JUNE 1995 World

June 1995 £2.50 Multimedia kits,mice, Overseas Price £2.95 France 58 FF Germany DM 17,00 Italy 13,400 Lire Spain 925 PTS keyboards and software Holland HFL 14,25 Belgium 272.00 BFr Finland FIM 39.50 to Win on page 619 VNU Business Publications

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June 1995 Newsagent June 1995 PCW June 1995 Contents Features First Impressions Regulars Hands On PC Awards 325 Newsprint The Infobahn is set to become a reality; the PC world prepares for the 21st century; 1995 Adobe and NetScape indulge in Acrobatics; Delrina homes in on memory lane; the French have their PCs, the Brits have more fun; The best PCs, Amstrad airs “Text Radio”; Gates on Win95. 627 Introduction 628 Windows 346 News Analysis PC software and DOS Tim Bajarin on the industry vs. ; 632 peripherals Jack Schofield on the future of Unix; 634 32-Bit 366 DeskPro 575 Barry Fox on video data storage. Word Processing voted for by you, Model 420 4/4 638 With outstanding network management 642 Spreadsheets the readers 351 Sounding Off by Michael Hewitt and top-of-the-range components, this 646 Databases looks set to make a real impact. 353 Homefront by Tim Nott 650 Graphics & DTP 656 Multimedia 368 3D Interior Designer 355 Straight Talking by Barry Fox Performa Macs 402 Redesign your entire home from the 660 Sound PCW Cover Photography by David Whyte comfort of your PC. 662 Visual Programming PCW Computer Graphics by Magic Lantern Group by CHRIS CAIN 357 Business Matters by Nick Beard 422 666 Low Level Apple’s bid for a slice of the home market is based on three new 369 Quicken 4.0 for Windows 361 Letters 674 Numbers Count Disk with Performa Macs, one of which bears an uncanny resemblance to The best program for balancing your every 676 Networks issue Cover Disk Compaq’s Presario. personal accounts gets better. 680 696 Buyer’s Charter 370 Word Pro 684 Computer Answers With a new name, Lotus’s word proces- Five go mad with £1,500 408 ChipChat 686 Beginners or CD-ROM sor is back to challenge . 703 ● Cover Disk 12 by THE PCW TEAM Our annual look at how to buy a complete PC system — PC, 372 Micropolis AV Gold Series Group Tests Flamingo Lite: fully featured image printer and software — armed with a pen, a phone and a wad. Capricorn 3243AV The ideal hard disk for jitter-free editing package multimedia performance. Reader Survey 420 ● PCW Interactive CD-ROM 14 374 Visual FoxPro 3.0 Win a Western Systems Pentium 60 and help us make PCW New, easy-to-use version of FoxPro with Hundreds of megabytes of hot stuff, even better into the bargain. 32-bit goodness. including Peter Gabriel’s Xplora, PCW Awards 422 376 Psion Series 3a 2Mb PaintShop Pro 3.0, full-screen demo Psion’s latest organiser puts more RAM by THE PCW TEAM in your pocket. of Hell, plus 30 royalty-free photos The best PC products of the last year, including, for the first time, the PCW Reader Awards. 376 FreeStyle for Macintosh At last, a sequencer that thinks like a CUTTING EDGE musician. 502 Uninstall utilities 378 Acorn RISC PC 486 571 Introduction by PAUL BEGG Windows on the Archimedes is no longer DX2-66MHz 486s 454 PCW Online A close look at seven utilities for clearing out the detritus left a RISCy business. DX2-66 is fast becoming the entry level for multimedia PCs, with prices starting 572 Net.answers by unruly Windows apps. to dip below the £1,000 mark. Eleanor Turton-Hill put 22 of the machines 383 Paint Shop Pro 3.0 Net.surf 574 It’s only a shareware paint package but it through the VNU Eurolabs mill. 578 Net.news feels like Photoshop. Programming in Access 2.0 518 582 Comms 530 588 Net.newbies by IAIN SUMMERS & ANGUS MacKELLAIG 383 VVL PC Card Camera Maths software Eric Adler set tests for seven leading mathematics packages, totted up the The first of a three-part series on how to get the most out of A nice idea for niche applications. PCW Futures marks and awarded the Editor’s Choice prize. Microsoft’s popular Windows database. 591 Innovations 386 Circle Elements 593 Horizons Simple sound-sample fun. Bluesky ● Playing to the 597 Create a poster 550 387 CD-Speed 601 Retro Computing gallery: Great Artists by CHRIS JONES Soup up your CD-ROMs. 5 PCW Media on CD-ROM If you think producing slick, professional-looking A1 posters costs an arm and a leg, think again. 394 Setup Advisor 602 Books (with the PCW Bookshelf Selection, p605) Help for those who don’t know their 6 610 CD-ROMs DMAs from their IRQs. PCW Fun Tutorial: Procomm Plus for 614 Kids’ Stuff Windows, part 2 554 8 619 Competition: Win a multimedia kit, two sound sample by STEPHEN RODDA Long Term Tests CD-ROMs or a Microsoft Natural Keyboard * Writing Procomm scripts to access CIX can automate the 398 HP ScanJet IIc 621 Screenplay process and offer you superfast file transfer speeds. 399 PC Tools for Windows 2.0 + 624 Leisure Lines 1

6 437 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD 2 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 = JUNE 1995 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD

Editorial Advertising Editor Ben Tisdall Group Ad Manager Paula Devine 0171 316 9194 Associate Editor Simon Rockman Ad Manager Pranav J Oza 0171 316 9466 News Editor Clive Akass Assistant Ad Manager Kevin Elderfield 0171 316 9303 Cutting Edge Editor David Brake Senior Sales Executives Features Editor Chris Cain Catherine J Russell 0171 316 9303 Reviews Editor Gordon Laing Richard Young 0171 316 9309 Technical Writer Eleanor Turton-Hill Jon Miles 0171 316 9302 Staff Writers Steven Helstrip Sales Executives Nick Lawrence Timothy Mickelborough 0171 316 9463 Editorial Assistant Adele Dyer Nick O’Connor 0171 316 9304 PC Consumer Sales Columnists Nick Beard Beccy Carr 0171 316 9307 Barry Fox Alex Hole 0171 316 9306 Michael Hewitt Tim Nott Micromart Sales Executive Ben Hedges 0171 316 9308 International Correspondent Tim Bajarin Credit Control Manager Michael Donlan 0171 316 9701

Contributors US Sales Representative Barbara Gough 0101 415 306 0880 Jake Abrams ● Eric Adler ● Tim Anderson ● Tim Taiwan Sales Representatives Grace Chu/Kent Lai 010 886 2717 7663 Bajarin ● Paul Begg ● Chris Bidmead ● Ian Burley ● JJ Clessa ● Stephen Cobb ● Simon Collin ● Karl Dunkerley ● Barry Fox ● Jeanine Fox ● Tim Frost ● Production Nicky Glatter ● Wendy M Grossman ● Kerrin Hands ● Production Controller Melanie Thomson 0171 316 9481 Chris Jones ● Jake the Dog ● Frank Leonhardt ● Mike Production Manager Adrian Brown 0171 316 9484 Liardet ● Angus MacKellaig ● Bruce Mackie ● Jonny Production Assistant Susie Ross 0171 316 9486 Millar ● Mike Mudge ● Chris Nixon ● Tim Nott ● Tim Phillips ● Patrick Ramus ● John Robinson ● Stephen Rodda ● Jack Schofield ● Nicole Segre ● Nick Stanton Circulation ● Iain Summers ● James Taylor ● Ian Waugh ● Subscriptions Manager Leisha Bulley 0171 316 9712 Stephen Wells ● Mark Whitehorn ● David Whyte Subscriptions Supervisor Joanne Nicholls 0171 316 9713 Editorial Phone 0171 316 9000 Publishing Editorial Fax 0171 316 9313 Editorial Email first name last - Founder Angelo Zgorelec [email protected] Marketing Manager Juliet Parker 0171 316 9191 Portfolio Administrator Kyley Chapman 0171 9316 9183 Production Publishing Director Peter Goldstein 0171 316 9000 Publisher Jon Ross 0171 316 9187 Production Editor Lauraine Lee Sub-Editor Mark Monahan Test Results are based wholly or in part on methodologies provided by National Software Design Testing Laboratories, a division of McGraw-Hill, Inc, and licensed to Personal Computer World. Neither NSTL nor the Publisher guarantees the accuracy or adequacy of its testing Art Editor Darrell Kingsley activities and makes no representations or warranties regarding tested products. Articles Designer Jonathon Mason or portions of articles translated and reprinted (or adapted) in this issue from PC Digest or Software Digest Copyright (c) 1994, by National Software Testing Laboratories (NSTL), a VNU Labs division of McGraw-Hill, Inc, 625 Ridge Pike, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania 19428, USA. Reproduction of the NSTL material in any manner or language in whole or in part without Group Editor John Barnes permission of NSTL is prohibited. Labs Editors Julian Evans & George MacDonald Labs Assistant Paul Philip Lab Phone 0171 316 9067 Lab Fax 0171 316 9059 Enquiries or complaints regarding any advertiser in this magazine should, initially, be presented in writing to: Anthony George, ‘Customer Relations Department’, VNU House, VNU BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS 32-34 Broadwick Street, London W1A 2HG. 157,544 JUL-DEC '94

REPRINTS SUBSCRIPTIONS We offer a full reprint service for reproduction of all or part of any current or Annual subscription, £17.95 (floppy), £19.95 (CD). One year Europe only, £30. previous articles. Minimum order, 1000. For details contact Melanie Thomson Rest of World, £60-£80. P&P included. (0171 316 9000). Call 0171 316 9715/9716. Credit card orders welcome. USE OF EXTRACTS BACK ISSUES We are delighted for to use quotations and segments of articles for We keep a stock of past issues and can provide individual copies at a charge of internal or promotional purposes. For clearance contact Juliet Parker £5. Call Tom Costin (0171 316 9714). (0171 316 9000).

VNU House, 32-34 Broadwick Street, London W1A 2HG. Main Switchboard Tel 0171 316 9000. No material may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent from the copyright holder © VNU Business Publications 1994. Advertisement typesetting by Typematters, London N1. Origination by Latent Image, 6 Balmoral Grove, London N7. Printed and bound in the UK by St Ives plc, Plymouth. Distributed by Comag, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex (01895 444055).

8 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 Editorial PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD

One day in early April the final beta arrived in the PCW office. It was enough to tempt a few people, including me, into installing it on their main office machines on the Next Month PCW network. Very quickly we ran into problems: problems with video drivers, problems with a complex MIDI setup, problems with a network Colour card, with plug and play, with TCP/IP support... scanners Troubleshooting Windows 95 problems is not easy. I spent a frustrating hour talking to Windows Gordon Laing checks out 95 technical support, endlessly waiting for Win95 to reboot while the 18 flatbed colour support guy experimented with different . At the end of an hour my system still refused to scanners, from as recognise the editorial network and would only boot into safe mode — safe but useless — where a bare little as £299 minimum of drivers are installed. I spent three tortuous hours re-installing Windows 3.1, before writing, “from the state of the final beta, I seriously doubt that Microsoft will be able to deliver the flawless, plug and play it has ✪ ● promised. I expect it to be plagued by Stats Cutting the kind of niggling incompatibilities that have dogged OS/2 Warp, particularly for people attempting to software Edge install it over Windows 3.x”. Just hours later came the news that Bill Gates himself has now cast Special... doubts over whether Windows 95 will round-up hit its late August ship date. “August is likely, but it’s not guaranteed and Web it’s not the highest priority,” he said. Gates added that Windows 95 still has a “substantial” bug list. EW! Browsers - It’s hard to know how to react to N the latest Windows 95 setback. I figure it can’t be deliberate, but ★ which one delaying it again will do Microsoft Hands On very little harm as vendors will just carry on pre-installing DOS and is right for Windows until it does. But the widely Windows 95 publicised August ship date can’t have helped IBM’s OS/2 sales. Lots Tim you? of people must have deferred switching to OS/2 because Win95 Nott was coming. July issue tries — On Sale Thursday 1st June out • colour printers • antivirus software the August issue final — On sale Thursday 6th July Ben Tisdall Editor beta 9 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 COVER DISK NOTES Diskevery w COVER DISK NOTES

Important details issue box in which you If you have problems with the Cover Disk such as receiving a can specify “Cannot read from drive A:” error, send the disk with a stamped PCW further addressed envelope to TIB PLC (PCW), TIB House, 11 Edward details on Street, Bradford, BD4 7BH. how the However, You should note that if a phone number is shown for command the publisher of any cover disk program then it will probably be Cover Disk will oper- quicker for you to call them first as they will be able to provide direct ate. While assistance on their own programs more quickly than might other- the com- Chris Nixon introduces this month’s wise be possible. Alternatively you can ring our hot-line on week- mands with days between 10.30 and 12.30 on 01274 736 990. cover disk which exclusively brings an arrow to The PCW cover disk is virus checked at every stage of produc- you a superb, complete and fully the right of the command A now-rather-familiar image, tion, However, neither VNU nor PCW can be deemed liable for any name contain submenus. post manipulation using problems arising from the use of the disk. Installing or running any working image editing program, ● Giving the Some commands allow you to Flamingo Lite of the programs on the disk indicates your agreement to this Flamingo Lite. The program has Tower of take a short cut by using Con- condition. many features you normally only find Babel a trol and a letter to perform an selection and places it on the You are advised not to install any software on a networked PC facelift with operation. Clipboard. Unlike Cut, using before checking the disk. While PCW maintains a high standard of in expensive brand name products Flamingo Lite The Tool bar allows quick Copy will leave the original quality control, disks may be damaged in transportation. Check the and yet is free, without any activation of a number of com- selection in the image your are disk shutter before putting disks in the drive. requirement to register — although a mands using uttons. These are working on. If you have received the cover disk but would prefer the CD- New, Open, Save, Print, Cut, PASTE — Inserts a selection ROM, please write to our subs department at: PCW Subs, VNU special offer upgrade to Flamingo Copy, and Paste. It also from the Clipboard. You may House, 32-34 Broadwick Street, London, W1A 2HG, enclosing a Plus is available to PCW readers. includes a zoom and progress paste an object many time cheque or postal order for 75p to cover post and packing. Please indicator. over if you wish as pasting allow up 14 days for the receipt of your CD-ROM. Here is a breakdown of the doesn’t remove the object disk and create the Program more basic commands in from the Clipboard. Installing and Manager icons needed to Flamingo Lite’s: ZOOM — Informs you of the material. Median, Custom Kernel, access it. NEW — Opens the New Image current zoom factor. When SHARPEN (Sharpen submenu) Min/Max, Sharpen Edges, running the dialogue box, which allows clicked, Zoom displays a list Brings an image or selection Unsharp Mask, Shake, Rt • Flamingo Lite you to create a new image in of predefined zoom factors to into focus. The filter sharpens Screens, Trace Contour, Find PCW [Minimum requirements: Flamingo. If you already have choose from, including a Fit a certain value in the image or Edges, Lighting, Diffuse, Windows 3.1, 4Mb RAM] a open image NEW creates a command which will fit the selection by increasing the Emboss, Tile Cover Disk Flamingo is one of the most new image with the same for- image in a window. contrast between the individ- TOOLS — Text, Lines & powerful painting and photo- mat (size and colour mode). HELP — Jumps directly to the ual pixels. Arrows, Multi-Shapes, Poly- o install the programs, retouching packages we have OPEN — Opens the Open dia- Help contents page. The help DIFFUSE (Stylize submenu) — lines, Rounded Corner Tinsert the disk in drive A: recently seen, and yet it’s logue box, which allows you supplied with Flamingo is Creates an effect in an image or Rectangles. (or B: — whichever you nor- extremely easy to use. The to open an existing image. comprehensive, clearly laid a selection that makes it look SPECIAL FILL TOOLS — 3D mally use for installing soft- large 256-colour icons on SAVE — Saves changes, and out and highly recommended less focused. The filter mixes Objects, Buttons, and more ware) and, from either DOS or every toolbar put most other updates the image. If the image reading. the pixels. gradient Fills like Radial Windows run the file Windows applications firmly has not previously been saved PROGRESS — Displays the TILES (Stylize submenu) — Twirl, Blobs and Patterns. Gra- FLAMINGO.EXE in the root in the shade in the presenta- the Save As dialogue box will progress of time-consuming Parts the image into rectangles dient Linear, Radial, Box and directory of the floppy disk. tion stakes. appear. operations such as applying and offsets them. Radial Sweep Fills. Please note that this is a Win- PRINT — Prints an image, filters or loading and saving MOSAIC (Stylize submenu) — PAINT TOOLS — Brush, Pens, dows installer which will set Just some of the effects you with various options available. files. Groups pixels together in Calligraphic Pens, Sponge, the program up on your hard can create in Flamingo Lite You can add information to In fact, Flamingo has so square blocks, all pixels in a Smudge, Crayon. the printed page such as image many features there isn’t room block receiving the same RETOUCH TOOLS — Colour Flamingo is surprisingly the Title Bar shows the word name an printing date, or print to tell you everything it can colour. This filter gives the Vacuum, Adjust, Masking, fast for such a fully-featured “Untitled 1”, “Untitled 2” and the image as a process colour do, so here’s a brief summary impression that the image or Custom Brush, Effects. system, yet it doesn’t need so on. If the window isn’t full- separation and adjust screen- of some of its most interesting selection has another (lower) OTHER FEATURES — much to run on. A 4Mb PC is sized you can move it by drag- ing, and so on. Flamingo even functions: resolution. TWAIN Scanner Support, Cus- quite sufficient to exploit its ging the Title bar. remembers and displays the COLOUR FILL (Effects menu) tom Colour Palette support, full potential, although one or The Title bar contains one four most recently opened Fills a selection with a colour • Flamingo Plus Advanced masking/selection two advanced features do or more buttons for you to con- image files, allowing you to or a pattern. If you like Flamingo (and functions including: Grow, require a little more RAM. trol the window. access recently-used files BLUR (Blur submenu) — we’re sure you will), you’ll be Similar, Modify Border, Mod- The Flamingo Title Bar The Menu bar contains the quickly. Blurs an image or a selection interested to learn that ify Edge, Pattern Fill. shows the name of the pro- command menus. To activate CUT — Removes a selection by reducing the contrast Flamingo Plus is now avail- You can order your copy of gram and the image’s name a command click on the menu from the image and places a between the individual neigh- able, incorporating the follow- Flamingo Plus for £49.95 (plus and colour mode (such as and drag to highlight your copy of it on the Clipboard, bouring pixels. ing features: VAT and P&P) from Spring- Greyscale, Indexed and RGB) chosen command, then ready for you to paste back EMBOSS (Other submenu) — EFFECTS — Motion Blur, soft, Springfield House, Llan- in fully-expanded presenta- release the mouse button. into Flamingo or many other Creates an effect that makes an Gaussian Blur, 3D Distort, 3D fynydd, Wrexham, Clwyd, tion windows. For new Commands with three dots programs. image or a selection look as if Flipping, Perturbing, Shear, LL11 5HW. Tel 01352 770 049 images you haven’t yet saved, next to them open up a dialogue COPY — Makes a copy of a it were moulded in a solid Add Noise, Remove Noise, Fax: 01352 770 816.

12 13 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 COVER DISK NOTES COVER DISK NOTES

CD-ROM advice & contacts can be read using version program will then examine 2.23, which 2.22 (with less every byte of data on the disc The PCW CD-ROM is virus checked at every stage of production. sophisticated error correction) to see if it can be correctly However, neither VNU nor PCW can be deemed liable for any PCW Interactive usually can’t read. read. The process lasts up to problems arising from its use. You are advised not to install software To enable you to upgrade 35 minutes and generates a on a networked PC before checking the disc. to the latest version, from the verification code if the disc For technical support on the CD and the programs on it call MSCDEX directory of the CD- passes the test. If the CD- Advice by Telephone on 01708 641 454, or email them at ROM, run the file ROM fails this test please [email protected]. CD-ROM CDUPDATE.EXE. This will contact the support hotline as To give feedback on the CD-ROMs or cover disks you can email automatically install the new you may need to send for a the PCWI team at either: [email protected] or program on your hard disk in replacement. CompuServe: 70007,5547 (Please note that these are not the cor- Robin Nixon introduces this month’s the directory MSXDEX2.23. rect email addresses for technical support or subscription enquiries.) Your AUTOEXEC.BAT file will • Getting help packed CD-ROM, which includes the also be modified. However, Detailed help on most of the over your old copy in order to RAM possible without using a best demos, animations, videos, the old MSCDEX driver will programs is available when gain higher quality playback memory manager. Note that music, and much more. remain on your hard disk you run them. For further with less jerkiness. there is now a DOS menu to should you wish to return to it, details on using the magazine • DOS programs will not run access DOS programs on while a backup copy of your itself click on the Help side You must have at least 575kb each CD-ROM. It’s called AUTOEXEC.BAT file will be tab at the top right of any free RAM in a Windows DOS DOSMENU.BAT and you’ll • Using PCW Interactive saved as AUTOEXEC.SAV. page. box in order to run all the soft- find it in the root directory. Installing and The magazine has been We strongly recommend ware on this CD. If you have • The computer crashes or designed to look and feel like you upgrade to the new driver • Troubleshooting less, much will work but some hangs running you’re reading a printed publi- as it will enable you to run • The videos are jerky won’t, so you may prefer to • Sound effects and music cation. For example, at the most CD-ROM programs you If you have a single-speed quit from Windows and (if you stop playing PCW bottom left and right of each may have had trouble with CD-ROM drive consider have DOS 6.0), use Neither of these should hap- page you’ll find a Page Turn and you’ll find that if digital upgrading to a double-speed MEMMAKER.EXE to increase pen. However, with the huge Interactive icon for turning backwards or videos play jerkily, they or faster drive. You could also the free base RAM. If you amount of software supplied forwards a page. In addition should become much try selecting | don’t have DOS 6.0, try on this CD and the inherent [Minimum requirements: 4Mb there is a set of 10 tabs which smoother, while loading data Drivers | . removing all TSRs and instability of Windows, after free RAM (swapfile acceptable), appear down the left- and and running programs will be Then uncheck the “Skip unused drivers from your using several of the programs 386SX/33 processor, Windows righthand side of each page. much quicker. frames if behind” entry. We AUTOEXEC.BAT and CON- in a single session, any unex- 3.1. (Users with less than this Clicking on any of these will would also suggest that see- FIG.SYS files by placing a pected problems can gener- should at least be able to run take you directly to the page in • Testing your CD-ROM ing as the very latest version REM command in front of ally be corrected by simply the DOS programs on the CD- the magazine where the indi- If you suspect your CD-ROM of Video for Windows is on them. Alternatively, you could exiting from and restarting ROM using the batch file DOS- cated magazine section begins. may actually be faulty (ie, this month’s disc (version boot up from a backup of Windows. MENU.BAT). Recommended damaged) you can run the file 1.1d, released less than 10 your DOS System disk, which • PCW Interactive runs for best performance: 8Mb • Video for Windows CDTEST.EXE in the root days before the CD-ROM was will give you just about the slowly installed RAM, 486DX/50 (STOP PRESS: This disc directory of the CD-ROM. The pressed), you should install it maximum amount of free base We are now using Macrome- processor, Windows 3.11.] includes the very latest version dia Director as the multimedia To run PCW Interactive you of Video for Windows (1.1e) engine for PCWI as it offers a no longer need to install any which you should install in speed increase of several part of it to your PC other than place of any previous version hundred percent over the pre- Video for Windows (if you wish you may use.) vious system. However, to to view the movies). All you On page 1 you’ll have the achieve this speed it requires need to do is select your CD- opportunity to install the latest 4Mb free RAM. So, if you ROM drive and run the file version of Video for Windows, have 4Mb or less RAM you PCWI.EXE in the root direc- so that you can view the digital Interactive as we always try Just some of the exciting may experience delays when tory for PCWI to run. movies on the CD. If you to ensure the very latest pro- programs on this month’s turning as up to half of haven’t installed Video for grams and drivers are on the PCW CD-ROM this RAM may already be in • Using the CD-ROM Windows from a PCW Interac- CD-ROM. use by Windows and DOS. from DOS tive CD before, then you must Throughout PCW Interac- The solution is to add If you don’t have Windows, or install this new version, as it tive you’ll have the opportu- • MSCDEX additional RAM to your PC experience any problems run- contains the latest drivers nity to run or install programs, Microsoft’s CD-ROM exten- (which will also make all your ning some of the DOS software which deliver higher quality, a get further details on a partic- sions (called MSCDEX.EXE) other CD-ROMs run much from Windows, you can run larger size and a faster play- ular program, try out demon- provide the interface between faster), or at least, to ensure the batch file \DOSMENU.BAT back rate. If you don’t install strations of programs, play your PC and your CD-ROM you have a permanent swap- from DOS, but don’t try running the new version, some videos videos, listen to audio files drive. There are two versions file of an additional 4Mb RAM. it from a Windows DOS prompt. will display the message and much more. When any of in common use, 2.22 and Also, make sure you read the It will then display a menu “Cannot display this video”, or these options is available an 2.23. If you are using 2.22 section about MSCDEX in from which you can select any similar. icon will be displayed indicat- you’ll find that data is pulled this article. of the DOS programs and run We strongly recommend ing the fact. All you need to off your CD-ROMs much them, using either the you install this every time you do is click once on it to acti- more slowly than with version This interactive demo should keys and Return, or a mouse. use a new issue of PCW vate the choice. 2.23. Also, slightly faulty discs get your feet tapping

14 15 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 PCW Newsprint

The Infobahn is coming – at 10Mbit/sec lans are in place for cable companies to at least one cable company has started high- as fast as an Ethernet link – onto a radio- P set up a national data artery – the fabled bandwidth Internet trials. TeleWest, part of the frequency carrier). Regan said there was no Infobahn. It will carry Internet and other data huge TCI group, is testing a system in one of connection between the Scotland trial and last services as well as TV and video. its franchise areas in Scotland. month’s purchase by TCI of a stake in brows- The companies, who met eight weeks ago Doug Regan, director of investor relations, er developer NetScape. But he said Telewest to agree a strategy, plan to become the lar- could not give specific data speeds but said would have Internet services in place by the gest national Internet providers. They envi- they were “ten to 100 times faster” than end of the year, and perhaps sooner. sage a system with far more rigorous security today's modems. (Lancity, a US company, The company has franchises in Birming- to facilitate online shopping, banking, and ele- last month announced a £400 cable TV ham, Avon, Tyneside, and several London ctronic cash. Details are hard to come by, but modem capable of sticking 10Mbit/second – boroughs as well as in Scotland. London- based Videotron is also experi- menting with fast links but was not answering calls on the subject. Cambridge Cable will have a Welcome to the Web installed by August, though according to chairman Hugo Davenport, fast line speeds 21st century! will not follow for some time – not Dallas Museum of Art for want of demand. “I reckon that his month's Newsprint shows the PC world about 25,000 people in this area Tchanging as fast as it has ever done – and so would use a fast Internet service if variously that no single development can be iso- they could get one,” he said. lated as the most important. We are witnessing Peter Dawe, chairman of pio- the birth of the technologies that will mediate neer Net service provider Pipex, the 21st century. envisages slower TCP/IP connec- The convergence of computing and televi- tions for low-volume tasks like text, sion, reflected in new PC TVs (see Amstrad kicking in higher-speeds for den- story on page 330) and set-top boxes (page ser files such as video clips. 334), is an obvious trend. But there are many He said he had been trying to exciting things happening: interest cable firms in the Internet ● NEC announces a 1Gb DRAM chip (page for years but they had only just 336) offering the prospect of working memories begun to see its potential. “I can with capacities greater than today's hard disks. understand why. When you are in ● Cable companies start to lay out the fabled business you have to concentrate information superhighway, needed to realise on one thing until you have got it the potential of online services (above). right. You have to look to your Ushering in the new ... Faustulus showing Romu- ● JVC announces a new Digital VHS recorder lus and Remus to his wife , by Nicholas Mignard knitting. The cable companies had promising cheap data storage an order of mag- (1606-68), after 300:1 compression using a new enough on their hands,” he said. nitude greater than today’s (page 331). This wavelet-based algorithm. Full story page 327 Dawe foresaw problems with could ease the storage bottleneck holding back the potential of “Text Radio”, which will surely what he called the “silent cartel” of multimedia development... develop into a complement of online services phone companies, as cheap data ● ...not least in electronic publication. Adobe (see page 330). services threaten artificially high and NetScape show one way to distribute high- Pointing up the need for changes, net charges for voice calls, many of quality electronic documents (page 326). surfers are warned that they are in danger of which can be carried on a high ● Online Media and its partners show off tech- swamping the lines (page 342). Clive Akass bandwidth line. Clive Akass nology that can feed video and other high- bandwidth services into households (page 334). aAnd the rest of the NEWS... Adios Ami Pro 340 Lotus flagship gets new name ● A Virtual Reality viewer shows what can be Amour the merrier? 294 Race for speed 338 done with high bandwidths (page 326). How Frenchmen prefer PCs to Rush of 120MHz Pentium PCs At your surface 342 ● A new compression technology packs women but your Brits don’t CompuServe lures surfers Smart move 338 images still more tightly (right and page 327). Win95 latest 334 Ministers look at smart cards. Home sweet MacClone 343 ● A new communicator from Amstrad showed August ship “not guaranteed” And the robot civil servant. First home Mac clones

