Cupertino, Calif. - Apple this month passed a major milestone on the road to RISC, precisely on schedule, but PowerPC-based Macs are still at least 16 months away.
Engineers developing future Macs based on the new processor received "first silicon" - initial samples of the first version of the PowerPC, the 601 - just before Labor Day, sources said. IBM Corp. and Motorola Inc. are jointly developing the chip, with Apple input, in Austin, Texas.
The sample processors are being built into NuBus boards that will be used for software testing until prototypes of full RISC systems are available.
The first PowerPC Mac, scheduled for release in January 1994, will be a three-slot machine powered by a 66-MHz version of the 601, according to current plans. Apple reportedly hopes to offer the machine at approximately Mac LC II prices, but it will deliver up to 30 times the LC II's performance when running software written for the new processor's native mode.
Specs include a built-in 10BASE T Ethernet connector, a 2.88-Mbyte floppy drive, an 80-Mbyte hard disk, a higher-performance expansion bus and a new I/O architecture that provides direct memory access.
The Austin design center already is working on several follow-up versions of the Power-PC, including the 603, a low-power, low-cost chip for laptops and entry-level machines; the 604, a higher-performance successor to the 601 for desktop systems; and the 620, a high-end version for servers, technical workstations and multiprocessor systems (see MacWEEK, July 13).
As the new chips arrive, Apple plans to shift its product line to RISC at a rapid rate (see chart, Page 1).
Before it can deliver any PowerPC Macs, however, the company must complete the daunting task of converting the Mac operating system to run on a processor that differs radically from the 68000 architecture for which it was designed.
In addition to creating a new low-level operating system for the RISC chip and porting key Macintosh toolboxes and managers to run in native RISC mode, the company will provide emulation software designed to ensure that existing Macintosh applications work on the new platform (see MacWEEK, March 16).
"Software is definitely the gating factor, just as it has been in every system we've produced since the Apple II," one source said. "It's not so much that any of what we have to do is so difficult, it's just that there's one hell of a lot of it."
One of the biggest challenges, apparently, is finding a way to reproduce the Mac's interrupt scheme on the PowerPC. The 68000 architecture supports a seven-level interrupt scheme, which determines the priority the system assigns to various kinds of events: Serial--bus events, for example, are assigned a Level 4 priority, whereas SCSI gets Level 2 and the Apple Desktop Bus Level 1.
Like other RISC processors, however, the PowerPC supports only a single interrupt level. To ensure compatibility, Apple therefore has to re- create a multilevel interrupt system in software.
The task is complicated, sources said, by problems posed by the large number of Mac programs that at times turn off interrupts - an option that won't be available to applications on the new processor.
Still another challenge, according to sources, is enabling software to work in mixed mode - that is, to execute some procedures in native PowerPC mode and others through emulation to speed up key functions without a complete rewrite.
A key feature being added to the operating system for both PowerPC and 68000-family Macs is a microkernel, a new low-level software layer that will handle task and memory management and I/O.
The kernel, designed to enable the Mac OS to hold its own against OS/2 and Windows NT, will serve as a foundation on which Apple will gradually add such industrial-strength features as memory protection, pre-emptive scheduling, multithreaded execution and demand-paged virtual memory.
The release of the first PowerPC Mac also will mark another step in Apple's continuing effort to provide better on-board video support. The machine is expected to come configured with 1 Mbyte of video RAM, which will support 16-bit color on 13- and 16-inch monitors and eight-bit color on 21-inch displays; with the addition of a second Mbyte of VRAM, it will deliver 16-bit color on 21-inch screens and 24-bit color on the others.
MacWEEK 9/14/92
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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News: Version 7.1 done, ships to users Oct. 19
By Raines Cohen
Cupertino, Calif. - Support for multiple languages, drop-in CPU updates and font flexibility highlight System 7.1, an operating system upgrade due next month.
Now in final testing, the new system also has some unanticipated benefits, including system speedups on selected CPUs, according to beta users.
The system update is still scheduled for release Oct. 19 along with the Mac IIvx, IIvi and new PowerBooks (see MacWEEK, April 20).
>International support.
Several features go into making 7.1 the first "world-ready" system release. It includes WorldScript, which allows applications to include support for complex 2-byte character sets such as those used in Japanese and Chinese. While applications need to incorporate WorldScript support before users can benefit, programmers can add it much more easily than some other system features, developers said.
Apple will be able to release foreign--language system versions more quickly than before simply by shipping a script system that users install and translating menus, dialog boxes and documentation. "Adding languages in the future should be as easy as [adding] fonts," said Mike Buhr, System 7 product manager for Apple.
In addition, 7.1 adds to the Mac Toolbox a Dictionary Manager, which lets multiple applications share custom and standard dictionaries for each language they use.
Other technologies and features in System 7.1 include:
>Fonts folder.
When users drag bit-mapped, TrueType and PostScript Type 1 font files over the System folder icon, the system automatically will place them in a new Fonts folder within the System folder rather than directly in the System suitcase. Font ID conflicts will be resolved without user intervention.
>CPU independence. Apple no longer will have to release a new system- software update with each new CPU. New Macs will ship with system extensions that can override incompatible resources in the OS.
>Tuneups. The enhancements and bug fixes now incorporated in the System 7 Tune-Up extensions are built into System 7.1.
Some developers testing 7.1 said it is more stable and faster on the Quadra 950 and PowerBooks than 7.0.1.
"It is noticeably quicker at copying files, opening windows and redrawing the screen on my PowerBook 170," one user said. "It also uses 300 Kbytes less RAM."
Apple said the performance benefits are a side effect of the other changes made in the system. "We not only went back and rolled in the tuneups but also fixed some bugs, as with any new software release," Buhr said.
With the Mac IIvx and other System 7.1-dependent CPUs already in production for an October release, Apple has to produce a final 7.1 quickly for inclusion in the CPU boxes. The development process, however, was not rushed, Buhr said.
"It's been a very well-paced process," he said. "We really didn't run into any bottlenecks.
"Whenever we're releasing any software product, we sit and watch it for a long time before releasing it. So far, it looks very good."
Multinationals await WorldScript debut
Readers Digest Association faces a vexing problem: How can it convert hundreds of magazines, books and mailings into 19 languages without being caught in a web of operating systems, incompatible applications and linguistic nuances?
Apple's WorldScript may be part of a solution, according to the $2.5 billion publishing giant and other multinational companies.
Lenny Pinkas, applications consultant for Pleasantville, N.Y.-based Readers Digest, said there is "a big push" at the company to take advantage of System 7.1's WorldScript, which will let developers incorporate into their applications a variety of languages, including for the first time those with complex 2-byte character sets such as Japanese and Chinese.
