THE WINDOWS JOURNAL.

Copyright (c) 1993 by Bolt Publishing Co.

Vol. I  No. 4     November 1993

About THE WINDOWS JOURNAL

Publishing Information

Mailing Information

Monthly Departments

Editorial

Events Calender

New Products

The MailBox

In-the-News

Aldus Shareholder Lawsuit Settled

Computer Associates Gives Away Simply Tax

Free Microsoft Games with Verbatim Disks

Harvard Graphics to Support OLE 2.0

WordPerfect and Microsoft Settle Lawsuit

Journal Focus

Apple to Sell Windows Applications

Chicago PC Expo

Lap & Palmtop '93, Chicago

PC Life: Ready for the Internet

Reviews

Microsoft Arcade

Microsoft Golf: Multimedia Edition

Business Report

Third Quarter Financial Results

Note: We have decided to drop the stock quote listing until we receive feedback from readers indicating an interest in this section.

ACAD:	AutoDesk Inc.

ADBE:	Adobe Systems Inc.

ALDC:	Aldus Corp.

CA:	Computer Associates International Inc.

CAER:	Caere Corp.

INTC:	Intel Corp.

LOTS:	Lotus Development Corp.

MNPI:	Microcom Inc.

MSFT:	Microsoft Corp.

NOVL:	Novell Inc.

QDEK:	Quarterdeck Office Systems Inc.

SKEYF:	Softkey Software Products, Inc.

STAC:	STAC Electronics

SYMC:	Symantec Corp.

WDST:	Wordstar International Inc.


CompuNews Info

 THE WINDOWS JOURNAL Info

All material in THE WINDOWS JOURNAL (WJ), formerly CompuNews Online, is copyright (c) 1993 by Bolt Publishing Co. and Purple Mountain Computers, Inc. unless otherwise specified.  All rights reserved.  No material may be reproduced without the express written permission of Bolt Publishing Co. (BPC) or Purple Mountain Computers, Inc. (PMC).  Opinions expressed in WJ are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of WJ, BPC, or PMC.  THE WINDOWS JOURNAL, Business Report, In-the-News are trademarks of PMC.  All other trademarks belong to their respective holders.

About THE WINDOWS JOURNAL

THE WINDOWS JOURNAL is a monthly electronic publication with up-to-date news and descriptive reviews of Windows matters.  WJ is available on major telecommunication networks (such as America Online, CompuServe, Delphi, GEnie and NVN), as well as on local BBS's.

Users, Public Domain/Shareware organizations, and BBS Sysops are encouraged to freely distribute this publication (charges to the end user may not exceed $2 per disk) in its entirety.  You are not allowed to reprint portions of material in WJ.

How to Access THE WINDOWS JOURNAL

WJ is published in the Windows Help file format.  Simply double click on the Windows Journal icon within Windows.  Then click on the news stories you want to view.  To go back to the main menu, click on the Contents button.  For further details select How to Use Help from the Help menu.

Writing Queries

There are numerous fringe benefits that accompany writing for WJ, contact us for details.  Unsolicited articles are welcome, however, they must be your own work.

Letters to the Editor

All written comments, suggestions, and questions regarding THE WINDOWS JOURNAL are read by the editors.  We reserve the right to publish and edit all submissions.  You can indicate that information such as your name, city, or state be withheld (we do not publish actual street addresses in any instance).

WJ Direct

You can order a subscription to THE WINDOWS JOURNAL, which will guarantee that you receive each issue on time.  To receive WJ on a 3.5" disk via mail ($2 per issue) or via FAX ($2 per issue), send a check or money order made out to PMC to our mailing address.  You may order as many issues as you like and you may cancel your subscription at any time for a refund on the remaining issues in your subscription.  Issues will be sent as soon as they are produced.


Mailing/Publishing Information

 How to Contact Us

Publisher:	Bolt Publishing Company, a division of Purple Mountain Computers Inc.

Editor: 	Steven O. Steele

Assistant

Editor: 	Kathleen A. McNelley

Staff

Reporters:	Reiner D. Bohlen

Bob Garsson

Jay Morton

Keith Whitton

Ed Williams

Columnist:	Alan Frayer

Correspondence and products for review may be sent to:

Mailing	The Windows Journal

Address:	15600 NE 8th Street Suite B1-412

Bellevue, WA  98008

Phone:	(206) 399-8700

America Online: OSTEELE

CompuServe:	72662,1124

Delphi:	OSTEELE

GEnie:	PMC.INC

Internet:	osteele@u.washington.edu

NVN:	ODONOHUE

Discussion Sections

GEnie:	Windows Roundtable (Category 3, Topic 50)


Ed Williams has been professionally involved with computers and data processing for over a decade.  He confesses, under duress, that his first home system was a TI-99A.  Hes been writing about computers and business almost as long.  In addition to CompuNews, Ed has written for MicroTimes, Computer Monthly, Computer Currents, the Orange County Business Review, and the Los Angeles Times, among others.  Presently, Ed is a computer and Local Area Networking consultant on contract to a Fortune 100 company and he assures us he has a more contemporary home system than that 99A.


Bob Garsson is a freelance writer with many years of experience in newspapers and non-fiction writing.  He is highly familiar with many aspects of PCs and Windows.


Jay Morton provides research and consulting services to a variety of high-tech clients.  He has written commercially in various trade publications such as Billboard and Variety.  Spare-time activities include teaching a marketing-research course at a local college.


Alan Frayer is a professional writer, published in InfoWorld, the Clarion Tech Journal and Sarasota's Business Magazine.  He is also a member of InfoWorld's Review Board, as well as a certified NetWare 3.11 administrator.


Reiner D. Bohlen is a technical Writer for the Army Corps of Engineers in Champaign. He has been writing software documentation for database front ends (underground task management and air emissions management), and has contributed to couple of small circulation magazines.


Keith Whitton is an Assistant Sysop on GEnie in the Radio & Electronics RT and Consumer Electronics RT, as well as head of computer Operations for City of Barberton. He has done good bit of computer-related writing in the middle 80's.


Steve Steele is a Communications major specializing in Editorial Journalism at the University of Washington.  When he isn't inundated with paperwork and work in general, he's editing THE WINDOWS JOURNAL.  He has nine years of computing experience and has participated in publishing several computer related publications.


What is PC LIFE?

PC LIFE is a column where the author shares his opinions on the issues surrounding the PC industry and occasionally mixes in product reviews. The columns are written in an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek style, meant not only to entertain but also educate.


 Talking the Talk: My Editorial

by Steven O. Steele, Editor

Now that a few months have passed, I've finally had enough time to do all of the things on my agenda.  A major item was a format, which you should notice (if you've been reading the past few issues) has changed.  The name has also changed, CompuNews Online is now THE WINDOWS JOURNAL (or WJ in shorthand).

WJ will focus on bringing you the latest news (via In-the-News), interesting feature stories (Journal Focus), the new products reviewed, and full business reporting information.

This month we have two product reviews to help you take a break from the mundane, Microsoft Arcade and Microsoft Golf.

I'd like to hear from readers regarding the stock quotes we have been running.  I've decided to temporarily suspend the quotes until readers let us know that they are reading them and want to see them in the future.

Before I finish, I'd like to thank Margot Shiroyama and Julie Larkin at Microsoft for their much needed help in our humble beginning.  I'd also like to thank our writers who have spent their time providing our readers with interesting stories.  THE WINDOWS JOURNAL wouldn't be here without you.  Here's a big THANKS!

Finally, I encourage everyone to write in with comments and suggestions.  Send us letters and e-mail, we'll be posting them in the MailBox.

See you next month,

Steve Steele

Editor


 Events Calendar

November 7-10, 1993

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- GeoCon/93, an international conference for software developed outside the U.S., will be held at the Royal Sonest Hotel.  Three days of workshops will cover such issues as "How to Negotiate Distribution and Licensing Contracts" and "How to Market Through Direct, Retail, and Catalog Channels."  For more information contact Tom Stitt, Associate Publisher of Soft Letter at 17 Main St., Watertown, MA  02272-9154 or by phone: (617) 924-3944 and FAX: (617) 924-7288.  In Europe, contact Colleen O'Shea, Director, Soft Letter Europe, at 2 um Bierg, 7641 Chirstnach, Luxembourg or by phone: 35-2-87119/FAX: 35-2-87048.

November 15-19, 1993

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- One of the largest shows in North America, COMDEX Fall '93 will be held throughout Las Vegas.

If you have an event scheduled and would like to include it in the THE WINDOWS JOURNAL Event Calendar, then send please get in touch with us (see Mailing and Publishing Info).


  The MailBox

Letters from THE WINDOWS JOURNAL readers

"I look forward to every issue.  When I download it, may I distribute it via e-mail to my co-workers?  I don't want to violate any type of agreement or anything."

- Todd Klimek

Sure Todd!  Go right ahead, we encourage everyone to distribute the files and/or disks that contain THE WINDOWS JOURNAL.  We want as many people to have access to our publication as possible. - Ed.

