Mac Expert 1995 Winter/Mac Expert - Winter 95.iso/Les fichiers/Tidbits/TidBits 101 à 200/TidBITS#171⁄05-Apr-93

Text File | 1993-04-05 | 28.6 KB | 606 lines | [TEXT/ttxt]

TidBITS#171/05-Apr-93
=====================

 No April Fools issue this year, but you might like what we have
   from that auspicious day. We also have a look at the massive
   CeBIT show, the announcement of Apple's new on-site service plan
   for all Macs, news of a Duo price drop, an editorial on why
   Apple releases a new Mac model every 7.4 days, and the
   long-awaited announcement of CE's QuickMail 2.6. Finally, for
   those who track time, check out our review of WindoWatch and
   TimeLog.

 Copyright 1990-1993 Adam & Tonya Engst. Non-profit, non-commercial
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 -----------------------------------------------------------------

Topics:
    MailBITS/05-Apr-93
    The CeBIT Show
    Apple Assurance Service
    Shelf Space Wars
    QuickMail 2.6... Connect Now!
    TimeLog & WindoWatch
    AFD Postings of Note
    Reviews/05-Apr-93

[Archived as /info-mac/digest/tb/tidbits-171.etx; 29K]


MailBITS/05-Apr-93
------------------
  To clarify recent comments on the Nisus upgrade, there are two
  versions, 3.4L and 3.4C, which differ in two ways. The most common
  version, Nisus 3.4L, supports Roman languages and Japanese, and is
  NOT copy protected. Nisus 3.4C adds support for all non-Roman
  languages (Farsi, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, etc.) and is copy
  protected with a dongle. I won't discuss this issue further, but
  I'm sure Nisus Software would gladly listen to constructive
  suggestions on how they can avoid the dongle and still convince
  recalcitrant overseas distributors to carry Nisus 3.4C.

    Nisus Software -- [e-mail]


**New Performas** -- Expect three new models of the Performa to
  appear in mid-April, the 405, 430, and 450. The Performa 405 will
  be exactly the same as the Performa 400 (essentially a 4/80 LC II)
  with a new Apple Mouse and System 7.1P replacing 7.0.1P. The 430
  will also be an LC II at heart, but with a 120 MB hard disk. The
  Performa 450 will continue the imitation tradition, mimicking the
  LC III with 4 MB of RAM and a 120 MB hard drive. All will come
  with an external 2,400 bps data/9,600 bps send-only fax modem.
  None will be priced competitively with comparable Macs.

  Information from:
    Bill Waits -- [e-mail]


**BCS Clarification** -- Roz Ault writes to clarify "A Tale of Two
  Cities" in TidBITS #170_, "BCS Mac is starting its own FirstClass
  system this week. Also, the latest client for FirstClass is
  version 2.0.9, which available on <sumex-aim.stanford.edu> as
  </info-mac/comm/first-class-client-209.hqx>."

  Information from:
    Roz Ault -- [e-mail]


**Duo Price Drop** -- Mark Anbinder passed on news of a price drop
  on Duo suggested retail prices. The Duo 210 4/80 fell $410 to
  $1,839; the 230 4/80 dropped $310 to $2,299; the 230 4/120
  descended $310 to $2,659, and the 230 4/120 with Express Modem
  sunk $320 to $2,899.


The CeBIT Show
--------------
  by Dieter Mueller, Industria -- [e-mail]

  CeBIT is the world's largest computer fair, held in Hannover, a
  town in northern Germany. CeBIT means a lot of people, a lot of
  companies, and a lot of stress. This year CeBIT boasted 600,000
  visitors, with the masses pumping through the halls. CeBIT costs a
  lot, especially for the exhibitors, and even network giant Novell
  stayed away this year.

  Apple didn't stint on CeBIT, creating one of the biggest stands -
  including its own display area for an exciting show. The show was
  a running event; visitors had to fill out a boarding pass to
  enter. Entering Apple's domed hall allowed a brief respite from
  the rush of CeBIT. Real Lauda Air and Lufthansa stewardesses
  opened the doors of the round showroom. In middle was the stage,
  cloaked in red and black. You could feel the excitement. Even the
  seats were unusual: real airplane seating rows.

