applebusinessmarch1988

1988 © AppleBusiness§ THE CORPORATE SO bMUPrON Volume | Architecture : drawing the fine line e Automating the drudgery element [Si Whatever your Mc it would be better as SUPERIMIAC Hard disks from 20 Mb to 150 Mb, ENHANCE MAC MAC MAC MAC SIE PWS SEO SPECTRUM ° all with very fast accesstimes. No Yoy don’t have to consign you GRAPHIX - other drive pulls programs and trusty Mac 512E to the knacke SUPERVIEW oe data as quickly from disk to desktop. yard — just get an Enhance bo: ; You'll find the Mac 512 with ENHANCE © Every DataFrame hard disk from Enhance runs faster than an Si — or SuperMac comes complete with and with twice as much memo! DiskFit (a floppy disk back-up You even get a SCSI port, so y wt sa utility), SuperlaserSpool and can use a Dataframe hard dis CREEMSONE = SuperSpool (so you don’t have to take a coffee break every time LEVCO PRODIGY SE fee ca ba A I Increases the speed and Every diskneedstobebackedup Performance of an SE to the p PIXEL PAINT * regularly, and even with DiskFit ust prope Faster ona a ‘SUPERLASERSPOOL om em oe this can be time consuming. one nore et 32 Mb of extra RAM (with a SUPERSPOOL om oh) ser? BS SuperMac offer the TS 1/40 tape MRAM Dis) piskeit —— ha streamer, with 40 Mb tape ees, Peni scnees eR or ew cartridge security, or the XP60+B, SUPer-charging. 2.60 Mb hard disk with a 20 Mb DATAPORT The low-cost way of boosting performance, Dataport lets M 512s plug into the performanc: DataFrame, the fastest range « hard disks for the Macintosh. Bernoulli drive. ONE-PLUS-ONE Mac Plus becomes Mac Plus P| with an extra megabyte of RA In your search for excellence you found the Macintosh. Then you found the things that the Macintosh can’t do. Now discover SuperMac, and the things the Macintosh can do. It doesn’t matter which model of Mac you own; SuperMac can make it a more productive tool, with a complete range of products carefully designed the way you want them. SOFTWARE. Saal] PIXEL PAINT A colour painting program so flexible and powerful that it defies description. Go to your nearest dealer and see it— the colourful future of Apple computing. SUPERLASERSPOOL — INCLUDED FREE WITH EVERY DATAFRAME Prints documents in background mode while you get on with your work. Fast, simple to use and very efficient. Also available in an ImageWriter version, SuperSpool, and in a multi-user version. DISKFIT - INCLUDED FREE WITH EVERY DATAFRAME Back-up your valuable work onto floppy disks the easy way. DiskFit is economical on disks, and on time, because it only backs up the changes you've made. SENTINEL — 90% of all data theft is executed with a simple copy command, not with modems, hacker’s handbooks and password busting routines. With Sentinel your data is completely protected against unauthorised access. VIDEO PRODUCTS SPECTRUM Ultra-high resolution colour graphics board offering control over 16.8 million colours. Select palettes of 256 colours at atime, and display them on a range of 16” and 19” high or ultra-high resolution colour monitors. SUPERVIEW AND GRAPHIX The ultimate desktop publisher's aid. 19” monochrome screens for the Mac SE or the Mac Il, letting you see even the smallest type sizes in flicker-free clarity, across two complete pages. ‘SuperMac Technology A division of Scientific Micro Systems Langley Business Centre 11-49 Station Road Langley, Slough Berkshire SL3 8YL Telephone: (0753) 49553 Fax: (0753) 49336 Telex: 846732 SMSLTD G SuperMac products are distributed by: Northamber Ple Units 3 & 4 Chessington Pork Industrial Estate Lion Park Avenve, Chessington Surrey KT9 1ST Telephone: 01-391 2066 ‘a i . Ot FREE VIDEO CASSETTE Send your business card attached to this form, and we will send you afree VHS video cassette about SuperMac’s products enclose my business card, please send me more information and a free video cassette. 1am particularly interested in 1 SOFTWARE ( STORAGE PRODUCTS O VIDEO PRODUCTS SUPERMIAC ett CH NOL JOu GY. GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR MAC UPGRADES Signed e e ei ima none 's new Se aensOu R&D divi- director Richard sion of British Branson exclu- Telecom has sively reveals been using his Russian Macintosh as a plans while front end to its Apple Business MicroVAX mini- sees how Virgin computers . Atlantic uses > y P Macintoshes to eS) ) help promote the a airline cS many ia? » 4 e US architects are APRS FINANCIAL SERVICES now using Branson: eyes eastward ———— Macintosh-driv- <3 Peat Mar en design pro- . McLintock is rs grams, their UK world’s largest counterparts firm of accoun- have been slow- tants. In the UK er to see the it uses over potential. 7,000 Mac- e intoshes and is LEISURE buying 2 steady aa 100 more every Golfing can be- month. come as much e an obsession as INTERNATIONAL FINANCE a Macintosh. eee MacGolf pro- Global money vides a way to markets and combine both Stock Exchanges passions. can now be e accessed in real- — time through a Macintosh II The veaMess, ii Ansitaeee thanks to a new Business news interactive soft- team reports on ware product latest develop- produced by the ments from the Automating the drudgery information arm Apple environ- of a consortium ment around the Equities on a Macintosh II of Swiss banks. world. Apple Business Publisher Raymond Hammond Executive Editor Ian White Editor Carey Green Contributing Editors Peter Jackson Technical, Anthony Meier Financial Maggie McLening Contributors Roger Cowe, Pat Sweet, Graham Vickers, John Conquest, Jason Crisp City Editorial Assistant Corrina Davidson-McKay Art Director Sian Lewis Assistant Designer Des Cawley Director of Production and Circulation Sonia Hunt Production and Circulation Executive Ekua Anaman Advertisement Director Neil Fennell Advertisement Executive Simon Barrett Advertisement Administrator Linda Holmes The Last Word : Systems Manager Alasdair Mellis Senior Seren Artist Chris Esther Sereen Artist Jane Psaila Camera and Processing Facilities Manager (Linotronic) Derek Hart Cover photography Brian MacMahon. Apple Business (ISSN 0953-4474) is published monthly by International Magazines ple, Kiln House, 210 New Kings Road, London SW6 4NZ. ‘el. 01-736-7656. Fax. 01-731-7655 and International Magazines Inc., 190 E. Main Street, Huntington, New York 11743, USA. Tel. (516) 673 3243, Fax (516) 763 3244. Printed by Cradley Print, West Midlands, England. four e LS ey ANALYSIS Apple and peeeemRET rT 571 's announcement to combine their respective tech- nologies has major implica- tions for the business world. e ee ES cs ANALYSIS Adobe SO Inc has annou- nced Display PostScript, the next enhance- ment to the PostScript but Apple seems to be displeased at the move. e ae ee has announced a new family of laser printers, starting with a non-PostScript model at half the price of the old LaserWriter. e ance a Se Ea driv- en CAD/CAM is being pioneered by UK firm Desktop Engineering Systems. an independent journal not affiliated with Apple Computer Inc. Apple and Apple Business are trademarks of Apple Computer the first monthly magazine covering corporate computing solutions provided by Apple Computer. It is distributed free to select. corporate users and is available on subscription to other readers.© All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written pe or manuscripts submitted to the magazine are sent at owner’s risk; neither the company, or its agents can accept respon: eee mesummeniasas aims Fie e cane animeames Oo e poe se 66 ae has released Mac APPC , its own version of LU6.2 to connect Macintoshes to IBM mainframes without the sacrifice of the Macintosh inter- face. Fee antanneme is BT research at Martlesham one of anew generation of DeskTop Presentation products. But can it replace the conventional methods. Business aioe staan Gata Cua is claimed to transform the Drawing the fine line Macintosh into a personal travel planner. We see how good it really is. = Apple Bus: iness Analysis Unit spotlights two of the lead- ing software players. Power Presentations International Magazines ple Chairman Raymond Hammond Managing Director Gwyn Jones Non-Executive Directors Maurice Dennis, Michael Seifert Office Administration Manager Richard Tiley Assistant to the Directors Sylvie Calba Design Consultants Banks & Miles International Magazines Inc. (New York) President Bill Stephen Vice President Lisa Pratt Apple Business is created and image-set by “The Last Word” using Apple Macintosh Plus, SE and II computers and a Linotronic 300 imagesetter. Software used includes Quark XPress, CricketDraw and Illustrator. Apple Business is inder licence from the owner. Apple Business is eutives, DP/MIS, managers and existing management ¢ on is strictly prob lity for loss or damage. Colour transparencies five PUBLISHER'S LETTER Apple Business is a new type of magazine for a new type of reader. This is the world’s first glossy manage- ment magazine to concentrate on computer solutions for business and, in particular, on Apple solutions. This is appropriate as it was Apple which first put computing power into the hands of individuals and today it is Apple that is providing business executives with the power to solve problems. Each month we will be examining those companies and organisations which have applied Apple-based solutions and we will be providing news and detailed technical advice to help Apple users get the most from their equipment and software. In addition to our team of business writers we have assembled an outstanding group of technical writers who will provide informa- tion about Apple, Apple software and about interfac- ing with machines such as DEC, IBM and ICL. Despite its title, this magazine is entirely independent of Apple. Although Apple provides substantial co- operation in terms of editorial information, Apple Business is free to be objective and we intend to pro- vide our readers with fair and unbiased comment and appraisal in all areas concerning Apple and the third party vendors. Apple Business will be published monthly and is available free of charge to readers who are eligible to qualify. We hope you enjoy this first issue of Apple Business. Raymond Hammond Publisher e six ¥ Omnis 3 Plus is the world’s WY undisputed standard database for Macintosh. V OMNIS and Macintosh is a Y combination that has been tried and tested with conspicuous success in single and multi-user applications. No other database offers you the combination of power, ease of use, flexibility and SPEED which has enabled thousands of business applications to be developed and marketed around the world. Omnis 3 Plus has been used in developing applications as diverse as accounting and estate agency management. No Macintosh owner can afford not to invest in Omnis 3 Plus. After all 100,000 mice can't be wrong. No intending Macintosh owner should be without the Omnis Macintosh File. Available free from Apple Centres, dealers or by phone from Blyth Software. Blyth Software Ltd. Mitford House, Benhall, Saxmundham, Suffolk, IP17 1JS. Tel 0728 3011. © Omnis is a registered trademark of Blyth Software. LEADER GROWING PAINS n January Apple and Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) announced a long-term policy of co-operation. The importance of this should not be underestimated. DEC is the world’s second largest computer company after IBM (Unisys, the amalgamation of the Sperry and Burroughs corporations, ranks number two in dollars, not units) and while IBM is suffering from zero growth, DEC, like Apple, is experiencing exponential increases in both market share and market size. The important