325 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 NEWSPRINT NEWSPRINT

Short Stories Short Stories Gilbert asks for Sea of possibilities for Twin Peaks can that old printer NetScape Acrobatics back up 36Gb Meet Gilbert ● M4 Data, winner of a 1995 the Robot, Institute of Electrical who is being boost Web publishing wavelet compression Engineers quality award, used to pro- invested £5 million in the Dallas Museum of Art mote a new development of its latest deal between Adobe and S researchers are marketing a compression plan to give £8,000 Twin Peaks M490 NetScape, respectively system they claim can pack two feature films schools las- A Silicon U tape drive, which can back er printers. runner-up and joint winner of onto one CD and enable high-quality videophone up data to 2.4Gb cartridges Gestetner is asking compa- our Most Innovative Software puts 3D calls down an ordinary line, or Disney-quality graph- at a rate of 3Mb a second nies to send in their old lasers, awards (see page 422), could ics for games. The HARC-C system was developed without compression. of any make, which will be re- lead to an boom in high-quality at the Houston Advanced Research Centre by Dr A fast SCSI interface with conditioned and given to publication on the Internet. on line Charles Chui and Dr PK Yuen, who gained his doc- a 4Mb buffer allows burst schools. The two companies have ilicon Graphics has torate at Britain's Bradford University and was a data rates of up to 10Mb/sec. In exchange, business will agreed to integrate the capa- developed a 3D research fellow at Brunel. Claimed features include: M4 says it is the smallest be entitled to a cut-price Lex- S IBM 349OE-compatible drive bilities of Adobe’s Acrobat viewer which, band- ● A minimum 30:1 compression on still images with mark printer. The scheme is available. “portable document” software no visible loss – no-one claims it is lossless. inspired by the Business in the width permitting, will Also available is a 15- and NetScape’s browser. Compression up to 300:1 and even 500:1 with Community project, which aims bring virtual reality to the Web and other delivery systems. The cartridge £1,500 autoloader, to get companies to combine Acrobat offers advantages WebSpace viewer, developed with Template Graphics Soft- tolerable loss of quality. giving a total capacity of social responsibility with profit. over the current generation of ware, will allow users to fly through 3D worlds, and explore ● Better performance and quality than JPEG and 36Gb, and a Library allowing To receive an information HTML, the hypertext markup libraries and museums, or fantasy sites. MPEG for both still and moving pictures. random access. pack contact the Gestetner language used to produce It will be available on Windows, NT, PowerMac and Unix ● Easy real-time compression and decompression, M4 Data 01276 62401 Schools Scheme, Burryport Web pages. HTML has limited machines. By the time you read this, beta versions should be with an even quality on all source images – a big Road, Brackmills, Northamp- formatting capabilities and available at http://www.sgi.com. There are details there of how snag of rival fractal compression is the amount of Computer control ton, NN4 7BB. Businesses uses style names which are to subscribe to the company's online magazine, Iris, from processing necessary. It has also been criticised for should ring 01990 143157. at your fingertips interpreted differently on differ- which this picture is taken. working better on some images than others. ent computers — the viewer The viewer supports Virtual Reality Modelling Language HARC-C uses an algorithm based on wavelet Mouse gets a decides what it looks like. (VRML), an open standard which is infinitely scalable: you can analysis, which models an analogue signal as a ser- new dimension Acrobat’s portable docu- enter endless levels of detail. ies of wave packets; on a digitised image, it deals ● Creative Labs has ment format means the same with rates of change at the various locations. announced a 3D mouse and file can look identical on any commercial publishing. Its technologies we can bring that Wavelet compression has already been used pen which connect with a PC computer with a suitable founder James Clark also same quality and creative before, notably for storing fingerprints. Some patents via an infra-red receiver viewer, even on different plat- launched Silicon Graphics, power to online information.” are owned by Aware Inc., whose chairman Howard linked to the serial port. forms such as Macs and PCs. which is offering a 3D Web Acrobat’s PDF format could Resnikoff was quoted as describing Dr Chui as well Apple tried a fingerpad on The AeroMouse and their notebooks as a substi- Acrobat also has hypertext viewer (above). become a de facto Web stan- respected in the field – though he also warned AeroPen are available sepa- tute for a mouse; now ALPS facilities that could provide the He said: “Adobe technol- dard; happily, perhaps, it has against possible hype. rately for £74.99 or together has brought out this £62 as the AeroDuet for £99.99, kind of global references famil- ogy, such as the PostScript competition – which may have Dr Tom Linehan, product manager at HARC's standalone version of the complete with graphics iar from Mosaic. language, provided new ways helped persuade Adobe to put marketing arm, said: “We plan to license the tech- fingerpad in PS/2, serial and software. NetScape is putting secu- to create richly formatted docu- its viewers into the public dom- nology to a number of major companies and expect Mac versions. It is capable Either device transmits x,y rity measures into its browsers ments and set new industry ain. Microsoft has integrated Detail from Munich Still Life, by Michael William Harnett product to come out in early 1996.” of 400dpi resolution and z co-ordinates for feed- to facilitate electronic payment standards. By combining Web facilities into Word 6 and (1882) before and after 300:1 wavelet compression Details at http://www.harc.edu, or call 713 363 7922 Dealers: Datrontech 01252 303333; ing into 3-Dl graphical – again, a prerequisite for NetScape and Adobe is pushing its format as a stan- Rotec 01604 763611 programs. dard. Novell/WordPerfect has Creative Labs 01734 344322 Capture scans into PDF Envoy; all give away viewers. How Frenchmen prefer PCs to sex Multimedia clips This diversity is healthy ● Softkey has released two PS/2 upgrades Adobe has also released an Acrobat Capture utility which ● Hypertec and IBM have rather than confusing: you can packages. PC Paintbrush translates scanned documents into portable document for- joined forces to create simply name different viewers but your Englishman has more fun Multimedia Library contains upgrade boards for the PS/2 mat PDF), with formatting and optical character recognition. for different types of file, as is The image of PC users as social than their German counterparts. spectrum, 75% of Europeans 50 full colour videos, 1,000 range. The HyperRace 70/80 This allows paper documents to be archived in a searchable done with the various graphics rejects has gone – but comput- Seven in ten enjoy using their believe children should be sound files and 1,250 royalty with an IBM 66MHz Blue form. Scans are preserved so that the original can be com- formats. Clive Akass ers still have a profound effect on machines, compared with only encouraged to use a computer, free colour photographs for £39.95, and Key Presenter is Lightning processor costs pared with the OCR version. Xerox (01895 251133) has Adobe 0181 606 4000; Novell 0800 us, according to a Gallup survey 22% of Germans, who take an and eight in ten parents and chil- a presentation package for £299 and the HyperBlue 55, announced a similar technology, without the PDF. 177277; Microsoft 01345 002000 conducted for Microsoft. altogether more pragmatic dren think computing skills are £46.95. 50/60 and 50MHz boards all Even the traditionally amor- approach – only 9% of Germans important in trying to get a job. cost £199. Softkey 0181 789 2000 ous Frenchman can have his are intimidated by PCs, ● British people spent more on Hypertec 01488 686844 Delrina takes the family down Memory Lane head turned. Given an extra hour compared to 26% of Britons. computers than on other home NetTools upgrade in the day, more than one in five The elderly are no more likely entertainment in 1994, says a Fast compression ● IPE has upgraded Net- Delrina will launch its first multimedia product that you can scan photographs straight into would rather spend time with a to be frightened by computers GfK Marketing Services survey. ● ControlWare has released Tools, the Windows desktop the CITAM 115K which for the home market later this year. Echo Lake personal or family diaries. PC than in an intimate situation than anyone else, with nearly Spending was more than £827 management package. Net- offers V.42 bis data is an interactive family album that lets you com- The package has support for AVI files. Echo with his lover. Only 11% of nine in ten saying they would million on computers, £644 mil- Tools 5.2 is free to existing compression with a 64kbps bine stories, photographs and sound clips for Lake will cost £49.95 and is promised for the Englishmen felt the same way. learn to use one if they were lion on big-screen TVs, £587 mil- NetTools users who have a ISDN connection. storing family memories. It will work with Kodak fourth quarter, just in time for Christmas. But British PC users are more younger. lion on VCRs and 518 million on software support contract. ControlWare 01635 294000 Photo-CD and will be TWAIN-compatible so Delrina 0181 207 3163 likely to have fun with their PCs At the other end of the age audio systems. Adele Dyer IPE 0171 436 2244

326 327 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 NEWSPRINT NEWSPRINT

Short Stories Short Stories Brother offers A Videological choice New home video recorder Kodak's DC40 is multimedia PC Videologic has launched a resolutions; a snap-on a snap at £895 ● Brother has released the range of “multimedia ready” extra improves AVI play- Brother Max PC. For £1,249 graphics cards. The three 64-bit back dramatically. An can pack 50 CDs of data it comes with 8Mb of RAM, GrafixStars, for VL or PCI optional daughterboard 420Mb hard disk, double buses, boast advanced Windows has a VMC connector for heap data storage an or- simultaneously. Incidentally, computer side. One result is speed CD-ROM drive, 16-bit performance, the latest S3 pro- devices such as a TV tun- Cder of magnitude bigger they will also be capable of that the recorders will be avail- and 1Mb VESA cessors and VESA Media chan- er card or MPEG player. than that available today is pro- reading existing VHS tape. able first in the US, where digi- local . nel (VMC) expandability. The 500 and 700 cards offer RAM. The 500 costs £149; the mised by the company that The flexibility of D-VHS stems tal TV already exists. Their As well as MSDOS 6.2, The GrafixStar 300, based an S3 Vision 868 and 968 res- 700 has an SRP of £275. pioneered the VHS video from the fact that it deals only importance here is that they ● Windows 3.11, Lotus Smart- This is Kodak's new £895 on an S3 Trio 64, is a budget- pectively, enhanced AVI as Chris Cain recorder. The Victor Company with bitstreams: protocols and enable time-shifting: satellite or suite and various other multi- Digital Compact (DC) 40 media packages, free priced £115 but offers high standard and more video Videologic 01923 260511 of Japan, better known as compression standards are left video-on-demand transmis- camera which offers 756 x introductory connection to JVC, announced a new Data to whatever application is sions can be recorded at off- 504 pixel resolution with 24 CompuServe is included. VHS format for recorders using it. peak times, making more colours. It can store up to 48 images, with the aid of Kyodai 01279 416888 designed primarily for efficient use of expen- Amstrad InfoPad gives digital TV – but they sive infrastructure. But, compression, before you need to download. will also be able to rec- as a JVC official poin- Office toolkit Kodak 01442 61122 ord data from a com- out, they could be an airing to Text Radio puter. used in a similar way Business that lives JVC claims they will for multimedia broa- mstrad last month gave jour- sources will be available by the be little more expen- casting: your morning with a time bomb ● More than one in three nalists a closer look at the time the device hits the market sive than current home newspaper, perhaps A businesses are living with a handheld InfoPad Pic700, which later this year. Information on tap VCRs because they with moving pictures time bomb, with no idea what looks like its most innovative prod- will include racing results, share use much the same and sound clips, could they would do in the event of uct since the PCW word proces- prices and headline news. Sub- mechanism – though be downloaded from a For the office that has every- a catastrophic data loss, sor. It could presage an explosion scription fees have yet to be there is a question satellite as you sleep. thing ... except a stylish says storage specialist toolkit to enable you to fid- in the use of “Text Radio” — infor- decided. over whether more But the lack of Palindrome. This Lego-like model of an industrial process dle with recalcitrant hard- mation broadcast as computer- The company is also consid- expensive heads will cheap, high-capacity Managing director David was produced by the Taylor II simulation pack- ware before calling in the readable text (see panel below). ering taking on board General have to be used to get storage, even more Harris-Evans says even age, which won a Best of Cebit 95 award. Dutch maintenance engineer, Jen- The InfoPad, due to ship in the Magic’s praised graphical inter- computer-quality than processing pow- those who regularly back up developer F&H Simulations (+31 1336 6344) sen offers this 31-piece col- autumn, is the size of a small face, as used by Sony, Motorola recording. A single D- er, has been a major data may be at risk, because says a big selling point is its capacity for of the possibility of human lection in a choice of vinyl paperback with a touch-screen and Philips, and the associated VHS cassette, again bottleneck in the dynamic analysis of complex processes error. or Blue Cordura cases – covering the upper surface, a ser- Telescript language which ena- costing little more than development of multi- £89 and £93 respectively. He was plugging the ial port for talking to a PC, and a bles software agents to perform a standard one, will be able to JVC officials were uncertain media, with its huge sound and lastest release of Prepare! Jensen Tools 01604 787060 card slot capable of taking a cellular phone tasks such as traffic watching and database record 31.7Gb of data – equiv- how the D-VHS recorder would image files. Other obvious 2.0, a disaster-recovery pack- link. searching. alent to nearly 50 CD-ROMs. connect to a PC. Indeed, chair- applications include digital age which prepares both Edu-bundle Amstrad sensibly provides a screen touch- But product manager Cambell Orr said: The use of thin tape will boost man Mr Sayoji Watanabe, photography, home video beginners and experienced ● NASCR is now bundling pad so you do not have to rely on handwriting “These devices need service providers that sup- this to 44.7Gb. launching the product over a editing, and document users for the worst. The sug- two of its educational CD- recognition, which was woefully inadequate on port them. We can’t see any coming on line in With compression, the new video link from Japan, gave the archives. gested price is £795. ROM titles, English and the InfoPad’s predecessor, the PenPad. Europe for at least two years.” VCRs will be able to store up impression that the company JVC 0181 450 3282 Palindrome 01344 360888 Maths (Number), for £35.95. The InfoPad’s most interesting feature is its ● Amstrad has followed ICL (see last month’s to a claimed 49 hours of video had approached the project ● Why hasn’t it been done NASCR 01742 780370 use of a built-in pager. This will receive short Newsprint) in offering a range of PC TVs. The at a rate of 14.1Mbps — and from the TV standpoint and before? See Barry Fox on Windmill turns messages in the normal way but it will also take monitor and system box are combined in the record up to six channels had not thought through the page 348. out notebooks Low-cost graphics information from various providers, including new models, aimed at the consumer market. ● Windmill has added two ● PhotoVision Pro, graphics BBC Ceefax. This is transmitted by a secondary The company says they make no compromises models to its notebook range, manipulation shareware, is provider in 80-character bursts, each of which on computing power. The box will be available in the Pro 580 and the Pro- available through the Thomp- Media 830, which is equipped son Partnership for £44. the pager treats as a separate message; Info- various configurations up to Pentium models. Syquest answer to the Zip pad software strings them all back together. Prices have yet to be announced. with an audio system and Thompson Partnership 01889 564601 comes with docking station The company says data from up to 28 Amstrad Direct 0800 338844 yquest, market leader in fast high-capacity Iomega, Syquest had a lot of money to spend options. Both offer 486 removable storage, plans a new product to on research and development. He believed that S processor options in four Clean-up bundle Wireless text broadcasts have Pager system to capture text but ● answer the challenge of Iomega’s £150 Zip users would prefer Syquest’s popular SQ3270 speeds up to 100MHz. Prices Stac and Quarterdeck are been around for years in the form Snatching text dedicated text broadcasts are bundling their respective disk drive, which takes low-cost 140Mb disks. 3.5in drive, which rivals fast hard disks with its start at £986 with 250Mb hard of Ceefax and Oracle, which ex- likely to emerge. Eventually, utilities, Stacker and Clean- European sales director Pierre Esnau would 14.5millisecond access time and takes 270Mb disk and 4Mb RAM. ploit spare scraps of the TV sig- out of thin air your morning newspaper may be sweep, for £59. Stac 01344 give no details but said there would be an cartridges. More than 100,000 SQ3270 drives, Windmill 0161 799 1878 302900; Quarterdeck 01245 496699 nal to put information on screen. on cards which capture the text broadcast to you at night and announcement later this year. “Unlike other at around twice the price of the Zip, have been They were for a long time and inject it into a program for printed on your home laser. companies, we do not announce products sold since their launch last year. Cheaper scanners Kanji can-do essentially passive services: you viewing or processing, allowing A US company, PageSat, before they are ready for the market, “ he said. Due this summer from Syquest is an 80Mb ● Epson has cut the prices of couldn’t do much with the text any PC owner to have a person- already offers a service for ● KanjiWORD 3.0, a Japan- This was a pointed reference to the fact that card drive designed for notebook PCMCIA its GT-6500 and GT-9000 ese , is now except look at it. But they are al share-price or racing-results broadcasting Internet the Zip, and Sony’s more expensive mini-disk slots. The tiny removable cartridges are flatbed scanners by around available from KT Distribution taking on a whole new dimen- service. Software can scan text newgroups at night by satellite. data drive, were announced months before designed to take the kind of rough handling that 40 percent to £489 and £859 for £239 or £60 upgrade. sion with the convergence of TV headlines for items of interest. Details at http://www.pagesat.- shipping. floppy disks get. respectively. KT Distribution 0171 370 6284 and PCs. You can get PC add- Amstrad’s InfoPad uses the net/ Clive Akass Esnau also said scathingly that, unlike Syquest 00 49 751 560500 (Germany) Epson 01442 61144

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Short Stories Shiva offers Win95 August launch not remote acess ● Shiva is offering to license its remote-access software guaranteed, says Gates ShivaPPP, including a dialler, to developers. It can address indows 95 is “likely” to Win95. This should have rivals a variety of Point-to-Point Wship this August – but scrambling, writes Tim Bajarin. Protocol servers as well as the date is not guaranteed, Each main application in Shiva’s own LanRover and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates the suite will be designated NetModem products. said last month. version 7.0... Word 7.0, Excel The company claims it is The final decision won't be 7.0, Access 7.0 etc. There will the only 16-bit package of its made until feedback has been still be maintenance releases kind to use Microsoft’s remote-access programming assessed from the latest, and of versions 6.0, but all new suite interface. The company co- presumably final, beta-test applications will be based on developed a 32-bit version version. The decision will be Windows 95 and above. with Microsoft which is incor- based on quality rather than Office 95 will also include porated into Windows 95. deadlines, Gates told a Schedule +, which has devel- Shiva 01753 833007 Corporate Association of oped into a full personal infor- Microcomputer Professionals mation manager. A new help PCs showcase meeting. engine will answer natural- He said Win95 still had a Forestry Commission survey- language questions like: “How new Cyrix clone ors have taken to using rugged ● substantial bug list. “There's do I make two columns?” At least five vendors are Husky portables for fieldwork expected to be showing PCs no single thing; there are lots It activates a kind of screen Husky 01926 864600 using Cyrix clones at the of little things.” movie that walks you through Spring Comdex. Take-up of the new operat- to continue selling machines the procedure. Since all of the And Compaq’s decision to ing system is expected to be preloaded with Windows 3.x. applications share much of the use NexGen's P5 on some gradual, with many companies A new 32-bit version of same code, this makes for models is expected to push adopting a wait-and-see pol- Microsoft Office will ship at excellent integration between 75MHz Pentium prices to less icy. PC vendors even expect much the same time as applications. than $200, with a knock-on effect on the prices of 486 and slow Pentium machines. Meanwhile, AMD announ- ced that its clone will be up to Homes act as ‘nursery’ for four months late. CD recorder high-bandwidth services ● Tekdata is selling Ricoh’s new RS1060C half-height, group of companies in the Cambridge area has double-speed, read-write CD Alaunched the second phase of an experiment in drive for £1400. the delivery of high-bandwidth online services to the Tekdata 01782 577677 home. Nearly all the technology in the Cambridge Interactive Media Trial was developed locally. Coders’ show It began last year delivering video-on-demand, ● The EXE Software Devel- home shopping and banking, games, and news opers’ Show will take place at services to just ten subscribers on lines supplied by This is the kind of box which is vying with the Westminter’s Royal Horticultu- Cambridge Cable. The aim was to provide a “nurs- PC for the home interactive market. It's an ral Halls on 8-9 June. Details ery” for such services, to show how and how much STB2, the latest version of Online Media's on 0171 283 5678. they would be used, and to test the technology. intelligent set-top box, using a 32-ARM 7500 Other companies involved include Online Media RISC processor and a VCR-style infra-red 100MHz (an offshoot of Olivetti-owned Acorn) and its sister control. It supports MPEG1 and MPEG2 ● Europak is selling a company ATM , which makes low-cost products video standards and its internal CD-ROM drive 100MHz Pentium-powered using Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), and supports audio, White Book (for CD video) and notebook for $4,200 with 8Mb SJ Research, which specialises in ATM switching. Photo CD. The front-view simplicity is decep- of RAM and a removable 250Mb hard drive. Call 010 Anglia TV, Tesco, and the National Westmin- tive. At the rear of the box are parallel, serial, 613 224 6122 for options. ster Bank are also involved with experimental ser- UHF in and out, joystick, ATM, CVBS, SVHS vices. The latest phase, involving up to 250 homes, SCART in and out, and stereo audio ports. Card links was launched last month by Peter Bonfield, chair- ● Xircom PCMCIA Ethernet man of ICL, which is yet another member of the adaptors may be bought for consortium. via a chain of 155Mbit/sec, 25Mbit/sec and as little as £109 following an An single ICL-built PIM server can serve up to 2Mbit/sec switches. 18 percent price cut. 7,000 homes offering any of 1,000 feature films Online Media 01223 518518, SJ Research 01223 41715; ATM Xircom +32 450 08.11 (compressed into 240Gb) to up to 2000 at one time 01223 566 919; Cambridge Cable 01223 567223; ICL 0161 223 1301

334 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 NEWSPRINT

Short Stories Chameleon eases Net sign-ups Thanks for the memory ● Automatic Internet sign- ups are included in the latest version of the Chameleon ...1Gbit on a single chip! TCP/IP suite. Developer NetManage ast memory chips holding an has co-operated with major incredible 1Gbit have been Scots mend providers to bypass the F notoriously tricky configura- developed by NEC – though they out-of-kilter tion stage. will not hit the market until 1998. International sales director But the chips are expected to displays Joseph L’Italien said users be as common as today's main- Business is flat could be up and running on stream memory modules shortly as far as an East the Net within five minutes, after the turn of the century, con- Kilbride start-up including registering with a signing today's all-too-common company is con- provider, once the UK version RAM starvation problems to the cerned. Flat pan- is ready some time next history books. el, that is. month. So in just five years’ time you Display Prod- Other new features of Chameleon Desktop 4.5 could be able to hold the comp- ucts Technology (013552 39199) claims to be the only firm in Eur- include an offline lete works of Shakespeare ten ope specialising in the repair of high-definition liquid-crystal displays. newsreader, a browser called times over, or 15 minutes of DPT says it can turn repairs around in ten days; previously users had Websurfer, a personal Web video, in your PC's memory. to wait 90 days for flat-panel screens to go to Japan and back. server which allows a local- The new D-RAM chips pack The Lanarkshire Development Agency (01698 745454) hopes network user to set up a 1.1 billion transistors and the the company's success will draw other enterprises to the area. home page, and sound and same number of capacitors into graphics players. an area less than that of a able first in only sample quanti- Audio PCMCIA cards are among Chameleon and the server thumbnail (936 square millime- ties and are likely to be snapped applications being considered by version, ChameleonNFS, tres). They use 0.25-micron up for specialist applications. NEC: one of the new chips can cost £295 and £395 respec- tively. Netmanage 01483 302333; CMOS technology, and draw 136 Mass production will follow in hold four hours of CD-quality Leaf (dealer) 01256 707777 milliwatts, about the same as a about the year 2000. NEC's Sue sound. 4Mb DRAM chip today, transfer- Walder could not even give a hint Hitachi is also believed to be Surfing show ring data at a rate of 400Mb per on prices, though they are likely working on a 1Gbit chip but has ● Superhighway, an exhibi- second. to start very high and drop made no announcement. tion at London's Science The new chips will be avail- sharply over about four years. NEC Electronics 01908 691133 Museum, looks at how you can surf on the Internet. It closes on 3 September. Science Museum 0171 938 8080 Count your pennies Vendors rush out Purple prose faster under DOS 120MHz Pentiums ● 3 from Pur- You wouldn’t think there was much call for a new PC vendors have been falling over themselves ple Software organises the DOS-based program, what with the world and his to announce models based on the 120MHz files on your Psion 3 via a uncle going for graphical interfaces. But it seems Pentium, the fastest PC processor yet to hit Windows PC. It costs £29.95 the nation’s accountants are more concerned with the market and the first to use 0.35 micron and £39.95 for the floppy and bottom lines than pretty screens: they can’t count technology. SSD version. their pennies fast enough with the PC wasting its is offering an XPSc system for £2,199, Purple Software 0171 262 7535 time processing all those fancy graphics. with 16Mb RAM, a 540Mb hard drive, and a 64- Anyway, that is what Datafile Software seems bit PCI graphics card with 2Mb of memory, CD- Protected sex to believe (or it may have an eye on all those pre- ROM and a 156 in monitor. ● The Pleasures of Sex can Windows PCs still doing sterling work out there). It Apricot says its system, which has a similar be sampled on a CD which publisher Telstar Electronic has brought out a new £99 accounts package specification but a 750Mb drive, will have a Studio says is both “informa- called Compact Accounting, aimed at small busi- similar street price. Viglen’s new Genie PCI tive”’ and “explicit” – and pro- nesses. The company claims it does a better job PS/120 uses the new Triton chipset, with prices tected by password. than rivals and is easily customisable by resellers. starting at £1,899 with 8Mb of RAM and a Telstar Electronic Studio 01932 222232 “Most of the people we speak to want a DOS 420Mb hard disk. product,” says Peter Young, of Burnbank ALR, Acer and Gateway are also offering Infra-red typing Dataconnect, which markets and supports the high-end systems, and Compaq is putting the ● Read Cosine is offering an product. He said Datafile would follow up with a chip on its ProLiant mission-critical server, with infra-red keyboard enabling Windows product. Compact Accounting is fully prices starting at £7,015. you to use a computer from compatible with Datafile’s higher-end Professional, Gateway 0800 60 2000; Compaq 0181 332 3000; Viglen up to five metres away. Diamond, and Premier accounting packages. 081 758 7000; Acer 01628 533422; Dell 01344 720000; Read Cosine 01929 550727 Datafile 0151 709 0929 ALR 01635 521922; Apricot 021 717 7171

336 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 NEWSPRINT

Short Stories R&D offer Smart tickets pave the ● The European Commission is offering to fund telematics in four categories: libraries, language engineering, infor- way for electronic cash mation engineering and telematics engineering. Send proposals by 15th June to the pilot smart-card fare payment scheme in Telematics Applications Pro- ASydney takes a step towards the general At your gramme Proposals Office, use of electronic cash. Jean Monnet Building (JMO Cards the size of an ordinary credit card but service B4/041), L-2920 Luxembourg packing a tiny computer can be used to pay for …the (fax 010352 430134079). any form of transport, from taxis to buses, in part of the Australian capital. They can also be new- Sound modem used to buy newspapers. ● Electronic Frontier is sell- The cards, called Transcards, communicate look ing Boca Research’s via a tiny aerial. A passenger pays for a jour- combined 14.4kb/sec faxmo- civil ney simply by carrying a Transcard on and off dem and sound card for a public vehicle. £179. The SoundExpression servant offers SoundBlaster-compati- This and similar schemes are being his, or something like it, could be the ble 16-bit sound, direct con- watched closely by the British government’s IT TCitizen’s Advice Bureau of the future. You nection with most CD-ROM agency, the CCTA, which has launched a may recognise it as an IBM touch terminal drives and on-screen booklet on how cards might be used by used, among other things, to sell sheet music. “speaker-phone” software, as government services. The CCTA IT agency has adapted it into a pro- well as the standard voice The booklet, called Smart Cards: Opportuni- totype information booth that can be placed in and fax facilities. ties for Public-Sector Applications, is short on libraries and benefits offices to help people Electronic Frontier 01734 810600 specific proposals but CCTA officials at last gain services to which they are entitled. month’s ISG 95 goverment IT exhibition in The touch screen can be used to access Archi backup Brighton were ruling nothing out. Smart cards locally held or remote information — it ● includes a Web browser service. The PCW Smaller Acorn Archimedes may be used to carry medical records, or as Neo-Luddite Tendency naturally asked what networks can now be backed benefit claimant cards; more controversially, up using the new DataSafe was going to become of all those nice CAB they may eventually be used for a national tape system from 13 and people with their books of rules and cups of identity card scheme. Perex. It uses QIC 80 format tea. Were they to lose their jobs to a comput- tapes to back up the A3020, The CCTA warns that the cards raise some er? Officials showing the prototype at Brighton A4000, A5000 and RISC PC legal issues, such as whether there should be assured us: “It will free staff to give better help range, as well as the A4 restraints on what information a card can hold to those who most need it.” portable range. and what can be done with it. * The CCTA is interested in feedback from the Perex 01734 311033 The booklet says: “Anonymity and privacy public on the use of IT. You can find its Web must be preserved. Cardholders will need page at http://www.open.gov.com. Medical info assurance that they cannot be tracked as they ● ExtraMED, published go about their business.” The cards could also solve the thorny problem of how a fragmented monthly by Informania Ltd, is get the government off a political hook if rail system can provide through-ticketing. a CD-ROM containing 220 privatisation goes ahead, because they could Card Technologies (Aus) 61 2 332 4955; CCTA 01603 704704 third-world medical journals. A subscription costs £2,000. Informania 01730 265398 CD server for nets Swap a Tosh Instant cards to save a life ● Greeting Cards, Etc, from Two ranges of storage prod- libraries as NetWare volumes Medical equipment developer GT Pagedown (£65 plus £5 p+p), ucts which connect directly to or directories. Also on offer is is offering to part-exchange allows you to create a network, rather than to a file the $1,595 DiscPort Tower, Toshiba T3200SXC to customised cards, invitations and postcards and includes a server or workstation, were which comes with the same help save lives. It needs the personal information announced last month. software but incorporates four T3200SXC to monitor heart manager. Microtest is offering the quad-speed CD drives. defibrillators — more up-to-date Pagedown 01551 372603 $3,195 DiscPort Pro, a CD- Plasmon has launched a machines are compatible, but ROM miniserver with two new NetReady range of opti- only this model has been through Flash move SCSI ports enabling the con- cal-disc jukeboxes, with man- stringent medical tests, taking 2.5 ● Fujifilm is to launch a new nection of up to 14 devices. It agement software running years to complete. series of flash memory PC can be installed without shut- under Unix; NetWare users Under the deal, T3200SXC cards in the summer. They ting down a network. It comes can connect a jukebox as if it owners get £1,200 towards a will be available in 2Mb, 4Mb, with DiscView Pro software, were just another server. new Toshiba, offered at a zero 8Mb and 16Mb capacities. which allows anyone on the KeyLAN (dealer) 01753 790977; margin price. Fiji Photo Film 0171 586 5900 network to see and access CD Plasmon 01763 262963 GT Ltd 01483 419511

