computing Inc. launched a family of low-cost Ethernet Starlet hubs for small workgroups. The 4-, 8-, and 16-port unmanaged hubs are priced at $219, $299, and $699 respectively....

Lotus may ease upgrade pricing on cc: Mail Router. (Lotus' Mail Router 5.1 E-mail)
July 25, 1994... Bowing to pressure from users, Lotus Development Corp. is re-evaluating its upgrade pricing strategy for the cc:Mail Router, company officials acknowledged last week. Lotus' pricing system, which it unveiled in May when it shipped Release...

NetWare 4.02 lets administrators bypass complicated Directory Services. (Novell Inc's network operating system) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Small and mid-sized NetWare users now can migrate to Novell Inc.'s latest release without the hassle of setting up a complicated directory of all their resources. Novell late last week began shipping NetWare 4.02, a NetWare 4 upgrade that is...

Improved SNA server offers more host links. (Microsoft's PC to mainframe communications software) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Despite its single-minded focus on PCs, Microsoft Corp. apparently doesn't mind a few IBM mainframes after all. The company announced last week it is nearing delivery of a new version of SNA Server, a product that ties PCs and workstations to...

Module will fax Notes files. (Ibex Technologies Inc's FactsLine for Notes and FactsLine for Windows 1.3 fax software) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Ibex Technologies Inc. will ship in August a fax-on-demand module with integration for Lotus Notes that saves network administrators time by automatically updating and converting files. Priced at $2,495 per server, FactsLine for Notes allows...

IBM to rev query processing; parallel-enabled DB2/2 will debut in 1995.
July 25, 1994... IBM will introduce a new OS/2-based parallel processing database next year that promises to drastically reduce the time needed to process queries and return answers to users, said the database's chief architect. Don Haderle, director of...

Airplex modem goes wireless. (K & M Electronics Inc's Airplex Wireless Faxmodem Jack RJ-11 line converter) (Brief Article) (Product Spotlight) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Tired of tripping over your phone cord while trying to get your E-mail when you're traveling? This fall, the Airplex Wireless Faxmodem Jack will let you connect your portable computer's modem to an RJ-11 phone jack without wires. K & M...

Interbase now Borland's key client/server product; 4.0 to come in three configurations. (Interbase Workgroup Server)
July 25, 1994... Borland International Inc. is recasting Interbase, a Unix database that up until now has been virtually ignored by the company, into the linchpin of its client/server strategy. Interbase Workgroup Server 4.0 will be positioned as the upsizing...

Peirce taps power of QuickDraw GX. (Peirce Software Inc's Peirce Print Tools graphics utility) (Macintosh Printing Utilities) (Software Review) (Evaluation)
July 25, 1994... Peirce Print Tools, a $129 collection of Macintosh utilities from Peirce Software Inc., reminds me of Steve Martin's joke about how to be a millionaire and pay no taxes: "First, get a million dollars...." This package gives you a collection of...

Client/server going 'lite' to attract users. (client/server packages with less functionality but lower prices) (Technology Trends)
July 25, 1994... Well-known financial applications companies such as SAP Inc., Dun & Bradstreet Software, and Walker Interactive Systems say they are finding themselves increasingly squeezed by new economies: * Hardware platforms can now cost less than the...

Gates not giving up on AT&T, Microsoft alliance. (Microsoft CEO Bill Gates) (At Deadline) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates insisted last week that despite stalled talks with AT&T his company has not given up on establishing an alliance with the telecommunications giant. Gates said a deal for a network of public multimedia and...

Organizer 2.0 to focus on groups. (Lotus beta testing Organizer PIM upgrade) (At Deadline) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... Lotus Development Corp. has begun beta testing Version 2.0 of Organizer, its calendar and scheduling application. According to sources familiar with the product, the new release expands on the product's group scheduling features, adding a grid...

CrossComm's VOT manages remote routers. (Virtual On-site Technology network management software, Internetwork Management Software 7.1, ExpertHelper help desk and call tracking package and three levels of technical support) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... CrossComm Corp. wants to make it easier for managers to get a handle on remote office routers. CrossComm is shipping a network management software package and offering customer support services designed to simplify installation, operations,...

Digital to sell chips to outside firms. (DEC to market Alpha microprocessors, Alpha chips sets, PCI graphics chips, PCI-to-PCI bridge chip sets and Ethernet controllers to outsiders) (At Deadline) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... Digital Equipment Corp. last week confirmed its push into the merchant chip market and away from its traditional "captive supply" role of delivering processors and other chips for in-house use only. Digital said it will sell its Alpha...