question is why should a company as powerful as DEC even acknowledge a “little” player (in multina- tional terms) such as Apple? The answer is to be found in the power and interface technology of Apple computers. DEG hasn’t needed anybody else until now, and its 30-year growth is well-known through- out the world. But in the last couple of years many DEC-VAX users have thrown out the DEC terminals supplied with DEC minicomputers and installed inexpensive Macintoshes as “front-ends” for their VAX data processing. As DEC’s sales and service support teams toured the DEC sites of the world they kept finding Macintoshes run- ning their systems. The reason for this is that the Macintosh is simple and easy to use, is powerful enough to control a VAX and that by putting a Macintosh interface onto a VAX untrained users gain access to VAX power. he marriage between E DEC and Apple, however, is more than a marriage of convenience or expedience. The two companies have similar philosophies and the two technologies are widely regarded as the only “sensible alternative” (to IBM). Together Apple and DEC offer a complete corporate computing solution which beats IBM on all counts except where major mainframe capacity is required. DEC pioneered “distributed processing” (the idea of spreading comput- er power around an organisation) 20 years ago. Ten years later Apple pioneered per- sonal computing for every individual. The problem for Apple is simply one of servicing such growth and opportunity. The explosion of Macintosh sales is already making the Apple organisation creak and the added impetus of the “Vaxintosh” agreement will add to this burden. omplaints of poor after- sales service and support from Apple dealers is already widespread and adding the DEC dimension will only aggravate the problem. The answer is for both Apple and its dealers to fully understand that they are no longer in the box-shifting market. Many Apple dealers have grown up by shifting hardware on discount terms and ignoring the customers’ need for after sales support, but this is a policy which will spell disaster: not for Apple or its products, but for dealers who imagine that such an atti- tude will continue to be profitable. DEC connectivity, Desktop Publishing and database development are all areas which demand massive post-sales support. Business customers who wish to use Apple products in this way will pay for the ser- vice, and only by understanding how rich and real this opportunity is for Apple and its partners, can re-sellers hope to share in the long-term gains to be made. The Macintosh is the easiest-to-use computer in the world: that is why it is now running power applications on DEC mini- computers. But power users need continu- ing support and help and it is up to Apple and its dealers to rise to the opportunity which lies ahead. Apple and its dealers have to emulate DEC and concentrate on becoming professionals. eight ATLA LAAT ALTAL ELEN The Macintosh Centre HARDWARE : SOFTWARE : RENTALS : TRAINING : MAINTENANCE : APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT : NETWORKS & COMMUNICATIONS The powerful Macintosh Ils in your business need powerful support, whether you're buying or renting a Macintosh or installing a company network. That's why we suggest you call on our centre of competence: the widest range of ‘Macintosh skills in the business, and all under one roof. Youll find professionals who design and install networks fr major companies; software specialists to show you Macintosh vrsatity for tks lke budgeting and finan contro, desktop publishing, word processing, exsy to produce business graphics and project management; developers to customise software for your precise needs; qualified technical 3 teams ad fasesponse engineers; pus the bsiness-oened tring you'd expect from one ofthe biggest and best companies in Britain, Anda backed by exper help ust a phone cll avay. ‘No-one does more to ensure your business gets the best revum from Macintosh. No-one puts it all togéther like Personal y 218 8 2201226 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 4JS. Te. 01-377 1200 Munro House, Duke Street, Leeds LS9 8AG. Tel. 0532 441 631 ”) you going to WY Yours ENTREPRENEURS VIRGIN’S BRANSON FLIES EAST FOR GLASNOST He called his business Virgin because nobody in the organisation had any experience when they started. Now, 19 years later, Richard Branson calls himself ‘one of the 10 richest people in England’. In an exclusive interview with Apple Business he told Ray Hammond how he plans to turn Virgin Atlantic into a business airline. Apple and its leading charac- ters for good reason. He’s young, rich, deceptively casual and formidably successful. He’s a radical who demands radical solutions, whether it’s turning a balloon flight into an international advertising cam- paign for Virgin Atlantic or applying Apple’s Macintosh to his marketing. His skill at manipulating the media and making the world conscious of his fledgling airline has a price, how- ever. He knows he has been over- exposed in Britain and it is for this reason that he’s been refusing all interviews for the last’six months. But it is hard to criticise the interna- tional value of his publicity stunts. It was Russia’s Intourist Bureau which approached him recently with a plan to offer holidays to the West. This led to Branson’s widely publicised trip to the USSR last month during which he signed a deal to take over a renovated 500-bed hotel in Yalta and fly British holidaymakers in and out on “Virgin R ichard Branson identifies with customised”’ Aeroflot flights. Taking his condoms with him to solve the Russian shortage during the AIDS cri- sis was just another example of his nose for a newsworthy story. But behind the casual approach and the seeming flipness, there is an aston- ishing manipulative ability. Virgin ‘Atlantic Airlines opened in 1984 with one leased jumbo jet and the offer of cheap flights to New York. Now the company has two 747s in service, is leasing three more, and is running flights on Viscounts between London, Eire and Holland. ’ “We’re starting to fly to Japan three times a week this Spring with a stop- over in Moscow once a week,” says Branson. “We’re also going to Boston, Los Angeles and New York’s Kennedy airport as well as Newark; so we'll be landing both sides of Manhattan.” The throw-away comment about the stop-over in Moscow reveals his think- ing. Western carriers have difficulty flying over Russian soil and this makes many international routes too ten Aboard the “Duende”. The old houseboat serves as both Branson’s home and the world-wide headquarters of the Virgin Group Brian McMahon 0 i TT he first hot-air balloon to cross the Atlantic was also the world’s largest billboard with a single message: Virgin! long and expensive. If Virgin gained a privileged status prospects for the air- line would be phenomenal. ‘I’m hoping to develop my relation- ship with the Russians,’ Branson admits, with a shy smile and calculat- ing eyes. He is concerned about show- ing his cleverness in case he might not be liked for it. ‘I understand that Intourist was told to make an approach to the West in order to demonstrate that Glasnost was not just an idea, but a reality. Somehow news of my balloon trip got into the Soviet media and I was the one the ssians approachec is one massive pay-off from his vpublicity stunt has implications which suddenly make his airline much more attractive. It has come at a time when British Caledonian has been forced to surrender some prize routes in the wake of the British Airways takeover and these have fallen into V waiting arms. The Tokyo and Boston routes were BCal’s and there are others which may become available. “The problem is finding the planes,” explains Branson. ‘It’s not like when rgin’s ting in the desert. Branson is talking aboard his hous boat in London’s canal district of “Little Venice”. The area is fashion- able, but there’s always something gypsy about old houseboats on canals. Stray dogs and deserted allotment gardens add an air of dereliction to the dampness but inside “Duende” we could be in a country cottage with stripped pine and comfortable sofas. The boat is Branson’s main home but it is also the world headquarters of an empire worth upwards of £500 million. Schoolchildren canoe past the window in a convoy, while inside Branson agrees to spend millions buy- ing Birmingham City Football Club; for the value of its real estate next to Birmingham airport, not because of a love of football. The man knows the value of a story and lives a life which is a publicist’s dream, which is why he needs no publicists. ‘As might be expected, he’s at ease in front of the camera and while hi posing for Apple Business’s photogra- pher he talks about his view of Apple. twelve ‘Apple is my sort of company, I find it very attractive. I met Steve Jobs once and I thought he was incredible and I think this new guy they’ve got, John Sculley, is great.” The identification isn’t surprising. In publicity terms Branson is the closest to a Steve Jobs figure Britain has got, but there the similarity ends: at 37- years-old Branson has been running his company for 19 years and there’s no dissent in his Camelot. He sits at the round table in his din- ing cabin and outlines his hopes for the airline. To him it is the most important entity in his collection of 125 companies spread over 25 build- ings in London and the south-east. He keeps all the locations small (never more than 80 people) because he believes that staff respond to the senior person at a location as the real boss. He believes that proper delega- tion is the biggest single key to his suc- cess and he thinks that if he was pre- sent at any of the locations the staff wouldn’t regard the operation’s man- aging director as the true bos: The City of London likes his style, despite the danger of his personality cult overshadowing the company. He took his group of record shops, prop- erty companies and leisure industries toa full listing on the Stock Exchange at the end of 1986. Last November he was able to tell shareholders at his first annual meeting that company turnover had jumped 48 per cent to £279 million in the first post-flotation year, and that profits were up 45 per cent to £27.7 million. The Virgin Group ple is safely in the hands of managing director Simon Draper, leaving Branson free to develop the privately owned Voyager Group, which controls Virgin Atlantic and his holiday company. Already Black Sea holidays to Yalta (packaged at £500 including flights) are almost sold out, and Branson is now working on ideas to modify Aeroflot’s image. ‘It’s by far the biggest airline in the world, but I don’t think the standard of service is up to much at present. We're trying to find ways to improve it; I’d like to put the cabin staff in Virgin uniforms, but I think the Russians have got a problem with that. ‘We want to open up the whole Macintosh Maeda Now where? Exploiting the full potential of computer technology requires more than buying software that fits the hardware. Or buying hardware to connect with existing networks just because it’s compatible. In order for any purchase to be effective, it requires thought and planning. And it requires expert advice. SAMS Apple Business Centres, through our two AppleCentres (one in the City, the other in Wimbledon) supply Apple business solutions that help businesses grow. More than that, we give advice that goes beyond what a computer (or software program) will or will not do. We take care