Cupertino, Calif. - The new-generation 68040-based Macs due this summer will represent a dramatic break from past Mac architectures, but you won't know that from looking at their exteriors.
The larger of the two machines, code-named Cyclone, will come in the same metal minitower case as the Quadra 800, while its junior partner, dubbed Tempest, will share the low-slung case of the Centris 610, sources said.
Several new details about the two multimedia-oriented models emerged last week:
> Minicam. For both models, Apple will offer a miniature video camera that can be mounted above the user's monitor or moved about on the end of its cable to take pictures of objects or documents. Taking advantage of the 32-bit digital signal processor (DSP) built into the systems' logic boards, the camera will be able to put an image measuring 360 by 288 pixels, with 256 gray levels, on the screen.
While the built-in lens is designed for general use, users will be able to install supplementary lenses that can record detail as fine as the wire bonds on an integrated circuit, sources said. The camera is expected to cost between $150 and $250.
> Speech recognition. The systems will ship with all the software needed to put Apple's Casper voice-recognition technology to work; users apparently will have to purchase an optional high-fidelity microphone.
The system, according to Apple documents, is based on a speech-
recognition engine now officially called MacPlainTalk. It reportedly will recognize speech from any adult speaking North American English, with no prior training required. Users will be able to speak in natural phrases rather than in single words separated by pauses, and the system will automatically adapt to changes in background noise.
> Speech synthesis. The two new models will talk as well as listen. A new system facility called the Speech Manager will convert text strings sent by applications to phonemes and then pass them to a speech synthesizer, which in turn will look up the proper pronunciation in an extensible dictionary and generate the actual audio output via a new custom application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) called Singer.
From a control panel users will be able to select among multiple voices, depending on the synthesizers installed. The default synthesizer Apple will provide, code-named Gala Tea, is expected to support several male, female and child voices (see MacWEEK, May 11, 1992). Features include the ability to read numbers and fractions properly, such as "nineteen-
ninety-three" instead of "one, nine, nine, three."
As previously reported, both new models will include an AT&T 32-bit DSP that will handle video and 16-bit sound, including telephony. The Cyclone will include a 40-MHz '040, three NuBus slots and support for up to 128 Mbytes of RAM. The Tempest will use a 25-MHz LC040, lacking an FPU (floating-point unit), and hold up to 68 Mbytes of RAM; it will have a single slot that will require a NuBus adapter and have room for only 7-inch NuBus cards. Users will be able to update the Tempest's processor but not the Cyclone's.
The new systems will incorporate a slew of design innovations and new ASICs. The I/O subsystem will provide direct memory access between peripheral devices and the main processor buses, allowing improved throughput without processor intervention. A new SCSI Manager and DMA Serial Driver will offer improved performance now and modular designs that easily can be adapted to future hardware.
A new NuBus controller called MUNI (Macintosh Universal NuBus Interface), built into the Cyclone and on the Tempest's optional adapter, will implement the NuBus 90 standard, including block transfers ⁄nd dataâurst to and from the main lrocessor buøÆ
Both: ystems will ofYr videooutput in a vaF£ety of Iorm≠ts, including NTSC and PAL (European) composite an S-videñà The Cyclone w”ll supp… t color depths of up to 32 bits for grFhics a….@16 bits for video; the Tempest is limited to 16 bits.
MacWEEK 02.22.93
News Page 1
(c) Copyright 1993 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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News: AppleLink's new info serves mobile users
Apple to offer clients for Windows, Newton
By Nathalie Welch and Mitch Ratcliffe
San Jose, Calif. - Apple's on-line communications system, AppleLink, soon will become a leading outpost of the emerging information economy, the company predicted last week.
Apple Online Services, a part of Apple's Personal Interactive Electronics division, is working to add a variety of new consumer-
oriented services, such as news, weather and entertainment information, plus transaction services such as on-line banking and software sales. Communications technologies developed by America Online Inc. of Vienna, Va., and General Magic Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., will be incorporated into the system to enable the new services, Apple said.
"We're going into the on-line services business," Apple CEO John Sculley told the mobile93 conference here last week. "[AOS] may become Apple's largest business by the end of the decade."