"[Before now, we've had] no real solution for our Pacific Rim business," Pinkas said.
While a handful of users are relying on the just-shipped Quark-XPress Passport, a multilingual version of the desktop publishing program, to publish multiple--language documents, most use localized versions of publishing applications, which often forces them to switch between operating systems to update the same document in two languages.
Israel Seldowitz, president of Font World, a Rochester, N.Y.-based developer of foreign--language publishing packages, said the Mac industry has underestimated the size of the multilingual document processing market.
"Corporate America has been increasing its reliance on exports and the necessity of foreign literature; it's time the software industry did too," Seldowitz said.
But WorldScript's benefits won't reach users until applications are updated to take advantage of it. Another bottleneck may be Apple's release of the language-specific WorldScript modules, known as script systems, which contain the fonts and formatting rules. The modules won't be immediately available when 7.1 ships next month, said Mike Buhr, System 7 product manager at Apple. - By Jon Swartz
MacWEEK 9/14/92
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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News: Apple set to slash dealer prices on '030 CPUs
By MacWEEK staff
Cupertino, Calif. - Mac users who would rather buy their computers from dealers or computer superstores than mass merchandisers soon should be able to pick up a IIci, a IIsi, an LC II or a Classic II at dramatically lower prices.
With its new Performa models headed for the mass market, Apple this week is likely to slash the prices it charges its established resellers for the popular 68030-based machines, according to sources.
While the company reportedly will not announce any changes in its suggested retail price list at this time, the reduced dealer prices will enable resellers to offer more-substantial discounts on the machines, resulting in lower street prices.
Apple this week also is expected to announce plans for a mail-order catalog through which it will offer accessories, cables and selected CPUs directly to end users. The CPUs, however, will be offered through the catalog only at suggested retail prices.
The dealer-price reductions on the LC II and Classic II are expected to be about 15 percent, while the IIsi will be reduced by about 20 percent.
The cuts on the IIci will range from about 25 percent to 35 percent depending on configuration, according to sources. List prices for the system, first introduced in 1989, currently range from $3,299 to $4,599.
Observers said Apple had little choice but to bring down prices for the 3-year-old model. The new Performa 600 and the IIvx, a similar model the company is expected to introduce into its business--distribution channel next month, will nearly match the performance of the IIci but is expected to cost substantially less than the IIci, in addition to offering the option of adding an internal CD-ROM drive.
While Apple had denied reports that it plans to eliminate the IIci in the near term, most analysts believe that its life expectancy is limited. In addition to the Performa 600 and IIvx, it soon will face competition from a series of three-slot, 68040-based systems Apple is expected to introduce in January.
The reductions, sources said, are designed to enable traditional re- sellers to offer basic CPUs to business buyers at prices below those that Apple's new mass-market outlets will offer for bundles that include software and service.
MacWEEK 9/14/92
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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News: ON's STATUS*Mac extends its reach
By Nathalie Welch
Cambridge, Mass. - STATUS*Mac, a software package originally designed to profile the configurations of networked Macs, now also lets managers update software over the network.
Version 3.0, released last week by ON Technology Inc., lets administrators schedule unattended updates. Its store-and-forward capabilities allow network managers to queue up updates for Macs that are turned off; the modifications are made as soon as the machine is turned on (see MacWEEK, May 18).
In addition to gathering information about Mac hardware and software, the program now can profile PostScript printers and floppy drives and detect an application's ability to accept Apple events. Users now can view profiles in bar charts, in addition to text reports.
"We use it primarily for software inventory and to keep track of software licensing," said beta-tester Derek Jones, network administrator at a large commercial bank in Atlanta. "Unfortunately, it is not as feature-rich as it should be." Jones said he would like to see the ability to delete applications and to find and replace misplaced applications on users' hard drives.
STATUS*Mac 3.0 is $749 for up to 25 users and $2,699 for up to 100 users. Upgrades are $5, or free if 2.0 was purchased after May 11.
ON acquired marketing rights to the program last December from its original developer, Pharos Technologies Inc.
ON Technology Inc. is at 155 Second St., Cambridge, Mass. 02141. Phone (617) 876-0900; fax (617) 876-0391.
MacWEEK 9/14/92
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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GA: Adobe set to step over 3-D line
Dimensions software renders PostScript
By Neil McManus
Mountain View, Calif. - Adobe Systems Inc. in November will release a new 3-D program that adds depth, lighting and perspective to 2-D PostScript line art.
Priced at $199, Adobe Dimensions is designed as a companion utility to high-end drawing programs such as Adobe Illustrator, Aldus FreeHand and Deneba Systems Inc.'s Canvas.
Unlike other 3-D modelers and renderers, Dimensions creates editable Illustrator or FreeHand images. Most Mac 3-D programs, such as Alias Sketch! and Ray Dream Designer, render bit-mapped images at user-defined resolutions.
Dimensions lacks high-end 3-D features, such as controls for shadows, reflectivity and transparency, as well as the ability to handle multiple complex objects.
Dimensions' features include:
>3-D drawing and editing. Users can either import 2-D art or draw basic 3-D shapes, such as cubes, spheres, cones, rectangles and cylinders. The program comes with a bevel library of 25 shapes; users can create their own bevels in 2-D drawing programs.
>Artwork mapping. This feature lets users wrap imported artwork around a 3-D object. Users can map artwork onto the "unfolded" form of a 3-D object in Dimensions or a compatible drawing program.
>Rotation. A "virtual trackball" lets users rotate objects in any direction at any angle.
>Perspectives. The program offers four perspective settings: none, wide- angle, normal and telephoto.
>Lighting and shading. The program features multiple light sources and intensities. It offers flat, Gouraud (diffuse) and Phong (plastic) shading. Reflectance options control ambient reflections, highlights and shininess.
>Rendering and previewing. The program previews renderings in wireframe, draft or shaded mode. Users can view objects from a variety of angles.
>2-D interface. Dimensions' tools and floating dialog boxes resemble Illustrator's. A status bar shows x, y, z coordinates; perspective type; view information; and tool selection.
>Sequencing. Users can move objects along a path and save sequenced files for export to Adobe Premiere 2.0.
>File exchange. The program imports and exports Illustrator and FreeHand files. Although Dimensions can import files from Macromedia Inc.'s Swivel 3D Professional, it cannot export editable 3-D objects to other programs.
