Topic 1
/// 166-MHz CPU Phase Out In The Works ///
The 200-MHz category of processors is soon to become the entry
level device as the chip makers phase out the 166-MHz units in
favor of higher speeds.
The big three processor manufacturers (Intel, AMD, and Cyrix)
have taken up the same strategy, which places the 200-MHz chips
at the bottom of the technology register.
Intel intends to make the Pentium II with MMX in a 166-MHz speed
class, but only in limited quantities, according to recent
reports. The company also disclosed that deep price cuts are in
store for the 166- and 200-MHz MMX processors this month.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Cyrix will also follow Intel's
lead in support of the faster, 100-MHz system bus architecture,
that is slated to become the standard motherboard clock speed
next year.
Topic 2
/// White-Box PCs Are Sales Leaders In 1997 ///
For the third year in a row, resellers boosted sales of their
in-house (white-box) computer systems to a point well above
that of the major brands.
Desktop sales to small and mid-size companies were compared in
a poll conducted by Computer Reseller News (CRN) magazine last
month, and the results show the in-house units made off with
37.7 percent of the market.
The same poll acknowledged a 12.3 percent market share going to
Compaq Computer Corp.-- 7 percent credited to Acer America
Corp., and just 4.9 percent going to Hewlett-Packard Co., which
edged out IBM's 4.7 percent market performance over the same
eleven month period.
Topic 3
/// Beta Testers Like Office 98 For Mac ///
Apple Macintosh users will soon have a very useful and
functional version of Microsoft's Office 98 suite to claim as
their own.
Office 98 for Macintosh is scheduled to ship this winter, and
according to beta test reports, it contains the best features
of the Windows 95 version and much more.
One beta tester said that the Mac release will make Windows 95
users jealous because of the way the Macintosh interface allows
its program elements to flow. Although the Mac version looks
and functions much like Office 97, its improved "Wizards" and
Internet Web functions are much improved.
On top of the list of improvements is a "self-repairing" element
that can restore corrupted files. Microsoft has indicated that
it will include this feature in an upcoming Windows 95 version,
according to news sources.
"Outlook Express," a personal E-mail and information manager is
bundled along with Internet Explorer 4.0 in the Mac suite as
well as "Power Point," "Word," and "Excel" applications to give
the Mac user a lot of power and versatility.
No price information was available on the upcoming resale
version of the new software from Microsoft.
Topic 4
/// Hard Drive Real Estate Gets Cheaper ///
Developments over the past year at IBM's Storage System Division
has given another financial break to future hard drive buyers.
About a year ago, IBM's researchers were able to compress five
gigabytes of data into one square inch of disk space. This year,
the IBM team was able to double that accomplishment by crowding
11.6 Gbits into that same small area.
The San Jose researchers equate that amount of data storage to
approximately 1,500 average sized novels per inch.
While the cost per megabyte for storage drives has dropped from
$5.23/Mb in 1991 down to just about 10 cents/Mb today, some
market experts have forecast that IBM's developments will allow
even more dramatic price reductions on storage devices using
the new technology produced by the year 2001.
Topic 5
/// New High-Capacity Cell Developed By Panasonic ///
A new nickel-metal/hydride (NiMH) battery has been developed by
the Panasonic Industrial Co., which will provide a minimum
capacity of 1,500 milliamp hours.
The HHR150AA battery offers an increase in capacity three times
that of Panasonic's standard nickel-cadmium (NiCd) cells, as
stated by a company spokesman.
A hydrogen-absorbing alloy is used in the new cells to give
them an energy-density of approximately 240 watt-hours per
liter as compared to just 200 W-h/l for a standard NiCd cell.
The HHR150AA batteries also offer a one hour recharge time along
with increased energy-density and capacity. Panasonic noted
that users could expect to enjoy a longer operating time and
longer periods between charges with the NiMH batteries.
Application markets such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDA),
cellular phones, and other mobile communications devices have
been targeted by Panasonic for the NiMH batteries.
Topic 6
/// HTML Specification Updated ///
An updated version of the HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
specification was released last month by the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C).
The new specification, HTML 4.0, will enable Web designers to
develop more sophisticated Web pages through support of new
advanced forms and tables. New features include the ability to
administer and direct text in basically all foreign languages,
and solutions to better facilitate access by users with dis-
abilities. Among those aids will be Braille and speech con-
version.
