Cupertino, Calif. - Six new Macintoshes will debut this week, and Apple will deliver at least a dozen more in the next nine months.
The CD-ROM-ready IIvx, the PowerBook 160 and 180, and the PowerBook Duo 210 and 230 will be on U.S. dealer shelves this week, the company said; the IIvi will be marketed only in Europe. The Duo Dock now is slated to ship in November, with the Duo MiniDock due in December.
In a telephone briefing last week on its 1992 financial results, officials reportedly said Apple will deliver more new products in the first half of 1993 than in any previous full year in its history. Among 20 new products scheduled for introduction in the spring, sources said, are three new midrange 68040 machines, a color Classic II, a ROM-based Performa 200 and a higher-speed replacement for the LC II.
"They'll confuse people with these fast intros," said John Rossi, vice president of Robertson, Stephens & Co., a San Francicso-based technology investment company. "However, they're up against the entire PC industry. They almost have to supply a product for every price and every purpose to compete as a lone company against many."
For example, with this week's introduction, Apple's midrange desktop lineup has become crowded indeed. Buyers will be able to choose from three configurations of the IIvx, including one with an integrated CD- ROM drive; three slightly cheaper and slightly slower IIci models; two Performa 600 models, one with the CD drive; and two IIsi systems.
All these systems will be close in performance and price, with a total cost spread of only $1,590.
The Duos may further complicate the picture. The tiniest PowerBooks, at prices ranging from $3,328 for the 25-MHz Duo 210 with an 80-Mbyte hard drive and a Duo Dock to $4,048 for a 33-MHz Duo 230 with a 120-Mbyte drive and station, make attractive desktop alternatives.
"In our company, I think the Duo and Docks will be a hot seller," said Dick Marko, Mac product manager at Southern California Edison of Rosemead, Calif. "Now we'll be able to give our users one system that serves their need in the office and on the road."
Along with the new CPUs, Apple last week introduced the new Macintosh Color Display, priced at $589. Though described as a 14-inch monitor, the new one uses the same CRT as its "13-inch" predecessor, the AppleColor High-Resolution RGB Monitor, which remains available at $729. The new display offers 50 percent more brightness, improved ergonomics and an integrated tilt-swivel base.
In addition to stepping up its product pace, Apple has implemented a policy of regularly "tweaking" its pricing, sources said.
"In an environment where prices seem to be coming down every day and new products are coming out every day, people may start deferring purchases to wait for better and cheaper products," Rossi said.
But Marko said he felt good about having more midrange Macs to choose from.
"We're constantly monitoring developments [at Apple], and it makes the decision harder because there are more choices," Marko said. "But I'd rather they come out with what they can when they can. Ultimately, it comes down to this: What are you willing to pay for the latest whiz-bang thing?" he said.
MacWEEK 10.19.92
News Page 1
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
News: Apple to roll out new printers
Fuji Xerox engine to drive 300-dpi unit
By MacWEEK staff
Cupertino, Calif. - Apple is expected to introduce a new 600-dpi laser printer in January and a cost-reduced 300-dpi device the following month.
The 600-dpi model will use Canon U.S.A. Inc.'s 8-ppm, true 600-dpi AX printer engine, which will make its debut in Hewlett-Packard Co.'s forthcoming LaserJet 4. The HP LaserJet 4 is expected to ship next week for less than $3,000 with Adobe PostScript Level 2 and a LocalTalk interface. The Apple version, which sources said will be priced competitively with the HP offering, will include Adobe PostScript; a built-in TrueType rasterizer; and serial, parallel and LocalTalk interfaces. An EtherTalk version also will be available.
Like the Personal LaserWriter NTR, the new printer will feature a speedy RISC-based controller, and it probably will come with 8 Mbytes of RAM, sources said. It will use Apple's PhotoGrade and FinePrint technologies to increase apparent output resolution via software interpolation.
The new 300-dpi, PostScript Personal LaserWriter, expected to debut at Macworld Tokyo in February, will apparently mark a departure in Apple's long-standing policy of relying on laser engines from Canon of Lake Success, N.Y. The new Personal LaserWriter model reportedly is based on a 5-ppm, 300-dpi engine from Fuji Xerox Co. Ltd. of Tokyo. The Personal LaserWriter LS is expected to ship at Macworld Tokyo in February.
Apple's January rollout plan also includes a color inkjet printer, a color scanner and software, and a device-independent color-management system, sources said. The company is expected to stick with Canon for the color printer, using a version of its BJC-820 Bubble Jet engine, which offers CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) color at 360-dpi resolution. Canon already offers a printer based on the BJC-820 for $2,995.
The color scanner, a 24-bit-color version of Apple's gray-scale OneScanner, is expected to come bundled with a color version of Ofoto, the scanning application from Light Source Inc. of Greenbrae, Calif. The scanner will capture letter-size images at resolutions up to 300 dpi and can scan a full-size, 300-dpi color image in 15 seconds, according to sources.
To help tie together all the color pieces, Apple will ship ColorSync, its system-level color-management technology in January. The drop-in System 7 extension will contain device profiles to describe the characteristics of peripherals such as printers and scanners; a color- matching system to convert colors between various color models; and a color-matching application to adjust images for a target output device.
The system also will offer hooks to more-sophisticated color-management systems such as those from Eastman Kodak Co. or Electronics for Imaging Inc.
MacWEEK 10.19.92
News Page 1
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
News: PowerBook Companion bundle aimed at DOS users
By Raines Cohen
Cupertino, Calif. - Apple this week is expected to launch a new PowerBook bundle aimed at capturing the hearts and minds of desktop DOS users.
The PowerBook Companion for DOS, due to ship during next month's Comdex in Las Vegas, will include a PowerBook 160 or 180 and accessories to make it work with IBM PC or compatible users' floppies, files, printers and monitors.
The Companion bundle is Apple's second promotion aimed at PC users this fall. Apple last week officially announced "The Easy Way" promotion, which aims to get DOS users to replace their desktop PCs with Macs. It includes a discount of up to $1,000 off the retail price of Lotus 1-2-3 for Mac, WordPerfect for Mac and Insignia Solutions Inc.'s Universal SoftPC and AccessPC. PC users also can trade in used Macs, IBM and Compaq systems worth at least $1,000 for a further discount.
The Companion bundle, on the other hand, instead will try to get PC users purchasing a notebook to consider the PowerBook.
"A lot of people are caught in a crossover," said Dan Ness, senior analyst at Computer Intelligence of La Jolla, Calif. "Mac users already know what they want: lighter, faster, cheaper [systems]. Tying into the PC world is important, and you have to go beyond just having [floppy] disk conversion."
The bundle allows access to PC-compatible:
> Floppies. The bundle will include a system extension that lets PowerBook users mount DOS 3.5-inch floppies on the desktop.
Apple reportedly has not decided whether to include its own $79 Macintosh PC Exchange or Insignia's AccessPC 2.0.
> Files. Apple may also include MacLinkPlus/PC 7.0, a $199 utility from DataViz Inc. of Trumbull, Conn., that lets users convert word processing, spreadsheet, database and graphic files between Macs and PCs. It comes with a serial cable and translators allowing conversion among more than 700 different formats. DataViz declined to comment.
> Monitors. The $25 MacVGA adapter from James Engineering Inc. of El Cerrito, Calif., lets the PowerBook 160 and 180 and other VGA-compatible Macs drive VGA and Super VGA monitors and projectors.
> Printers. PowerPrint 2.0, a $149 package from GDT Softworks Inc. of Burnaby, British Columbia, introduced last month, includes Mac printer drivers for more than 1,000 printers as well as a serial-to-parallel converter cable.