Microsoft to demo Chicago features. (company to demo upcoming Windows 4.0 operating system) (At Deadline) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... Microsoft Corp. at this week's Windows World in Chicago will show off network management tools in its upcoming Windows 4.0 (code-named Chicago), including Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) support, systems policies that restrict what...

Briefly noted. (At Deadline)
July 25, 1994... Silicon Graphics Inc. on Tuesday will introduce the Indy R4600, which is based on the 133-MHz Orion R4600 MIPS processor and will replace the R4400-based Indy... Symantec Corp. will introduce five Power Macintosh utilities at next week's...

4Plex shrinks size of quad CD-ROM drive. (Plextor's PX-43CH CD-ROM) (Quad-Speed CD-ROM Drive) (Hardware Review) (Evaluation)
July 25, 1994... No, the 4Plex is not affordable housing. It's a new quadruple-speed CD-ROM drive from Plextor. The latest in a batch of new quad-speed SCSI CD-ROM drives, the 4Plex is a competitively priced unit with impressive performance and compact size....

Cable System Manager maps network design; displays in logical, physical views. (Apsylog graphical tool) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... A graphical tool shipping for network managers describes, validates, and maps a network, including those devices beyond a bridge or a router. The Windows-based Cable System Manager (CSM) from Apsylog, priced at $2,990, can display Novell Inc....

Apple, IBM negotiate licensing. (agreements focus on licensing of Apple's System 7 operating system and reselling of Apple Macintosh microcomputers) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... The linchpin of Apple Computer Inc.'s operating system licensing strategy will revolve around a complex series of agreements with IBM that the two companies are currently finalizing. IBM is not only negotiating with Apple to license System...

Lack of apps hampers Windows NT. (Microsoft Corp's operating system) (Market Analysis)
July 25, 1994... Microsoft Corp. is training its Windows NT Workstation sights more directly than ever before on Unix desktops, hoping to replace esoteric Unix commands with its more widespread Windows menus and icons. But users buy OSes to run the...

Microsoft admits Chicago won't hit stores until '95. (delay in release of Windows 4.0 operating system) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... REDMOND, Wash. -- At an analyst briefing in Redmond, Wash., last week Microsoft Corp. said it hopes to release the Chicago upgrade of Windows to manufacturing by December, but will not have the product available in stores anytime before January...

Cross-platform networking comes to life in Act 2.0. (Symantec Corp's contact management software) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Symantec Corp. is getting into the cross-platform networked "Act" with its contact management software. Act 2.0 for the Power Macintosh and 680x0-based Mac platforms will let Macintosh or Windows users access a single contact database stored...

Workflow platform adds doc imaging. (Up and Running Computer Consultants Inc's Artificial Work Environment 1.1) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Up and Running Computer Consultants Inc. is shipping Version 1.1 of its Artificial Work Environment workflow platform, adding a forms-based visual workflow designer that lets users create and manage their processes through graphical templates....

Short shutdown in production of 100-MHz DX4 derails PC sales. (Intel's 100MHz 80486DX4 microprocessors) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... Intel Corp. has restored production of its 100-MHz DX4 processor, but questions remain about its place in Intel's chip lineup. With the break in production, some vendors and distributors maintain that 100-MHz DX4s are still not available....

Oracle eyes Gupta purchase; takes steps toward buyout with small stock acquisition. (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... Oracle Corp. last week acquired a stake in Gupta Corp. and has entered into discussions with Gupta management to buy all or part of the company. Oracle bought 7.7 percent of Gupta's stock last week and then two days later sold two-thirds of...

MIT, CERN lead consortium for World Wide Web improvements. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and European Laboratory for Particle Physics work to improve Internet security) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... BOSTON -- The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) plan to deliver within a year a specification that improves Internet security, browsing, and data retrieval. The institutions...

New accounting packages aim small. (Peachtree Software Inc's Accounting for Windows 3.0 and Manzanita Software Systems' Business Accounting 9.0) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Peachtree Software Inc. and Manzanita Software Systems released upgrades to their accounting packages last week, covering the high-end and the low-end roads to the small-business market. Peachtree's Accounting for Windows 3.0 targets...

Autodesk to introduce 3D Studio 4. (3D Studio 4.0 three-dimensional modeling, animation and rendering software) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... The workstation-level capabilities in 3D Studio Release 4 will bolster Autodesk Inc.'s leadership position in the three-dimensional modeling, rendering, and animation market, users and analysts said. The company will introduce the upgrade...