338 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 NEWSPRINT

Short Stories 3Com buys Sonix Adios Ami Pro as Lotus in ISDN drive ● California-based network- ing specialist 3Com has shifts gear up to 32 bits bought British ISDN developer Sonix for £70 mil- lion in a move which is seen otus has given its flag- mercifully, the company as a bid by 3Com to buy its ship Ami Pro word avoids the word groupware. way into the burgeoning L processor a new name, Word Pro has sophisticated ISDN market. Word Pro, and revamped version control, normally Sonix MD Bob Jones will remain head of the company, it into a product with some found only in specialist edi- which will be known as 3Com genuine improvements on tors. It keeps track of all Sonix. His company had rev- major rivals. changes to a document, enues of $25million last year. The spellchecker looks and even of who has made 3Com has also bought US a joy after the usual ludi- them, helping teams to co- remote-access specialist Pri- crous system consisting of operate in writing reports mary Access for $170 million, a dialogue box which and other documents. and announced a strategic takes you word by word they can be summoned at the Senior marketing director Bill alliance with Dell computers. through a document. Word Pro click of a right mouse button. Jones said Lotus changed the simply highlights doubtful Word Pro is the first of a name because “we wanted Cheap cards go words so that you can take complete new set of 32-bit something that sounded like a the distance them all in at a glance (see applications being rolled out for word processor”. ● NetWorth has introduced review on page 370). the advent of Windows 95, Word Pro is currently being what it claims is the cheapest Other new features include though a 16-bit version will beta tested and should be way to upgrade from 10Base- context-sensitive property also be available. available with the (presumed) T to 100Base-T Ethernet over boxes, rather like the measure- The applications will have a launch of Windows 95 this existing cables, with a combi- nation of net cards, hubs and ment boxes pioneered by big emphasis on helping teams autumn. hub daughterboards. Quark XPress, except that of people to work together — Lotus 01784 455445 The cards are switchable, allowing the net manager to use them as 10Base-T cards until the whole net makes the Flash watch downloads data change; the daughterboards Timex’s new Data Link watch is “one of the most overcome the distance limita- significant IT events of recent times” according tions between hubs of to its launch blurb, which is over the top even by 100Base-T to allow the same the hyperbolic standards of the public-relations distance (100 metres) as for 10Base-T. Nick Lawrence industry. But the device is based on a nice idea: NetWorth 01734 880235. it downloads appointments, phone numbers, even time corrections and up to five alarm calls, Take a discreet from a PC screen. letter, 007... You set up the information via a simple Win- dows-based organiser, developed with Microsoft. ● Hewlett Packard has developed Invisible Ink This transmits it as on-screen bar codes. Click Enhancement Technology, a the watch into communication mode, hold it a While we’re on the subject of nifty data transfers, high-tech version of lemon few inches from the VDU (a laptop screen won’t you too may have wondered why there are so juice for those desperate to work), and it reads the codes in seconds. many notebooks with infra-ports and so few IR- keep their documents secret. The software will import comma-separated equipped PCs for them to talk to. Particularly as Invisible toner is used when files so you should not need to re-key existing just about every TV you get these days has one, the documents are originally data. The watch is well built, water resistant to and we’re told an I-R “eye” costs little to make. printed; they are then fed into 100 metres, and clearly aimed at a richer class of Extended Systems (01705 875075), a US an IEt enabled printer (HP customer. Whether many will be superior company which has recently set up at Southsea, LaserJet and DeskJet models enough to pay £120 is another matter. Hants, aims to change all that with this infra-red will be compatible) to reveal the text. IEt is expected in the Details on 0171 630 8180. add-on called Jet-Eye. But at £99, it isn’t cheap. next few months. Hewlett Packard 01344 360000 A multimedia tutorial to take Useful language users through the Windows 95 Multimedia guide to Win95 ● Interact 3.0 is a new £195 learning curve has been makes good use of graphics and Learn Windows 95 will appeal to “click-and-play” programming launched by British startup, CRT is integrated with the Windows big companies, for whom training language for multimedia Multimedia, headed by former 95 help system so that it can be will be a major part of the cost of business apps. Microsoft UK executive Mark used as you work. It addresses upgrading. It costs £39.95. ErgoSystems (dealer) 0117 973 8816 Edwards. The CD-based tutorial three skill levels. Easy Tutor: CRT Multimedia 0181 743 9900

340 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 NEWSPRINT NEWSPRINT

Short Stories Short Stories Sita Group starts CompuServe pitches its First cheap MacClones .5 ‘alternative Net’ update available ● The Sita group, which hit the home market ● Apple has released its first claims to have the largest interim upgrade of System global data network, has prices to tempt surfers 7.5, the Mac operating sys- he first Mac clones for the video, 2Mb VRAM, built-in boxy PC clone. They will ship announced the creation of a mainstream market are Ethernet support, and about in volume by July. Tower and tem. Improvements include closed Internet Protocol net- T better handling of memory CompuServe, the world’s features. Experienced due to ship this month from $900 worth of bundled PCI versions are on the way. work extending to 500 cities starvation, faster file sharing, largest online service, is giv- users will also be able to Power Computing. software. Radius and DayStar have in 100 countries. and drag-and-drop support in Marketing vice-president ing its members a taste of the configure and use any Company president Steve The price through direct shown clones aimed at the Launcher. Norman Terret said it would World Wide Web. It has public Internet software, Kahng says they will cost at sales will be $1,999 minus the high-end solutions market. Apple Guide, the new combine all the global com- launched an Internet Club, though email will still least 10 percent less than monitor. A similar product Pioneer, the other major online help system, is avail- munications benefits of the which offers more time online have to go through Com- Apple’s and give better value. from Apple has a street price Mac licensee to date, still has able as PowerPC native and Internet “with the security, for a lower price, and is giving puServe’s own system For example, the base Power of $2,699. A similarly config- its Power Mac on the drawing its performance has been reliability and support associ- away pre-configured Internet (and possibly incur 80 system uses an 80MHz ured 100MHz Power 100 will board and plans to sell it to enhanced for 680x0 ated with a private network”. software to its members. charges as a result — PowerPC 601 processor and sell for $2,899. A similar Apple “media professionals” in the systems. Also revamped is Prices will depend on Standard membership there is a limit to the a quad speed drive with 8Mb costs $3,600 on the street. Japanese market. PowerTalk, with a new ver- access speeds ranging from sion of the direct-dial utility. costing $9.95 (about £6) Sweet of them … amount of free email of RAM, three Nubus slots, The clones lack the sleek Tim Bajarin 9.6kb/sec to 2Mb/sec. The These sugar molecules are some of the QuickDraw GX has a a month now includes CompuServe provides). high performance built-in Mac look, and resemble a Power Computing 001 512 258 1350 network is targeted first at air sweet delights offered by MDL Informa- number of performance imp- transport industries. three hours of free Inter- NetLauncher can be rovements, with rough edges tion, which is giving away a special Sita 0181 730 1322 net access; each extra downloaded from Com- taken off the printing facili- version of its ISIS/Draw chemical draw- hour costs $2.95 (£1.80). puServe without paying Seven-year ties. Update 1.0 is available Heavier users can join ing package free for academic or home connect charges and Pointing to the future from eWorld or by ftp from US follows UK on the Internet Club which use. Point your browser at http://www. may be included in New online services seem to be start- hitch on claim America Online; or call 0181 cyberporn ban costs an additional $15 mdli.com — but be warned if you have future mailings to ing up by the week, the latest being a Apple has lost a seven-year 730 2828 for a CD or floppy ● Anyone who knowingly per month (£9) and gives a slow modem: the compressed file is members. multimedia library claiming to be the battle against Microsoft and version, for which you will be transmits “obscene, lewd, 20 hours of Net access, more than 1Mb in size. CompuServe scores first to offer stock shots for corporate Hewlett Packard. The US charged a handling fee. lascivious, filthy or indecent” with additional hours heavily over other UK videos. The Signpost library also Supreme Court rejected its material over the Internet costing $1.95 (£1.20). access is much cheaper than Internet providers in that it offers stills and audio for people claim that Windows and HP's Paired RAM would be liable to a fine of up ● For Internet access only, Delphi’s, and also more has a broad global network putting together multimedia presen- NewWave copied the Mac’s Simms International is offer- to $100,000 under a Bill con- ing single-module memory this still makes CompuServe powerful — it allows full of points of presence — only tations. Co-founder Marina Kris, pic- look and feel. sidered by US senators amid upgrades for between 4Mb and more expensive than £10-a- graphical access to the the IBM Global Network has tured here with co-founders Joe Probert and Richard Johnson, Apple lodged the claim in considerable controversy. 64Mb for Power Macs. Previ- Section 43 of Britain's month service providers like Internet via TCP/IP, in a similar reach. CompuServe said: “All the people involved in this are in the business ... ani- 1968 when it was leading the ously upgrades were available Telecommunications Act Demon if you use more than contrast to Delphi’s text-only also contains a multitude of mators, designers, video artists. We know what people want.” world in the use of graphical only as matched pairs. 1984, as amended in 1990, six hours a month (nine hours access. other services that access Signpost is accessible by a 14.4kb/sec modem (or faster), interfaces — ironically The new 164-pin, 64-bit states that “a person who a month in the case of “premi- CompuServe is giving to the Internet alone doesn’t though an ISDN connection is better. Signpost 0171 278 4263 invented by Xerox, which modules, made by Kingston sends by means of a public um” providers like members NetLauncher, a provide. failed to file patents. Technology, have identical telecommunication system, a CityScape). For the moment, Web browser which includes David Brake chips on either side of a message or other matter that though, CompuServe's Net Usenet, FTP and Gopher CompuServe 0800 289 378 board; each side is is grossly offensive or of an Top 10 Windows and DOS Last Top 20 Windows Last addressed separately. indecent, obscene or menac- Product Manufacturer month Product Manufacturer month SIMMS 0181 870 4020 ing character… shall be 1 Cleansweep Quarterdeck 4 1 Cleansweep Quarterdeck 4 guilty of an offence and be liable to a fine”. Video traffic ‘jams Net’ 2 MS Office 4.2 U/G Microsoft 3 2 MS Office 4.2 U/G Microsoft 3 Sony Jukebox 3 First Aid for Windows RMG 2 3 First Aid for Windows RMG 2 ● Sony’s 0SL-2000 5.25in jukebox, which can hold up Scots on Net n explosion in the use of video and voice mismatch between the network control 4 Perfect Office Novell 10 4 Perfect Office Novell 10 5 CorelDraw 3 CD Corel 12 5 CorelDraw 3 CD Corel 12 to 20 1.3Gb magneto-optical ● The Glasgow area has its Amail is threatening to jam up the Internet. parameters used by CU-SeeMe and TCP. You 6 QEMM 386 QuarterDeck 5 6 MS Works Microsoft 7 disks, is now available for own point of presence One big Internet provider, Eunet, is so worried could say that CU-SeeMe has exceptionally Macs. (POP), allowing global Inter- 7 MS Works Microsoft 7 7 MS Office Pro Microsoft 1 that it has warned against using one particular pointed elbows.” Sony 01932 816000 net access for the price of a package called CU-SeeMe. Eunet followed the letter with a form for sub- 8 MS Office Pro Microsoft 1 8 MS Encarta Microsoft 6 local call. So has Aberdeen, This uses the UDP protocol which has scribers to seek permission to use “damaging 9 MS Encarta Microsoft 6 9 WordStar v2 Softkey 11 courtesy of a company called poorer flow control than TCP/IP, as used on the video/voice traffic” on the Internet. 10 WordStar v2 Softkey 11 10 Corel Gallery Corel 8 NEWSPRINT Feedback Wintermute, which has Internet. Even worse, it interferes with Net traf- Another source of trouble is voice , 11 Delphi Borland - installed 28.8kbps modems Top 10 DOS Email your news and views to fic, Eunet said in a letter to subscribers. according to Dr Sophie Wilson, chief scientist at 12 Visio v3 Shapeware 18 to ensure fast access clive_akass@pcw. cmail. The letter went on: “Applications that need Online Media. 1 QEMM v7.5 QuarterDeck 1 13 Labels Unlimited Softkey 19 compuserve.com, or to Colloquium 0141 849 9849; high-volume, real-time traftic have no option She said: “A lot of people, particularly in 2 DOS 6.22 Microsoft 2 14 Family Tree Maker RMG 14 cakassa on CIX. Please note Wintermute 01224 622477 but to use UDP. But the result can be, and America, have discovered that it is cheaper to 3 MS Flight Simulator Microsoft 5 15 Dr Soloman’s Antivirus S&S - that we cannot monitor all usually is, devastating for TCP-based traffic. send voice messages over the Net than to 4 Dr Soloman’s S & S 8 16 Quickbooks Intuit - Usenet groups, so if you see anything we might be inter- Online mortgages “When a TCP connection detects a packet make an international telephone call.” 5 Pegasus Solo Accounts Pegasus 7 17 Perfect Office U/G Novell - ● Mortgage advice is avail- ested in, do drop us a line. loss it immediately backs off. In the presence of Dr Wilson said the effect on Net traffic was 6 Stacker & QEMM Stac 3 18 WincheckIt S&S - able on the Internet. Legal 7 OS/2 Warp v3 IBM 4 19 SideKick v2 Borland - We are also interested in and General is offering a high-volume UDP traffic, the ensuing packet clearly noticeable on email and news postings. good screenshots or other 8 Turbo C++ V3 Borland 6 20 BodyWorks Guildsoft - guide, mainly for first time loss will cause TCP connections to slow to a “Just look at the time and date they were sent pictures. Any email will be 9 Gardener’s World Europress - Figures, supplied by Software Warehouse, relate to buyers. Point to : http://www. crawl.” and the time they were received. They can take considered for publication cityscape.co.uk/users/dd75 It adds: “There is simply a massive days to arrive.” 10 Dark Forces Virgin - bestsellers for March 1995. unless you request otherwise.

342 343 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 NEWS ANALYSIS NEWS ANALYSIS

Why the fighting has other operating systems.” obtain innovative and worth- ost-effective IT is all DEC, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Irreconcilable Other Microsoft-bashers while products from other soft- “Cabout the existence of Novell, Santa Cruz Operation, to stop lament the company’s plans ware vendors. self-sustaining volume mar- Siemens Nixdorf, and Sun differences to conquer the software mar- The best way forward kets,” according to Mike Microsystems. This doesn’t ket with controversial would be for the US Justice Lambert, X/Open’s chief tech- mean they comply with Spec The re-opening of uring the past few weeks, products. Those causing the Department to get Microsoft’s nology officer. X/Open now 1170. Their code has still to tory. But it will not provide Despite the the anti-trust case DMicrosoft-bashing has most concern are Microsoft agreement to create a firewall owns the Unix brand name pass the Spec 1170 test suite, universal compatibility. development of been in vogue. The floodgates Network and Ali Baba. between its operating systems and is attempting to sustain after which they will be able to The problem for the Unix against Microsoft of criticism about Microsoft's This is a CD that contains group and its applications divi- the volume market brand their systems as Unix 95. industry is that you can either COSE as an attempt has had its competi- practices and role in the busi- most of Microsoft’s best sell- sion. I would like Microsoft to for Unix. But calling them all Unix 95 have compatibility or “added to make Unix a tors baying for the ness world have been thrust ing software, encrypted. But ensure that all software ven- Its strategy is based on does not mean they will be value”. The industry has serious rival for asunder by the recent US Microsoft recently dropped the dors are allowed the same COSE, the Common Operat- compatible with one another. clearly chosen the latter, and company to be split court ruling, by Judge Ali Baba project, having access to the operating sys- ing Software Environment It doesn’t even mean they’ll therefore will never compete Microsoft’s Windows in two — but this will Sporkin, that the anti-trust received complaints from its tem enjoyed by its own appli- announced by Hewlett be capable of running typical with Windows NT’s compati- NT, its future may solve nothing. Is case against the company is retailers. Currently, there is no cations division. In addition, I Packard, IBM, Novell and Sun Unix programs. It only means bility. NT applications are still be blighted by being re-opened. change in Microsoft’s plans to would like to see that firewall Microsystems in March 1993 they all support the cov- expected to run out of the box there an alternative Until then, most industry bundle its Network product placed between the consumer in response to the threat of ered in Spec 1170, and will on any Intel PC, and different compatibility solution which would leaders had been reluctant to with Windows 95. and business applications Microsoft’s Windows NT. At run programs that use these binaries, probably supplied on problems. make their feelings known What with the re-opening groups, as well as between the time it was hailed as sig- system calls and no others. the same CD-ROM, run on benefit the industry about the company. Although of the anti-trust case and the Microsoft Network and the nalling the end of the Unix The value of this remains to Mips, DEC Alpha and, soon, as a whole? many aired their views in pri- accompanying rhetoric rest of the business. wars: it healed the split be seen. PowerPC-based machines. vate, few were sufficiently surrounding Microsoft's The overriding purpose of between the standard Unix Spec 1170 usefully assures That’s what is required to cre- incautious to make off-the- alleged anti-competitive busi- these firewalls would be to System V Release 4.0 and Unix software houses of the ate a volume shrink-wrapped record comments to the ness methods, detractors are assure an equal footing for the splinter group behind the base level of support the applications market, and with- media. But now that Judge now calling for the US Justice Microsoft’s competitors by lim- Open Software Foundation’s operating system will provide. out it, the CDE is merely Sporkin is leading the pack Department to split the com- iting the company’s ability to attempt to create a rival ver- But every version of Unix is papering over the cracks. with his own views on the way pany in two. leverage technology to its own sion of Unix free of AT&T code. and will remain different, Of course, Unix is still pick- Microsoft conducts its Microsoft’s competitors advantage. Additionally, The compromise was that because almost all suppliers ing up applications originally business, many industry lead- would like to see the applica- Microsoft should not be all the main players would add unique enhancements, written for proprietary systems ers are taking careful aim at tions side of Microsoft’s busi- allowed to bundle its applica- support a common set of sys- and Spec 1170 doesn’t oblige like IBM’s AS/400 and DEC’s Bill Gates and his corporation. ness denied access to its tions (including the Microsoft tem calls derived from popular them to take these out. In this VAX. It is still growing in the Apple’s chief executive, operating system division, and Network) with its operating Unix applications. There were sense, SUS promises no mini and mainframe worlds Michael Spindler, even went believe that thereby a level system. The corporation 1,170 such APIs (Application more compatibility than we where hundreds of users can so far as to sue Microsoft footing with other applications should have to compete, as Program Interfaces) and the have enjoyed for decades be supported using dumb or regarding an intellectual prop- vendors could be maintained. others do, for the right to bun- specification became known through the use of languages graphical X terminals, espe- erty issue and openly They would particularly want dle its products with comput- as Spec 1170. This was given like Basic, Fortran and Cobol. cially where firms are “down- criticised to ensure that Microsoft did ers. The decision of what to to X/Open, which has just If you write to a standard lan- sizing” from mainframes. It still Gates and not provide their applications bundle should be put in the relaunched it as the Single guage using only the has an important role to play company division with exclusive facili- hands of the vendor rather Unix Specification (SUS). commands specified, and if in technical computing, from over their ties that other software ven- than Microsoft. The firms uniting behind the implementations are con- Sun and Silicon Graphics refusal to dors could not also access. Perhaps this solution is too COSE also wanted a common sistent, your program should workstations to Cray remove Just how badly this simplistic, and knowing “look and feel”. This is based run on any hardware — but supercomputers. But the idea Apple's constant squabbling may Microsoft, it will try to resist as on the OSF’s successful GUI, those are two very big “ifs”. of “workstations for all” — code from affect not only Microsoft, but long as it can. Nevertheless, I Motif, derived from technology SUS also opens the door hyped by Sun and HP but their Video the industry in general, should believe that the outcome of supplied by HP and Microsoft. to OSs such as IBM’s OS/400 best embodied by NeXT’s for Windows be a matter of great concern this current round of COSE’s work in this area has and Open MVS, ICL’s Open now-defunct systems — product. to all. It is worrying that this Microsoft-bashing, together also been taken on board as VME and DEC’s VMS Open. should be written off for good. Lotus’s corporation, which plays a with Judge Sporkin’s call for the X/Open Common Desktop All these are well on the way Some major suppliers have chief execu- critical role in the market, may the re-opening of the anti-trust Environment (CDE). Several to implementing Spec 1170 spent years talking up Unix as tive, Jim end up in some form of pro- case, will eventually result in firms, including IBM and and qualifying for the Unix 95 a desktop operating system, Lotus chief exec- Manzi, has been the most tracted anti-trust ruling. This such a solution. Novell, are implementing it by label. The effort makes sense and have failed to deliver. utive, Jim Manzi: vocal in his criticism of could force the company to While Microsoft should be adopting TED, the TriTeal for these firms, since it will Still, what’s really funny is not most vocal critic Microsoft. In a recent article in become so introverted in its able to maintain its ability to Enterprise Desktop from make it much easier for soft- that DEC, Hewlett Packard, of Microsoft the Wall Street Journal, Manzi operating methods that it create and innovate, it must TriTeal Corp of California. ware houses to port Unix IBM, Novell and Sun have railed at Microsoft, asserting would lose its edge and inno- be made to understand that TED is based on Motif 1.2 and applications to their proved inadequate to the task that it had forced itself into a vation would be curtailed. the playing field needs to be should run current Motif and X proprietary operating systems but that a young student has position of prominence, and My opinion is that splitting level. Only in this way will oth- Windows applications. — and these days, most mini done a far better job than all of protesting vigorously about the company will solve noth- ers have the opportunity to be So far, 11 firms have and mainframe software them put together. If Unix how Microsoft’s plans to bun- ing. Although I am convinced creative and innovative. With- licensed the Unix brand name houses are developing for does still have a future on dle its online network with its that Microsoft is a company out this equitable environment, from X/Open, and are now Unix. It will also enable them desktop PCs, it is entirely due new operating system “will that produces great software, the PC industry may never entitled to describe their oper- to bid for giant government to Linus Torvald’s popular further stifle competition in I would, at the same time, like achieve its full potential. ating system as Unix 93. and related contracts where Unix clone, Linux. those markets adjacent to to remain assured that I can Tim Bajarin These include AT&T GIS, “open systems” are manda- Jack Schofield ANALYSIS ANALYSIS

346 347 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 NEWS ANALYSIS

Who’s been down to System prices ranged If the recording is data, there around £1,000 and in the are uncorrectable errors. the video store? early eighties adventurous Recording engineers quickly recording engineers routinely abandoned the use of domes- used a Betamax recorder and tic VCRs as a PCM recording JVC has announced hy hasn’t anyone used PCM encoder to tape tool when DAT, the dedicated a new data VHS Wordinary video sessions, with a conventional digital audio recorder, and cassettes to store digital data analogue recorder running at DASH, a stationary head format that will be before (see Newsprint page the same time for safety. recorder, became available in able to record more 331)? The answer is that they Some of Sony’s first Video 8 the eighties. than 31Gb of data — have, many times. recorders, launched in the Decca never adopted U- The launch of reliable eighties, could record com- Matic as a digital music mas- equivalent to 50 CD- home video systems in the pressed digital audio, either ter. The company’s engineers ROMs. How does late seventies coincided with in addition to or instead of refused to accept the error the music industry’s move into video pictures. rates. Decca is only now mov- the promised digital sound recording. A When CD was launched in ing from open reel video tape product compare video recorder, designed to 1983, the audio industry to magneto-optical disc, skip- with previous capture an analogue needed a common format for ping the VCR generation bandwidth of several MHz, carrying digital master altogether. attempts to store can also capture a data recordings from any record- D-VHS relies on higher data on ordinary stream running at several ing studio to any master disc- quality tape (Super VHS video cassettes? Mbits/sec. cutting plant. They chose the grade) which should be far Nippon Columbia (Denon) U-Matic industrial video cas- less prone to drop-out blem- in Japan and Decca in the UK sette because it was more ishes. The bitstream record- were the first companies to robust than VHS or Beta. ing mode packages the data modify open reel professional All the VCR PCM systems for integrity, rather than just video recorders for digital work in the same way. They treating it as modified video. audio taping. Sony then take in the audio data stream, But the tape may still stretch developed a PCM encoder running at around 1.5 with use. This is where JVC’s which converted analogue Mbit/sec, and package it to fit Dynamic Drum technology stereo sound into inside the waveform of a tele- may come to the rescue. uncompressed PCM for vision signal. So data capac- Although not an essential recording on a domestic Beta- ity for a three-hour tape is ingredient for D-VHS, JVC The home video max video cassette recorder around 2Gb. There have acknowledges that Dynamic recorder could instead of pictures. Panasonic been brief flurries of interest Drum is likely to be used for be the computer toyed with a similar coder for in using the VHS cassette as the new format. The video data answer use with a VHS recorder. a computer data store, but head drum is mounted on a there were good rea- platform which tilts under the sons why it never influence of a servo-controlled caught on. motor. This keeps the heads VHS tape is sold in alignment with the tracks, unchecked. There is even when they are very nar- no formatting. If a row (10 microns instead of the coating blemish normal 49 microns track width causes a blip on the for VHS) and when they television picture, no- snake as a result of tape one cares. But the stretch. For video, Dynamic same blemish can Drum gives clear, noise-free cause a massive pictures, even at trick play fast data drop-out. or slow motion speeds. For As the tape ages, digital data recording it should and is wound and mean far less errors. rewound, it stretches Philips used a similar slightly. This distorts system for its ill-fated V2000 the angle of the heli- home video system. Each cal tracks, making head was mounted on a them snake. The piezo-electric bimorph strip, video heads may no controlled by servo signals. longer trace the JVC claims it is easier to tracks accurately. If move the drum and all the the recording is of heads together, than servo- video pictures, they control each head separately. are spoiled by noise. Barry Fox ANALYSIS

348 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD MARCH 1995 PCW ● COLUMNS

ast week, I got back to find my aged Olympic beeping Lplaintively at me, like an ailing chick abandoned in the nest. Its display had suddenly become disturbingly psychedelic, while from somewhere deep within the CPU came an ominous sputtering. Sod it, I thought. In days gone by, I might have tried mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, but not now. I’d had too much grief from this crappy machine to care any more. So I disconnected it for the last time and went down to the newsagent to hunt for a long-overdue replacement. Michael Hewitt The usual prayer meeting-sized spend around £1,200 on a machine off Sounding crowds were hogging the shelves — with a 486 processor, knowing that it partly, no doubt, because Razzle, will be obsolete by this Christmas; or Fiesta et al are kept directly above the spend £2,000 plus on a similarly computer magazines. Taking a deep specced Pentium-based machine, breath, I squeezed myself in among the knowing that it will be entering a nurs- anoraks and started browsing. ing home by the following Christmas. A Linda (42-32-36) was complaining toughie. A couple of hours later, I was that, although she was a highly quali- on the phone to a box shifter. The next fied businesswoman, mysteriously, day, the boxes duly arrived. men never took her seriously when she And their contents? I bought a 486 came into work dressed in a figure- desktop machine. I thought, to hell hugging lycra dress with a plunge with this nonsense. I’m not going to neckline that revealed her kestrel tat- play the manufacturers’ game any too. Simone (34-29-34) was bitching more. I have a perfectly adequate that, compared to older, more mature word processor, spreadsheet, and lovers, young men were always in too suite of comms programs. They will much of hurry. Simon Rockman (21- work very happily on a 486 PC. If new 18-16) was also waxing lyrical on the versions of the software won’t work on subject of speed. Intel are promising the 486DX, I simply won’t use them. an 83MHz Pentium upgrade any day Anyhow, with the money I saved, I now, he said. Multiple Megahertz are was able to buy a new laptop, too: a now the thing, apparently. Compaq Concerto. Interesting. I’m sure he needs them, Despite what the techies among you but I had to ask myself if I did. To this would no doubt regard as its snail-on- end, I started making my way through Mogadon performance, as far as I’m the pages to see what the retailers had concerned, the new machine is an to say on the subject. excellent investment. It has three main The Hindenburg attempts to moor at As far as I could tell, manufacturers advantages over the old: it has the Lakehurst, New Jersey, but screws up these days seem to be saying that any- capability to handle high-resolution at the last moment. The frenzied “Oh one who doesn’t buy a PC with at least colour graphics; it has a built-in CD- the humanity!” commentary strikes me a 486DX processor is a total pussy. In ROM drive plus speakers; and it works. as something I ought to turn into a fact, you’re a bit suspect even with a I suppose I went for the “multimedia WAV file to accompany system crashes. high-speed 486. Real men buy option” out of curiosity more than any- But apart from that, these silly things Pentiums (Pentia?), or upgrade to them. thing else. PR companies keep sending — so-called “edutainment” — are just There’s a certain logic to this, I sup- me these CD-ROM titles, or I’m forever time-wasters. At least, that’s my pose. In two years’ time, Word 8.0 (or peeling them off the front of computer impression so far. A CD-ROM OED or whatever) for Windows probably won’t magazines, but until now I’ve never Complete Works of Shakespeare might run on anything slower than a Pentium been able to do much with them be worth the asking price, but not the with 32Mb RAM. Its minimum installa- except use them as beermats. So I majority of this childish, American- tion will no doubt require 120Mb hard spent half a day feeding the things into oriented, no-brain stuff like Encarta, disk space. So, I ought to have been the PC to see what I’d been missing. Grolier’s and Dinosaurs. seriously looking at buying a Pentium- Actually, I never thought I’d be very Anyhow, because I spent my money based machine. interested in multimedia. And I was wisely, I’m currently able to sit outside Except in two years’ time, Word 9.0 right. Currently, I’ve got the 1935 in the spring sunshine, typing this col- will be on the horizon, and that most Nuremberg Rally marching across a umn in the comfort of a pub’s beer gar- probably won’t run on anything slower little box at the bottom of my screen. den. If anyone wants a “PCW Editor’s than a high-speed P6. And by that time Maybe if I let them goose-step all the Choice” circa ‘92 Olympic 486, slightly a P7 will be on the horizon, too. And so way over, they’ll eventually declare the worse for wear, mail me for the on ad infinitum. sovereignty over my hard drive. If I location of the skip where it’s So in the end, I had a clear choice: click on another window, it’s 1937. currently residing. PCW