Pricing for the PowerBook Companion bundle has not been set, but sources said Apple has placed an initial order for 10,000 of the component items. Apple declined to comment.
MacWEEK 10.19.92
News Page 1
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
News: UserLand ships improved Frontier 2.0
Update will control FileMaker Pro, Excel
By Henry Norr
Redwood City, Calif. - A new Frontier will open this week for scriptwriters, when UserLand Software Inc. ships Version 2.0 of its Apple events-based scripting software.
The upgrade, which will be sent free to registered users, adds an array of new features including:
> Object Model support. The new release lets Frontier customize and automate applications that implement the Apple Events Object Model, including Claris Corp.'s FileMaker Pro 2.0, Microsoft Excel 4.0 and, according to UserLand, an upcoming version of QuarkXPress. An install file for the popular Claris database is included with Frontier 2.0, and a similar file for Excel is due next month.
The object model, the approach Apple recommends for designing scriptable applications and plans to implement in its own upcoming AppleScript system, makes it possible to retrieve or change the values and properties of any unit of data, such as a spreadsheet cell or a specified field in a database record, via Apple events.
> New scripting constructs and verbs. Several new verbs added to the UserTalk language simplify scripted system and network management. One of the new verbs reconciles any two specified folders; another can mount a network volume, supplying a password (stored in text form within the script) if necessary.
A new try/else statement lets scripts recover from errors, and a Pascal- like "with" statement makes code less cluttered and improves performance, according to UserLand. Another new verb supports Apple's system events mechanism, which UserLand said can improve performance eightfold in some situations.
> Extensibility. Programmers can add new functionality to UserTalk by incorporating code resources created in C or Pascal into the Frontier 2.0 object database. The new version supports both HyperCard 1.0 external commands (XCMDs) and a new, streamlined format called UCMDs.
> Extras. Frontier 2.0 includes new versions of Frontier Runtime and of the Frontier Software Development Kit; FinderMenus 1.0, an extension that lets scriptwriters add custom menus to the Finder; and an improved version of CE Software Inc.'s CEIAC, allowing smoother integration of Frontier and CE's QuicKeys. Via Frontier Extras, a new subscription service priced at $149 per year, users can receive additional utilities, scripts and install files on disk by mail on a quarterly basis.
UserLand Software Inc. is at 400 Seaport Court, Redwood City, Calif. 94063. Phone (415) 369-6600; fax (415) 369-6618.
MacWEEK 10.19.92
News Page 4
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
News: Different configurations bedevil managers
Managers adopting varied approaches
By Bruce Schneier
It's rare to find two people who configure their Macintosh the same way. Some
users swear by System 7; others won't touch it. Some machines run QuickTime;
others - The Talking Moose.
For those in charge of hundreds of machines, it's a potential nightmare. "Trying
to manage several hundred Macs is, well, [almost] impossible unless you maintain
coherency and consistency across them," said Roy Roper, assistant director for
network information technologies at the School of Life Sciences at the
University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign.
"We try to create nearly the same look and feel: utilities, software, network
resource access across as many Macs as possible," said Roper, who has defined a
standard set of software for every machine. "We have centralized ordering,
configuration, delivery and training. We install everything before the user sees
the Mac."
Standard software. Often the biggest problem is the staggering array of
different utilities. Roper said: "We provide the utilities to give each Mac a
variety of user and network support capabilities. Users can add other programs,
but we are trying to provide the best utilities for the emerging area of
collaborative computing."
Some managers avoid problems by making custom configurations the responsibility
of individual users. "Everyone is responsible for [his or her] own Macintosh,"
said Richard Wepfer, manager of IM Architecture at GTE Telephone Operations in
Irving, Texas. A help desk supports the standard software: Microsoft Word,
Claris Corp.'s MacDraw, and Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint. Users of other
software packages are on their own.
Keith Sproul, microcomputer manager for Union Carbide Corp. in Bound Brook,
N.J., is responsible for 500 Macs. He also has a standard set of software
products: Microsoft Word, Excel, Mail and PowerPoint; Claris' FileMaker Pro and
MacDraw; and Aldus Persuasion. Even with this comprehensive list, there are
always special cases. "If someone has a reason for needing something else, we'll
discuss it," Sproul said.
Extensions can bring special problems. A good Mac manager keeps a list of those
that work and those that don't. "There are some INITs we don't allow, and there
is a set of INITs that we encourage, such as [Steve Christensen's freeware]
SuperClock!, [Berkeley Systems Inc.'s] After Dark and [Evergreen Software
Inc.'s] MacPassword. There are some that we require, such as Microsoft Mail and
While most managers try to standardize on the current versions of system and
applications software, others have based their standards on each piece of
hardware. Bob Bowman, vice president and manager of microcomputer support at
Seattle First National Bank, is responsible for 4,000 Macs running System 3.2 to
7.0.1. "We have established a set of compatibility standards between the
operating system and the hardware we are buying. And we have not migrated the
operating system standards very much." His help desk can profile a system by
asking what kind of Mac a user has.
What's on the computer. Sometimes the hardest part of managing a network is
discovering what software is out there. Tired of asking users to prepare lists,
managers are turning to network-management tools that collect this data
automatically. TechWorks Inc.'s GraceLAN Network Manager and Asset Manager,
MacVONK*USA's netOctopus, ON Technology's STATUS*Mac, and CSG Technologies'
Network SuperVisor collect and report on the hardware and software
configurations of a network.
"We have 500 Macs and only two full-time people to support them. The ability to
audit a machine across the network will save us time and effort and let us build
a database of software," said Ken Carpenter, project manager of PC LAN technical
support at Northern Telecom Inc. in Nashville, Tenn.
"I use GraceLAN to monitor what software people have on their hard drive, what
system they are running and what hardware they have. It saves me from walking
around to each machine," said Penny Smith, technical specialist for Region IV
Education Service Center in Houston.
Updates. Updating software to a new version also can be a management nightmare.
Most have learned the hard way not to let individual users handle their own
updates. "Someone bought Excel 3.0 and became incompatible with everyone else
still on 2.2," said GTE's Wepfer.
Some network-management programs, such as netOctopus, Network SuperVisor,
GraceLAN Update Manager and Trik Inc.'s NetDistributor Pro allow network
managers to update software remotely. This process is not without problems,
however. Some anti-viral utilities interpret a network-installation program as a
potential virus infection.
"We have to disable [Symantec Corp.'s] SAM when we do a network update,"
Carpenter said.
Tower of Babel. Most experienced network managers stressed the need for common
ground across different Macs.
"You can have a Tower of Babel if you don't obtain agreement on the application
layer as well as the platform layer. With these general agreements, you can
create the homogeneity required to bring in interesting technology," Roper said.
He points to his group's (near) painless introduction of QuickTime and some new
collaborative software products as proof of his philosophy. "The goal is to
create a foundation of change for distributed computing and not a static IS-type
operation," he said.
MacWEEK 10.19.92
News Page 15
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material
may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
News: PowerBook 180 best of fall lineup
Sports video-out, 'stunning' screen
By Rick LePage
On the surface, the new PowerBook 160 and 180 closely resemble Apple's first-generation laptops, and they could be overshadowed at this week's rollout by the dramatically innovative Duo systems. But the 160 and 180 offer many important enhancements over their predecessors, and our recent look at them left us convinced that they could be the best buys of this fall's lineup.
In the IBM PC and compatible world, a month doesn't go by without a major vendor releasing a hot new notebook computer, one with a smaller footprint, lighter case, faster processor, better screen or some combination thereof. Given this churning market, it's easy to see how the notebook you bought last year now is an also-ran.