TimeSheet smooths time, expense tracking; upgrade boosts security, interface. (Timeslips Corp's TimeSheet Professional for Windows 3.0 human resources management software) (Windows Time Sheet Software) (Software Review) (Evaluation)
July 25, 1994... For those who need a better way to track time and expenses, there's a new Windows version on the horizon of the definitive networked electronic time sheet: Timeslips Corp.'s TimeSheet Professional 3.0 for Windows. The beta version incorporates...

Excel goes global with MapLand. (Software Illustrated Inc's mapping add-in for Microsoft Corp's Excel 5.0 spreadsheet software) (Product Spotlight) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... A mapping add-in called MapLand now lets Excel 5.0 users express spreadsheet data geographically. With the MapLand toolbar, available now from Software Illustrated Inc., data can be integrated into 14 maps. Compliance with Microsoft Corp....

Who needs Distributed Computing Environment? Maybe you. (Open Software Foundation's version 1.02 network technology) (Network Curmudgeon) (Column)
July 25, 1994... I've been publicly skeptical about the Open Software Foundation's Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) for awhile, but lately I've been rethinking my position. Don't count me as a complete supporter yet, but there are some interesting things...

Users laud Justice's decision on Microsoft; expect to see more OS options. (Department of Justice reaches accord with Microsoft over antitrust allegations) (includes related article on Anne Bingaman, chief of DOJ's antitrust division) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... Despite the widespread perception that last week's Justice Department consent decree counted as a win for Microsoft Corp., users last week applauded the settlement, believing it will open operating-system options and pressure Microsoft to...

Vendors speak out: when third parties are at fault, who'll pay? (technical support issue) (From the Editor) (Editorial)
July 25, 1994... A few weeks ago, I passed on a reader's suggestion that paid support lines ought to be two-way. Here was the idea: If I call for support because I haven't bothered to read the manual, I should pay for the call and the vendor's time. If I call...

IBM unveils PowerOpen-compliant AIX OS. (IBM developing AIX 4.1 Operating System that will comply with PowerPC Unix specification) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... IBM will announce AIX 4.1 this week, but the first PowerOpen-compliant version of its Unix operating system will lack most of the features that were promised with PowerOpen. The PowerOpen specification, jointly defined by Apple Computer Inc....

Fractal Painter gets digital video support. (Fractal Design's Painter 3.0) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Fractal Design Corp. will move squarely into the multimedia arena this week when it unveils Painter 3.0 with support for digital video at Siggraph in Orlando, Fla. Version 3.0 for the Macintosh, Power Macintosh, and Windows platforms will...

Who'll need 500 channels when Oracle Media Server hits Iway? (British Telecom's interactive TV system test marketing effort) (From the Ether) (Column)
July 25, 1994... You know, of course, America's big problem today is a shortage of TV movies. So, investors in the information superhighway are betting big bucks on 500 TV channels and movies to fill them on demand. Thanks to a satellite dish, I've already...

Compaq and Oracle will join forces on downsizing solutions. (companies to jointly develop and market database hardware and software) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... Compaq Computer Corp. and Oracle Corp. announced a broad alliance last week, signaling that both companies plan to be serious players in corporate downsizing. Compaq is considering similar deals with other database vendors --including...

For the record. (Correction Notice)
July 25, 1994... In the July 11 issue, "Popkin adds ODBC support to its app tool" (Pipeline, page 21) incorrectly listed the telephone number for Popkin Software & Systems Inc. The correct number is (800) 732-5227. In the July 18 issue, a Pipeline item (page...

Compaq, Motorola move back PDA shipment dates. (personal digital assistant delayed) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... Compaq Computer Corp. has folded its mobile companion project team in with its other pen-based product development teams, company officials acknowledged last week. Compaq's decision comes at a time when other personal digital assistant (PDA)...

Micrografx board replaces CEO Tucker with Grayson. (Gordon Tucker replaces J. Paul Grayson) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... The management merry-go-round continues at Micrografx Inc., where the board of directors last week replaced CEO and president Gordon Tucker with cofounder and chairman J. Paul Grayson. Tucker, hired away from PepsiCo Inc. last September to...

Compaq stops production of pen notebooks. (Compaq's Concerto notebook computer) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... Compaq Computer Corp. has halted production of its pen-based Concerto notebook. The product has not been discontinued, as Compaq is holding out the possibility that it will restart production of the Concerto line if demand warrants, Compaq...

