MacWEEKV07N18

05.03.93 Volume 7 Number 18 TH £& NEWSWEEK WY “FoOck MACINTOSH MANAGERS LaserJet 4Si MX HP delivers solid printer 5 for network needs. Tempo Ill Plus 3.0 | Affinity’s macro upgrade branches out. General MIDI sound module ‘A comparison of two Mac sound generators. SMOIIAD See Page 63 HP Apple putting little engine from Canon in low-end printers ‘Smart’ QuickDraw LaserWriter in works By Matthew Rothenberg Santa Clara, Calif. — A diminu- tive new Canon laser engine making its debut this week in a Hewlett- Packard Co. printer also looms large in Apple’s low-end printer plans, sources said. The HP LaserJet 4ML is slated to ship this summer at a suggested retail price of $1,279, including Adobe PostScript Level 2. The first Apple model with the new engine, the Personal LaserWriter 300, could be available as early as June; lacking a processor or page descrip- tion language, it could sell for less than $900, sources said. And early next year, Apple is expected to deliv- era higher-end version designed for high-speed output of QuickDraw GX files. The new 4-page-per-minute engine, manufactured by Canon COLOR What's in store? USS.A. Inc. of Lake Success, N.Y., outputs 300 dpi to letter-, legal- or A4-size pages. The engine is signifi- cantly smaller than previous mod- els; the LaserJet 4ML, for example, weighs in at only 15.5 pounds and measures just 14.5 by 14 by 6.5 inches without paper trays. The engine includes a one- button control panel and an energy- saving feature that powers down the printer when it is idle and automati- cally reactivates it when a user trans- mits a print job. The HP LaserJet 4ML incor- porates a 20-MHz Intel Corp. See Printers, Page 135 Kaleida puts off release of ScriptX until next spring By Lisa Picarille and Neil McManus Mountain View, Calif. — Kaleida Labs Inc. has delayed release of the Mac version of ScriptX, its cross- platform, interactive, multimedia scripting language, by more than six months. Ina major change of strategy, the Apple-IBM Corp. joint venture is now expected to ship both Macin- tosh and Windows versions of the product simultaneously in the first quarter of 1994. “There is a good reason for {the delay],” Kaleida CEO Nat Gold- haber said. “The right position for Kaleida is cross-platform. That is one of the most important aspects of the product. So now we plan to bring out the two products simultaneously.” In addition to the Mac and Win- dows, ScriptX will run on Apple’s Sweet Pea consumer multimedia See ScriptX, Page 136 IND ERWOS P A PE R 'S ECOND CLASS | Due for Duos: Color, 040, Ethernet dock By Robert Hess Cupertino, Calif, — Over the next year and a half Apple will release Duos with gray-scale and color screens and 68040 and Power- PC processors, as well as an improved Duo Dock, sources said. Greater grays. In October Apple will offer customers a Duo with the same clear, crisp active- matrix gray-scale screen as the PowerBook 180’s. Identical to the Duo 230 in all other respects, Apple’s new four-bit gray-scale Duo will feature a 9-inch, active-matrix display with the same shadow mask technology that gives the 180 its high-contrast appeal. It will even keep battery life to within 15 percent of the Duo 230, sources said. > Sharper colors. Apple will reportedly forgo passive matrix in bringing color to dockable Power- Books. The first color Duo, also slated for release in October, will have an eight-bit, active-matrix color screen, sources said. The dis- See Future Duos, Page 136 PowerBooks will evolve over the next year PowerBook 145B Less expensive B&W passive PowerBook 180c Active color 8-bit support ” 640x480 pixels Summer ‘93, Many users waiting for active color screens By Kirsten L. Parkinson and Jon Swartz San Francisco — Apple may view its first color portable with rose- tinted glasses, but most users remain colorblind concerning the PowerBook 165c. A spot survey of corporate buyers and dealers revealed that demand for the PowerBook 165c¢ has “dropped off dramatically” since it became widely available in March. One major Mac distributor said dealer orders plummeted from 1,000 units in March to only 170 last month. “Users are telling dealers the 165cis too expensive and doesn’t have an active-matrix screen,” she said. Many business users, who snatched up the PowerBook and made it one of Apple’s most success- Sales sluggish for passive-matrix PB 165¢ New Duo zz Active gray scale New Duo Dock 8-bit color on 21° New Color Duo 1-Mbyte VRAM Adive color Ethernet built-in 8-bit support 32-Kbyte CPU cache 640x480 pixels > FPU standard Fall ‘93 ful product lines, said they don’t need color when they’re on the road. “We only have 140s and 145s. We really don’t do that much with color for people who travel,” said Tom Jeanette, computer support Vernon Huang, a U.S. Navy flight surgeon based in Santa Ana, Calif., said the Power- Book 165cis “ideal” for displaying medical references. Low-cost PB set for June; 180c to follow By Raines Cohen Cupertino, Calif. — Apple will fill some gaps in the PowerBook line this summer with a lower-cost entry-level model and an active- matrix color notebook. In addition, the company will begin bundling a client-only version of AppleTalk Remote Access (ARA), its dial-up networking soft- ware, with all PowerBook models. > The PowerBook 145B, due next month, will list for less than $1,500 in a 4/40 configuration and See Summer PBs, Page 135 “040 Duo 68LP040 33 MHz Active color 16-bit support PowerPC Duo Sleep while > “O03based | docked Low power Summer ‘94 Fall ‘94 en ere manager at Federal Express Corp. of Memphis, Tenn. “The people that travel mainly do spreadsheets and word processing.” At the same time, those who are See PowerBook 165c, Page 135 MES AROHONSKY ANY TECHWORKS POWERRAM™ MEMORY UPGRADE Power Into Your POWERBOOK AND CONNECTIX POWERBOOK UTILITIES SPIRAL™, THE ELECTRONIC NOTE-TAKING TOOL FOR THE POWERBOOK, A $129 VALUE! CPU FROM CONNECTIX, 5 GREAT POWERBOOK UTILITIES, A $99 VALUE! The HP 100LX, anew I1-ounce palmtop DOS device from Hewlett- Packard, offers communications capabilities that could appeal to some Mac users. HP updates palmtop PC 100LX optimized for communications By Henry Norr Corvallis, Ore.— The HP 100LX, a new pocket-size IBM PC compati- ble from Hewlett-Packard Co., lacks the cutting-edge capabilities of Apple’s upcoming Newton. But unlike the Newton, the $749 HP product should be available this week, is already supported by a vast library of applications and is optimized for communications, according to HP. The 100LX, powered by an 80C186 CPU, is the same size and weight — 11 ounces —as its 2-year- old sibling, the HP 95LX. Both have 1 Mbyte of RAM and Lotus 1-2-3 in firmware, but the 100LX’s 2-Mbyte ROM also includes cc:Mail Mobile, a special version of Lotus Development Corp.’s cross-platform electronic- mail software. With the addition of a third-party modem (in external or PCMCIA-card form), Mac users who have cc:Mail on their office networks will have full access to their messages. While the 95LX required special versions of DOS software, the new model can run off-the-shelf DOS applications, HP said. Other en- hancements include a new screen with higher contrast and resolution; a 50 percent increase in CPU performance; an improved suite of personal information management applications; and a nine-pin serial port that works with standard hand- shaking cables, unlike the 95LX’s three-pin connector. HP officials estimated that 20 per- cent of 95LX owners are Mac users. Two vendors that offer Mac-95LX connectivity products plan to update their packages to support the 100LX. DataViz Inc. of Trumbull, Conn., which currently offers a $129 pack- age called MacLinkPlus/95LX, said it expects to release a new version called MacLinkPlus/HP Palmtop, with cables and format-translation software for both the 95LX and the 100LX. Sparcom Corp., based here, said it expects to release new versions of Mac DataExchange, its $89.95 cable-and-software kit, and of its SmartDock, a docking station bun- dled with Mac or IBM PC software, sometime this summer. Also due later this year are updat- ed wireless-communications add- ons from RAM Mobile Data Inc., Motorola Inc. and SkyTel Inc. The 100LX will be sold through computer dealers and superstores. The 95LX will remain available through consumer-electronics channels. In other personal digital assistant news, EO Inc. last month shipped its device (see story, Page 26). Hewlett-Packard Co. is at N.E. Circle Blvd., Corvallis, Ore. 97330. Phone (800) 443-1254. Ingram to sell third-party software on CD Santa Ana, Calif, — Ingram Micro Inc. last week announced the creation of a new division to sell third-party software on CD-ROMs and other media. Ingram Micro Technology Ser- vices will launch its first program, CD-Access, in September. It will provide resellers with a CD con- taining both demo and full but encrypted versions, plus manuals of 100 to 200 programs, including business and education software, utilities, and games for the Mac, Windows and DOS. ‘The company plans to initiate the program with a pressing of 500,000 discs, which resellers will be able to distribute free to customers. Users will be able to get decryption codes providing access to the full versions of the software by calling a toll-free number and providing a credit card number. Resellers will earn a com- mission for each product unlocked from discs they distributed. Two competing distributors, Merisel Inc. and Tech Data Corp., said they will offer similar services this year. Apple reportedly is plan- ning its own CD-ROM-based soft- ware sales program. 0 4 20 26 26 26 36 36 42 56 acWEE (SSW 08928118) published weeky, wth he exception fg. 30, Nov. 22, ond Dec. 20 and 27 by Zt Davis Pulstn Co, 1 Park Ave, New Yr, indudngpostoge: $6, Oneyearsutscpion ae: US. $99, Conada/Mexico US. $200, Itetiona US. $325 (cima. Allrdes mus be prepaid. ec subscigi News Touchbase, Datebook turn Pro with lower prices After Hours uses Apple events to integrate contact manager and calendar application. FileRunner enters Mac file-synchronization race MBS technologies utility reconciles data across multiple machines. Management: Disabilities Act can help office Legislation helps managers obtain proper equipment to keep disabled employees on the job. Gateways Apple ships Workgroup Server 95 Targets client- server markets with AppleShare Pro. AppleShare 4.0 takes on software pirates New protocol searches out unauthorized copies of server software. News analysis: AURP gets the OK Early users generally pleased but have had to adjust their network-management procedures. GA Gold Disk hopes to Astound with new app Astound lets users create slides, multimedia presentations. Polaroid picks up pace with new film recorder Cl-5000S model outputs slides up to twice as fast as its predecessor. Special Report: The color solution In this report on desktop color technology, MacWEEK presents a round-table discussion among industry experts on color management, along with reports on ink-matching systems and a proposal for a 48-bit standard. BusinessWatch Radius results prompt reorganization Operations, sales and marketing overhauled; three executive positions eliminated. Aldus earnings, revenues decline Analysts expect sales to stay slow until PageMaker 5.0 ships. VOL.7 NO.18 60 60 él 61 63 64 65 68 69 3B 78 78 138 82 86 5 MacWEEK 05.03.93 Editorial Move to Intel platform is fraught with risk. Commentary/Jean-Lovis Gassée ISDN is almost here. Letters A revealing crack in PowerBook display. Mac Manager/Don Crabb Why managers have the rightsizing jitters. Reviews LaserJet 4Si MX built for speed HP’s latest PS printer features stunning performance. Affinity picks up its Tempo Venerable macro upgrade offers branching capability. Forum: Making flippy-floppy over flopticals Floptical comparison drives vendors to write. General MIDI sound modules in tune Roland's SoundCanvas SC-55 and Yamaha's TG100 sound investments for presentators. In Brief > Apple takes humane step with Adjustable Keyboard. > Ufility helps users keep hard disks Safe & Sound. ProductWatch Remote access products foster ARA connections ‘ARA products make telecommuting more accessible. MacinTouch/Ric Ford Many questions, but only some answers. Ask David Ramsey Getting more efficient storage out of big hard disks. An object lesson in the pursuit of power Miniature Mac project doesn’t