  The doors shut. A stewardess explained the exits like in a real
  flight, and the lights faded away. From the ceiling four
  projection screens lowered, and high volume sound flooded the
  room. The screens came alive with a flight through the universe,
  into our solar system, the creation of earth with storms,
  volcanos, earthquakes. It passed into the rising of mankind:
  cities, tools, industry, the computer. During this stunning event
  four dancers in tight black dresses took positions, their faces
  hidden under masks. Then we saw a DOS machine saying "Error."
  Pling! The Macintosh startup sound rang through and the happy Mac
  face loomed on the screens. The dancers removed their masks,
  switching from ghosts to humans, and entered a marvellous act
  replete with more sound, wild dancing, fog and lighting effects.
  This was no show, this was multimedia war. The pictures ceased for
  a moment, the dancers holding PowerBooks in their hands. The show
  ended with a big bang, but with no word spoken about a product.
  This was smoke and mirrors, image all the way. Buy a Mac and you
  will be part of the show. The stewardess collected the boarding
  passes and the audience stumbled back to the noisy show.

  Apple fans left wearing big smiles because they were part of the
  show; other users filed out, fascinated; but I left unhappy. I
  wanted to see some new Apple products and the only one was the
  PowerCD CD Player, a cute 3.1 pound semi-portable that plays
  CD-ROMs on the Mac, Kodak PhotoCDs on a TV, and audio CDs on a
  stereo. Although the PowerCD sports a 550 millisecond access time,
  it is multisession PhotoCD-aware, can run on AC power or four C
  batteries, and will cost under $500 when it appears this summer.


Apple Assurance Service
-----------------------
  by Mark H. Anbinder, Contributing Editor -- [e-mail]
     Technical Support Coordinator, BAKA Computers

  Announcing a new suite of on-site repair services, Apple Computer
  today responded to complaints that they had fallen behind the pack
  in service offerings. Key to the suite is a network of on-site
  service providers, including many of Apple's existing resellers
  and repair organizations.

  Most interesting is Apple's new on-site one-year warranty.
  Covering most of its desktop computers and many peripherals, this
  program replaces the company's existing one-year warranty, which
  until today required owners to bring equipment to the dealer or
  pay for an on-site call.

  Apple has made the on-site warranty coverage retroactive to cover
  equipment purchased after 01-Feb-93. This seems fair, though not
  as magnanimous as when Apple instituted its one year warranty a
  few years ago, and retroactively covered even some purchasers
  whose ninety-day warranties had expired.

  Also new is an on-site version of AppleCare, the extended-warranty
  service that lets purchasers to extend protection in monthly
  increments. As before, AppleCare coverage provides the same
  protection and services as the warranty.

  Finally, Apple will offer toll-free support to all users in the
  U.S. from 6 AM to 6 PM Pacific time, Monday to Friday. The number
  is below, but it hasn't changed from the original 800/SOS-APPL.

  PowerBooks and a few peripherals (and the upcoming Newton
  products) will continue to require mail-in service rather than
  on-site service, though PowerBook owners will still have the
  option of visiting a PowerBook-authorized repair location (some,
  but not all, dealers). Several models of Macintosh (primarily the
  older ones) and some peripherals will not be eligible for any
  on-site services, presumably because they would be difficult or
  dangerous to handle on-site.

  The new on-site warranty program matches the free in-home warranty
  service provided with Performa purchases since the Performa line
  was introduced last year. Macintosh owners requiring a service
  visit call a toll-free number, and the central service connects
  the user with a local service provider who performs the repair at
  the customer's home or office. Eastman Kodak has provided Apple's
  on-site service to date, and although they could undoubtedly
  handle the extra work resulting from this change, Apple has
  decided not to cut their traditional service providers (primarily
  local dealers) out of the process.

  Your local dealer will decide soon whether or not to participate
  fully in the new service program. For some, adding sufficient
  staff and equipment to support on-site repair might pose too great
  an investment. For dealers who already have outbound service
  technicians, though, or who are large enough to restructure their
  service division, this new service offering could revitalize a
  network of dealers who typically find it hard to distinguish
  themselves from the mail-order DOS clone vendors and superstores.