to understand your business requirements. Whether you buy a single ImageWriter™ or an entire network of Macintosh II’s, we are on hand to ensure you get the best package for your business. Call Andrew Douglas at AppleCentre™ in the City on 01-248 1525 or Bill Brown at AppleCentre in Wimbledon NA WE WORK WITH YOU AppleCentre in Wimbledon AppleCentre in the City 356 West Bares Lane 1 Farringdon Street Motspur Park London EC4M 7LH. Surrey KT3 6NB Telephone: 01-248 1525 Telephone: 01-949 2229 Telex: 918938 SAMS G Telex: 915654 SAMSUK G ‘Apple, the Apple Logo, Macintosh and ImageWriter are trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. AppleCentre i a servicemark of Apple Computer U.K. Limited. The products shown above are tademarky ofthe companies indicate, Postscript People ritain's leading expert on> 4 interfacing Maes and Linotronic After training as a imagesetters. He is also a and _ systems e sought-after speaker and Zealand, Chris consultant on the subject. As in 1986 and has been marrying Macs, Systems Manager and Account PostScript. He is an expert 's and linotronic's together Director of The Last Word PostScript Programmer and with ther ever since they started Alasdair offers expert client this skill he is ‘0 tgsolve the ing to each other. In consultancy on all aspects of problems(Whichs i tion to her mouse skills she desktop publishing. His occur in this ‘hes, tec! college training in ialities are Quark Express, Apart from the PdéStScript hic arts. Her specialities strator, PageMaker and language itself, his specialities are ‘ageMaker and Ventur ly Set Go! and he has wide include Quark XPress, and using graphi¢s prog ~ experience of many PageMaker, Illustrator, such as //lustrator. other programs. Image Studio, etc. The Last Word LINOTRONIC OUTPUT HELP AND CONSULTANCY FOR ALL POSTSCRIPT USERS 210 NEW KINGS ROAD; LONDON SW6 4NZ. TEL: 01-736 7656 FAX: 01-731 7655 MODEM : 01-731 1524 PostScript® is a trademark of Adobe Systems Inc. e Psaila ENTREPRENEURS Full sleeper seats are now provided in Virgin Atlantic’s Business Class cabin The “lounge” concept has been reintroduced in the upstairs cabin of Virgin. Atlantic’s 747s Russian holiday market. Rather than just concentrate on the Leningrad city-centre idea, we will be promoting holidays such as in Yalta. We have also made plans for another place fur- ther down the coast. We hope that quite a few thousand people will be visiting the USSR this year.” Apart from the Moscow stop-over, Virgin Atlantic have no other flights into the Soviet Union planned at the moment. But Branson has peculiar powers and it is likely that if the deal survives the honeymoon period, he will become a frequent visitor to the USSR with his personal status as an East/West intermediary growing. His payment for his role in spreading Glasnost could he important holiday and airline rights. The major carriers must now see Virgin as a serious threat. In a secret market study prepared internally last year BA discovered that Virgin is the competitor it should fear most; (“the favourite airline of the world’s favourite airline”, said the media when the report was leaked) and the new routes mean that Virgin will start taking serious revenue away from the mega carriers. These giants form the world’s most vicious cartel (mainly because govern- ment collusion backs up and/or masks their activities). The cartel came together to squeeze Freddie Laker’s cut-price airline out of business once it looked like becoming a serious threat. The question which has to be asked is: in what way is Virgin different to Laker? “Well, for one thing I’m one of the 10 richest people in England,” he says quietly, eyes averted, stumbling over the words as though he has to force himself to be so outrageously immod- est. ‘So I would be able to rescue the airline in a difficult situation. There are also other differences between Virgin and Laker, Laker was a one- product company and had nothing else to turn to. Laker used DC10s but we use 747s which, unlike DC10s, can carry a full load of freight. We're also restricting our operations on short routes such as Holland and Ireland since they’re not very profitable.” As part of the Voyager Group, fig- ures specifically for Virgin Atlantic aren’t made public, and Branson is coy when asked about last year’s profit. ‘I think we'll be comfortably in excess of £5 million for 1988 on a turnover of £60 million,” he says eventually. This is an excellent profit extraction for a scheduled carrier and confirms the claims Virgin’s marketing depart- ment makes for the airline’s perfor- mance. During 1987 the airline increased its available seats by more than 30 per cent. In the first quarter 101,538 seats were offered to the pub- lic, and by the fourth quarter Virgin had 132,841. In the winter period Virgin managed a 70-80 per cent load factor and between May and September achieved between 80-90 per cent. A 70 per cent load factor is generally regarded as the break-even point for airlines. Virgin Atlantic compiles, presents and distributes its statistics using Macintosh technology and Branson is clear about the benefits. ‘We use Macintoshes in many ways; for producing graphs and reports on flight/aircraft performances, for cal- culating expenses and marketing budgets, for doing press releases and labels and we also produce a monthly newsletter for all of the travel agents,” explains Branson. ‘I know the mar- keting department finds the tech- nology excellent.” The 1988 target for Virgin Auantic is business executives. The lease pay- ments on $36 million worth of new 747s will be high, and profit extrac- tion has to go hand in hand with expansion. In the trans-Atlantic mar- ket, profit comes from giving better service and inflating the seat price. Virgin Atlantic is spending £250,000 on seat replacement at the moment in pursuit of this bottom line and sleeper seats are going in to all first class cab- ins. The lounge concept (dropped by other carriers 10 years ago) is being reintroduced and there’s a limousine service available as well. There are no more dare-devil stunts planned; Branson wants no further personal exposure. But his forays into the communist economy and his grow- ing links with Soviet publie figures guarantee that he will be a continuing focus of media attention over the com- ing year. In the end he will have to accept that the concept of Richard Branson avoiding publicity is a con- tradiction in terms. fifteen Chris Moss, General Manager for Marketing, welcomes business travellers toa new improved service from Virgin Atlantic a B gz 5 = = <=. aving decided to venture into H the business market, Virgin Atlantic faces a major challenge to change its economy image. Carey Green talked to Chris Moss, the man behind the marketing operation, about how Macintosh technology is part of the strategy. For an airline perceived as being more suited to pop stars than pin-stripes, the news that Virgin Atlantic is consid- ering a £250,000 seat-replacement programme indicates the seriousness with which the unorthodox carrier is now attacking the business market. The airline launched by Virgin boss Richard Branson as “the people’s air- line” is gunning for a more upmarket class of passenger. The man respon- sible for changing its image is Chris Moss, General Manager, Marketing. ‘Richard is our most critical Upper Class traveller. It was his suggestion that we replace the seats because he didn’t think they were up to standard. Richard wants us to be the best value airline in the world,’ he said. Virgin Atlantic has flown over a million customers across the Atlantic since its formation three years ago. Although it is renowned for its cheap flights, that is no longer the image Moss and his department promote. “The cheap image came from our early days. Now it can be difficult to get across to the public that low cost does not mean low quality. ‘People see us as being cheap and cheerful, but in fact we are not. More people come back to us a second time than any other airline.” Moss discovered through surveys that the majority of business travellers using Virgin’s Upper Class to the Big Apple were travelling through word of mouth or recommendation. Very few were attracted by advertising. “Business travellers are very impor- tant to Virgin. We have always promoted Upper Class as a first-class service at a business-class price.” As well as the usual extras, each Upper Class passenger receives a free Economy Class ticket. Today, Virgin has 54 Upper Class seats, a far ery from its original 14. The passenger list in Upper Class reads like a Times Top 1000 business corporation listing: BP, Esso, IBM, Ford, ICI, AMEX, Reuters. Famous names who regularly seventeen MARKETIN fly Virgin Upper Class include the musician Phil Collins and royal pho- tographer Norman Parkinson. Another super-critical traveller is Fred Finn — the world’s Number One Business Traveller according to the Guinness Book of Records. In the last 10 years, he has made a record 652 transatlantic flights on Concorde; a distance equivalent to four return trips to the moon, or 65 circuits of the globe. He has travelled Virgin Atlantic Upper Class to his Newark home 48 times within the last two years, ‘It is the best business class airline service in the world,” he told Apple Business. As well as being a regular guest on UK TV travel programmes, he was recently the subject of a Sunday ‘Times interview on jet lag, and has endorsed a book written by Alan Whicker. ‘I saw the Virgin 747’s on the tarmac whenever I flew home to Newark and my attitude was always “avoid Virgin”. I associated it with the music business and believed it could not provide a serious business traveller class,” he said. Another Virgin Upper Class traveller is Lawrie Taylor, publishing director of ABC Travel, which publishes the magazines, Executive Travel and Business Traveller. ‘As far as first class travel goes, noth- ing can beat British Airways’ First Class. But as a business class, Virgin’s Upper Class service is excellent. The food is good, the cabin staff are friendly and there is lots of space to move around. “But Virgin gives you something more. I think it is a question of image. There is a trendy, sexy sort of atmo- sphere,’ said Taylor. He has recently taken his family to Disneyworld in Florida via Virgin’s Upper Class, and has persuaded a number of friends to fly Virgin. Moss’s nine-strong marketing team is responsible for all of Virgin Atlantic’s advertising, press and publie rela- tions, special promotions, sponsor- ship and competitions. Despite the fact that the rest of the Virgin empire uses IBM PCs, Moss brought his own Macintosh along when he joined the company two years ago as PR and promotions man- ager. He had previously worked with Will you and your computer dealer be compatible? What's so good about a computer with 9,000 functions if none of them meet your needs? Some computer dealers would be happy to sell you one. You'll need a phrase- book just to get through the sales chat. Unless you're at an AppleCentre. We'll talk about your reasons for buying a computer in language that is intel- ligent not unintelligible. So the system you buy will suit your individual needs perfectly. But the AppleCentre service doesn’t end there. We'll train you and your staff to get the most from your Apple computer systems. As your business grows we'll see that its increasing needs are met by the whole range of Apple hardware and software. And because everyone's needs are different our standard of service is the