Before you ride the data highway, you'll need a set of wheels. (establishing an Internet presence) (includes relate articles on a glossary of Internet terms and Internet access tools) (Enterprise Computing)
July 25, 1994... With all the hype surrounding the "Info-Superhighway," management and networking professionals are considering the details of actually getting a business presence on the Internet. Daily papers, airline magazines, and business publications all...

Fixed-cost model adds more value to IS services. (fixed-fee support business model for allocating IS resources) (Enterprise Computing/Management)
July 25, 1994... Are your end-users getting the biggest bang for their IS bucks? Are you providing computer systems services in the most efficient way possible? Is anyone getting more services than they really need? If you're having a hard time answering...

Manager's bulletin board.
July 25, 1994... Sybase offers support plan. Sybase Inc., in Emeryville, Calif., is revamping its technical support by replacing custom support contracts with a four-tiered plan. The planGs programs range from Desktop, which offers support during the business...

CCI helps users run more DOS apps; Multiuser DOS Lite handles eight NetWare sessions. (Concurrent Control Inc's DR Multiuser DOS Lite operating system) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Corporations that still design or use custom DOS-based applications can now get a little more bang for their DOS buck with Concurrent Control Inc.'s (CCI) DR Multiuser DOS Lite. Don't be fooled by the name. This new $295 version of Novell...

Strong Sybase profit can't quell critics; critical analysts' report, sales slump overshadow second-quarter profits.
July 25, 1994... A recent highly critical analysts' report, combined with a slowdown in Sybase Inc.'s database server sales growth, helped tarnish an otherwise outstanding second quarter for the company. Sybase acknowledged that it is struggling with its...

Adobe fortifies video editing control in Premiere. (Adobe Systems Inc's desktop video editing software) (Macintosh Video Editing Software) (Software Review) (Evaluation)
July 25, 1994... Adobe Systems Inc. has updated its industry-leading Macintosh video editing software, Premiere, to give you greater ease of use and control over your editing. Although other applications boast spectacular special effects, Premiere has...

Aldus gives FreeHand back to Altsys; the fate of U-Lead's PhotoStyler remains uncertain. (U-Lead Systems Inc; merger between Aldus Corp and Adobe Systems Inc)
July 25, 1994... Aldus Corp. recently granted Altsys Corp.'s wish, and settled a lawsuit, when it agreed to return FreeHand to its developer next year. The settlement, which cleared the way for the Aldus/Adobe merger, now puts the spotlight on U-Lead Systems...

Ray Dream shines in 3-D design. (Designer for Macintosh 3.1 draw software) (Macintosh 3-D Illustration Software) (Software Review) (Evaluation)
July 25, 1994... At last count, there were more than 50 three-dimensional applications for the Macintosh. But if you're a working graphic designer who needs to produce illustrations for a variety of tasks, the choices are much narrower. Ray Dream Inc.'s Power...

3Com boosts remote access: AccessBuilder upgrade due.
July 25, 1994... 3Com Corp. will ship by year's end a software add-on for its AccessBuilder remote access server that will provide virtually any remote desktop user secured access to central files. The 3Com package, slated to ship in the third quarter, will...

Employee Appraiser 2.0 offers Coaching Advisor. (Austin-Hayne Corp's appraisal software and on-line employee development aide) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Austin-Hayne Corp. gives managers a head start evaluating employees with Employee Appraiser 2.0, an upgrade of its Windows appraisal software that features an on-line employee development aide called Coaching Advisor. The new Coaching...

Informix will ink deals with Tivoli, IBI; plans to license technology rather than build its own. (Informix Software Inc; Tivoli Systems Inc; Information Builders Inc) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... Informix Software Inc. watchers voiced approval last week of the company's decision to play catch-up with its competitors by licensing established technology instead of waiting to develop its own. Informix has been disadvantaged, in...

Designer's filters spice up CAD. (Micrografx Inc's Designer 4.1 Technical Edition) (Product Spotlight) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Companies needing to shuffle product designs from illustrators to CAD operators can use Micrografx Inc.'s Designer 4.1 Technical Edition. Version 4.1 TE aims to bridge the CAD and illustration worlds by incorporating more than 40 import and...

Power Pak for Windows helps bring slower PC models up to speed. (PC-Kwik Corp's system speed utilities) (Windows Performance Utility) (Software Review) (Evaluation)
July 25, 1994... PC-Kwik Corp.'s Power Pak for Windows, a collection of Windows acceleration utilities, is different from other utilities packages because it's dedicated to speed enhancement only, so it's a good complement to a more general utility program....