"Dimensions is a different critter from the other 3-D programs because it renders to PostScript, not bit maps," said C.H. Banks, partner at Associated Graphics, a Dallas-based multimedia design and production company. "With PostScript, file sizes are a lot smaller, and you have more flexibility because it's device-independent."
Dimensions will be bundled free with Adobe Illustrator 3.2 until March 1, 1993. Registered Illustrator users can purchase the program for $99.
Calliscope Software Dept. U.S., also based here, recently released Satellite 3-D, which converts Illustrator or FreeHand files into editable 3-D outlines (see story, Page 86).
Adobe Systems Inc. is at 1585 Charleston Road, P.O. Box 7900, Mountain View, Calif. 94039. Phone (415) 961-4400.
MacWEEK 9/14/92
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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GA: Digital camera technology making inroads
By Larry Stevens
Lower-cost higher-quality digital cameras are making digital photography a more viable option. While they won't replace traditional cameras yet, they offer speed and convenience.
Three years ago, Bob Michels was searching for a technology that would speed up the process of getting photos into his Mac, and he discovered still-video, also called analog, photography. While its resolution was relatively low, it sufficed for some applications, notably art that was meant for newspapers or quick-and-dirty brochures.
This year Michels, owner of Michels Advertising Photography Inc. in Seattle, bought a Sony SEPS-1000 digital studio camera from Sony Corp. of America of Park Ridge, N.J. It has all the advantages of still-video and, he said, "very few trade-offs compared with chemical photography. As long as you can accept a 4-inch-by-5-inch format, 150 lines per inch and 300-dpi output, the image is perfect. And the process is fast, immediate, and we're not polluting the environment by spilling silver nitrate down the drain."
Food and fashion photographer David Cobb said digital photography allows him to shoot faster and save money. Previously, he would use a Polaroid camera to preview images he intended to photograph. Since it took a minute and a half to develop the Polaroid print, photo sessions were not very efficient. Now that his company, ProGraphic Images of Oklahoma City, purchased a SEPS-1000, Cobb can preview the image instantly on a monitor rather than a Polaroid print. "We can look at dozens of shots a minute instead of one shot every few minutes," he said. "And we save on the cost of Polaroid film, traditional film and processing."
Within the past 12 months, several companies have released digital cameras or digital camera backs, including Sony; Eastman Kodak Co. of Rochester, N.Y.; Dycam Inc. of Chats-worth, Calif.; Logitech Inc. of Fremont, Calif.; and Leaf Systems Inc. of Southborough, Mass.
>Coming of age.
The spate of releases has generated a good deal of excitement. For example, last spring the National Press Photographers Association held a conference and exhibition on digital-imaging technologies with the theme: "This year, digital imaging came of age."
According to John Larish, principal at Jonrel Imaging Consultants of Fairport, N.Y., the trend for graphic artists using electronic photography is to move from analog to digital systems.
"The lower cost of analog will keep it alive for awhile. But the higher quality of digital will eventually win out," said Larish, who is also the author of "Digital Photography; Pictures of Tomorrow" (published by Micro Publishing Press of Torrance, Calif.).
>Compared with analog systems,
which range in price from about $300 to $700, most color digital systems range from $10,000 to more than $35,000. However, some low-end monochrome digital cameras are priced at just more than $1,000.
Analog and digital compared. In analog cameras, the image information is stored on a 2-inch video floppy disk in an analog format compatible with the NTSC (National Television System Committee) video standard. Next, the analog image is translated to a digital format using a frame-grabber board or other device. Digital cameras, on the other hand, digitize the image as it is captured. As a result, they provide a higher-quality image. Said Larish, "Digital cameras eliminate possible degradation as the image is transferred from analog to digital form."
Larish also said that digital cameras that store images on RAM chips and have no moving parts may be more reliable than analog cameras that use rotating disks.
>Film won't become obsolete.
Despite the high quality of digital photography, electronic photography in general still has some disadvantages compared with film, silver-nitrate paper and transparencies. Most experts believe that for the foreseeable future, conventional photography will coexist with electronic photography in the graphic arts.
"Film won't go away," said David Shear, who heads the medical informatics department at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Sheer recently purchased Logitech's FotoMan, partly to digitize images for medical course material publishing. He said that paper photographs provide a much higher quality and more permanent image.
>What's available.
Sony, which pioneered electronic photography in the early '80s, introduced the first high-end studio system last year. The SEPS-1000 includes a special camera, a digital processing unit with a SCSI interface, an electronic viewfinder, a remote controller and a 13- inch monitor. It costs $35,000 without the lenses, which sell for about $2,000 each.
Sony is joined in the studio digital camera market by three vendors. HP Marketing Inc.'s $32,000 Rollei CCD Digital ScanPack uses Rolleiflex 6000 series cameras to produce 5,000 by 5,850 pixel color images at 10 bits per color with the three-pass, filter technique. Tekno Inc.'s $42,000 Arca-Swiss SC1 scanning system includes an Arca-Swiss 6x9 M-Line Monolith view camera. It can produce 7,300-by-4,950-pixel color images at 10 bits per color. Leaf Systems' $29,000 Leaf Digital Camera Back snaps onto Hasselblad 500 series, Mamiya RZ67 or Cambo cameras. Each type of back comes in a monochrome version, which can be used for still- life color by using filters and making three passes over the image. At 2,048 by 2,048 pixels and 14 bits per color, the Leaf backs boast the highest-resolution digital system available. Leaf plans to release a $45,000 color version of this camera back later this year.
Last spring, Kodak introduced its portable Professional Digital Camera System (DCS). Its main difference from Leaf's models lies in its portability. Instead of being tethered to the Mac, the camera is self- contained. DCS uses a Nikon F3 body, a virtual standard for photojournalists, along with a digital color or monochrome back. The system uses standard Nikon lenses, which are less-expensive than those used on the Sony model. The system allows images to be uploaded to a Mac through a SCSI port or sent over a modem. It retails for $20,000.
Kodak recently released the DCS 200, a scaled-down version of its original DCS. The DCS 200 (which has lower ISO selections, slower image capture, and lacks image preview and transmission capabilities) is primarily for non-action photojournalist assignments such as accidents, crime scenes and business story portraits, according to the company. It is priced at less than $10,000.
On the low end is the monochrome Dycam Model 3, also sold by Logitech as the FotoMan. The lightweight camera, which lists at $1,095, transfers and displays images in 256 levels of gray. The new version, released this summer, has an increased pixel count (200,000 - up from 90,000). The resolution, according to Dy-cam, is adequate for newspaper-quality images of up to 6 inches by 8 inches. The new version also increases the battery life, quadruples the light intensity range, doubles the maximum shutter speed and adds an auto-exposure flash.