have a prayer. Ad Showcase 136 Advertiser Index Mail Order 137 Product Index Classified ite Customer Service Department, MacWEE, c/o J, .. Box 1766, iveon NJ. 08077-7366; (609) 461-7100. Changes of adress eure tat new opcation be filed out completely and indude both new ond old address. Alow 4-6 weeks for processing. Postmaster: Send address changes to MacWEEK, P.0. Box 1766, Riverton, N.J. 08077-7366. Secondclass postage pid t New Yk an atonal mang ofces. MocEEXs anindependent ound, ot ciated with Ale Compute Inc. Ape and Macintosh are rademas of Apl Compute Ic. Ente coments copyright 1993 Zf¢Dvis Publishing Co, lights eserved Nae in is publicafion may not be reproduced in any fam without prison Requests for pemsion shoud be rece o Chantal velo, 1 Park Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. For information on reprints in quantities of 500 or more, write Carol Peters, ZiftDavis Publishing Co., 1 Pork Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. MacWEEK iso regis- ‘tered trodemark of Zif-Dovis Publishing Co, Printed in U.S.A. Conodian GST registration number is R-123601445. News Iomega to market French cartridges By Henry Norr Santa Clara, Calif. — Users of SyQuest drives may soon be able to get additional cartridges from a surprising second source, but SyQuest Technology Inc. is warn- ing customers — and arguing in U.S. and foreign courts — that the third-party media could dam- age its drives and put existing data in jeopardy. Iomega Corp., SyQuest’s long- time rival in the removable-media market, announced last month that it plans to begin distributing | SyQuest-compatible cartridges within the next three months. The 44- and 88-Mbyte cartridges were developed by Nomai S.A. of ranches, France, which has been distributing them in Europe — Having lost, at least temporari- ly, its bid to have a California court block U.S. distribution of Nomai S.A.’s cartridges, SyQuest Technology Inc. last week launched a publicity blitz aimed at convincing its customers that the French-made removable disks could damage their drives and data. The company released results of tests conducted for it by two Sil- icon Valley testing services. According to SyQuest, Quanta | Laboratories of Santa Clara, Calif, randomly selected 40 44- Mbyte and 40 88-Mbyte Nomai disks from lots purchased on the open market in Europe and com- pared them with a similar number of SyQuest-built cartridges. Of the Nomai cartridges, the report said, “28 percent failed due to grinding, screeching, breaking or similar serious conditions.” None of the SyQuest disks failed the Quanta testing. Surface Science Laboratories of Mountain View, Calif., then disas- sembled 13 of the failed Nomai cartridges and found metal shav- ings or burrs in 12 of them, according to the SyQuest state- ment. Such contamination could damage not only the cartridge but also the drive heads, which in turn could cause damage or data loss on MACWEEK 05.03.93 despite a publicity campaign and a barrage of legal actions on the part of SyQuest— since late last year. SyQuest, alleging theft of trade secrets and the potential for cata- strophic damage to its drive mech- anisms and media, filed suit against Nomai in the Superior Court of California here in December and won an order tem- porarily enjoining distribution of the French-made cartridges. But on April 14 a court-appointed ref- eree effectively lifted that ban by denying a SyQuest motion for an injunction against sales of the disks until the completion ofa trial in the case. Following that _ decision, omega, which is based in Roy, Utah, announced that it had signed a binding letter of intent with Nomai to become the exclusive distributor of the Nomai cartridges worldwide, except in France, where Nomai will continue to mar- Tests show Nomai media could damage ~ both drives and data, SyQuest charges other cartridges, SyQuest said. A. SyQuest-made video for press and analysts offers further details about the alleged prob- lems. It shows Nomai disks fail- ing to spin up properly, loud grinding noises under several cir- cumstances and the hub of one of the French-made disks slipping out of place when the cartridge is dropped. SyQuest officials also said that only they have sufficient familiari- ty with engineering changes to their drives and cartridges since their introduction in 1988 to ensure complete compatibility. An official of Iomega Corp., which intends to distribute the Nomai cartridges after complet- ing its own technical qualifica- tion process, said that the French company has shipped tens of thousands of its cartridges since last fall and that fewer than one in 1,000 has been returned because of failure. He also said that Iomega, which has updated its own Bernoulli drives repeatedly over the past decade, “knows as much about backward compatibility and interchangeability as any- one, and we won’t ship these car- tridges until we’re confident they’re 100 percent compatible.” — By Henry Norr SyQuest confronts clone disks ket them. Iomega said it will launch the cartridges in the U.S. market as soon as it completes its own techni- cal qualification of them. “We want to make sure they are as good as or better than SyQuest’s own cartridges,” said Michael Joseph, Iomega vice president of strategic marketing. He said pricing has not been determined, but “nei- ther of us will make money if we get into a price war.” SyQuest, meanwhile, intensified its legal and publicity campaign against the Nomai cartridges, filing a complaint with the International ‘Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. The Fremont, Calif.-based manufacturer said it has already won an injunction barring import and distribution of the Nomai car- tridges in Germany, and it is seek- ing a similar order in the United Kingdom. Among other charges, SyQuest alleges that Nomai’s cartridge design, packaging and logo are designed to disguise the fact that the contents are what it calls “counter- feit” products. SyQuest showed a Nomai package for a 44-Mbyte car- tridge: The SyQuest name appears in large letters on the front, but Nomai is not mentioned. The stakes for SyQuest are high: Last year 55 percent of its revenues and a much larger proportion of its earnings came from cartridge sales. Sources said the company is consid- ering making changes to its drives to ensure that they will accept only SyQuest-built disks. Grants from the French govern- ment helped finance development of the Nomai cartridges. The com- pany is headed by Mare Frouin, who was previously executive vice president of another French com- pany, Chess S.A.; he helped run the now-defunct Jasmine Technolo- gies Inc. on behalf of Chess in 1990-91.0 DATESOOK PAO Month View Oo After Hours added color icons and ban- ners as well as detachable icon palette to Datebook Pro, its calendar i | a [Dato peal oC [Poy Pose BL program, After Hours releases Pro versions of PIMs integrated via Apple events By Kirsten L. Parkinson Van Nuys, Calif. — Touchbase and Datebook turned Pro last week, but that doesn’t mean customers will have to pay more to play with the After Hours Software personal information managers The company not only revised the names of its contact manager and calendar application — Touch- base Pro instead of TouchBASE and Datebook Pro instead of DateBook — but also slashed their prices. Pre- viously $125 each, the programs now list for $79.95 but are available through a company-sponsored 800 number for $49.95 each; a bundle of both programs is $149.95 or $89.95 via the toll-free line. The new versions feature tighter integration via the personal informa- tion suite of Apple events. Selecting a name and clicking a button in Date- book now opens a Touchbase win- dow that not only displays informa- tion about the contact but also can include buttons for dialing phone numbers, printing letters or faxes, or searching the database. From within Touchbase Pro, on the other hand, users can view all the Datebook events related toa specific contact and add or edit calendar entries. “They've beefed up the integra- tion considerably,” said Bob Leeds, vice president of Personal Comput- er Peripherals Corp. of Tampa, Fla. “It’s much less obvious that you're in two different products.” > Touchbase Pro. A_ built-in word processor lets users create quick letters for mail merge from their con- tact database. A synchronization fea- ture automatically reconciles differ- ing copies of a user’s database. New data-entry aids include pop-up selec- tion menus and a Shortcut function that automatically completes a word after the user types in a few letters. > Datebook Pro. With a hot key, users can at any time open a mini ver- sion of Datebook, where they can add events, to-dos, memos and alarms. A memo feature lets users add notes to any date without linking them to an event or to-do item, while a Days Overdue option tracks how late to-do items are. Other new capabilities include a print-preview option, color icons and banners, a detachable palette, and word-wrap capabilities. “Data entry is very intelligently handled,” Leeds said. “You can enter data from almost any place with a minimal amount of typing.” Upgrades are $24.95 for either program or $39.95 for both. After Hours Software is at Tri Center Plaza, 5990 Sepulveda Blvd., Van Nuys, Calif. 91411. Phone (818) 780-2220 or (800) 367-8911; fax (818) 780-2666. 0 Mannesmann delivers portable PS printer By Matthew Rothenberg Kent, Wash. — Mobile Mac users with a yen for printing Post- Script on the road can turn to a new portable printer from Mannesmann. Tally Corp. The MobileWriterPS, available now for $999, weighs in at 8.3 pounds and measures 11.4 by 8.7 by 2.3 inches. It features a propri- etary 6-page-per-minute, 300-dpi thermal-transfer engine that prints to letter-, legal- or A4-size paper or transparencies. The printer ships with a Post- Script Level 1 interpreter that the company licensed from Microsoft Corp., as well as PCL 4 emulation, and it includes 35 Type 1 fonts. Users can switch between LocalTalk and Centronics parallel interfaces via a DIP switch; auto- matic switching between language emulations is available only through the parallel port. The printer is compatible with Apple’s LaserWriter driver. The MobileWriterPS comes with a 16-MHz 68000 processor. It ships with 2 Mbytes of RAM, which cannot be expanded. The printer also includes an 80- sheet paper feeder, an AC adapter and a rechargeable nickel-cadmium battery. The company said each battery charge and wax-transfer rib- bonis good for 150 pages. Mannesmann Tally offers a 6- foot printer cable for $18 and a car- rying case for $50. Mannesmann Tally Corp. is at 8301 S. 180th St., P.O. Box 97018, Kent, Wash. 98064-9718. Phone (206) 251-5524 or (800) 843-1347; fax (206) 251-5520. 0 The new generation HP LaserJet 4M printer. At last. An HP laser printer built specifically for the Mac—the new LaserJet 4M. A laser printer with everything Mac users need. From built-in PostScript™ Level 2 software from Adobe™ to stand- ard LocalTalk and optional EtherTalk. (©1993 Hewlett-Packard Company PE12354 *Suggested U.S. list pri Adobe Systems Incorporated which may be registered in certain jurisdictio machine, call 1-800-964-1667 from your touch-tone phone. The finest print quality in its class. Thanks to HP’s microfine toner, Resolution Enhancement technol- ogy, and advanced engine designed expressly for 600 x 600 dpi, the LaserJet 4M printer delivers the finest print quality of any 600- dpi machine available. And with a new RISC processor and 6 MB of standard memory accel- erating formatting and 1/O speeds, complex PostScript and graphics files are rendered faster and more clearly than ever before. Greater flexibility. The HP LaserJet 4M printer also sets new standards in versatility, with a wide range of typefaces and two integrated paper trays. True 600 dpi creates rch full-dimensional text and graphics. Smoother jagged edges, thanks toHPS exclusive Resolution Enhancement technology. Microfine toner makes 600-épi output look even sharper. 