Apple has given us a choice between the new technologies and form factors of the PowerBook Duos and the old standard of the original PowerBooks. At first glance, the decision looks stacked in favor of the Duos, but we have enough questions about the Duos - and see more than enough points in favor of the 160 and 180 - that decisions about which notebook to buy will be more complicated than they might seem.
> Joining the video age.
For most users, the main draws in both the 160 and 180 will be video-related: four-bit gray scale - 16 shades - on the built-in display and true video-out capabilities.
Video-out has been the grail of many PowerBook users since the notebooks' introduction; that Apple was unable to supply it with the PowerBook 140 and 170 was one of the few big disappointments in those machines. In the past year, several third-party companies have provided internal and external video-out options for the PowerBooks, but they have been less-than-ideal in their implementations.
Apple finally has remedied this situation; the company was able to produce an eight-bit video card small enough to fit on top of the PowerBook motherboard. The video connectors on the back of the PowerBook 160 and 180 are nonstandard, but Apple will include an adapter cable with each video-out-capable PowerBook.
As they ship, the 160 and 180 will drive any Apple 12- through 16-inch monitor in eight-bit mode. You also will be able to drive the Apple Portrait Display and a number of VGA and Super VGA monitors.
The external video capabilities work in two modes: dual display, which provides you with full use of both the internal display and external monitor, and mirroring, which displays the same image on both screens simultaneously (at the internal screen's resolution of 640 by 400 pixels).
During our testing of prerelease units, the external video options worked extremely well, without many of the refresh and color problems we have found with current third-party PowerBook video cards. We also didn't encounter any of the performance problems that we have with external SCSI video boxes.
> The screen thing.
If you are familiar with the PowerBook 170, you won't notice much difference in the 180 - aside from the contrast-adjusting slider - until you power up. Then you will be greeted by a remarkably crisper display.
Apple has added a shadow mask to the 180's active-matrix display panel, increasing the saturation of black pixels so they look blacker. The 180's designers also cranked up the overall brightness of the screen, which we think will make a big difference in contrast and readability in many situations.
The 160 also has a brighter screen, but it inherits the basic supertwist LCD technology of the 140 and 145. As was the case with the 140, the screen is satisfactory, but it pales (and ghosts and submarines) in comparison to the 180. We found that the added brightness made screen adjustment much better than before.
The 16 levels of gray made much more difference than we had thought they would initially. On the 180, the depth and readability added by gray- scale support was nothing short of stunning. The 160's screen in four- bit mode was not overwhelming but definitely had better contrast.
Running in four-bit mode didn't cause much of a performance hit, and we think most people will run their new PowerBooks in gray-scale mode, trading a minimal amount of performance for maximum readability.
Although the PowerBook 160 and 180 have brighter screens, Apple claims that battery life should be comparable with the older notebooks because of increased ampere hours in the battery and higher wattage in the recharger. Both the newer batteries and recharger are backward- compatible with the 140, 145 and 170, and we will be interested to see if they have any effect upon battery life of the older machines.
> Under the hood.
Both the outside shell and the inner workings of the PowerBook 160 and 180 remain nearly identical to those of the PowerBook 140 and 170, their respective predecessors. The PowerBook 160 and 180 weigh 6.8 pounds, like the earlier models, which means that weight is one aspect of the Duos that will create envy.
Inside, the 180 has a 33-MHz 68030 CPU and a 33-MHz 68882 math coprocessor; it flew in most of our performance tests and felt appreciably faster than a 170 in general use. The 160 has the 170's 25- MHz 68030 but lacks a math chip, which means that heavy number crunchers will almost certainly opt for the 180. For most general tasks, however, the 160 should feel as sprightly and as comfortable, performance-wise, as the 170.
Like the 145 and 170, both the 160 and the 180 can run with the CPU at 16 MHz, which reduces the power drain and saves battery life. Apple still has no way for you to switch the processor speeds without restarting, however.
Weighing in with the small details. A number of other, smaller enhancements to the 160 and 180 make them much more productive than their predecessors.
> The new PowerBooks support SCSI Disk Mode, a feature previously found only in the PowerBook 100; it allows your PowerBook's internal disk drive to act as an external drive on another Mac when you connect the two machines via a special SCSI cable.
> Memory capacity has been increased in the 160 and 180, up to a maximum of 14 Mbytes of RAM. Apple has soldered 4 Mbytes of RAM directly onto the motherboard, leaving the RAM expansion slot empty. The company will sell only a 6-Mbyte memory card; third-party vendors should provide cards that will take the new PowerBooks to 14 Mbytes. Just be sure to specify that you are ordering for a 160 or 180 - most third-party cards for the 140, 145 and 170 won't fit in the new models.
> Microphones have been built into the PowerBook 160 and 180, which means one less cable to lug around.
> Apple has added 120-Mbyte hard drives to the line, putting the new PowerBooks in line with desktop systems. The 40-Mbyte capacity will be available for the PowerBook 145 and 160; the smallest drive capacity available for the 180 will be 80 Mbytes.
What does it really mean? While the Duo team had license to design an entirely new CPU based upon the latest technology, the designers of the PowerBook 160 and 180 had to live within the constraints of the older design to preserve backward compatibility and manufacturing efficiencies. For those reasons, you won't see changes such as the lightweight magnesium frame, the new batteries or the new recharger found in the Duos.
What you will find, however, is a number of additions and refinements, most of them subtle, that make the new PowerBooks vastly improved over last year's models. We think that the enhancements found in the 180 make it the most desirable of the entire group of machines that Apple has introduced this fall. With a fast processor, gray-scale screen, external video and other enhancements, the PowerBook 180 is bound to be a best seller.
Without an active-matrix display, the 160 can't match the allure of its sibling. But the 160's lower price and video-out capabilities mean that you can purchase it with Apple's new 14-inch Macintosh Color Display and still come in well under the price of a similarly configured 180 without external monitor.
MacWEEK 10.19.92
News Page 1
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
News: Duos - The shape of PB future
MacWEEK previews new notebook CPUs
By Stephen Howard
You can never be too rich or too thin, but this Monday's PowerBook introductions will make you choose one or the other.
Rich is the PowerBook 180, the 33-MHz, gray-scale notebook that takes over the top of the standard PowerBook line. Thin is the new series, the PowerBook Duos, which load many of the Mac's standard ports onto a variety of removable docks. The Duos are light - 4.2 pounds each - and 1.4 inches thin. We think the corporate values at most sites will make managers choose rich, but the thin alternative deserves a detailed look.
There are two Macintosh PowerBook Duo models: The 210 runs at 25 MHz; the 230 runs at 33 MHz. Each comes in the same basic configuration as other high-end PowerBooks: 4 Mbytes of RAM standard and either an 80- Mbyte or 120-Mbyte hard drive, modem optional. The Duos do not have built-in floppy disk drives, but you can plug in external ones or slide an entire Duo into Apple's desktop docking station, the Duo Dock, which has an internal floppy drive. The screens are 9-inch bright backlit supertwist LCDs that show 16 shades of gray across 640-by-400-pixel areas. The Duos can supply eight-bit or 16-bit video signals to most external VGA, Super VGA, or Apple color and gray-scale RGB (red, green, blue) monitors when docked.