Talk to us on GEnie in our section of the Windows Roundtable (Category 3, Topic 50) or send us E-Mail!


 In-the-News

by Steven O. Steele, Editor

Aldus Shareholder Lawsuit Settled

Aldus Corp. and Steve W. Berman, an attorney representing a class of shareholders who brought a suit against Aldus last year, announced a settlement.

Aldus will pay between approximately 50 cents and $1.10 per share for shares purchased between March 14, 1991 and June 22, 1992, according to the terms of the settlement.

Purchasers will have to go through a claims filing procedure to be eligible for recovery.   The exact amount recoverable will depend on when the shares were purchased and sold, as well as the number of eligible shareholders participating in the settlement.

A substantial portion of the settlement, which will be within previously reserved amounts, will be funded by Aldus Corporation's insurer, according to Brad Stevens of Aldus.

The settlement is subject to the approval of Federal District Court Judge John C. Coughenour.

Computer Associates Gives Away Simply Tax

Computer Associates announced the launch of CA-Simply Tax by offering another promotion in which the company will give an unlimited amount of the software to users who call the company, just as CA had done earlier its CA-Simply Money promotion a few months ago.

Users who call 1-800-737-3382 before the April 15, 1993 deadline can receive the $69.99 program for $9.95, which is what CA charges for shipping and handling.

The previous promotion proved to be very popular.  In fact it was so popular that CA had to add extra operators.   "We started with 90 operators, then moved to 200, then finally to 525 before we had enough to handle the unprecedented volume of calls,"  said Marc Sokol, CA vice president of product strategy.  "This time we're ready--of course, that's what we thought the last time."

Users who missed out on the CA-Simply Money promotion can receive it along with CA-Simply Tax for an additional $5, which is for shipping and handling.

Free Microsoft Games with Verbatim Disks

Microsoft and Verbatim Corporation are offering an extension of the "Microsoft (R) Games Sampler" promotion, which offers a free disk containing four fully operational games, one from each of Microsoft's four Entertainment Packs to users who purchase specially marked boxes of Verbatim disks.

"Customers were pleasantly surprised in the first phase of the promotion and they can't believe we are doing it again.  This time buyers will receive Klotski(R), JezzBall, Cruel, and Rodent's Revenge," said Daune Morris, Verbatim promotions manager.

The promotion will run from November 1993 through January 31, 1993.

Harvard Graphics to Support OLE 2.0

Software Publishing Corporation recently previewed an OLE 2.0 prototype of the charting capabilities of its Harvard Graphics software at the Microsoft Office Launch Tradeshow in New York City.

OLE 2.0 support offers improved productivity that gives users drag-and-drop capabilities between OLE applications.

"Visual editing will enable Harvard Graphics users to directly activate objects and make changes to them, without having to actually switch to a different window," said Chris Randles, vice president of marketing at Software Publishing Corporation..  "For example, a person could use visual editing to quickly make changes to a Harvard Graphics chart that they have embedded in a Microsoft Word document."

WordPerfect and Microsoft Settle Lawsuit

WordPerfect Corporation has withdrawn its application for a temporary restraining order and has voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit without prejudice against Microsoft after the two companies resolved matters to their mutual satisfaction on October 19, 1993.

Earlier in the month, WordPerfect filed a complaint in the U.S. Federal Court of the Southern District of New York, seeking to prohibit Microsoft from claiming its word processor is the most popular one in the world.

The action was in response to Microsoft's recent ad campaign, which WordPerfect believes violates U.S. federal trademark statutes prohibiting false and deceptive claims.  Among the ads in question was one published in USA Today on August 31, 1993 and one in PC Magazine October 26, 1993, said Ken Merritt of WordPerfect.

"We take our leadership position seriously and will not allow competitors to make false claims that can be misleading to both existing and potential customers,"  said Ad Rietveld, senior vice president of sales and marketing at WordPerfect Corp.

Measures of the total installed base and units sold show that WordPerfect is the worldwide leader in both categories according to International Data Corp. (IDC) and InfoCorp data.  IDC's data shows that WordPerfect has sold 95 packages for every 57 packages of Microsoft Word sold worldwide.  Data from InfoCorp's shows WordPerfect's total user base to be double that of Microsoft Word as of September 1993.

WordPerfect officials would not comment on the terms of the settlement.  "We're extremely pleased with the outcome of the agreement," said Michelle Mathews in Microsoft's Public Relations Office.


 New Products

by Steven O. Steele, Editor

Excel 5.0 is Around the Corner

Microsoft Excel, with more than 6 million users, will have a shiny new finish when version 5.0 is released for the holidays in December 1993.

The main theme in this new version is to make data management easier so that uses can spend their time analyzing the data, the real purpose of a spreadsheet.  Excel 5.0 will feature Microsoft's new IntelliSense technology, a computer-guided autopilot for mundane everyday spreadsheet tasks.

Examples of IntelliSence are:

* AutoFilter provides a one-step method to browse a list of worksheet data.  Users choose the items they want to see from drop-down lists directly on the worksheets.

* When the Automatic Subtotals command is selected, Excel finds category breaks, inserts rows, and entries desired summary formulas.

* Drag and Plot updates charts automatically when users select and drag new data onto existing charts.

* A PivotTable performs multidimensional analysis by letting users make drag and drop changes.

* The Tip Wizard watches what users are doing and offers advice about how to be more productive.  It remembers and adapts to users' preferences to work more efficiently.

Excel 5.0 was designed to work together with Microsoft Office.  That means it provides full support for the industry standard Object Linking and Embedding 2.0 (OLE).  OLE 2.0 lets users do such wonderful things as editing an Excel worksheet within Word by just double clicking on the table.

Microsoft Excel 5.0 carries a suggested retail price of $495.  Users who purchase Excel after September 15, 1993 can upgrade to Excel 5.0 for free.  Current Excel users can upgrade for $99 from November 1, 1993 to March 1, 1994.  Registered users of Lotus 1-2-3 and Borland Quattro Pro for Windows can upgrade for $129.

Aldus Gallery Effects: Classic Art, Volume 3

The third volume of Gallery Effects offers a filter collection filters that transform scanned photographs and bitmapped images into classical artwork.

The newest version offers 16 new classic painting and drawing plug-in filters: Conte Crayon, Crosshatch, Cutout, Glass, Halftone Screen, Ink Outlines, Neon Glow, Paint Daubs, Plaster, Plastic Wrap, Reticulation, Sponge, Stained Glass, Sumi-e, Torn Edges, and Water Paper.

The Sumi-e effect replicates an ancient Japanese brush-painting technique.  Ink Outlines offers a fast, scribbled drawing style.  Cutout, Plaster, and Plastic Wrap create distinctive visuals difficult to produce any other way.  Effects can be used individually or in unison with other effects.

"The Gallery Effects family has been noted for its elegant simplicity in achieving artistic results reliably and consistently," said product manager Maurice Rizzuto.  "Volume 3 will retain this well- designed interface and will give graphic artists more time-saving effects to create eye-catching, unique artwork."

Users can apply the plug-in filters within the included Gallery Effects 1.5 application or from a variety of host programs such as Aldus PhotoStyler and Adobe Photoshop.

Gallery Effect will be released in November 1993 and has a suggested retail price of $199.

Microsoft Office Version 4

Bill Gates recently unveiled Office 4, a software suite that includes the Microsoft Access 1.1 database, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, Microsoft Mail, Microsoft Power-Point presentation graphics program, and Microsoft Word 6.0.

According to Pete Higgins, senior vice president of desktop applications at Microsoft Corporation, there were three major goals for Office 4: to make the programs easier to use, more integrated, and to add the ability of customizing the applications.

Easier to Use

IntelliSense Technology is the name for a technique that will make everyday tasks automatic and complex tasks easier.  According to Microsoft, 100 of the most common tasks that users perform with Office can accomplished in one step procedures.  Examples of IntelliSense in the new Word version 6.0 include AutoCorrect, which automatically corrects common typing and misspelling errors, and AutoFormat, an innovative feature that automatically formats an entire Word document in one step.

With OLE 2.0, users can edit objects such as spreadsheet charts within a word processing document without leaving the document.

More Consistent

The programs in Office 4 are designed to work together seamlessly with similar pull-down menus, toolbars, dialogs, and short cut menus making it easier for users to learn how to use the products.  For example eight out of nine menu titles are identical and are located in the same position across the applications.  Two-thirds of the toolbar icons are the same and located in the same position across Office applications.

Office 4 shares a number of common components resulting in saved disk space and easier learning of the programs.  The components include the spelling checker, custom user dictionary, Microsoft Graph, Microsoft Query Tool, equation editor, ClipArt Gallery, font effects, graphics filters, setup, and text conversion filters.  Specific features within Office such as Find File also share the same code.

"With Office 4, Microsoft has succeeded in creating the most tightly integrated set of applications on the market -- in large part because of OLE 2.0 -- bringing the industry a quantum leap closer to Microsoft's vision of `Information At Your Fingertips,' " said Ken Gardner, president of ReportSmith, Inc., maker of the ReportSmith client- server database query and reporting program.