35 PostScript ‘Type | typefaces for Mac and PC PostScript language users, 35 Intelifont ‘and 10 TrueType ‘typefaces for PC users pro- duce abroad range of docu ment styles In Canada call 1-800-387-9867, Ext. 7340. Adobe and PostScript are trademarks of ms. *To have a LaserJet 4M printer data sheet sent immediately via fax As well as 300 dn 600 a the options 5 E | of a 500- a sheet tray || 5B ae and power Four times the dots for better resolution. envelope feeder. And it’s designed to be shared simultaneously by PCs and Macs. Automatic language switching between PCL 5 and PostScript, and 3 hot I/Os give mixed environments greater flexibility. Without compromise to either. Of course, with the HP LaserJet 4M printer, you'll enjoy HP’s renowned quality and reliability. All for only $2,399* So call 1-800- LASERJET (1-800-527-3753) Ext. 7340** for print samplet and comparison disk. Or visit your nearest authorized HP dealer. HEWLETT | @ | PACKARD News MACWEEK 05.03.93 FileRunner gets in sync with Mac Package synchronizes files on multiple Macs By Robert Hess McMurray, Pa. — MBS Tech- nologies Inc. last month shipped a Mac version of FileRunner, a file- synchronization package previously available only for DOS machines. FileRunner for the Mac main- tains parity among any number of Macs; synchronization can take place either one way or bidirection- ally. Other utilities synchronize only two Macs or volumes, such as a desktop model and a PowerBook. MBS said FileRunner could be useful, for instance, for network administrators to distribute files to clients on a network. The users, in turn, could update shared informa- tion on the server. “J found FileRunner to be very easy and straightforward,” said Mark Lentczner, a general partner at Glyphic Technology of Moun- tain View, Calif. “It hice wilt toe enanges to “pone (the Ramee Vehome: Stee: 9597 byte Lcreatea: at, tr 20,1991 11.2842 44 last always says exactly what it’s going to do and gives you veto power before it does it. Even on my LocalTalk network, FileRunner is very fast. I even use it as my de facto backup software.” Users can flag FileRunner’s Overwrite Safeguard prevents users from inadvertently overwriting important older files, giving the user control over what action is taken. any subsection of a volume for syn- chronization. Andy Witkin, a computer Mr. File learns new ways to search, copy in background, foreground By Robert Hess San Jose, Calif. — Softways last month shipped Version 2.0 of Mr. File, improving the file-management utility’s performance and adding new options for searching and copying. Mr. File copies, erases and searches for files in the foreground or background. Version 2.0 lets users switch at a keystroke among several copying modes: A Turbo mode completes the task in the fore- ground at maximum speed, while three background options offer dif- ferent trade-offs between speed and effect on other applications. ‘The program now offers network copying in the background over both LocalTalk and AppleTalk Remote ‘Access (ARA). Mr. File 2.0 can be set to sever an ARA connection automat- ically when copying is complete. When conflicts occur, such as the same file in both a destination and source, the new version offers a vari- ety of choices, including an update option that replaces only older files and a two-way synchronization option that puts the newest version of all identically named files into both source and destination folders. Users can search for files by name, date modified or created, type, cre- ator, kind, size, label, and locked and invisible states. Search results appear in a list from which items can be opened, copied, moved, renamed, erased, aliased or have their file information set. Search criteria can be saved for reuse. Mr. File can quickly find and delete duplicate items; it can also find and delete aliases for which the original file no longer exists. A log now keeps track of jobs and errors. Unlike similar utilities, Mr. File 2.0 can set file or folder infor- mation on several items at once. The selection-list_ windows have been revamped and now remember copy destinations so routine tasks can be automated. Mr. File 2.0 can copy files com- pressed with Fifth Generation Sys- tems Inc.’s AutoDoubler utility. Its displays can be configured to show compressed files as AutoDoubler files at their compressed size or as normal Mac files at their decompressed size. Mr. File 2.0 can read and write comments attached to files by CE Software Inc.’s DiskTop, a competing product. Softways is offering a side- grade to DiskTop owners for $39. Upgrades are free. Softways is at 5066 El Roble, San Jose, Calif, 95118. Phone (408) 978- 9167; fax (408) 448-0620. 0 science professor at Carnegie- Mellon University in Pittsburgh, said: “I looked at other packages and didn’t like the fact [that] they wanted to scan the complete con- tents of both synchronized vol- umes. I only want a part of my disk synchronized, and I really liked the speed with which I could get a syn- chronization completed.” An Overwrite Safeguard feature warns users if the same file has been changed on more than one computer. The program can also synchronize deletions, so files thrown away froma synchronized source volume will also be removed from target systems. FileRunner creates a log of all transfers showing where the most recent version of a file was created, last updated or deleted. Files that have been changed on the source computer can be saved, option- ally in compressed form, to any mountable media for transfer or back- up. Users can enable virus scanning during file transfer using Virex, Data- watch Corp.’s virus-scanning utility, which is bundled with FileRunner. FileRunner can compensate for changes in time zones and can detect when Macs being synchronized have incorrectly set clocks. FileRunner sells for $99.95; users may install and use the application onall Macs with which they work. MBS Technologies Inc. is at 4017 Washington Road, No. 4000, McMurray, Pa. 15317. Phone (412) 941-9076; fax (412) 941-7076. GCC’s new 8- and 4-page- per-minute BLP Eclipse printers are based on 300-dpi Oki engines that provide edge- to-edge legal- size output. New GCC Level 2 printers output edge-to-edge legal-size pages By Matthew Rothenberg Bedford, Mass. — GCC Tech- nologies Inc. last week turned the spotlight on a new line of Level 2-compatible 300-dpi printers that offer edge-to-edge legal-size out- put and a variety of network options. The BLP Eclipse line is available now in 8-page-per-minute and 4- ppm configurations, which are priced at $1,799 and $1,399, respec- tively. Both models are based on LED engines from Oki Electric Industry Inc. of Tokyo. They print to letter-, legal-, A4- or B5-size paper or film, as well as labels and envelopes. The 8-ppm printer in- cludes image-enhancement algo- rithms developed by GCC and Oki to smooth the edges of text and graphics. Each model ships with the Level 2 version of PhoenixPage, the Post- Office Tracker supports AOCE, By lan G. Jacobs ‘Austin, Texas — Milum Corp. this week will ship Version 1.1 of its electronic in/out board with enhanced security and support for AOCE and remote access. Office Tracker lets users track the whereabouts of employees and equipment. The program, which is System 7-dependent, uses Apple events to handle client-server com- munications. New features include: > Security. Users will no longer be able to sign each other in and out. Now only designated users can con- trol the in/out status of other employ- ees. All users will still be able to change the status of office resources. > Notification. Users running AOCE (Apple Open Collabora- tion Environment), Apple’s forthcoming messaging —_exten- sions, can be noti [Bl Sr somternome ont SenDh) ) \\mmncooaaoaay fied of in/out activi- ties through AOCE, messaging devices, such as electronic mail and digital pagers, regardless of whether Office Tracker is running. > Remote —ac- Office Tracker 1.1 now allows only specially designated users to change the status of people on the electronic board. cess. The program now allows for re- mote sign in/out via AppleTalk Remote Script interpreter from Phoenix Technologies Ltd. of Norwood, Mass. The 4- and 8-ppm configura- tions include 17 and 35 Type 1 fonts, respectively. Both printers offer automatic switching among LocalTalk, RS- 422 serial and parallel ports; the 8- ppm configuration also ships stan- dard with EtherTalk. Each device includes a 16-MHz AMD 29200 RISC chip and 2 Mbytes of RAM, which can be increased to 6 Mbytes. The printers provide a straight-through paper path and come with a 200-sheet multipurpose paper tray; a lower paper-tray assembly that accommo- dates 200 letter- or legal-size pages is $329. GCC Technologies Inc. is at 209 Burlington Road, Bedford, Mass. 01730-9143. Phone (617) 275- 5800; fax (617) 275-1115.0 remote access Access. Office Tracker will remember the phone number used and connect automatically when users sign in/out. Other new features include auto- matic log-on to all boards opened at the previous session and menu access to currently available in/out boards. ‘Truevision Inc. of Indianapolis uses the program to organize the payroll for its hourly employees. “We just dump the logs from Office Tracker into the payroll,” said Bob Luedeman, Truevision network administrator. “Tt’sa real powerful tool.” Milum said Version 2.0, due this summer, will add a Windows client, support for AppleScript and anno- tation with voice notes. The compa- ny also plans an add-on group scheduling module. A single-user version is $195, a 20-user pack is $495, and a 50-user pack is $995. Upgrades are free. Milum Corp. is at P.O. Box 163985, Austin, Texas 78716-3985. Phone (512) 327-2255 or (800) 257- 2120; fax (512) 328-9824. mR EXPENSIVE “'< ~ Don’t let Coo . 0 n bec, i ‘mounts right into any available a fool you. Th: ey r bay in your desktop computer. delivers detail so sharp and c icely into any budget, too. pale by comparison. ral model, compatible Coolscan is a cinch to operate, t € } insert a 35mm slide or negative into the s Select a desired resolution up to 2700 dpi. A scanner does the rest. Coolscan’s optical defini color sensitivity and reliability make it the new l le standard of quality and value in desktop film scanners. the location of your nearest Nikon Co Thanks to our patented, solid-state illumination or for a brochure, call 1- “800522 -NIK¢ technology, Coolscan is also exceptionally quiet and (516) 547-4355. ag Nikon MmcCOOLSCANH Nikon ELECTRONIC IMAGING © 1993 Nikon, Inc. *suggested retail price. News Altura porting tools work both directions By Robert Hess Pacific Grove, Calif. — With the old lines dividing platforms eroding each month, attendees at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference | in San Jose, Calif., next month will be taking a close look at a growing line of Mac-Windows porting tools from Altura Software Inc. The company will not only show Mac2Win, its Mac-to-Windows porting tool kit, but also announce Win2Mac, a reverse porting tool for Windows developers who want to bring their products to the Mac. And it will demonstrate a new Mac Help viewer, due in June, that will let Mac applications incorporate Help files written for Windows’ highly regarded Help system. Mac2Win, a Windows Dynamic | Link Library, maps Macintosh Toolbox calls to Windows equiva- Jents. In addition, it can convert a Mac application’s resource fork into a Windows file to help developers port custom resources. Altura originally developed the software for its conversion consult- ing work but began offering it to outside developers late last year. Fractal Design Corp. of Aptos, Calif., said it used Mac2 Win to create the Windows version of its Painter color painting application. Tom Hedges, Fractal vice president of research and development, said Mac2Win altered the course of his company, “allowing us to stay mainly By Robert Hess Novato, Calif — Why send out your Mac for service when you can fix it, or at least diagnose it, yourself? MicroMat Computer Systems this month will go beyond its Mac-testing software with the first product in a new line of hardware testing devices. Santa Cruz, Calif. — Working Software Inc. last week announced a system extension that lets users place a graphic or text behind a doc- ument when printing. Due by June for $49.95, Work- ing Watermarker adds controls to Print dialog boxes that let users select Encapsulated PostScript or PICT graphics from either files or the Clipboard. It ships with a set of MACWEEK 05.03.93 Apps go Mac to Windows and back Altura’s Mac2Win accel- erated Fractal Design’s con- version of Painter to Windows, guaranteeing both platforms’ interfaces are nearly identical. The Mac ver- sion at the top was converted to produce the Windows ver- sion shown at the bottom. a Mac shop while still developing quality Windows applications.” Applications created with Mac2- Win deliver performance comparable to traditionally developed Windows applications, according to Altura. ‘Mac2Win supports about 850 of the approximately 1,100 Mac Tool- box calls. Some, like those supporting System 7’s balloon help, Apple events and QuickTime, are disabled, but many are fully emulated in Windows. For $2,000 per month, develop- ‘The MicroProbe ADB tests many attributes of the Apple Desktop Bus chain that links a Mac to keyboards, mice and other pointing devices. The $99 device can diagnose faulty ADB components such as the fuse, filter and chips; test cables and connectors; and monitor ADB Extension prints electronic watermarks common watermarks and works with both PostScript and non- PostScript printers. The first page can have a differ- ent graphic and different printing intensity from subsequent pages. Working Software Inc. is at P.O. Box 1844, Santa Cruz, Calif. 