Based on these numbers, the Duos sound a lot like the new PowerBook 160 and 180, but you'd never mistake one family for the other. The Duos are smaller in every dimension and sleeker. The front edge and all the corners are more rounded. The flip-up screen portion is flatter, smoother and less than a half-inch thick. The smaller 19mm trackball and buttons are recessed into the body of the Duo, and the keyboard is not raised above the level of the palm rest. The feet rotate flat against the rear of the body, and the hinge connecting screen to base is a simple sideways cylinder instead of a multilevel assembly.
The result is a notebook that feels more comfortable when carried and that looks like a vision of the future, but one without the 180's super- sharp active-matrix screen or math coprocessor. (In response to the obvious question, Apple said that current active-matrix screens are too thick and too heavy for the Duo's form factor.)
> Port affinity.
While traveling bean counters will notice the lack of a math coprocessor, the most common business trip most of us make is between office and home. In this case, leaving behind some capabilities often is no hardship. The basic Duo standard equipment is a LocalTalk- capable serial port and a space for an internal modem; the Duo MiniDock adds the standard complement of Mac ports.
The MiniDock is more like a ledge than a bar. The back end of the Duo rests on a portion of the 2.8-inch-deep dock, lifting the notebook off whatever table or lap it's on. Once docked, all the connectors on the Duo, including the modem and power ports, send their signals through the 152-pin main expansion connector, which has 32-bit-wide access to the address and data buses of the Duo CPU at the full speed of the processor.
The MiniDock ports include an RJ-11 modem connection, a locking connector compatible with Kensington Microware Ltd.'s security-cable products, one minijack for sound-in (the Duos also have built-in microphones) and one for sound-out, an HDI-30 SCSI port, standard printer and modem serial ports, a standard video port, an Apple Desktop Bus port, an HDI-20 floppy port, and a power connector. The back of the MiniDock sports a power on-off button, and there's a small power-on button above the Duo's keyboard as well.
MiniDock video-out supports 256 colors on most Apple monitors, up to and including the 16-inch color display. Like the PowerBook 160 and 180, each Duo supports a normal two-screen mode and a special mirroring mode, in which the external monitor shows a 640-by-400-pixel image that mimics the built-in screen but at its own color depth.
Both Duos can be hooked to other Macs, including other PowerBooks, in SCSI disk mode so they appear on the other Macs' desktops as hard disks. This is the fastest way to transfer files to and from a Duo.
> Custom paint job.
Video-out and other capabilities change when you move from the MiniDock to the desktop Duo Dock. Somewhere in size between the IIsi and IIci, the Duo Dock swallows a Duo to create a hybrid machine.
The two-tone box (top half white, bottom half gray) has a built-in SuperDrive, all the ports available on the MiniDock and space for expansion. You can add a one-third-height, 3.5-inch internal hard disk drive; two NuBus cards; a math coprocessor; and a SIMM slot for extra video RAM, which, if filled, supports 16-bit video-out. All this is fed by a 75-watt power supply. This desk dock also has a key to lock your Duo in or keep other Duos out and a Duo-eject button on the front.
With the MiniDock, you have to apply the necessary pressure to force Duo and dock together. Doing so isn't hard - it's easier than opening a new jar of peanut butter but harder than a twist-off beer cap. With the Duo Dock, the machine serves you. You slide a closed Duo, with its feet up and rear flap open, almost all the way into the dock's cavity, and a guiding engine draws the portable in the last few millimeters and secures it. Apple said the engine was necessary to ensure that the Duo was thoroughly and correctly connected each time, and it gave us a sense of comfort about an unusual process.
Although no other company is attempting to compete with Apple's Duo Dock, several third parties are making optional docks that replace the MiniDock. These alternatives are possible because the main expansion connector has access to everything on the Duo's motherboard and also because docks have 128-Kbyte ROMs that define their functions.
> Inside.
The dock ROMs are just one example of the new logical and physical design of the Duo motherboards. Another is found in the RAM capacity of the units: The Duos can take up to 24 Mbytes of total system memory through high-density dynamic RAM, compared with the PowerBook 160's and 180's 14-Mbyte limit.
Apple has duplicated and recast the traditional Mac functions in strange ways to accommodate a machine with variable hardware. For instance, the Duo's internal SCSI disk drive and external serial port are controlled by a single, multifunction chip. The MiniDock has a similar chip to control its external printer, modem and SCSI ports. Likewise, the Duo Dock has a combination chip to control its internal SCSI connector and external printer and modem ports. Since you can hook up floppy and SCSI disk drives while the Duo is asleep, these multifunction chips have a fluid hardware environment to control.
Video control is even more varied. The Duo motherboard has its own gray- scale controller chip that runs the LCD screen from a built-in video RAM buffer. The MiniDock has a separate 512 Kbytes of video RAM to support the video-out port and a more-complex video subsystem controller chip. This chip also happens to control the MiniDock's floppy disk drive port (the Duo Floppy Adapter has a different floppy-only controller). The Duo Dock uses the same controller as the MiniDock but with potentially twice as much video RAM. These video chips control other components on the docks as well, and third-party docks with different video capabilities likely will have different chips.
There's more: a new power manager chip and something called the main system controller, which sits between the 68030 and everything else. There are several obvious advantages to Apple's investment in PowerBook chip integration. The Duo's nickel-hydride batteries have estimated charges of two to four and a half hours - up to 90 minutes longer than other PowerBooks. The video support is smart, automatically switching the operating system from four-bit gray-scale to the color depth of the external monitor when you dock. And, over time, we expect Apple's smaller chip count will make the Duos less expensive.
Clearly this is the way of progress, but it makes us wary. When it comes to custom chips, the Duos make the IIfx look timid.
> Speed.
We tested the Duos prior to their release. Our benchmarks show the Duo 210 and 230 to be similar to the PowerBook 160 and 180, with two exceptions.
The Duo 230, which has no math coprocessor, is 15 percent to 55 percent slower than the 180 at the integer and floating-point operations tested by our EarthPlot benchmark. That result was expected, and if you plug the Duo into a Duo Dock equipped with a math chip, the two machines are comparable. But if you plug the Duo into the MiniDock, the math performance measured by EarthPlot takes a dramatic dive: We clocked the Duo 230 at 85 percent to 155 percent slower than the 180.
We also were surprised to find that the same-speed Duo 210 and PowerBook 160, neither of which has a math chip, have different math performance: The Duo was 40 percent slower at integer operations and 150 percent slower at floating-point tasks than the 160.
On the flip side, the Duo/Duo Dock combination showed surprisingly good video performance. We tested the Duos and regular PowerBooks with different external monitors; the Duo Dock used a 16-inch Apple monitor, the PowerBooks a 14-inch one. In eight-bit mode, our TimedLines benchmark showed that both Duos were about 50 percent faster than the corresponding PowerBooks, despite the difference in screen size. And when the Duo Dock was set to 16-bit color, it still beat the PowerBook's eight-bit external video performance.
An informal follow-up test of scrolling a TeachText document confirmed the results for the Duos in eight-bit mode; in 16-bit mode the Duos were still faster than the eight-bit PowerBooks, but by a smaller margin.
Because of their speedy 16-bit performances, we think the Duos may be surprise hits among graphics professionals and business users who create and deliver color presentations. On the other hand, weekend number crunchers may be relatively disappointed.
> Conclusions.
Despite last-minute rumors to the contrary, Apple said both Duo models will be available this week, but you'll have to wait for the docks. The Duo Dock is expected to ship next month, which probably is faster than you can get a purchase order approved. The portable MiniDock being built by SuperMac Technology won't be ready until December, however. The problem with such a delayed release is that you won't be able to see and test all your options together until the end of the year.
