//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Vol. 3, Issue 10 (c)1996 GKM Journals Oct. 1998 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Industry observers have noted that the two largest makers of
on-premise telephone switch gear-- namely Northern Telecom Ltd.
and Lucent Technologies Inc. have taken great strides in the
development of voice platforms that operate on Ethernet-based
equipment. Call control for this type of setup is handled by
software loaded on a PC rather than a manually operated PBX
(Private Branch Exchange) switchboard.
Not to be left behind, Seimens Business Communications Systems
Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif., is preparing to ship a LAN (Local
Area Network)-based switch that runs on Windows NT sometime
this month.
LAN-based and PC-based voice systems are targeted mainly to
the small to mid-size business market, according to industry
analysts. Most of these high-tech PBX systems are bundled
with computer telephony software supported by Windows NT and
a telephony plug-in card.
A recent report out of Irvine, Calif. said that VARs (Value-
Added Resellers) can save as much as 45 percent on their costs
by using pin-compatible non-Intel chipsets to support current
processor/motherboard technologies.
Throwing their hats into the chipset ring are three Taiwanese
vendors who claim their low-cost products are true pin-to-pin
compatible with Intel products.
Silicon Integrated Systems at Hsin-Chu, Acer Laboratories Inc.,
located in Taipai, and Via Technologies Inc., also at Taipai,
have all developed chipsets compatible with Intel's 440BX chip-
set, which supports the Pentium II series CPU and motherboards
running at the new 100-MHz standard bus speed.
The 100-MHz bus motherboards have been supplanting the 66-MHz
units since the introduction of the 440BX chipset by Intel
last April.
The Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Special Interest
Group, based in Seattle, Wash., granted precursory approval
for a Mini PCI standard during the last week of August.
According to a spokesman at 3 Com Corp., the Mini PCI standard
was designed mainly for peripherals such as network cards and
modems-- so that a better standard could be narrowed down as
applied to communications card devices.
The Mini PCI consortium included a group of ten mobile computing
vendors and peripheral makers who banned together to submit the
new standard for approval. A form factor described in the
specification defines a small "daughter-card," which measures
about two-thirds the size of a credit card, but will function
as an equivalent to a standard PCI card, as explained by a
marketing representative at 3 Com's Mobile Communication Div.
Reduced cost should result from the diminished size, according
to some experts, and will help speed the new product to market.
Last month's roll-out of a new notebook PC from Compaq Computer
Corp. has turned some heads within the industry, and given the
Texas-based company some bragging rights.
Weighing in at just 4.4 pounds, the Compaq Armada 3500 notebook
not only offers up-to-date electronics, but its case is
constructed using space-age metallurgy. No thin plastic for
this unit.
A magnesium-alloy case houses all the high-tech computer hard-
ware within the 3500, which includes a choice of either a 266-
MHz Mobile Pentium II processor or a 300-MHz Intel chip.
The 3500 sports a 4.1-Gigabyte hard drive, 12.1-inch TFT (thin-
film transistor) color display, and 32-MB of RAM. Its $3,299
price tag does not include the optional Mobile Expansion Unit,
where a DVD-ROM unit, CD-ROM, integrated AC power supply, Zip
drive, and similar devices might be connected.
Compaq officials are enthusiastic over the introduction of the
magnesium-alloy case, and predict it will catch on rapidly.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has volunteered its K6 processor
for service to its federal and state governments.
AMD recently launched its "Government Connection" program to
recruit and aid resellers willing to pursue the K6 solution,
while competing for government contracts.
One industry research firm's data reveals that state and local
governments are forecast to spend as much as $36.6 billion this
year on computers and computer related equipment. Add to this
the $29.5 billion expected outlay by the federal government,
and you have quite a lot of business at stake.
Although the K6, when released last April, was tailored for
the mass consumer market, AMD now believes the processor will
work just fine in the business and government arenas. The chip
maker is depending on its Government Connection plan to fulfill
those expectations.
The Government Connection features its own Web site, where in-
formation can be gathered for would-be government resellers.
By pointing their browser to http://www.amd.com/reseller/
government/index.html, resellers can find valuable information
as to market trends, AMD support, and how to employ the K6
in competition to the Intel Pentium chip.