Digital cameras, in general, are the upper-class cousins in the electronic photography family. But unlike analog systems, digital cameras are approaching resolutions at which they can compete with film cameras in many applications. "Digital, analog and film will all be around for a long time," Larish said. "But improvements to quality and reductions in prices will eventually make digital systems pre-eminent for graphic artists. The releases this year and last year have pushed that eventuality a bit closer."
MacWEEK 9/14/92
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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Interview: Apple's Tesler on Newton PDA development
Larry Tesler, Apple's vice president of advanced products, heads the team developing the company's Newton family of Personal Digital Assistants. He recently talked with MacWEEK Senior News Editor Andrew Gore about the history and implications of the project.
Q: What are the origins of Newton?
A: The project officially started about four years ago with a small number of people headed by Steve Sakoman, who had previously been the director of hardware for the Macintosh group. They wanted to start with a clean slate - the analogy they used was that Apple reinvented computing with the Apple II, reinvented it again with the Macintosh, and we should reinvent it again with Newton.
Q: Where did the name Newton originate?
A: The name Newton was there from the very beginning, long before there was a product. The reason we chose Newton for the name was that the original Apple logo was Isaac Newton sitting under an apple tree.
Q: In what sense did the group intend to reinvent computing?
A: Two elements would make Newton very different: mobility and collaboration. It would be a device you could take with you everywhere. And it would support group work instead of just individual work.
With this charter for mobility and collaboration, it became pretty clear that you needed wireless communication. It needed to be very small, since you were carrying it around with you, and it needed to be pen- operated. So they decided they should do some research into tablets and hand-operated digitizers, as well as handwriting recognition.
With those goals set, the team entered a period of about two years of investigation, exploring technology, user interface, product design and so on.
In the beginning nobody from Apple marketing was involved in the group; on the other hand, manufacturing was extremely involved.
Sakoman knew there would be a lot of manufacturing challenges. He felt the biggest problem was figuring out how we were going to make such little tiny things. Apple manufacturing couldn't do this kind of thing.
Q: Why wasn't Apple's marketing group involved early in the project?
A: Apparently - this is second hand - the main reason is that [former Apple Products President Jean-Louis] Gasse felt that the engineers should be left on their own for a while and allowed to dream.
But the engineers actually missed it. They felt like they weren't getting enough real feedback from anyone who had any sense of the market. Without contact from the outside world, some things are going to be wrong.
Q: How did you get involved?
A: Just about two and a half years ago the company reorganized, and Sakoman resigned. I was shocked because it was a very important project, and he was a very talented guy. I went to see John Sculley, and I said, "John, what are you going to do with Steve leaving?" John said: "Well, during this reorganization, I'll handle the new project myself." I said, "I think you're kind of busy, and [there are] a lot of technical issues - why don't I handle it?" And he said, "Oh, that's even better." So I became acting manager of the new project.
We went through a very healthy process for a couple of months, taking the opportunity to re-evaluate what we were doing. We brought in some marketing people and some potential customers.
I was very impressed with the vision of the product - the technology they had developed was extremely impressive. But once we started getting some marketing input, we realized that they had done what engineers would call a no-compromise design, and because there were no compromises, it would have been extremely expensive.
Q: Two or three times the price you are now estimating?
A: Say, five to 10 times. Closer to 10. That was interesting for me because being an engineer, I have always been critical of marketing people. This experience convinced me that there is only one thing worse than having marketing people on a project, and that is having no marketing people on a project.
We decided what we had to do was take the essence of the Newton vision and technology and deliver them in a more affordable package. That meant we needed to figure out which engineering compromises we would make that would detract the least.
Just as an example, we were striving for a battery life of weeks between charges, years of shelf storage. In discussions with marketing, it became clear that if people had to recharge the batteries every night, that was not a problem. I suggested that we see if we could design a product for half the cost. It took the group only two weeks to figure out how to design a product that cost half as much and give up virtually nothing. The customer would never notice what was missing. We spent another two months and got it down another factor of two in cost. And then we continued to do that for many months after that.
Q: What other compromises did you have to make?
A: In some ways we had to compromise, but on other things, we actually made it better. The machine got lighter in weight and smaller in size. [For example], the engineers originally felt that infrared wireless had to be built in to the unit. And we had a number of objections to that, including the absence of standards, possible regulatory problems going to other countries, as well as a higher cost and a bigger size. So we decided to build the infrared wireless outside the unit.
We also decided we would work on more than one model of the product at a time. Sakoman's vision was that there would be products that were Newton technology, from ones that fit in your head to ones that filled the wall. But [the group] was working on only one model at that time. At the Consumer Electronics Show [in Chicago in May] we showed a particular device, a prototype, and we also showed some concept illustrations, not of real ones we're building - we're not ready to talk about those yet - but we have multiple products that we're pipelining.
Q: When did you start talking to Sharp?
A: A little more than a year ago. We had made a decision that those platforms should not be proprietary, that we should have other companies that were supporting the platform and making machines with it that ran the software. We decided we should very carefully choose our first partner to be very complementary to us, and one that we could work well with. We did an evaluation, and Sharp was the first company we approached. I can't say Sharp is the only company we approached, but we don't have anyone [else] to talk about right now.
Q: What is the potential of this technology? Could we see a time not too far in the future where it could eclipse desktop systems?
A: Just as there are probably more watches than clocks, more pocket calculators than desktop calculators, at some point these types of devices, what we call PDAs, are likely to be sold in higher volume than desktop computers. It could be a while before the numbers exceed [desktop computers], but ultimately, I think they will.
Q: Where do you draw the line between a PDA and a PowerBook, assuming that PowerBooks will continue to get smaller?
A: Well, I always say if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it's a duck. So if it walks like a Macintosh and it quacks like a Macintosh, it's a Macintosh. And if it runs Macintosh software and it has a Macintosh user interface, it's a Macintosh, no matter how big it is, no matter whether it's got a mouse, a track ball, a stylus, a finger or talks.
Newton is different because its user interaction paradigm is totally different. The special applications that it runs will be different from the ones that define personal computers. In other words, desktop publishing isn't going to be what you do with a Newton. But note-taking, for example, will be one of the things you do with a Newton.
And the other difference is that the software will be written in a different way, with a different software business model in mind. A good way to look at it is that it's as different as minicomputers were from personal computers.
The difference between a PDA and a personal computer is that on a personal computer there is a lot of emphasis on refining information that you've created. In fact, many people take stuff other people create and just refine it; that's all they do.