351 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 PCW ● COLUMNS

n a guide to World Wide Web sites in April’s Cutting Edge Isection, my fellow-writer David Brake commented: “Sadly, not everyone uses their freedom to publish responsibly...” and went on to describe a site that offered practical advice on activities such as hacking computers, making explosives and hot-wiring cars, while withholding its address. This provoked some angry email from a reader in North London (see this month’s Letters) eloquently defending the freedom of the Internet and accusing PCW of “jumping on the mass hysteria tabloid bandwagon.” Tim Nott An over-reaction? Certainly, in the the good tunes? Why shouldn’t Joe Homefront matter of shooting the messenger. System-Administrator have access to David’s accusation of irresponsibility the tricks of the hackers, or Joan hardly qualifies him as fascist of the Car-Owner have the know-how to month, and it’s arguably not part of a defeat car thieves? PCW writer’s brief to promote Pornography: now there’s a beauty courses in practical subversion and for the more hysterical voices in the criminal tips. Nevertheless, the irate media, especially when part of that emailer has a point. surefire attention-grabbing phrase is The whole ethos and integrity of the “child pornography”. Undoubtedly Internet rests on the premise that it is, there are images and texts of this and in the strict and neutral sense of the other quite unspeakable word, anarchic — there is no ruling manifestations of non-consensual sex body, elected or otherwise, to tell us around, though doubtless far fewer what we are permitted to read and than many would have us believe. The write. Undoubtedly, there are those real argument here is a subset of the who can’t quite grasp this concept, pornography debate, not the Internet and therefore see the Internet as a Bad one. The “findings” of the tabloid Thing. There are others who might see sleaze-hounds are not evidence of the this free exchange of information as a depravity of the Internet any more threat, just as the powerful and than the existence of printed porn is educated of the middle ages were per- evidence of the depravity of contem- turbed at seeing their monopoly on porary literature or the inherent literacy threatened by the advent of wickedness of paper. Certainly there printed books. are dog-turds dotted on the electronic So let’s look in turn at three of the highways. It is not, however, obligatory favourite bogeymen of the Net knock- to tread in them. ers: practical lawbreaking, pornogra- As for political extremism, let’s take phy and political extremism. another scary spectre: that of racism. If you want to hotwire a car, home- Some might think it disgraceful, an brew bombs or hack into a computer abuse of free speech, that a racist system, then you certainly don’t need group can disseminate its nasty the Internet to find out how. This sort ravings to millions of people with such demolition. The weapons of reason of information is available through a ease, as happens from time to time on and ridicule are at last a match for huge variety of sources including play- the Net. But denial of free speech is those of rant and intimidation. ground gossip, libraries and one of the worst forms of repression, Fear of the Internet is about as bookshops. Anyone who really wants to and when wrapped in the mantle of rational as fear of printing. The whole know is going to find out anyway, and righteous decency, disgustingly hypo- point is that it’s a soap box upon which any attempt to keep this sort of knowl- critical. As Voltaire put it: “I disapprove anyone can have their say. It’s not the edge restricted is doomed. Even the of what you say, but I will defend to pervs, cranks and political extremists least imaginative tabloid hack surely the death your right to say it.” we should be worried about, but the can’t imagine that keeping bomb-mak- In the case of the Internet, racist powers that would control it for their ing recipes off the Net is going to put postings inevitably carry the seeds of own ends. We have here, for the first the lid on international terrorism. their own destruction. The pamphlet time in history, a globally distributed Certainly, the writers of this sort of and the podium are no longer in the free press. It’s not controlled by stuff may be behaving in an irresponsi- sole province of the bigots and bully- governmental, religious or commer- ble “Hey, look at my collection of dan- boys. The equality of platform on the cial interests. Let’s keep it that way. gerous knowledge” way. But, on the Internet means that the spurious so- Otherwise it’s only a matter of time other hand, there’s an excellent case called “science” of the racial suprema- before “Where do you want to go for making this sort of information cists is exposed to immediate public today?” becomes “Where will they let public. Why should the devil have all examination, debate and inevitable you go today?”. PCW

353 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 PCW ● COLUMNS

ow that the Office of Fair Trading has dealt with Sega and NNintendo, perhaps it should examine how some computer companies treat their customers. They continue to sell products long after they realise they are bugged. And when customers seek technical advice they are run ragged until the expense in time, phone and fax calls reduces them to submis- sive silence. Microsoft is a prime culprit, and I cannot find anyone in that company who cares about its shortcomings.

For example, PhoneLink is the com- changed the design of its Microlin pany behind the online information pocket modem so that the serial socket Barry Fox service Tel-Me, and it has a good help no longer comes adrift. And, the com- Talking Straight line. It is currently trying to discover pany tried to tell me how to make it why Windows' Dr Watson always shows work for travellers using MCI-Tymnet an error message when I exit from Tel- nodes in the USA and Far East. As sold, Me. Because I have been waiting for the modem connects, hand-shakes and four months for Microsoft to answer then drops the line. Half the trick, says questions about anomalies shown by Pace, is to add a circumflex (^) at the both MSD and Dr Watson in Windows end of the dialled number string. This 3.11, PhoneLink's job has been made disables the CCITT calling tone which all the more difficult. can confuse host modems outside When I first tried using fax software Europe — but unfortunately, the call with a PC, I found my laser printer gave still fails. After much trial and error I “out of memory” messages when trying found that you should key in “AT/N0” to to print a full page of text. Several com- disable MNP (Microcom Networking panies told me that I needed more Protocol) and LAPM (Link Access Pro- memory for my printer. But there is an cedure) error correction, because many easy, free fix: alter the printer setup to US host modems cannot cope with it. half resolution — the text retains its Don't the people who make portable legibility for most printouts. modems ever try them abroad? In a previous column, I tried to help Likewise, it's tough luck on anyone readers who had bought Toshiba CD- who tries to use the Psion 3Fax to send ROM drives and wanted to make them email via MCI/Tymnet nodes in the USA White Book MPEG compatible. Toshiba — especially so since Psion is just supplied the names of several dealers launching the 3Fax over there. The cir- who would supposedly supply cumflex and “AT/N0” tricks don’t work latest upgrade software can end in a upgraded software drivers. But one of with the 3Fax, even after an ATZ reset. real mess because the company has these wanted to charge £19 for the Despite several reminders, Psion has changed the name of the system, and upgrade software and another would still not come up with a solution. thus the files and directories, from only sell a minimum of five copies. Try using the PCMCIA modem card, ReelMagic to RealMagic. But that is After more nagging, Toshiba assures supplied with Toshiba portables, and only half the story; the drivers have me that it has arranged with Koch you will likely find that the Cardware changed too and I got the error Media to supply upgraded driver soft- drive software steals so much memory messages “Interrupt has not been ware for what it calls the “knockdown that other programs will not run. Card- detected” and “MCI error.... use a price of £10”. A cut-down version will soft software is less greedy but the easy unique alias.” For over a month, Sigma be put onto Toshiba's UK and German trick, largely undocumented, is to throw in California cost me a fortune in phone BBS systems by 1st May. This is good out Toshiba's Cardware software, copy and fax calls, without providing a solu- news, but why does it need a pushy the simple Modem driver to the PC, and tion. I eventually found the answer hack to coerce Toshiba Europe into add the command line “Modem Com 2” myself, by trial and error. doing for customers what should surely to the Autoexec.bat file. If that doesn’t Here is the bizarre trick: load both be done naturally? work, exclude the modem's coveted old and new versions of the software, Anyone who buys the CD-ROM ver- chunk of memory by adding: “X=D000- ReelMagic 2.01 and RealMagic 2.20 sion of the Joy of Sex will have no joy DFFF” to the Memory Manager into their appropriate directories. This unless they already know how to command line in Config.sys. will leave you with two different “install” a Windows ROM. All the It is this kind of obstacle course that software drivers in the Config.sys file, instruction manuals begin at the point makes a nonsense of many predictions old Rmdev.sys and new Mpgdev.sys file. where you already have control icons about how quickly Joe Public will Delete the reference to the new driver, on the screen. Philips acknowledges embrace the Internet. Likewise, the Mpgdev.sys, which leaves only the old that this is a nonsense, and is now public will only be watching MPEG driver, Rmdev.sys, active. I haven't a reviewing all its software manuals in movies on a PC if market leaders like clue why it works, and I don't much the light of this. Sigma Designs start taking the sub- care. Let Sigma sort it out for Pace assures me that it has at last ject of “ease of use” seriously. Sigma's themselves. PCW

355 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 PCW ● COLUMNS

efore Health Care International (HCI) went into receivership, Bwe had been in the midst of a tendering exercise for a call- off contract for a large number of PCs. These transient problems prevented its completion. However, since HCI is once again busily building business, it is time to review our PC requirements; the move to a more client/server-based version of our primary information systems requires faster PCs. Although we are pleased with the Digital PCs we have bought to date, we must ensure that we are still getting good value for money. Since our standard spec- ification was defined more than 18 months ago, the PC price-to- Nick Beard performance ratio has changed dramatically. Is this an opportunity Matters Business for more power for the same money?

This may be great news for an staff ought to be able to handle it. organisation trying to control the cost It is not wrong to offer these of information systems, but price-to- features — there are many situations performance ratio improvements are in which a bigger disk is essential. rarely arrived at via price reductions. And although the argument for PCI is Instead, performance specification quite clear, this feature is not always seems to be the driving force (around a required. Multimedia-equipped PCs seemingly fixed price) in the value pro- can be excellent teaching aids and file of PCs. clearly have their place in other spe- Yet when a PC is already providing cialist functions. It is at home, away adequate performance, money spent from the LAN, or where technical on increasing this performance would support skills are hard to find, that be better spent elsewhere. There’s no the majority of these features really point in buying a Pentium if a 486SX count. The option of not having to pay does the job satisfactorily. Buy the for something you don’t need is just Pentium when you need it; otherwise, as important as access to new don’t bother. features. While reviewing the responses to I applaud the ability of manufactur- our initial “request for proposal”, it ers to continually lower the cost of became painfully clear to us that many producing a certain model of PC. But PC manufacturers are failing to meet this is of little benefit to PC buyers if, the needs of organisations like HCI. In as soon as a PC price drops to, say, the foreseeable future we will want a £700, it is replaced in the catalogue by small boost in performance and an a higher specification machine costing extra 4Mb RAM. Most PC manufactur- £800. It could be argued that these ers want to provide us with plug and changes are necessary to maintain play, business audio, pre-connection profitability and to fund continued inspection (PCI) and CD-ROM. But the research into new devices, majority of these features are of no use architectures and so on. Really? Look to us at the moment. at printers: manufacturers are able to Everyone wanted to provide us with translate technological advancements larger hard disks, but why do they into real cost reductions — a skill think we need bigger disks? At HCI, a many PC makers appear to have lost. PC hard disk is rarely more than a Worse, some recent reports suggest place for the PC operating system and that even as component costs fall, the a swap file. Everything else goes onto average cost of a PC is actually rising. the fileserver. Even allowing for Manufacturers continue to sell bloated new operating systems, 170Mb high-quality, no-frills PCs of the kind PC. It recently announced a new range is more than enough once the dross we want, at least for the present. But that will alert network administrators has been removed. for how much longer? There seems to to an impending system failure — a Why should I buy a CD-ROM for be a trend towards abandoning efforts feature genuinely worth paying for. every PC? If I need CD-ROM, I can buy to obtain a competitive advantage by There might come a time when a a stack of them and plug them directly providing low-cost reliability, and new application, core to HCI’s opera- into the network. And what use is plug instead, PCs are now loaded with frills tion, will need widespread use of some and play in a PC that will only have a and features. of the features mentioned above. But single network card installed? In the But on a more positive note, at least until then, the business doesn’t need unlikely event of an additional card Compaq appears to be paying atten- them and I don’t want to have to pay being required, our technical support tion to what is needed from a business for them. PCW

357 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 LETTERS

Nice package, shame group on the Internet where Send your letters to: about the service such strange practices may The Editor One cannot help admiring the be carried out, presumably to Personal Computer World rise of Corel Corporation and the ultimate satisfaction of VNU House its flagship, CorelDraw, but both, but let’s keep personali- 32-34 Broadwick Street the market domination of ties out of the letters page — London W1A 2HG CorelDraw has allowed its what can it possibly achieve? maker to become arrogant. I Chris Parsons or email, on: have recently upgraded to 100444,1717@ [email protected] CorelDraw 5.0, and even compuserve.com or though I thought I was being 71333,[email protected] cautious in waiting until the PCW The last thing we want second release (5.0E2) I have to do is fill up our letters

been proved wrong. pages with puerile snipings. Letters This version still has some In this instance we decided not the fault of New Media, major bugs which cause it to that the letter and the reply but of the PCMCIA specifica- generate General Protection were sufficiently entertaining, tion. Even those programs Faults regularly. I have docu- particularly for regular readers with 4GW DOS extenders and mented over 30 GPFs in the of Business Matters, to merit recognising Windows Sound very short time I have been an airing. System, still ask for the DMA using it, most of which seem channel. to be associated with the use Could jobs slip through As someone who does not of guidelines. Worse still, the Net? fully understand PCMCIA, Corel 5.0 decided not to save I read Wendy M Grossman’s what are the implications? Will the auto-backup files in my interesting article on the atti- I have to buy a new card, new chosen directory, and until I tude of the major political par- PC drivers, or what? With the managed to find these I was ties to the Internet and increasing sales of high-power tearing my hair out. information-superhighway notebooks, PCMCIA will Every tester of CorelDraw (PCW Online Focus, May become more and more 5.0 has remarked on its buggy ’95). Unfortunately it only important. history but most have backs up the findings of my Dr John Wafford refrained from giving their own research. On the whole, 100113,3713@ own experiences. End-users the parties know that the Net compuserve.com would like it spelt out, and a exists and are in favour of it, few choice words in a but don’t really understand it. PCW We’re preparing a fea- respected publication such as In particular, no party seems ture on PCMCIA and PCMCIA The key to the problem yours might make Corel hold to have any policy or thoughts products which is scheduled I recently bought Intuit’s back a little before releasing on the effect of the mass- to appear in our August issue. Quicken for Windows version new versions of what is other- unemployment that Net com- 4.0 from my local PC World. wise an excellent product. If panies could generate (hello Group test request When I came to install the Corel continues with this pol- Cerberus, goodbye high- PCW is always doing group software I noticed some small- icy and strictly implements its street music shops). How tests of modems, printers, and print on the packaging stating new pay-for-support system, many more unemployed can what have you. Isn’t it about that it was limited to 25 uses many users will desert it. the country stand? I’m a great time someone did a group test before a registration key Maybe if Corel cut out fan of the Net but I wonder if of Internet providers? They’re needed to be entered. most of the superfluous soft- our economy can survive it. springing up like weeds all I’m not really against this ware for the suite and sold Simon Humby over the place, and newbies sort of software protection, but Draw on its own, in a stable [email protected] like me have no way of know- it does seem to be a “try after and bug-free form, for the ing which service is best for you buy” method of selling. same price, it could offer free More PCMCIA , please them. It was after installation that support and satisfy most I read with interest the news I forked out £120 for a my main problems began. On users. piece on page 295 of May’s year’s subscription to a the disk envelope were HG Harris PCW about PCMCIA cards — provider who shall remain instructions to call a Freefone Nottingham in particular, the reference to nameless: it was money down number immediately for a reg- fast DMA access. the drain, since most times istration key that could be Back in the knife draw I recently bought a New when I ring them the lines are entered into Quicken to over- Please reassure me that the Media WAVjammer sound all engaged, and when I finally ride the 25-use limit. It stated puerile snipings of Messrs. card. While it’s great for do get through, the equipment that this number would be Easterbrook and Beard playing chimes and the occa- is so overloaded that it is manned daily from 6.00am to (Letters, May ’95) are not to sional poorly implemented impossible to download any midnight. I placed my call at become a regular feature of Windows game, it’s useless news from the newsgroups. 5.45pm and got a message to your otherwise august maga- for serious games, most of Stephen J King phone back during office zine. I believe there is a news- which run only under DOS — [email protected] hours of 9.30am to 5.30pm.

361 JUNE 1995 LETTERS LETTERS

Hindsight I moderate and sysop the All along, HP has implied expect service and reliability. themself as a hacker to Freedom fighting Quicken conference on CIX, that the problem is at my end, A portable without a battery is complete a standard and it soon became apparent so it has come as a revelation no longer portable and can’t questionnaire. If they send I was amazed at your [David Brake’s] bandwagon. Keep it up and no doubt the that some stores had started to discover this may not be be used for the purpose it me their name and postal seemingly throwaway comment in April’s Internet will be to free information interchange selling Quicken v4.0 before the case. HP stopped was designed for. address I will put a form in the net.surf column. as Windows/DOS is to useful operating the planned release date of communicating with me last The lifetime of a portable post to them. I stress that this You say: “Sadly, not everyone uses their systems. 4th April 1995, and that Intuit month, no doubt in the hope is two to three years, and the is done in the strictest of freedom to publish responsibly,” and go on to Neil Francis had not yet set up its 18-hour that I will go away. I will fax a loss of the use of the confidence. refer to a WWW site detailing how to break into [email protected]. registration line. This left a lot copy of the article to their tech machine for the length of time Dr Derek Scott computer systems, make explosives, steal cars of users with no way of regis- support centre demanding an that I have been without bat- Interactive Systems Centre etc. All very upright and moralistic, and no David Brake replies: As the ubiquitous tering their software. explanation. Meanwhile, I’d teries is a large chunk of that University of Ulster doubt it has earned you brownie points with Usenet tagline has it, my opinions are my own. On Sunday 26th March a be grateful if you could find lifetime. Toshiba should have Londonderry BT48 7JL your management and publishers. But it makes Your letter is one of the clearest and most message was left on CIX indi- out if Barry Fox has been able a duty to supply replacement me despair. extreme expressions I’ve seen yet of the “Inter- cating that the registration line to get this sorted. It’s driving parts and what are effectively Subject to availability You proffer that we should all use our new- net culture”. There’s much in that culture I sup- had now been set up, and me mad! consumables for their I read with interest April’s found freedoms and powers that the IT revolu- port, but that doesn’t mean I support it Intuit was giving out registra- Kieron McGrath machines. You probably quad-speed CD-ROM drives tion has produced to publish responsibly. This wholeheartedly and unreservedly. June 1979 tion keys. I phoned, only to be 100111,3412@ know all about this: however, group test, and in particular is all very well, but who defines “responsibly”? I said that telling people how to rob or kill “While some of the flamboyant told that I could not register compuserve.com Toshiba deserves criticism the review of NEC’s CDR-271 Historically it has always been the people in others most efficiently is irresponsible. You figures of the small computer until I’d reached the 25-use for such treatment of its (NEC 4X IDE), on the power who wish to remain in power. This defin- ask: “Who defines responsibility?”. Well, implic- world appear and disappear limit, as this was the only time Local hero customers. strength of which I ordered ition tends to coincide (rather conveniently) itly what I was saying was “making this sort of across the scene in nanoseconds, Quicken would give out its This is a postscript to my pre- [email protected] one for myself. with views and opinions which are identical to information easily available is irresponsible, in Roland Perry is hard at work serial number. I tried opening vious letter which appeared in What annoys me is that those of the people in power and hence they my opinion”, but I honestly believe most people building a solid image of and closing Quicken 25 times, last April’s PCW, concerning Toshiba replies: We com- you test or review items which tend to achieve their prime objectives. in the UK share this view. And yes, I believe dependability for Sintrom.” but this did not seem to work. problems I had experienced pletely understand the nature aren’t yet available in this Sticking with history for the moment, the that the community does have the right to dis- The CIX user who had while trying to install a Pana- of the difficulty that this can country, but don’t say so. problem was always how to find a way of approve of things. Substitute child pornography Update obtained his registration key sonic CR563 CD-ROM drive (and in this case, obviously According to NEC, the CDR- bypassing all the defences put in place by the for bomb-making information. Would you still Things are quiet on the Sintrom placed another message to my Packard Bell 486SX via has) caused. There is no fun- 271 isn’t going to be available rich and powerful (usually somewhat backward say that making it widely available is a respon- front, but Roland Perry is alive stating that he could find no a Prosonic 16 sound card. damental problem with the in the UK until “the end of in their use of new technology) and get one’s sible action? and kicking. His latest incarna- way of entering the key into Creative said that the card supply of these batteries, April/beginning of May”, yet message heard. It has been pointed out that You can’t have it both ways. You imply that tion is as Director of Business the software. After further and drive were incompatible although there has been a two of the largest computer the last time this happened was with the advent the Internet is, and should remain, “the last Development at UK Online. enquiries, Intuit stated that the and I was beginning to temporary stock shortage magazines in the country of a wonderful new technology, namely, the bastion of free speech”. But you go on to say registration code had “not believe they were right. But which will be rectified in the have reviewed it without printing press. It became easier for others to that “stuff like this has been around for years June 1985 been included” in the final we were proved wrong; a next couple of weeks. mentioning its (then) lack of spread their opinions and the power of the and anyone with half a brain can find it”, there- Atari launches the 520ST based release software, and thus, local shop in West Wickham, Toshiba’s policy is to availability. Church collapsed. It has also been said that by implying that the Internet, in fact, isn’t by any on the “ultra-powerful” 68000 many users had been on a Kent, installed the equipment continue to supply options Suppliers are advertising the Internet is nothing more than the equivalent means a “last bastion”, and that there’s plenty processor (16-bit, 8MHz). With wild goose chase. within an hour, without refer- and spares for PCs for seven (in magazines) the NEC CDR- of an electronic printing press. of free speech on such topics as bomb-making 512kb of memory, a single There have been many ence to additional hardware years after discontinuation — 271 (QUAD X) but when I keep hoping that your remark has been elsewhere. (As it happens, I know that books 500kb floppy disk drive and its messages on CIX criticising and for a labour charge of just indeed, we are still supplying questioned I got the reply that added merely to provoke a response. For the containing bomb-making instructions aren’t all-important MIDI interface, it the way Intuit has handled the £20. I now have the luxury of batteries for T1100+ NEC had let them down, last 12 to 18 months I have read as much hype legal in the UK, on the grounds that they are cost £699.99. Our reviewer, release of Quicken v4.0. It using a CD-ROM drive which machines sold in 1985. though it did not matter as about the Internet as anybody — the last bas- inciting or potentially inciting criminal acts.) Peter Bright, was “surprised seems you get a different for so long (five months) had Toshiba apologises for the they (NEC) were paying for tion of truly free speech, controlled anarchy, Leaving aside the moral argument, that the MIDI interface is com- explanation depending on eluded me. Long live local inconvenience caused by the the advert. When I spoke to non-convoluted information pathways, filter- pragmatic considerations should lead Internet paratively rare as a standard fit- who you speak to at Intuit. tradespeople. temporary unavailability of Sales at NEC about what was free information etc. All (and much more) have users to discourage some of the less responsi- ment on home micros”. I would like to hear what David Embling these items. happening, I was told that it been quoted in reference to the Internet. ble material. You say: “The knee-capping of Update Intuit has to say about this. Kent Murray McKerlie was the “marketing strategy” Why shouldn’t everyone know about the the Internet has already started, what pisses Although the ST is no longer Richard Kenyon Product Manager to advertise well in advance of intricacies of breaking into computer systems? me off is that it should come from the comput- being produced, it’s still being [email protected]. A battery of problems Toshiba Information the items being available. Why should only governments know about how ing and IT corner.” Well, the reason it comes used by some professional co.uk According to my supplier, Systems (UK) Ltd Anyone with a suspicious to make explosives and spy on people? And from us first is that we are the first people to recording studios thanks to its batteries for the Toshiba 4600 mind would think that NEC, why should only thieves know how to hotwire recognise its potential and its dangers. Just MIDI interface. HP sauce portable have been unavail- Hackers wanted with no goods to deliver, were and steal cars? Everybody should know this wait until the public, and more particularly the With reference to May’s able for some months. No Over the past few years there trying to grab a slice of the information, not just a privileged few. Apart tabloid press and rent-a-quote MPs, wake up June 1990 Straight Talking, I’ve spent the guarantee has been made as has been a considerable cheaper quad-speed CD- from the practical reasons, such as effecting to what is available on the Internet. NEC launches the first colour last three months trying to get to when I can have a battery amount of controversy in the ROM drive market before its counter measures, information-sharing such as I don’t think the answer is to try to censor LCD portable. The Prospeed an HP Colorado Trakker Tape replacement. media concerning hackers. competitors, who could this was the very foundation on which the Inter- the Internet. I might if I thought it was possible, CSX weighed a nightmarish Streamer to run. I’ve tried it on Toshiba customer As a psychologist I am keen deliver at the time, got in. net was based. Stuff like this has been around but I don’t think it can be done without 8.3kg and listed at US $8,499. two different machines, complaints can only offer to hear the other side of the I enjoy reading PCW group for years and anyone with half a brain can find effectively shutting down access to the Internet “As NEC freely admits, the replaced my I/O board and the apologies and mutterings story. Although I do not con- tests, but it would be good if it. Your politically correct, middle-class views completely. This doesn’t mean I’m happy at all colour screen on the CSX is not Trakker, received another about real-time manufacturing done any malicious or illegal you could include information are going to influence nobody. the implications of the free flow of information. very good.” version of the software, and I causing this problem. But behaviour, it is important to on when an item is likely to be The knee-capping of the Internet has Freedom of speech is good, but it is certainly still cannot get it to work. I just NiCad batteries have a well have both parties express available as this could sway a already started; what pisses me off is that it not the highest good, and its exercise does Update get: “Error 194 — unable to known life expectancy. their views. I would therefore decision on what to buy. should come from the computing and IT occasionally lead to problems. Colour notebooks are now stan- detect tape controller at given Toshiba sells expensive like anyone who regards — Bill Emery corner. It is very sad that a magazine such as [• See this month’s Homefront (page 353) for dard and weigh as little as 2kg. I/O address”. machines to customers who or has ever regarded — Gloucester yours has jumped on the mass hysteria tabloid more on this subject.]