Until now, AppleLink has been used primarily for the exchange of computer-oriented messages and files among Apple employees, developers, dealers and, in recent years, users. With 52,000 subscribers in 52 countries, the service currently is dwarfed by broader-based competitors such as Prodigy and CompuServe.
In hopes of catching up, Apple soon will offer access to the on-line marketplace from Windows and Newton as well as the Mac.
The first stage in the AppleLink renovation will be finished by this spring, Apple said, when a new interface, based on America Online's software, will be rolled out.
Sculley said the new services Apple will provide will make the company an ongoing participant in the use of a Mac or Newton. It may become commonplace to shop for and purchase software on AppleLink, for instance.
Mobile users are the initial audience for these services because they need an easily accessible source of news and an electronic-mail system when traveling, according to Peter Friedman, director of AOS. He said that there would be some system-level integration of information technologies into upcoming Newton personal digital assistants. AppleLink client software also may be bundled with future PowerBooks and desktop Macs, sources said.
One problem Apple may face in marketing AppleLink to consumers is its price structure: At $37 per daytime hour for 9,600-bps access, plus additional per-character fees for downloads, Apple's is currently the most expensive of the on-line E-mail and conferencing services. CompuServe, by contrast, last week cut its 9,600-bps access fee to $16 per hour.
Friedman would not comment about possible reductions and simplification of AppleLink rates. He did say AppleLink prices will not increase as a result of the planned service enhancements.
By using the America Online and General Magic technologies, Apple may be in a position to make its service something of a standard, sources said. America Online is working to license its interface to other companies.
General Magic's agent-based intelligent communications technology, known as Telescript and due in 1994, also has been licensed to AT&T Co., which is building its own electronic marketplace (see MacWEEK, Feb. 8). The two services are likely to be connected so that users on one service will be able to access information on the other service.
Apple is in the midst of establishing partnerships with information providers who will offer new information, communications and entertainment services that the company will discuss in more detail when the negotiations are completed, according to Apple's Friedman.
The Apple Online Services are part of a new "systems-oriented" marketing strategy, parts of which have emerged in recent weeks. "When we sell you something, that's really the beginning of the relationship," Sculley said last week.
MacWEEK 02.22.93
News Page 1
(c) Copyright 1993 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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News: Buyers uncertain about FPU value
By Robert Hess
Buyers picking out new Macs are hearing a question many may have trouble answering: Would you like an FPU with that?
An FPU (floating-point unit) improves performance on noninteger math used in scientific, trigonometric and transcendental calculations. While these operations can be performed in software on a standard CPU, they are far faster with an FPU.
With the 68020 and 68030 CPUs, the FPU is a separate chip, often called a math coprocessor. Motorola's 68020 works with a 68881 FPU, and the 68030 works with the 68882. On the '030-based Color Classic, IIsi, LC III, IIvi and Performa 600 an FPU chip is optional.
The Centris computers complicate the situation by using two versions of Motorola's 68040: the 68RC040 and the 68LC040. The only difference between the two is that the 68LC040 doesn't have the FPU circuitry that is built in to the 68RC040. The Centris 610 and low-end 650 use the 68LC040, and no FPU upgrades are available from Apple, although the 68LC040 CPU may be replaced by a 68RC040 after purchase. According to Apple, such upgrades do not block any of the slots or cause extreme heat buildup inside the Mac.
By offering the Centris with the 68LC040, Apple decreased its cost. A single 68LC040 is about $158 less on the street than a 68RC040. The Centris 610 4/80 configuration with one slot and no FPU lists for $1,859. A Centris 650 4/80 with three NuBus slots, one processor direct slot and no FPU costs $2,699. An additional $490 buys a Centris 650 8/80 with Ethernet and the FPU. If you plan on buying the lower-end model; can do without the slots; and will upgrade the memory, network capability and disk yourself, one question remains: Do you need the FPU and at what cost?
Since, until last October, the IIsi was the only Mac with an optional FPU, the question of needing one hasn't been pressing. The introduction of the FPU-less Centris should change that, according to Steve Holmland, product manager for Radius Inc.'s Rocket 68040 accelerator boards.