We distinguish Newton from the Mac in that we say Newton is for capturing information, as opposed to refining it. And so in the demo we showed, there's a place where you create a business letter, but you don't refine it - you just tap a button, and it formats the letter for you. Because that's not what a Newton is all about. If you really want to format this letter yourself, pick the fonts and italicize this word and get everything exactly right, you should go to a Mac. Maybe someday you could do it on a Newton with a bigger screen, but that's not really what a Newton is about.
Q: What's Newton really all about, then?
A: Newton, first of all, is a product line, not a single product. It's a set of technologies. And it's a vision. And I can tell you the four parts of the vision: mobility; fluidity, which has to do with the user interface that we're trying to create; collaboration; and this intelligence aspect.
The intelligence has to do with the fact that Newton is more of an assistant than a tool. The reason we think that's important is because when you're moving around, you really don't have the time to focus on your computer and do things with it. You're busy interacting with other people.
You're not there to focus on your computer. That brings up another distinction I make with a personal computer: Whether you're on your desk at work, in a hotel room, on your tray table on the airplane or here on this table, when you work on a personal computer most of your attention - both your hands and most of your eyesight - is focused on the computer.
Q: Do you consider Newton to be a new operating system?
A: No, actually we don't. Every Newton product has an operating system, but it's not an operating system in the same sense as Unix or DOS. There will be operating systems in the same sense as Unix and DOS that are based on Newton technology.
Maybe the easiest way to understand the perspective is to look at consumer electronics today. When you buy a VCR or microwave oven or an automobile, there are a lot of microprocessors and software built in. In fact it is what a computer scientist would call an operating system.
But it's not what a commercial firm would call an operating system. It's an embedded operating system with embedded applications and embedded microprocessors. The consumer is totally unaware of the electronics involved.
As John [Sculley] has said, a PDA is halfway between a per-sonal computer and a calculator or a wristwatch or an automatic braking system or the controls on your oven - electronic controls. It's an amphibian, in a sense; it has some of the traits of the consumer stuff and some of the traits of the computer stuff. And so, yes, there's an operating system, and it's a lot more sophisticated than the operating system in your car. But it doesn't have the same stature as the operating system of a personal computer.
If I give somebody a Newton and say, "You know, this Newton runs the Newton operating system," or whatever, the consumer is going to say, "I don't know what that means." You say, "With the Newton, you can take notes, keep a calendar, communicate with other people, read on-line data, read downloaded data and carry little cards around that have maps. It supports your life, it assists you" - now they understand.
If you go to developers and say, "We want you to write applications, and here are some tools to use," they are going to be much more interested in the tools we give them to develop those applications than they are in the operating system it's running. At least at the beginning.
Q: But with operating systems, there is a sort of comfort zone stemming from the idea that there is a standard. One of the risks confronting developers of consumer electronics is that a year later the whole game is changed, and everything that they've done up until that point goes into the trash can, and they start over again.
A: That's a very important point. To develop for a personal computer, a major part of the investment is in taking your ideas and making them work with that operating system. We think that's going to be different with PDAs.
The main paradigm is going to be people generating content - maps, for example, or databases and so on. The main work is collecting all the information and putting it into computer-readable form and organizing it. In the case of the Newton, there will be additional effort in providing the information to assist the intelligent assistant, to inform it on how to help the consumer navigate through this data.
There will also be little applets that don't even have a large amount of content, either multimedia or database information. Say somebody wants to do something such as an enhancement of the calendar. Our development model ensures that if you want to write a better calendar, you don't need to write a calendar from scratch. You can provide an en-hancement to an existing calendar.
Q: Why will people buy a Newton?
A: People are going to buy it because it's going take a load off.
Newton is going to start out like VCRs, where most of the sales are going to be people who buy them justified by business reasons. By business reasons, I include things like teaching classes and education, but not household, family reasons. You won't buy it for the same reason you buy a Nintendo game.
A lot of those people will buy it with their own money through a consumer retail outlet and use it both at home and at work, but they will justify the purchase as a business need. In the early days, it could be that the percentage of sales is more in what you think of as business or education or other nonconsumer types of applications than it will be later. But over time, like the VCR, it will become more and more a consumer product.
Q: What do you hope Newton will do for the world?
A: First, I think Newton is going to change the way people organize their personal information. And when I say that, I don't mean just what we think of as the electronic personal-organizer category. People deal with a lot more information than what you put into that kind of device.
Today people carry around paper with them all the time. And besides the trees that are getting cut and all that sort of stuff, they write things down that they can never find again. Writing was this incredible invention that let you take things that were in your head and get them out so you didn't have them in your memory, and also so that other people can see them without you having to be there to speak them. But it also created this problem, which is that we have this incredible amount of paper with stuff on it, and it takes physical space to store it. And you have to somehow catalog it and find it.
So part of the vision is just being able to find things that you wrote down, find things that other people wrote down and get the information that you wrote down to the people who you think should have it.
Q: You can do that today with your personal computer. So what's the major breakthrough?
A: I don't think anybody organizes their personal information well on a personal computer because it's too much work. You have to issue the commands, keep track of the file organization and all that sort of thing. The idea of the Newton is that it does a lot of the work for you, like figuring out who things should go to, how they should be organized. I envision that the Newton will be similar to providing someone with a swarm of helpers who have all the right connections and know how to accomplish tasks.
The second thing is that the communications features that will be appearing over time will remove a major obstacle to people getting access to information.
In a sense, the telephone created a kind of order-of-magnitude improvement in people's ability to get information. My vision is that once people have PDAs and it's all fully wired up together, or wirelessed up together, I sup-pose - once things are fully interconnected - doing without [PDA technology] is going to be like trying to do without the telephone today.
Just take the number of times a day that you have an urge that you can't satisfy or a need you can't satisfy because you lack certain information that you can't get by telephone because you wouldn't know who to call, or if you did know who to call, they probably wouldn't be there and you'd get a machine.
Part of the [Newton] vision is transcending that and getting that kind of revolution to happen.
MacWEEK 9/14/92
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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ProductWatch: PC-based servers lower costs
To save on costs and headaches, net managers are turning low-cost PCs into high-performance Macintosh servers.
By Mitzi Waltz
Mac Quadras make mighty expensive file servers. Maybe that's why many Mac managers are keeping an eye on software products that let them turn an IBM PC or compatible, or a speedier RISC machine, into a server for Mac or mixed networks. Not only do these products offer a good way to make use of an older computer that might otherwise be put out to pasture, but they can offer performance benefits as well.
>NetWare now.