  Once the network of on-site service providers is in place, anyone
  within 60 miles of one of these sites will be able to request
  in-office or in-home warranty repairs. Furthermore, dealers will
  undoubtedly offer on-site service - at an additional charge - for
  out of warranty equipment. A 60 mile radius may be a bit of a
  stretch, but most of Apple's customers and dealers are densely
  enough packed that Apple probably isn't worried, statistically
  anyway, about how many Macs there are that far from the nearest
  dealer. (Living in central New York State, I can envision many
  such locales, some of which my coworkers may soon find themselves
  visiting!)

  Until that network is finished, on-site repair won't be
  universally available, but it will be interesting to watch this
  system grow. If any readers can comment on some of the issues that
  may have arisen with Performa repairs, or on-site repairs for
  non-Apple equipment, we'd love to hear from you since we will be
  watching Apple's new program closely.

    Apple -- 800/767-2775

  Information from:
    Apple propaganda


Shelf Space Wars
----------------
  by Marc Kossover -- [e-mail]

  Apple is mystifying the public again. Pushing out new models in
  multiple configurations virtually every month, it seems that Apple
  has launched more new Macintoshes in the last six months than in
  all the previous years that the Mac has existed put together. "I
  can't keep up," Jane and Joe Consumer cry. "Why so many?"

  Apple declines to comment, but I think I know, because I know
  their motivation, and motivation determines method. The motivation
  is increased market share. The method is shelf space war.

  In retail sales, each store has only so much shelf space for any
  type of product. Manufacturers always clamor for as much of that
  finite space as possible. Having more space generally means better
  market share.

  For example, let's say that American Products decides to enter the
  widget industry. Since most stores have already allocated as much
  shelf space to widgets as they are likely to, a widget brand will
  have to be dropped so that American Widgets can be sold. This is
  why companies find it difficult to break into markets with well-
  established product lines.

  Some companies discovered they could do even better by expanding
  their product lines. Let's say General Widget is a successful
  widget company, and they decide to sell three new kinds of
  widgets. Because General Widget products have been successful in
  the past, most stores will sell the new General Widgets, but they
  probably won't expand the shelf space assigned to widgets. That
  means that stores will have to drop some other brand of widget so
  they can sell General Widget's new widgets. General Widget gains
  in two ways: first, if the product is good, they sell more, and
  second, some of their competitors are no longer sold. Thus,
  General Widget gains market share with little effort.

  The classic example is soup companies. Campbell's Soup won the
  shelf space battle years ago, dominating the market with something
  like 100 soup flavors. Many of those flavors don't make any money,
  but they keep the shelves filled with Campbell's soup cans and
  fewer Progresso soup cans.

  Apple is doing the same thing in the computer industry. In the
  computer superstores, shelf space is at the same premium as at the
  supermarket. Currently PCs take up the majority of space, not just
  because there are more PCs sold, but also because more companies
  sell PCs. PCs, in essence, have lots of brands that force Macs off
  the shelves. Apple has decided to fight back, I believe, by
  selling more and more models so that they have need for shelf
  space. Smaller computer companies will be shoved out, and Apple
  hopes it will pick up market share.

  Apple certainly has other motivations like creating a more diverse
  line to compete with the variety of PC clones, but their main
  thrust, it seems, is to increase market share by doing what the
  soup companies do.

  I wish them luck.


QuickMail 2.6... Connect Now!
-----------------------------
  by Mark H. Anbinder, Contributing Editor -- [e-mail]
     Technical Support Coordinator, BAKA Computers

  Late last month, CE Software released a long-awaited upgrade to
  its popular QuickMail software. Version 2.6, available to 2.5 or
  2.5.1 owners for $40, has three primary areas of enhancements:
  server architecture, administrator tools, and a new Windows
  client. At the same time, CE announced the "QuickMail Connect Now"
  program, and StarNine Technologies announced a new version of
  their QuickMail-to-SMTP gateway and a brand-new gateway between
  QuickMail and Banyan's Vines mail system.