And you should test them because the dockable Macintoshes aren't the same as other PowerBooks or any previous Macs. On paper, the Duos sound terrific now and look like a promising platform for future products, but they introduce enough new technologies that a cautious shakeout period is in order.
More importantly, the Duos raise questions about what to buy for each user and what will be convenient to leave behind in your hotel room and on your desk. While we are confident that the everything-included PowerBook 180 will be a hit, we suspect that Apple's initial docks and dockables will not be right for all users.
MacWEEK 10.19.92
News Page 1
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
News: Apple delivers System 7.1
By Raines Cohen
Cupertino, Calif. - Apple last week disclosed its distribution plans for the first "world-ready" release of System 7.
System 7.1, due to hit the streets this week, adds up to a "minor update" for domestic System 7 users, but will be a major advance for international users, according to its Apple product manager.
The most fundamental change in the new system is WorldScript, a technology that provides support for non-Roman text systems such as Arabic and kanji. The new version will be the first release of System 7 for Japanese, Chinese and Korean users.
System 7.1 also will simplify font management by adding a Fonts folder, in the System folder, to hold all TrueType, PostScript Type 1 and bit- map fonts in one place. The improvements previously distributed in Tune- Up files are now built in; new control panels let users set date and time and number formats; and a new mechanism will let users add support for future CPUs via drop-in System Enabler modules.
The new system also will come with QuickTime 1.5 and a new extension for accessing Photo CD discs.
As previously reported, Apple will not allow users, user groups or dealers to distribute System 7.1 free. Instead, it will be bundled with new Macs and sold in packages targeted at:
> System 6 users.
A $99 System 7.1 Personal Upgrade Kit includes one year of toll-free upgrade support and, as a limited-time promotion, the At Ease! launching utility.
The package includes only high-density floppies; users with 800-Kbyte drives can call a System 7.1 upgrade line at (800) 769-2775 to obtain compatible media. Users who bought a System 7.0 Personal Upgrade Kit after Sept. 1 can get a free upgrade.
> System 7 users.
A $34.95 System 7.1 Update Kit, sold only through the toll-free line, includes the software, a single-user license for 7.1, a year of toll-free support and a brief manual describing changes from 7.0.
> Small groups.
The System 7 MultiPack, due Nov. 30, includes a license for 10 users, a CD-ROM with the system and documentation, and a year's toll-free support.
> Large groups.
A new volume-licensing program, also to begin next month, will include a CD-ROM, disks and manuals. Pricing, to be based on quantity, has not been set. Group upgrades for 50 to 500 users can be ordered by calling the System 7.1 upgrade line. Larger groups and educational institutions should contact their Apple sales representative.
MacWEEK 10.19.92
News Page 136
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
News: Express Modem - Both versions offload tasks
Apple's fastest and cheapest fax modem is almost out the door; meanwhile, the company reportedly is giving a "hands off" message to third parties who want to develop other internal fax modems for the new PowerBooks.
Apple's $319 internal Express Modem will come in two versions; one specifically for the PowerBook 160 and 180 is available in limited quantities now with full shipment slated for January 1993, and the other, for the PowerBook Duo 210 and 230, will ship in December.
The PowerBook 160/180 internal devices are not compatible with earlier PowerBooks models, although some third-party developers contacted said their current offerings will work in the new machines.
Apple's two fax modems are dissimilar in appearance, but both use Rockwell International Corp.'s data pumps, and both offload functions such as error correction and data compression to the main CPU.
Although this method offers high speeds at low prices, it can cause CPU performance degradation when performing background operations. The performance hit reportedly will be comparable to what users experience with AppleTalk Remote Access, which also offloads these functions to software.
Apple said that third parties can receive the technical specifications needed to develop internal fax modems for the new models.
However, "we are encouraging people to build on top of our software architecture to do things like new fax applications and OCR (optical character recognition)," said Dave Rothschild, product manager for the Duos. "It doesn't make sense for other people to do new hardware."
Dealer installation will be required for all internal modems. - By Nathalie Welch
MacWEEK 10.19.92
News Page 135
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
GA: Font pricing in free fall
Low-cost libraries target new users
By Kirsten L. Parkinson
San Francisco - The era of high-priced fonts is drawing to a close as vendors
turn out typeface packages at rock-bottom prices.
In recent weeks, for example, URW of Nashua, N.H., released a CD-ROM with 3,000
Type 1 fonts for $895. B & P Graphics Inc. of La Grange, Ill., is offering 999
TrueType faces and 999 Type 1 faces on a CD-ROM for $2,995. Chicago-based
Monotype Typography Inc.'s latest offerings are 57-typeface value packs for $89
each. Even Apple has introduced its $99 Apple Font Package of 43 TrueType fonts.
Some in the industry have decried the falling prices, saying the pressure to
sell fonts competitively at these rates will hurt high-end type foundries.
Others said that font prices are reaching the level they should have been at all
along.
"Isn't it interesting that you can go out and buy a Mac IIci, Radius monitor and
a laser printer for $6,000, but a designer could pay up to $10,000 for the
typefaces he needs?" said Henry Mikiewicz, director of marketing and sales for
URW. "There's a great disparity between the price of the system and the cost of
owning a type library."
Users, however, said that they were unlikely to buy more fonts just because the
prices were low.
"As a user, I'll not likely buy more fonts just for the sake of buying more
fonts," said Michael Diehl of Los Angeles-based Diehl.Volk Typographics. "If I
need a font, I'll buy it."
Industry observers said that several factors influence current font prices,
including Microsoft Corp.'s TrueType font package, which the company introduced
last spring.
"It all goes back to Microsoft's introduction of Windows 3.1 and Windows Font
Pack for $99," said Bill Davis, Monotype director of marketing. "All the vendors
identified that as a benchmark. Everybody now has gone in and created special
packages of fonts. In font vendors' eyes, this is a new market," he said.
The entrance of operating systems vendors Microsoft and Apple into the font ring
could change the market dramatically, many vendors said. Because the TrueType
font packs designed by Apple and Microsoft are aimed at low-end users, a whole
new set of potential customers could become interested in type.
"In Apple's case, it is releasing a fairly well-rounded starter pack targeted
mainly at people who otherwise might not purchase type," said Sean Cavanaugh,
vice president of product development for SoftMaker Inc. in Carlsbad, Calif.
"Once these people start using typefaces other than the ones that came with
their system software, they may want more.
"This opens the door for companies like ours. Now, if Apple plans to market
complete libraries, this would obviously hurt a lot of foundries," he said.
According to Brian Lawley, Apple's TrueType spokesman, Apple may release similar
font packs when QuickDraw GX is released next year, but he said the company has
no plans to become a regular type vendor.
Whether or not Apple becomes a major player in the Mac font market, industry
observers agree that type vendors will face a major challenge as they attempt to
define themselves for low-end users.
"It's really becoming a buyer-beware market," Monotype's Davis said. "There are
a lot of options and a lot of font packs. Buyers are going to have to become
aware of what is a good font. That's going to be a challenge for some of us who
have been on the higher end: to try to market and compete with those
[lower-priced packs]."
MacWEEK 10.19.92
GA Page 44
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material
may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
News: Apple reports stellar results for fourth quarter, fiscal '92
By Jon Swartz
Cupertino, Calif. - Powered by $1 billion in sales of its PowerBook models, Apple reported record results for its fourth quarter and fiscal 1992.
Apple last week said annual revenues topped $7 billion for the first time, up 12 percent from a year ago. Net income for 1992 was $530.4 million, compared with $309.8 million last year when Apple included a one-time restructuring charge of $224 million.
Apple's fourth-quarter revenues were $1.77 billion, up from $1.51 billion for the same period a year ago. Net income rose to $97.6 million, compared with $81.2 million last year.