Novell Inc.'s NetWare for Macintosh is widely viewed as the cream of the crop for PC-based Mac server systems. It networks as many as 200 Macs to a 386-based (or better) computer running Novell's NetWare 3.11 server software. Slower AppleShare servers are limited to 120 Macs and don't offer as many built-in management and security tools.
"Part of the reason we went to NetWare is its ability to handle many more users," said Michael LaHaye, senior computer systems specialist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
About 600 of the university's 1,000 Macs are NetWare for Macintosh clients hooked up via Ethernet to NetWare-equipped PCs in several networks. "The ability to share files was also important - now it's easy to copy files," LaHaye said.
These goodies have their price, of course: While AppleShare 3.0 costs just $1,199, NetWare for Macintosh costs $1,995 for a 100-user pack plus an extra $4,995 for a 50-user base NetWare server software package. You'll also often have to pay a systems integrator to install NetWare.
Managers will be able to save on hardware costs, however, by turning lower-cost PCs into NetWare servers.
Another way to cut NetWare costs is to use Dayna Communications Inc.'s NetMounter, a network software package that lets Macintoshes communicate with Novell NetWare servers without purchasing NetWare for Macintosh.
NetMounter runs Novell's IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange) protocols on each Macintosh client, with NetWare servers appearing in the Chooser. Its price can go lower than $60 per user, making NetMounter an economical choice, especially for networks with few Macintoshes. On the downside, NetMounter does not support Novell print queues or electronic mail - it supplies file-server access only.
>And E-mail for all.
Banyan Systems Inc.'s Vines 5.0 is server software that, unlike most PC-based AppleTalk offerings, provides E-mail service as well as file and print sharing.
Syntrex Technologies Inc. of Eatontown, N.J., is using Vines for Macintosh to integrate Macs into its existing Vines network, a process that technical staff member Michael Barlow said is going smoothly. "It runs the AppleTalk Filing Protocol (AFP), so that's not a problem," Barlow said.
"Performance also is fairly good - in some cases I think it's better than straight AppleShare, but that may be because we have some heavy- duty Banyan file-serving equipment to pick up the pace," he said.
>Inexpensive solutions.
For just $1,200, managers can turn an unused PC into a Mac-ready server with an EasyServer Kit from ShirtPocket Software Inc.
Three preconfigured versions also are available: the 20-MHz EasyServer Sidewinder, the 40-MHz EasyServer Viper and the speedy 50-MHz 486- powered EasyServer Python, all of which outrun the fastest Macs for much less (see MacWEEK, July 13).
Jim Johnston, owner of Johnston Technical Services, a Dallas-based consulting business, recommends EasyServers to his clients. "[The Python] is faster than a Quadra 950 by 20 [percent] to 25 percent in tests we did just last week - and what a price difference," he said.
Johnston said the EasyServer has been especially welcomed by clients running large databases and by service bureaus that use it for storing huge numbers of fonts and graphics files as well as for backup.
The server, which is managed from a Mac, lets managers group users, password-protect files or volumes, and mount or unmount up to 10 volumes without shutting down.
Locus Computing Corp.'s recently released PC-Interface for the Macintosh includes server software to turn an IBM RS/6000 RISC workstation into an AppleShare-compatible server. At $4,800 for an unlimited number of users, this is another product for the budget-minded manager - assuming you've got the hardware on hand already.
Windows, DOS, Unix and Mac clients get equal access with the PC- Interface server, viewing its filing system in their native formats and benefiting from automatic cross-platform text-file translation. Using PC-Interface requires either an Ethernet card or LocalTalk-to-Ethernet routers.
Motorola Computer Group also has a new AppleShare-compliant stand-alone product, its RISC-based Series 8000 Model 8120 server. The 25-MHz machine comes in a compact box that weighs less than 5 pounds and can be expanded up to a 5-Gbyte storage capacity.
The basic Server Module includes a built-in Ethernet interface and a SCSI controller. Stackable Peripheral Modules allow for disk or tape expansion, as well as the addition of other devices, such as CD-ROM drives.
>Welcome to the other world.
Another way for Macs to get served is by hooking up with pre-existing PC network servers. Miramar Systems Inc. can merge AppleTalk networks with Intel-based LANtastic PC networks via its MacLAN Connect for LANtastic gateway software.
LANtastic vendor Artisoft Inc. markets a MacLAN Connect-based product as LANtastic for Macintosh, which supports an unlimited number of users. Managers must dedicate one PC as a Mac-to-PC server gateway, but Mac users are otherwise network equals.
It's been a relatively hassle-free solution for Thousand Oaks, Calif., manufacturer YARC Systems Corp., according to project engineer Bob Moll. "We have some salespeople working on Macs and some on PCs; we wanted them to be able to share contact databases and some printing," Moll said. "So far, it's doing what we got it for. For the money, it's not a bad system."
Moll said his company has experienced some conflicts between MacLAN Connect and its TOPS AppleTalk cards from Sitka Corp. but said Miramar's technical-support staff has been swift to help.
Another Miramar product, MacLAN Connect for NetWare, provides a similar gateway to Novell networks. MacLAN Connect F/P turns a PC into an AFP- compliant file and print server that's also a gateway to a NetWare LAN.
>Apple's response.
Apple hasn't let the demand for lower server prices go unnoticed. The company reportedly is developing a powerful and less- expensive dedicated server that will use A/UX as its operating system, but it has not released any concrete information about this machine or other servers it may be working on.
Unless its server arrives soon, at a low price and with features comparable to these third-party solutions, Apple may find AppleShare sales declining as more managers look beyond AppleShare for networking possibilities.
There are certainly improvements that could be made to any of these products, but at a time when money is the No. 1 consideration in most corporate network purchases, it will take one terrific set of features to offset the price advantage that most of these competitors have.
Product Info
Apple
AppleShare Server 3.0: $1,199
20525 Mariani Ave., Cupertino, Calif. 95014
Phone (408) 996-1010; fax (408) 996-0275
Artisoft Inc.
LANtastic for Macintosh: $799 (includes LocalTalk card); $599 (software only)
691 E. River Road, Tuscon, Ariz. 85704
Phone (602) 293-4000; fax (602) 293-8065
Banyan Systems Inc.
Vines 5.0: $7,495
120 Flanders Road, Westboro, Mass. 01581
Phone (508) 898-1000 or (800) 828-2404; fax (508) 898-1755
Dayna Communications Inc.
NetMounter: $99 for single user; $399 for five users; $599 for 10 users
50 S. Main St., Suite 530, Salt Lake City, Utah 84144
Phone (801) 531-0600; fax (801) 359-9135
Locus Computing Corp.