same- for all our customers, big or small. If youre interested in our approach contact your local AppleCentre listed here or dial 100 and ask for Freefone Apple. @ AppleCentre Association APPLE THE APPLE LOGO AND APPLECENTRE ARE TRADEMARKS OF APPLE COMPUTER AppleCentre Edinburgh (McQueen Ltd) Telephone: 031 558 3333 Contact: Mike Bradley AppleCentre Glasgow (Bain Business Solutions Ltd) Telephone: 041 226 3250 Contact: Janette McCartney AppleCentre Newcastle Telephone: 0661 25515 Contact: Frank Langman CSS (Systems) Ltd AppleCentre Manchester ‘Telephone: 061 834 7127 Contact: Arthur Barrow AppleCentre Liverpool (Computer City Consultants Ltd) Telephone: 051 709 5959 Contact: Owen Hargreaves AppleCentre West Midlands (Micro Business Centre Ltd) Telephone: 05435 3663 Contact: John Fletcher AppleCentre Birmingham Second City Systems Limited Telephone: 021 622 3375 Contact: Bernadette Whitley AppleCentre West One Telephone: 01 631 5305 Contact: Howard Cole K R Computer Services Ltd AppleCentre Nottingham Telephone: 0602 505352 Contact: Carol Benner AppleCentre South Wales Telephone: 0222 465656 Contact: Alun Davies AppleCentre Bristol Telephone: 0272 225661 Contact: Keith Courtman CSS (Systems) Ltd AppleCentre Swindon Telephone: 0793 511812 Contact: Mike Barnes AppleCentre West London Telephone: 01 573 7797 Contact: Hilary Sizer AppleCentre Chiswick Telephone: 01 994 7424 Contact: Andy Rauf Actiondata Ltd AppleCentre Swiss Cottage Telephone: 01 586 3203, Contact: David Nunn SS (Systems) Ltd AppleCentre Knightsbridge Telephone: 01 245 6555 Contact: Stan Stanton AppleCentre in the City (SAMS Ltd) Telephone: 01 248 1525 Contact: Andrew Douglas AppleCentre Waterloo Telephone: 01 407 2882 Contact: Steve Gibson AppleCentre Wimbledon (SAMS Ltd) Telephone: 01 949 2229 Contact: John Buckingham AppleCentre Croydon (Vega Computers Ltd) Telephone: 01 681 7777 Contact: Graham Robinson AppleCentre Basildon (DPS Computers) Telephone: 0268 23471 Contact: Peter Bigault AppleCentre Maidstone (Microspot) Telephone: 0622 687771 Contact: Robert Coulling Branson on his transatlantic boat crossing in 1984. When Moss bought his first computer, he confessed, “I was computer illiterate, and rather scared of the whole idea of technology.” So having decided he needed a per- sonal computer, Moss researched the market and chose the newly-launched Macintosh, primarily because he felt it was the easiest machine to use. ‘The more I used it, the more I enjoyed using it. There are a lot of similarities hetween Virgin and Apple. Isee Apple as having a certain cul- ture. A particular type of person uses its products. They are not the run-of- the-mill IBM clone type of person. They are individuals prepared to find the right machine for their needs. Virgin has the same philosophy.” So why did the rest of the Virgin Group choose IBM? Were they afraid of getting sacked? “Sure, there are a lot of IBM computers dotted around the company. But I decided they just weren’t right for the marketing department. Virgin is not the sort of company that has a central computer department telling us what to buy. It is up to the individual to decide what is best for each department.” Moss’s department now has four Macintosh SE’s, (two with hard disks, two with dual internal disk drives), four Macintosh Plus’s, (two with 20Mb hard disks, and two with addi- tional external disk drive). They are linked to two LaserWriter printers. MacWrite handles all the word pro- cessing needs of the department, which includes writing over 1,000 let- ters and press releases every month and producing newsletters for travel agents. The newsletters are produced as camera-ready artwork using the DeskTop Publishing program PageMaker which mixes graphics into the three columns of text. ‘In February we plan to launch the first issue of a monthly internal newspaper produced using PageMaker,’ said Moss. He also has plans to buy a digi- tiser and scanner to allow pho- tographs to be set directly to page. After a series of filing packages, Moss has recently bought FileMaker Plus, and is very happy with it. ‘One of my biggest headaches is choosing soft- ware. I have to do my own research, then we have to teach ourselves how to use it. Usually I’m so busy that we end up keeping the same software we've had for ages. It’s like changing banks. Is it really worth it? ‘T am happy to pay for good soft- ware, but I need to try it out first. I am getting more suspicious and cynical of programs that are supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread. In the US you can rent programs, which saves time and money. I think this is an excellent idea.’ Although Moss is critical of the UK computer press, he believes the US Macintosh magazines are more sub- jective when reviewing a program. ‘T bought FileMaker because of various reviews I read. I tried talking to UK dealers, but no-one knew anything about it.” UK dealers are a sore point. ‘Iam infuriated by the lack of professional dealers in this country. The majority T’ve come across have no enthusiasm and their high staff turnover means nineteen MARKETING they have limited product knowledge. “If a dealer gave me a demonstration in my office on a good networking package I would almost certainly buy it. [don’t have time to find one for Moss sees many similarities between the corporate cultures of myself.” Virgin and Moss says his department are not Apple:both are using their Macintoshes to their full companies that capacity. ‘But I am not sure we will cater for ever do that because of the time it individuals takes to input data, and because of the lack of dealer support.’ Company Name. Virgin Atlantic Founded 21 June 1984 Registered Office 34 South Molton Street, London, W1Y 2BP Chairman Richard Branson Number of Employees 610 Turnover £60 million (1 Aug 1986 to 31 July 1987) Pre-Tax Profit £4.9 million (1 Aug 1986 to 31 July 1987) Passenger Growth 600,000 (1987). 1 million (estimated number by end of 1988) FINANCIAL SERVICES ver since the Monty Python E team dubbed them “boring” accountants have been strug- aling with a less than dynamic image. But life inside the big firms is no longer the dull and sleepy one port- rayed by John Cleese and his pals. The introduction of new technology coupled with today’s fiercely competi- tive business style has led to a spate of mergers amongst the large London practices as they set out to create the sort of international multidisciplinary teams which companies now want as their financial advisors. Following such a merger last year Peat Marwick McLintock (PMM) is now the UK arm of the world’s largest accountancy and management consul- tancy firm, Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler, formed by combining Peat Marwick International and Klynveld Main Goerdeler. World-wide the firm has over 5,000 partners and 50,000 staff spread across 115 countries. In the UK, PMM’s turnover is over £200 million and it employs 8,361 staff. ‘We are an unusual organisation in that not a lot of our work takes place in the office,’ said Geoff Russell Grant, computer audit partner with PMM in London. Tnstead, staff spend most of their time at client’s offices, undertaking _audit and accounting work and giving advice in specialist areas such as tax planning. By the early 1980’s PMM had spot- ted clear benefits to be gained from computerising the “drudgery ele- ment” present in much of its work. Doing tax and audit calculations on a computer rather than manually would save time and improve accuracy, and the best way to do this was on a net- worked microcomputer system, the company concluded. After extensive research, PMM chose Macintosh. Today there are over 7,000 Macintoshes in use within KPMG worldwide, and PMM is buy- ing more at the rate of about 100 a month. The company was by no means computer illiterate before it decided on Macintoshes. As well as its internal computing department at its Puddle Dock head offices in London’s Blackfriars, PMM also had a wealth of emputerisation experience gleaned from clients who, in Russell Grant’s words, ‘have every shape and size of machine under the sun. ‘When it came to choosing the right micro for the job, PMM had two very important criteria,’ he said. Firstly, the machine had to be easy to use because ‘professional time is liter- ally money and by no means alll the potential 40,000 to 50,000 users world-wide were computer literate.” Secondly, PMM was concerned about the interface between machine and user, which determined how AUTOMATING THE DRUDGERY ELEMENT One of the world’s top accountancy firms has taken the radical step of ignoring IBM to install Macintosh. Today Peat Marwick McLintock has over 7,000 Macintoshes and is buying more than 100 every month. Pat Sweet discovered how Macintosh power has changed the way it works. easily special applications could be written and used. The company intended to develop a suite of integrated software packages for staff to draw on.But the chosen manufacturer was required to dis- close sufficient information about future product development and strategy to ensure that investment in its software was protected. The final choice, taken at a time when many large corporations were opting for MS-DOS and IBM-based offerings, was the Macintosh SE with in-built hard disk and Image Writer printers which staff could take with them into the field to service clients. “Given the size of the firm we had little option but to go for a leading edge position. In order to experience twenty Russell Grant: seeking an innovative approach to computing to gaina competitive edge PMM’°s choice of Macintosh was “a high risk decision” admits Russell Grant. Today however he believes the company has a computing policy “with foundations which have set hard” optimum benefits we were prepared to put a lot of resources into it,” Russell Grant said. That commitment allowed the com- pany to take what Russsell Grant acknowledged many other businesses would have seen as a “high risk decision.” Far from wanting to bask in the safety of a choice which many others had also endorsed, PMM was seeking an innovative approach to computing which would give the firm a competitive edge, he said. There were also technical considera- tions which held sway. At the time of evaluations, the Macintosh had a faster processor and more address- able memory than other options. The extra memory allowed PMM to create software programs which offered users information and guid- ance as they went along. “A lot of MS-DOS ma tended to split programs over several diskettes because of the need to keep programs small, so they weren’t as y to use,” he said. ‘We talked to Apple and asked what the product range would be like in the future. We needed a close relationship with our supplier and to have faith in what they were trying to do. So far, by and large, what Apple told us has come true,’ Russell Grant said. ‘That faith was tested again when the two firms merged and economic fac- tors had to be weighed up. KPMG cal- culated that running both MS-DOS and Macintosh would increase devel- opment costs overall by up to 50 per cent, but that the total cost of stand- ardising on Apple equipment was less than one-quarter the cost of company-wide standardisation on IBM machines. Some specialist UK tax software is still running on Compaq machines, because of the complexity and constantly changing nature of the programs, and some software originally written for IBM equipment has been translated for the Macintoshes using “C”, a high-level programming language. The main commercial