More Customizable

The Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications system has been incorporated into Office.  This offers a new method of customizing the applications that make up Office.  "We were able to leverage our expertise in Visual Basic, easily apply that knowledge to Visual Basic for Applications, and work with the new Office applications to create a custom solution."  said Mike Landau, president and CEO of Landau & Associates.

MOM Included

Office even has a MOM (Microsoft Office Manager).  MOM is a set of tools, such as a toolbar to launch between Office applications, that make it easy to use Office as a package.

Pricing and Availability

Two versions of Office are available: Standard, which includes Microsoft Word 6.0, Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and a workstation license for Microsoft Mail (server software available separately) for $750; and Professional, which includes Microsoft Access in addition to the applications in the Standard version for $899.

Microsoft Office will be available in November 1993 and will include upgrade coupons for Excel 5.0 and Power-Point 4.0, which will both be released by the end of the year.

A software version of Office 4.2, which will include the new version of Excel and PowerPoint, will be available sometime in January 1994 followed by a CD version, according to Lisa Matchette, the Microsoft Office Public Relations Specialist.

A 32-bit version of Office for Windows NT is also underway.  Microsoft expects to ship 32-bit versions of Excel and Word for Intel-based system in the second quarter of 1994.

Current users of any Office family application (Excel, Word, etc.) can upgrade for $259 through Feb. 1, 1994.  Users who obtain the Standard version can upgrade to the Professional version for $99 through Feb. 1, 1994.

Microsoft Releases Several CD-ROM Titles

Microsoft Publisher 2.0

The CD-ROM version of Publisher 2.0, which includes a new Special Occasions Design Pack is now available.

The Special Design Pack (SDP), a collection of designs for celebrations, includes holiday greetings, party invitations, Mother's or Father's day cards, birthday cards.  SDP features a Card Page Wizard that can create over 60 unique cards using more than 200 clip art images, seven new TrueType fonts, 10 professionally designed templates, and more than 30 special borders.

The Microsoft Publisher 2.0 CD-ROM is scheduled to be available this month for a special introductory price of $139 until Dec.  31, 1993 at which point the price will increase to $199.  A $20 rebate coupon in the package can be redeemed by users of Publisher 1.0, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Works, and Microsoft Office.

The Microsoft Publisher Special Occasions Design Pack can be purchased separately on floppy disk for $49.99 through Dec.  31, 1993 and $69.95 afterwards.

Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia '94 Edition

Microsoft has announced the release of Encarta: 1994 Edition, an updated version of its multimedia encyclopedia.

Updated information includes current events such as the recent Middle East Peace Agreement along with a photo of Rabin and Arafat's historic handshake in Washington, D.C. and an audio segment of Rabin's speech; Ruth Bader Ginsberg's appointment to the Supreme Court; and the geopolitical changes in Eastern Europe.

Encarta '94 also includes hundreds of new photos and illustrations; more than 100 movies; 25 new urban maps; and more than eight hours of digitized sound, including 60 languages from around the world, international music, literature readings and historic quotes.

Encarta '94 is available for $99 until Dec. 31, 1993 and $395 afterwards (although a competitive upgrade will be available at that time).

Microsoft Cinemania, 1994 Edition

Microsoft also announced an updated 1994 edition of the Cinemania, an interactive guide to movies and the people who make them.

The new edition includes updated text of over 19,000 movies reviews from Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide 1994, over 800 reviews from Baseline's Motion Picture Guide, and about 4,000 biographies of movie personalities.

Roger Ebert's Video Companion: 1994 Edition,  Pauline Kael's 5001 Nights at the Movies with 2,500 film reviews, and biographies and topical articles from Ephraim Katz's The Film Encyclopedia have all been added.

Twenty full-motion video clips, over 100 audio clips of movie themes and songs, about 300 motion picture stills, and 200 biographical photos have also been added.

A listmaker feature can be used to make notes or print out a movie list to take to the video store.

Cinemania '94 is available for $79.95.  Current Cinemania users can use a $15 coupon in the new version good towards their purchase or they can upgrade directly from Microsoft for $39.95 plus tax and shipping.

OmniPage Professional 5.0 OCR Set for Release

Caere Corp. announced version 5.0 of its OmniPage Professional optical character recognition (OCR) software.

The emphasis on the new version has been an improvement in the recognition aspects of the software.  True Page processing offers WYSIWYG page-based recognition that allows for seamless access to text or images, while retaining the page's format.  With grayscale data provided by scanners, 3D OCR technology offers improved accuracy by using the grayscale information.  AnyFax 2.0 technology offers accurate recognition of fax images and the ability to reconstruct CCITT code lost during fax transmission.  A compound neural network allows for efficient processing of degraded documents.  And the Language Analyst has linguistic analysis algorithms that use rules of language in determining characters.

"With OmniPage Professional 5.0, we've addressed the dominant market needs of accuracy, ease of use, throughput and format retention," said Teri Roche, OmniPage product marketing manager. "These advancements now make OCR a viable mainstream market technology."

OmniPage Professional 5.0 will be available by the end of the year for $695.

Aldus Ships PhotoStyler 2.0

Aldus Corp. announced the shipment of Aldus PhotoStyler 2.0, a major upgrade of its color digital imaging software for acquiring, editing, retouching and printing images.

PhotoStyler 2.0 is the first application to fully integrate the KODAK PRECISION Color Management System, which eliminates any guesswork involved in producing consistently accurate color from both input and output devices, as well as monitors.

The new version offers a Practice Pad, Multi-Preview feature and a Multi-Transform dialog box that offer multiple ways to preview the results of an action before it is executed.  Partial Edit works more efficiently with large images by loading only a portion of an image into memory for editing.

File support includes PageMaker 5.0, Aldus FreeHand, Aldus Persuasion, QuarkXPress, and others through such file formats as CMYK TIFF, DCS, JPEG, and PICT.  OLE  is also supported as a server application.  Also supported are digital cameras, video capture boards, and color peripheral devices.

Version 2.0 has a tighter integration with Aldus' flagship product, PageMaker 5.0, than any competing image processing products.  For example, PhotoStyler supports the same color matching libraries as PageMaker does, making it easier to work with standard process colors.

PhotoStyler 2.0 is available for $795.  Registered users of PhostoStyler 1.1a can upgrade for $150.  A Special Edition (SE) version with a reduced set of features will be bundled with various OEM products.

Microsoft Announces PowerPoint 4.0

Microsoft will release PowerPoint 4.0, the newest version of its presentation graphics program, in January 1994.

New features include: Right Mouse Button Shortcuts; clicking the right mouse button brings up a short menu of the most common commands appropriate to users at that moment.  The AutoContent Wizard lets users select common presentations and Auto Layout creates 21 different types of slides.  Report It turns a presentation into a Word document (Word has a feature that reverses the process).  A new version of the Microsoft Media Player is also included.

PowerPoint 4.0 also includes several features that make the user's presentation easier.  Rehearsal lets users practice their delivery; it includes a count of the total time for the complete presentation.  Just in case the audience requests additional information, users can show hidden slides that will answer their questions.  Drill Down lets users insert Microsoft Excel, Project, or Word documents into their presentations and then review them when necessary during the course of presentation.  Branched presentations can be made to anticipate different scenarios which the presenter can respond to based on the audience's interests.

PowerPoint 4.0 sell for a suggested retail price of $495.

Six New CD-ROM Titles from Softkey

Softkey Software Products Inc. announced that it has begun shipping three new software titles including Key Optimizer Plus, Key CAD Complete, and Key Map USA (all priced at $39.95 each), as well as three new CD-ROM titles including Key Action Traveler, Key Home Design and American Heritage Dictionary III from WordStar International, which will soon merge with SoftKey (all priced at $39.95 each).

"Software doesn't have to be expensive to be good," said Kevin O'Leary, president of Softkey.  "With these powerful new titles, we're putting the heat on our competitors and setting the standard of real value for Windows based software."

The American Heritage Dictionary III is the latest version of the Houghton Mifflin American Heritage Dictionary III book.  It contains about 10,000 new words and thousands of new meanings for existing words.  Also included is the complete Roget's Electronic Thesaurus, which offers 500,000 synonyms.  One of the new features is WordHunter, which allows users to brainstorm for ideas using the program's forward and reverse search capabilities.

Key Action Traveler helps users plan vacations through the use of a database that contains various points of interest and possible adventures.  Activities such as sea kayaking in Hawaii or going on an eco-tour of the Amazon are described in detail and displayed with full-color photos (many are also illustrated with full-motion video and sound).

Key CAD Complete turns a PC into a precision design and drafting tool capable of producing electrical schematics, mechanical diagrams, and furniture designs.  The package includes 470 symbols for mechanical, electrical, electronic, landscape and interior design plans for the home and office.