Visual Basic 6.0 by Microsoft Corp. shows a marked improvement
in features as compared to earlier releases of the popular
programming language.
Three of the most notable deficiencies of previous versions of
Visual Basic have been addressed in the 6.0 release, according
to one noted trade publication. Support for high-volume and
complex applications, improved database access, and Internet
Web development are no longer lacking in Visual Basic as stated
by the industry observers.
Microsoft simplified database access by integrating Visual Data-
base Tool and Data Environment Designer into one programming
language. Now VB developers can share data components rather
than have to work around them. VB 6.0 also supports Microsoft's
OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) database and ActiveX Data
Objects (ADO) technologies.
To go head-to-head with Sun's Java architecture, Microsoft
put more muscle into Visual Basic's Web application development
tools. Web developers and programmers using 6.0 can now build
systems that are dependent on either HTML (Hypertext Markup
Language) or Dynamic HTML programming languages.
One new feature called Web-Class Designer can give developers
an object model for use with Web server computers, and allows
them to build Microsoft applications that generate HTML in
response from user feedback or from a series of events.
Another feature, Dynamic HTML Page, lets developers combine
other HTML applications with Visual Basic. Online Transaction
Processing (OLTP) is where things really get complicated, and
this is also where VB 6.0 comes through, according to one
Microsoft official. Examples of critical OLTP applications
would be airline reservations and sporting event ticket sales
situations where hundreds of detailed requests must be processed
in a matter of just a few seconds.
One analyst noted that such rigorous requirements could bog
down or crash lesser databases.
The new Northstar processor unveiled by IBM Corp. last month
is designed for use in the AS400 server environment, and is
embellished with all sorts of enhancements, updates, and
improvements, as stated by IBM executives.
IBM is also slated to ship its next release of the OS/400
operating system, designated VR43, this fall, and the company
says that resellers can expect to find a new focus on electronic
commerce within the new release-- as well as new security
features and more business affinity.
Significant performance gains will be realized through the
VR43 O/S in relation to its boost in storage handling capacity
of up to 2.1-Tetrabytes and system memory power capability
being pushed to 40-Gigabytes.
In either the 200-MHz or 266-MHz versions of the Northstar
processor, improved database response times should prevail
over earlier IBM processor offerings.
Company spokesmen said that this fourth-generation 64-bit
unit will be followed by the Pulsar processor sometime next
year or the year 2000. After that, the IBM Giga Processor
will take center stage in 2001 or 2002.
Once only a theory entered in a science journal, it appears
that it is now possible to "grow" a computer processor in a
test tube using only a few strands of DNA.
Using building blocks of DNA as computing symbols, Dr. Leonard
Adleman, a professor at the University of Southern California,
came across the theory four years ago. His experiments involved
the use of DNA, which are strands of genetic code that he used
to simulate computer software code.
By synthesizing DNA in a certain sequence and then letting the
DNA molecules react in a test tube, Dr. Adleman found that they
ultimately produced a molecule whose sequence is the answer to
the problem.
He used the chemical units of DNA rather than electronic 1s and
0s to solve a relatively simple problem. But last week, Dr.
Warren Smith and Dr. Allan Schweitzer, two scientists at the
NEC Research Institute in Princeton, N.J., were awarded what
might be the first ever patent to cover a DNA computing process
that would demonstrate that it is possible to solve a broad
assortment of problems in a manner similar to that of a
conventional desktop PC.
The patent outlines a method that uses genetic material to
build up a large number of what are called "Turing machines,"
all of which run in parallel, but with each of them exploring
their own computational paths.
All the scientists are keeping their optimism under control,
however, because of the high percentage of errors and the
drastically slow pace of the whole process-- sometimes taking
hours to complete even the simplest computing tasks.
Last month, Bell South Corp. announced that it will assess
long-distance telephone companies a fee for voice calls sent
over the Internet to locations within its nine-state calling
area.
According to a notice sent to the carriers, Bell South will
charge them one cent per call for the service, which up to now
has been provided at no extra charge.
Sun Microsystems Inc. is planning to give its resellers and
customers some inside information about its own Web technology
this month.