"Instead of hundreds of people asking the question, it should now be thousands," he said. San Jose, Calif.-based Radius introduced versions of its Rocket with and without FPU last year, and customers wanted to know which to buy. "Trying to find out which programs use an FPU required going through 10 or 12 people at each company," Holmland said, and there wasn't always a good answer.
Bill Coon, vice president of sales and marketing at accelerator maker Fusion Data Systems Inc. of Austin, Texas, agreed and said Fusion performed its own tests to find applications that benefited from an FPU. The results, he said, indicate few applications use an FPU for all their math functions. "It's not so much a matter of determining FPU usage on an application-by-application basis but on a function-by-function basis."
Fusion found that Microsoft Excel was markedly faster when an FPU was available. Recalculation of a 20,000-cell spreadsheet was 2.5 to 3.2 times faster depending on the types of functions used. Dan Williams, Excel product manager, confirmed that versions 3.0a and 4.0 have "broad support for the FPU. While we use an FPU for even basic math functions, you should really see a major improvement when you use transcendental functions like square root, log and exponent."
Tests with Adobe Photoshop 2.0, Aldus FreeHand 3.0 and PageMaker 4.0.1, Claris Corp.'s FileMaker Pro 1.0.2, and QuickTime movie playback and PICT compression showed no performance increases with an FPU.
According to Fusion's Coon, virtually all 3-D rendering applications require an FPU. Most graphics packages use an FPU for only a few functions; Photoshop, for example, doesn't use an FPU, but some of its plug-ins do. Word processors and page-layout applications don't access an FPU, he said.
MacWEEK 02.22.93
News Page 1
(c) Copyright 1993 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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News: Apple mobilizing mix of Mac, Newton OS
By Mitch Ratcliffe
San Jose, Calif. - The mobile-computing revolution will blur the lines between the Macintosh and Newton operating systems, Apple CEO John Sculley told the mobile93 conference here last week.
Apple will mix and match elements of the Newton and Mac interfaces in various mobile products, Sculley said, adding that the company's support for mobile users will rely heavily on store-and-forward messaging capabilities in General Magic Inc.'s Telescript communications programming language and the AOCE (Apple Open Collaboration Environment).
Promises of products yet-to-be- shipped were the currency of the moment at the gathering of vendors, investors and corporate users. Vendors trumpeted their visions of mobile products and services that will ship later this year and early in 1994, among them:
> Newton add-ons. Sculley said one of the first communications add-ons for the Newton personal digital assistants will be Motorola Inc.'s NewsCard, a paging message receiver. The device, as yet unpriced, will let Newtons capture electronic-mail messages, news and information updates broadcast on pager networks.
> Automated banking. Intuit Inc. of Menlo Park, Calif., said it will ship several new versions of its Quicken automated banking application that use the communications capabilities of General Magic's Telescript.
Scott Cook, Intuit CEO, said Quicken will run on Newtons, personal communicators that use General Magic's Magic Cap operating system, and Telescript-enabled Macs and Windows computers, once they become available.
> Data freight. Larry Ellison, president and CEO of Oracle Corp. of Redwood Shores, Calif., said his company will deliver one-way information services, known as data freight, to handheld and desktop computers within three years. He said Oracle will send data over a 1.544-Mbps wireless network it is co-developing with McCaw Cellular Communications Inc. of Kirkland, Wash.
"We think we can build battery-powered, addressable receivers for less than $100," Ellison said. The advantage of the system is its point-to-
multipoint connectivity; one would need to send a file just once to reach any number of users. "That gives us the ability to deliver an update of DOS to every PC in North America for approximately $7," Ellison said.
> PCS. The wireless personal communications services (PCS) schemes proposed to the Federal Communications Commission in 1991 by Apple and other vendors may get quick approval under the Clinton administration, speakers said.
"They (the administration) will try to be the spark that ignites new services," said Joel Winnick, an attorney at the Washington-based firm of Hogan and Harston.
Winnick, a Clinton campaign insider, said he believes PCS networks, which will let devices communicate using very low-power transceivers that work both indoors and outdoors, could be in service as early as 1995.
Users at the conference were a bit in awe of the possibilities for mobile computing and somewhat vexed by the density of vaporware at the conference.