Key Home Designer aids users in designing their own homes or renovating from concept to final design.  The program is organized in three modules: House, Kitchen, and Bath Design.  Included in the package are CAD/FP floor plans, as well as a Magazine of Designs, which shows dozens of recent houses and styles with audio comments.  A full library of design symbols is included to assist in creatively designing a new home or in remodeling.

Key Optimizer Plus is a contact manager offers management of addresses, appointments, notes, phone/fax information, as well as tracking the activities of clients with multiple locations and multiple contacts.  Key Optimizer has a built-in word processor for report and letter writing.

It also keeps ToDo lists up to date and continually moves them forward until the task has been completed.  An appointment calendar with an alarm and offers making voice and fax calls.

KeyMap USA provides a nationwide network of routes on all major state and interstate highways, allowing users to find the best travel routes and exact distances by pointing and clicking on origins and destinations.  Users can create their own maps with personal pop-up notes and icons representing important locations.  Individual customizable CityMap modules, are available for over 150 major cities and their outlying metropolitan areas.

Word Assistant for Microsoft Word 6.0

Microsoft announced Word Assistant, an add-on software package designed to enhance documents created using Microsoft Word version 6.0.

Word Assistant complements the features in Word 6.0 by providing users with 20 style templates and 10 predesigned form templates professionally designed using 25 new headline and text TrueType fonts.  The package also includes 100 additional clip-art images from 3G Graphics.

"This program extends the benefits of Word 6.0 and gives users a quick and easy way to create a wide range of great-looking business documents," said Steve Shaiman, general manager, advanced product development at Microsoft.

Two font utility programs to help assist users in grouping and organizing fonts are included.  Font Selector, which gives users a choice of selecting appropriate fonts for specific documents by letting them to view and select all fonts in three modes: Normal, WYSIWYG, or All At Once.

Font Assistant version 1.1 is an updated version of the Font Assistant, initially introduced in the add-in Microsoft TrueType Font Pack 2 product.  It lets users organize TrueType fonts, create custom font groups, and print sample pages of installed fonts.  The new version has an improved user interface and more printing options.

Word Assistant has a suggested retail price of $64.95.

Microsoft Works for Windows 3.0

Microsoft Works 3.0 is scheduled for release in November 1993 and will include Microsoft Money 2.0, according to Microsoft.

The new version includes over 100 new features and enhancements.  These include Cue Cards, ToolTips and 12 new wizards, which simplify common tasks.

A multimedia version of Works 3.0 will be available on CD-ROM.  It will offer instructional multimedia movies, online  documentation and one-touch access to the Microsoft Encarta multimedia encyclopedia '94 Edition and Microsoft Bookshelf CD-ROM reference library '93 Edition.

Microsoft Works 3.0 is available for $89 until Jan. 31, 1994 and for $199 afterwards.  Works 2.0 users will receive a $10 rebate when they purchase version 3.0.


 Lap & Palmtop '93, Chicago

by Jay Morton, Staff Reporter

The Chicago conference of Lap & Palmtop '93 was held at the Expo Center on October 7 and 8.  This was the third of four such shows this year in the US and Canada.

Basically, there are three components to any conference:  the keynote speaker(s), the seminars, and  the exhibit floor.  I must admit to a certain amount of disappointment with all three.

The Speakers

For those who already know,

P C M C I A   actually stands for

the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (the group which sets the standards for these plug-in cards)

For those who want a chuckle,

P C M C I A   is said to stand for

People Can't Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms!  (or so said one speaker)

This show's opening-day keynoter was Ted Waitt, President and CEO of Gateway 2000.  Mr. Waitt gave a somewhat interesting speech which drew more than 100 of the faithful.  Tom Vacchiano, VP of marketing for NCR, did the honors the next morning;  but an invitation-only breakfast presentation by Intel, scheduled at exactly the same hour, siphoned most of the biggies away from the NCR honcho.

Better than any of the above was an excellent luncheon presentation of the fundamentals and future of the PCMCIA standards.  Anyone attending who did not know what these little cards were about could only come away in amazement at the power of miniaturization;  and anyone who already knew the territory -- even those who could recite what the initials PCMCIA actually stand for -- left the session with an even better understanding of what the future holds for these add-ons.

The Exhibits

The exhibit floor held about 40-50 booths, mostly the vendors you might have expected.  There was a fairly wide array of exhibitors, though with somewhat limited depth.  Among online services Prodigy and the ubiquitous AOL were there, while neither CompuServe nor GEnie was represented.

Best attended was the Intel booth right inside the front door with an engaging David Letterman imitator interviewing characters portraying Ross Perot, Joan Rivers, and Mel Gibson as Mad Max.  The jokes were lame but the delivery enthusiastic.  This quarter-hour entertainment package, repeated throughout the day, was strong enough to hold an s.r.o. crowd through an effective if undisguised sales pitch for various Intel products.

Down the hallway from the exhibit area was a hands-on demo of Apple's Newton in a separate room which could accommodate several participants at once.  The solo presenter had it structured well enough to make the PDA seem simple even to the novice, though even he couldn't overcome Newton's inherent problems, especially with handwriting recognition.  Worse, my unit was evidently lacking some of the prepared items, such that he had to switch me to another Newton to complete the session.

I spoke with a small cross-section of exhibitors in the course of the two days.  Two or three expressed disappointment at the traffic, while others told me they thought it was fine.  One said the number of people on the exhibit floor was about as expected, though he acknowledged low expectations.  Another had a similar evaluation in noting that the much larger PC Expo was only ten days away;  she said she had expected a narrowly targeted array of visitors to her booth, but hadn't expected so few.

The Seminars

Among the ten scheduled conference sessions, mostly offered two at a time in adjacent rooms, there should have been something for everybody with an interest in laptops and palmtops.  Somehow, though, it never really worked that way.  I'd had a sense of this being a not-entirely-together show on day one when the exhibits weren't ready to open on time.

On the seminar side, it was 45 minutes into the first seminar session of day one before a water pitcher arrived for the panelists.  Even then, presumably the speakers were expected to bring their own drinking glasses, as nothing for them to drink from showed up until the afternoon session.

Worse, however, was one session at which the moderator himself never showed up.  Luckily the other three panelists were able to carry on well enough without him ... albeit for the mere eight of us who were in the audience.

I also noted some grumbling about some of the panelists being out of sync with the audience.  One presenter, who seemingly had a wireless-communication solution for everything, drew open hostility from some business men and women who thought they were there to learn about laptops and palmtops (the name of conference, after all) and not be preached to about how wireless was the name of the train which was already leaving the station.

My own cynical observation of an imbalance, though, took place in a session entitled "Portable Trends: What's next in peripherals, software, & services?"  Its three panelists used, respectively, a slide projector, an overhead projector, and a combination of the two (mostly slides with one or two overheads for the updated insertions too new to have made slides).  It struck me as incredibly ironic that in a look-to-the-future presentation, not a single speaker was using a laptop computer for his presentation.

In contrast with this was a presentation specifically about making presentations, which featured the excellent and appropriate use of the available hardware and software.  All in all, though, what this conference most effectively showed me was why it is not perceived as one of the year's major events in computing.

Copyright 1993 Smith and company


 Chicago PC Expo

by Jay Morton, Staff Reporter

The eighth annual PC Expo in Chicago drew more than thirty thousand to McCormick Place, October 19-21.  Highlights included speeches by the rich and famous, dozens of seminars of varying levels of interest, and a lively and crowded exhibit floor.

The Speakers

Philippe Kahn, Borland's colorful President and CEO, delivered the keynote address Tuesday morning to a capacity crowd of nearly two thousand in the Chicago Room.  Kahn spoke on the options for client-server computing on the desktop to help companies which are "right-sizing" their operations.  With clearly unrehearsed assistance from two employees, he demonstrated the integration of database information from a variety of sources and platforms into a functional report suitable for typical business needs.

While dutifully repeating the mantra that a keynote should not be a sales pitch, he playfully complimented the strengths of his Paradox and dBase products as they showed their stuff during the demo.  He also, during a subsequent question-and-answer segment, made obligatory bows to the non-database competition as he noted how well Borland products were complementary to Microsoft's new OLE specifications and to the successful Lotus Notes.

Bill Gates, President and CEO of Microsoft, took the stage Wednesday morning in the Arie Crown Theater for his presentation of the new versions of Microsoft Office, which had been debuted the day before in a lavish NYC-and-satellite-feed premier.

As loose and folksy as Kahn had been the day before, Gates and his MS crew were tight and snappy, as they needed to be since their show ran almost two hours.  And as much as Kahn had teased himself about not making a sales pitch, sales pitch was clearly the name of the game for the Microsoft launch ... and what an impressive product they have launched.

Not only does the Office software suite contain new versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and optionally Access,  but the integration of the components is stronger than before.  Microsoft has tightened the similarities among the separate applications and has provided an even easier technique for switching from one to another.  Suites now make up about half of the sales of the underlying applications, and, no surprise, MS claims 75% of the sales of suite products.