Oracle, Sybase take on OLTP; programs help build apps, not move existing ones. (on-line transaction processing support added to Oracle Corp's Cooperative Development Environment and Sybase Inc's Sybase XA Library) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Oracle Corp. and Sybase Inc. introduced new products last week designed to help users build distributed client/server on-line transaction processing (OLTP) applications. Neither company, however, has answers for users who want to move...

Hitachi tools to bolster OOP. (Hitachi America Ltd's ObjectIQ, ObjectIQ-DF and ObjectReuser development tools for object-oriented programming) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Hitachi America Ltd. will show next week at Object World in San Francisco a series of development tools that may make object-oriented programming more flexible and code reuse easier. At the end of this month, the application development...

Government did its job by foiling Microsoft's monopoly. (Distributed Thinking) (Editorial)
July 25, 1994... The Justice Department must be feeling really misunderstood by now. It's become clear in the past week that common wisdom has judged the consent degree between the Justice Department and Microsoft as "a slap on the wrist." For once, I think...

Water district fights drought with data technology. (Metropolitan Water District in southern California uses Environmental Systems Research Institute Inc's ARC/Info Geographic Information System and Oracle's DBMS) (includes related article on the water district's use of Sapiens USA Inc's Sapiens Ideo applications software) (Enterprise Computing/Management)
July 25, 1994... Combination of geographic information and relational technologies keeps area wet As even a casual observer knows, Southern California, with its wildfires, earthquakes, and mud slides, is an area hard hit by nature. But another problem that...

Readers offer some tips in the continuing 32-Bit File Access saga. (Microsoft Corp's Windows for Workgroups 3.11 network operating system) (Window Manager) (Column)
July 25, 1994... I'm back from my vacation, which last week meant that, for the first time in four years, you didn't see my column on these pages. I missed you all, but when I returned I found a pile of tips in my E-mail and my fax basket, so you apparently...

Cure for virtual headaches: a new NIC and a shot of bromide seltzer. (troubleshooting network problems in the network interface card after establishing an OS/2 remote access point to IBM LAN Distance) (Down to the Wire) (Enterprise Computing/Management) (Column)
July 25, 1994... We're exploring IBM's LAN Distance as a means of gaining access to our network from a remote OS/2 workstation. We finally have both the LAN Distance Connection Server machine and the LAN Distance Remote workstation up and running. They're even...

Pipeline. (Hardware)
July 25, 1994... PRICE CUTS IBM Direct offers price break on X terminals X terminal users can get selected models of IBM Xstations for 35 percent off if they order the terminals from the IBM Direct telesales organization. The Xstation 140 now lists for...

Wyse delivers Pentium-based server; system runs a variety of OSes. (Wyse Technology Inc's 7000i 765) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Wyse Technology Inc. is now shipping its first Pentium-based symmetrical multiprocessing server. Also available in a uniprocessing version, the Series 7000i Model 765 can be equipped with two 66-MHz Pentiums and features 128-bit data paths...

AST fills midrange PC gap with enhanced Bravo line. (AST Research Inc) (Brief Article)
July 25, 1994... A new line of Bravo PCs from AST Research Inc., scheduled to be announced August 1, will be the first of several new desktop and server announcements from the company before the end of the year, sources said. The new Bravo PCs will be for the...

Network 'fire walls' safeguard LAN data from outside intrusion. (LAN Talk) (Column)
July 25, 1994... In May, I wrote a column about adding LANs to the Internet. (See "Consider security if you're thinking of linking to the Internet," May 30, page 65.) In that column I talked about the importance of adding a "fire wall" to your system to protect...

Evergreen clock triplers offer 486 boost options; includes IBM Model 55SX upgrade. (Evergreen Technologies Inc) (Brief Article) (Product Announcement)
July 25, 1994... Evergreen Technologies Inc. has begun marketing a wide array of clock-tripled 486 upgrade processors, beating rival Cyrix Corp. to market. Evergreen's newest offering is a clock-tripled 16/48 IBM Blue Lightning processor, designed to let...

Schraith says AST plans to keep focus on technology. (AST Research Inc CEO and Pres James Schraith) (Hot Seat) (Interview)
July 25, 1994... In the midst of what appear to be major changes in the way the PC industry develops and markets its products, AST Research Inc. has changed its president and CEO. Now filling the post is James Schraith, formerly AST's senior vice president of...