software pack- age used by staff is Microsoft’s Excel, an integrated spreadsheet with built- in graphics and a worksheet-oriented database. PMM’s major thrust has been in the development of its own integrated software programs. “We have spent a long time, in conjunction with Apple, creating an integrated portfolio of programs designed to reflect our auditing meth- ods and our proven proprietary ” said Russell Grant. PMM’s aim was to identify the best manual techniques for any process, twenty-two and then computerise them. New pro- cedures have been designed so that they can easily be translated on to the Macintosh at a later date. “It has taken almost a decade to devise a methodology which would work in the field. It had to be flexible so it could tackle any situation, and usable by people not trained to be computer operators,” he said. PMM’s current applications include a file analysis tool, which will go through a client’s files looking for exceptional items and then produce detailed analyses. There is also a statistical sampling program, and a program which automates the pro- duction of documentation such as flow charts. Another program will pick up client’s trial balances and translate them into final accounts format for any country and then handle the schedule of analysis. It makes adjust- ments easier to incorporate, and auto- matically keeps all papers up to date. Another area under consideration is - the development of programs to pull data off a client’s mainframe, what- ever make it was, and transfer it to the Macintosh. PMM is working with Apple on ways of doing this. For the future, PMM is looking at using HyperCard to hold and main- tain some of the mass of data current- ly kept in auditing manuals. ‘One of PMM’s difficulties in the early days was finding enough people with programming skills. ‘Learning how to get the best out of an application was quite a problem,’ Russell Grant con- ceded. However. with a body of expertise built up he lists numerous benefits, in addition to the overriding achieve- ment of making staff more efficient. The ability to send fully formatted files across the world via electronic mail is useful on international assign- ments, where auditors in different countries need fast feedback. The Macintosh includes features such as currency signs, which can be altered to suit local custom. Asa spin-off from its main activity of collecting data, PMM has found Apple’s Desktop Publishing facilities a bonus. It can produce a series of mas- ters to be sent direct to the printing department and, if outside contrac- tors use the PostScript language, it can be sent direct to an external printer as well. ‘We used to have to send out drafts to be made up and that meant days lost waiting for it to come back. Now we can use the time that we save getting more information into our documents and therefore take more factors into account.” PMM is confident it has an automated methodology to carry its work into the next century, and a tool to implement it in the Macintosh. “In terms of buying the equipment and writing the software, at the beginning, we did feel as though it was a bottomless pit,” said Russell Grant. ‘But now we feel PMM has concrete foundations which have set hard, while some people still out in tents with makeshift arrangements will notice when the wind blows.’ IAL SERVICES Who audits the Times Top 1000 companies? Pat Sweet is a freelance journalist -— Company name Peat Marwick McLintock (UK arm of Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler) Founded January 1987 (by merger of Peat Marwick International and Klyveld Main Goedeler to form KPMG) Registered office 1 Puddle Dock, Blackfriars, London EC4V 3PD. Tel. 01-236-8000 Number of offices 55 Senior parmer P J Butler CBE i Number of employees 8,361 Number of partners 457 Turnover £232.4 million. (Year end- ing 30 September 1987.) KPMG world-wide $3.25 billion. Major clients Eurotunnel, TSB, Virgin, British Airways, Capital Radio, London Docklands s = y = a 8 s ty s Number of Companies a & Development Corporation, Milton Keynes Development Corporation. Comments PMM claims @ to audit 17 per cent of the Times ‘Top 1,000 companies in the UK; W to be the largest single employer of graduates outside the civil service; Mithat it has advised on 48 per cent of management buy-outs since 1980 — more than the other “Big 8” firms combined. In the January 1988 issue of Scottish Business Insider PMM. came top of the annual league table showing which companies audit Scotland’s Top 100 companies. twenty-three Apple and Digita information tc "LE AND THE APPLE LOGO ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS OF APPLE COMPUTER. INC. THE DIGITAL LOGO IS A TRADEMARK OF DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION bring a world of our fingertips. é. Apple. lial i|tlal| Working together Hurry up an Whether it’s a two-page letter or rearranging pages of a 100-page report, the whole point paragraphs with a of writing is simple click of the to get tothe mouse. _ point. And a simple And noth- mouse click is all _ ing gets you need to check and you there correct your spelling, using faster than Word's integrated customisable Microsoft» 80,000 word dictionary. Word 3. Plus you can assign Word the wovng en ouinereatngin tiTMe-CONSuming chore of generat- Word moves is associated ; = cdma acest ‘arogenserowrhoses — IN a Complete index and table of eager rearrange your words. contents. That’s because Word is not your Preview and ordinary word processor. It’s a great adjust page layout deal more. before you print. Tn fact, Word is the Macintosh™’s Even customise first document processor. 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[1] Other Microsoft applications for the Apple Macintosh. Position . (CJ Microsoft applications for the IBM PS/2™series, the IBM PC Company and compatibles. Addi . ‘Number of Macintoshes at my site: sas [Jlto5 []6to20 [Over 20 Complete and return coupon to: verlooked —timesavers, like 1 Siakor times, Postcode e ability to select words, Renting BeachreRGL BR.” Teo sntences or paragraphs at | “egecausiak eau e touch of a button. mee ee mes itt aires sts se 8 Microsoft Limited, Excel House, 49 De Montfort Road, Reading, Berkshire RG1 8LP. Telephone (0734) 500741. For the name of your nearest Microsoft dealer, call P&P Micros on (0706) 217744 or 01-677 7631 Microsoft and the Microsoft logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Macintosh is a trademark of Apple Computer Inc. IBM is a registered trademark and PS/2 is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. The company names and data used in the illustrations are fictitious. Information overload on the Stock Exchange (above) is being countered by new technolo Telekurs’ Paul Paton: people want to do more with data than aid just look at it _THE MONEY PROGRAM COMES TO TOWN. In the wake of “Black Monday” the City’s need for instant and accurate data is more vital than ever. Roger Cowe looks at how the information arm of a major consortium of Swiss banks has turned the Macintosh I! into a portal to the international financial community. Il businesses are nowadays in danger of suffering from iafoerantion overload. The fiantinl coelomic probably at the forefront of this phenomenon, and has therefore been eager to use the latest technology, although there is sometimes a suspicion that some of the technology may have been counter- productive. The drive for better, faster informa- tion which can be manipulated more easily has now led to a combination of innovative software and the friendly twenty-nine Macintosh interface, to produce a financial decision support system which caused a stir at last November's “Computers in the ” exhibition. The product is INDES (Invest Decision System) and it has been developed by a Swiss company as a response to the information pressures on fund managers, analysts and deal- ers in modern financial institutions. The company, Telekurs, began life 25 years ago as an information collec- tor for a consortium of Swiss hanks and Stock Exchanges, It is now owned FINANCE by 350 Swiss banks and has devel- oped into a major technology-based financial information provider. It has amassed 200,000 stocks and shares and other financial instruments such as options, financial futures and commodities. - Three years ago Telekurs decided to develop a system which would not only put this database at the fingertips of the financial world, but would allow data to be worked with in a way which could revolutionise fund man- agement practice. The result is INDES, and the first version is nearly complete for a Spring delivery. Telekurs is currently opening computer centres in the key financial centres around the world to sell and support its products to the world’s leading financial institutions. Telekurs chose the Macintosh for this exciting development because there simply wasn’t any alternative.Tim Beresford, of Telekurs’ London office said: ‘Originally the Macintosh was the only true 32-bit processor around, so it was the only desktop machine with the power to handle the volume of realtime updates and data we want- ed to provide.’ Sales Manager Alan Currie continued: “The Macintosh is a very powerful terminal, also Apple has the same attitude as us. They are relative newcomers and have a young company attitude. They are not going to sit there and rely on the way they have always done things.’ Currie was pleasantly surprised at the active interest shown by many banks and other institutions when INDES was exhibited for the first time in the UK at the “Computers in the City” exhibition. Much of the excitement must come from the friendly interface of the Macintosh, but it could also stem from the promise that INDES will be the first of a new generation of di support systems for the financial community. In recent years the volume of infor- mation available to workers in the financial world has grown exponen- tially. But there has been no shortage of demand for it. Globalisation of the financial mar- kets has increased the importance of overseas stocks and stock exchanges. International economic volatility has made currency and interest rate thirty movements more crucial. And Left: INDES increased competitiveness has put opens up more pressure on the fund managers multiple active to perform. The pressure has been windows each enhanced in London by the BigBang becoming a of October 1986. separate The result has been an expansion in resource of the number of electronic price and realtime data news services and the costly develop- ment by financial institutions of sys- tems to bring together these sources of vital information with in-house opera- tion and decision support systems. Dealers, fund managers and fund analysts are faced with a bewildering array of technology which attempts to give them the information they need the very second they need it. This has resulted in a motley collection of different systems, none of which have really been tailored to the user’s specific needs. ‘Typically, dealers are faced with three or four screens. These provide news from companies such as Reuters and Excel, prices from services such as the Stock Exchange’s Topic, and analysis from companies such as Datastream. On top of that are in- house systems for carrying out deals and managing exposures. This mix alone would make for high- ly sophisticated systems. But the need for speed in receiving information and making deals ensures that the finan- cial sector is at the leading edge of information technology. This is why the major players have had to spend so many millions building systems. From the fund manager's point of view the problem is one of focusing on arelatively small part of the information jungle. The highly unpredictable volatility of the financial marketplace means the exact focus is likely to shift quickly. So man- agers’ information requirements are changing second by second. Realtime information systems which show price changes as they happen in the financial markets typically pro- vide pages of information in static formats. Every user gets identical data even if he or she is only dealing with one small sector. In almost all cases the systems are passive. 