I came away from the Borland speech feeling uplifted by the progress of desktop computing.  I came away from the Microsoft presentation feeling absolutely enthralled at the prospects of their upgraded product.

The Seminars

PC Expo's conference sessions were as rich and varied as the people attending them.  The seminars were presented at two or three times per day, with several running concurrently, all organized into six thematic "tracks" -- software, business management, technical management, networking, emerging technologies, and one "track" just for Windows itself.

Business management topics were as far afield from the expected as to include one session on an introduction to the Total Quality Management (TQM) philosophy.  Software seminars included one on shareware, though with the inexcusable subtitle of "-- pitfall or untapped gold mine?"  By putting only shareware proponents on the panel, the answer was strongly tilted away from the pit and toward the mine.

Far and away the consistently most successful sessions, though, were those in the Windows track.  It was utterly astonishing to see an 8:45 am seminar on Thursday, called "Windows tips and tricks", become standing-room-only.  (I always thought that the final day of any convention was the day that everyone was supposed to sleep late!)

In fact, it seemed that anything with "Windows" in the seminar title was just about guaranteed to draw a crowd.  I made the mistake of showing up only thirty minutes early for the "GUI shoot-out" and was rewarded with not even being able to get inside the room.  Those who did make it said that it was a good show.

"Good show" would be the best summary for the seminars as a whole.  I would hesitate to say that there was something for everyone, as a novice may not have found enough to satisfy.  But for the computer-literate, whether business or technical, there was plenty to see and hear.

The Exhibits

Ditto on the exhibit floor.  This may well be the best array of exhibits and exhibitors this side of Comdex.  The Blenheim Group, the show's producer, claimed over 200 exhibitors.  I lost count, so they must be right!

One of the more conspicuous was Digital which had a perfunctory hands-on demo of Windows NT, a well-staffed series of walk-up areas to showcase their variety of products, and the evidently obligatory stage show featuring a David Letterman impersonator.  IBM was also a major player with a slightly more in-depth hands-on demo of OS/2 (including the option, not allowed on the DEC equipment, for the attendees to play on the system between shows), a rotating trio of entertaining stage shows, and their own vast series of walk-up areas and sales counters.

Microsoft had an extremely busy area with helpful people to demo their many products, including the new version 4.0 of Office.  Word Perfect opted for the big-screen, seated-audience demo.  Other highly visible players included Borland, Toshiba, Computer Associates, Zenith, Adobe, Dell, CompUSA, Lotus, and Novell.

Among online services the CompuServe kiosk was by far the best.  They had plenty of space to offer demonstrations of their various communication software.  AOL was represented through its local subsidiary Chicago Online; and Delphi had its Internet connection, though its people at times seemed reluctant to show it.  Conspicuously absent were Prodigy, which usually does do these shows, and GEnie, which usually doesn't.

I had no trouble getting exhibitors to tell me how pleased they were with the quantity and quality of attendees.  The only downside of that sort was that, inexcusably, there was at times a one-hour or more line for people claiming their badges.  But then, most of them weren't complaining.  They simply wanted to see the show.

Copyright 1993 Smith and company


 Apple to Sell Windows Applications

by Ed Williams, Staff Reporter

CUPERTINO, CA -- Software Dispatch is offering Macintosh and, soon, Windows users free CDs by mail.  On the CDs are up to 100 commercial software titles, complete with full documentation and limited, trial-run versions of the software.  To purchase an applications title from the disc you simply make a toll-free telephone call, charge the purchase to a credit card, and enter a decryption code that will allow the software to be installed to your hard drive.  To request a CD, call 800-937-2828, extension 600.

That number will ring in Cupertino, California, home of Apple Computer, Inc.  Software Dispatch is a new business unit within Apple that has begun distribution of its first CD for the Macintosh, and will introduce its Windows offering early next year.

"The time has come for electronic distribution of software.  And Software Dispatch sets the standard for convenience, breadth, and affordability," said Scott Schnell, General Manager of Software Dispatch, in a prepared statement.  "We believe that our electronic superstore--with its easy to use, well-organized information--will appeal to both current and new users of personal computers and applications software."

But, Windows programs?  This represents a slice of humble pie for Apple, which has steadfastly resisted the notion that in the personal computer marketplace, cross-platform workplaces are a reality.

Is Software Dispatch an admission by Apple that Microsoft has won the marketing war?  When pressed on this, Schnell said, "We're not living with blinders on.  Selling Windows software will be a tremendously good business for us to be in."

Compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) delivery systems are gaining in popularity.  Large programs like Corel Draw and Novell 4.01 have been shipping on CD for some time, and Apple is not the first to begin multi-title distribution with the medium.  IBM announced a similar program with Infonow, a Colorado-based CD distributor, and the clone manufacturer Gateway 2000 has introduced Store-On-A-Disk, a CD containing 23 programs from Microsoft that comes bundled with its computers.

Apple has taken solid steps to make the Software Dispatch product attractive.  The CDs will contain a Quicktime movie presentation to explain the trial-and-purchase process.  Product information sheets from the software manufacturer will be available for each title on the CD, and the applications will have attached to them limited trial versions and/or interactive tours.

One of the titles appearing on the first CD is Quicken, from Intuit, Inc.  Eric Tilenius, Product Manager at Intuit, noted, "By allowing customers to try before they buy, Software Dispatch helps the customer make a more informed decision when purchasing an application like Quicken.  By actually using Quicken in the convenience of their home or office, they find out just how fast and easy financial work can be and as a result, can act on their discovery by making an immediate purchase."

The purchase itself is a quick process of making a telephone call and receiving a code to type that unlocks the encryption on the software application and its documentation.  Developed by Rainbow Technologies, the encryption technique allows for each CD to have a code specific to it, so that the same code will not unlock applications from another CD.  Once the encryption code is entered, the program can immediately be installed to the user's hard drive and put into use.

Also decrypted with the application is its documentation.  This is one of Software Dispatch's strongest features.  The Windows version of the CDs will use Adobe Acrobat Reader, from Adobe Systems, Inc., to display the on-line documentation that Apple says is identical in content and appearance to the book-bound originals.  Acrobat employs the Portable Document Format (PDF), to preserve a document's look and feel regardless of the hardware platform, operating system, or font and graphics specifications used to produce the original.

The application documentation can be printed if desired, but the Acrobat Reader offers distinct advantages over a paper manual.  In addition to functioning as a fast display tool, Acrobat includes features like thumbnail page views, automated bookmarks, hypertext links, keyword searching, and electronic annotation.

Speed and convenience are obvious benefits to buying software through Software Dispatch.  At first look, one would also assume that--with evident savings in printing, packaging, and distribution costs--the purchase price for the software titles would be significantly lowered.  That doesn't seem to be the case.  Apple says we can expect purchase prices to be comparable to what we see on the shelves in software stores.

Where are the production cost differences going?  This is where Software Dispatch is getting its revenue.  In fact, some vendors, as reported in MacWeek, have criticized the program as cutting their profit margins too low.

Industry analysts have additional reservations about Software Dispatch.  Apple has had a history of troubled relationships with its resellers, and Lee Levitt, of International Data Corporation, indicated something may be amiss here.  "I would say that resellers like CompUSA might be getting the short end of the stick," he said.

Also in question is that only 10,000 CDs are being issued in the first release.  A similar, Windows-specific issuance is expected in January.  These volumes have led some analysts to speculate that Software Dispatch is merely testing the waters, not enjoining a committed business effort.

The biggest developers in the Macintosh arena are conspicuous in their absence, at least at present, from Software Dispatch.  Microsoft and WordPerfect are not represented.  Microsoft said it was not able to meet Apple's deadline, but that future participation is possible.

To the industry in general, Apple's positioning remains in question.  Its problems continue.

May, 1991:  Apple announced an across-the-board layoff of 10 per-cent of its then 15,600 workforce.  Chairman and CEO John Sculley was in the midst of repositioning Apple from a market strategy that emphasized high gross margins to one of high volume, improved market share.

June, 1991:  The cuts were effected, and executive pay was reduced from 5 to 15 percent.  The five highest-paid executives had received a total of $9.9 million in 1990.  The company posted earnings of $131 million in the quarter, but that was below expectations because of lower profit margins.

December, 1992:  Sculley predicted Apple would increase its worldwide unit shipments by 15 to 20 percent in 1993.  "Apple is at the end of the third year of its five-year plan to transform itself," Sculley said.

April, 1993:  Apple posted second quarter fiscal-year revenues that were up $25.8 over the previous year's.  But net income was down over $24 million.  June saw financial analysts continue to downgrade Apple's projected earnings estimates.  Several publications, including Fortune Magazine, reported that Sculley had suggested IBM purchase Apple.

June 18, 1993:  John Sculley stepped down as CEO of Apple, being replaced by the company's Chief Operating Officer, Michael Spindler.  Sculley remained as Chairman and reiterated his commitment to Apple.  During the weeks prior, Apple took what appeared to be a final blow in 5 years' of litigation against Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard when Apple's case was dismissed by US District Court Judge Vaughn Walker.  This was the last remaining copyright infringement suit over the Windows operating system.