95061-1844. Phone (408) 423- 5696 or (800) 229-9675; fax (408) 423-5699. ers can evaluate Mac2?Win. If they are not satisfied, they can return the package and have their money returned; if they decide to purchase the package, they then must nego- tiate licensing agreements and fees with Altura. Developers can also contract with Altura to convert their code. Altura Software Inc. is at 510 Lighthouse Ave., Suite 5, Pacific Grove, Calif. 93950. Phone (408) 655-8005; fax (408) 655-9663. 0 MicroMat’s MicroProbe device tests ADB chains communications for logic problems. Atest with the handheld, cylindri- cal device takes 10 seconds. The MicroProbe ADB can diagnose any Mac with a functioning power sup- ply, even nonbootable CPUs. ‘The company said most Mac ADB failures can be traced to a 50-cent blown fuse on the logic board. While many technicians replace the entire board when an ADB problem is detected, MicroMat said users can replace just the component if Micro- Probe ADB determines it is at fault. MicroProbe ADB requires no external or internal power and no software. A small reference card included with the package explains the device’s audiovisual feedback. MicroMat Computer Systems is at 7075 Redwood Blvd., Bay 4, Novato, Calif. 94947. Phone (415) 898-6227; fax (415) 897-3901. News Bike PEGE |S Fujitsu enters retail market with DynaMO San Jose, Calif. — Fujitsu Computer Products of America Inc. last week took the plunge into the retail market with the shipment of an external magneto-optical drive. The $1,225 DynaMO has a 1-inch-high, 3.5:inch mechanism and offers a capacity of 128 Mbytes per cartridge. According to Fujitsu, the DynaMO is the only 1-inch-high optical drive currently available. The drive has an average seek time of 30 milliseconds and a sustained data transfer rate of 768 Kbytes per second. The DynaMO ships with a one-year warranty and one cartridge. Additional cartridges list for $55. In the past, Fujitsu’s storage products have been available as OEM devices or through mail-order companies. The growing popularity of optical drives and the company’s desire to be a major player in that market led it to develop a product for the retail channel, Fujitsu said. Fujitsu Computer Products of America Inc. is at 2904 Orchard Parkway, San Jose, Calif. 95134. Phone (408) 432-6333 or (800) 626-4686; fax (408) 894-3606. MacLinkPlus/Translators volume bundles offered Trumbull, Conn. — DataViz Inc. is now offering volume bundles of MacLinkPlus/Translators, its file-translation utility. The utility includes more than 700 translation combinations to convert word processing, graphics, spreadsheet and database files. A five-pack is $439, a 10-pack is $765, and a 25-pack is $1,635. Individual copies remain priced at $165. Each copy comes with Apple’s Macintosh Easy Open, a system extension that makes file translation transparent to the user, and Apples MacinreshiPC Exchange: whiciallows DOS disks abe read by a Mac SuperDrive. DataViz Inc. is at 55 Corporate Drive, Trumbull, Conn. 06611. Phone (203) 268-0030 or (800) 733-0030; fax (203) 268-4345. RasterOps drops price of color display adapter Santa Clara, Calif. — RasterOps Corp. last month dropped the price of its 24Mx 24-bitcolor NuBus display adapter by 47 percent. The card is now $799, down from $1,499. It provides Quick- Draw acceleration up to 600 percent and supports a maximum resolu- tion of 832 by 624 pixels on 16-inch monitors and 640 by 480 pixels ‘on 13-inch monitors. RasterOps also dropped the price of its Sweet 16 System, which bundles the card with the RasterOps Sweet 16 display. Previously $2,499, the system is now $2,149. RasterOps Corp. is at 2500 Walsh Ave., Santa Clara, Calif. 95051. Phone (408) 562-4200 or (800) 729-6567; fax (408) 562-4065. ‘oe snuoge of te you ut tay ‘propery er reaps nmers ©1903 NEC Tee, It’s real, it's a $100 check—and it says you can afford 24-bit color. If you thought you couldn't afford true 24-bit color, you need a Reality Check. Here’s how you get one. Just buy an NEC MacFG™ 24Xp Color Display Interface Card for your 15" or 17” MultiSync® FG™ or FGe™ color monitor before June 30, 1993°—and we'll give you $100. The MacFG 24Xp is a great deal. And it’s even better now since it’s only $399 after the rebate’* Multiple resolutions and more. The 24Xp maximizes the MultiSync monitor's performance for all your advanced graphics needs. It gives you incredible photo-realistic color, includes built-in QuickDraw™ acceleration and it is designed to maximize the FullScan™ dimensions of MultiSync monitors. Moreover, its switch-on-the-fly capability allows easy switching of display modes 163410 without restarting your system. For promotion details. See your NEC dealer or call 1-800-NEC-INFO. For information via fax, call NEC FastFacts™ at 1-800-366-0476, request document 11 and 349701. lf you're thinking of buying a 24-bit color card from someone else, you really do need a Reality Check! Because t is the way you want to go. NEC nn 011" ManS ot Fe monroe ae yr 3,198, Redergtn kr mabe ponte by 7/15/09, **Manacra’ etm slg ck ae abate, MASc pte rarer and FS, Mac, Fe, Fuca rd Fasc earn of NEC Techies, Alte ater At NEC, we've developed hundreds of computer products expressly for Mac systems: Srom our highly- acclaimed MultiSync monitors, MultiSpin™ CD-ROM readers and Silentwriter” laser printers, to our Professional Graphics Series, which includes our new 27" MultiSync 3PG data monitor and MultiSync 6PG and 9PG Projection Moni- tors for images as large as 25 feet. + Announcing a ™ The ultimate monitor for your Macintosh: The NEC MultiSync 4F eeeee —MacUser Magazine Aug.’92 better mousetrap. The NEC MultiSync’ 3FGx™ monitor. The lea: st you should do for your Mac: In 1992, the only monitor to snag the coveted five- mice rating was an NEC monitor: the MultiSync 4FG. After running it and 13 others through the most rigorous technical evaluation they’d ever used for testing monitors, MacUser magazine concluded, “If you’re looking for the sharpest dis- play, the NEC MultiSync 4FG should be your top choice” What more can we say? Glad you asked. Our AccuColor™ Control System prompted MacUser to make special mention of the “easy color adjustments” AccuColor lets you adjust on-screen colors, so if you’re looking for mouse-tail pink, that’s what you'll get. If, however, color control is not a priority for you, you'll be very happy with NEC’s MultiSync 3FGx monitor, which shares almost all of the 4FG’s award-winning features. Both monitors pro- duce sharp, bright images, crisp graphics and vibrant colors. An Invar shadow mask provides increased brightness without loss of focus. Another big idea—the display area. The large 15" screen (13.8" active display area) coupled with FullScan™ capability for edge-to-edge images gives you a larger display area than typical 13” or 14” RGB monitors. How do you make an NEC MultiSync monitor work with your Mac? Just plug it in, using NEC’s free FG/Mac cable adapter. It works with the Mac’s on-board video, so you won’t need an add-in video board Both monitors are compatible with the Mac’ II family, Quadra™ series, LC’s, PowerBooks™ and PC systems. So you can use just one monitor for both types of platforms. MacUser noted the “powerful and versatile controls make switching from a Mac to a PC a snap” And to make these monitors as user-friendly as possible, we’ve included ergonomic features such as a tilt/swivel base and up-front user controls. Plus, our Reduced Magnetic Field™ technology meets the strict Swedish MPR II guidelines for magnetic field emissions. There are lots of reasons for considering an NEC MultiSync monitor for your Mac—the sharp, bright images, the vibrant colors, the large display area, the flexibility, the compatibility—to name five. And the t t i ti to name five more. For more information on our award-winning monitors, call 1-800-NEC-INFO (in Canada: 1-800-343-4418). Or for a complete brochure via fax, call NEC FastFacts™ at 1-800-366-0476, request #62234. *For Macintosh 640 x 480 resolution, just attach NEC's FG/Mac cable adapter and plug into: Macintosh isi lici, LC, LCH, llvx, llvi, Quadra™ 700, Quadra 900, Quadra 950, Performa’ 400, Performa 600, PowerBook" 160, PowerBook 180, and the PowerBook 210 and PowerBook 230 with either the DuoDock™ or MiniDock™ Or with an add-in video card: Macintosh Il, Ix, cx, lifx, PowerBook 140, PowerBook 145, and PowerBook 170. Get the 640 x 480 FG/Mac adapter free by calling NEC at (312) 622-7427 8:30AM-SPM CST. ‘pote rprine tom Mace nagazine Aug 182 © 192, 2 Communications Company. MecUsrandS-rice loo we reitred drat Zt Cone Cas Coney arte rama et ci ec Fac eth Psp den NE oe gene raNEG te propery of ter owners © 1582 NEC Because ti is the way you want to go. Al ome News MACWEEK 05.03.93 Trillium software offers RAID levels 0, 1, 4, 5 By Kirsten L. Parkinson Hudson, Wis. — Trillium Research Inc. this month will release Remus, a Mac applica- tion that lets users configure their hard drives as RAID systems. Users can create an unlimited number of partitions and configure them as RAID (redun- dant array of inexpensive disks) levels 0, 1, 4 and 5. A single partition can include as many as Remus @ Terminator gates B ise -wezearoh BB isrre Loviél SCSI Arrow, slot 2 scsi scsi ses102 ea Pi 20008 Atte SiticonExpress, slot 3 ‘scsi D4 Scsi03 scsi02 Macintosh Built-in SCSI le] Remus from Trillium Research lets users create partitions on their hard drives and configure them as RAID levels 0, 1, 4 or 5. 15 drives, and partitions within a single drive can be assigned different RAID levels. Level 0 stripes data across several disks, reducing access times and increasing through- put, while Level 1 produces a duplicate copy of data through disk mirroring. RAID levels 4 and 5 write parity informa- tion so data on a failed drive can be recon- structed. One whole drive stores parity infor- mation in Level 4, and Level 5 distributes parity information across all the drives. Remus incorporates a user-notification fea- ture that employs dialogs, blinking Apple icons and sounds to alert users when a drive fails. The program also includes built-in support for NetWorks 3.0, a network-monitoring appli- cation from Caravelle Networks Corp. (see story, Page 28). ‘The advantage of Remus over complete RAID hardware systems, according to Trillium, is that it allows users to employ drives and SCSI cards from the manufacturer of their choice or to turn their existing drives into RAID systems. However, unlike some RAID systems, Remus does not support hot swapping, which allows users to replace a failed drive without turning off the system. 