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And QIC-100 compatibility assures tape interchangeability between drives. Call us today for further inform- mation. First Software, Intec-1, Wade Road, Basingstoke, Hants RG24 ONE. Tel: 0256 463344. Telex: 859030. TEQUAR FROM ae FOC SOFOVE DISTRIBUTORS OF THE WORLD'S LEADING COMPUTER PRODUCTS, (OT-Mac40, Qualitylape and Quickturn trademarks of Teomar, Inc: Macintosh trademark of Melntosh Laboratory, Inc. licensed to Apple Computer. Inc. Tape Backup 40SC. AppleShare and A/UX trademarks of Apple Computer. Inc, Copyright Teemar. Inc . a subsidiary of Rexon, Inc 1967. Allright reserved FINANCE sereen which actually delivers the financial information. The trend now is towards systems which combine information with the kind of interactive systems that ana- lysts need to understand the impact of market changes. Reuters, for example. i i spreadsheet which feeds prices into dealers’ models to help them evaluate price changes against their trading strategies. INDES adopts the same approach ona remarkable scale. Through the medium of the Macintosh it will bring toa fund manager’s desktop the huge array of information Telekurs holds on dealings in 100 markets around the world. And the power of the Macintosh, together with the INDES software, will allow users to see exact- ly those bits of information they might be most interested in, and to manipu- late it with the ease for which the Macintosh has become renowned. Unlike conventional systems INDES does not present all users with a uni- form collection of information pages. It allows each user to specify precisely which stocks, for example, will be dis- played in the price quote section. And it allows the user to change that speci- fication at the flick of a switch. The windowing facilities of the Macintosh also allow the INDES user to see a variety of screens within the one terminal screen, and to vary the size and position of each window using the mouse. The Macintosh’s pull- down menu system enables users to bring up new options quickly. But INDES is not merely a passive viewdata system for receiving infor- mation and transmitting messages. It is based on the concept of the spread- sheet, so that users can carry out all manner of computations on the data contained in the system. It is difficult to specify a typical com- bination of facilities. An example might see a combination on one screen of a quote window showing pri movements from around the world, portfolios showing the latest valua- tion, a “tickertape” delivering news on pre-defined subjects, a third party news service, and a graph of index movements from minute to minute. The quote window can include any mix of securities from any of the 100 markets covered. The securities will be defined and changed at will by the user, as will the order they are dis- played in and the information required to be shown about them. Up to 10,000 can be selected from the 200,000 covered by the Telekurs database. The same obviously applies to the portfolios. Up to 100 may be main- tained on each terminal and the manager can add or delete stocks sim- ply using the mouse. A “what-if” fune- tion shows the effect on the portfolio of a potential transaction. Up to 100 limits may also be set. Once a limit is defined by the user, the system auto- matically keeps track of movements on that security and creates an audio and visual alarm when either the upper or lower limit is breached in trading. Telekurs’ UK marketing director Paul Paton admits that “Black SECOND OPINION Monday” did affect the plans to mar- ket INDES. But he adds there has actually been a silver lining to the events of October 19. “In some ways it has actually had a positive aspect because it has made people examine the services they have got and those they are buying. There’s more concern with value for money. People want to do more with data than just look at it. They don’t want to buy single-function systems,’ said Paton, who has been making around two presentations a day to interna- tional banks and investment houses. With its power and flexibility it is hardly surprising INDES was such a hit at “Computers in the City”. Since that exhibition there has been some fine tuning to the product such as the ability to print from Laser Writer. One major US investment bank is already keenly interested in using the system as a means of improving its competi- tive edge in what, since the October crash, has become a desperately cut- throat industry. Roger Cowe is a financial journalist on The Guardian Company Name Telekurs AG Founded May 1962 Registered office Neue Hard II, 8005 Zurich Corporate client base 3,000 world- wide Number of employees 1,400 Turnover 260 million Swiss frane Subsidiaries UK, US, France, Germany, Netherlands Mark Cardy is a fund manager with ‘Atlanta Fund Managers and is responsible for seven unit trusts worth £20 million. His session with INDES was the first,time he had used a Macintosh. Cardy was particularly impressed with the system’s ease of use. “Having the realtime window display of a port- folio was very useful. It gives the abili- ty to offer clients instant answers instead of last valuations that may no longer be up to date. ‘Showing the last price dealt is help- ful as it enables you to tell if there is a real move in the market. The way it thirty-two highlights stock price movements is also a plus. “The problem I found was that, unlike TOPIC 200, the program didn’t display how much stock was up on the day. But one very helpful function is being able to punch up Japanese and Hong Kong stock and see them move in realtime. If itis possible to bring up one window showing New York and on another, say, Hong Kong, then I think Telekurs is laughing. It is useful to see all the markets on one screen without having to punch them up individually.” David Banks RENT YOUR WAY INTO DESK TOP PUBLISHING CCA MICRO / RENTALS CCA Micro Rentals Limited Unit 7/8, Imperial Studios Imperial Road, London SW6 2AG Telephone: 01-731 4310 Fax: 01-736 9227 Sunmomjan 2/Sd Wal <> oewalddy sg aigeyiog 9g¢ beduiog Surysijqng doyysaq @ \ ae ‘ In the time it takes to print a page, your understanding of desktop publishing could be out of date. Things just move that fast in the DTP race. And as if you hadn't gathered by now, the only way in is ‘carefully’. At CCA, we've made something of a speciality of helping our customers into new areas. With Rental. It's a low- cost way to see what's on offer without committing vast sums of money or re- source. We'll configure. We'll deliver. We'll up- grade or downgrade your systems as you wish. You just have the pleasure of using and experimenting. Then buying if you wish. Micros, laser printers, software, the lot. And if rental shows your choice is not up to scratch, we'll change it or remove it. At one stroke, you get to keep your san- ity, freedom and budgets intact. Whether you experiment or commit, CCA can help you decide. We stock IBM Personal System/2s, Compaq 386 Portables, Apple Mac IIs and a million varieties of toner, dots per inch and page description languages. The Rental Source I ! 1 ys er I d Send immediately for our free 1 ' CCA MICRO information pack containing i 1 7 ARE} independent product reviews and 1 r / INTALS overviews of the rental market. ! 1 1 I 1 yp Name: Position: I | Company: ! [Address ! I Telephone No: } I J _ | aminterested inthe following areas (please tick): The Rental Source | TO Desitop Publish Apple Mactt CCA Micro Rentals Limited Lares abe Eieeenets Unit 7/8, Imperial Studios ! H Desktop Communications Compaq 386Portable Imperial oad, LondonSW62AG pO Networking OO iemes2 Telephone: 01-731 4310 I ae Fax: 01-736 9227 1 Oil crisis averted Apple, the Apple logo and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft cop. Image created using W Macintosh. vign and Solid Dimensions from Visual Information, Inc. These days, in spite of the dizzying gyrations of OPEC, the US oil industry has managed to strike gold at home With Apple™ Macintosh” personal computers. Resourceful companies are finding that Macintosh really can help with almost everything. From determining drilling sites and designing refinery equipment to handling routine office tasks like spreadsheets and DeskTop Publishing Like other major companies, theyie even finding that Macintosh maximises prior ‘ computer investments, because it can = communicate with MS-DOS computers and mainframes. Macintosh also hasalower training cost per desktop than any MS-DOS computer - prompting some spectacular jumps in productivity. In a recent in-depth analysis of selected Macintosh installations in business, users consistently reported productivity increases of 15Y%-25% and more. Now that you know why oil and Macintosh mix so well, dial 100 and ask for | Freefone Apple for more information and the | name of your nearest authorised Apple reseller, And avoid a crisis of your own. @ Apple” The power to succeed. CONNECTIVITY BT’S RESEARCH ARM TAKES THE MARKETING PILL Privatisation has brought British Telecom the challenge of turning pure research into profit-driven departments making marketable products. Part of the answer has been to boost power for desktop processing by linking Macintoshes with an existing DEC VAX minicomputer. Maggie McLening visited BT's Martlesham Heath R&D department to see how it is shaping up to commercial realities. where wartime flying hero Douglas Bader took off, British Telecom now develops technology for peacetime launches of a different kind. Projects include a revolutionary translating telephone which uses speech processing to translate busi- ness phrases between six languages. More down-to-earth and already off the drawing board are British Telecom’s System X telephone exchange, the Topaz hands-free cellu- lar phone and the Westminster Cable switched-star cable TV network (the first switch-star system in the UK). Since 1975, the 100 acres that used to be the Martlesham Heath airfield has been the home of British Telecom Research Laboratories (BTRL). BTRL researchers have won the () n the site of the Suffolk airfield thirty-seven Queen’s Award for Technological achievement three times. BTRL researches fi component technology, tions management, network systems, information technology products and information technology standards. Each department is a; into as many as six divisions dealing with a specific area of technology. The British Telecom research arm is now regarded as a world-beater advanced optical fibre transmission systems. A joint business venture with the US-based Du Pont Corporation led to the formation of BT & D. Technologies. Some of the things it will manufacture include opto-elec- tronic components for laser transmit- ters and receivers at a new plant in Ipswich. Although British R & D efforts in GREAT APPLES IN HISTORY No.4: The very first byte