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tool will give you this information VNU European Labs locally, or you can get it across a network using LAN WorkStation, SMS, Monitrix, LANDesk Manager Labs tests cover every kind of hardware and software 2.0, BrightWorks, LAN Inventory, VNUincluding PC hardware, printers, network products, modems NetCensus 2.5, LANExam, LAN and software applications. The tests are continually developed and Directory or Norton Admin for Net- enhanced to reflect hardware and software developments. works for Windows 2.0. Our tests closely simulate real-world use. For example, the suite of PC hardware Fault management comes on at benchtests uses complete versions of industry-standard applications like Microsoft Excel and bootup or on demand from a user. It Word for Windows, WordPerfect 6.0 (DOS and Windows), Lotus 1-2-3 version 3.4 (DOS) and entails checking the temperature of FoxPro (Windows and DOS). the machine and telling the user to Application tests are the backbone of all the VNU Labs system evaluations but it’s nearly take corrective action, fault detection impossible to pin an application result to a specific machine component. Only system-level on the hard disk (the aim is to notify tests (also known as low-level tests) can reliably tell the difference. VNU Labs’ system-level 72 hours before something goes test suite is called Euromark. The tests, which are mainly Windows-based, quickly size up a wrong) and so on. Over Windows 95 hard disk, sound card, motherboard, display adaptor and printer, and give individual and the system will be able to send a overall figures. message to the network administra- ● To make them easy to read at a glance, all the graphs in PCW are now drawn so that the tor, but it is not possible to do this bigger the bar, the better the result. Normally we’ll also include the original data we worked without the SNMP support that Win- from: for example, the time in minutes and seconds to print a page in a comparative test of dows 95 will offer. Since the printers. diagnostic routines can accurately ● See next month’s issue for an update on recent developments in VNU Labs. identify all the information about failed or failing item, it should be Contents possible to replace it with the mini- ● 366 575, mum of fuss. The Telesafe firmware that installed all the specialist Compaq The new Compaq DeskPro 575 — not Model 420 4/4 enables the hardware fault detection software, pausing only to ask for name particularly cheap, but exceptionally 368 3D Interior Designer mechanisms was developed in conjunc- and company name while installing Win- capable 369 Quicken 4.0 for Windows tion with Seagate, Conner and Quantum, dows. The whole process took about 20 370 Word Pro Beta and will be available to other hardware minutes, and there’s something highly sat- connector, and a transceiver to translate 372 Micropolis AV Gold manufacturers. isfying about knowing that a whole disk- thick Ethernet to thin Ethernet. Even the Series Capricorn The whole intelligent manageability full of software has been created while PCI architecture is a Triflex, one of the 3243AV 4Gb Hard Disk concept is an extension of the DMI you watch. best. 374 Visual FoxPro 3.0 Beta (Desktop Management Information) The Compaq Control Centre worked What’s more, it’s beautifully designed. 376 Psion 3a 2Mb created by the Desktop Management excellently, doing everything you could From the moment you open the case, the 376 FreeStyle for Macintosh Task Force, of which Compaq is a mem- want, from installing a network (it clean internal design hits you straight 378 Acorn RISC PC 486 ber (and part of the steering committee). automatically starts up the necessary away. The motherboard pops out with co-processor This encompasses local fault external programs and generally goes out nothing to obscure it, four of the six SIMM 383 Paint Shop Pro 3.0 management, but not remote, so this has of its way to be helpful) to analysing the slots are empty, there are no cards in any 383 VVL PC Card Camera to be part of a non-standard agreement configuration of your computer. It’s much of the slots and there are no wires or 386 Circle Elements between Compaq and the LAN software better than previous attempts at a cables obstructing anything. 387 CD-Speed vendor mentioned above. welcoming introduction to a PC, quite sim- It’s difficult to review this machine with- 394 Setup Advisor With this whole new strategy in mind, ply because it is extremely useful without out making it sound like a hagiography, booting up the review machine created being patronising and retains its but I could not help but be struck by some tension to see if these promises usefulness long after the new user has everything about it. Perhaps the only HARDWARE held true. Indeed they did: as soon as the found their way around Windows. sticking point is the price: at £1,735 for The three-pronged approach to what computer was turned on and DOS started, The hardware was also excellent. the computer and £380 for the monitor, Compaq calls “intelligent manageability” an introductory program took over and Equipped with a Pentium 75MHz, 8Mb it’s not cheap. However, it‘s good value Compaq DeskPro 575, consists of Asset Control and Fault Man- asked only which language I spoke. Then RAM, a 420Mb hard disk, two ISA slots, compared to the equivalent ProLinea, agement. Many of these ideas come from it went away and installed completely two ISA/PCI slots, two spare 5.25in drive which is only £210 cheaper, and fantastic Model 420 4/4 Compaq’s experience in the server mar- fresh versions of DOS and Windows, and bays, a 15in monitor and a 256kb cache, value when you consider the amount of ket, and they are all designed to add it’s on a fairly even play- time a system administrator could spend Labs Report Endowed with user-friendly “intelligent manageability”, decent value to the equipment by reducing ing field with other high- dealing with a lesser machine. downtime, network hassles and demands Performance Graph As speedy as end machines. It also speed and superb build quality, Compaq’s latest is a PC to be on the network administrator’s time. we expected, excels in what others fail PCW Verdict reckoned with. Nick Lawrence sings its praises. The asset control involves the PC hav- Compaq DeskPro 575 this excellent to provide: a Plug and The new DeskPro range isn’t for the home, ing a large inventory of every aspect of its 5.54 performer came Play Flash BIOS, a but if you’re the kind of user who throws ompaq’s desktop strategy is taking a now perform similarly — to manageability hardware. A far cry from the terrible through Compaq QVision everything at your machine and expects it to 4.78 Cnew turn. In the past the ProLinea and the total cost of ownership. The tech- msd.exe, this monitors every aspect of particularly well 1280/P on-board graph- stand up, this really is the only range worth range was for lower-specification uses, nology specifications of ProLineas and your system from the make, model and 4.48 on the memory- ics chip with 1Mb looking at. and the DeskPro range was faster and DeskPros are now so much the same that serial number of your hard disk, to the and hard disk- VRAM, on-board PC- Price £2115 as reviewed Slower Faster better equipped. Now Compaq has a single technology brief on PCI, graphics system board revision level of your PC. intensive Net network chip with a Contact Compaq 0181 332 3000 DOS turned the emphasis from speed — controllers and hard drive performance With Windows 3.1 or 3.11, the Compaq Windows Overall applications. telephone cable Fax 0181 332 3145 equivalent machines from the ranges will covers both. Diagnostics for Windows Management

366 367 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 FIRST IMPRESSIONS FIRST IMPRESSIONS

SOFTWARE SOFTWARE

although unfortunately you can’t change columns, recategorise multiple transac- 3D Interior Designer their dimensions — if you want a desk, Quicken 4.0 for Windows tions at one time, enter a date simply by for example, it has to be 180 x 100 x clicking the button in the Date 73cm. (The design of the furniture, inci- column and enter an amount by clicking Changing a room’s layout by physically moving the furniture dentally, tends towards MFI.) The Following the many recent changes in the personal finance the Calculator button in the Payment or around can lead to family squabbles, exhaustion, endless libraries also include radiators and stairs, software market, Paul Begg looks at the latest upgrade of Deposit column. recriminations and a bad back. James Taylor looks at a folding chairs, grand piano, hat stand, The major improvements are the intro- dishwasher, wall lamps, bidet and grand- bestseller Quicken. duction of new and improved tools for welcome alternative. father clock. Much of this can also be better finance management. These fall used in office layouts (except possibly the into two related but different categories: bidet). budgeting and forecasting. ow the month of May is upon If necessary, furniture can be Budgeting is where you assign a cer- Nus, many of you may be con- rotated in plan to suit the layout. If tain amount of money to a specific cate- sidering spring-cleaning, decorat- you scrape a wall while doing this gory — for example, let’s say £100 per ing, extension-building and even you get an irritated message asking week for the family food bill. Quicken can moving house — all of which is you to move the piece first, even be used to take the guesswork out of liable to lead, eventually, to furni- though you may need to rotate it budgeting and give stability to and control ture arranging. But few people are before moving it into place. On the over variable outgoings. Its Budget win- gifted with the ability to get it right other hand, you are allowed to pile dow has been improved and you can now first time, or to visualise what it will furniture on top of other furniture drag and drop budget and group look like, and this is where 3D without complaint. After placing the categories into supercategories, collapse Interior Designer comes in. furniture, it can be coloured, and expand categories and This ingenious and inexpensive moved, copied or deleted. At this supercategories and display your budget program lets you design, edit, dis- stage, you can display isometric in Category or Supercategory view. play and print layouts, from rooms illustrations of any room, viewed The forecasting features are genuinely to complete houses (or offices). from one of four corner viewpoints, useful, although at first glance the You work in plan, and when you’ve Rooms can be joined together in the though with less than perfect perspective. concept of financial goal setting seems finished, the program draws you a simple Plan Editor to make a whole house You get full-colour with an SVGA card very designer-suites-and-Perrier-water. 3D representation of your design on and shades of blue with a VGA card. Let’s say you fancy a winter holiday in the screen. Naturally, you can include The 3D picture you view is sun, but need to economise here and furniture, provided it’s in the symbol copied as a PCX file to the there if you’re to afford it. With Quicken’s library supplied, and choose your program’s directory, from where it ecause in the past, home and small Quicken 4.0 for Windows — this is forecasting tools you can estimate future décor in terms of room and furnish- can be imported into a suitable Bbusiness software has been such a hardly a dramatic upgrade from the last expenditures with known outgoings, look ing colours. Now you can see, graphics-handling program for growth area in personal computing, there version, but it’s still an excellent at where economies can be made, look before you spend your money, further refinement. are now several packages available package at how savings can be juggled, see what whether that puce and green sofa With my setup, I had a few slight which make it possible for even the most incomings you are likely to have. You can will go with the orange chair cover- problems. For example, Windows’ innumerate person to take complete con- fiddle about with all sorts of variables and ings in the Blue Room. own Paintbrush program wouldn’t trol of their finances. Although three of great introduction to the program. permutations, seeing what would happen You tackle your design in three show colour. Also, there are these products have been slugging it out First though, Quicken now comes in given this or that eventuality. stages. First, you define your options for printing out both plans for market share during the past few three flavours. You can get plain Another new feature is the Savings room’s boundaries, setting out its and 3D views (solid and wire) but years, there now seems to have been a Quicken, a home package called the Goal status bar. Once you’ve set money shape and dimensions plus the they didn’t work with my DeskJet cease-fire. But the field has now become Deluxe Home Pack which contains aside for your winter holiday (or height of the walls — there’s an 520. Check these points before complicated: Sage’s Moneywise is still Quicken 4.0, Quicken Home Inventory whatever), the Savings Goal status bar optional grid you can use. The soft- buying if they’re important to you — with us, but hasn’t recently been and QuickTax Planner 96, and the shows your progress without actually ware handles irregular shapes, this may not be a professional tool, upgraded; Intuit (Quicken’s company) is Deluxe Business Pack, which is the moving money into a real savings provided they’re made up of straight Furniture positioning and colour but if features are advertised they ought currently in the throes of being taken over same as the home pack except the home account. lines. You don’t worry about doors or win- scheme can be judged as a whole to work. by Microsoft; and Microsoft has sold its inventory module is replaced by QuickIn- If you set aside £x per month for a hol- dows yet, since they come with the furni- For what it’s worth, the software is own Money package to Novell, whose voice. (Both Home Inventory and Quick- iday, that money always shows up on ture, but you can choose wall and floor the rooms in the correct position, the apparently endorsed by Granada recent acquisition of WordPerfect Invoice have been discontinued as your bank statement, so your bank total is colours. With a compatible printer, you whole house. If you’re designing a new Television. It needs a minimum 286 included a Quicken bundling deal. standalone packages, by the way.) in fact misleading because it is showing can print out your room design in various house, you can try different layout since processor and VGA screen and runs The Quicken 4.0 upgrade contains The various versions of Quicken have committed money. You have to subtract scales. You can also ask the program to you can save each plan separately. from DOS or Windows. nothing which would either compel you to tried to make data entry quick and easy. that committed money every time you calculate wall and floor areas for estimat- After this, you furnish your rooms one go out and buy it or persuade you to Version 4.0 is no different. There have want to know whether you have enough ing carpet, wallpaper and paint quantities. by one. Furniture is selected from the Verdict switch from another package. It’s an been lots of small enhancements to the to afford some treat or other. Quicken’s Because each stage is handled by a sep- symbol libraries and positioned and PCW upgrade for existing users only. It Accounts Register. A mouse click on the Saving Goal hides it — making it unavail- arate module, you have to save your coloured as required. In Europress’ phi- A fun program which is useful too, letting you contains features you could live without, new Account Selection bar and you can able for spending — and thus gives an room design before moving to the next losophy, doors and windows are furniture design the home of your dreams without but which are certainly nice to have. In move between all your bank accounts accurate representation of exactly how stage or designing other rooms. and can be selected and positioned on professional fees. other words, Quicken 4.0 is a goody-bag instantly. and transferring money much you have to spend on other things. Next, you incorporate your room into a the walls in the same way. You get a Price £19.99 of user wishes. between accounts can now be performed Quicken also lets you keep tabs on how plan. Only rooms which have been good range of architectural designs, Contact Europress Software Having said this, new users will find very simply by using a form. near you are to achieving your goal or included in plans can be furnished. Plans which you can re-dimension to suit. You (01625) 859333. Fax (01625) 879962 Quicken 4.0’s simple, graphical, step-by- You can switch date and number goals. can include one room or, by placing all get an equally good range of furniture too, step guide to setting up your accounts a columns and memo and category The only other addition of note is the

368 369 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Snapshot feature. Many users have Comparison business report to compare reduction of ease-of-use. requested a way of being able to simulta- profit and loss for month to date vs year The next stage for Quicken will be to neously display graphs, reports, calen- to date, or year to date vs last year to make it thoroughly pocket-portable so dar notes, and so on. The Snapshot date, memorise and recall graphs you can note expenditure as it’s feature does this and also displays bud- (another much requested user want). And expended — and that’s on the horizon, so get and savings goals and supercategory the artistically minded can display watch this space. Meanwhile, Quicken budget goals. cheques onscreen with a variety of 4.0 is thoroughly recommended. A whole range of small enhancements backgrounds. have been made to Quicken’s various Overall, Quicken 4.0 is a basic PCW Verdict modules. If you have shares and invest- upgrade. Some might argue that it’s ments you can now track tax-exempt unexciting. I would agree, but Quicken A basic upgrade, but thoroughly recommended. securities, tax credits and multi-currency was an almost perfectly thought out and investments. You can define a financial designed piece of software at the outset Price £49.95 Quicken 4.0, £69.95 for year instead of a calendar year and cre- — which is why it has dominated the mar- Business or Home Deluxe Packs (inc VAT) ate reports, graphs and budgets based ket and quickly seen off all competition — Contact Intuit 0800 585058 Fax 0181 759 2077 on that year. You can preview reports and little beyond fine tuning can be done prior to printing, use the Profit and Loss to improve it without a corresponding

SOFTWARE

make changes. Consolidate lets you Word Pro beta review these changes and make one whole document from them by clicking buttons to accept and reject edits; Confusingly titled it may be, but this new upgrade to Lotus’s Versions makes an audit trail. Ami Pro could give Microsoft and WordPerfect a real And there’s more to it than that: for certain applications this will be an excel- headache. Tim Phillips reports. lent method of working, especially the options to route the document through for frustrated SmartSuite email automatically. Others will value the users it will prove worth the CommentNotes more — sophisticated wait. yellow — and a neat Our review copy was a electronic highlighter pen. 16-bit version — Lotus is Me-too improvements cover all the keen to keep its Windows main advantages of Word for Windows: 95 32-bit features a secret there’s an Autocorrect feature, and for fear of copycats. enhanced How-to Help. This can usefully The improvements fall be queried in full sentences, with Help try- into three rough categories: ing to understand what you’re looking for. “working together” utilities In the beta, this was still hit-and-miss, similar to those though we understand Lotus is refining it. incorporated in 1-2-3 Users in a mixed environment will also Release 5; upgraded fea- be pleased to hear that both the ture sets to match the neat WordPerfect and Word 6.0 filters work Word Pro Beta — taking Ami Pro back new tricks offered by Word 6.0; and well, taking in documents including into the big league Lotus’s own usability enhancements. frames and multiple fonts with no The “working together” enhancements obvious problems. are unlikely to make much difference to With the burgeoning feature sets that mi Pro 3.0 may have been more than you unless you are working on collabora- Windows 3.0 produced, word processor Aa match for Word 2.0 in 1992, but as tive documents in a networked environ- users have a usability hill to climb. Lotus time has passed, Lotus has been left in ment, but are potentially extremely has been creative in using context-sensi- the slow lane by Word and WordPerfect. powerful. tive menus: only relevant features are However, if the promise of the beta Word processors have been allowing presented at any time. Others aren’t release of Ami Pro’s new version is users to make a set of revisions to a doc- greyed-out — they disappear. This can realised, it will be back in the lead for ument which can then be reviewed and be disorientating at first, when you visit a functionality. accepted or rejected by another user for menu to find it changed, but the absence Although you can’t help thinking of it half a decade. The functions are basic, of feature overload outweighs the prob- as Ami Pro 4.0, Lotus has decided to and in my experience not widely used. lem. The menu between Create and Win- rename the product Word Pro. Although Word Pro’s Version control is a com- dow changes according to where you are. much improved, this is still distinctively pletely different order of functionality. On Usually, it offers text formatting, but in an Ami Pro, so the name change is guaran- the File menu there are three new image it offers graphics tools. teed to cause some confusion. Neverthe- entries: TeamReview, TeamConsolidate For long documents two new tools will less, Ami 4.0, son of Ami or Word Pro, and Versions. TeamReview lets you set save a lot of editing time: the first is the has 1,500 improvements to boast of, and up a list of users to see the document and ability to create “Divisions” in a

370 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

document — basically a set of easy-to- Having cleaned up features like the use tabs which you label for different templating, and added context-sensitivity PCW Verdict parts of a document. The other eye- to the SmartIcon bar too, Word Pro is def- A must-have upgrade for existing users, and catching feature is the spellchecker, initely worth the upgrade for all users. The more of a challenge to Microsoft than ever. which highlights all the words it is going new features genuinely make what has Price N/A to query and lets you pick the ones you always been an idiosyncratic and occa- Contact Lotus 01784 455445 want to change — a huge improvement sionally annoying word processor a lot Fax 01784 469342 on sequential spellchecking. smoother and more productive.

HARDWARE

expandable module system, used in all recent Micropolis drives. The cunning and Micropolis AV Gold Series good-looking cases allow for additional drives to be neatly stacked should one Capricorn 3243AV 4Gb not prove enough. Here we looked at the mid-range Capricorn 3243AV 4Gb model. hard disk We used three SCSI interfaces: an Adaptec 1510 ISA card representing the bottom of the range at £50, an Adaptec Super-DJ Gordon Laing was itching to record pro-quality 2840 PCI card representing almost the audio onto his PC, but his hard disk simply wasn’t up to it — top of the range at £230, and NCR PCI until he discovered the excellent Capricorn from Micropolis. built onto a £200 motherboard. All three configurations featured Pentium 90s, and were tested using the SAW (Software everal months ago I had the pleasure Audio Workshop) hard disk utility and a Sof fulfilling one of my personal-com- 10Mb WAV file. puter ambitions — to successfully record The ISA 1510 card managed a mere audio of professional quality to my PC’s 1.3Mb/sec for both read and write. hard disk. This mystical art of D2D ended Switching to the SCSI-2 PCI interfaces up requiring a number of products, both raised this to a massive 7Mb/sec for hardware and software, which were writing and 4.5Mb for reading. Putting described, tested, and generally played these results into perspective, a typical around with in last December’s and 540Mb IDE drive supplies just over January’s issues of PCW. Yes, it was a 1Mb/sec writing and up to 2Mb reading. Christmas dream come true. You want pro-quality If you want amazing hard-disk perfor- Two key areas had to be addressed: a D2D? You got it mance from SCSI-2, look no further than quality means by which audio could be the Micropolis AV Gold series, although captured by a PC; and, quite simply, the the editing process. If you have a five- to make the most out of it you’ll need fastest I/O I could get my hands on. minute four-track recording, you’re look- some kind of local-bus SCSI-2 interface. The audio quality of a typical 16-bit ing at a 100Mb file and one hell of a long May we heartily recommend an Adaptec sound card is good, but not quite up to wait if your I/O is delivering 1Mb/sec. And 2940 over a PCI bus — brilliant. And it’s pro standard. There’s also the infuriating as if that isn’t bad enough, most normal not processor-dependent; we measured realisation that much of your original hard disks pause to recalibrate, introduc- the same results on a 486DX board, material has already been digitised by a ing undesirable jitters in D2D recordings using the same I/O described above. decent hi-fi ADC (Analogue to Digital of audio and video. You may also be interested in an Convertor), and you’ll have to convert it Enter Micropolis, one of the first com- earlier Micropolis 1.7Gb AV drive, still back to analogue just so your sound card panies to recognise the exploding multi- available on the street for around £695 can redigitise it. media market and release a range of and boasting just under 4Mb/sec over a In reality, you’ll need a card with digital high-performance SCSI hard disks to SCSI-2 PCI bus. audio in and out sockets. Digital Audio cope with the demands of the digital AV Labs’ CardD, distributed in the UK by as far back as 1993. Using thermal cali- PCW Verdict Digital Music, offers just that (and no bration-less operation and advanced So long as you’ve got a quick SCSI-2 inter- more) for £485. It may sound expensive cache management, Micropolis face such as an Adaptec 2940 PCI card, but is the only digital audio I/O card that succeeded in delivering jitter-free perfor- then you can look forward to superb hard- will do the job until companies like mance from its AV drives. Better yet were disk performance from the Micropolis AV Creative Labs decide to fix SPDIF sock- the typical sustained data transfer rates Gold series. ets on AWE-32s. of around 4Mb/sec. Price £1,050 (2Gb), £1,550 (4Gb) and But now on to the disk I/O. CD-quality The latest AV SCSI drives from £2,600 (9Gb) audio supplies a constant data stream of Micropolis are labelled the AV Gold Contact Micropolis 01734 751315 150kb/sec, or around 10.5Mb/min of series and are available in 2Gb, 4Gb and Fax 01734 868168 stereo. Four-track doubles this to over 9Gb capacities, list-priced respectively at (Adaptec 01252 811200, Fax 01252 20Mb/min. Clearly a large-capacity hard £1,050, £1,550 and £2,600. All three 811212; Digital Music 01703 252131 Fax 01703 270405) disk is one part of the story, but consider drives come fitted in an external,

372 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

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security and table level validation. Visual FoxPro 3.0 beta FoxPro’s solution is a new database con- tainer in which many of these omissions In one fell swoop, FoxPro has been endowed with 32-bitness, have been rectified. It includes server- type features like triggers and stored pro- object-orientation and OLE 2.0. Tim Anderson investigates the cedures. The dbf header has been latest beta version. altered to prevent tables being opened outside their container unless they have been specified as free tables. Short of abandoning the dbf altogether, the result is a good compromise and makes it eas- ier to develop sound database applica- tions. A spin-off benefit is that a FoxPro database now appears to the program- mer as resembling a server database, easing the task of upsizing where a data- base system is migrated to a client/server installation. An Upsizing Wizard is provided, to assist the process — Microsoft is hoping to establish Visual FoxPro as a significant client/server tool. Visual FoxPro is an impressive prod- uct from both a conceptual and physical viewpoint, and compatibility with earlier versions is promised. The package requires a minimum of 8Mb on Win32, but judging from the beta version is most comfortable running on Windows NT or Windows 95 with twice that amount of memory. There is some anxiety that Fox- Pro’s renowned speed will be compromised by its many new features. It oxPro 2.5 for Windows has always Visual FoxPro 3.0 has the makings of a pushes 16-bit Windows to the limit, and Fbeen an awkward fit in the Microsoft superb developer’s database should be seen primarily as a product for product line. A formidable data cruncher, 32-bit Windows. FoxPro comfortably handles huge data FoxPro, since its first Windows release, of Visual FoxPro also places heavy tables. But despite its fine database per- being “merely a DOS port”. demands on developers, who will have to formance, it has suffered in the past from Visual FoxPro is treated by Microsoft learn a new event model, a new concept a non-standard Windows interface and as a developer product, and despite the of data management, and a new the difficulty of programming its clunky inclusion of a new range of Wizards, the programming paradigm. The xBase com- “Foundation Read” (a way of pressing new version will not appeal to novices. munity tends to be conservative, and xBase into supporting an event-driven There will be standard and professional some won’t make the change. Those who environment). versions available, as in previous do will find a highly sophisticated pack- FoxPro 3.0, however, is a profoundly releases. The professional package will age which has the makings of a superb changed product. Microsoft has provided provide a runtime dll and the ability to developer’s database. this latest version of FoxPro with a brand create executables which can be Visual FoxPro has leap-frogged the new event model, completely new inter- distributed. rival dBase for Windows in all but friendli- face-building tools, object-oriented lan- Visual FoxPro provides a set of tools ness to end-users, although Borland is guage extensions, support for OLE for creating easy-to-use applications and promising a true dBase compiler which custom controls (OCXs), OLE in-place is extensible, by means of a library con- may redress the balance. If Microsoft can editing and client support for OLE struction kit which gives C programmers deliver the right performance and reliabil- automation. access to the FoxPro API. No firm ity, Visual FoxPro will win a great many Currently built with Microsoft Visual announcements have been made about new friends. C++ rather than Watcom C++, FoxPro versions for other platforms, but expect to 3.0 is a Win32 application which runs see a Macintosh edition and probably one PCW Verdict under Windows 3.1 with Win 32 more update of the DOS product. extensions. It will also run as a native 32- The dbf format remains an A superb product, marred by its size and heavy system demands. For developers only. bit program under Windows NT 3.5 or the international standard despite the fact forthcoming Windows 95. The extent of that it should really be obsolete. The sim- Price N/A the changes will leave hardened FoxPro plicity of dbf brings speed benefits but at Contact Microsoft 01734 270000 developers disoriented. But it will lay to the expense of omitting important Fax 01734 270547 rest the accusations levelled against features such as referential integrity,

374 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

HARDWARE

Unfortunately, due to limitations in the Psion 3a 2Mb operating system which it would be diffi- cult to work around, only half a megabyte The latest incarnation of the celebrated Psion is no great of memory can be used at any one time by all the currently-running applications. improvement on the last, but David Brake still thinks it’s the As a result, despite the improved storage, pocket computer to go for. applications will not be much more ambi- tious than they are now since the underly- ing OS, available program space and ike two other illustrious members of processor speed haven’t increased. Lthe PCW team (SImon Rockman and None of the applications from the Chris Cain) I run my life on my Psion original Series 3a have been enhanced in Series 3a, and as far as I’m concerned it the new models, but they now come with is one of the most useful applications of a spellchecker and thesaurus. They also miniaturised computer power available. contain a game, Patience. It is very well- It’s small enough to take anywhere and presented and is a useful addition to the powerful enough to do almost anything application set. you’d reasonably expect a pocket com- Some users have complained that puter to do. recent changes in Psion’s choice of key- For those who aren’t familiar with the The Psion 3a 2Mb — nothing very new, board supplier have made the feel “softer” Series 3a, it includes a powerful diary, a but still the best pocket PC in town and that it is now more difficult to type on word processor, a simple but fast data- the new machines without ddouble-keying. base and a spreadsheet — in other this unnecessary if users have a desktop I didn’t find this, although the “3” key on words, a basic office suite. It has a high- computer to back their data up to. Those my review unit did stick during testing. resolution screen capable of displaying who are using their Series 3a as their only They won’t set the world alight, but the 17 lines of 80 characters (though many computer should definitely invest in a new Series 3a models are still welcome. would find the resulting characters too backup Flash pack. The Psions rarely For my money, the best thing about the small at that resolution) and a small but crash and shouldn’t run out of battery new models is that the old ones are being functional keyboard. power if handled carefully, but you should retained. They are still the best pocket Having seen the tremendous improve- always be prepared for the worst — after computers available, and the introduction ment of the Series 3a over the Series 3, I only a few weeks’ use, your organiser will of the new models at only slightly higher went to Psion’s headquarters with high already hold a lot of vital information. a price than the old will keep the whole hopes, but I’m afraid that the two new One or 2Mb RAM in which to load range within many people’s reach. models in Psion’s Series 3a family were applications and store data doesn’t seem something of a let-down. They are the 1 like much, but few Psion apps require and 2Mb Series 3a, and once you know more than a few tens of kilobytes when PCW Verdict this, you know most of the benefits these running because most of the important Not as dramatic an improvement as I’d new models have to offer. functions are in the OS in ROM. Data for- hoped for, but still the best pocket in town. While medium to heavy users of the mats for storage are also very frugal — in Price 3a 1Mb £339.95, 3a 2Mb £399.95 old Psion Series 3a and Series 3 would my own case, ten games and utilities, Contact Psion 0171 258 7368 normally have to purchase a RAM or plus more than a hundred smallish text Fax 0171 258 7242 Flash plug-in pack, the memory capaci- files and a database of more than 1000 ties of the new machines should make contact names fit comfortably into 1.3Mb.