2 ae Ethernet. — PowerPath and LocalPath software. The easiest way to connect PowerBooks and printers to Ethernet. Sounds strange, but the best way to connect your LocalTalk * devices to an Ethernet (or Token Ring) network is through your system folder. MacUser agrees: £££ 4% Why? Software is cheaper, easier and more portable. Period. At $149; PowerPath” provides the software and connectors for attaching one PowerBook” For just $199; LocalPath™ lets you con- nect up to eight Macs and printers to Ethernet. For more info, drop what you’re doing and call the leader in Mac networking: 1-800-998-7760 ext. 7. (©1993 Farallon Computing. nc. *Suggested real price. Al products are ademaris of her holders. Power to the network.” Remus lets users turn existing drives into RAIDs ‘The program requires a Mac with a 68020 or higher processor, System 7, 4 Mbytes of RAM, and two or more disk drives in addition to the system drive. Remus sell for an introductory price of $695; the permanent price is not set. Trillium Research Inc. is at 220 Locust St., Hudson, Wis. 54016. Phone (715) 381-1900; fax (715) 381-1901.0 Exabyte branches out with DAT, QIC drives By Henry Norr Boulder, Colo. — Exabyte Corp., which earned its reputation in the backup marketas the exclusive manufacturer of 8-millimeter tape sys- tems, last month marked two milestones in its effort to diversify into other tape technologies. ‘The company said ithas begun shippinga new digital audio tape drive with built-in compres- sion and its first quarter-inch tape system. The new products will be marketed through Tall- grass Technologies Corp. of Lenexa, Kan. (an Exabyte subsidiary), and other OEM customers. > Compression DAT. The EXB-4200c, a DAT drive with compression builtin, uses the standard DDS-DC format. In typical use, it can store about 4 Gbytes of data on a 90- meter tape. It supports transfer rates of up to 466 Kbytes per second and can locate any file on the tape in 20 seconds, on average, accord- ing to the company. Tallgrass said it will ship the product in July; pricing has not been set. Exabyte’s first DAT unit, the noncompres- sion-based EXB-4200, began shipping in the first quarter. Both are based on technology from R-Byte Inc., a DAT developer Exabyte acquired last fall. > Quarter-inch tape drive. Exabyte also shipped the EXB-2501, which it called the fastest, highest-capacity quarter-inch tape system in the industry. Using DC2750 minicartridges, the 3.5-inch drive can store 750 Mbytes of uncompressed data in 25 minutes, according to the company; with shorter DC2300 cartridges, capacity is 550 Mbytes. Tallgrass said an external version of the drive for the Mac, called the FS1G- Mac, will ship next month for $2,195. Exabyte acquired the quarter-inch tape technology earlier this year when it purchased the assets of the Mass Storage Division of Everex Systems Inc. Exabyte last month also added two new models to its line of auto-loaders for 8- millimeter tapes. The EXB-10e, an enhanced version of its 10-cartridge library system, offers random access to 50 Gbytes of data when con- figured with the EXB-8500 tape drive; with the EXB-8500c, which has compression built in, typical capacity is 100 Gbytes. The company said the new unit provides more-reliable robot- ics and a new security key lock. It is expected to sell to users for between $15,000 and $20,000. ‘The EXB-60, a new model that can be con- figured with two tape drives, handles as many as 60 cartridges, with 300 Gbytes of uncom- pressed data or 600 Gbytes with compression. The price to end users is expected to be between $75,000 and $85,000. Transoft is RAID-ing the storage market with the help of AT&T By Kirsten L. Parkinson Santa Barbara, Calif. — The name Tran- soft Corp. may not ring any bells with most Mac users, but that can’t be said of the partner helping it bring its DataDock disk arrays to market —AT&T Co. ‘Transoft designed the arrays, but the NCR division of AT&T is manufacturing them and helping to fund the project, Transoft said. ‘The DataDock T-1000 holds up to five 3.5- inch drives for a total capacity of up to 10 Gbytes. A T-1000 tower with one controller, one power supply but no drives lists for $4,995. ‘The DataDock T-2000 can be configured with as many as 20 3.5-inch drives, six redun- dant power supplies and four controllers. A drive-ready tower with two power supplies and two controllers is $19,995. Drives are available directly from Transoft. A 500-Mbyte Seagate drive, for example, is $600. Both the T-1000 and T-2000 provide hot-swapping options, allowing users to replace a damaged drive without turn- ing off the system. The T-2000 also offers hot- swapping options on the power supplies. Both arrays ship with Transoft’s RAID Manager software, which lets administrators control DataDocks anywhere on a network. ‘Transoft Corp. is at 31 Parker Way, Santa Barbara, Calif. 93101. Phone (805) 963-7181 or (800) 949-6463; fax (805) 963-7178. 0 Mercury adds drives to removables line By Kirsten L. Parkinson Beverly Hills, Calif — Mega Drive Sys- tems Inc. last month added two new high- capacity models to its line of 3.5-inch Mer- cury removable drives. The $3,359 1.6-Gbyte Mercury, based ona Micropolis mechanism, offers an average seek time of 10 milliseconds, while the $4,599 2.1- Gbyte drive, based on a Seagate mechanism, has an average seek time of 9 milliseconds. Both models offer Fast SCSI-2 burst transfer rates of up to 10 Mbytes per second when used with a SCSI adapter card. Mega Drive also cut prices by up to 28 per- cent on its current Mercury offerings, which include drives with capacities from 85 Mbytes to 1.2 Gbytes. For example, the 535-Mbyte Mercury drive now lists for $1,399, down from $1,919.95. The Mercury drives can either fit into the company’s disk arrays or be used in internal and external enclosures, which sell separately at prices ranging from $209.95 to $524.95. Mega Drive last month shipped the MR/S, a five-drive RAID (redundantarray of inexpensive disks) system that can hold as many as 10 Gbytes. Without drives, the MR/5 lists for $10,000. A 10-Gbyte capacity configuration is $33,000. Mega Drive Systems Inc. is at 489 S. Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills, Calif. 90211. Phone (310) 247-0006; fax (310) 247-8118. 0 Faxing is a long-standing jiroblem around here. nce the transmission of a fax begins, the information travels at the speed of light. On the other hand, the manual process of printing and loading and dialing and waiting and re- dialing and then waiting some more — is a big waste of time. So much for productivity! Clearly, the inventors of the fax machine could have used a little foresight. Specifically, 4-Sight Fax”, the complete, multi-user, fax software solution from CommFORCE. 4-Sight Fax allows users on a network to send and receive faxes directly from their desktop. Simply create a document, preview it, and fax it. That's it! Your computer will automatically stand in line for you, dial and re-dial, queue up the next fax, and even give you a transmission receipt. And, incoming faxes can be viewed, stored on disk, or automatically printed. 4-Sight Fax works seamlessly with QuickMail”, delivering any message as both an E-mail message to someone on your network and a fax anywhere. Which means that for PC’s and Macs, sending and receiving faxes through QuickMail is just as easy as sending and receiving your QuickMail messages. So, integrate 4-Sight Fax and QuickMail today. And experience all the speed and productivity ¢} CE SOFTWARE that faxing was originally intended to give you. Improving your environment is our business.™ W Order a bundle, without paying one. Now you can purchase a special bundle of QuickMail with 4-Sight Fax. For information, call us at (800) 523-7638, Dept. CE330. © Copyright 1993. CE Software, Inc. P.O. Box 65580, West Des Moines, IA 50265, U.S.A. QuickMail is a trademark of CE Software, Inc. All other registered and unregistered trademarks are the sole property of their respective companies. Ty = | a ms ee SJ BRUSHSTROKES. FOR JUST $99, YOU CAN REDECORATE YOUR WORK SPACE. ( frame not included ) Introducing the first truly powerful, 32-bit color painting program that’s priced for the struggling artist. BrushStrokes’from Claris Clear Choice: It’s so easy, you can start painting right away without having to learn a complicated program. And it’s loaded with hi-end features to satisfy even the most demanding artist. With BrushStrokes’step-by- step art lessons, even a novice Can create a masterpiece. It even comes with a clip art library. Try BrushStrokes for just $99: (We guarantee your first impression will be a good one.) CLARIS CLEAR CHOICE INTRODUCING BRUSHSTROKES Visit your Claris dealer or call 1-800-544-8554 to find out about our special trade-in offer. (01993 Claris Corporation. Al rights eed Ofer aid US. ony wml 9/3093. Dealer pie may wary Claris Clear Coie and BrahSiroes are trademarks of Claris Crain SOURCE CODE 188. News MACWEEK 05.03.93 Re-engineer-iT helps IS managers build road maps of their business By April Streeter Brookline, Mass. — SR Research Inc. next month will ship software for Apple’s Work- group Server 95 designed to help information-systems managers create and remodel mission- critical applications to respond to changing business needs. Re-engineer-iT, which will cost about $5,000 for the server software and $300 per client, runs on the AWS 95’s A/UX 3.0.1 operating system. The client software helps IS managers create a series of flowcharts that comprise a road map of a company’s business processes. The flowcharts are connected to a rule-based expert system and database running on the server. According to SR Research, having a business model in this format allows shorter redevelopment and engineering cycles for in-house applications. The client component of Re-engineer-iT lets users create rule-based agents that “watch” and catalog work-flow processes based on either local or server data. A database handles contacts, and an event log keeps track of the user’s work flow. The server component stores the model, Adambyte releases new powerboxes By Henry Norr Mountain View, Calif. — Adambyte, devel- oper of the powerbox series of battery-backed mobile storage systems for use with Power- Books, last month added several new configura- tions and reduced prices on its original models. The new versions combine a 200-Mbyte Maxtor or Quantum hard drive or a 500- Mbyte Quantum mechanism with a floptical drive, which can hold as much as 21 Mbytes of data ona disk that looks like a 3.5-inch floppy. The two new configurations are priced at $1,449 and $2,399, respectively. A powerbox with a 200-Mbyte hard drive anda 155-Mbyte Teacstreaming-tape drive is now $1,599, down $300, while a system with the tape drive anda 500-Mbyte hard disk, pre- viously $2,799, is now $2,449. The powerboxes, which match the foot- print and plastics of all-in-one PowerBooks, are designed to be placed under the Apple notebooks. They weigh less than 5 pounds each and come with an AC adapter and a PowerBook-compatible battery. The Power- Book can be attached to the powerbox and powered from it; when the box is connected to an AC source, both batteries are charged. NovaMac, a backup utility from NovaStor Inc., is bundled with the powerboxes. Adambyte is at 2672 Bayshore Parkway, Suite 1045, Mountain View, Calif. 94043 Phone (415) 988-1415; fax (415) 988-1418. 0 2 SR Research’s Re-engineer-iT lets users visualize a company’s work-flow data in a number of graphic forms. manages events between users, and helps administrators construct decision trees and a variety of graphical charts to analyze the busi- ness model. SR Research Inc. is at 167 Corey Road, Suite 210, Brookline, Mass. 02146. Phone (617) 734-0636; fax (617) 734-1228. 0 FWB adds new drives, array fo Hammer line By Henry Norr San Francisco— FWB Inc. last week added two new high-capacity drives and a new array to its Hammer line, and it reduced prices on several existing units. The new drives include: > HammerPB210, an internal Power- Book drive with a capacity of 210 Mbytes. Priced at $869, the drive is based ona 2.5-inch Toshiba mechanism with an average seek time of 12 milliseconds. It comes bundled with FWB’s Hard Disk ToolKit and Connec- tix Corp.’s just-released Connectix Power- Book Utilities 2.0. > Hammer1600FMF, a 1.6-Gbyte drive with a 3.5-inch DEC mechanism with an average seek time of 9.5 milliseconds and a data transfer rate of up to 10 Mbytes per sec- ond. An external version is $3,099; the Ham- mer1600FMFis, an internal version that fits in the Mac II, Centris, Quadra and Apple Workgroup Server series, is $2,799. > Sledgehammer3200FMF, an array that combines two of the 1.6-Gbyte drives. The array comes with software that supports mirror- ing and spanning. An external version is $5,559; an internal version for the Quadra 950 is $5,399. In addition, FWB reduced prices on several high-capacity drives and arrays, as well as its 3.5-inch magneto-optical and digital audio tape backup units. The cuts ranged from 15 percent to 24 percent. For instance, the Hammer2800FMF, a 2.8-Gbyte drive, now lists for $6,299, down 24 percent. FWB Inc. is at 2040 Polk St., Suite 215, San Francisco, Calif. 