Adam Man and Eve (née Rib - his bit of spare), dis- covered earlier than most the pitfalls of office com- puterisation. “In a perfect world” claimed Adam, “we'd have a computer system that kept pace with the business.” “That's nice dear” replied the world’s first computer widow. As proprietors and sole customers of the Paradise Garden Centre, they were at the mercy of their supplier. Around them rotting tangerines, apri- cots and other fruitless old devices lay neglected. From their Acorns grew countless tall oaks before they were convinced those old BBC Bs were finally up the creek. God's problem was the oldest in the book. His dealership was too big - hardly surprising, mind you, from a global multi- national that’s up-and- running in less than a week. Like almost every supplier since - He promised them the earth .. then vanished. He'd managed without technical back-up, so why shouldn't everyone else? “Nobody's perfect, John” He said, not even bother- ing to remember his principal client’s name, “I might be omnipresent, but I can’t be everywhere”. An excuse quoted still to this day. Eventually, while hung up in a particularly slow tree search, Eve was tempted beyond endurance. Adam soon got his teeth into it and left the Almighty an E-Mail message closing their account, nailed to a tree. In time they discovered that the serpent was just as difficult to find. (Have you tried getting purgato- ry on the phone? Just dial 192 and see what it’s like). At last they’d managed to get His back up. “This is Appletalk where I come from” thundered a self- confessed jealous God and promptly evicted them. The rest is history. With nothing between- them save the odd figleaf and a bizarre trust in the Algorythm Method they were soon blessed with two bonny, bouncing peripherals - Able, and his brother Michael, Cain e. At the time, not a lot people knew that. Today the quest for perfection is much simpler. Come and talk to Callhaven (Apple Reseller of The Year 1987!) - people with an original approach; who know their business and talk your language. Plus the latest in Macintosh hardware;, software AVAILABLE AND DEMONSTRATED FROM STOCK; training and, of course, simply divine back-up. LLHAVEN MACINTOSH BUSINESS CENTRES CALLHAVEN Callhaven Computers, 43 Fife Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey. KT11SF, 01-549 5612 Macintosh Business Centre, 137a Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8TZ Kingston Apple Centre Kingston Hill, Kingston upon Thames, 01- 242 6262 Surrey. Opens in April Titley: ‘majority of staff have a Macintosh for producing docu mentation’ high technology have traditionally been technology led rather than mar- ket led, BTRL seems to have recog- nised the inherent limitations this pre- sents, and has now introduced major organisational changes which include the appointment of Programme Office Managers to ensure that R & D effort is closely matched to business needs and commercial requirements. Indeed, privatisation has brought a new atmosphere of commercial reality at Martlesham as BTRL continues the metamorphosis into a business- oriented R & D unit to support British Telecom’s drive into fiercely competitive technology markets. For the first time BTRL has had to justify its existence and define financially-viable business strategi Emphasis is now being placed on achieving a well-balanced R & D port- folio with the bulk of the work financed by BTRL departments sell- ing their services to the BT trading divisions. The annual £190 million R & Dexpenditure (about 2.1 per cent of BT’s turnover) is now being directed to meet BT’s more immediate needs as well as the research necessary to deal with the threats and opportu- nities in the longer term. Privatisation has also led to a streamlining of the management chain. The head of BT’s Research and Technology Executive, Dr Alan Rudge is keen to counter the image of “an ivory tower full of boffins.” He said: ‘My objective is to increase internal financial and commercial expertise to match BTRL’s outstanding technical pability and to ensure that our ser- vices are well coupled with the BT trading divisions.” Computer Resource Manager, Nigel Titley added: ‘People are forced to think about what they are doing and what will come out of it. There is far less speculative research. BT has not cut the budgets, but more money is being channelled into applied research and development. ‘Before privatisation things didn’t work on a direct cost basis because no money was transferred. We now tackle pricing within a project man- agement frame-work on the basis of the man-years of development invested.” Production of software development tools is one of BTRL’s major functions and is carried out by the software engineering department. Many of the development tools origi- nally produced by the department for internal use have now been adopted throughout the commercial computer industry. These include graphics tools capable of generating program c from software charts, multi-user building control applications, and a low-cost graphics application for designing software modules. are developed mainly on IBM apel work- stations connected by Ethernet to a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) VAX minicomputer host The network also supports Unix minis, but they are all outmumbered by the 60 Macintoshes introduced just over three years ago as part of BTRLs move towards providing busi- ness support applications such as pro- thirty-nine ject planning, gr Publishing. All 60 Macintoshes are connected to the Ethernet spine by five main local area networks using a product called AlisaTalk, (supplied in the UK by JPY Associates) which marries the Macintosh’s window/icon/mouse inter- face and local power with the VAX’s high-power shared data processing and communications. AlisaTalk shows the VAX on the Macintosh’s screen as simply another icon to be clicked on like any other disk. oe can connect VAX / VMS ms using Apple’s standard AppleTalk network architectui The Apple computers can # tion either within their own AppleTalk network, or can access the VAX and take advantage of remote printing and spooling. Because the software resides on the raphies, and Desktop CONNECTIVITY Because the software resides on the VAX, Alisa Tall: eliminates the need to install special software on each Macintosh. A major advant: Macintosh users don’t need to be logged onto the VAX to use its file server and print services. A special file server utility provides the inter- change of data between the Macintosh and VAX environments. s that also means aia can work more effi- ciently as it saves them having to do their own back-up. This way the work on whichever machine they want to, and see the VAX as just another disk to be opened. “The Apple machines were chosen mainly for the available software such s MacWrite, MacDraw, MicroPlanner and PageMaker. Staff were generally impressed with the way they could produce good quality inter- nal documents. Although program- mers use dumb terminals for develop- ment work on the mainframe, the majority of them also have a Macintosh on their desks for produc- ing documentation.” One division uses Aldus’s PageMaker Desktop Publi gram to produce an in-hous magazine. The artwork i: uaserWriter and then printed by the reprographies department. Martlesham’s seven-strong sales team, which sells exclusively to the rest of BT, is also a major Macintosh user, It uses App! processing sales records and everyday documentation. Titley is now looking at the opportu- ding Macintosh files into DEC’s Code Management System to solve problems in controlling different versions of fil He hopes to use JPY Associates’ AlisaTalk Print System which will allow users to print documents staight off the VAX. Although each office has an Apple LaserWriter, larger volumes of hard copy are often required. AlisaTalk Digital Print will also be brought in to enable a Macintosh to use DEC’s PrintServer 40. This can print 40 pages per minute, compared shing pro- » 20-page ted on machines for to eight pages from the Laser Write: This is expected to simplify BTRL’s document production. Whether the Macintosh business support systems would have been pri- orities before privatisation is debat- able. But BT has been forced to examine and revise almost every aspect of its structure in a bid to become a world force in technology, as well as in telecommunications. A vital component of the iting strategy has been the stimulation of commercial awareness in areas hith- erto allowed to dwell in pseudo- academia. a Maggie McLening is Contributing Editor of Apple Business Founded: 1984 Registered Office: 81 Newgate Street, London ECIA 7AJ Chairman: Iain Vallance Number of Employees: 236,461 Turnover: £9,424 million (year end- ing 31 March 1987) Pre-tax profit: £2,067 million (1986: £8,387 million) Range of ordinary share price (over 12 months): 334.00 - 205.00 Earnings per ordinary share: 22.4 pence Dividend per ordinary share: 8.85 pence With AlisaTalk the VAX appears on the Macintosh screen as another disk waiting to be opened <M BT’s Turnover/R&D 10,000 | 8,000 6,000 | 4,000 2.000 5/86 @ &M Turnover 1986/87 forty r- ee ee ¥ MictoVAX ARCHITECTURE DRAWING THE LINE ON NEW TECHNOLOGY Architectural practice Leslie Fox Albin has revolutionised its business by replacing traditional drafting boards and Rotring pens with Macintoshes. The success of its Computer Aided Design approach was proved last year when the three-year-old company won the Architecture/Construction category of the Micro/CAD Achievement Awards for one of its projects designed entirely on a Macintosh. Graham Vickers reports. about the architecture of St Leslie and the Luke’s Hospice in Plymouth, Plymouth hos- although you would never guess what _ pice designed it was just by looking at it. The entire — and drawn ona design of the £850,000 building by Macintosh architects Leslie Fox Albin was con- ceived and refined on a Macintosh in a third of the time it would have taken by conventional methods. T here is something highly unusual — Architect Mark forty-two ARCHITECTURE forty-three ARCHITECTURE St. Luke’s hospice (above and left) was re-designed six times. ‘Tf we hadn’t used Macintosh we would have given up,’ said Leslie Indeed so successful was the use of the Macintosh in the St Luke’s Hos- pice project that it resulted in Leslie Fox Albin scooping the Architecture/ Construction category of last year’s Micro CAD Achievement awards. Ironically the awards are given by IBM CAD software house Robocom. Partner Mark Leslie says the Macintosh has revolutionised the structure and business of architec- tural practice Leslie Fox Albin. ‘We had to re-design the St Luke’s project six times. If we had been using conventional methods we would have given up long ago,” he admits. Architects are not generally consid- ered to belong to a fast moving, responsive profession. Trying to sell computer technology to an architect therefore can be an uphill struggle as traditional working methods are not easily abandoned. Leslie Fox Albin broke with tradition when they virtually sold themselves a Macintosh 512k, and then went on to challenge the conventional wisdoms about architecture and CAD. The company soon bought another Macintosh, then more. ‘Today it has eight Macintoshes, one for each member of staff. But then partner Mark Leslie is not a typical architect. Graduate of Jesus College, Cambridge and Harvard Graduate School of Design, fast talker and critic of the mainframe mentality, Leslie has a lot to say about