SOFTWARE

The catch? Well, there’s a certain FreeStyle for Macintosh amount of setting up to do before you start making music, although some of this is fairly automatic. If you connect your And now for something completely different — a sequencer equipment to your Mac prior to installa- which thinks like a musician and not a computer. Ian Waugh tion, FreeStyle will scan it and create a feels the beat. device list. It has a list of over 250 devices and you can add others, too. Once the setup is complete you can s most sequencers get updated they FreeStyle has no tracks. Yes, that’s right. start making music. The first step is to Aacquire more and more functions It also does its best to shield you from the select an Ensemble, which is a collection which can make them increasingly diffi- likes of MIDI channels and program of Players. There are 14 Ensembles cult to control, especially for someone change numbers. Instead, it uses musi- ready to go including Rock Band, String who is new to sequencing or for the musi- cian-friendly concepts such as Quartet, Big Band, Synth Ensemble, cian who is more at home with bands Ensembles, Players, Takes, Orchestra and Jazz Combo. than computers. Mark of the Unicorn’s Arrangements, Sections and Songs. The Players in the Rock Band, for

376 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The drum pattern will flip between a Grid Editor and a Score loop, waiting for you to Editor, and editing is accomplished by start playing. And what if clicking and dragging. You can print out you play some pickup the score in notation format in its entirety notes? FreeStyle is really or as individual parts. The parts of trans- clever because it records posing instruments are automatically these, too, and if you transposed but the program doesn’t select the Smooth Record support music symbols. option, it plays the pickups You can insert notes in step-time and on playback. call up a Controller Editor. There is a So you’ve done a Take Quantise function but no partial quantisa- but you don’t like it. No tion, although there is a swing function. problem — simply record FreeStyle has a few omissions. There another. And another. is no event editor, it doesn’t directly sup- FreeStyle remembers port SysEx, and it will only load Standard FreeStyle for Mac — the sequencer for each one and you pick the best when MIDI files in Format 1. Many companies musicians who hate sequencers you’re putting the song together. only produce them in Format 0. You select and record the other Play- The program will ignore program example, include Guitar, Piano, Organ, ers in the same way and then record the changes in the middle of a track and all Bass, Horns and Drums. Each Player other Sections of your song. tempo instructions apart from the first uses a sound from one of your sound When you’re finished you may have one. The first is due to the way it organises modules which has been assigned during half a dozen Sections, which you link the data, but the second is inexcusable. the setup routine. You can change the together in the Arrange window. This is a These niggles apart, Freestyle is well assignments and add and remove little like pattern-based recording, as used designed and supported by an excellent Players if you wish, and create Ensem- by many sequencers, but the difference manual and a video which takes you bles of your own. here is that each Section is a complete through the process of building a song. Next you record a Section. This will entity carrying information about the usually be something like an intro, verse Players, rather than just note and MIDI PCW Verdict or chorus but it could be as short as a event data. A sequencer for the musician rather than the single bar or as long as the whole song. To free you further from the computer user — powerful and user-friendly, So, you select a Player and record a distractions of the computer, you can with excellent documentation. Highly Take. To put you in the mood, the control FreeStyle almost entirely from recommended. metronome doesn’t simply click, it plays a your MIDI keyboard using special note Price £179 inc VAT short drum riff — there are over 30 to cluster combinations. Contact Klemm Music Technology choose from. This is a great idea; I know In spite of the multi-take facility, there 01462 733310. Fax 01462 733390 several musicians who start every ses- may be times when you need to get in sion by recording a drum track. there and edit the music directly. You can

HARDWARE

is for the PowerMac 6100 only and costs Acorn RISC PC 486 roughly five times as much. So is Acorn’s solution very clever, or just no good? PC enthusiasts love Acorn computers, co-processor but Acorn’s bread and butter comes from the education market where there has Costing roughly one-fifth as much as Apple’s PC-emulation been considerable pressure in recent system, Acorn’s new RISC co-processor was either going to years for schools loyal to Acorn to switch to PC-compatibles. It’s remarkable that prove very clever indeed, or a complete dud. Ian Burley was Acorn has clung on to its domination of relieved to be able to give it the thumbs up. the primary-school sector, where it still has over 50 percent of the market, but three years ago the company prudently equests like, So can I run this , not to mention OS/2. accepted that it had to address the issue RWindows application? or How about Acorn and Apple have used their non- of PC compatibility head on. Stopping a game of Doom? have been bad news Intel x86 horsepower to software-emulate short of building a PC clone, Acorn for owners of most Acorn computers — lower versions of said processor family, designed the RISC PC to accept an until now. Acorn has had the same prob- with varying degrees of success. Now, optional co-processor alongside the lem as Apple and Atari’s ST and both have produced add-on hardware native ARM, the RISC chip Acorn Commodore’s Amiga, the lack of “PC- incorporating real Intel 486-compatible designed itself and has nurtured since the cred”. No matter how wonderful their number-crunchers. Acorn’s is for its year- early eighties. exotic proprietary operating systems have old flagship model, the RISC PC — com- Both the ARM and any second co- been, none have managed to hold back plete with IBM DOS 6.1 but not Windows processor reside on their own separate the tide of DOS and, more importantly, — and costs a princely £99, while Apple’s compact daughtercards and plug in side

378 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

by side and vertically into IDC con- 25MHz 486SX in a real PC. The nectors on the main system board. primary reason for this is the way Installation is a cinch — it takes RISC PC memory is arranged. On about 15 seconds to twist two the RISC PC main board there are snap fittings at the rear of the all- just two 72-pin SIMM slots, but polycarbonate case, lift the lid, slot unlike a conventional PC design, the card in and replace the lid. It any capacity SIMM you care to takes longer to remove a monitor choose can be fitted into either from the top of the box. It makes slot, say 4Mb in one and 16Mb in no difference even if the maximum the other. On top of this you can of eight expansion cards is fitted, add up to 2Mb VRAM which sits in accessibility is that good. a separate proprietary SIMM slot. To keep costs to a minimum, All this memory is pooled as a sin- for the first issue of the card, Acorn gle resource and allocated by the has chosen a 40MHz Texas operating system as required, Instruments TI486SXLV part, even the VRAM. PCs use though this is clocked down to interleaved memory which 33MHz. The little card also has requires matched sets of SIMMs, 128kb second-level cache and a usually in multiples of two or four. custom ASIC co-developed by PC RAM is optimised for x86 Acorn, Future Technologies in processors, while RISC PC RAM Scotland and long-time Acorn isn’t. The latter works well with 8- developer of PC-compatible hard- bit or 32-bit operations, but an x86 ware solutions, Aleph One. The processor does a lot of 16-bit secret of the 486 card’s low cost is memory operations. that there’s no on-card system Luckily for Acorn, the inefficien- memory or I/O devices besides cies of its PC-related architecture host system peripheral access don’t severely compromise the through Acorn’s dual-processor 486 card as a usable solution for 32-bit Open Bus. Acorn, or more most RISC PC users. There are accurately, IBM Blue Micro in Italy, those who would have preferred a is also making a fair number of DX chip with its integral maths co- these cards — 10,000 in the first produc- Truly usable PC emulation on Acorn’s processor, especially as you can’t add a tion run. Estimates suggest this will be Archimedes — at last separate maths chip to the existing card. enough for 40 percent of the installed Others will be disappointed that a 33MHz base of RISC PCs and Acorn expects to settings. Disk performance is well within 486SX is soldered in rather than sell out of every single one made. the bounds expected by PC users. The socketed — swapping puny 486SXs for For three years, Aleph One has sold a October 1994 beta release of Windows beefier DX2, DX4 and even P24T Pen- PC-hardware for Acorn 95 has been successfully tested on a 486 tiums will have to wait for the MkII card, users which plugs into the Acorn RISC PC. which probably won’t ship before the end Archimedes’ proprietary 16-bit “podule” When you use the card it looks and of this year. The fact is that the limitations (peripheral module) expansion slot. responds like a real PC. In fact, I’d even of the architecture make the use of faster Acorn’s podule system has a lot to com- challenge a regular PC user to be able to 486s less useful. A revised custom ASIC mend it, although its 16-bit bus has no tell if they were using a real PC or not, in the MkII card will alleviate some of DMA, isn’t very fast and is far from opti- especially under Windows where the these problems through write-buffering mal for CPU/memory access. graphics accelerator implementation and revised cacheing strategies. At least Aleph One’s hard work wasn’t entirely works very well. Eventual graphics sup- Acorn has publicly stated that it won’t wasted however when the RISC PC was port should range to the 800 x 600 24-bit wash its hands of the project, as some being designed. Key elements of the colour or 1600 x 1200 resolution limits had feared, now that the cooking 486SX Aleph One PC Card’s software were enjoyed by RISC OS applications in a version is out. Acorn is already working retained and adapted for the new 486 co- fully equipped RISC PC. There are also with its partners on the next iteration of processor. Unlike the old Aleph One PC tools to enable Ethernet network connec- the 486 card. Cards, the new 486 module has access tions, and I can report that it works very to a fast 32-bit system bus with direct well on my small Windows for PCW Verdict memory access. In fact, the 486 card Workgroups LAN. Acorn has just The RISC PC 486 card isn’t very exciting in masters the bus when it’s in use. Like the released a sound card which provides absolute PC terms, but it’s a crucial survival Aleph One card, the new one shares disk SoundBlaster compatibility, and a third- tool for Acorn. Anyway, how can you really and I/O resources like the serial and par- party company has already shown an ISA criticise an add-on 486 facility which costs allel ports.The old and frustrating limit of expansion card box. just £99? 32Mb PC disk partitions has now been So the RISC PC 486 is a good, work- Price £99 cured, enabling partitions to be as large able 486 PC. But run a few benchmarks Contact Acorn Computers as a RISC OS drive. Running Windows and you quickly realise all is not as well 01223 254254. Fax 01223 254262 for WorkGroups you can use 32-bit file as you might expect. The card is a access, but not 32-bit disk access 33MHz 486SX but it performs more like a

380 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

SOFTWARE

dropper and a magic wand to select Paint Shop Pro 3.0 similar areas for manipulation. The painting tools are another addition. This set comprises eight differ- Just when your faith in shareware was beginning to flag, along ent brushes, a user-defined brush, a fill comes a photo-retouching package which is downright brilliant. tool, undo brush, colour replacer brush, filled and hollow rectangle and oval tools, a Nick Lawrence gets painting. line tool with variable width and a text tool. There’s now also an image browser medium-weight capabilities which lets you see thumbnail images of without the high specs of Corel pictures and search directories visually PhotoPaint and others in that instead of having to remember filenames. league. Version 3.0 not only fol- This is a very useful standalone program, lows that lead, from its sophisti- and tallies well with PSP 3.0’s enhanced cated user interface with support for file formats. It can now handle movable palettes right down to 31, 12 of which are only available with the significantly increased file v3.0. The new ones include CorelDraw, formats supported, but extends AutoCad, and Photoshop 2.5 RGB. the package’s capabilities into There are far too many new features photo retouching. to go through in a First Impression From the moment the pack- review. Suffice it to say that this package age is installed there are clear would do very well as a commercially cosmetic differences. The drab sold program. To be able to get hold of a icon of v2.0 has been replaced shareware version for free, and then pur- PSP 3.0 — well equipped, easy to use, with a more lively one, and as soon as chase the full version for only £49.95 (or and only £49.95 for the full version the program launches, the toolbar and £19.95 for upgrades from v2.0) is nothing floating palettes pop up in the style of short of incredible in these days of hareware software is characterised PageMaker and other graphics bloated, buggy software that you can’t Sby hit-and-miss utilities and applica- packages. The whole thing looks much test until you’ve shelled out a couple of tions, with most being useful for five min- more professional than previous versions, hundred pounds for it. Paint Shop Pro 3.0 utes until you find enough bugs, or few and best of all, none of the functionality is very highly recommended. enough features, to stop you using them seems to have been lost. before the “reasonable period of usage” PSP 3.0 now supports third-party is up and you have to fork out for the reg- plug-ins such as Kai’s Power Tools, and PCW Verdict istered version. But every so often a gen- all filters and most deformations can be A great shareware package which feels like uinely useful piece of software comes applied to a selected area. To add to this, a high-end commercial one. along which merits serious consideration. the Paste function now allows sections of Paint Shop Pro is one. one picture to be placed in another. Price £49.95 for full version Contact Digital Workshop 01295 258335 Now in its third incarnation, this graph- There are serious photo-retouching tools, Fax 01295 254590 ics manipulation package has always had such as a clone brush, a push brush, a strong following among those who need sharpen and smooth brushes, an eye

HARDWARE

niche markets. VVL PC Card Camera Despite the fact that PC cards (as they should now be called) are supposed to be plug and play, I had irksome installation For certain situations this digital photography system could problems. I first tried the card on a come into its own, but Clive Akass thinks that many people will ThinkPad running IBM’s latest DOS 7.0, using first its state-of-the-art card be better off going for a standalone device. software and then the cardware supplied by VVL; both produced memory conflicts. I finally got the system working by VL offered a desktop version of this identity cards. using the VVL software on a new Sharp Vcamera system a couple of years The new version, in which a mouse- PC 8660, after disabling the notebook’s back. The lack of realtime viewing sized camera plugs into a PCMCIA card, installed cardware. This is not (images took some seconds to appear) allows the camera to be used with a acceptable: it defeats the object of having made framing and focusing difficult, and notebook PC and is therefore portable. a standard, and users should not be the definition was such that it was best But the original limitations remain, and expected to reject generic cardware in used in a fixed-focus application requir- indeed are more significant on the favour of a proprietory module that may ing instant pictures, perhaps for move, so sales are likely to be limited to not work with other cards.

383 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 FIRST IMPRESSIONS FIRST IMPRESSIONS

system of this kind, check out button which, you guessed it, loops the the situation with VVL, and if at selected segments. all possible, try before you buy Once you’re happy with the two tracks, or get your dealer to install the you can either copy them to the next seg- device. ment to repeat them, or choose other ele- Nevertheless, at £600 this system ments, say another bassline. Once you has to be set against Kodak’s new have built up an eight-bar sequence the £895 DCS40 standalone colour digital Mix button mixes the tracks to track one, camera with a definition of 795 x 500 pix- freeing up track two for additional ● VVL’s PC Card Camera — “niche” els, or Apple’s £500 QuickTake camera elements. You can now add a guitar riff, which is available with Windows brass section or vocal. Again, once you’re with a simple image-capture utility. This software. happy with the arrangement you can mix worked painfully slowly, apparently due to The one thing the VVL system has down to track one and add another part, a residual memory problem which I gave over a standalone camera, though, is that and so on. It would have been nice to see up tying to resolve. Just as irritating was it is under the direct control of a four tracks to work with, as once you’ve the fact that I could not re-orient the computer, which will be useful for some committed to mixing down, there’s no VVL told us that this would not be a image to suit the camera position. types of field work. going back to alter levels and problem for most of its customers, who This is not a serious limitation, consid- arrangement. build systems round the cards and leave ering the availability of cheap image PCW Verdict The package only works with mono them permanently in place. The company manipulation software, and the system samples and there’s no control for pan- also complained that the PCMCIA had provides good 340 x 240 pixel 256- A niche application. If you just want a ning instruments (controlling the position digital camera, watch for the new been slow to release details of the latest greyscale images once installed — across a stereo field). It doesn’t take long standalones coming out. version of its standard. ample, say, for estate agents to take to build up a complex arrangement and VVL’s original system came with a shots of property. Price £600 because all samples are 44.1kHz 16-bit, Contact VVL 0131 539 7111 version of PhotoFinish which not only VVL is working on the cardware, and the sound quality is high. Also, all the ele- CDs is a snip when you consider how Circle Elements contains an interactive Fax 0131 539 7141 captured the image but allowed you to has a list of machines which have been ments on each CD have been recorded many samples are included, any number music encyclopedia with audio snippets touch it up. The card version comes only tested as compatible. If you need a at 22.05kHz which will improve of which can be used in multimedia of various instruments performance on slower machines; it also applications or even downloaded to SOFTWARE ensures the software will work with older sound cards including the AWE-32 and sound cards not capable of playing Turtle Beach’s Tropez. PCW Verdict which to load elements and there are two 44.1kHz files. The software, if a little basic, does Circle Elements is fun and easy to use, and tracks to work with. The elements are The elements have been compiled allow you to work quickly and can be Circle Elements anybody can produce some fabulous results. arranged in folders according to their from several professional sample libraries used by just about anyone who can work A must for every sound-card owner. tempo. For example, there are four drum and cover a wide range of musical styles, a mouse. Once your musical composition Price Each CD £29.95; both CDs £49.95 directories: 100bpm, 120bpm and although dance music does have preva- is complete, you can save your Circle as Got a sound card? Make the most of it with the Circle Elements Contact Time + Space 01566 785400 140bpm. Within the guitar directory, lence. If your interest in music spans to a single sample for output to tape, or CD Fax 01566 785777 software and samples which let you create your very own musical keys are also indexed. collecting samples, Circle Elements is should you be lucky enough to have disco inferno. Steven Helstrip takes it from the top. I started off by selecting a drum pat- worth buying just for that. £49 for the two access to a CD writer. tern to work with at 120bpm. This was loaded into a segment on track one. I then chose a bassline and loaded it onto SOFTWARE ircle Elements can be described as a string and brass sections, atmospheres track two. It is important to choose Csample-based sequencer since it lets (jungle, restaurant, etc), gospel choirs elements with the same tempo, otherwise you take audio samples and produce and still more guitar and drum loops. the result will be messy. Most elements CD-Speed musical arrangements from them. The The idea is to build up arrangements are one bar in length which effectively package isn’t just for musicians — any- using pre-recorded samples, or elements. means each segment represents one bar. Have you ever wished your CD-ROM drive worked as fast as your hard body can use it to piece together a decent The main work area has 12 segments in There is no play button, only a Loop disk? Data Becker says CD-Speed could turn your sluggish ROM into a tune. All you need is an ear for what sounds good. You’ll also need a 486 with ● Even Eric Bris- nifty sportster. Paul Begg took a spin to find out. at least 8Mb RAM, or an equally speci- tow could piece fied Mac, say a 68040 running at together a decent 33MHz, as the program is heavily tune with an he trouble with computers used to be disc, galleries of clipart, a foundry of CD-Speed, it is claimed, will boost the processor intensive. interface this Tthat they tended not to do anything fonts, movie guides, and even the com- access speed of any CD-ROM drive sev- The package comes on two CD- intuitive until you typed something in. You needed plete works of Shakespeare. In this eral times over. In fact, up to 600 percent. ROMs, each containing the Circle to type words before a word processor respect CD-ROM is probably the best This is a remarkable claim and one software and over 1,000 samples in both had any value, and similarly, you have to thing that has ever happened to comput- that cries out to be put to the test, but if it wav and aif formats. The first CD, Inter- put data into a database or spreads into a ers — but unfortunately, CD-ROM drives works, how does it work? galactic, has samples of analogue syn- spre... well, you get the idea. What few aren’t very fast. Even double- and triple- Put simply, it changes your CD-ROM thesisers, percussion and guitar loops computer programs did was to come with speed drives can seem to take drive’s access and memory and myriad synthesised effects (to go data already on them. There were a for...e...ver, especially when compared to management. If you use Windows 3.1 through them all in any detail would take couple of dictionaries and quotation data- fast hard disks. you have the benefit of 32-bit memory forever.) bases, but not much else. This is where CD-Speed comes to the management, which means you don’t The second CD, Planet Earth, CD-ROM changed all that. Now you rescue. A DOS and Windows CD-ROM need SMARTDRV for anything except contains orchestral material including can buy whole encyclopedias on a little accelerator with the built-in SpeedCache, cacheing your CD-ROM drive — and

386 387 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Give your hard disk a boost with CD-Speed

used is , as you may get an error message if you are using an alternative desk- top. You must also ensure that you have deactivated the 32-bit hard disk access. You should have at least 21Mb the free hard disk trouble space avail- with able, and SMARTDRV it’s a as a CD-ROM good cache is that it treats your drive like another hard disk. CD- Speed replaces SMART- DRV with SpeedCache, which treats a CD-ROM drive as a CD-ROM drive, address- ing all the particular characteris- tics of a CD-ROM drive and thereby idea improving the CD’s performance. to have CD-Speed employs innovative defragmented QuickImage technology, which is really your hard disk the heart of the program. What it does is because the whole to temporarily reserve an area of your QuickImage file has to be hard disk for buffering frequently needed created in one contiguous area data from the current CD. CD-Speed in order to achieve the best possible reads data from the CD-ROM and places speed gain. it in RAM for extra speed, and data tem- There are other conflicts with QEMM, porarily held there but not being MediaVision and Panasonic CD-ROM accessed constantly is transferred by drives, memory-hungry games, and so CD-Speed to a QuickImage file on the on. I had enormous trouble loading CD- hard disk. This means that whenever the Speed on my machine and a pressing data is retrieved again, CD-Speed turns deadline prevented me from persevering. to the hard disk instead of the CD. The animated graphics beneath this show I turned to a friend’s machine and... well, Because it is now employing the hard which of the three data types is currently David has aeons of experience with com- disk, the speed of access is increased. being tested. The colour of the bars also puters and probably knows more about In other words, it copies frequently indicates the acceleration being achieved. what makes them tick than most people. used data from the CD-ROM to a You should be warned, however, that He tried CD-Speed too. We had to defrag reserved area of hard disk and temporar- there’s a whole list of things that hinder a hard drive that DOS defrag said didn’t ily stores it there, accessing it whenever an easy installation of CD-Speed. It will need defragmenting, and after what it’s needed, and deleting it when you only run on a 386DX or higher processor seemed an unbelievable length of time — remove the CD-ROM from the drive or (it appears to run on a 386SX but doesn’t but can’t actually have been much more when the computer is shut down. This is have enough capacity to handle the data than 50 years — David said: “Bugger this. a bit of a cheat, but speeds up CD-ROM throughput demanded for improved per- Let’s go down the pub.” access times considerably. formance). You need MSDOS 6.0 or later To see whether CD-Speed has made and a minimum of 4Mb RAM (8Mb is rec- any difference to your system, a Test pro- ommended). It has to be installed on a gram is included, although this only runs physical uncompressed drive (in other PCW Verdict under Windows. The Test reads three words, it cannot be compressed on a If you don’t hit any installation problems, this types of data: bitmap files, database files drive compressed with DoubleSpace or could be a good buy. Otherwise, watch your and executables. There’s a window which Stacker). It will run under DOS only, but blood pressure. shows the data throughput of your CD- needs Windows 3.1 or later if you want to Price £29.95 (inc VAT) ROM with and without CD-Speed. The take advantage of Test utilities. Under Contact Data Becker UK 01420 22707 comparison is presented as a bar chart. Windows you should ensure that the shell Fax 01420 22807

390 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 FIRST IMPRESSIONS

SOFTWARE

stage of inserting the new card’s settings Setup Advisor into a what-if scenario. The What-If button throws up a menu of some 150 peripherals including Most peripherals are capable of causing grief when you try to network, graphics, sound board, fax- configure them, and will carry on doing so until Plug & Play modem and I/O boards. Although there are a lot of fairly recent cards in the list, becomes a reality. Tim Frost was pleased to find a good by its very nature it is not going to be up alternative troubleshooter. to date or comprehensive enough to cover all the cards you are likely to be using in your computer. So, ntil Plug & Play becomes there are generic settings for Ua universal and working the different types of cards reality, there will always be that can be used, or you can problems getting new periph- simply type in the DMA, IRQ, erals to talk to your PC. In the I/O and memory address meantime, S&S is offering options of your new card — Setup Advisor as an interim the default settings and the solution to getting rid of those alternatives — and get Advi- configuration blues. sor to tell you which ones are Advisor works in two likely to cause problems. stages. First, it analyses the The What-If report will computer’s current usage of either tell you that everything interrupts and the like. Then it should work fine, or advise gives you the chance to see which alternative settings whether the settings for the should be used to avoid new card are likely to cause conflicts. This is done fairly problems and to experiment clearly and problem areas are with alternatives, all before shown in red in the report, so you take the lid off the you can’t miss them. Then it’s machine. just a matter of configuring If you’ve read in recent your new card to the proposed issues of PCW about the effort required Avoiding those configuration blues settings and it should work first time. to get several MPEG cards to work, one Advisor is considerably better than of the complaints was that no-one when it comes to IRQs, what MSD tells MSD in finding problems and getting at provides software that could accurately you ain’t necessarily true. MSD will iden- them before they happen. However, itemise the settings already in use. These tify the ports being used and report back despite Helping Hand, an active help settings fall into four groups: the IRQs the “standard” IRQ settings rather than which guides you through the process, (interrupt request lines), which temporar- the IRQ settings that the ports have been Advisor feels as though it needs to take ily halt the computer’s processing to hand set to. one more step towards user-friendliness. over control to the peripheral device; the Advisor does all this more accurately For example, it would be useful to show direct memory access channels (DMAs) and succinctly than MSD by taking two which cards are using what settings, which are used by some peripherals to shots at the job. Working under a neat something which, oddly, is missing from talk directly to the computer’s memory, Windows front-end, this DOS checking the main report. DMA settings are not bypassing the CPU; the input/output program does a first analysis in much in actually tested; instead, standard settings address, which tells the computer the the same way as MSD, getting a broad are displayed for you to work around. location of the peripheral’s I/O port; and outline of the computer’s profile. Then a But for those who never screw the the location of the memory addresses or second “advanced” information collect case down on their PC because there is ROM locations which the new card and pulls in the real detail by forcing a always something going in or out of the its software may be utilising. Although the dialogue with each of the channels and machine, Advisor will either help number of IRQs, DMAs, I/Os, and mem- reporting back what it finds. eliminate conflicts or at least give you a ory locations are fairly limited, multiply This can itself lead to conflicts, and the better-than-evens chance of solving them. them all together and you have system may hang up during the advanced thousands of combinations, most of them data collect. But when rebooting, Advisor seemingly capable of causing grief. has stored where the problem area is so PCW Verdict There’s Microsoft’s MSD diagnostics that it can be excluded, to let the analysis For the dedicated changer of PC cards, it’s a program that comes with DOS to check of the rest of the system continue. good chance of avoiding the worst of the settings, but this has two failings. It tells Where MSD tells you which settings it configuration conflicts — and it’s cheap. you a lot about what you don’t want to thinks are in use by what, Advisor’s report Price £24.95 know in places you can’t find, and a little works the other way around and tells you Contact S&S International 01296 318700 about what you do need to know before which settings are still free for your next Fax 01296 318888 slotting in a new card. More importantly, card. Then you can go on to the next

394 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 LONG TERM TESTS ogtr tests term Long Software

PCW How You Can Contribute To The Long Term Tests Section YEAR We welcome contributions from readers for our Long Term Tests section. If you’ve been using a piece PC Tools for Windows 2.0 of hardware or software intensively for some time, just write a 450-word article (for hardware) or a 750- word piece with screenshot — GIF format — for software and send it on disk, in MS Word (Mac or PC) John Robinson finds that the ease with which he can manage his work using this 1TEST or ASCII format, to: The Editor, Personal Computer World, VNU House, 32-34 Broadwick Street, London W1A 2HG. Mark your envelope clearly “Long Term Tests”. We’ll pay for any contributions we use. software greatly outweighs any losses in system performance.

Hardware YEARS

Get organised! HP ScanJet IIc hen I took delivery of and open applications could my PC last July, I be confusing, but several 3TEST W also bought PC Tools for helpful solutions have been Windows 2.0 because I provided. MultiDesk shows A flatbed scanner hree years ago I was fortunate It also utilises HP AccuPage, a valuable find Program Manager’s a scaled-down image of all Tenough to win a ScanJet IIc flatbed technique which allows OCR to handle restrictions so infuriating. active desktops and will had seemed well scanner from Hewlett Packard (UK). I coloured paper, which might otherwise Since then, I’ve regularly allow an active program, file out of Nick was just an average computer user at the fool it. Although it is possible to add a bulk used the majority of utilities or folder to be dragged Stanton’s financial time and although I had always wanted a sheet feeder to automate OCR of multi- included with this package. between desktops. Alterna- “serious” scanner, they had always been page documents, I have not tried this. All the utilities in this tively, there is the replace- reach — but then well out of my price range. In fact, I was So what has it been like to use, during new version have an easy- ment which he won a ScanJet just about to make do with a mono hand- the past three years? In a word, delightful. to-use interface, with cus- will allow a job to be trans- and it changed his scanner. But ever since the day the Scan- I use it regularly to scan in artwork, text tomisable toolbars and ferred to a chosen desktop Jet was delivered, my use of the and diagrams for technical documents menus, balloon help, — but for some reason, computing life. He computer has changed dramatically. I and advertising posters. It has been tabbed dialogue boxes and Word 6.0 refuses to allow continues to use it now explore the world of graphics. invaluable in the preparation of pop-up menus. The virus this. Additionally, the need regularly and still The IIc is a 400dpi, 24-bit colour scan- newsletters because using the scanner and backup soft- to move programs manually ner (resolution is better when using inter- OmniPage professional package, it can ware are not only similar to can be negated by tagging finds it delightful. polation). It can take paper sizes as large read text much faster than I can type it. Microsoft’s but also them so they follow the user as foolscap, has a SCSI interface, and Copy for these newsletters originates in provide additional features. from one desktop to unlike many other models of that period many styles and typefaces: from moder- The optimisation and With PC Tools you can redesign Windows for the way you work another. I find that tagging performs the scan in a single pass rather ately clear typewritten, to laser printed, to defragmentation utility only a few programs such than three, making it very fast to use. dot-matrix; the system handles them all works happily under Win- as SideKick, Scheduler The machine came bundled with quickly and easily. dows, and for those awful (another handy utility from PhotoPaint software for image manipula- The IIc has only recently been moments when your PC refuses to work able to drag and drop files and folders the PC Tools suite) and the Drive Man- tion and some trial OCR (optical character upgraded by HP, which in a world of rapid at all, PC Tools can build an emergency allows me to keep track of my work with ager, covers about 90 percent of my task- recognition) software from Caere. It sup- change is testament to its great original disk, including a DiskFix utility which has ease. The ability to define multiple desk- switching needs. ports Twain as a server which allows design. The new model is very similar in saved my life on more than one occasion. tops and offices (collections of desktops) Naturally, there is a price to pay for Twain-compatible client software to scan many respects but also allows colour One of the highlights of the package is and move between them is a great using PC Tools for Windows to its full images directly without having to go slides to be easily scanned. the File Manager replacement. It resem- bonus. In addition to my main desktop extent because all the very attractive through an intermediate capture program. The only minor criticism I have is that bles an attractive version of Microsoft’s I’ve set up “study” and “personal” icons in the software use up GDI the SCSI card included is not suitable for File Manager, with a big, colourful toolbar versions, each with the appropriate files resources. Although Ami Pro and Lotus other SCSI devices such as CDs and and file items which display their associ- and folders in place. Folder contents can 1-2-3 coexist happily, the combination of disks. Although this may have been ated application’s icon rather than a be set up either for manual operation, or Word with the full PC Tools suite hit my acceptable in 1992, these days SCSI is a generic version. The File Manager to automatically contain all files matching system hard. In the end, I suppose I valuable interface for many types of replacement treats archive files as if they a certain file mask and/or location. This could always unload some of the utilities peripherals. were subdirectories and this makes it can include the subdirectories of the from my Startup group, but I think the Although back in 1992 I would not easy to gain access to their contents, specified path, but all the selected files in gains from an increase in the ease of use even have considered spending over even within applications. A pop-up menu, that path go into one folder and this can outweigh any losses. £1,200 to buy a ScanJet, I can honestly which attaches itself to file dialogue be confusing if the path contains either At least until Windows 95 arrives, the say that during the past three years it boxes, shows a subset of the file several files of the same name in differ- features provided by PC Tools are well has demonstrated every penny of its management functions. ent locations, or a very large number of worth having: it provides a decent set of worth to me. The integrated File Viewer reads a files. An option to automatically create utilities and a much easier way to organ- good range of up-to-date file formats. folders within folders would be much ise your working environment, at a very Although it will only read the first page of appreciated. An irritating feature of the reasonable price. PCW Verdict a multi-page worksheet and doesn’t Desktop is that although it will reopen Onto a winner: the seem to understand ATM fonts very well, programs and folders from the previous A well made and extremely useful device. ScanJet IIc has it does read the underlying text and can session, only one will be reopened if a PCW Verdict demonstrated its worth Price The ScanJet IIc was replaced by the search and copy selections to the program has more than one file in mem- considerably over a IIcx which costs £930. This, in turn, has now Clipboard. The Viewer also enables file ory. Personally though, I find I mostly A must until the arrival of Windows 95. three-year period been replaced by the model IIIc at £839. conversion to generic formats like RTF want to continue from where I left off Price £69 [Look out for a review soon.] and CSV. anyway, so opening the odd file is less Contact Central Point at Symantec Contact Hewlett Packard 01344 360000 The most useful and unmistakable hassle than starting the program. 01628 592222 feature of PC Tools is its Desktop. Being Switching between all these desktops