For example, at Apple's booth there was a change in the typical Newton display. Instead of the sleek black note-taker prototype Apple has been showing under glass since last fall, there were two new designs: a slate with integrated keyboard and a lunchbox-size system with a screen on its large side and a pen.
A booth worker was quick to point out that both systems were conceptual prototypes and would not necessarily become Apple products.
"We've been through hurricanes and disasters during the past year, and we want to know if this wireless technology can help in those situations," said an executive with a major insurance company.
He said the vendors he'd heard at mobile93 seemed to be forcing real-
life business situations to conform to the limits of their technology rather than offering practical solutions. "After sitting here for two days, I'm wondering if this isn't a technology looking for a business problem," he said.
MacWEEK 02.22.93
News Page 1
(c) Copyright 1993 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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News: ON schedules cross-platform Meeting Maker
Speedier XP version links Mac, Windows
By April Streeter
Cambridge, Mass. - Recognizing that the schedules of Macintosh and Windows users do overlap, ON Technology Inc. in April will release a new version of Meeting Maker that works across the two platforms.
Meeting Maker XP will let users connected to a Mac or Windows server schedule group events and arrange personal calendars. In environments using a Windows server, Novell Inc.'s NetWare will be required.
XP is based on a new distributed architecture that will let roaming users work off-line and permit in-house workers to keep working on schedules even if the network fails. When connections are re-
established, changes to client and server copies are reconciled.
The price has not been determined, but the company said it will be higher than the current version, 1.5, which sells for $495 for a five-
user version and $895 for 10 users.
According to the company, Meeting Maker XP will improve performance significantly because schedules are kept on users' workstations, as well as the server. Unlike the current Meeting Maker, however, the XP version will work only in single-server environments. A server can support about 250 users, the company said.
Beta testers praised the upgrade's performance and cross-platform capabilities.
"It's pretty zippy," said Stephen Erde, director of academic computing at Cornell University's Medical School in New York and an XP beta tester. "We have our room schedules on Meeting Maker, and PC users [can] now get to them. Server-to-server scheduling will be nice, but I'm happy for now."
Meeting Maker XP's new features include:
> Monthly calendars. Users will be able to view detailed monthly calendars in addition to the daily versions. Version 1.5 includes monthly views, but they show only thumbnail versions of schedules. Unlike Version 1.5, XP lets users open and view multiple schedules at once and tile them across a window to coordinate scheduling of group events and facilities.
> Varied reminders. Reminders of upcoming events can, in this new version, be scheduled at different specified dates and times rather than just minutes before an event occurs.
> Group to-do's. Users will be able to send a request to others to complete a specified task. Clicking an accept button will add the task to a user's to-do list.
Meeting Maker XP will ship with Mac and Windows client and server versions in each box. ON provides an IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange) driver for use in mixed environments and will support Novell's forthcoming MacIPX driver.
The company said it will add multiserver support to Meeting Maker XP later this year. The multiserver version will include directory services built on top of AOCE (Apple Open Collaboration Environment) and Novell NetWare 4.0 directory services.
ON Technology Inc. is at 155 Second St., Cambridge, Mass. 02141. Phone (617) 876-0900; fax (617) 876-0391.
MacWEEK 02.22.93
News Page 1
(c) Copyright 1993 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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Gateways: Software lets services share one phone line
By Nathalie Welch
Campbell, Calif. - GlobalWay next month will ship Russian-made software that lets multiple fax, data and voice communications services share a single telephone line.
LineShare, expected to be priced at about $80, creates virtual software ports, called subports, which are accessible to the Macintosh Communications Toolbox. The program, which supports Hayes-compatible data and normal or advanced Class 2 fax modems, will work with any Comm Toolbox-compatible program that answers modem calls.
LineShare will let server applications that usually monopolize a serial port release that port to other applications as they need it. When a server application is inactive, LineShare fools it into thinking it still has the serial port's full attention.
When a nonserver communications program attached to a subport sends a dialing command, LineShare will take over the port and dial the number.
When a connection is established, LineShare will connect the subport to the modem to let the session begin.
Upon completion or interruption of the session, LineShare will disconnect the subport from the telephone line while it restarts monitoring of the serial port inbound calls.