the Macintosh. “The Macintosh is ideally suited to what most architects are doing most of the time,” he says. For some members of his profession, however, he says: “The word “com- puter” has them reaching for the clove of garlic and the stake.” Leslie’s view of computing is based on his practice’s remarkable two- year success story to which he believes the Macintosh has contrib- uted ficantly. However he did have to deal with initial scepticism from the ranks of fellow professionals who had thrown away the garlic and invested in CAD systems costing between £25,000 and £50,000. Leslie Fox Albin was founded in 1985 by Mark Leslie, Gerald Fox and Colin Albin. Leslie confidently predicts turnover for 1988 will reach £500,000 compared to the £60,000 notched up forty-four from the first year’s trading. The three partners had previously worked together as the principal UK associates of the Peter Legg interna- tional design practic There much of their work had involved selling architectural design solutions to giant computer companies by means of bucolic, hand-drawn visualisations. Nowadays their work includes some more human-scale environmental pro- jects which they present and design exclusively with Macintosh technology. Leslie believes that even Apple may not yet fully realise how suitable its products are for architects. ‘I believe Apple has looked at what the CAD industry is trying to sell to architects and concluded that its product isn’t quite like that.” Tn fact most architectural companies tend to be small; often employing only two or three people, which makes them ideal candidates for a Macintosh architectural system where the idea of a graphics processor as a user-friendly alternative to the Rotring pen is really very appropriate. A full CAD system is something that would suit a much bigger, multidisciplinary type of organisation. ‘Our first Macintosh appealed to us as a handy gadget for labelling archi- tectural drawings. Gradually we began to see its potential for actually generating drawings,’ explained ie. We were renting for the first few months, but once we agreed we needed to buy a system we had a good look at everything on the market. Armed with what we knew about our rented Macintosh, we were able to ask all the awkward questions.” Atari and AutoCAD were both con- sidered. So was the system recom- mended by the Royal Institute of British Architects for small architec- tural practices; TurboCAD. “But it was MacDraft software which convinced us. The great thing about MacDraft is that it has been designed to work the way architects think. ‘T understand an enhanced version is imminent. But if no other piece of software ever came out, we'd be happy with MacDraft.” In fact the practice currently uses three software packages. These are Schema (a3D modeller used for Nature's beauty is there for us all to appreciate. But it’s a beauty combined with practicality. Everything:has its purpose. As with our new large-format plotters, the DPX-3300 (A1) and DPX-2200 (A2). These 8-pen flatbed machines, which offer identical advanced features, combine attractive, sleek styling that will enhance any CAD or architectural environment, with comprehensive, user-efficient control facilities that pay no heed to frivolous gimmicks. They offer the beauty of precision and versatility, too. Amaximum plotting speed of 450mmisec and 0.0125mmistep resolution ensure fast, accurate, high quality drawings every time. Oversize plotting areas (ANSI/ISO) optimise format flexibility, and RD-GLII/HP-GL’* command sets mean compatability with all = leading CAD software. On request, we'll even advise on software configuration. With 35% of Roland DG production-line staff employed exclusively on quality control or inspection, operational reliability goes without saying. And it’s endorsed by a no-nonsense one-year on-site guarantee, free annual preventative maintenance call, and optional low-cost maintenance contracts for subsequent years. The beauty of our keen pricing is the lack of hidden extras. At £4,600* and £3,400", DPX-3300 and DPX-2200 come complete with pens, starter paper pack, and adjustable-angle (15°-60°) mobile chrome stand equipped with twin paper trays and SYA-350 Buffer carrier. Make the right large format decision. Call us now or send for detailed range information pack. Roland|# 983 Great West Road, Brentford, Middlesex TW8 9DN e Telephone: 01-847 5665 © Fax: 01-847 1528 Telex: 934470 Roland G * Retail excl. VAT We acknowledge all Trademarks ARCHITECTURE spatial analysis), MacDraft (the draughting facility) and MacPaint (to apply texture). “The real beauty of the system lies not within any of the software itself but in the integrated environment of the systems. ‘Its great strength is that objects on one system can be dragged out, cut. and pasted onto another, All problems of differing scale are automatically taken care of. Only Apple has achieved that kind of environment. “The standard CAD approach is to have an all-singing, all-dancing pack- age that tries to do everything, y have so many features pms become virtually unus- AN. Macmitc h, on the other hand, is a simple environment which allows you to have an electronic pencil soft- ware, rubber software and ruler soft- ware which can all talk to one In practice, Leslie Fox Albin now hema to create a basic model on the computer. A viewpoint is chosen and hidden line removal is caculated before the model is trans- ferred to MacDraft for detail work. MacPaint supplies the final touche and then the drawing is printed out. The practice does not have a plotter and Leslie seems to enjoy the sudden return to “hands-on” finalities; print- outs are photocopied, put on film, and any colouring is done by hand. “What i is happening now is that e being produced in such » fast that they have ity than those big y ‘Workstations are like draw- ing boards,’ says Leslie. “Everyone on the design team has to have one.” And cost recovery? “At ntosh has only repre- sented the cost of one employee for one year. And it has doubled our equivalent of four employee fact it’s saved us several thous pounds in the first year alone Leslie Fox Albin has also been able to generate much bigger projects which Leslie says would have been impossi- ble to tackle without the Macintosh. One of these projects, Leslie main- tains, endorses his view that micros are what people really want. “Last year we started working for New Jersey-based Becton Dickinson, a multinational manufacturer of blood-sampling tubes. It uses IBM throughout, but has now bought eV- eral Macintosh II’s to act as ree stations for our design drawings. “We soon realised that the people we were dealing with were using us, the architects, as the excuse for getting in the system they wanted.” TEP ANG AREA SE Drawings for the £7 million Becton { Dickinson factory were entirely Macintosh- generated —— > The first job Talis undertook for Becton Dickinson was a 40,000 sq ft extension for its Plymouth blood- sampling tube factory. The work was done entirely on a Macintosh from proposals to final designs in less than six months. On November 5 last year Leslie was given the go-ahead to design a £7 million 180,000 sq ft labware factory for Becton Dickinson next to the ‘eurTER oe. SL FORA company’s blood-sampling factory. On-site building work began on January 4 this year and the factory is due for completion at the end of the scale would be impossible using conventional meth- ods. The Macintosh cuts the whole proce: literally, months.” Leslie’s praise for the Macintosh is effusive although he feels the stan- dard sereen is too small. The company did recently invest in a e 19” Megascreen which acts as a valuable punctuality incentive to down b: staff. The first in gets to work on it. reative professional thin still the practice’s strength. But itis the Macintosh that has enabled us to expand rapidly, prestigiously and profitably by cutting out the time- consuming graphic chores. “Sophisticated three graphics and colour are fun but not essential. What you really need is a system which can handle dimensioned line drawings covered in text with greater speed than using a Rotring ing is jimensional forty-seven pen.” He also warns against getting a computer system just for drawing. be effective, a computer system must electronically integrate every conceiv- able office activity. “Computer experts may sneer at the acintosh because its accessibility takes away their role in life. But you only have to look around our office to see what it can achieve Graham Vickers is a freelance architectural and design journalist. king over the site of the 180,000 Becton Dickinson factor From drawings to the start of on-site building took l than two months thanks toa © Macintosh The relational database for the Macintosh It can be very difficult, choosing Database Software. Whichever package you choose will change the way you work, change the way you approach problems. It's like choosing a partner. 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Adding fuel to the Macintosh fire, we present our most powerful computer yet: The Macintosh II. sa Which because of its talent for easy expansion, is raising even more corporate eyebrows. Just take off its cover and you can easily appreciate why. Inside are six expansion slots that represent an entirely - new kind of technology. They handle information with extraordi- nary speed and they have the good manners to ‘configure’ themselves. So, however many devices you add, there are never any switches to set. : As for the available options theyte rather revolutionary as well. Add a co-processor card and you can run not only Macintosh programs, but other programs you may already be using on IBM’ PCs. A communications card can provide connections to office networks like Ethernet’ and company mainframes. And with a video card, you can drive the high-resolution 13” Apple RGB monitor, to create images of near photographic quality, drawing from a gs palette of more than 16 million colours. Macintosh II is open\ for other choices as well. ‘sisictdi You can expand memory all the way to eight ag ol on the main board. Choose one or two floppy disk drives. And a built-in hard disk that stores 20, 40 or 80 megabytes of work. But expandability is only part of our story. At the core of Macintosh II is a 32-bit Motorola 68020 processor, clocking in at a power: ful 16MHz. A numeric co-processor allows the Macintosh II to perform calculations 200 times faster Unlike other desktop computers - it comes as standard. For more information dial 100 and ask for Freefone Apple. foe Once youve got | |™~ your hands on an Apple Macintosh II youll uncover a whole new source of power. ©. Apple.” The power to succeed. v sill © 1987 Apple Computer Inc. Apple, the Apple logo and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. MORE is a trademark of Living Videotext Inc. MS:DOS and Microsoft are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. Ethernet is a registered trademark of Xerox Corp. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corp. AppleCentre Liverpool 150 Mount Pleasant, Liverpool 13 5SR Tel 051 709 5959 Contact: OWEN HARGREAVES AppleCentre West Midlands Unit 6, The Exchange Industrial Estate, Watling Street, Bridgetown, Cannock, WS11 3BW Tel 05435 3663 Contact: JOHN FLETCHER We were ready for you DEC! In fact some of us have been putting Macintoshes together with VAX for some time now. If you're a VAX user and want to experience the friendli- ness of the Macintosh interface, speak to the four spe