In a prepared statement, Apple CEO John Sculley credited the record sales to a 35 percent jump in Mac unit sales; the continued popularity of the PowerBook line and strong international sales in Japan and France, which each surpassed $500 million.
But analysts said Apple still faces pricing and margin pressure from the IBM PC and compatible side.
"There are still some big uncertainties about what happens to Apple's pricing structure going forward," said Liz Buyer, an analyst for T. Rowe Price in Baltimore. "Apple indicated that total gross margins will fall below 40 percent next year, but revenues will grow at a faster rate than even this year."
Apple's 1992 results
1992 % increase
Revenues $1.77 billion 17
Net income $97.6 million 20
Unit sales n/a 35
Source: Apple.
MacWEEK 10.19.92
News Page 135
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This
material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
News: Apple ships QuickTime sequel; update plays bigger movies
By Neil McManus
Cupertino, Calif. - Apple this week will release QuickTime 1.5, an update that promises larger and faster movie playback, integration of text, Photo CD support, and an array of other enhancements.
The new version will be bundled with System 7.1 and will be available free from on-line services and user groups. Features include:
> Bigger movies.
A new Compact Video software compressor-decompressor (codec) lets users play movies at higher frame rates or larger sizes. On a Mac LC II, for example, a movie that could be played in a 160-by-120- pixel window at 12 to 15 frames per second with QuickTime 1.0 now can be played in a 320-by-240-pixel window at the same frame rate or in its original size at 24 or 30 fps. In addition, QuickTime 1.5 will let movie makers embed a proprietary codec directly into a movie.
> Additional media.
A new generic media handler lets users add new types of tracks. Version 1.5 includes a new text track for titling and closed captioning, and developers will be able to create their own media types through custom media handlers that users can drop into their System folders.
> Import-export architecture.
QuickTime now can accommodate translators for additional data types. Version 1.5 will recognize PICS and AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) files immediately.
> Photo CD support.
QuickTime 1.5, together with another System 7.1 extension called Apple Photo Access, provides extensive support for the image format from Eastman Kodak Co. (see caption). When users double- click a Photo CD image, QuickTime transparently decompresses it, converts it to PICT format and opens it in TeachText.
Other Version 1.5 enhancements include faster one-bit dithering for playback on monochrome systems and improved network performance.
MacWEEK 10.19.92
News Page 3
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
News: E-Machines outfits Duos for Ethernet
By Nathalie Welch
Beaverton, Ore. - E-Machines Inc. this week will announce docks that add color-presentation capabilities and high-speed Ethernet networking to the new PowerBook Duos.
> PowerLink Presentor, due next month for $499, lets a Duo display on Mac or Super VGA monitors, LCD projection panels, or televisions at resolutions from 640 by 480 pixels with 256 colors to 1,024 by 768 pixels with 16 colors. The 10-ounce device measures 6.75 by 3.7 by 1.13 inches.
E-Machines said its proprietary convolution technology corrects the flicker normally associated with unfiltered video output.
PowerLink Presentor, which also has an Apple Desktop Bus port for a mouse and extended keyboard, a floppy drive connector, and stereo output, can be used as an inexpensive desktop dock, E-Machines said.
> PowerLink DeskNet, due in December for $699, includes built-in twisted-pair (10BASE T) and thin (10BASE 2) Ethernet.
The 19-ounce DeskNet, which measures 3.2 by 10.6 by 2.1 inches, includes a floppy drive; stereo input and output; and SCSI, ADB and serial ports. It supports RGB (red, green, blue) display at resolutions from 640 by 480 pixels with 256 colors to 1,024 by 768 pixels with 16 colors. The device includes on-board QuickDraw acceleration.
DeskNet blocks the Duo's internal-modem port; E-Machines recommends using an external or network modem in docking mode.
Both DeskNet and Presentor use Apple's PowerLatch technology so users can connect and disconnect them without having to restart or reconfigure the CPU.
E-Machines Inc. is at 9305 S.W. Gemini Drive, Beaverton, Ore. 97005. Phone (503) 646-6699; fax (503) 641-0946.
Docks add color display, Ethernet to Duos
PowerLink Presentor
> $499
> 10 ounces
> Stereo output port
> Composite NTSC and PAL video output
PowerLink DeskNet
> $699
> 19 ounces
> Stereo input and output port
> Ethernet port
> Serial port
> SCSI port
> Security port
Both docks offer:
> RGB video-out, up to 256 colors
> Apple Desktop Bus port
> Floppy drive port
> AC adapter port
MacWEEK 10.19.92
News Page 6
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This
material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
News: Third-party vendors jumping on Duo bandwagon with products
RAM upgrades, security links due
By Raines Cohen
San Francisco - Hardware makers are readying add-ons for Apple's latest platform, the Macintosh Duos. While Apple itself will offer a range of accessories for its CPUs and docks (see chart below), third-party developers will unveil:
> Memory.
Technically proficient Duo users will be able to add RAM themselves without voiding the warranty. While prices and ship dates are not yet set, Computer Care Inc. of Minneapolis; Newer Technology Inc. of Wichita, Kan.; TechWorks Inc. of Austin, Texas; and Microtech International Inc. of East Haven, Conn., are expected to announce RAM upgrades that can bring the system up to as much as its 24-Mbyte maximum.
> Security.
The PowerBooks and Duos support the Kensington Security Standard developed by Kensington Microware Ltd. of San Mateo, Calif. Each unit and dock includes a slot compatible with Kensington's $59.95 MicroSaver lock and other security devices.
> Power.
Lind Electronic Design Inc. this week will ship a $189.95 auxiliary power pack and a $99.95 automobile power adapter for the Duos, as well as similar models at the same prices for the 160 and 180. The company also will offer a $99.95 Dual Battery Charger for the 160 and 180, which can simultaneously power the PowerBook and charge two batteries, like Apple's Duo charger.
Kensington Microware Ltd. is at 2855 Campus Drive, San Mateo, Calif. 94403. Phone (415) 572-2700 or (800) 535-4242; fax (415) 572-9675.
Lind Electronic Design Inc. is at 6414 Cambridge St., Minneapolis, Minn. 55426. Phone (612) 927-6303 or (800) 659-5956; fax (612) 927-7740.
Apple Duo add-ons
Macintosh Duo... Price
Dock* $1,079
MiniDock** $589
Floppy Adapter $135
External Floppy Drive $199
AC Adapter [additional] $65
Battery Recharger $119
Rechargeable Battery $69
4-Mbyte RAM Kit $235
8-Mbyte RAM Kit $459
Express Modem Kit** $319
VRAM Expansion Kit (for Dock) $99
Math Co-Processor (for Dock) $79
*Shipping in November.
**Shipping in December.
Source: Apple
MacWEEK 10.19.92
News Page 6
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This
material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
Review: FileMaker Pro 2.0
Scripting, cross-platform compatibility top the list of Version 2's
improvements.
By Steve Michel
At first glance, Version 2.0 of Claris Corp.'s workhorse, FileMaker Pro, does not look to be a major upgrade over previous versions. A lot of power that many users would like - most notably more relational capability - has not been added. But a closer look at the program reveals a wealth of new features, some big and some small, that add up to make this new version a significant upgrade.
It's evident that Claris has kept the needs of users in mind while enhancing the product; users of previous versions won't have to relearn the program, and new users will find an interface that is easy to learn and use. This review takes a look at the various changes Claris has made to the program.