LineShare will require special scripts for each set of programs, modem configuration and different types of incoming calls. These scripts will be available via on-line services, while scripts for several popular configurations will be included with LineShare. Users also will be able to create their own scripts using the LineShare scripting language.
In other news, PortShare Pro port-sharing software, available now at $189 for 10 users, will let network users access the serial devices connected to other users' Macintoshes.
LineShare was developed at the University of Moscow for Stalker Software GmbH of Cologne, Germany, which also developed PortShare Pro. The U.S. company GlobalWay, which has merged with Stalker Software GmbH, will soon change its name to Stalker Software Inc.
GlobalWay is at P.O. Box 1631, Campbell, Calif. 95009-1631. Phone (408) 866-4722 or (800) 262-4722; fax (408) 370-3170.
MacWEEK 02.22.93
Gateways Page 18
(c) Copyright 1993 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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GA: Photoshop 2.5 pushes performance
Offers new paths, channels palettes
By Neil McManus
Mountain View, Calif. - Adobe Systems Inc. this month shipped Photoshop 2.5, an upgrade that improves performance and adds previews and new channels and paths palettes.
Priced at $895, the new version works twice as fast as its predecessor on painting functions and refreshes zoomed-out images one and a half times as fast, Adobe said.
In addition, third-party accelerator boards can speed native Photoshop 2.5 functions, such as brushes, color conversions, rotate and resize. Digital signal processor cards and RISC boards are offered by DayStar Digital Inc., SuperMac Technology Inc., Spectral Innovations Inc., Newer Technology and RasterOps Corp.
Version 2.5 includes a new channels palette that lets users choose channels quickly for editing. Alpha channels can be used for transparent overlays. A new paths palette controls pen-tool functions. Users now can view an image while painting a mask and stroke along a path with painting tools.
The upgrade's color palette lets users save and load custom palettes. Users can view different color combinations in a new scratch area before applying them to an image. A new CIE XYZ color mode offers device-
independent color via PostScript Level 2.
Photoshop 2.5 users can view and edit masks with toolbox controls through the program's new Quick Masking feature. Manipulations can be viewed in a screen-resolution Fast Preview. New dodge and burn tools let users lighten and darken portions of an image.
John Lund, a San Francisco-based advertising photographer, said that working with the pen tool and paths is easier with Photoshop 2.5. "When you're using the pen tool, you no longer have to go through a lot of rigmarole to switch to another tool," Lund said. "Also, you can stroke a fragment of a path or have a path present at the same time as a selection."
Lund said that the new version lets him create more natural-looking photo illustrations. "I can add soft edges to brushes now so I can have a smoother transition when I'm cloning something."
Upgrades to Version 2.5 are $129 until April 30 and $179 thereafter. A Deluxe CD-ROM Edition 2.5 upgrade will be offered at $199 until April 30 and $249 thereafter. The CD-ROM version includes an interactive tour of the program and 50 royalty-free stock images.
Adobe this spring will release a similar $895 Adobe Photoshop 2.5 for Windows. Versions for Silicon Graphics Inc. and Sun Microsystems Inc. workstations are due later this year.
Adobe Systems Inc. is at 1585 Charleston Road, P.O. Box 7900, Mountain View, Calif. 94039. Phone (415) 961-4400.
MacWEEK 02.22.93
GA Page 30
(c) Copyright 1993 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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BusinessWatch: Apple Japan: The secret of success
Key, company says, is its 'involvement'
By Andrew Gore
Tokyo - Japan is a country steeped in tradition, down to the ritual exchange of business cards. Yet with Macs representing 8 percent of all personal computers in use here - the largest share for any foreign computer maker - it is apparent the Japanese have developed a yen for an untraditional company.
Apple Pacific is Apple's fastest-growing division. Japan is the company's third-largest market, behind the United States and France. Company officials said Apple's sales in Japan during its first quarter ended Dec. 25, 1992, increased 57 percent from the previous quarter and they estimate the division will ship another 200,000 Macs by the end of fiscal 1993. If the company achieves that goal, Apple expects that its share of the Japanese personal computer market will reach 10 percent.
And though Apple's market share may fall far short of Tokyo-based NEC Corp.'s 53 percent, a recent customer survey showed Apple was No. 1 in customer awareness in Japan.