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standard machine. Trailblazer’s built-in video controller Replete performance uses 1Mb of VRAM and can provide displays of 640 x 480 pixels at 67Hz and Can Apple at last crack the home 832 x 624 pixels at 75Hz on the integrated monitor. In theory, 1Mb can market with the launch of its new, give 1024 x 768 pixels in 256 colours. It’s upgraded Performa series — now a shame that with a single monitor restric- tion you’ll never get to see this resolution faster, better specified and more in action. Apple has also shot itself in the foot in the audio department, by employ- affordable than before? Chris Cain ing an 8-bit Digital to Analogue Convertor reviews the three latest models. (DAC). No-one with multimedia in mind wants less than 16-bit CD-quality audio — even the average home user who hen Apple first made the transition supposedly can't tell the difference. The 630 DOS Compatible could be a Wfrom CISC to RISC a year ago, All new Performas are available in godsend for anyone working cross- few people could have predicted the two bundles: Normal, which gives you platform. The inside is messy but very success of the PowerMacintosh. Sales in the machine with System 7.5, At Ease well made traditional Mac markets, such as the pub- interface software, PC Exchange and lishing industry, were assured but the Claris Works; and a Plus bundle that and mouse for DOS and Windows opera- price and performance of these systems includes the optional TV tuner and tions. You can even share clipboard has taken the company into uncharted many more CD-based titles. Exactly information between the platforms. The territory. The PowerPC is gradually which titles these will be is undecided at DX2 makes sure everything moves at a becoming recognised as a real alterna- the moment, but should have been is supplied with a good speed and the whole affair is sur- tive to Intel's Pentium, and the new DOS announced by the time you read this. 15in monitor and the new Apple key- prisingly usable. compatibility card for the 6100 offers an board, but annoyingly the CD unit is only The only noticeable problem with almost ideal solution for those who Performa 5100 double-speed. compatibility is that although it currently must work cross-platform. Next in the range is the 5100, Opening the lid reveals a cluttered, doesn’t work with OS/2 Warp, it does Despite these achievements codenamed Crusader, which is slightly multi-layered motherboard, but the over- with Doom. Apple is still experiencing trouble in cheaper and supplied in the same case all design is as neat as in other Macs. capturing a healthy share of the home as the Performa 630. Crusader contains Thanks to its rather large heat sink, the Conclusion & Prices market, especially in the UK. The the same technology as the all-in-one 486 chip is instantly visible, and the Has Apple done it at last? Based on what Performa series has always been Trailblazer but supports an external moni- neater looking Motorola silicon sits oppo- we’ve seen, and if dealers can get their viewed as second class, and the fact processor, a 75MHz PowerPC603, is tor and is supplied with the 15in Performa site. Positioned next to these is a Sound prices right, there is every chance of that all current models are still 68K- instantly visible but the unit's hard disk Plus stereo model. Blaster-compatible daughterboard for the Performas performing at last in the high based doesn't help. But this month drive is conspicuous by its absence. This screen copes with the same PC side which provides 11-voice FM street. Both PowerPC models are fast could witness a change with the launch Trailblazer ships with a 500Mb IDE resolutions as the Hitachi FST display, synthesis and stereo music capabilities. and well specified, and, with bundled of a new range of Performas; two afford- device which plugs into the system. As but there is now the option of replacing it The technology is based around Creative monitor and keyboard, are a real match able PowerPC-based machines and a with the Performa 630, internal IDE has for a better model. The same PC-style Labs’ revision 1.5 hardware, so the DAC for the current entry-level Pentium sys- DOS compatible unit. been used in favour of SCSI to reduce keyboard is shipped with Crusader, and is limited to 8-bit resolution (as with the tems. The DOS-compatible Beatrice the cost although it’s unlikely that many it’s available with the same bundled Mac sound chip on the motherboard). model is the most intriguing, and it will be Performa 5200 Top Apple returns to the all-in-one design users would be able to tell the difference. options. The RAM in Beatrice is arranged in interesting to note the sales figures at the Top of the range amongst the new entries with Trailblazer To improve overall speed and allow three sections: there is 4Mb on the Mac end of the year. is the Performa 5200, codenamed Trail- Bottom The new system is easy to the newly designed processor to perform Performa 630 DOS Compatible motherboard, 4Mb on the PC section, Although Apple remained tight-lipped blazer, which represents a return to the upgrade properly with older Mac applications, The third model in Apple’s new entry level and another 4Mb in the Mac SIMM slots, when we asked them whether or not we tidy all-in-one design. The machine is 256kb of secondary cache is fitted as line-up is a 66MHz ’040 machine totalling 12Mb as standard. The memory would be seeing a PowerPC version, the bigger than its predecessors and at first standard. Without this, the PowerPC603 supplied in a Performa 630 case. This is can be shared between the PC and Mac company did admit that this would be an glance bears a striking resemblance to there is no external monitor port and this has a problem running the 68K emulation rather surprising, as the company is com- systems, and the whole machine can attractive proposition. Compaq's Presario. The overall look is limits the machine to a standard screen. (later cured with the revised 603e mitted to moving ahead with RISC, but handle up to 72Mb in total. Currently predicted SRPs are £1,799 attractive and the machine wouldn’t look The keyboard supplied with Trailblazer version). Both the 603 and its brother 68K technology does allow it to maintain In terms of video, the Mac side of for a top-specification Performa out of place in the home, but it’s nowhere is a recent design with a surprisingly PC- (603e) are low-power units — a fact certain price levels. things is the same as for the other mod- 5200/500/CD/TV, £1,699 for the separate near as cute as the old Mac Plus or like feel to it. Introduced with the evidenced by the lack of a bulky heat Despite the hype, an ’040 is still a els here with 1Mb of VRAM. The PC part 5100 version. Paying an extra £100 for Colour Classic. Performa 630 it's not quite as comfortable sink, as used in the 601. powerful and extremely useful processor offers a 512kb SVGA subsystem. An an all-in-one design that limits your Apart from a 15in Hitachi FST screen or elegant as previous models, but it does Along with various Apple ASICs, other suitable for just about every application. optional Ethernet network card for the choice of monitor may not seem sensible, and a pair of stereo speakers, the only have function keys and the all-important notable features on the well laid out Beatrice (as this model is known through- PC can provide IPX, TCP/IP and ODI but Apple is convinced that the styling will notable features at the front are a 1.44Mb power switch. Unfortunately, Apple motherboard include an ’040 Processor out Apple) stands out as being DOS- network services. win many people over. The Performa 630 floppy and CD-ROM drive. In an effort to doesn’t offer the option of the highly Direct Slot (PDS), 4Mb ROM SIMM and compatible. Using technology and Once Beatrice is up and running, DOS Compatible has an SRP of £1,699. provide a hedge against the future, Apple desirable adjustable keyboard. 8Mb of RAM expandable to 72Mb. A experience gained from producing the switching between the two systems is a has sensibly opted for a quad-speed CD Getting inside the new system is comms slot on the lefthand side is fitted DOS plug-in card for the PowerMacintosh simple matter of double-clicking on the PCW Contacts unit. The rear of the unit features ports for remarkably easy — a few adjustments, a with an Ethernet card. On the review 6100, Apple has engineered a 486DX2 PC Setup icon. The display switches or Ethernet, stereo sound in and out, serial, tug of the handle and the motherboard model, a video slot on the right was filled PC into the same system. fades into the familiar C> prompt and you Apple 0800 127755 ☎ printer and external SCSI devices but slides smoothly out of the back. The main with a TV tuner. This slot is empty on the As with other Performas, the machine can then use the same keyboard, screen Fax 0181 870 9855

402 403 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 BUYING COMPUTER EQUIPMENT

BUYING COMPUTER EQUIPMENT MONEY TALKS

I went for businesslike accessories rather than multimedia gizmos such as sound cards, and for good deals rather than for performance stars, because Five go mad with £1,500 almost any 486 PC has ample power for basic business use. It’s that time of year again — when our very Also, I chose a portable with a mono or the third year running, we gave five of our know there’s an awful lot of kit to choose Clive Akass screen; this is because the extra cost of own Famous Five head out on their Fwriters £1,500 and sent them out in search of a from. But you must consider not only even the cheapest built-in VGA portable complete PC system. Armed with little more than a what to buy, but who to buy it from. Your n astonishing 60 percent of colour would be more than an entry-level bicycles to find the best complete PC worn-out bicycle and a wad of tenners, off they went. local branch of Dixons may be Abusinesses in Britian do not use a exterior SuperVGA colour monitor, which Two of our buyers headed for retail outlets while the convenient but you”ll probably save a few single computer, according to an most mono machines will support. So you system they can get for £1,500. As always, others turned to PCW to hunt down the bargains. pounds if you buy direct from the manu- estimate being bandied about last year. can use a proper high-definition colour Unless your funds are unlimited, £1,500 is a typical facturer, or by mail order. Then again, it Most of these would be small operations, monitor in the office, at a cost of using there’s a great deal of variety in their budget for a PC, printer and some software. If you can be unwise to buy from a little known such as sidestreet shops or self- mono on the road. aren’t VAT-registered, though, you’ll need to find company which might not be around in employed skill sellers, but just about all I scoured the adverts in PCW for a choices, which range from portables to another £250 to pay the taxman. Where two years ago six months to fix any problems you may would benefit from computerisation and I solid notebook with a useful software this would have bought you a 486SX with 4Mb RAM have. made my choice with them in mind. bundle and found myself spoiled for alternative platforms. So sit back, quaff and a copy of WordStar, you can now comfortably buy It’s never easy choosing the right sys- In particular I considered the needs of choice. Eventually, I plumped for a a DX2/66 with 8Mb RAM, Microsoft Office and plenty tem, and no one choice is right for every- someone such as a jobbing carpenter or Brother Trekker, with a fastish 50MHz lashings of ginger beer, and decide which of extras. In many cases, adding a CD-ROM drive and one. Our selections here show this, as plumber, who spends a lot of time away 486SLC2 processor and a 250Mb hard sound card will add only £100 or so. But although the they vary from portable PC systems to from a small office or home base... disk. This is a sturdy, light machine of our spending sprees you would go with. price of PCs has halved over the past two years, there full-blown multimedia desktops — and someone who needs, perhaps, a though you should pick one of the other

PCW Bicycle Photography by John Millar ● Bicycle loaned from FREEWHEEL Covent Garden, London has been little movement in printer prices. that’s before considering alternative portable that transforms into a desktop many low-cost models available if you PCW Product Photography by David Whyte and Bruce Mackie If you’ve bought such a system before, you will platforms. system back at base. want a PCMCIA slot.

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The Brother is bundled, for just £808, facilities; Watford offers an with a suite of Lotus products that cover 14.4kbps Aries faxmodem with nearly all small-business needs: the Ami Delrina Winfax Lite and Pro 3.0 word processor, the 1-2-3 comms software for just £89. spreadsheet, a package of clipart called This will of course also provide SmartPics, and Organizer, which takes access to email and other care of contacts and appointments. Internet attractions, though Brother also offers a basic SVGA you will need to sign up with a colour monitor for £168, which is a fair service provider. price and I chose it if only to stick to one The problem with most main supplier. faxmodems is that you have The next major item is a printer. My to leave your PC on to first choice was a Mannesmann Tally receive incoming faxes. One 9104 T-Win GDI laser printer available answer is to scour small-ads for from Morgans for £199, which is very an old sit-up-and-beg DOS computer that is good for this. It is based on the idea of cheap for a robust office laser, albeit for you can leave, with the monitor switched “smart shapes”, one advantage of which one that can be used only with Windows. off, permanently listening for incoming is that you can re-use drawings. For But Simon Rockman turned out to have faxes. instance, you can draw a standard set of beaten me to the draw; not wishing to Also, though a faxmodem will allow shelves and then fill in the dimensions as duplicate his choice, I picked an Epson you to fax anything you can print required; Visio will reproduce the shelves Stylus 800+ inkjet. My colleague Eleanor (actually, it is a printer as far as your soft- to scale, complete with corrected dimen- Turton-Hill liked this model so much when ware is concerned), you cannot fax paper sion lines. Be warned that this degree of she reviewed it that she bought one, so images. Again, depending on your priori- customisation takes some effort to set up, there can be no higher recommendation. ties, you might choose to buy a £106 but Visio can be used usefully even by Print quality is high and (almost as impor- Logitech Easytouch handheld scanner novices. tant) there is a good paper-feed system. that attaches to the parallel port to digitise All of this will leave you with just £1 It can be bought from several dealers for paper images for sending. change out of £1500, excluding VAT. £168 or less. But my notional small business does Enough to buy yourself a drink before you No trackball I have ever used is a not anticipate heavy fax traffic, so I did set about the considerable task of setting patch on a standard mouse for heavy- without the old PC and scanner in favour your system up to do what you want. duty work, so for office use I opted for a of upgrading the Brother’s RAM from mouse, which can be 4Mb, the minimum recommended for PCW Shopping List bought from Watford Electronics for £27 Windows, to a more sensible 8Mb. This complete with a games pack. My budget costs £150. Product Price unfortunately does not run to an exterior This extra RAM is useful particularly Brother Trekker £808 keyboard, which can be bought for as for graphics-intensive tasks, and I imag- RAM £150 Epson Stylus £168 little as £25. ine that our carpenter will want to draw up Aries 14.4 £89 Any business these days needs fax plans to impress clients. Visio 3.0, at £89, Monitor £168 MS mouse £27 Visio £89 Total £1499 PCW Contacts Brother 01923 218878 Kyodai 01279 416888 Morgan 0171 244 2115 Watford Electronics 01582 745555

Gordon Laing

ach year we run this feature I try to Epersuade you that Apple Macintosh is the platform to go for. Many years ago, Macs were fabulously friendly but equally expensive. Today, the ease of use remains, but price/performance levels have dropped to those of clone PCs. Early concerns about cross-platform compatibilities are no longer an issue, and to be honest, never really were. Macs can read PC formatted floppies with a special extension, now included as

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part of the current OS, System 7.5. With The advantage is that the exception of a few obscure DOS the 6100 is currently the accounts packages, you can get virtually only Macintosh that can be all the same software for the Macintosh fitted with the superb DOS that you can for the PC — and for the compatibility box. Around same price. And yes, a document written £400 gets you a card with on Word 6.0 for Windows can be opened a genuine Intel 486 without difficulty in Word 6.0 for DX2/66 processor, 8Mb Macintosh. RAM, additional video Recent PC configurations have seen memory and cunning sound cards being fitted as standard: circuitry allowing you to sound has always been standard on share all the hardware Macs, with recent models offering 16-bit facilities of the 6100. quality in and out. SCSI is the standard These include the same bus on all models. Networking has mouse, keyboard, clip- always been offered on Macs too, with all board, video, partitions on the drive, The PowerPC models featuring serial LocalTalk and, Ethernet port, sound (which emulates chip, used in the PowerMacs, is a fast more recently, EtherTalk (Ethernet with SoundBlaster 16), CD-ROM drive, and RISC processor, currently used by Apple the AppleTalk protocol). It’s also very any other peripherals. A user-defined in four speeds: 66MHz, 80MHz, 100MHz easy to set up Mac networks, and cross- hotkey switches between platforms. In and 110MHz; these are similar to or platform networks are possible too: at use the PC is quick, and absolutely com- slightly faster than Pentiums with equiva- PCW we have Macs and PCs Ethernet- plete — it will run Windows in enhanced lent speeds, particularly with so-called ted together on a bridged server running mode and, most importantly, will work native software written specifically for the Novell NetWare 3.1. with Doom. I tried fdisk, chkdisk, defrag chip. At the Windows show this year, and the rest: it all works, because it’s a I would ultimately recommend a Power- Microsoft was demonstrating Windows PC. The DOS box, perhaps with a Pen- Mac, and you will be able to buy a com- 95, still in unfinished beta form with an tium, may become available for other plete system for less than £1,500 by the expected release at the end of this year. Mac models. But, and it’s that but again, time you read this, but I don’t know what Assuming it will work first time, we’ll at the good 6100 deals may not be it will be. Apple will have released an all- last have long filenames, no more 640kb available in May. in-one PowerMac by May, with a 15in legacy of DOS, and a proper bootable It’s difficult to know what will be avail- monitor and built-in quad-speed CD-ROM GUI OS from Microsoft. You want it now? able, so I’ll instead briefly go over the drive, for around £1,500. I can’t stretch to You want a proven personal computer different processors now. The older and that, but it and other new launches will OS that has been working this way since cheaper Macs use one of the Motorola drive down the price of current models. In 1984? You want Macintosh, that’s all 68000 family; some Macs with the 68030 the meantime, I’ll go for the 7100/66DL there is to it. Now let’s see what £1,500 are still on sale, but most current models package mentioned earlier for £1,049 as will get you at the time of writing, end of use the 68040, running at 25/50MHz or a typical Apple offer. March 1995. 33/66MHz, similar in performance to a I’ll buy native Claris Works 3.0 for £94 After that spiel, it proved a little tricky 486DX2/50 and 486DX2/66 respectively. and a Hewlett Packard DeskWriter 320 to come up with a system available now, which would still be around when you read this in May 1995. My ultimate advice? Thoroughly peruse the adverts in the latest MacUser, paying particular attention to mail-order companies such as Computer Warehouse, Jigsaw, Callhaven and MacWarehouse. Virtually every fortnight there is a new special offer which will only last a few weeks. I was going to recommend the special- offer PowerMac 7100/66DL, a 66MHz PowerPC machine similar in speed to a Pentium 66, with 8Mb RAM, 350Mb drive, three NuBus slots, 14in Trinitron monitor, keyboard and mouse for a bargain £1,049; but then I was told they’d proba- bly be sold out by May. A slightly less special deal was for a PowerMac 6100/60, a 60MHz PowerPC machine similar in speed to a Pentium 60MHz, with 8Mb RAM, 250Mb drive, same monitor and keyboard for around the same price.

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for £167. The 320 is tiny but fully- hopefully save a few featured, and offers excellent quality and pounds along the way. colour upgradability. I first turned to This leaves £190. PowerMacs are MicroMart to track pretty memory-hungry, but I have plans down suppliers of for most of my cash, so I’ll buy the motherboards and the extremely effective RAM doubler for £55. many other bits Around £130 should buy an Apple inter- needed to build my sys- nal double- or even external unbranded tem. It wasn’t long, triple-speed CD-ROM drive, which leaves however, before I a fiver to toast yourself on buying the realised that building a superior platform. May I recommend a PC from scratch is far bottle of Tulloch Hunter River 1988 more expensive than Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon from buying from one of the Oddbins? — those Australians really larger mail order compa- know how to make wine. (Sadly, Oddbins nies. As the larger sup- graphics are concerned. PCI also had sold out of this vinous wonder at pliers buy components in huge quantities, offers plug and play hardware which presstime, so in the picture you can see they can usually offer hefty discounts on means there will be no need to work out me clutching a bottle of Penfolds 1993 complete systems. interrupts and address settings when Semillon Chardonnay — not too heavy, So, having abandoned the idea of installing further hardware in the future: and probably a little more palatable in building my own PC, I picked up a trusty an MPEG card, for example these warm spring days.) copy of PCW. Among the pages of After a day or two weighing up the adverts I came across Evesham Micros, options, I decided to go for the Popular PCW Shopping List who sell just about everything from Ether- Media “95. My first thousand quid bought net cable by the metre to complete office me a PCI-based system with a DX2/66 Product Price systems. I have dealt with Evesham in the processor, 4Mb RAM, 528Mb hard disk Apple PowerMac system £1049 past and was impressed by their and multimedia kit. I was a tad unhappy HP DeskWriter 320 £167 machines and service, so I gave them a with just 4Mb so a further £120 brought it CD-ROM drive of choice £130 call to discuss my options. up to 8Mb; enough to run any business Claris Works 3.0 £94 I had already decided that anything application. RAM Doubler £55 less than a DX2/66 with 8Mb wasn’t worth The motherboard has built-in IDE Nice bottle of wine £5 considering since Microsoft Office looking after both the hard drive and the Total £1,500 wouldn’t run happily. My interest in multi- CD-ROM — a double-speed Panasonic media meant a sound card, preferably 16- CR-571. The sound card is a standard PCW Contacts bit, and a CD-ROM drive was also a must SoundBlaster 16 Value Edition and Computer Warehouse 0171 724 4104 — if only to play the occasional game of doesn’t have the feature connector for MacWarehouse 0800 181332 Descent. A PCI bus was an important upgrading to WaveTable synthesis, which Jigsaw 0115 942 2990 consideration since it has become the might be a problem. It does, however, Callhaven 0800 242444 standard, especially where disk and offer compatibility with just about every Steven Helstrip

ad I been asked to go out and buy a Hsystem that best suits my needs, chances are I would have returned to the office with a 90MHz Pentium, 16Mb RAM and a hard drive in excess of 2Gb. The 21in Trinitron monitor and Microsoft Office suite would have to have been delivered by courier though, since our bicycle had only a modest basket. Sadly, with only £1,500 to spend, the Pentium system was far out of reach. The fifteen hundred pounds also had to buy me some basic software (a word proces- sor, spreadsheet and database), and something to print my documents with. My initial thought was to build my own PC. This way I could assemble something to my exact specification and

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piece of software and will play back and record samples at 44.1kHz stereo, or CD- quality. Graphics are provided by a 1Mb Dia- mond Stealth PCI graphics card which will manage 24-bit true colour at 640 x 480, or 256 colours at 1024 x 768. It occupies one of three PCI slots. There are four 16-bit ISA slots left free, and a 5.25in drive bay that will come in handy should I decide to fit a Syquest drive or other storage device. The only part of the system I wasn’t too sure about was the 14in monitor. So, for £100 more I upgraded to a 15in unit: not quite the 21in Trinitron but adequate to display 1024 x 768 at 72Hz non- interlaced. This left me with £281 to buy the software and printer. As I’d bought the system and multime- dia upgrade kit, Evesham were prepared to bundle Lotus Multimedia Office for a modest 50 quid. Lotus Office is probably the next best thing to Microsoft Office and includes Ami Pro 3.1, Approach and 1-2-3. Choosing a printer is often as difficult as buying a PC: there are just as many of them and they vary equally in price and Simon performance. With only £231 left, a laser is out of the question, but there are plenty of Rockman inkjets to choose from that offer “near- laser quality”. For a single user, an inkjet is entish cream rather probably more suitable anyway, especially Kthan London red may for low-volume printing. be the wrong colour, but After considering the options, I was left the best place to decide with a choice between HP’s DeskWriter which computer to buy is 540 for £215, or the DeskJet 320 with the number 55 bus. I’d colour kit for £189 from Technomatic. The decided on how I was DeskJet 320 appealed more since it’s going to spend my £1,500, designed as a portable printer and can chosen the supplier, and also run from a battery. Although I’m not had almost finished. Then I likely to do much printing, the next time I caught the bus that runs past Morgan and it has been a bit temperamental: in take a trip on the Piccadilly Line with a Computers in New Oxford Street. particular we’ve had problems running notebook it might come in useful. This When we did the “what to buy for Win32s; but then, we’ve had problems leaves me with £42, which covers the cost £1,500” feature last year I chose a Mac with a lot of machines and Win32s (even of Descent at £39.99. bundle, but the year before I bought a early betas of Windows 95, or Chicago as PCW Shopping List 4Mb 486SX from Morgans. This year it’s it was then, were more stable) and back to Morgans because of the limited machines in the PCW office have an budget. I bought a machine for myself a atypically hard life, with lots of cards Product Price couple of weeks ago — a PowerMac, being swapped in and out, and software Evesham Popular £999 which cost about as much as the whole being installed and deleted. 8Mb upgrade £120 team’s £1,500 allocation combined. The second bargain in Morgans win- 15in monitor upgrade £100 The machine in Morgans window dow was a laser printer. Time was when Lotus Multimedia Suite £50 proved to be suitably impressive. For the whole £1,500 would just buy a laser: HP DeskJet 320 £189 £999 you get a NexGen P90 with a two years ago I blew £499 on a printer. Descent £39.99 560Mb hard disk and 4Mb RAM. This Today, Morgans have a Mannesmann Total £1497.99 actually runs at 83MHz and in the VNU Tally GDI printer for £199. When we Labs tests it performed like an 83MHz reviewed the MT 9104 T-WIN we said PCW Contacts Pentium without floating-point. Inside, the that at £389 it was a good buy, but we Evesham Micros 01368 765500. chip is very much more clever than a had some reservations about the horse- Fax 01368 765354 Pentium, but what matters is how well it power needed to drive it. The NexGen is Technomatic 0181 205 9558. works. We’ve had a similar machine clearly up to the job. All GDI printers rely Fax 0181 205 0190 (same motherboard, different name on on Windows and there is some doubt Interplay 01235 821666 the box) in the PCW office for a while about their performance with Windows

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95. It seems particularly dodgy to buy an down perhaps) make the faxmodem was) and whether I end-of-line GDI printer which might or I’d prefer the could upgrade to 12Mb RAM or whether I might not be supported by future versions peace of mind needed to make the jump all the way to of Windows. of a branded 16Mb. I also asked about swapping the Fortunately, there is a solution. The product. West 14in monitor for a 15in and was told that MT9104 has a PostScript option. One’s no-name they couldn’t do it and “one extra inch This costs £17.50 and mini-towers wouldn’t make much difference anyway”. needs the £29.90 RAM just didn’t cut it. Thanks a lot, I thought. upgrade. It won’t run as I tried a few The promise of cash knocked £99 off fast as the native GDI more stores the price, which left me enough in hand to mode but it is money well without finding go for HP’s 540 inkjet printer. MicroWorld spent for some peace of anything too could do it for £250 inc VAT which is only mind. An HP driver is clever before a shade more than the cheapest I could included to provide DOS stumbling find in PCW once you’ve added on VAT compatibility. The toner across and carriage, but I’d want the colour kit as costs £8.50, so my £199 MicroWorld well which bungs another £39 on the printer actually costs £254.90, about a third price. The Advantage comes with AST leaving me with £246.10. of the way Works, a friendly PC front-end aimed at The secret to making a PC go fast isn’t down the gently introducing you to your PC, plus to buy the best CPU, it’s to balance the strip on the , Encarta, Golf, Cinema- system, and more RAM is always a good right. Just arrived at MicroWorld was the nia and Quicken. For all its faults I’m too thing. 4Mb is just not enough; 8Mb is invariably, the stores on Tottenham Court AST Advantage Adventure 6066d. It attached to Microsoft Office to be parted enough to scrape by. within a couple of hours of my deciding I Road will do a deal for cash, and I didn’t passed the brand-name test, even if the from it lightly. MicroWorld says it can do Earlier this year I had to review some needed it. A similar operation through the bother to ask if VAT was being neatly model name sounds more like a tent Office on a CD for a barely credible £199 hardware. It needed more memory than I post and I’d have been lucky to have the budget I had to settle for an sidestepped or whether it was the than a fast PC. AST isn’t quite the force inc VAT. had in my machine and I needed an achieved the same thing in a week. 486SX/25MHz with Microsoft Works and charges the credit card companies in the PC market that it was a couple of I’ve still got £60 left. Then I remember upgrade urgently. This was on a Satur- At £125 a 4Mb SIMM works wonders: Quicken for Windows. I bought direct that impose that account for the miraculous years ago but still turns out quality kit. about the faxmodem. What’s the point of day morning and I had a busy weekend time to travel in the direction of Edgware time, but this time decided to see what I 10 percent drop in price as soon as the For £1,299 including VAT the Advantage the modem bit if I’m not online? The price ahead. Proximity was more important High Street again, to pick up a printer could find in the retail outlets. First stop word cash is mentioned. would be mine complete with 8Mb RAM, of the Advantage includes a month of than price so I jumped in the car and cable — can’t go wrong for £2.50 and I’ll was Dixons on Oxford Street. Dixons First stop was Silicon Computers, who 14.4kb/sec faxmodem, 540Mb hard disk, CompuServe membership. I look up headed for PowerMark in my local high save on postage. Lack of hassle is a good have of course been selling computers rejoice in the slogan “We don’t sell cheap quad-speed CD-ROM, sound card and CompuServe’s latest prices and realise street. A 4Mb SIMM does just about fit in reason to buy the software at PowerMark; for years but until recently have been computers, we sell computers cheap”. 14in monitor. that my remaining sixty sovs will get me the boot of my car. Getting the upgrade either there, or at MicroAnvika in Totten- infamous for their technologically- Well, its computers looked pretty cheap MicroWorld were a bit light on detail onto CompuServe and the Internet for took less time than I’d spent earlier in the ham Court Road where parking in the challenged salespeople. I was pleasantly to me, particularly the nasty-looking 14in about what was inside the box (like what the best part of six months. morning fiddling with autoexec.bat and West End is twenty quid a day (that’s surprised when the Dixons salesman monitors with big “American Systems” config.sys to try and free up more mem- almost another megabyte). Time to count steered me away from the superficial glitz badges stuck onto them. One machine’s Wrapping up ory. But it didn’t work. My motherboard the pennies again. £118.60. Hmm... I’d of the 520, with a nice inclusive price of £875 had some superfi- didn’t like the timings of that make of really like a copy of Microsoft Office: what ergonomic case and built-in faxmodem cial allure until I looked at what it would Which one of our intrepid team came up with the best deal for £1,500? At first it’s SIMM. I didn’t know this, though, and would go down particularly well would be but a moribund SX2/50 processor, to a cost to round out the basic spec with tempting just to opt for the bundle with lashings of powerful hardware, but a speed demon assumed it was a duff chip. PowerMark’s an old copy — Word 2.0 runs much faster DX2/66 multimedia Packard Bell. The extra memory and more and better soft- doesn’t always make for the best buy. A balanced system with good software to suit your tech support calmed me down and asked than 6.0. The extra features — at least, Packard Bell (£1,499 inc VAT) didn’t ware. West One Business Centre a cou- requirements is a far more sensible choice when you’re on a tight budget. me to return it. Another trip to the high those of them you use — are neat but not have a faxmodem but the salesman was ple of doors down looked a better bet, but All our team had this in mind when they set out to buy a system, and the various distri- street and they tested the SIMM and special enough to justify the ponderous quick to point out that he’d bought his on if I was going to buy from a company I bution channels yielded different results: for example, Clive Akass built his choice around found it to be okay, but swapped it for a pace of the functions or the system Tottenham Court Road for £120 and was couldn’t be sure would be around in a a small-business person whose life could benefit from being computerised. The Brother different make anyway. The new chip resources it gobbles up. But it isn’t avail- now on the Internet, and I could do the year’s time (when the machine breaks notebook he bought direct provided a perfect solution for these people, with good speed, was inside my machine and working able; a latest version of Office costs £294 same. I was briefly tempted by the excellent bundled applications and portability. But this isn’t going to be ideal for everyone. which breaks my bank, so I’ll have to Packard, but when the salesman PCW Shopping List Simon Rockman went retail for a powerful NexGen P90 and GDI laser printer but didn’t PCW Shopping List resort to Works. Other places may be explained there was no brochure as the come away with as good a software solution. cheaper than PowerMark but not by machines were being replaced shortly by Product Price As usual, Gordon Laing’s Mac choice is a sensible alternative to the PC-compatible. much, and I’ll save the postage. The a completely new range, I decided to look AST Advantage £1021.00 Unfortunately, by the time you read this, the particular deal he found may no longer be Product Price solution is to cough up £89. elsewhere. HP 540 £212.77 available. On a more positive note, the new Performa PowerMacs reviewed on page 402 Morgan NexGen P90 £999 And with £29.60 left I’ve got more than Tottenham Court Road is a microcosm HP colour kit £33.20 should be out around then and are certainly worth a look. Check the dealer prices for a Mannesmann Tally 9104 £254.90 enough money for another trip on the 55. of London. Dozens of electrical goods Microsoft Office £169.36 bargain bundle. RAM upgrade £125 It’s not a high-speed bus, nor does it have shops and shops selling dodgy videos at CompuServe membership: apx £64; Finally, Ben and Steve both came in with excellent DX2/66 solutions. Each PC includ- Printer lead £2.50 a conductor. The driver does both jobs. I one end give way to Habitat, Heals and standard $9.95 a month including three ed 8Mb RAM, a 16-bit sound card and a CD-ROM drive, and Ben also walked away with a Microsoft Works £89 suppose he’s a semiconductor. sofa shops at the other. At the electrical free hours of Internet access; additional 14.4kb/sec faxmodem. When it came to the crunch, however, the AST proved the better Total £1469.50 end of the street a branch of Tandy is the hours $2.50 an hour; extended services buy, with a future-looking quad-speed CD-ROM drive and better business applications. lone multiple, and the order of the day is are $4.80 an hour. All these deals are attractive and prove that you can get a good, complete system for PCW Contacts Ben Tisdall fierce competition between masses of TOTAL £1,500.33 £1,500, but the overall winner has got to be the AST bundle. It includes a well specified Morgan Computers 0171 244 2115. small shops. I started by arming myself machine, colour inkjet printer, software for all occasions and access to the information Fax 0171 436 6285 he last time I went mad with £1,500 with the prerequisite for any successful PCW Contacts superhighway. Definitely the best all-round solution, Ben. Enid would be proud of you. PowerMark 0181 951 335. Twas July ‘93. Back then, DX2/66MHz deal-making on Tottenham Court Road MicroWorld 0171 436 1408 Chris Cain Fax 0181 905 6233 was just about the state of the art, and for — a large wad (see photo). Almost CompuServe 01734 391064