July 6:  On the heels of a New York Times article that fired rumors of forced layoffs at Apple, the company made an official announcement that 15 percent of the workforce would be cut.  Salaries of top management were to decrease 5 percent.  Apple stock had dropped by almost one-third in overall value since the beginning of the year, to close at 38.

July 16:  Apple announced it would take a charge of $320.9 million against revenues for "restructuring and other cost reduction activities."  The company reported a net loss of $188.3 million for the quarter.  Apple stock dropped under $32 per share.

July 23:  Investors filed a class-action suit against Apple and its executive officers for insider trading.  Allegedly, the executives made as much as $25 million by selling stock prior to the recent, heavy decline in share price.  Apple stock closed at $27.50.

July 24:  Apple Executive Vice President and corporate Secretary Albert Eisenstat sued the company for wrongful dismissal over his layoff as part of the cutbacks announced earlier in the month.

October 15:  John Sculley announced he was resigning from Apple effective immediately.  Sculley has since accepted the CEO position at Spectrum Information Technologies.  He is replaced as Chairman at Apple by Mike Markkula, one of the founders of the company.

Apple USA Division Manager Robert Puette also resigned effective October 15.  He will not be immediately replaced, his responsibilities being absorbed by his superior, Ian Diery, who will continue to manage Apple Europe and Apple Pacific.

Copyright © 1993 by H. E. Williams


 Microsoft Golf: Multimedia Edition

by Keith Whitton, Staff Reporter

With the tremendous popularity of golf in America, it is only natural that Microsoft would attempt to tap into this huge market. Other companies have observed this fact as well and thus we have been overwhelmed lately with the likes of David Ledbetter's Greens, Jack Nicklaus Golf and now Microsoft Golf, the Multimedia Edition.

Microsoft Golf, the Multimedia Edition, is a treat both visually and audibly to the avid Windows/Golf fan. This CD-based package features a host of new digitized audio samples and video screen shots designed to enhance the overall "golfing" experience that are not found in the disk based version of this package. The user has the option of taking a "flyby" of the golf course, and the view is simply stunning as you do an aerial pass over your current locale. The course supplied with this product is the internationally famous Torrey Pines links in San Diego, California, and additional add-on courses are available.

Via the magic of Video For Windows, you are taken on a visual tour of the basic skills needed to succeed in Microsoft Golf, such as swing and aiming techniques. During the installation of Golf you are given a spoken tour of the key features of this fine program. Further utilizing Video For Windows, one may watch a panoramic flyby of the hole you are about to tackle. The audio quality of Microsoft Golf, the Multimedia Edition, is superb. Each effect adds to the realistic quality of the game. Although these sounds are customizable, I'm not quite sure how much bona fide value this adds to the game. Some additional features of Microsoft Golf make it seem more like a Windows-based word processor or presentation package than a golf simulation. A novel feature though is the ability to decide whether you want a male or female announcer to rattle on incessantly about some meaningless "golf statistics dribble" they find earth-shattering. I wonder if anyone would miss "Buffy & Muffy the Wonder Announcers" if they were removed from this otherwise fine package.

I found the ability to specify your level of play, opponents  (whether computerized or via modem play) and choice of clubs quite necessary. I was never quite able to master the knack of getting the swing/power ratio just right, nor were several other users who took a crack at it as well. I'm not sure if obtaining this ability would even help ones real-life golf game, despite the fact that it is indeed a wonderful product to help the user pass the time. The links itself was not merely an artists rendition of the same, but rather digitized images of this fine course. Customizable features in each course include the conditions of the greens, wind speed and direction, and of course weather conditions as well. Watching the flight of the ball is probably the most fun you will have in Microsoft Golf, the Multimedia Edition. The camera angles are extremely well done, and a marvel to watch. One may record and playback games if they wish, although I'm glad one can delete these as well!

The Microsoft quotes the system requirements for Microsoft Golf, the Multimedia Edition as requiring an IBM-compatible computer sporting Windows 3.1, a 386SX-16 processor, 4 meg. or ram, VGA or higher graphics capabilities, 5 meg or more of hard drive space, a CD-ROM drive with an access time of better than 1 second and 150k transfer rate, sound board, speakers and a mouse of some sort. On a more realistic note, I'd say this game requires a minimum of a 486SX-25 with a very fast Tseng-based SVGA card or better yet some form of VESA Local Bus video card. When we tried to use Golf on a 386-40 with a Trident SVGA card, the hesitation of screen redraws and jumpy actions made the experience painful at best. Doing a complete install of this game to the hard drive in order to improve the access time did not help at all. Its use on a 486-33 with a Diamond Stealth Pro VLB card was a real treat.

Microsoft Golf, the Multimedia Edition, is available for a suggested retail price of $64.95.

Ratings:

Graphics:	Very Good

Sound:	Very Good

Playability:	Fair to Good

Realism:	Excellent

Value:	Good

Estimated actual user age range:	12 years old and up

Pro:

Microsoft Golf, the Multimedia Edition, is a stellar golf simulation package that offers stunning graphics and a wealth of user changeable features that will provide countless hours of enjoyment.

Con:

System requirements for this game to run at a truly minimal level are a bit extreme


 Microsoft Arcade

by Reiner D. Bohlen, Staff Reporter

If you long for the days when playing computer games meant a trip to the local arcade with a pocketful of quarters, then Microsoft has just what the doctor ordered.  The newly released Microsoft Arcade brings five classic video games directly to your desktop:  Asteroids, Battlezone, Centipede, Missile Command, and Tempest.

For those of you who managed to avoid the arcades the first time around, heres a brief description of what you will find:

Asteroids puts you in charge of a small triangular spaceship in the middle of an asteroid belt.  Your mission is to blast all of the asteroids into rock vapor while avoiding collisions and occasional aliens (who do unto you as you do unto the asteroids).  The twist is that each large asteroid explodes into two medium asteroids which break into two small asteroids.  Which means that if you work your way from large to small you will likely find yourself in a blizzard of inter-planetary rock.

Battlezone is a tank simulation that takes place in an otherworldly green landscape strewn with massive polyhedra, set against mountains and active volcanoes in the background.  The object is to destroy the enemy tanks while maneuvering around the giant cubes and pyramids.  This is easier said than done since you can have only one missile on the screen at a time and the objects that provide cover can also block your movement, pinning you down under enemy fire.  On the positive side, you have a red radar-scope at the top of the screen to pinpoint enemy locations, and the sound effects are definitely more than decoration here.

Centipede is the cuddliest game of the bunch.  Set in a mushroom patch, your job is to destroy a centipede as it makes its way from the top of the screen to the bottom (where you are).  If you shoot the centipede in the middle it breaks in two, each half taking a different path toward you.  In addition, you have to avoid or kill the spiders that bounce erratically across the bottom of the screen, watch out for the fleas that stream down the screen laying mushrooms in their wake, and blast aside any mushrooms in your path.

Missile Command  puts you in charge of defending six cities from the ravages of an airborne missile attack.  You have three missile silos at your disposal, each with a limited amount of firepower.  To complicate matters, the missiles can split into multiple warheads, planes and satellites fly by to launch missiles at you, and smart bombs deftly avoid your fire.  The speed naturally increases with each level (as do the bonuses), and the background colors change, making it difficult to spot your targets.

Tempest places you on one side of a cosmic tube.  The other side of the tube is populated by a variety of aliens that stream up the tube in an unyielding frenzy.  Fuses, flippers, pulsars, spikers, and others each have special talents designed to conquer you and your universe.  At your disposal you have a blaster for sequential fire, and a super zapper that destroys all the aliens in the tube.  Unfortunately you get but one super zapper per level, and the aliens are rarely all in the tube at the same time.

These arcade games, originally developed by Atari, have been painstakingly recreated by Microsoft to run on the PC platform.   I felt the eerie chill of déjà vu when playing them in standard VGA mode on a machine with a sound card.  The only things missing were the actual hardware of the arcade versions (such as the scope and movement controls for Battlezone) and the frantic scrambling for another quarter when the game finally ended.

Not that Microsoft was satisfied with mere replicas.  Each game is extensively user-configurable to allow for differences in machine speed and personal preference.  You can customize the player controls to match your handedness, or if you are having trouble getting by a particularly troublesome level you can boost your lives per game and decrease the points necessary for a free life.

I  also found the game histories chock full of interesting tidbits.  For instance, Missile Command was initially set on the California coast and nearly shipped as Armageddon until management decided that ...nobodyll know what it means, and nobody can spell it.  And Battlezone, for all of its sleek high-tech look, had red cellophane taped to the screen to beef up the monochrome display.  In addition, there are quotes from the game designers that give us a behind-the-scenes peek into their creative processes and inspirations.