Data entry and browsing. The most notable improvements in data entry and browsing are text-editing enhancements. Standard arrow-key combinations work for moving the insertion point or selection through a field, and the keyboard also works more intuitively when designing layouts. You also can tab into fields formatted as check boxes, radio buttons and pop-up lists and use the arrow keys to move between selections. Claris also has added nine new text styles - including word underline, double underline, strike thru, and superscripts and subscripts - that can be set either when designing a layout or editing fields.
Version 2.0 lets you select data in calculated fields for copying (which also can be done under script control). Another enhancement to copying we like a great deal is the ability to copy an entire record, if no field is selected; the entire record is placed on the Clipboard in tab- delimited format; holding down the Option key copies all records being browsed. This is a great tool for quick-and-dirty moving of data to other programs.
Another bit of magic is the Paste Special submenu on the Edit menu. This menu lets you paste certain data into fields: the user name (taken from the Sharing Setup dialog box), the modification date and time, and more. The same information can be entered automatically into fields when a record is created, or pasted into a Find field under script control.
Finding in FileMaker Pro 2.0 also is improved, with three new symbols for wild-card and literal searches.
We are disappointed that no changes were made to the view buttons. When zooming out from a view - in either Browse or Layout mode - the size reduces from 100 percent to 50 percent. We find 50 percent to be too small to work with and would appreciate a 75 percent or 66 percent view.
Layouts. FileMaker's layout tools always have been some of the best in the business, and Version 2.0's enhancements add more power. Especially welcome is the capability to easily organize the Layout menu by reordering layouts. You also have greater control over the order in which you enter fields when pressing the Tab key while entering data. As with the Browse mode, entering text into a layout is more sensible and conforms to standard keyboard shortcuts. You can format fields, as before, as check boxes, radio buttons and pop-up menus. One very useful enhancement is the capability to include an Other ... item in these fields; choosing this item invokes a dialog asking you to enter the data.
Layouts also have been enhanced to include direct support for more than 50 sizes of labels from Avery International Corp. Nearly all aspects of printing to these labels are included when you choose a label format, although you cannot print to specific locations on a sheet of labels.
Scripting. No aspect of FileMaker Pro has been enhanced as drastically as scripting. Nearly every aspect of scripting has been overhauled, adding a lot of power and flexibility, while retaining a nonthreatening environment for the novice.
Scripting retains much of the flavor of earlier versions of FileMaker Pro. You can now either "script by example" as before or create scripts from scratch using ScriptMaker. This script editor offers a dialog box with a scrolling area on the right from which you choose script commands. When you move the commands into the script, check boxes, radio buttons and pop-up menus let you set the parameters for the script commands.
Scripts can call other scripts, whether or not they are in the same FileMaker database; this feature alone will greatly facilitate complex interactions between multiple files. You also can print script definitions, though we would prefer to do this from the editor instead of the Print dialog.
The new Preferences dialog lets you perform a particular script when a file is opened. When used in conjunction with the Paste Current User script command (the equivalent of the same command on the Paste Special hierarchical menu), you can use this to tailor the system for particular individuals. We expect that network users of FileMaker will get a lot of mileage out of this capability.
FileMaker Pro 2.0 also supports Apple events and the Object Model (see story, right). This means that programs as varied as Microsoft Excel, Claris Corp.'s HyperCard, GeoQuery Corp.'s GeoQuery, UserLand Software Inc.'s Frontier and Apple's forthcoming AppleScript can interact with FileMaker Pro.
FileMaker's scripting is not perfect. We would prefer more direct mechanisms for controlling functions, such as finding and sorting. We also would like to see some of the traditional accouterments of scripting, such as "if-then" testing and support for variables. Nevertheless, FileMaker Pro 2.0 scripting is very powerful.
Networking. Claris reports that network performance is enhanced in Version 2.0. When a client copy of FileMaker Pro performs a sort, the host no longer performs the search on its machine. Instead, the server sends the index for the field or fields to the client, which does the searching. This can eliminate bottlenecks, if the client machine is faster than the server machine or if the server machine is already engaged in another activity. Our informal tests show this to be the case.
The basic model of FileMaker sharing has not changed. Unlike most shareable databases, in which the same file, on a server, can be opened by other clients, FileMaker takes a client-server approach, by which any copy of FileMaker can share an open file with others on the network. This approach does have its advantages, in that a file server is not necessarily required. However, because most sites now have file sharing (especially with System 7), the approach seems somehow outdated and unnecessary.
System 7 features. FileMaker Pro 2.0 supports System 7. It also offers balloon help, but it is generally not available for items in dialogs. This is made up for by Claris' standard on-line help system, which is excellent. FileMaker Pro 2.0 also includes QuickTime support, letting you embed movies into a Picture or Sound field. The movies themselves are not stored in the database; instead FileMaker Pro stores a reference to the QuickTime movie, which is played when you click on the field.
System 7's publishing is supported, but subscribing is not. FileMaker Pro 2.0's use of publishing is one of the most innovative we've seen. When you export data, FileMaker allows you to create an edition file, in tab-delimited format. Editions are updated only when the file is exported; this is useful since updating editions could be time-consuming in a program such as FileMaker, which automatically saves the file often. Publishing is totally under your control because you can specify which fields are exported, and you can control publishing through a script. We have used this to great advantage when subscribing to FileMaker editions with Microsoft Word and Excel.
FileMaker import and export is improved in a number of other ways, most notably by the capability to import data directly from other FileMaker files. One limitation we found with the program's importing feature is that any field set to automatically enter information is not updated through the import process. For instance, if you have a field that enters the date when a record is created, that field is not updated upon import. You can get around this limitation with some scripting and manually massaging records after import, but it is something you should be aware of.
FileMaker Pro 2.0 also supports Apple's Data Access Manager as an option when importing files.
Miscellaneous. In previous versions of the program, graphics used in several different layouts were stored separately for each layout. FileMaker Pro 2.0 instead stores each graphic only once; subsequent uses of it store just a pointer to the original graphic. This may cause some converted files to actually become smaller than they were in the previous version. Users of complex layouts will appreciate this feature.
Another big area of improvement is the FileMaker Pro 2.0 documentation. While the manuals for previous versions of FileMaker were always good, they often did not go deep enough into the program. The new User's Guide is both complete and concise, a model of good documentation. We had no questions about the product that weren't answered in the manuals.
Finally, FileMaker Pro 2.0 is designed to work in a cross-platform environment with the forthcoming version of FileMaker for Microsoft Windows 3.1. We'll take a look at this version and the interoperability aspects of FileMaker for Windows when it appears.
Conclusions. It's rare that features are added to a program without an increase in complexity; it's even rarer when a program becomes easier to use through upgrading. It's hard to imagine a Mac user who couldn't appreciate the power of FileMaker Pro 2.0. It's also difficult to imagine a user who couldn't actually take advantage of the program.
There are very few limitations in FileMaker Pro that are not limitations of the flat-file database format. We would like to see the next revision of this program add true relational capabilities while maintaining the ease of use for which FileMaker has made its name.
Claris Corp. is at 5201 Patrick Henry Drive, Box 58168, Santa Clara, Calif.
95052. Phone (408) 727-8227.
Score Card
FileMaker Pro
Claris Corp.
Version tested: 2.0
List price: $399*
Overall value *****
Not content to sit on its impressive market share or laurels, Claris has done an
excellent job of upgrading FileMaker Pro. New power has been added without
sacrificing ease of use. Mac managers will appreciate FileMaker Pro's enhanced
scripting power, its support for Apple events, its speedier network performance
and its cross-platform interoperability with the upcoming Windows version. There
are no major holes in the program and the omissions are minor, the most notable
one being the lack of conditional scripting capabilities. With this release,
Claris has taken the flat-file database about as far as it can go without being
truly relational.