To further illustrate Apple's popularity here, one has only to peruse the computer section of a book store in Tokyo's Shinjuku district. Roughly half the books are about the Mac, and five Japanese Mac magazines serve an installed base of 500,000 users. By comparison, there are only three major Mac-specific publications in the United States for about 5 million users.
According to Apple, the secret of its success in fiercely competitive Japan is that it does business as a Japanese company would.
For example, Apple stock is traded under Tokyo's Nikkei stock exchange. Apple Japan has Japanese management. And the division has tried to associate itself with the young and affluent in the country by sponsoring the Janet Jackson "Rhythm Nation" tour in 1990 and the Japanese Ladies' PGA Gold Tournament last year.
"It is very important in Japan to have a relationship with the company, not just the product," said Frederick Bullock, manager of market development for Apple Pacific. "[The Japanese] think highly of Apple because we're involved with their lives."
A more practical reason may be the significant effort Apple has made to localize the Mac's interface and products. There are more than 800 KanjiTalk software products. By comparison, the localized version of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows, 3.1 J, isn't expected to ship until May.
"We're investigating the marketplace and developing relationships," said Kyle Mashima, vice president of product development for Objective Software Inc. of Redwood City, Calif. "Because of the number of units Apple is moving here, though, we think this could be at least 10 percent of our business someday."
Satjiv Chahil, vice president of Apple Pacific marketing, said, "The prevailing wisdom is that you'll never be able to understand the market, so just hire an exclusive distributor and let them take care of it." He added that Apple's nontraditional approach has been successful in Japan.
"But we decided that to succeed here, we should do it ourselves, make our own mistakes but also our own successes," Chahil said.
MacWEEK 02.22.93
BusinessWatch Page 40
(c) Copyright 1993 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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Review: CE boosts usability with QuicKeys update
The new version eases macro creation and usage with Instant QuicKeys and QK Icons.
By Steve Michel
For years, CE Software Inc.'s QuicKeys macro program has been a nearly indispensable utility. CE recently released Version 2.1.3, which adds several useful enhancements to the $149 program's feature set and simplified installation and configuration routines for new users.
QuicKeys started out as a keyboard macro program, but as the utility has evolved, CE has enhanced it beyond basic recording features. The program allows you to assign single keystrokes to a wide range of actions, such as choosing a menu item, clicking an icon or typing a string of text. Beyond these tasks, you can create sequences of QuicKeys macros that perform more complex actions. Shortcuts can be assigned to key combinations or to a QuicKeys menu, and they can be called up in an on-
screen menu.
The program also features modules called Extensions, which add significantly to QuicKeys' power. These Extensions include simple modules that can change the sound level of your Mac as well as ones that mount file-server volumes and change printers.
The first release of 2.1 included an Extension that allowed you to send custom Apple events to other programs. QuicKeys also has an Extension for sending messages to UserLand Software Inc.'s Frontier, and when AppleScript ships, CE will offer an Extension to support scripts in that environment.
Macro control center. Version 2.1.3 retains the basic interface that premiered with Version 2.0 of the utility. The main control-panel window displays the list of macros available in the current application. From this window you can create or edit macros and the key combinations that invoke them. A row of icons at the bottom of the window allows you to filter the displayed macros.
QuicKeys macros can be universal - available in all applications - or application-specific, and you can save and open sets of macros easily. You also can cut and paste macros between sets. CE's CEToolbox system extension places a QuicKeys hierarchical menu item on the Apple menu, and you can install specific macros onto this menu.
Paying the price. QuicKeys' richness does comes with a price, however. Although the program can really change the way you use your Mac and save you time, becoming proficient enough to create complex QuicKeys takes some time. There are two main reasons for this.
First, the interface is somewhat daunting. While recording a single macro or sequence is simple, editing sequences and creating complex QuicKeys is more difficult. The utility's modal nature means that some tasks, such as defining sequences, require a series of dialog boxes. QuicKeys' modality also means that it is impossible to invoke the utility in certain situations - such as a modal dialog box - where it would be useful.