I do have a few minor quibbles, though.  The Arcade is designed for a system with a standard VGA monitor and a sound card.  The display on SVGA monitors or above remains 640x480, or relatively tiny compared to screen real estate (even in full screen mode).  And if you dont have a sound card you dont get sound, even the chintzy PC speaker.  Unfortunately, most systems sold today are sold with high-resolution monitors and no sound card, so the Arcade falls strangely between the cracks.

The PC controls also take some getting used to.  The mouse gives a fair approximation of the trackball in Centipede, but is somewhat counter-intuitive in Tempest, where it replaces a rotating knob.  Battlezone seems a bit less of a tank simulation without the vertical sticks that the arcade version used for movement, though the keypad may even be a bit more intuitive for most.  Of course, since tank movement sticks are even more rare than sound cards I cant blame Microsoft too much for making some compromises.

At any rate, for approximately $25 on the street the Microsoft Arcade provides more entertainment than a months worth of quarters.  It gives those that grew up during the early 80s an adrenaline filled blast of nostalgia.  And it gives everyone else a chance to see for themselves what all the fuss was about.

Ratings:

Graphics:	Good, no technical wonders here, but the graphics are solid.

Sound:	Good/Poor, if you have a sound card the audio definitely adds a dimension to the game, but won't drop your jaw.  If you don't have a sound card, you get nothing and like it.

Playability:	Very Good, these games can be addictive and have withstood the test of time (as video games go), yet the PC interfaces are unavoidably a bit clunky compared to the original arcade versions.

Realism:	Excellent, this is where the MS Arcade really shines.  It captures the essence of the originals and duplicates them as faithfully as the PC platform allows.

Value:	Very Good, five full-fledged games for under $30 is a bargain, yet it's a bit like watching episodes of the original Star Trek -- good campy fun, but a bit unsophisticated by today's standards.

Pro:

The games are exact replicas of the most popular early arcade games, providing a blast of notstalgia for those who were there and a glimpse into video game history for those who weren't.

Con:

The lack of support for multiple screen resolutions is frustrating, as is the fact that a sound card is required for any sound whatsoever.


Ready for the Internet

 PC Life: Ready for the Internet

by Alan Frayer, Columnist

PART 1

Late one night last week, as I was driving home from a CNEPA meeting, I heard a radio commercial that got me chuckling. Okay, so I met with a colleague for a drink after the meeting to discuss a book we're working on, but I did hear the commercial on the way home. Yes, I've heard commercials that got me chuckling before. Who's telling this story, anyway?

As I was saying, I heard this radio commercial last week. The company was trying to sell (are you ready for this?) a Christmas album. September wasn't even over, and some marketing company was trying to get me in the mood for Christmas. I'm in Florida, folks. I'm not ready for Christmas on Christmas Eve!

Timing is everything. I've said it more times than I can count. If you ask Bocona my motto, she'll probably tell you, "Timing is everything." Debbie has heard me mention it so many times I've heard her repeating it in her sleep. It isn't time for Christmas albums. It IS time for the Internet.

To a great many people the Internet is a mysterious collection of massive computers that fell victim to a virus a few years back. The fact that the famous Internet Virus wasn't really a virus escapes them as much as the idea of a national network of computers and computer users freely exchanging information. The Internet is the incarnation of a dream found in old science fiction stories, and a foundation upon which today's SF writers build the dreams of tomorrow's computer professionals.

The Internet (you can't just say Internet as if it was just another product. It is THE Internet.) is the expansion of a computer network commissioned by the U.S. Department of Defense as research into a means of networking large computers of mixed types. Besides the DoD, practically every university in the country is connected to The Net, and as the Internet's popularity grows, commercial interests and hobbyist interests grow to tap into the wealth of information.

I am easily tempted to delve into the nature of the Internet, but as my column is found on BBSes world-wide, I'll refrain from that leap into the obvious. Instead, let me talk to you one more time about timing.

For many years, only the very privileged could access the Internet. The Net gained a reputation for being high brow; you had to have access to very large computer systems, like those used by universities, to join the ranks of the few, the proud, the Internet Members. Systems like CompuServe made the first steps toward bringing the Internet down to the common man, offering e-mail access to The Net. As word got out of the kind of information freely available on the Internet, simple e-mail access was clearly not enough. The online information services are still unsure of the best way of meeting the demands of their subscribers. While they debate implementation, the hobbyist trade is rushing to fill the gap.

The Internet is accessible to anyone who can connect. Connecting means finding an access point, and charges are usually incurred when someone wants something that is hard to get. With the development of frame relay data networks, access to the Internet becomes easier and more affordable. Companies are applying for Internet node addresses in growing numbers, but the real boon for the Internet-hungry computer user is a means of attaching a simple BBS to The Net.

Unless a BBS is particularly large and powerful, it is unlikely a sysop could offer real time access to the Internet. The cost would still be prohibitive. Tools are available, though, to allow a BBS to make mail runs to the Internet, just as they do the BBS networks. The difference is the message reaches its intended recipient shortly after the packet is delivered. For those with deeper pockets, the newsgroups and FTP areas are not far off.

The time has come for sysops to stop dreaming and look at the real possibility of joining the Internet. A community once denied the BBS world is now offering admission.

PART 2

Debbie turned 18 last week, and she's already rushed to embrace her first adult vice. As an adult, she's determined not to listen to the advice of her parents. She says she should be able to spend her allowance any way she sees fit.

I say I should be allowed to withhold her allowance, since she isn't spending it in a way I see fit. Besides, how many adults still get an allowance from their parents, without attending college as a pretence? Alas, Bocona still sticks up for her daughter.

It doesn't help that Bocona sees Debbie's vice the same way Debbie does. I'm alone in my opinion that buying scratch-off lottery tickets is a form of gambling (while buying chances for the weekly multi-million dollar drawing is not). Debbie wants to rush out and join the dog track crowd; next will come back-room poker and the horses. Before you know it, she'll be golfing with Michael Jordan!

Some sysops might think spending money on a connection to the Internet is about as useful as Debbie's frequent investments in Florida's education fund (aka the Florida Lottery). I might even agree with them, depending on whose viewpoint on the lottery they adopt.

BBSes are hobbies for most sysops. Many other sysops run a special purpose board for their employer. It would be easy for these people to forget what makes their efforts worthwhile: the BBS users. For these people, the reminder might come from a drop in usage, as callers switch to boards that are more attentive to their needs. Anyone who says BBS operation isn't a competitive business hasn't been in the BBS business very long.

Any decent BBS operator knows he has to bend over backward for his users, or they will simply go elsewhere. The world's best BBSes are run like businesses... with the customer's interests first. Very simply put, to be a successful BBS operator, one must give the customer what he or she wants.

In my last column we discussed what the customer wants. The customer can't help but want the resources of the Internet. Only recently has it become possible for the dedicated sysop to provide those resources. The question of whether access to the Internet should be provided is really unnecessary. What a sysop should ask himself or herself is whether he or she wishes to continue to be competitive in his or her market.

Granted, there is a cost, but isn't there always a cost? The old rules of supply and demand are still at work. While the Internet is still a novelty, the price of offering it will be somewhat high, but that will lower as The Net becomes more accessible. Eventually access to the Internet will be as common as off-line readers are today.

So, why join the Internet today, if it will be more affordable tomorrow? The same question could have been asked - probably was asked - when the first 386 computers hit the stores and sysops wondered if the extra speed was worth the cost. A competitive BBS really has no choice; the price of gaining and keeping users is to stay on the leading edge, to pay whatever it takes (within the law) to give the users what they want.

Certainly the cost of the Internet is beyond the means of many smaller operations. The sysop must carefully and honestly evaluate his or her board's position in the local market (if not the national market). If competition is stiff, and the sysop is serious, there really isn't any choice.

Without the Internet, the gamble for such a BBS is how long the users will stick around.

Copyright (c) 1993 by Alan Frayer, CNA

All Rights Reserved


 Third Quarter Financial Results

Aldus

Aldus announced record revenues up 37 percent to $62.2 million for the third quarter ended Oct. 1, 1993, compared to third quarter 1992 net revenues of $45.3 million.

Earnings for the third quarter were $4.3 million, or 32 cents per share, which included a one-time, pre-tax charge of $2.3 million, or approximately 11 cents per share after tax, associated with the acquisition of The Company of Science and Art (CoSA) announced previously in July.  Excluding the CoSA charge, third quarter net earnings were $5.8 million, or 43 cents per share, compared to earnings of $1 million, or 7 cents per share for the same period last year.

Year-to-date sales rose to $149.4 million from $128.2 million in the previous year, an increase of about 16 percent. Net earnings for the first nine months were $4.9 million, or 36 cents per share, compared to $4.8 million and 33 cents per share for the same period in 1992. Net earnings for the first nine months of 1993, exclusive of  charges related to the acquisitions of CoSA and After Hours Software, were $7.7 million, or 58 cents per share.