Topic 7
/// Intel's 740 Graphics Chip Will To Ship ///
By the end of this month, Intel Corp. should be shipping its
740 3-D controller chip, which is optimized for the Accelerated
Graphics Port (AGP) specification.
While some competing graphics vendors view this move by Intel
as an attack against the graphics market, several third-party
graphics vendors such as S3, had begun to offer their own AGP-
based products since last August, when Intel released its 440-
LX chipset supporting AGP.
Intel hopes to market the 740 chip in support of a higher-level
of the AGP format that goes beyond the present 1X bandwidth of
264-Mbytes per second to a 2X level, which supports up to 528-
Mbytes/s.
Although a few graphics vendors are now supporting 2X, most are
concentrating their efforts to attaining greater efficiency
from the 1X architecture.
Topic 8
/// Surprise Profits Turned By Apple ///
The surprise profits turned in by Apple Computer Inc. for the
last quarter has generated some optimism from resellers.
Apple's interim CEO, Steve Jobs, trumpeted the good news last
month in his keynote address at the Macworld Expo, and backed
up the declaration with statistics that showed more than $45
million in profit based on sales of $1.57 billion.
The posting of a profit comes after more than a year of severe
losses for the computer company, which still stands to lose
about seven cents per share on its stock listing, however.
Mr. Jobs gives credit to the success of the company's G3 line
of Power Macintosh desktops and Power Book notebook computers
for the apparent financial gain. Jobs noted that 133,000 units
were sold since November, when it was forecast that only 80,000
units would be sold.
Topic 9
/// Windows NT Still Not Compatible With MS Network ///
In a recent test conducted by the prominent trade publication,
Computer Reseller News (CRN), it was revealed that a glitch
still remains in the Microsoft Network that conflicts with the
Windows NT operating system when running MS "Back Office Small
Business Server," which runs on top of Windows NT.
When the above situation exists, Windows NT cannot support the
Microsoft Network (MSN) for Internet access without first going
through an alternate Internet Service Provider (ISP).
MSN sources say that they would like to support NT, but it has
not been a priority to date. A spokesman interviewed by CRN
declined to identify the specific technical problem related to
the incompatibility.
In January, Microsoft released MSN version 2.5, which displays
a dialog box noting that NT support may be available in the
future.
Topic 10
/// Sun Enters The Smart Card Market ///
Sun Microelectronics Inc., Mountain View, California, has joined
forces with Visa International to develop a Java core for third-
party vendors, which can be used in smart-card products.
The new partnership could lead to the development of a smart-
card that is able to directly execute Java instructions, and
support the Java Card application programming interface-- also
developed by Sun. The development will be in accord with Visa's
design specifications, but Sun will be responsible for licensing
the core technology to third-party chip manufacturers.
Visa's responsibilities center mainly on promoting the design
within its member banks and smart-card manufacturers.
Topic 11
/// Intel & Zenith To Share Digital TV Modules ///
In what could be described as a love/hate relationship, Intel
Corp. and Zenith Electronics Corp. have agreed to share digital
television technology.
Intel was singing the praises of Zenith's digital TV electronic
modules at the Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas last
month. Up till then, Zenith had strongly opposed any form of
PC-TV in favor of the technologies adopted by the Grand Alliance
consumer electronics consortium.
Now, apparently, Zenith has decided to back the PC-TV approach
being pushed by Intel due to the potential to reach a greater
market area. According to one industry source, the digital-TV
demodulator cards and display chip sets are obviously less
expensive to produce than the proposed high-definition tele-
vision (HDTV) consumer products.
Topic 12
/// Intel Katmai Processor Due In 1999 ///
Although scant details were revealed, Intel Corp. announced last
month that its next-generation processor will be ready to ship
by the second half of 1999.
Code-named Katmai, the new processor is expected to render clock
speeds in the 500-MHz range. It was reported that the company
is working closely with independent service vendors to ensure
that software applications supporting the new architecture will
be available through the distribution channels.
Topic 13
/// DVD Standards Question Still Remains ///
While Digital Video Disk (DVD) PC technology looked to be very
promising a short time ago, the standards conflict could place
the DVD concept in a deadlock situation before it has a chance
to prove itself in the market.
Analysts believe that the stalemate could give new life to the
CD-ROM/CD-RW rewritable CD industry. Since writable drive
standards are not set, future readability and backward compat-
ability regarding DVD become prominent issues.