Second, while the QuicKeys Extensions are very useful, they add complications. We installed the full set of Extensions available on the QuicKeys 2.1.3 disk and also added several Extensions specific to other programs, such as Frontier, and a beta AppleScript Extension. This leads to a choice of more than 30 different extensions to use. Coupled with the 13 different kinds of "regular" QuicKeys you can create, the number of options is frequently bewildering: You don't always know which set of tools to use to perform a specific task.
QuicKeys itself often doesn't give you the right kind of guidance when deciding how to perform a task. Consider switching to a specific program that is currently running: When you use the Recorder feature to select a program from the application menu, QuicKeys records a menu selection. Although this approach works, a better way to perform the same task is by using the Process Swap extension, which lets you specify the application by name and also lets you specify whether or not you want the application from which you are switching hidden or not (which also can be specified by setting the macro to hold down the Option key when choosing the menu item). Throughout QuicKeys there are numerous ways of performing the same task. While this of itself isn't bad - choice is always a good thing - it provides something of an entrance barrier to the utility and contributes to confusion while using it.
In the same vein, QuicKeys has an ample set of tools that lets you provide control over how a sequence of QuicKeys macros proceeds. These controls let you wait until a menu item is checked or unchecked, check for the existence of a button, repeat QuicKeys, and a variety of other items. However, using the controls is often confusing, and with the lack of any kind of debugging tools, editing sequences can be a time-
consuming process.
CE Software has addressed some of the problems of creating and using QuicKeys with three ancillary utilities. Two of them, Instant QuicKeys and QK Icons, are included with the program. A third, QuicKeys RunTime, is available separately.
Instant QuicKeys. Instant QuicKeys is an application that makes setting up a system of fairly plain universal macros easy and almost painless. A HyperCard-like interface steps you through the process of creating custom QuicKeys in a dozen different categories.
Besides allowing to you define QuicKeys, Instant QuicKeys makes it easier for you to actually use them. It can create a SoftKey Menu, which you can summon with a keystroke. This "menu," which is more like a dialog, pops up on your screen with a single keystroke and contains labeled sets of QuicKeys. Clicking on a label either executes the macro or takes you to a second level of a menu. For those who have their keyboards already loaded with macros or have trouble remembering the keyboard shortcut for a specific macro, this is a welcome option.
QK Icons. QK Icons is an application that lets you transform any QuicKeys macro into a small (11-Kbyte) application. When you open the application, it sends a message to QuicKeys to execute the macro specified when you created the application. This is handy for several reasons. The icons you create can be placed on the desktop or in the Apple Menu Items folder for easy access.
You also can place them in the Startup Items folder so they execute every time the Mac is started up.
Support issues. One of the best parts of QuicKeys is the commitment to the product shown by CE Software. We have always received technical support quickly and accurately. CE also shows commitment by supporting leading technology, evidenced by the Apple events and Frontier support.
The documentation, while generally good, is split among a number of slim guides and an addendum for Version 2.1.3. This can add to the overall confusion of the product, especially when dealing with older Extensions and the new ones specific to Version 2.1.3. The Extensions guide, however, has the best layperson's discussion we have seen of using Apple events.
Conclusions. QuicKeys 2.1.3 is very reliable, and its enhancements add significant power to a program that was already extremely capable. Additional utilities, such as Instant QuicKeys and QK Icons, make the product friendlier for both new and experienced users alike.
At the same time, however, CE has stretched the limits of the current user interface about as far as it can go. We think many users will not plumb the depths of QuicKeys - building complex sequences, using Apple events and the like - preferring instead to use the program as a midlevel macro recorder. Adding additional power to the program, as well as drawing in more users, almost requires an overhaul of the interface. We also would like to have improved macro-editing capabilities. None of these cavils, however, detracts from the essential value of one of the Mac's most utilitarian utilities.
CE Software Inc. is at 1801 Industrial Circle, P.O. Box 65580, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265. Phone (515) 224-1995; fax (515) 224-4534.
Score Card: QuicKeys
CE Software Inc.