94109. Phone (415) 474- 8055; fax (415) 775-2125.0 At INTEROP this August, oull meet more of these than ever before Experts The innovators. The strategists. The vision- _ everything from the desktop to the data center. Come to INTEROP aries. The business leaders. Just about every At INTEROP you can explore the world’s So call us today at 1-800-INTEROP for your leading expert in the field of networking will be largest gathering of networking vendors. All Free INTEROP Planning Guide. found at INTEROP’ this August. connected across the most diverse, multivendor, INTEROP. It’s the best place to find solu- As the most popular networking event inthe multiprotocol network you'll find anywhere: f seca : tions to your networking problems. world, INTEROP is the place for you to meet the INTEROPnet. Which means you can quiz people who can solve your networking problems. technical specialists about their latest products i ~ Yes, please send me ny a Pereninecrorian g from the best ee you actually watch applications work | FREE INTEROP Planning | ogether on a network. | Guide today! | At INTEROP you can choose from more than Whether they’re teaching, speaking, exhibit- | | 110 comprehensive networking conference ing or walking the floor, you'll meet the L _ Call | 1.800-INTEROP _ _]] sessions, workshops and tutorials. Each one networking experts who make it all happen Pepe provides invaluable analyses and advice on at INTEROP. Moscone Center, San Francisco, California FOAMS “Tknow it works, I saw it at INTEROP” (©1998 Interop Company, 480 San Antonio Road, Mountain View, CA 94040, 1-900-776-6676, outside the US call 415-941-3999, Fax 415-949-1779 News MACWEEK 05.03.93 Mind Path takes remote control to new length Unit controls cursor up to 60 feet away By Nathalie Welch Dallas — Freedom to roam takes on new dimensions with Mind Path Technologies Inc.’s new wireless remote control, which lets users take long-distance control of their cursor and keyboard. The Mind Path IR90 Remote Control, due to ship in July for $395, has an infrared transmitter that sends signals from up to 60 feet away to a receiver attached to a Mac’s Apple Desktop Bus in place of a mouse. The 8-ounce transmitter measures 2.5 by 2.5 by Linch. Users control cursor direction by depressing the edges ofa lange circu- lar MouseDisk button. To click, double-click, and click and drag, users press the button’s center. Eight buttons located near the top of the remote control provide access to image controls such as brightness, contrast and image position. For keyboard control, the remote device offers four pre- defined buttons and 10 that users can program. The remote control is compati- ble with a variety of presentation systems, including ones from 3M, Proxima Corp., In Focus Systems, Sharp Electronics Corp. and nView Corp. Codes to control the selected presentation device are stored in the receiver and downloaded into Hawkeye zooms in on Mac screens with wireless infrared penlight pointer By Nathalie Welch Burlington, Vt. — Pointer Sys- tems Inc. last month announced Hawkeye, an infrared pointer that lets users control a Macintosh by pointing at its screen from up to 12 feet away. Due to ship to end users in Octo- ber for less than $400, Hawkeye is available now to OEM customers. A developers kit is $1,995. Hawkeye consists of a tiny infrared transceiver that attaches to the Apple Desktop Bus and a trans- mitter that acts as the remote con- trol device. Employing “penlight” infrared pointing technology that detects hand motion, Hawkeye operates in free space and positions the cursor wherever the user’s hand is pointing. ‘The device has a resolution of up to 12 bits (4,096 pixels), which elimi- nates jitters even on large monitors, according to the company. Hawkeye can perform linear 2-D cursor control or angular 3-D cur- sor control, with three degrees of freedom: roll, pitch and yaw. Hawkeye comes with control- panel software that lets users set cursor attributes such as speed and set up ways to simulate clicking and double-clicking by pointing at user- defined regions of the screen. Hawkeye could also be used for hands-free industrial control of a Mac, according to the company. ‘The remote unit could be mounted ona hard hat; users could then con- trol the cursor by moving and “pointing” with their head. Pointer Systems is also pitching the remote-control technology to manufacturers of home entertain- ment equipment to perform various on-screen programming functions, such as controlling a VCR. Pointer Systems Inc. is at 1 Mill St., Burlington, Vt. 05401. Phone (802) 658-3260; fax (802) 658- 3714.0 Pointer Sys- tems’ wireless remote control, Hawkeye, uses penlight infrared tech- nology to give users long- distance control of their cursor. the remote control by attaching the two devices. The remote control comes bun- dled with the $99 Mind Path Pre- sentation Tools software, which allows users to enhance com- puter presentations with special effects, such as on-screen drawing, zooming in, stamping clip art to any portion of the screen or throwing a circular spotlight onto any part of the screen. It also lets users continuously scroll a custom message across the screen and instantly clear the screen on command. Mind Path Technologies Inc. is at 12700 Park Central Drive, Suite 1807, Dallas, Texas 75251. Phone (214) 233-9296; fax (214) 233- 9308.0 Powerlrax 1.25 boosts security, interface options By lan G. Jacobs Atlanta — Soft Solutions Inc. last week released an upgrade to PowerTrax, giving the contact- management application a face lift and several new security features. With Version 1.25, users can mark information as personal, preventing others from accessing the data. System administrators can limit the access of particular users to data files, preventing them from modify- ing specified documents. The program now includes command-key equivalents for most operations. Other interface enhancements include automatic capitalization of input fields, U.S. phone number formatting, support for custom | screen sizes and more-flexible tele- phone dialing. Users of the new version can choose to exchange only modi- fied records with the server, to reduce network traffic or dial-up phone bills. The program is based on Version 2.2.3 of ACI US Inc.’s 4th Dimen- sion database. PowerTrax 2.0, a major upgrade due by fall, will be based on 4D 3.0. PowerTrax 1.25 remains $495 for a single-user version; multi- user pricing varies by the number of users. Soft Solutions Inc. is at 2900 Chamblee Tucker Road, Building 12, Suite 200, Atlanta, Ga. 30341. Phone (404) 457-9400; fax (404) 454-9800. 0 FROM THE Bookshelf A number of publishers offer books to help both users and develop- ers master the latest version of Claris Corp.'s flatfile database. FileMaker Pro 2.0 for the Mac in a Nutshell By Maria L. Langer This volume combines an introduction to data- base management with step-by-step instructions on how to use the program. It also highlights the new features of Version 2.0. $15.95 / 350 pages / ISBN 0-7821-1214-5 Sybex Inc. 2021 Challenger Drive / Alameda, Calif, 94501 Phone (510) 523-8233 Fax (510) 523-2373 FileMaker Pro 2.0 for the Macintosh By Rich Coulombre and Jonathan Price This book-and-disk package helps readers design FileMaker Pro databases. It covers planning a database structure, importing and exporting, and searching and sorting. The disk includes sample databases and templates. $34.95 / 464 pages / ISBN 0-201-62212-2 ‘Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. 1 Jacob Way / Reading, Mass. 01867 Phone (617) 944-3700 or (800) 358-4566 Fax (800) 333-3328 Using FileMaker Pro 2 for the Mac By Barrie Sosinsky This tutorial and reference guide to the database package offers keyboard shortcuts as well as directions on how to design, create and manage databases. It covers both versions 1 and 2. $27.95 / 600 pages / ISBN 1-56529-088-7 Que, a division of Prentice-Hall Computer Publishing 11711 N. College Ave. / Carmel, Ind. 46032 Phone (317) 573-2500 or (800) 428-5331 Fax (317) 573-2583 The Macintosh Bible Guide to FileMaker Pro 2.0 By Charles Rubin This guide includes a chapter on FileMaker Pro's calculation functions as well as many new tips to speed the program. A special section covers the use of scripting and buttons to auto- mate data management. $22 / 439 pages / ISBN 1-56609-029-6 Peachpit Press Inc. 2414 Sixth St. / Berkeley, Calif. 94710 Phone (510) 548-4393 or (800) 283-9444 Fox (510) 548-5991 Every Mac Deserves Big Color When it comes to big-screen color, your LC, SE/30 and Performa’ 400 now have the same potential as a Mac’ II or Performa 600. The new Lapis’ ProColorServer’ display cards bring full color capability to every color-capable Mac. That means really big screens — up to two full pages. And as many colors as you want — 16,777,216 to be exact. Now you can add 24-bit color to your LC. Expand your SE/30 with a 21-inch color display. Bring out the colorful best in your Mac II or Performa 600. Lapis has a full range of display products that improve the look and productivity of all types of Macintosh’ computers, from the Plus to the Quadra”. With the highest reliability and best prices in the industry. Call 1-800-43-LAPIS today to find out more about ProColorServer display cards. Your Mac deserves it. Lapis Technologies, Inc. 1100 Harina Village Parkway Alameda, California 94501, ey Perea ~ ass ds oy Oe ear De No Ve ies ProColorServer display cards are available LC &LC Il + + + | inB-bit, 8*16-bit, and 8¢16024-bit versions, and support monitors from 13" to 21", with SE/30 + + + tesolutions ranging from 640 x 480 to 1152 x 872. Lapis also offers a full line of Performa 400 ++ + + DisplayServer™ and PowerBase™ monochrome display adapters for all Mac Performa 600 + + + | systems ranging from the Plus to the Quadra. Mac l/Quadra + + + LP = ae ie ae SEZEWAX News MACWEEK 05.03.93 Mac info published on the Internet By David Morgenstern Cupertino, Calif. — Acting to enhance its communications with silicon-tower acade- mia, Apple last month named the first five on- line department chairs in the Apple Internet Higher Education Pilot Program. The Apple-funded program gives Internet users access to current product and sales information previously available only through AppleLink or from campus-based Apple dealers. The department chairs will publish articles electronically, covering the integration of Macintoshes in curriculum and_ research. Employee for sale. Backs up your data nightly. Aworkin’ fool. All yours. Cheap. Works through the night, backing up all that valuable data. Keeps it safe. Keeps the company’s future safe. Keeps your job safe. No health care payments. No social security to pay. No sick leave or paid vacation. Just a one time payment that works forever. You'll love having Retrospect Remote working for you. It’s “the cream of the network backup crop” according to Macworld. Tt backs up automatically. While you're out at the movies. Home eating dinner. Watching TV. Having fun. Relaxing. Whatever. Dantz Development Corporation 1400 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley CA 94709 (510) 849-0293 RETROSPECT 2.0 NOW SHIPPING! To upgrade, call 1-800-225-4880 Ext. 40 Whether it’s only one computer (Retrospect) or a whole network (Retrospect Remote), it efficiently turns itself on, backs up your data, then turns itself off. Dependable. Accurate. Friendly. Retrospect Remote. What an employee. Retrospect” Retrospect Remote” To go forward, you must back up. They will also direct on-line user dialogue in their particular disciplines. The five educational areas covered are business, computer science and engineer- ing, library and information systems, mechanical engineering, and medical and health sciences. Apple USA’s Higher Education Division said it plans to add foreign language and edu- cation to the program’s subject areas, with chair appointments in June. The program was co-developed by the Computer and Information Services Depart- ment of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, which will administer it. The program uses the department’s Gopher client-server technology. In on-line discussions, some Internet users have expressed concerns that the Pilot forum is a “totally management-controlled