  In designing QuickMail 2.6 CE focused on improving their mail
  server architecture, which has been criticized as being unreliable
  in large internetwork environments. The company has gone a long
  way towards eliminating problems with its "single-file" approach,
  which was introduced in version 2.5. This feature allowed the
  QuickMail server to keep only a single copy of mail to multiple
  recipients, but versions 2.5 and 2.5.1 would occasionally "forget"
  to delete that single file once all references to it were gone. CE
  also improved zone-list handling, especially in large
  internetworks where zones tend to come and go.

  To make the software more "administrator-friendly," CE created a
  server monitor feature within its QM Administrator application,
  allowing the system administrator to track peak usage and the
  server's load. The administrator may also now move a user's
  mailbox from one mailcenter to another, or even from one mail
  server to another, without losing any mail. In addition, a new
  Mail Authentication Tool can create verified backups of the
  server's mailboxes, while discarding unnecessary "orphaned" mail
  files. We conducted experiments on two busy servers and found that
  as many as two-thirds of the files on the server were unnecessary;
  on one server, the Mail Authentication Tool eliminated seven
  thousand files, dramatically improving server performance and
  freeing space.

  For the first time, CE is providing a Windows client application,
  which was originally expected to ship with version 2.5. The result
  was worth the wait. The new software combines the friendly feel of
  QuickMail with a proper Windows interface - rather than, as is
  often the case, a Macintosh program ported to Windows but
  retaining Macintosh conventions. Unfortunately, QuickMail for
  Windows does not support AppleTalk connections to the mail server;
  it only allows file-based access involving a file server available
  to the workstation and the mail server.

  CE dramatically improved its DOS client software (for both
  AppleTalk and file-based connections), and made minor
  modifications to the Macintosh client. The most obvious change to
  the Macintosh software is the "Turnerizing." The new version
  sports color control icons and color "About Box" displays.
  Unfortunately, the color icons take a step further away from the
  traditional Macintosh look and feel, and worse, they serve as a
  cruel reminder of the absence of the complete interface
  colorization that CE should have undertaken. Forms do not offer
  color pictures or text labels, and users cannot select colors for
  message text, as so many other mail programs offer these days.

  Despite the disappointing Macintosh client software, the 2.6
  upgrade is worthwhile, and certainly worth CE's nominal upgrade
  fee. To convince skeptics, CE is offering a free five-user
  "QuickMail Connect Now" installation to sites that don't use
  QuickMail. Similar to the company's "QuicKeys Test Drive," which
  allows resellers to let customers try the software before buying
  it, the QuickMail Connect Now offer allows resellers to install
  the QuickMail software without charge to the customer, who can use
  QuickMail for a while and decide whether or not to buy a full
  package. Unlike the QuicKeys Test Drive, the QuickMail Connect Now
  software doesn't expire after a while, but is missing some
  features, such as remote access and certain administration tools.
  Anyone who's interested should contact their favorite CE Software
  dealer. (CE can point you to one if you call.)

  StarNine Technologies hopped on CE's new version bandwagon,
  announcing last Monday that it will ship version 2.2 of its
  Mail*Link SMTP package, an Internet gateway for QuickMail, by the
  end of this month. The new version, free to current users,
  provides "certified" support for QuickMail 2.6, and several other
  enhancements. StarNine's new Mail*Link for Vines/QM will replace
  Banyan's own MacVines gateway at the end of this month. MacVines
  users may convert for a discount, and pricing for new sites starts
  at $595 for ten users.

    CE Software, Inc. -- 515/224-1995
    StarNine Technologies, Inc. -- 510/649-4949

  Information from:
    CE & StarNine propaganda


TimeLog & WindoWatch
--------------------
  I called the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today - just for some
  forms, thank goodness - and it brought some programs to the front
  of my mind. One of the IRS's more irritating habits is making you
  account for the percentages of computer time you spend on business
  activities compared to personal activities. You then use this
  ratio in figuring out how much of your Mac you can deduct or
  depreciate on your U.S. income taxes.