An introduction of its Java- and Extended Markup Language
(XML)-based Web site should be unveiled at the Internet World
Show in New York. The site, at www.sun.net, will allow Sun's
customers to narrow down their search results so that the
specific information they are seeking will appear-- rather than
having to sort through the countless hits on related topics
that normally would occur.
Sun currently provides a private site for its resellers called
"reseller.net," which posts internal information and product
updates.
In addition to the Mini PCI Standard announced last month by the
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Special Interest Group,
a consortium of PC manufacturers also proposed a new PCI spec
of their own.
Hewlett Packard Co., Compaq Computer Corp., and IBM Corp. put
their heads together and came up with the 64-bit PCI-X
(Peripheral Computer Interconnect [Extended]) specification,
which, according to its backers, will have a profound impact
on file server performance.
PCI-X will offer better input/output bandwidth to servers than
the initial 66-MHz PCI bus specification, according to industry
sources. The new specification is expected to fill a crucial
roll in the narrowing of the performance gap that now exists
in the enterprise server market.
With PCI-X, transfer burst rates exceeding 1-Gigabyte per
second will be possible, which is just one reason why HP, IBM,
and Compaq predict that the new specification will gain rapid
approval by the PCI Special Interest Group.
PCI-X is expected to be implemented by the second half of next
year.
Another computer specification was ratified last month when the
SCSI Trade Association (STA) gave its blessing to the Ultra3
SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) standard. As with most
new specifications, the focus of Ultra3 is to provide improved
performance by generating faster data throughput.
Several fundamental differences were noted by industry analysts
when comparing Ultra3 to the Ultra2 SCSI specification-- one
being that Ultra3 can move two bits of data per clock pulse
instead of the single bit/clock pulse moved by Ultra2. In
total data throughput, Ultra3 can hustle along at 160-Mbytes
per second without demanding an increase in processor speed.
Another plus for Ultra3 is its "Cyclic Redundancy Check" function
that will improve data handling through enhanced error checking.
Ultra3's "Domain Validation" will allow communication between
the host system and other devices to find the optimal data
speed and proper configuration of the SCSI bus. This, in turn,
enhances plug-and-play compatibility for low-end products.
Backward compatibility is not a problem with Ultra3 to Ultra2
situations. An Ultra2 SCSI device will connect to an Ultra3
port without any loss in performance.
Very few devices will be produced supporting the new SCSI
specification until next year or the year 2000, according to a
recent market report.
Intel Corp. has announced the 300-MHz version of its Pentium II
processor designed for the notebook PC.
The new chip is a light weight when it comes to the power
consumption category-- using just 1.6 volts. Its Level 2 cache
is a full 512-Kbytes, and it also supports software DVD play-
back.
Gateway, Compaq, IBM, H-P, Dell, Toshiba, and other PC vendors
are already building notebook systems based on the new Intel
CPU.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfiel Jackson agreed with the U.S.
Justice Department in a hearing on Thursday Sep., 3 that
Microsoft must hand over documents related to its meetings with
Intel Corp., Apple Computer Inc., and other companies.
The DOJ believes the documents support its position that
Microsoft has used the might of its monopoly power to gain
control in other markets.
Preceding the Sept. 23 trial, the court ruling can be chalked up
as a clear win for the government, according to comments by the
DOJ's lead attorney, David Boies. Judge Jackson, however,left
open the option for Microsoft's lawyers to ask for a delay of
the trial when all the parties met for scheduled talks on
September 17.
From a legal prospective, VARs (value-added resellers)may be
held liable if the systems they sell are unable to fully meet
contracted agreements for year 2000 compliancy. At least this
was the consensus of opinion conveyed by the attendees at the
Information Week conference held in Amelia Island, Florida last
month.
At the same time, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
issued a mandate stating that public companies must state their
Y2K status in periodic reports. The companies must also submit
reports regarding the readiness of other key partners such as
Internet providers and VARs.
One observer noted that companies that withhold key information
about their Y2K status could become liable in future shareholder
law suits. Companies who fail to deliver services or products
to customers due to lack of Y2K compliance could also be made
liable. Some of those companies are also expected to pass the
blame over to other players involved.
Software companies would most certainly be targeted after a
Y2K-related failure when angry stockholders go looking for
someone to blame. Resellers and computer consultants would
also be at risk of legal action in such cases-- not to mention
the computer manufacturers themselves.