At present, DVD-ROM drives cannot read disks written on DVD-RAM
or DVD+R drives... but disks recorded on a CD-RW drive can be
read on a DVD-ROM unit.
Industry observers are somewhat optimistic that future third-
generation DVD-ROM drives may be able to also read disks that
were written on DVD-RAM and DVD+R machines, but at which density
or disk capacity? A user may still have to know before hand
whether the disk is formatted at 2.6-Gigabyte or 4.7-Gbyte
capacity.
Topic 14
/// Domain Name Game Update ///
For years now, Network Solutions Inc. (NSI) has been the chief
registrar of Internet domain names, but apparently it is now
ready to surrender its monopoly, which will end next month at
the expiration of its contract.
But NSI will not be completely out of the picture under its new
plan, which creates a new company-owned service to business
customers called "World NIC."
The new service is designed to help small businesses attain
their Internet identity, and will involve a partnership with
Dunn & Bradstreet and a company called Online Inc. All three
companies will share in the development and marketing of the
new service.
One outgrowth of the partnership has resulted in a service
called "Registration Plus," which can be accessed either online
or via a toll-free telephone number. Businesses wanting to
gain an Internet ID and viability can reserve an identity
through the new service. The customers can first check to see
if the name they have chosen has been already been used or not,
and if it is not available, the service will assist in selecting
an alternative.
Registration fees run $110 for two years, but to "reserve" a
domain name for two years, the cost would be $149, according to
an NIC spokesman.
On the government side of the issue, the Clinton administration
has piloted an intra-agency task force through the U.S. Dept. of
Commerce-- led by Clinton's technology czar, Ira Magaziner.
The task force is looking into finding a secure and steadfast
way of making the transition to a competitive environment.
A competing group to the NIC consortium called the Interim
Policy Oversight Committee (IPOC), plans to institute seven new
domain name extensions this year. Most of us are now familiar
with domain names such as: .org, .com, .net, and .edu. The
new domain names may be extended to four characters to further
describe the business or agency such as ".stor" to indicate a
retail operation, etc.
Topic 15
/// Cyrix/National Merger Reaps Benefits ///
A planned merger between CPU maker Cyrix Corp. and National
Semiconductor Corp. this year will give Cyrix a boost in its
6x86MX production capacity.
Industry sources disclosed last month that National has already
produced a 6x86MX processor on a 0.25 micron wafer, which is
scheduled to be the first volume production chip to be built
for Cyrix later this year. National's facility located in
Santa Clara, Calif. will be the designated production site.
Topic 16
/// PII 333-MHz Processor Unveiled ///
Although a few units had already slipped into the gray market,
the official release of the Intel Pentium II 333-MHz processor
was not until the week of Jan. 25.
Billed by Intel as the "fastest Slot 1 processor to date," the
PII 333-MHz release will coincide with Intel's scheduled price
cuts. The wholesale price of the new speedster will run about
$720 this month, but the 1,000 lot price of the current 300-MHz
version will be reduced to $530 as compared to the Jan. market
price of $950 or more.
The Pentium II 333-MHz processor is the first Pentium unit to
be manufactured on the 0.25 micron technology, and has been
given the code name "Deschutes." Another release of the PII
333-MHz has been designed for mobile computers, and will be
launched sometime in April, according to Intel.
Compaq Computer and Hewlett-Packard have not let any grass grow
under their feet as both companies have announced desktop/mid-
tower PC systems employing the latest Pentium II. The Compaq
Deskpro 6333 and the HP Vectra VL Series 7 offer the 333-MHz
processor.
Intel sources cautioned that the 333-MHz units that fell into
the gray market may be "samples" and not production parts.
Topic 17
/// More Bandwidth And Speed Over POT Lines ///
A gathering of communications eagles in Washington last month
produced a provincial coalition with the goal of bringing high-
speed Internet access to the masses, but at a lower cost than
some would expect.
Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. were joined by Compaq Computer
Corp., GTE Corp., and representatives from the regional Bell
operating companies at the Communications Networks conference,
where the critical need for high-speed/high-bandwidth access to
the Internet was presented.
The coalition is backing the Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
standard of communications, which, as proposed, could render
advanced Internet access over POT (plain old telephone) lines.
But the pessimists in the industry say the alliance is pinning
its hopes on a technology that has very little priority among
the telephone carrier companies. Incompatible standards, lack
of complete end-to-end links to central offices, and the un-
availability of affordable DSL modems are among the list of
excuses submitted by the common carriers, and noted by one
industry analyst.