environ- ment,” unlike the freewheeling Usenet News message groups on similar topics. This was nota concern of Yves Starreveld, a medical student and Mac image-analysis pro- grammer at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. He said he plans to use the resources offered by the project to help his search for information on computer-based charting applications. Starreveld said he hopes the project “will provide a focused discourse and a chance to find out what people in other parts of the world are up to.” Other resources available on the Apple Computer Higher Education Gopher Server include: Intellimation, a Macintosh so! catalog; Syllabus and Query, electronic sions of Apple’s higher-education publica- tions; Apple product news; press releases on Higher Education news and marketing pro- grams; and service, support and training materials. The information is available via Gopher server at the Internet address info.hed.apple.com. a Lincoln ships Straight Shot billing package [== Inaividual time cherges Week Ending = By lan G. Jacobs Lincoln, Mass. — Lincoln Soft- ware Inc. this month shipped an Auguilar Horathe 778-51-2536 accounting package for users who hom bill for professional services and | stmt te scifi terion allocate expenses to clients. tence ee The $1,200 Straight Shot offers | mee fs] Bites Ant $6,250, businesses such as architecture and law firms a hierarchical data system where users can double-click their way through six related levels of on eet sss hows entered wi De placed past overhes. ‘may nt ile sgh verbs information. lows Users can start at a deposit record and click through to the invoices contained in the deposit, then go deeper into the records. The package can generate and batch-print any combination of 23 reports. In addition, Straight Shot offers traditional accounting functions such as general ledger, payroll and bank statement reconciliation. Ademonstration copy, which allows for the entry of only 200 records, for $25. The Straight Shot accounting package lets businesses bill time charges for each client record via the entry screen. Lincoln also plans a client-server version that will support as many as 30 users. The server version is due June 1, but pricing has not been set. Lincoln Software Inc. is at P.O. Box 639, Lincoln, Mass. 01773. Phone (617) 259-4315; fax (617) 259-8727.0 Micro Focus to bring compiler to A/UX By Nathalie Welch Palo Alto, Calif, — Micro Focus this month plans to ship a version of its Cobol compiler and tools for A/UX, Apple’s Unix implementation. The Micro Focus Cobol for Unix develop- ment environment includes tools that let developers create client-server or distributed processing applications and port existing pro- grams to the A/UX environment. VARs can port from host systems verti- cal business applications written in Cobol, such as customized accounting and insurance systems, then add support for platform- specific functions such as AppleTalk networks. The complete development environment comprises a number of individually priced components. Micro Focus Cobol, priced at $1,250, includes an ANSI 85 certified com- piler, Animator, Forms-2 and a native 68000 code generator. Micro Focus Toolbox for Unix, including an editor, forms builder and several interface-development and testing tools, sells for $625. The Micro Focus Dialog System for Unix, a graphical user interface builder, sells for $1,250. The package is available on DOS, Micro- soft Windows, OS/2, SCO Unix/386, AIX and more than 500 other Unix platforms, according to the company. Apple plans to release A/UX 3.0.2, an updated version of its 6-year-old Unix for 680x0-based Macs, sometime later this quar- ter. The update will include support for the Quadra 800 and Centris 650 CPUs intro- duced this spring. The company said the new version will also enhance AppleTalk perfor- mance and add support for asynchronous I/O and multiple SCSI buses (see MacWEEK, April 19). Micro Focus is at 2465 E. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, Calif. 94303. Phone (415) 856- 4161; fax (415) 855-9218. ¢ By Philip Chien Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany — Apple’s own Edsel, the Macintosh Portable, currently is achieving cutting-edge prominence in an environment where its hefty weight won’t be a drawback. The Mac Portable is a key part of one of the 90 experiments aboard the Spacelab D-2 mission, launched with the space shuttle Columbia last week. Sponsored by the European Space Agency, CTE (Crew Telesupport Experiment) con- sists of a Mac Portable with a graphics tablet and optical drive. The optical drive has a data- base with schematics, digitized photos and blueprints for the Spacelab module and its experiments. An identical Mac setup, con- nected via a modem/radio link, is located here at the payload control center. CTE is designed to help astronauts, in coop- eration with ground personnel, analyze unex- pected problems with the complex experi- ments and sophisticated hardware aboard the Spacelab. Since this is a demo, the current database contains only limited information. Astronaut Tom Hendricks said, “On space station where your flight data file may be reduced, [CTE can serve a useful purpose] by putting pictures or drawings on an optical disk and allowing an operator on the ground to communicate [in] real time with an operator Dictionary gives rhymes Seattle — How often have you searched for a rhyme, only to find your choice to be a grammatical crime? Eccentric Software is trying to end that problem with a rhyming dictionary for the Mac dubbed A Zillion Kajillion Rhymes. The program, available now, includes a proprietary dictionary of common, technical, literary and slang words as well as thousands of proper and place names. The company is offering the product at a special introductory price of $34.95 through May 31, after which it will be $49.95. Eccentric Software is at P.O. Box 2777, Seattle, Wash. 98111-2777. Phone (206) 628- 2687; fax (206) 628-2681. News MACWEEK 05.03.93 Jim Wetherbee inputs data from a medical experiment into aHyperCard stack on a PowerBook while pilot Mike Baker watches. A benchmark pro- gram run simul- taneously on the shuttle and on the ground last October showed higher performance in the weightless environment, ‘AROPE SPAE GENCY Portable carries its weight in space on the space station for things like in-flight maintenance.” In other Mac space news, engineers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston have released the final report for the STS-52 mission that flew last October. In one experiment, similar Macs aboard the shuttle and at mission control were monitored by MacEKG, a performance-analysis tool from MicroMat Computer Systems of Novato, Calif. Unexpectedly, the Mac in space operated better than the one on the ground. Investigators assume that the difference in performance was because the hard drive motor didn’t have to work as hard to move the weightless servo mechanisms. 0 Cyborg adds back ends to HR management line By Robert Hess Chicago — Cyborg Systems Inc. this month began supporting relational database back ends for its line of multiplatform human- resource management software. Cyborg’s Solutions Series includes its Human Resource Management System, Payroll, Benefits, and Time and Attendance packages. Clients for the Solution Series are available on a variety of graphical user inter- face platforms including the Macintosh and Windows. The host-based back end of the Solution Series is now available for DB2, Rdb and Ora- cle databases. Sybase, Informix and Ingres versions are due out this summer. Cyborg said the Solution Series, which pre- viously supported only hierarchical and flat- file databases, now provides full support for SQL and for the functionality of each vendor’s relational database-management system. Pricing for Cyborg’s Solution Series ranges from $50,000 to $360,000, depend- ing on the type of installation and number of users. Cyborg Systems Inc. is at 2 N. Riverside Plaza, 12th Floor, Chicago, Ill. 60606. Phone (312) 454-1865; fax (312) 930-1033. Remember the thrill when you first turned on your PowerBook? ow have it twice as long, People are showing an affection for their new PowerBooks that we haven’t seen...well, since the Macintosh itself was introduced. They are turning airport lounges and coach-class seats into virtual offices. Unfortunately, with a battery life of 1-2 hours, quitting time often comes way too early. Our new Power To Go™ utility software (formerly UP Utilities for the PowerBook) manages your battery power more efficiently so you can do more work. Asimple slider switch lets you run at full speed, maximum conser- vation or anywhere in between. No technical lingo required. Available now, this compre- hensive set of utilities also includes sophisticated password security and a number of other goodies, like an animated cursor locator, screen saver and airport security display. See your local reseller or call Claris direct at (800) 544-8554 ext. 178 to get Power To Go for only $69: This offer is only for a limited time and comes with our 30-day, money CLARIS k tee. CLEAR ee arantee CHOICE ‘A PUBLISHING UNIT OF CLARIS CORP. *Dealer prices may vary Ofer expres June 30, 1993, ©1993 Claris Corporation. Claris is a registered trademark and Cris Clear Choice, the Cars Clear Choice logo, Power To Go, and the UP logo are trademarks of Claris Corporation. Macintosh i a registered trademark and PowerBook is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Al other trademarks ae the property oftheir respective owners. All Rights Reserved News MACWEEK 05.03.93 Managers and employees benefit from Disabilities Act The By Reese Erlich Mike Kucklinca faced a serious Americans dilemma in August 1991. Kucklin- ca, vice president in charge of with Citibank’s computer systems for checking and savings accounts, was Disabilities about to lose one of his better pro- grammers because of a disability. Act requires Programmer Marc Handler had developed stabbing pains that shot that from his wrist into his upper arm, caused by years of pounding a key- qualified board 12 hours a day. He had a wrist operation, and doctors told employees be himhe could notusea keyboard for more than a half-hour a day. enon Kucklinca, who works out of Citibank’s Queens, N.Y., offices, differently faced a typical manager’s problem. Would the company have to trans- | than other fer Handler or install expensive new equipment to do the job? workers. Would Handler be significantly less productive? Kucklinca also faced a new set of questions because relevant portions of the Americans with Disabilities Act took effect in January 1992. ‘The law requires that qualified, dis- abled employees be treated no dif- ferently than other workers. Com- panies must make “reasonable accommodations” for the disabled to do their job (see story below). But Kucklinca didn’t know how the law applied in this case. In the days before the ADA, Citibank could have transferred or possibly fired Handler. Now that could be illegal. On the other hand, the ADA isn’t the bogy that many Mac man- agers feared. In many cases, prob- lems can be resolved through mutual discussion. Managers are also learning that the ADA gives them leverage with corporate financial folk to spend money for necessary equipment. Kucklinca said the existence of the ADA definitely “expedited things” with higher management. “There was no gray area” about whether the company should accommodate Handler’s disability. High tech on the job. Han- dler was a Mac enthusiast long before his injury; he had bought Voice Navigator from Articulate Systems Inc. of Woburn, Mass., to use at home just for fun. The pro- gram accepts voice commands to operate his Mac SE/30, which reminded Handler of the futuristic computers on “Star Trek.” “T fell in love with it,” he said. After his injury, Handler was able to combine his “Star Trek” fan- tasies with Mac capabilities to keep him on the job. Handler had been working ata dumb terminal con- nected to an IBM Corp. MVS mainframe. Handler suggested that Citibank buy him a Mac Ici equipped with MacMainFrame from Alpharetta, Ga.