Many savvy resellers are taking steps to prevent or lessen the
possibility of liability suits destroying them after a Y2K
related failure. Some are simply skirting around projects that
appear to involve high risk-- while others are seeking out the
very best technology in hopes of avoiding a legal disaster.
Other resellers are refusing to offer warranties over and above
that provided by the manufacturer.
In any case, one could bet that the lawyers stand to make some
big bucks out of the anticipated turmoil.
The launch of its new online sales scheme, NITRO, has Microsoft
executives scurrying around in search of answers.
NITRO (New Interactive Technology for Resellers Online) is a
platform whereby Microsoft will allow users to purchase soft-
ware online from resellers or directly from Microsoft. Some
observers, however, are dubious as to how and whom the Redmond-
based software giant will choose to reside in the prime spaces
on its upcoming Web site.
Although the NITRO store may not appear now until January, its
order-referral system was slated to be activated Sep. 29. When
all the pieces fall together, pages for each Microsoft product
will display "order-online" buttons that will take users to
the sites of selected resellers. The company has yet to decide
on a name for the site, but of the ones being considered are
"Microsoft Shelf" and the "Microsoft Store."
At its developer forum held in Palm Springs last month, Intel
Corp. released details of its plans for 1999.
More speed and more power set the tone of Intel's announcements
as the CPU giant outlined its plans for new desktop, server,
and workstation chips.
The "Katami" processor, which is the successor to the Pentium
II series, was given the spotlight treatment at the gathering.
It is scheduled for release by the first half of 1999, and will
be produced with clock speeds of 400-MHz and 450-MHz. Katami
will offer better 3-D graphics and all-around performance boosts
over its Pentium II cousins.
For high-end servers and workstations, Intel will market the
500-MHz "Xeon" chip next year, which utilizes a Tanner-based
processor. For speeds beyond 500-MHz, the company plans to
offer the "Cascade" CPU during the second half of 1999.
Intel's present mobile Pentium II chip, which shows 300-MHz on
the clock, will be replaced by a faster 333-MHz version. For
an entry level chip, Intel will boost the Celeron's performance
up to 366-MHz.
This brings us to the long awaited "Merced" chip, which will be
the first of Intel's offerings under its IA-64 specification,
and will be a true 64-bit CPU. Merced production is scheduled
to begin by mid-2000, according to company executives.
Quantum Corp. has its new Bigfoot TS series hard drives ready to
market, and [big] is a good way to describe them because the
storage capacity tops out at just over 19-Gigabytes.
According to Quantum officials, their wholesale price structure
works out to about 2-cents per Megabyte. The entire TS line is
built around a 5.25" format platter, which is produced in 6.4-,
8.4-, 12.7-, and 19.2-Gigabyte variations.
Magneto-resistive (MR) head technology is employed By Quantum to
enhance performance. Ultra ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment)
support is built into the Bigfoot plus a cache buffer of 512-K.
The TS drive disks spin at 4,000 rpm, which attributes to the
10.5 millisecond average seek time. According to one trade
publication, the 19.2-Gb Bigfoot may sell for less than $400.
If you have the provision of two standard telephone lines into
your home or business, you can now take advantage of Diamond
Multimedia's 112-Kbits/second digital firepower.
Aptly named Shotgun, Diamond's new technology pumps data at
twice the speed of a 56-Kbps modem over POT (plain old tele-
phone) lines. The actual model name is "SupraSonic II."
Another unique feature of the new modem allows one line to be
released for incoming phone calls or faxes. Compatibility
with the new V.90 standard gives the SupraSonic II support
by most of the major Internet providers across the country.
More information can be found by surfing Diamond's Web site @
www.diamondmm.com/shotgun.
Apple Computer Inc. has engineered some improvements into its
upcoming MacOS 8.5 operating system upgrade.
According to information released by Apple at the Seybold
Seminar held in San Francisco, MacOS 8.5 will have new color
management modules designed by Imation Corp. and the Agfa Div.
of Bayer Corp. One of the new features, called Sherlock, will
allow users to do full text searches on their own hard drives
or through indexes on the Internet. Entire documents can be
summarized as per user specifications through Sherlock.