One technical drawback of DSL at present is that it can only be
used by customers who reside within 2.5 miles from the carrier's
central office. If adopted, DSL must also compete with the
cable companies and digital satellite delivery systems.
In its basic form, DSL is a point-to-point technology that uses
POT lines to push data at approximately 300 times faster than
the speed attained via a standard 28.8 Kbps modem-- and 70 times
faster than a 128 Kbps ISDN connection.
Topic 18
/// Compaq Offers $9.3 Billion To Buy DEC ///
Compaq Computer Corp. last month submitted an offer to acquire
Digital Equipment Corp. for $9.3 billion.
The proposed deal will allow the leading PC maker a major foot-
hold into the enterprise server and Alpha workstation markets, all
of which will run with Windows NT.
One industry analysts has speculated that the combined company
will produce computer systems that will challenge the established
base of Hewlett-Packard and IBM enterprise systems.
It has been noted that Compaq wants to take advantage of Digital's
working relationship with independent service providers who
manage applications for 64-bit Alpha configurations with the
goal of migrating their customers from Unix and Open VMS
architecture to Windows NT clusters.
Also announced last month was the Alliance for Enterprise
Computing pact between Microsoft Corp. and Digital, which was a
key ingredient in the making of the $9.3 billion deal. The contract
appears to have strengthened the commitment of both companies
toward their goal of increased NT services and the migration of
NT into Digital's 64-bit Alpha processor code.
Gigabyte GrapeVine
Bottom Line
Topic 19
/// Windows 98 Future Still Uncertain ///
The ongoing investigation of Microsoft Corp. by the U.S. Dept.
of Justice could further delay the release of Windows 98.
Industry observers and resellers are concerned that future
legal actions against Windows 98 may follow in similar fashion
as the litigation against W95. If that is the case, Microsoft
may not have a contingency plan to bail out the already belated
operating system.
The Justice Dept. has expressed its anger over the apparent
conceited stand taken by Microsoft from day one over the issue
of removal of its Internet Explorer browser from the Windows 95
O/S.
As of Jan. 12, the software company had no developers working
on an alternative version of W98 that could be released without
the notorious IE browser. Microsoft did comment, however,
that its developers could react quickly to any new legal
problems.
Government sources have hinted that the Justice Dept. is taking
a close look at its options, which include a separate legal
action against the W98 O/S. And one Washington source noted
that Microsoft could also be charged within a broader range
of monopolization-- such as unfair advantages over competing
products.
On Jan. 22, a "settlement" was reached between the DOJ and
Microsoft, whereby the software giant agreed (under pressure)
to provide resellers and PC makers with the option of licensing
Windows 95 without the Internet Explorer (IE) browser.
Microsoft, however, still faces the burden of a DOJ in-
vestigation of Windows 98, which is slated for shipment in the
second quarter of this year.
One news source noted that Microsoft accepted fully the option
of providing a version of Windows 95 without Internet Explorer
by using the "add/remove" program utility. Now PC makers and
resellers who want a version of Windows 95 without IE will not
be stuck with the outdated version of Windows 95 that Microsoft
previously offered in response to the December 11 preliminary
injunction.
The resulting system will be the same as OSR 2.5, which is the
latest version of Windows 95 as offered to OEMs with Internet
Explorer 4.0. The OEM's (original equipment manufacturers),
however, will be offered three licensing programs, one of which
lets them eliminate the Internet Explorer icon, but allows the
underlying executable files to remain on the hard drive.
Another option permits the OEM's to install OSR 2.5 minus the
25 or more files that can be removed by the reseller or end
user through the Windows 95 "Add/Remove" utility.
The third licencing program allows the OEM, if he chooses, to
install the full OSR 2.5 operating system, which includes IE
4.0, DirectX 5.0, and some Windows 95 bug fixes.
The decision jolted some observers who had expected Judge
Jackson to hold Microsoft in contempt, which would have brought
into play the proposed fine of as much as $1 million per day
since the DOJ injunction took place in October.
Microsoft attorney Rich Urowsky, told the court in his address
that he was pleased to advise them that they had reached an
"agreement" in terms on the compliance issues. However, Mr.
Urowsky stipulated that while Microsoft and the DOJ have settled
the contempt matter, other issues before the courts have not
been settled.
The DOJ reportedly is still pursuing its original case against
Microsoft for alleged anti-competitive practices.
Gary Miller