PC-Interface for the Macintosh 4.0: $720 for two users; $1,200 for five users; $2,100 for 10 users; $4,800 for unlimited users
9800 La Cienega Blvd., Inglewood, Calif. 90301
Phone (310) 670-6500; fax (310) 670-2980
Miramar Systems Inc.
MacLAN Connect for LANtastic: $695; MacLAN Connect for NetWare: $695; MacLAN Connect F/P: $1,495; MacLAN Connect F/P Lite: $695
201 N. Salsipuedes, Suite 204, Santa Barbara, Calif. 93103
Phone (805) 966-2432; fax (805) 965-1824
Motorola Computer Group
Series 8000 Model 8120 server: $9,000 (base configuration); PacerLink: $1,800 for eight users, $3,120 for 16 users, $4,800 for unlimited users
2900 S. Diablo Way, Tempe, Ariz. 85282
Phone (602) 438-3500; fax (602) 438-3534
Novell Inc.
NetWare for Macintosh 3.011: $495 for five users, $895 for 20 users, $1,995 for 100 users, $2,995 for 200 users; NetWare 3.11: $1,095 for five users, $2,495 for 10 users, $3,495 for 20 users, $4,995 for 50 users, $6,995 for 100 users, $12,495 for 250 users
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material
may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
Review: Global Village PowerPort/Gold internal PB modem
By Jonathan A. Oski
Global Village Communication Inc. recently released a new line of internal modems for the Apple PowerBooks based on the company's original PowerPort/V.32. The new modems are fully internal, no longer requiring the external interface unit, or "dongle," found in the PowerPort/V.32. One of these, the PowerPort/Gold, is the first internal V.32bis modem for the PowerBook, offering data-transmission rates of 14,400 bps and fax transmission and receipt at 9,600 bps.
Accompanying the series is a new release of Global Village's GlobalFax software that addresses many problems of previous versions and adds a number of new functions (see story on Page 74 for a discussion of the other modems in the PowerPort line).
>Getting set up.
Remarkably, the new PowerPort/Gold is about the same size as the digital component of the PowerPort/V.32. Although clear instructions are provided for those who would venture to install the modem in their PowerBook, Global Village strongly recommends that the PowerPort be installed by an authorized Apple technician.
Installation of the GlobalFax software has been simplified by the incorporation of Apple's Installer utility. The GlobalFax software is the same software Global Village provides for its Apple Desktop Bus TelePort modem and all other members of the PowerPort family. In addition to the fax software, Global Village includes Software Ventures Corp.'s MicroPhone (not MicroPhone II) and starter kits for America Online, CompuServe and Prodigy.
>New fax features.
From a functional perspective, the $795 PowerPort/Gold is not dramatically different from the PowerPort/V.32 that we reviewed earlier this year (see MacWEEK, March 16). Some significant new features have been added to the GlobalFax software that enhance its usability and reliability. Global Village's unique Envelope feature allows you to create a new fax document from pages of various fax documents. New to Version 2.04 of GlobalFax is the ability to use the Schedule dialog to specify a separate cover sheet for each Envelope and add comments to the Notes field. The Envelope feature is useful to those who need to send multiple Macintosh documents as one fax.
Customization of cover sheets has been made simpler by offering the flexibility to position fields and graphics anywhere on the page. We'd still like to see Global Village add some basic drawing tools to embellish cover sheets without requiring you to create graphic elements in a different application.
We remarked in our earlier review about the low quality of faxes sent from the PowerPort. GlobalFax 2.04 addresses this problem by registering as a 200-dpi device rather than a 72-dpi device when connected to a fax machine. Received faxes still can be difficult to read, but this is somewhat a factor of the screen resolution of the PowerBook. Printing received faxes is a solution to this readability problem in many instances.
Global Village acknowledges problems with several applications and system extensions. In the read-me document that accompanies the software, thorough instructions are given on these compatibility issues, giving work-arounds and things to avoid when using GlobalFax with these products. Many of these compatibility issues are related to character and line spacing and can be avoided using specific options in these applications.
In testing the fax features of the PowerPort/Gold we were able to successfully transmit and receive faxes with a large number of stand- alone fax machines.
>Moving up to 14.4.
The real advantages of the PowerPort/Gold lie in its support for higher data-transmission rates. Although most commercial services do not yet offer V.32bis support, a number of modems are available that support this higher speed standard. This makes a PowerBook with a PowerPort/Gold a much better AppleTalk Remote Access (ARA) client (or server) because this higher speed gives you performance that is a bit closer to being on the network.
We tested a PowerPort/Gold as an ARA client connected to a Mac IIci with Hayes Communications Inc.'s SmartModem Ultra 144, a V.32bis modem, and found that, on average, users can expect up to a 40 percent increase in performance over 9,600-bps V.32 connections.
We also were able to reliably connect to CompuServe, America Online, MCI Mail and an assortment of bulletin board systems. Many users of the PowerPort/V.32 complained about inconsistencies in the performance of their modem. With Global Village's new software installed, many of these problems seem to have been corrected. Notably, the PowerPort's pull-down menu, active when the modem is in use, now operates consistently, offering you the option to set error correction and compression options as well as originate, answer, disconnect or enter the command state.
>Conclusions.
By moving to a completely internal configuration, Global Village has made the PowerPort more convenient to use. There no longer are two RJ-11 jacks for those who wish to connect the PowerPort and a phone to the same wall jack. The new documentation illustrates the use of an RJ-11 T-connector to address this limitation. Additionally, Global Village still will be making the PowerPort/V.32 available for international customers whose phone interface requirements vary from those supported by the new line of PowerPorts.
If you purchased the original PowerPort/V.32, Global Village hasn't forgotten you. Until Sept. 22, you can buy a PowerPort/Gold for $399. What makes this offer unique is that you don't have to turn in your old unit - you can keep your original PowerPort to sell or install in another PowerBook.
The PowerPort currently supports only Group 3 facsimile transmission. The installed base of Group 4 fax equipment is still very low but may become an issue within the next 12 to 18 months when these machines become more commonplace. Also, its fax-transmission rate, lower than its data rate, may be an issue for some users with heavy fax requirements. Some other PowerBook fax modem vendors have announced support for 14,400-bps fax transmission, and users desiring this functionality may be better off waiting for one of the other products to become available.
The new PowerPort and GlobalFax software are a marked improvement of an already excellent product. Global Village has honed the documentation and refined the user interface for both the modem and the fax software, making an easy-to-use product even more enjoyable. For users demanding high-performance data capabilities as well as full-featured fax functionality from their PowerBook, you cannot go wrong with the PowerPort/Gold.