Bill McAleer, vice president of finance and chief financial officer attributed the improved quarterly performance largely to record sales of the company's flagship product.  PageMaker upgrade revenues were $16.1 million, or approximately 26 percent of total revenues in the quarter. "We expected this to be a competitive release for PageMaker, and saw strength in both upgrades and full-product sales.  PageMaker continued to earn industry awards including a recent five-star rating from 'MacWeek,' and the editor's choice award from 'Windows Magazine,'" added McAleer.

Operating expenses for the quarter were higher because of increased sales and marketing expenses related to product fulfillment and other launch costs to support the new versions of PageMaker.

Caere

Caere Corp. announced net revenues of $7,807,000 for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 1993, compared to third quarter 1992 net revenues of $11,331,000.

Net loss was $1,556,000 (15 cents per share), compared to a net income of $1,999,000 (19 cents per share) in the third quarter of 1992.  The net loss includes a previously announced one-time charge of about $834,000 related to the discontinuance of a product line.

Net revenues for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 1993, were $23,433,000 compared to $30,732,000 for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 1992.  Net loss was $1,176,000, or 11 cents per share, compared to net income of $5,214,000, or 49 cents per share for the comparable period in 1992.

Revenues from Caere's older line of OCR and bar code products decreased to $1,391,000 for the third quarter of 1993 from $2,057,000 for the third quarter of 1992.  For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 1993, these revenues totaled $5,191,000 as compared to $6,248,000 for the same period in 1992.

Intel

Intel Corp. announced record third quarter revenue up 57 percent and net income, up 143 percent from last year.  Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 25, 1993 totaled $2.24 billion, vs. $1.43 billion one year ago.

Net income of $584 million or $1.33 per share, compared with $241 million or $0.56 per share in last year's third quarter.

For the first nine months of 1993 revenue of $6.39 billion was up 60 percent and net income advanced to $1.70 billion or $3.86 per share, from $638 million or $1.49 per share in the corresponding prior period.  Per-share amounts reflect the 2-for-1 stock split effective May 6, 1993.

"Our customers in the personal computer industry are offering users some very powerful systems at very attractive prices.  As a result, personal computer demand has grown and our unit volumes have notched up steadily," said Dr. Andrew S. Grove, president and chief executive officer.

"For example, we were particularly pleased with shipments of our Pentium processor this quarter.  We are on track to ship hundreds of thousands in 1993 and millions next year.  We expect to see about 100 Pentium processor-based systems at next month's fall Comdex trade show."

Good demand for standard semiconductors such as flash memory and microcontrollers and for networking and system level products contributed to the quarter's growth.

Lotus

Lotus Development Corp. reported third quarter revenue totaling $240.1 million, a 16 percent increase over revenue of $206.7 million in the same year-ago period.

There was an increase of 151 percent in net income of $18.3 million (41 cents per share) for its third quarter ended Oct. 2, 1993, compared with $7.3 million (17 cents per share), before a stock-sale gain in last year's third quarter.

Net income for the nine months ended Oct. 2 totaled $45.8 million, or $1.04 per share, excluding a second quarter charge of $19.9 million, or 45 cents per share, due to the acquisition of Approach Software Corp.  This compares with earnings of $43 million, or 99 cents per share, for the nine months ended Sept. 26, 1992, excluding the stock-sale gain of 53 cents per share. Lotus' revenue for the first nine months of 1993 increased seven percent to $702.9 million, from $654.1 million in the comparable 1992 period.

"We continued to see strong growth in our Windows desktop and communications businesses, with the new releases of 1-2-3, SmartSuite and Notes achieving particularly strong results," said Jim Manzi, president and chief executive officer.  "Our international business grew 26 percent year-over-year, accounting for 50 percent of the quarter's revenue, and growth in our Windows business continued to more than offset the negative impact from the decline of what was once our core business -- DOS spreadsheets."

Manzi added, "We are entering the fourth quarter in an extraordinary position of strength with an exceptionally strong suite of desktop products, and we intend to continue to exploit the unique differentiation that our communications-based strategy provides us."

Microcom

Microcom reported financial results for the company's second quarter of fiscal year 1994.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, 1993, the company reported revenue of $12,471,000 with income from operations of $79,000 and a net income per share of $.01.  This compares to revenue of $17,877,000 an operating loss of $714,000 and a net loss per share of $.08 for the second quarter of last year.

According to James M. Dow, president and chief executive officer, "We are pleased to report that the company has returned to profitability.  We have taken steps to stabilize the company by reducing operating costs that, in conjunction with the new low cost V. fast modem products we are announcing today, should enable the company to establish a strong position in the high growth remote access markets."

Microsoft

Microsoft Corp. announced a 20 percent increase in first-quarter revenues of $983 million compared to the same quarter a year ago.

Net income for the quarter equaled $239 million, resulting in earnings per share of 79 cents, up from the $209 million and 70 cents recorded last year.

Noting that software buying patterns have changed over the past two years, the company yesterday announced the latest versions of Microsoft Office, Standard and Professional.  Whereas individual stand-alone products once generated the bulk of applications unit sales, the Microsoft Office -- combining word processing, spreadsheet, presentation graphics, plus a workstation license for electronic mail, as well as featuring the Microsoft Access database in the Professional edition -- is now Microsoft's most popular applications product.  And Office has achieved a large installed base; more than 2.5 million units have shipped worldwide.

Also during the quarter, the company began shipping its most-advanced operating system products, Microsoft Windows NT and Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server, and it recently updated Microsoft Windows for Workgroups.

Stac Electronics

Stac Electronics reported revenues of $7,796,000 for its fourth fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30, 1993, representing an increase of 25 percent, compared with revenues of $6,245,000 recorded for the same period of fiscal 1992.

Revenues for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 1993, were $36,984,000, representing an increase of 11 percent, compared with revenues of $33,356,000 recorded for fiscal 1992.  Net loss for the company's fourth fiscal quarter of 1993 was $420,000, compared with net income of $526,000 for the corresponding quarter in fiscal 1992.  Net income for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 1993, was $415,000, compared with net income of $8,362,000 for fiscal 1992.

Loss per share was 2 cents for the fourth quarter, compared with per-share earnings of 2 cents for the same quarter of fiscal 1992.  For the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 1993, earnings per share were 2 cents, compared with 34 cents for fiscal 1992.

Gary Clow, Stac's president and chief executive officer, stated that the company is pleased with 1993's increased revenues and with the accomplishments of launching three new products during the latter half of the year.  However, he stated, the company's net income for 1993 was affected by higher costs associated with bringing new products to a more competitive market and with the continuing costs of Stac's patent litigation against Microsoft.

The company attributes the increase in fiscal 1993's fourth-quarter revenues, compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 1992, resulted primarily from having launched three disk compression products late in the June 1993 quarter, compared with having a single disk compression product, Stacker 2.0 for Windows and DOS, in the 1992 quarter.   For fiscal 1993 compared with fiscal 1992, the company experienced relatively flat sales of Stacker for Windows and DOS as a result of the  March 30, 1993, introduction of MS-DOS 6.0 from Microsoft.  Stacker for Windows and DOS utilizes the company's Stacker LZS file compression technology for doubling personal computer storage capacity.  MS-DOS 6.0 is the first release of Microsoft's operating system for personal computers to incorporate file compression technology.

Symantec

Symantec's revenues were $58.0 million, an increase of 19 percent, in the September quarter of fiscal year 1994 ended October 1, 1993 million compared to the comparable period a year ago.

Net income for the quarter was $2.4 million compared to a net loss of $6.1 million in the September quarter of fiscal year 1993.  Earnings per share were $0.09 on 28.1 million shares, compared with a loss per share before acquisition and restructuring expenses of $0.24 on 25.5 million shares outstanding in the September 1992 quarter.  In the September 1992 quarter, the company incurred $8.1 million in costs associated with acquisitions and restructuring.

"Our growth this quarter was due to the release of several important products, including Q&A for Windows, Symantec C++ Professional 6.0 and The Norton AntiVirus 3.0," said Gordon E. Eubanks, Jr., Symantec's president and CEO.

The acquisition of Fifth Generation Systems, announced during the September quarter, contributes core network technology and complements the enterprise management product development in the Norton group.  Fifth Generation Systems, Inc., based in Baton Rouge, LA, develops and markets utilities for DOS, Windows, OS/2, UNIX, Macintosh and NetWare operating systems.  The acquisition was completed on October 4, 1993.


 ACAD: AutoDesk Inc.

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 ADBE: Adobe Systems Inc.

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 ALDC: Aldus Corp.

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CA: Computer Associates International Inc.

 CA: Computer Associates Int'l Inc.

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 CAER: Caere Corp.

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 INTC: Intel Corp.

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 LOTS: Lotus Development Corp.

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 MNPI: Microcom Inc.

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 MSFT: Microsoft Corp.

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 NOVL: Novell Inc.

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 QDEK: Quarterdeck Office Systems Inc.

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SKEYF: Softkey Software Products, Inc.

 SKEYF: Softkey Software Products Inc.

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 STAC: STAC Electronics

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 SYMC: Symantec Corp.

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 WDST: Wordstar International Inc.

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