Apple Chairman, Steve Jobs claims the new O/S will run just
about all existing MacOS 8 applications without modification.
But, no matter how good it looks on paper, anxious Mac users
will have to wait until the Fall of 1999 for the release of
version 8.5, as announced at the San Francisco meeting.
A pro-Microsoft lobbyist group recently formed contends that
interference by our federal government could hamper innovation
and restrict competition within the industry.
The former CEO of Vanstar Corp., Jay Amato, formally launched
the group under the name of the "Technology Access Action
Coalition"(TAAC). Focusing on the promotion of new technologies
and innovation in the high-tech industry, TAAC plans to actively
lobby against government intervention.
Amato stated at a recent press conference that recent actions
by the federal government ultimately harm consumers by limiting
their choices. Mr. Amato apparently was speaking about the
U.S. Dept. of Justice lawsuit against Microsoft and the FTC's
(Federal Trade Commission's) action against Intel.
TAAC is headed up by a four member steering committee, which
includes Mr. Amato and representatives from CompUSA Inc., PC
Connection Inc., and Corporate Software & Technology Inc. The
organization does not have a legislative agenda at this time,
and according to Amato, they are only focusing on education at
present. He also pointed out that the FTC and the Justice Dept.
Dept. are very good examples of what his organization was formed
to oppose. Amato said that he sees the recent trend of
government intervention as "unconscionable."
A recent discovery made by Symantec Corp. reveals what is
believed to be the first Java virus on the Internet.
Called Strange Brew, the new virus, for now is considered to be
harmless, but that is not to say that in the future they could
be written as malicious viruses, as pointed out by one Symantec
researcher.
Written in the popular Internet language, Java, Strange Brew is
basically a cross-platform vehicle that can infect all operating
systems and spread through other Java applications. It is rated
as a new class of virus.
While previous viruses infected, for the most part, program
files and were in the form of boot viruses or macro viruses,
Strange Brew infects Java-class files and can become a multi-
platform infection. Because it can run on just about any
computer, Strange Brew has become a new category threat.
Users just surfing the Web should be safe, however, because
Strange Brew is only capable of spreading when an infected
Java application (one that runs on a computer without the need
for a Web browser) is launched. It cannot be spread via a
Java applet through a Web browser because of safeguards built
into the Java Virtual Machine, which Sun Micro Systems designed
to detect and stop viruses from getting through or doing any
harm.
But if future strains of the virus are written to encrypt data,
alter information, or steal passwords, then we will have a
serious problem on our hands. At present, Strange Brew virus
infections appear more as flaws or bugs than as a virus. The
researchers at Symantec report that infections usually show up
in the form of applications that fail to load, take too long to
load, or other similar system deficiencies.
Last month, Hewlett-Packard Co. introduced an innovative hand-
held device.
The product name is "CapShare 910," but its definition name is
"Information Appliance." This little device is a handheld
scanner and more.
Weighing in at only 12.5 ounces, the 910 can scan and store up
to 50 documents. Each document can be scanned with just one
pass-- done in free-form motion by the user. The documents can
then be viewed on a miniature LCD screen as a thumbnail image
or sent to another device via a serial connection or infrared
port. E-mailing or E-faxing can then be accomplished through
the use of a smart phone or a PC-- or the document can be edited
on the PC and printed again.
A recent test report stated that documents scanned and re-
produced on the HP CapShare 910 unit were of a quality that
compares to that of a photocopy machine.
A software product has just been released by Seem Software,
based in Brooklyn, NY, that can turn your PC into a lie
detector.
Called "Truster," the application measures microtremors in
human voice patterns, which reveal vocal stress and the related
condition causing the stress through deviations in the frequency
of voice vibrations.
Truster's ability to decipher these variations in voice
frequencies can do more than just detect lies. According to
Seem executives, the novel application can also identify the
cause for the stress.
The voice stress can be related to excitement, exaggeration,
apprehension, or just plain lies, and Truster can pin-point
that cause. Anyone receiving phone calls from sneaky relatives
or political types will be glad to know that Truster also works
over the phone.
Seem has posted a $149.99 price tag on their new product. And
that's the truth!