  But how can you really tell? Short of recording what you do and
  for how long, it hasn't been easy, although we gather the
  publishers of MacInTax had or have a program called MacInUse
  specifically aimed at this problem. Now, however, several programs
  have appeared that not only help you determine the ratio of
  business to personal use, but also help track how long you spend
  working on any one document for billing or other purposes.


WindoWatch
  The first of these programs is the simpler. WindoWatch from ASD is
  an extension that watches window titles and records the amount of
  time you spend in each. This method has obvious flaws (you don't
  give a damn how much time you spend in PageMaker's Toolbar) but
  ASD eliminated most of them by providing filters that ignore bogus
  windows. Even still, you'd be surprised at how many programs have
  meaningless windows. For instance, SoftArc's FirstClass BBS
  software creates a window for every message. In such cases, you
  can set WindoWatch to track only the amount of time in the
  application.

  WindoWatch includes an application that allows you to sort your
  list of windows by name or time used, and to purge or merge
  individual or multiple windows from the list. That allows you to
  remove entries under two minutes, say, and to lump together the
  time you spent working on a single project composed of several
  files. You can set up "auto selects" that select the same files
  each time and merge them, and you can also modify the font, size,
  and style of the list. That's about all the program does, which is
  an advantage in many cases, but don't expect WindoWatch to replace
  Timeslips III, a full-fledged, but manual, time tracking and
  billing program that can slice, dice, and otherwise massage the
  raw data in its data files. We reviewed Timeslips III in
  TidBITS #107_.

  Using a compression scheme (incidentally, you cannot let
  AutoDoubler compress WindoWatch's data file), WindoWatch keeps its
  data file incredibly small - about 15K for a few weeks of usage.
  This is great, but WindoWatch also has some real quirks and a few
  bugs that forced me to stop using it. The interface leaves much to
  be desired, what with multiple modal dialogs and the requirement
  that you type names exactly (if you want WindoWatch to ignore
  specific windows, for instance) instead of selecting them from an
  SFDialog. More serious for me is a bug that causes WindoWatch to
  drop into pause mode (which it does normally when there is no
  action for a user-specified amount of time) and pop up a dialog
  whenever I invoke a TypeEase QuicKey, which I use heavily for
  boilerplate text. The text comes out wrong and I get irritated
  fast. I reported the bug to ASD on AppleLink some time ago but
  received no word back.

  Interestingly, and we didn't test this, WindoWatch works over a
  network, so you can gather information on what someone has done on
  another Mac over the network. I see the utility of this, but
  without additional reporting capabilities I don't know how many
  people will use this feature seriously.


TimeLog
  TimeLog from Coral Research uses a different approach. Instead of
  creating a single data file, TimeLog creates a file for each file
  used, duplicating the folder structure of the disk that your files
  live on. This duplicate folder structure sits in your System
  Folder, and even though each file is small, the overall size grows
  quickly. TimeLog's extension can warn you when the folder
  structure uses a user-specified amount of space, but I still don't
  want to use disk space in this way.

  Even though TimeLog's tracking technique is clumsier than
  WindoWatch's method, you don't have extraneous information from
  windows unrelated to disk files, and TimeLog appears to have none
  of WindoWatch's interface quirks or odd bugs (in my testing).
  TimeLog's application provides more information about what you did
  than does WindoWatch's application, allowing four ways to display
  the information and providing a slightly odd interface akin to the
  System 7 Finder for choosing which files to view.

  You can look at the History chart, which displays a chronological
  chart of when each application and file was used (down to the
  minute for the really retentive), a graph of the percentage each
  application was used, a chart of the actual percentages, and a
  chart of the total time each file was used for. (There's also a
  list of the most used files at any one time that you call up with
  a hot key set in TimeLog's Control panel.) You can select which
  files to display and choose how you sort the displays, but I still
  found the information confusing, in part because I didn't wish to
  modify the way I organize my work to ways TimeLog would better
  understand. If you create special folders for projects or clients,
  then TimeLog can more easily show you the information you want to
  see.


Conclusion
  Both programs perform as promised, but both have design faults and
  thoroughly mediocre documentation. WindoWatch grabs too much
  information and provides little help in viewing or massaging the
  data, whereas TimeLog displays the data well, but wastes too much
  space on your boot disk. People like me who partition their hard
  disks with a relatively small boot partition will find TimeLog's
  wasteful disk habits especially irritating.