Performance ****
Features *****
Ease of use *****
Documentation/support *****
*Upgrades $89.
System 7 Compatibility
FileMaker Pro 2.0
Balloon help Yes
TrueType Yes
Publish and subscribe* Yes
Apple events Yes
32-bit addressing** Yes
*Publish only.
**According to vendor.
MacWEEK 10.19.92
Reviews Page 67
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material
may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
BusinessWatch: Microsoft reports 40 percent sales jump
By Jon Swartz
Redmond, Wash. - It's beginning to sound like a broken record, but Microsoft Corp.'s financial performance continues to do just that - break records.
The software giant last week reported its 12th straight quarter of at least 40 percent growth in sales and profits and said its Windows applications sales topped $330 million, a record.
Sales for the first quarter of fiscal 1993, ended Sept. 30, were $818 million, up 41 percent from $581 million in the same quarter a year ago.
Profits for the quarter soared 45 percent to $209 million, or 70 cents per share, compared with $144 million, or 50 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. The company's per-share earnings were slightly above analysts' estimates of 68 cents per share.
Frank Gaudette, Microsoft chief financial officer, clicked off the usual reasons for the company's success. "Our applications for the Mac and Windows markets were strong," he said.
Overall, Microsoft's Windows-related sales shot up 118 percent over the same quarter a year ago.
The earnings came amid reports the Federal Trade Commission will interview several Microsoft executives this month as part of an ongoing two-year probe into alleged "anticompetitive" business practices at the company.
Staff attorneys in the FTC's Bureau of Competition are expected to recommend that the FTC bring action against Microsoft.
"Nothing seems capable of blunting Microsoft's momentum - not even the federal government," said Betty Lyter, an analyst for Montgomery Securities in San Francisco.
MacWEEK 10.19.92
BusinessWatch Page 56
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
BusinessWatch: SuperMac gives Apple helping hand
Makes Duo MiniDock, Duo Floppy Adapter
By Lisa Picarille
Cupertino, Calif. - Giorgio Armani, Ford Motor Co. and pop artist Andy Warhol often slapped their well-known monikers on goods designed and manufactured by others. So why not Apple?
In what observers call an unusual move, Apple has struck a deal with SuperMac Technology that calls for the Sunnyvale, Calif., company to manufacture the Duo MiniDock, a $589 device that adds video-out and Mac ports to Apple's new PowerBook Duo line, and the $135 PowerBook Duo Floppy Adapter, which adds Apple Desktop Bus and floppy drive ports.
Both the Duo MiniDock and PowerBook Duo Floppy Adapter, which are departures from SuperMac's display product line, will be manufactured at the company's Sunnyvale facility, according to Steve Blank, SuperMac vice president of marketing.
The MiniDock, made exclusively for Apple, lets the Duo systems connect to large-screen displays, floppy drives, modems and other peripherals, as well as provide ports for sound, video and SCSI drives. The Duo Floppy Adapter also will be manufactured exclusively for Apple.
Other vendors, such as E-Machines Inc., are expected to produce similar docking stations, but those products will be sold under the original manufacturer's name.
SuperMac also is expected to deliver its own line of portable and desktop Duo add-ons sometime next year, according to sources.
SuperMac officials touted Apple's decision to outsource products to third-party vendors as both a vote of confidence and a shrewd business move. "A company like Apple has more great ideas than hands. Working with other manufacturers is a brilliant way to get things done quickly and make a ton of money," Blank said.
The SuperMac deal is not the first time Apple has contracted with third parties to build products sold on the Apple label: Sony Corp. of America built the PowerBook 100; Sharp Corp. will build Newton Personal Digital Assistants; and Microtech International Inc. of East Haven, Conn., reportedly is taking over production of some Apple external hard drives. While SuperMac may gain prestige by joining Apple's small core of private-label manufacturers for its hottest-selling product, it reportedly is losing money on the deal, industry sources said.
SuperMac denied the charge. "We will make a profit on unit one, and we will make a profit on unit 100,000," Blank said. "We wouldn't take a deal where we would lose money."
Apple and SuperMac declined to comment on the value of the deal or how many units are expected to be made. But sources familiar with terms of the deal said it is worth "tens of thousands of dollars over the next 15 months."
Industry analysts said Apple Chief Operating Officer Michael H. Spindler has fostered technological partnerships since he took over his post in 1990.
MacWEEK 10.19.92
BusinessWatch Page 56
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
-----------------------
Mac the Knife: Dissecting Duo developer tally
In an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to escape the haunting strains of "Oh, Canada" last Tuesday night, the Knife, good American that he is, turned to broadcast television, that ultimate American solution to all of life's problems. You can imagine his surprise to discover that a particularly puerile episode of "American Gladiators" was being shown simultaneously on almost all the networks, including PBS! And the contestants were costumed to resemble second-string politicians.
This was an obscenely expensive exercise in media-market purchasing that would give even politicians pause.
But life is full of these small surprises. The Knife, for instance, was intrigued by Apple's official list of third-party product support for the brand-new Duos. Among the expected listing of such regular players as E-Machines and SuperMac were several companies that are substantially less well-known - some so little known that they didn't deem to return calls during the week leading up to Monday's festivities.
The appearance of other products on the list seem to serve the sole purpose of making the list appear more impressive than it really is. Others posed unavoidable questions. Larger capacity hard disks for the Duo Docks? Won't any SCSI 3.5-inch hard disk serve? And another Apple document describing 210 and 230 file transfer options mysteriously lists PowerGate, "an unannounced product" from Farallon.
No mystery at all. Perhaps you've been wondering why you rarely see Apple's 16-inch color display in the real world. Maybe it's because everyone collectively forgot to place an order.
But the Knife's sources tell him that Apple has a very large number of these slow-moving devices sitting in a warehouse. This style of inventory management is not smiled upon by today's right-sizing-driven manager. As a result, Apple may be ready to make its move.
Sources claim that Apple's solution to this problem is a new promotional bundle that will include the monitor and a third-party eight-bit accelerated video card. That, they say, could work.
Claris clearly works. Claris, that most unusual of all Mac software- development companies, is preparing to announce something it is calling the Claris Clear Choice program. The concept is to Claris-label a line of "cost-effective" products either licensed or purchased outright from third-party developers.
The Knife claims that the first CCC product will be a nifty color painting program, a product niche until now unrepresented in the Claris lineup. At least two other products are close to joining the Clear Choice fold, while sources say that many other products are under active consideration. Now, if Claris can just come up with a developer willing to part with a really cool modern word processor, the Claris Mac product line finally would be complete.
Win some. Microsoft Word users aren't the only ones pining for parity with the Windows version of a product. Adobe Illustrator users first started casting envious glances at their PC-using colleagues earlier this year when Illustrator 4.0 for Windows, which dramatically leapfrogged the current Mac version, was released. The Knife reports sightings of a pre-beta version of the Mac version that will in turn leapfrog the Windows version. The feature list is long, but Illustrator users are most likely to be happy at last to add layers to their arsenal of illustration tools.
Here's hoping that all six of these politicians are more competent than they've been acting lately. If you want a MacWEEK mug by the time we're worrying about just two of them, you better get your tips in to the Knife now. Try (415) 243-3544, fax (415) 243-3650, MCI (MactheKnife), AppleLink (MacWEEK) and CompuServe/ZiffNet/Mac.
MacWEEK 10.19.92
Mac the Knife Page 138
(c) Copyright 1992 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