-based Digital Communications Associates Inc. to simulate his mainframe terminal. He then put together a system of peripherals and software that enabled him to do his job with min- imum use of the keyboard: > Co:Writer software from Don Johnston Developmental Equip- ment Inc. of Wauconda, Ill., com- bines with Voice Navigator to speed word recognition. Handler doesn’t have to spell out each indi- vidual letter to form a word. Co:Writer recognizes certain words from just the first few letters and types the possibilities on the screen, “It’s intelligent and learns new words,” Handler said. > ScreenKeys from Prentke Romich Co. of Wooster, Ohio, provides an on-screen keyboard. Instead of pounding the keyboard with the resultant pain, Handler directs the cursor ata letter, using a mouse or mouse substitute, and the letter appears on the screen. > UnMouse from MicroTouch Systems Inc. of Wilmington, Mass., isa 3-by-5-inch glass-topped tablet that moves the cursor by touch, with virtually no pressure. It substi- tutes for the traditional mouse. > Curtis MVP Mouse from Cur- tis Manufacturing Co. of Jaffrey, N.H., hasa foot switch that allows Handler to move the cursor using a trackball with his hand but click with his foot, thus avoiding potentially painful stress on his wrist. Handler uses these devices in What is the ADA? The Americans with Disabilities Act pro- vides basic civil-rights protection for the esti- mated 43 million Americans with disabili- fies. The ADA mandates that public accommodations are accessible and that phone companies provide needed services for disabled people, among other items. Title | of the law requires that employers do not discriminate in the hiring or promo- tion of qualified disabled people. Employers cannot discriminate in hiring and must make “reasonable accommodations” for disabled workers to perform their job. A company need not make that accommodation if it cre- ates “an undue hardship,” however. Maud Steyaert, an ADA expert with the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund in Berkeley, Calif., said many managers are confused by the law. She discussed some of theroost commonly caked quliiiions: > The employee, or prospective employ- ee, must meet minimum qualifications for the job, she said. A blind person obviously cannot drive a delivery van. But, given mod- ern technology, disabled people can work most office jobs, particularly with all the add-ons available for Macs. > Managers must make reasonable accom- modations fo provide computer programs, peripherals or office equipment to allow the disabled person to work. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive accommodation, she said, “let's sey a personin a wheelchair needs a higher desk,” Steyaert said. "The company could buy an expensive adjustable table or jadbitack phoucihcoks biderthe ald. ane.” > An employee cannot demand accom= modation if it creates an “undue hardship” on the company, which the Equal Employ- ment Opportunity Commission has defined as "unduly costly or disruptive.” Whether a particular change causes undue hardship will ultimately be tested in court cases. Steyaert said managers and workers resolve most complaints amicably. For a ‘Mac manager “it makes sense to keep peo- ple happy” by spending some money on needed accommodations, Steyaert said. The employees “will do a better job.” Adisabled employee faced with discrimi- nation has the right to file a complaint with the EEOC and later sue in federal court. For accommodation advice, Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers can be reached at (800) 949-4232. — By Reese Erlich various combinations to program Citibank’s mainframes. “I’m not as fast as I used to be,” Handler said. “But increased my efficiency by using voice commands,” while other programmers still have to use the keyboard. Kucklinca said any loss of speed is more than made up by Handler’s extensive knowledge of Citibank’s complicated retail banking pro- grams. “We as an organization are happy with the productivity we get out of Marc.” Keeping Handler asa happy, pro- ductive worker was well worth the expense, Kucklinca said. He made a reasonable request for equipment, and it “was within our budget.” Others not so sanguine. Mitch Zaretsky said many Mac managers are not so enlightened. He is president of Farmingdale, N.Y.-based Maxi-Aids Inc., which distributes computer peripherals and software for the disabled. He also acts as a disability consultant to Fortune 500 companies. Zaretsky said that, in the minds of many managers, “conforming to ADA is about preventing lawsuits, not helping the disabled.” One bank that he declined to name has a blind employee who, according to Zaretsky, asked for improved equipment on his Mac. Although corporate managers expressed concerns about possible lawsuits, “Eight months later, the bank still hasn’t bought the new equipment,” Zaretsky said. Tom Wlodkowski has firsthand experience with that mentality. Blind since birth, he worked for many years as a radio reporter in the New England area. He never told prospective employers of his disability until he arrived for the in- person interview. See Disabilities Act, Page 22 RU Mike Kucklinca (left), Citibank vice president, helped Marc Han- dler set up his desk to accommo- date a serious wrist injury. Han- ler is holding the foot pedal he uses. Why buy an HP PaintJet XL300, when you can get a lot more color printer for a lot less money. Cost-per-copy up Twice as fast as to six times lower the XL300. a _ than the XL300. $2,999 includes PostScript- and HPGL- ze language compatibility. The PSE is smart enough to tell you when it’s out of ink. The XL300 isn't. _ PURCHASE A PSE TODAY AND GET THE $400," A 39 FONTOPTION— FREE! The PSE prints non-smear high-quality transparencies. The Seiko Instruments Personal ColorPoint PSE. Now $2,999. MW Namely, you can get Seiko Instruments’ Personal ColorPoint PSE—with both PostScript and cWOrcE HPGL-language compatibility for hundreds of dollars less. To prove to you how vastly superior the Personal ColorPoint PSE is, we'll send you a color printer compari- son kit which includes brochures, actual inkjet and thermal transfer print samples and cost-per-page break- downs. So you can see for yourself the difference thermal transfer printing can make. S ji I e For your free color print comparison kit, call 1-800-888-0817. And see just how good this printer looks on paper. Soros ans *Offer limited to quantities on hand. Personal ColorPoint PSE is a trademark of Seiko Instruments USA Inc. PostScript isa trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. © 1993 Seiko Instruments USA Inc. All rights reserved. What do you get when you have... 6-10 interviewers working from 6am to 4pm Monday through Friday... 10 phone lines, an 800 number and 2 fax machines 8 weeks 0 13,000 phone calls ! 2,008 voice mail detours, 762 phone number look-ups, and 470 busy signals p 1,379 finished interviews ! 1,400 file folders p 11,200 sheets of paper? You get... Coming in the May 24 issue of MacWEEK! The annual list of the top 200 Mac installations in the U.S. and Canada. And the top 50 educational sites. Find out what over two months of research has uncovered in this exhaustive | MacWEEK survey! MacWEEK’s exclusive feature takes a look at the | companies - and industries - banking on Mac technology to take them into the next century. The annual MacWEEK 200 is the most anticipated issue of the year. Don’t miss this special report on the buying trends of the biggest Mac sites in North America...with an in-depth profile of the top five corporate sites and the top five educational sites. Issue Date: May 24 | Advertisers Note: Display nerarticit dose is Thursday, May 13 Showcase close is May 11 Special Bonus Distribution: Comdex/Spring, Atlanta News MACWEEK 05.03.93 Disabilities Act “They were surprised to find out I was blind,” Wlodkowski said. He said a number of employers turned him down strictly because of his disability. From Page 20 Innovative Boston television. Wlod- kowski now works at Boston public TV sta- tion WGBH. Unlike previous employers, he said, WGBH is already set up to accommo- date disabled employees. That’s made easier by the station’s wall-to-wall use of Macs. “WGBH is a complete Mac environment,” Wlodkowski said. “If you don’t have a Mac, you don’thave a job here.” He works as the outreach assistant for WGBH’s innovative Descriptive Video Ser- vice. This service allows blind listeners to hear descriptions of scenes in movies or videos between pauses in the dialogue. That dialogue was created through the use of a proprietary Macintosh editing program developed by WGBH that allows someone to insert voice into existing films. Athis workstation, Wlodkowski uses out- Spoken from Berkeley Systems of Berkeley, Calif, a program that verbalizes anything that appears on the screen in type. He also uses the Duxbury Translator from Duxbury Systems Inc. of Littleton, Mass., which trans- lates text files into Braille. WGBH also bought him a Braille printer. Wlodkowski said that his supervisors at WGBH are firmly committed to disability rights, but managers at other companies may be more hesitant. The ADA has opened new areas of potential conflict, Wlodkowski said, so the “best thing a company can do is ask the disabled employee. ‘The employee must know what he needs. And the employer has to be open enough to judge a candidate on the merits of the job.” ADA can help the whole office. Mor- gan Watkins, manager of microcomputer tech- nologies at the University of Texas in Austin, which ranked as the No. 1 education site in the 1992 MacWEEK 200 survey, agreed that managers are still getting used to the ADA. Watkins, who is sight-impaired, is on a campus committee dealing with disabled issues. Watkins said administrators at the school are relatively enlightened, but “there are companies out there who are going to wait for court cases” before they agree to ADA practices. “They just don’t want to change.” But Watkins said the UT experience shows that changes can be made economically and to the mutual benefit of everyone in the office. He cited two examples. First, UT makes course catalogs, library records, administrative memos and other written material available through electronic databases. This helps disabled people get material immediately printed in large type or Braille or converted into audio formats. But such databases clearly help all students and faculty do faster research and keep up to date. | Second, even things as simple as curb cuts and grab bars in bathrooms, originally mandat- ed to help the disabled, have proved useful for bike riders, skateboarders and senior citizens. If managers abide by the spirit of the ADA, Watkins said, they will provide needed jobs for the disabled and improve office morale. Employing the disabled, women and dif- ferent ethnicities “adds some sparkle to the workplace,” Watkins said. “Everyone learns from a diversity of views and peoples.” 0 Calendar of Events MAY 9-11 2: SUGI 18 Conference, New York. Statis- tical-analysis conference with special problem- solving booths to cover specific software snags. Contact SAS Institute Inc. at (919) 677-8000; fax (919) 677-8166, 9-13: Apple Worldwide Developers Confer- ence, San Jose, Calif. Presentations on Mac and other Apple technologies and marketing tech- niques. Contact CMI at (415) 705-8050; fax (415) 291-0126. | | 11-13: Blyth Software User’s Conference, | San Jose, Calif. Conference for users develop- ing with Blyth’s Omnis 7 database. Contact User Group Services at (508) 470-3933 or (800) 767-2336; fax (508) 470-0526. ‘11-1 3: Computer Storage Exposition and Conference, Anaheim, Calif. Storage security and PCMCIA will be discussed and new tech- nologies displayed. Contact Eberhard & Co. at (212) 486-6186; fax (212) 486-6481. 13-15: Macworld Milan, Milan, Italy. Euro- pean expo and conference featuring all cate- gories of software and hardware. Contact IDG at (508) 879-6700 or (800) 225-4698; fax (508) 872-8237. 13-11 6: Prepare for Growth, Tarrytown, N.Y. ‘Annual forum of the Independent Computer Consultants Association. Contact ICCA at (800) 438-4222; fax (314) 567-5133. 16-20: Comnet’93, Dallas. Conference and expo on voice, data and telecommunications. Includes demonstrations of wireless technolo- gy. Contact World Expo Corp. at (508) 545- 3976; fax (508) 872-8237. 19-211 Virtual Reality 93, San Jose, Calif. Conference covers military applications, invest- ment opportunities, and uses of virtual reality in the fields of advertising and medicine. Con- tact Meckler Conference Management