  For those thinking that these programs might help in tracking
  public computer lab usage, sorry. Neither program has any way of
  telling which user is on, just which programs are being used. You
  can tell how often each program on your public Mac's hard disk is
  used, but that's it.

  I'm sure this suggestion is totally unthinkable, but these
  companies need to cooperate. TimeLog needs a small, compressed
  data file, and WindoWatch needs additional display options and
  TimeLog's more useful method of determining what to record. They
  both need better reporting options for someone to easily use
  either program to bill for time spent working on a project,
  especially one that might involve work away from the computer. In
  that area, Timeslips III destroys both. Nonetheless, both are
  unobtrusive and easy to use, and unlike Timeslips III, they do
  something for you that you shouldn't have to do manually. That's
  what computers are for, after all, and if you need to track time
  spent in windows or files automatically, one of these two programs
  will do it.


WindoWatch 1.53 - $149 list for one user, $85 discount
    ASD
    4650 Arrow Highway, Suite E-6
    Montclair CA  91763
    714/624-2594
    714/624-9574 (fax)
    [e-mail]

TimeLog - $97 list
    Coral Research
    P.O. Box 2055
    Stateline NV  89449
    702/588-9690
    [e-mail]


AFD Postings of Note
--------------------
  I was too subtle last year for our 01-Apr-92 issue, and this year
  I was too short on time to release an issue on that day. So,
  you'll have to make do with two articles that might have appeared
  last Thursday.


Apple Discontinues Quadra
  by Mark H. Anbinder, Contributing Editor -- [e-mail]

  Apple announced today that they will no longer manufacture the
  Quadra line. They have determined that the Centris 610 and 650
  fill the basic need for 68040 computers (since they are available
  with optional FPU capability) and they do not want to interfere
  with sales of the Apple Workgroup Server 95 and other future
  high-end machines.

  The AWS 95 is the "souped-up" server that Apple announced in
  March. It is based on the Quadra 950 platform and includes a PDS
  card that provides a large memory cache as well as direct-memory-
  access SCSI to provide high-performance storage capability that
  will finally live up to the performance capabilities of high-end
  hard drives and other components. The Quadra 950 platform is the
  only member of the Quadra family that has not experienced heat
  problems with the high-speed '040 processor. (The slower '040 in
  the Centris does not exhibit the problem.)

  Although the AWS 95 will satisfy customers' needs for high-
  performance servers, it won't be suitable for users requiring
  high-performance workstations for graphics, publishing, animation,
  and scientific tasks. Rumors have abounded recently regarding
  Apple's development of a version of the Macintosh operating system
  for Intel processors. Apple just laid the rumors to rest with its
  announcement that because of delays in development of the PowerPC
  processors, and the concerns about ongoing heat problems with the
  Motorola 68040 chips, Apple decided to take advantage of their
  "MacOS Blue" project and the ready availability of inexpensive
  Pentiums (Intel's trade name for the processor commonly but
  incorrectly known as the 586) by shipping an Intel-based Macintosh
  late this summer.

  [This assumes that the Pentium will ship in quantity and in high-
  speed configurations this summer, which many observers doubt.
  -Adam]


Apple Unbundles Return Key
  by Steve Dorner -- [e-mail]

  Effective immediately, Apple Computer has unbundled the "return"
  key from Apple keyboards. This allows Apple to lower the price of
  keyboards by $0.01. Users wishing to buy a return key will be able
  to do so through their local dealer. The kits will cost $99
  installed, and are expected to be available in the third quarter
  of 1993. "We think this will enable more users to get return
  keys," said Apple chairman John Sculley. "Also, we want the
  money."


Reviews/05-Apr-93
-----------------

* MacWEEK -- 29-Mar-93, Vol. 7, #13
    Now Up-to-Date 2.0 -- pg. 49
    MapInfo 2.0 -- pg. 49
    Kurta XGT/ADB -- pg. 54
    Media Suite Pro 1.0 -- pg. 56


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