Global Village Communication Inc. is at 685 E. Middlefield Road, Building B, Mountain View, Calif. 94043. Phone (415) 390-8200; fax (415) 390-8282.
Score Card
PowerPort/Gold
Global Village Communication Inc.
Overall value *****
List price: $795*
The PowerPort/Gold, one of Global Village's new line of PowerBook modems, shows a number of refinements over its predecessor, the PowerPort/V.32. Its transformation to a completely internal modem should please many users who felt inconvenienced by the external unit required with the previous model. Global Village also has enhanced its fax and modem software to streamline some functions and make operation more reliable. For data transmissions and AppleTalk Remote Access, the 14,400-bps data transmission rate offers a noticeable improvement over 9,600-bps modems.
Performance *****
Features ****
Configuration ***
Ease of use *****
Documentation/support ****
* Upgrade for PowerPort/V.32 owners is $399 through Sept. 22.
PowerBook modem market growing
The continuing success of the Apple PowerBook line has caused a number of vendors to enter the market with PowerBook-based products, and the fax-modem market is one that is widening rapidly.
In addition to the PowerPort/Gold, Global Village Communication Inc. has two lower-priced products that help it compete with other modem vendors. For $295, Global Village offers the PowerPort/Bronze, which is equivalent to Apple's PowerBook Fax/Data Modem and the PowerModem from PSI Integration Inc. (see MacWEEK, June 22). The Bronze is a 2,400-bps data modem with 9,600-bps fax-send and 4,800-bps fax-receive capabilities. The replacement for the PowerPort/V.32, the PowerPort/Silver is a $595 V.32 data modem with 9,600-bps send-and- receive fax capabilities. Both of these modems include the same GlobalFax software used in the PowerPort/Gold. A PowerPort/Platinum, offering even higher performance than the current Gold model, is rumored to be just around the corner. It reportedly will support the V.FAST specification offering transmission rates of 19,200 bps.
Global Village has its work cut out as many other vendors also vie for PowerBook market share. PSI is set to release a new family of PowerBook modems that follow its initial PowerModem. Dubbed the PowerModem II and PowerModem III, these modems will compete head-on with the Global Village offerings. The PowerModem III, priced at $799, will offer 14,400-bps data and fax performance, which is better than the current Global Village offering. Global Village's fax software should help it remain competitive in this increasingly crowded market, however.
Apex Data Inc., a new player in the PowerBook modem market, is getting ready to unleash two new modems in its Freedom Series of notebook modems. Both a V.32 and V.32bis modem will be available and, with an added twist, cellular connection kits will be offered for these modems giving you true, go-anywhere computing. These modems are set to be available at $699 and $799, respectively, with the CellConnect kits an additional $299. Apex reports an enthusiastic response from some initial demonstrations.
What all this means to PowerBook users is that more manufacturers will be competing for your business, which should help drive prices down. The addition of cellular capabilities marks a new turn in this market that should perk up the excitement level in the coming months.
Apex Data Inc. is at 6670 Amador Plaza Road, Suite 200, Dublin, Calif. 94568. Phone (510) 803-2020 or (800) 841-2739; fax (510) 803-9388.
PSI Integration Inc. is at 851 E. Hamilton Ave., Suite 200, Campbell, Calif. 95008. Phone (408) 559-8544 or (800) 622-1722; fax (408) 559- 8548. - By Jonathan A. Oski
MacWEEK 9/14/92
(c) Copyright 1992 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: Layoffs and rumors of layoffs
No matter whom you think is responsible for the current state of the economy, you probably agree with the Knife that its state is not so great. And no doubt those 300 or so soon-to-be unemployed workers at Apple's Fremont plant think the state of the economy is downright scary.
And as Franklin Roosevelt pointed out 60 years ago, fear often breeds more fear. So the Knife is happy to report this week that the rampant rumors of a major (some say as high as 20 percent) round of imminent layoffs at Apple USA apparently are groundless. In fact, Apple USA President Robert Puette went on the record last week to deny the rumor, insisting that Apple has no plans for additional major layoffs over the next couple of months.
Of course, the best-laid official plans are subject to change. For example, the Knife still remembers back to last April when the first rumors of the Fremont plant closing reached his desk only to be shot down by Apple's official, on-the-record denial of any plans for a permanent plant shutdown. Since we now know that the plant indeed will close, what we have here must be an example of reality imitating rumor.
>Where to buy.
For those willing and able to contribute to economic recovery by purchasing Apple products through the consumer retail channel, Apple has kept the complete list of authorized Performa dealers to itself at the dealers' request and perhaps in hope of generating a little extra excitement at this week's official introduction. The Knife, however, is prepared to reveal the names of the largest stores. They include, among others, Sears Office Center, Sears Brand Central, Lechmere, Dayton Hudson, Circuit City, Silo, Tops and Montgomery Ward.
>Fat duo.
One of the several reasons for the phenomenal success of the PowerBooks is that they demand relatively few compromises to achieve their portability. And even those few compromises are constantly being addressed. For example, to accommodate those who think that 6 or 8 Mbytes of RAM just aren't enough, the PowerBook 180 will accommodate up to 14 Mbytes of RAM.
Surprisingly, though, the much smaller PowerBook Duo will accept up to 24 Mbytes of RAM. Apple accomplished this small feat of magic by using a new proprietary connector and unusual chips. But everything has a price, as this proprietary design demonstrates. Since it is a nonstandard design, PowerBook Duo SIMMs undoubtedly will be more expensive than other PowerBook SIMMs. This situation may be mitigated somewhat if Apple follows through on rumored plans to license third parties to manufacture and market Duo SIMMs.
Such SIMMs are not the only third-party market opportunity made possible by the new PowerBooks. The Knife has heard that companies already are working on products that deliver features that Apple didn't. These include such products as a Duo docking station that provides 24-bit- color-output capability and one (reportedly from Dayna Communications) that includes Ethernet.
>Other alternate channels.
There's more to selling computers than just expanding into the retail consumer-electronics jungle. There's also the ever-popular direct-marketing channel. Thus, the Knife wasn't particularly surprised to learn that Dell Computer Corp., a recognized leader in the PC direct-marketing game, is close to licensing the rights to the PowerPC chip technology and the Taligent Pink operating system.
If you're still gainfully employed, chances are you know something that could earn you a MacWEEK mug. Those who meet that description should feel free to contact the Knife at (415) 243-3544, fax (415) 243-3650, MCI (MactheKnife), AppleLink (MacWEEK) and CompuServe/ZiffNet/Mac.
MacWEEK 9/14/92
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