Version tested: 2.1.3
List price: $149*
Overall value ****
QuicKeys is the premier macro program for the Macintosh, supported by leading-edge commitment from CE Software. Through QuicKeys Extensions and with support for Apple events and UserLand Software Inc.'s Frontier (and plans to support AppleScript), there is little that can't be done with the program. However, this power has a price, and creating complex macros is more difficult than we would like it to be. But CE is making the process easier by including Instant QuicKeys and QK Icons with the program and should make managers' lives easier with the QuicKeys RunTime package. Overall, for Mac users who want the ability to truly customize their machines, QuicKeys is a must-have.
Performance ****
Features ****
Ease of use ***
Documentation/support ****
* Upgrades, $10 (free if purchased after Sept. 1, 1992).
System 7 Compatibility: QuicKeys 2.1.3
Balloon help Yes
TrueType n/a
Publish and subscribe n/a
Apple events Yes
32-bit addressing* Yes
*According to vendor.
MacWEEK 02.22.93
Reviews Page 49
(c) Copyright 1993 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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Mac the Knife: On the right side of connectivity
If the devil is in the details, as so many were quick to point out last week after the president's non-State of the Union address, then a careful look at a video tape of the event reveals a lot. John Sculley, for example, publicly advertised his willingness to sacrifice by wearing a tie that was surely not purchased in this decade. Then there's the small matter of on whose right-hand side he was sitting, although that symbol may not be as revealing as the tie. After all, Alan Greenspan is arguably more powerful than Mrs. Rodham Clinton and the rest of the government put together, and the right-hand side he was occupying belonged to Mrs. Gore.
But any way you slice it, you don't sit next to the first lady at any important function without being very well-connected. Judging by that criterion, Sculley is as plugged in as he needs to be.
In fact, being well-connected might be the new motto at Apple. The recent arrival of Express Modems for the Duos shows Apple's commitment. Those who wonder why these modems are priced so aggressively and why there is no third-party competition need only remember that commitment. Wise sources insist that Apple is actively trying to wean third-party developers away from modem hardware for the Mac because future DSP-
equipped and RISC-based models will provide modem functions on-board.
Now those with any depth of experience with Apple's previous modem products may question the wisdom of this strategy. You can add to this the general perception that the Express Modem, relying as it does on the Duo CPU for most of its horsepower, slows down the Duo noticeably. But things can only get better. As far as accessing our data goes, one day we'll be able to be everywhere at once, even if we're nowhere at all.
European connection. Any number of the newly installed techno wonks in Washington will tell you that Europe has a few lessons available free for the learning.
Apple already has provided the French with high-speed cellular modems for the PowerBook, and those of us in North America eventually will have the same free-ranging option. We'll only have to wait until the supporting technology, including the requisite digital cellular network, is in place.
Eye of the Cyclone. If the Knife's E-mail is at least as accurate as Bob Dole's call-in line, there's a lot of pent-up demand out there for a Mac with the specs of a Cyclone. Those of you who are considering postponing a purchase now in favor of the Cyclone might want to reconsider your strategy. The Knife reports that Apple's original goal of a May ship date for the first for-real multimedia Mac looks like a sure no-go. Rumors are circulating that Apple's first beta release of the operating system software was retracted after only a few weeks in the field, and no replacement has since been shipped to take its place.
While we're waiting for the Cyclone to hit, we also can contemplate the arrival of a truly quick incarnation of QuickTime. Sources are whispering among themselves that Apple is seriously considering setting QuickTime in silicon some day, probably when it's satisfied that QuickTime is sufficiently stable. That would enable Apple to put QuickTime on the logic board of some future machine. Perhaps QuickTime 2.0 will meet the test.
By now we're all getting pretty good at this waiting business. One source reported to the Knife that a call to Apple's employee purchase program inquiring about the availability of a Quadra 800 produced outright laughter. A similar inquiry about the availability of the 950 revealed that Apple employees will have to wait about a year and a half for the big box '040 Mac. And who knows if the 950 will even be in production then?
You can use your MacWEEK mug to prove that you once sat on the right-
hand side of the Knife - if you can earn it. Find out at (415) 243-3544, fax (415) 243-3650, MCI (MactheKnife), Internet (mac_the_knife@macweek.ziff.com, AppleLink (MacWEEK) and CompuServe/ZiffNet/Mac.
MacWEEK 02.22.93
Mac the Knife Page 118
(c) Copyright 1993 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