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ReaderReader SurveySurvey PrizePrize DrawDraw s an incentive to complete be a doddle since PCI integrates and send in your Reader plug and play hardware: no need to ASurvey, Western Systems work out complicated IRQ settings has kindly given us a speedy and address settings — PCI takes Pentium PC to give away. Every care of all that. To stand a chance form that is returned will be of winning this fabulous system, entered into the draw. Your simply complete and return the replies will be analysed and your survey opposite. views considered, helping us to improve the magazine. The system up for grabs is a full multimedia PC based on a 60MHz Pentium and a PCI motherboard. It’s kitted out with 8Mb RAM (upgradable to 128Mb), a massive 540Mb hard drive and 256kb exter- nal cache. A double-speed CD- ROM drive and 16-bit sound card ensure accessibility to the widest range of software, and it comes with a good selection of its own, including Microsoft Works, New Grolier Encyclopedia, 20th Century Video Almanac and Macromedia Action. Video is supplied by a Cirrus Logic PCI card with 1Mb VRAM to offer resolu- tions up to 1024 x 768 in 256 colours. The 14in monitor will also handle this resolution in non-interlaced mode to provide flicker-free viewing. Future upgrades will

420 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 PCW AWARDS 1995 PCW AWARDS 1995

The1995 PCW Awards every day in a variety of environments Most Innovative Software Most Innovative separates the good from the bad, and and Most Innovative you, the real users, are in an ideal Hardware are still here, Hardware position to comment on the reflecting the state of the art 1 PCI Bus contenders. And comment you did: in computing and 2 Fast Movie Machine Pro we had an overwhelming technology. We’ve also left 2 IBM VoiceType Dictation Adaptor (unprecedented, unheard of, never in Best Game and Best before seen etc.) response to our Utility, the latter in particular hen we were discussing equally competent for editing full Wpossible winners for this cate- motion video for output back to tape. Reader Survey and have spent the celebrating the unsung gory, we all agreed PCI was the most In addition to a myriad of special influential and innovative hardware to effects, the board has a built-in televi- last few months hard at work, heroes of everyday work. mature through 1994. By the end of sion tuner which means you’ll never counting the thousands of nomina- Products are just one part of the year, most PC manufacturers had have to miss another episode of already moved to PCI with 486 and Brookside again. But on a more seri- tions and ensuring no foul play this year’s awards. Where Pentium systems. A wealth of graph- ous note, the card was the first sensi- ics cards, disk controllers and network bly priced product to bring high-quality occurred. you buy your equipment, adaptors also appeared. digital video in reach of the masses. We have streamlined our how much after-sales The PCI standard isn’t just for the The second runner-up for innova- PC, though. DEC is using PCI in its tive hardware is IBM with its categories from last year, support is offered, and the Alpha systems and Apple has VoiceType Dictation Adaptor. The promised two PCI-based Macs by the package is a speech-to-text dictation bundling several previous awards long term reliability of the end of the summer. Over 35 manufac- system which not only works well, but into one new one. Best Peripheral products themselves, are turers will have products ready for the lets you navigate through Windows launch. and OS/2 applications with hands off. has replaced the separate Best essential considerations, Other than providing better perfor- The hardware is either an ISA, mance than VL (up to 134Mb/sec) MCA or a PCMCIA DSP card. The Graphics Card, Monitor, Sound Card resulting in a new award PCI makes the installation of cards combination of hardware and and CD-ROM drive, although we have category. We have easier by offering plug and play hard- software allows you to build up a ware, so there’s no need to spend unique vocabulary, making it suitable kept Best Printer and Best Budget celebrated the good guys of hours working out interrupt settings for doctors, solicitors and, of course, Printer. the computer industry with and breaking fingernails on jumpers in the physically handicapped. the process. Best Art and Best DTP have been six new awards: Best Although no one company owns the PCI standard, Intel was responsi- superseded by Best Creative Software Dealer, Best ble for much of the research and elcome to the fifth annual Software, which additionally includes Hardware Dealer, Best Tele- development and is this year’s winner PCW Awards. This year, for for Most Innovative Hardware. the rapidly expanding multimedia phone Support, Best After There has been a massive surge the first time, we have of interest in digital video this last year W authoring market. With so many word Sales Service, Most Reliable and an abundance of new products to opened the nominations to you, the processors and spreadsheets being PC and Best Direct PC cater for it. Of all the cards and acces- readers. sories we’ve seen, Fast Electronics’ sold together, we decided to bundle Dealer. So all you dealers Movie machine Pro with M-JPEG was It’s all very well having us argue in the the only one that didn’t disappoint and them into a single award for Best and manufacturers out there is the first runner-up in this category. office as to what we consider is the Suite. take note, because all of The card faithfully captures video best thing since sliced bread, but the at full PAL resolution (768 x 576) at 25 New categories this year include Best these awards come directly frames per second with virtually no people who really know are CD-ROM, Best Online Service and from the readers of Personal errors. The card has some excellent software for multimedia applications, yourselves. Using these products Best Business Software Application. Computer World. including Adobe Premier, and is Orchid’s Fahrenheit 64 PCI card

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Readers Awards 1995 HOW YOU VOTED or the very first time, PCW has Fopened its fifth annual awards nomi- Best Software Dealer Best After Sales Service nations to you, the readers. During the 1 Software Warehouse 1 Gateway past few months we have processed the 2 Technomatic 2 Dan huge response from our reader survey, concluding with the results presented in 3 Watford Electronics 3 Evesham Micros this feature. As explained in the introduc- tion, we have several new awards, Best Hardware Dealer Most Reliable PC 1 Evesham Micros 1 Compaq ● Gateway: in the frame for four of our 2 Gateway 2 Dan Reader Awards 3 Simply Computers 3 Dell Best Telephone Support Best Direct PC Dealer 1 IBM 1 Gateway 2 Evesham Micros 2 Dell 3 Gateway 3 Dan

including a category celebrating great ser- uncooperative dealer which offers no vice and reliability. X-product for Windows support when the product falls over. may the greatest application or peripheral With that in mind, may we present the in the world at the time of purchase, but it’s 1995 Readers Awards for Best Software no good if you have to buy it from an Dealer, Best Hardware Dealer, Best Telephone Support, Best After Sales Service, Most Reliable PC and Best Direct PC Dealer. And remember, all the results, not only on this page, but throughout this awards feature, have been voted by you, the readers.

PCW 1995 Awards Nominations: Winners Five Sony MDH-10 MD portable drives worth £499 each, and five Sony Walkmans, were up for grabs as part of the reader awards in the February issue of PCW. MD Data drives can store the equiva- lent of 100 floppies on a single 2.5in magneto optical disk. Unlike CD-R drives, MD drives can rewrite disks up to one million times yet they weigh just 350g. The drives come with a SCSI-2 interface and are powered by a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery pack or an AC adaptor. You also get a pair of headphones, allowing the drives to be used as personal stereos. The five lucky winners, all of whom receive an MD portable drive, are: J Tomlinson, Newbury, Berkshire; Richard Mason, Birmingham; Gary Seward, Nottingham; Mr R Stone, Bristol; and Mark Brockbank, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria. Sony Walkmans go to five runners- up: Martin Evan, Bristol; Michael Browne, Tunbridge Wells; K Fung, Twickenham; Jean-Pierre Bolet, Leeds; and M Godfrey, Coventry.

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Best PC System 1 Apple PowerMac 6100/66 2 Gateway P5-90 3 Dan Premium 66/MM

he Best PC System Award has Talways proved one of the most diffi- cult for us to judge. Not only does everyone have their own favourite prod- ucts, but the importance of features on offer differs greatly from person to per- son. Reader input played a major part in deciding the results, which weren’t as clear cut as we had expected. After much debate the judges managed to get down to one winner and two, highly commended, runners-up. In reverse order, third place was awarded to Dan Technology for the out- The Gateway P5-90: not a winner this time, but a well-deserved runner-up standing Premium 66/MM. The Editor’s Choice in this month’s PC group test, it performed extremely well in the VNU a roaring trade in the UK ever since it animation and multimedia applications. Labs and was one of the best designed arrived in October 1993. Apple has used the speed to provide and tidiest PCs we’ve ever seen. As well as a 90MHz Pentium, 16Mb software emulation of Motorola The 486DX2-based Premium comes RAM and a 10ms 1Gb hard disk with 68LC040, so you can run old and new as standard with 8Mb RAM, a Diamond PCI controller, the P5-90 has a 2Mb native applications simultaneously. Stealth 64 VRAM graphics card, 64-bit ATI graphics card allowing for A typical setup comes with 8Mb Creative Labs’ SoundBlaster 16 and a high bit-depth support at resolutions up RAM, 350Mb hard disk and double- Panasonic double-speed CD-ROM to 1024 x 768 pixels. The combination speed CD-ROM drive. The keyboard drive for good multimedia performance. makes the machine positively fly under and display are normally purchased The motherboard boasts ISA, VESA Windows and ideal for running the bun- separately, but most dealers offer a and PCI slots for plenty of expansion dled Microsoft Office suite. number of ready-to-roll bundles. Other options, and an 850Mb hard drive Gateway’s sound system is also standard features include local-bus 24- means you’re unlikely to run out of stor- impressive. Rather than providing a bit colour graphics, 16-bit stereo sound, age space for quite some time. simple SoundBlaster clone like other built-in Ethernet networking and plug Other noteworthy features include a manufacturers, the company opted for and play. Mac floppy drives can read, rather nice 15in CTX monitor and bun- an Ensoniq SoundScape board with write and format PC disks as well as dled big-name software titles like 2Mb of clear instrument samples and their own. Microsoft Encarta, Works, Money and powered speakers. This gives almost Perhaps the most noteworthy feature Lotus Organiser. With the Premium professional quality General MIDI music of the 6100 is that Apple has an package you can get down to business and sound effects, just the ticket to optional plug-in PC card that lets you or try out the latest in edutainment the improve presentations, multimedia ref- use Mac, DOS and Windows software moment you’ve finished setting up the erences products and games. The final on the same machine. The card hardware. This is exactly what icing on the Gateway cake is a quad provides a 66MHz 486DX2 with 8Mb customers want from their PCs. speed CD-ROM. RAM, SoundBlaster 16 and SVGA At £1,487 the Premium 66/MM isn’t The winner of the Best PC System graphics. When in use the hard disk, the cheapest system around, but when Award for 1995 is Apple’s PowerMac memory, keyboard, screen and you take all of these components into 6100/66. PowerMacs have always been clipboard are all shared between the account it’s undoubtedly good value. particularly desirable, and this model two platforms, and systems can be Taking second place, Gateway’s P5- lets existing Mac users move from switched on the fly via a hotkey. It’s this 90 is the other runner-up. Reviewed in CISC to new RISC technology with the kind of innovation and a commitment to last January’s issue it’s a great all-round minimum of fuss. At its heart is a the future that puts Apple in first place. performer, boasting speed, full multime- 66MHz PowerPC 601, a fast RISC So there you have it. The 6100/66 is dia capabilities and rock solid support. processor with incredible floating-point our Best PC System of the year, closely Gateway came out particularly well in performance. The chip is ideal for followed by excellent offerings from our Reader Survey, and has been doing handling complex calculations, 3D Gateway and Dan.

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Best Notebook

1 Toshiba T3600CT 2 IBM 755CD 2 TI TravelMate 4000

hen considering the hundreds of the feeling that the name may give an tion but would have put up a good fight Wnotebooks currently available, the impression of inferiority. But of all the for first position. Instead, another IBM problem of making up a shortlist of the machines which have passed through made it into the runners-up section; the best represents a daunting task. How- the PCW office, this is the one which 755CD is a notebook which has every- ever, the list finally dwindled to a hand- everyone most wishes would remain in thing, except a floppy drive. It has a ful of major candidates including their safekeeping. There is no point in massive hard disk (810Mb). The great Toshiba and Dell. The inclusion of Dell having a portable computer unless it is screen, trackpoint device and CD drive on this list must be good news for the truly portable; a computer you have to which slides out from the front, make company which had previously aban- leave at home won’t get the work done. this a machine which many PCW staff doned the notebook market in July Happily, the T3600CT is light enough to members would choose for their own. 1993: the Dell Lattitude represents a be thrown into a bag, just in case. The 755CD also has full video capture welcome re-entry. If you have a machine which is going and external replay. The keyboard is The winner is Toshiba and IBM. It is to be a constant companion, it is impor- excellent and lifts to allow drives, RAM ironic that many of the qualities which tant that it is comfortable to use and that and memory to be dropped in. It runs make the Toshiba so good are the it keeps working. The tiny Tosh quickly but is a little quirky — PCDOS result of collaboration with IBM. The manages this with a TFT screen and a isn’t exactly the same as MSDOS. screens are produced by IDT, a com- lithium ion battery. A reliable four hours’ Although the level of power offered by pany jointly owned by IBM and Toshiba, life is pretty good going and you know the 755CD is expensive, it is neverthe- and the Trackpoint joystick pointing exactly how much power remains less one of the most desirable device was a Lexmark project. The because the Maxtime manager utility notebooks we’ve seen. 770Mb hard disk in the Toshiba gives a pretty accurate indication of how Our second runner-up is the Texas Pentium notebook is also made by IBM. much juice is left. The suspend mode is Instruments TravelMate 4000. It’s a fine Despite the IBM cleverness, it is really excellent as you can treat the machine contender, with a good-quality keyboard Toshiba which is the winner. as though it is always on. and trackpoint device. RAM expansion The ultra-light T3600 is one Toshiba All in all, this year, there were some is simple and there is even a MIDI con- machine which is particularly lustwor- close rivals. The IBM 701 “butterfly” nector. If you want a CD on the move thy. Toshiba doesn’t like it if you refer to notebook with its incredible pop-out but are not prepared to sacrifice a the T3600 as a subnotebook; there is keyboard arrived too late for considera- floppy then the TI TravelMate’s docking station is a good compromise; it’s small enough to be carried but nevertheless quite substantial. The TravelMate won a lot of fans in the PCW office because it is well put together and very nice to use. It too ran the Toshiba a close race. Finally, an honourable mention goes to the Apple Power Books. Apple has always trodden a separate path and so has pioneered a lot of technologies with which the PC is only just catching up. The top-of-the-range 540c is supplied with 12Mb RAM and a 14400 faxmodem. Instead of a trackball, there is a 50mm x 40mm trackpad. Apple only uses one button and that is below the trackpad. It is a great machine, as are the others mentioned here, and together they represent the best of the best. However, it is the Toshiba that just makes it to the top of the heap to become the PCW portable of the year.

The lightweight Toshiba T3600CT

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Best Printer

1 Hewlett Packard Over the years we’ve seen 300dpi and you’ve got the perfect office work- 4SiMX laser printers reach truly affordable horse: the HP LaserJet 4SiMX at levels, allowing proper 600dpi lasers to around £3,000. 2 Epson Stylus take over the higher-end. While 600dpi We know this, because we bought laser printers offer superb print quality, one for the PCW office and have been Colour they’re not up to camera-ready image hammering it solid for the best part of a setters, which work between 1200 and year without any trouble. Indeed, all it 2 Lexmark Optra R 2400dpi. gets are complimentary remarks which, Fear not, for enter our second run- coming from us hardened hacks, is t’s no good putting in a lot of hard ner-up, the Lexmark Optra R, the first really quite something. Iwork if you’ve nothing to show for it at laser printer we’ve reviewed to offer true the end. While some projects are 1200dpi resolution. You’ll need to use designed to be either heard, or seen on- paper of a higher grade than ordinary screen, most of us rely on a printer for photocopier stock, but can look forward output. The problem is that there’s an to stunning results. An Optra R with a incredible variety — colour or black and usable amount of RAM will set you back white using a huge array of between £1,500 and £2,000. technologies, portable to fridge-freezer However, the printer that most size, and prices ranging from sub-£100 impressed us overall this year has been to the level of a second mortgage. available in other versions for some During the past year we’ve seen time. Take the wonderful 600dpi engine print quality improve by leaps and of a Hewlett Packard LaserJet IV, soup bounds, and prices drop steadily. Per- it up to 16ppm, add dual bins offering a haps more interesting is the level of total paper capacity of 1000 sheets, fit improvement seen with certain Ethernet and PostScript Level 2 to technologies: colour inkjets in particular accompany the standard PCL 5e emu- Above Epson Stylus Colour have shot forward, reaching the point lation, chuck in power-saving modes, Below HP LaserJet 4SiMX where decent-qual- ity paper will pro- duce superb results. The colour inkjet we were most impressed with dur- ing the past year, and a runner-up this year, is Epson’s 720dpi Stylus Colour. We haven’t published a review of it yet, but are waiting for our July colour printers group test where it will come up against several hot new models. We can’t tell you about all of those yet, so for now the Epson, costing around £330 on the street, wins the day. An honourable men- tion should go to the new Hewlett Packard DeskJet 850C, coming to a reviews page near you soon.

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Best Budget Printer

1 HP DeskJet 320 placed in the personal printer market; the fastest of inkjets, it is the ultimate but the recent drop in laser prices has solution to your portable and desktop 2 HP DeskJet 560c caused a great deal of speculation needs. The basic printer weighs 1.96kg about the future of the inkjet. Some (4.3lbs) and comes in the form of a 2 Brother HL-630 people have decided that its days are small, black box which must be fed ver the past year, the competition numbered, but our last group test in manually with paper. An optional auto- Oat the budget end of the printer December 1994 concluded that there’s matic sheet feeder turns this basic market has become fierce. The still a lot of life left in inkjet technology. portable model into a desktop device, introduction of GDI technology has This is because inkjets can still do fitting around the print engine and form- brought the price of laser printers down things that lasers can’t. A budget inkjet ing a “V” shape from the base. You can to as little as £250 by using an innova- printer can produce surprisingly good get it to produce colour output simply by tive printing method whereby rasterisa- colour output, and can be made small inserting a colour cartridge and chang- tion takes place in the host PC rather enough to be truly portable. All these ing the mode on the driver. than in the printer itself. inkjet characteristics are exemplified in HP’s DeskJet 560c has also become Before lasers became affordable HP’s Deskjet 320 which wins our Best one of the most popular inkjet printers desktop devices, inkjets were solidly Budget Printer award. Although it is not on the market and gains the PCW run- ner-up award. The 560c pro- duced exceptionally good-quality output in our tests and you can pick one up for as little as £315. In the budget laser arena, the one that sticks out from the crowd this year is the Brother HL-630, which uses GDI technology to best effect and also wins a PCW runner-up award. The HL- 630 manages to get around many of the problems asso- ciated with GDI while utilis- ing the technology for high-speed printing under Windows. One of the annoyances of GDI is that it’s optimised for Windows but not for other platforms. The Brother HL- 630 isn’t GDI in this Windows-restricted sense but instead offers fast GDI speeds under Windows, without sacrificing DOS or Macintosh compatibility. It also comes with a driver which is not just bi- directional, but also incorpo- rates compression and memory management tech- niques, enabling very large files to be printed using a very small amount of memory.

HP DeskJet 320

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Best Peripheral

1 NEC 4X IDE quad-speed CD-ROM drive 2 US Robotics Sportster 28800 2 Creative Labs AWE-32

o, you’ve bought your PC, you’ve got is the US Robotics Sportster 28800 V.34 download samples to onboard RAM. Sit set up, but something’s still missing faxmodem, available for around £189 in 512kb is offered as standard, upgradable — that super peripheral that will totally internal or external versions. to 28Mb via two SIMM slots. enhance your system, bring it bang up to Multimedia may have been overtaken Recently, the price of quad-speed CD- date and postpone the need to start all by the Internet for hype, but it’s still the ROM drives has been reduced to a level over again from scratch. Does such a thing to have. Multimedia peripheral where they’re fast becoming the next device exist? We believe so, as the award upgrades consist of a sound card and standard. While SCSI drives still offer the for Best Peripheral is announced. CD-ROM drive, and many excellent bun- best performance and flexibility, IDE Printers are covered elsewhere, and dles are around from the likes of Creative drives have caught on at the budget end. we decided not to start recommending Labs and Western Systems. But we’ve Note that you may need a new IDE inter- monitors since most complete systems, decided to consider the devices face to support an IDE CD-ROM drive, by definition, already come with one. A separately. but these are available for around £10 superior monitor, however, is a worthy Our second runner-up goes to and are often bundled with the drive. consideration for your upgrading budget, Creative Labs’ top-of-the-range sound Award for Best Peripheral goes to all and interested consumers should look no card, the AWE-32, at around £170. the cheap quad-speed CD-ROM further than PCW’s last suitable group Based on the SoundBlaster 16, it offers drives out there, although the one we’ve test, in the February 1995 issue. But now General MIDI, GS and Roland’s MT32 chosen to represent the crowd is the win- down to the business in hand. with its 1Mb WaveTable synth. ner of April’s CD-ROM drive group test Information Superhighway, Infobahn Backwards compatibility with Sound- and the first on the block: NEC’s 4X IDE, and the Internet are all buzzwords for the Blaster and AdLib makes it one of the available on the street for less than £150. media’s current favourite obsession. most versatile and supported cards Want to get wired, connected, cyber-com- around. The AWE-32 can also municating to all these equally clued up Net-denizens around the world? You need some kind of service provider such as CompuServe or Demon, and the all- important device which allows your computer to talk down a telephone line: a modem. Why hang around with a slow 14,400 modem when you can afford twice the speed? With this in mind, one runner-up for Best Peripheral

NEC 4X IDE

436 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 PCW AWARDS 1995

Most Innovative Software

1 NCSA’s Mosaic 1 NetScape 2 Acrobat 2.0 2 OS/2 Warp

ur winner in this category is a Oprime example of that much deval- ued word “synergy”. Little in Mosaic was new in itself. Hyperlinks were familiar from Windows Help screens. The World Wide Web, on which the links could lit- erally be global, was already up and running using an obscure specification drawn up by Englishman Tim Berners- Lee. Undergraduates at the National Centre from Supercomputing Applica- tions (NCSA) at Illinois University added a graphical front-end, plus calls to exist- ing programs for tasks such as viewing picture or video files. The result was much more than the sum of its parts, a completely new genre of software: the browser. Mosaic insulated users from the complexities of the Internet, opening it up to almost anyone capable of using a mouse and a keyboard. Incidentally, Mosaic also offered a new way of navi- gating a PC. Moreover, it was a new publishing medium. The first Mosaic, flaky and bodged together as it was, had an estimated 500,000 users within four months of going into the public domain. Commer- cial versions were rushed to market; of these, we have chosen NetScape as a joint winner because it is the best to date (although there are good reports of Above NetScape NCSA’s latest Mosaic 2.0.0 beta) and Left Acrobat because developer NetScape Comm- munications employs many of the origi- nal Mosaic designers. Mosaic is so simple in concept that its power is already taken for granted. It could be killed by its own success as its Our first runner-up, Adobe’s Acrobat though the latter is both easier to facilities are absorbed into operating 2.0, has been to the fore in this area, implement and more useful (being raw systems, and even into word and the latest news (see this month’s information, as opposed to an image of processors such as WordPerfect and Newsprint) is that its facilities are to be information). Word 6.0. integrated into NetScape. This will No-one would argue that email is But it has its limitations, not least that facilitate high-quality publishing across pretty, however. Acrobat gives you the it depends on the limited formatting the Net and could make Acrobat’s best of both worlds, allowing you to facilities of HyperText Markup Portable Document Format (PDF) a de swap richly formatted documents, yet Language (HTML), which is why there facto Web standard. Also, Acrobat 2.0’s extract text or figures easily for use in is a certain sameness about Web local hypertext facilities are to be word processors or spreadsheets. documents. There is no lack of alterna- extended to the entire Web. PDF is based on Adobe’s well-tried tives here, with several products com- Acrobat’s roots lie in one of the great PostScript page-description language peting for acceptance as standard ironies of the evolution of telecoms: the and doesn’t depend on installed fonts, document formats. fact that fax took off before email, so that what you see on one machine

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will be what you get on another — even course Windows 95, now slated for an It offers all major features promised in the case of alien platforms like a Mac autumn release after a delay of about a by the delayed Windows 95: fast 32-bit and a PC. year. This gave our second runner-up, operation, pre-emptive multitasking, Adobe has sensibly decided to put OS/2 Warp, a clear run at market. multi-threaded program execution, built- the Acrobat viewer into the public It has a chequered history. The first in multimedia support, built-in Internet domain, so anyone is free to view PDF version was symptomatic of a general support, and, crucially, a linear address files. The full Acrobat package also acts malaise at IBM, emerging at a time space which does away with the old as a document manager, with extensive when the company was losing out on all 640kb DOS limit. search facilities, though the more fronts: its mainframe business reeling It also runs Windows and migrates expensive Acrobat Pro package is from rising desktop power, and its sec- existing Windows setups, making instal- advisable if you are dealing with files ond-generation PC architecture failing lation very simple. OS/2 Warp deserves with a very high graphics content. to grab the market. But like Windows, recognition just for providing Microsoft’s It also includes a programming inter- which only took off with version 3.0, operating software with some quality face and support (in the Windows ver- OS/2 matured with each release. With competition, which can only be good for sion) for DDE and OLE, to help Warp it turned into a stable mainstream users. But technologically speaking, this developers and users integrate the operating system capable of using a is no mere pacemaker for Windows 95. product with other applications. Windows machine better than Windows 0S/2 Warp got there first, and wins our Non-event of the past year was of 3.x under DOS. accololade in its own right.

Best Business Software

1 QuickBooks 2.0 data on geographical 2 Lotus 1-2-3 maps. Version Release 5.0 Manager retains details of 2 Microsoft changes to maintain an Powerpoint 4.0 audit trail or set up scenarios, uickBooks from Intuit/Microsoft and there’s a Qoffers a full business ledgers back-solver. upgrade path from Quicken. It includes 1-2-3 supports nominal, purchase and sales ledgers, ODBC for invoicing, full VAT accounting, and is access to data- multi-company. bases. Release Aimed at non-accountants, the man- 5.0 is a useful uals are detailed and clear, and there is precursor to also an extremely comprehensive and Lotus’s Team well presented online tutorial. The Get- QuickBooks 2.0 Computing concept which it will ting Started manual includes a chapter introduce in the Windows 95 version. headed “All the accounting you need to Microsoft Powerpoint took presenta- know”. excellent graphs. QuickBooks includes tion software to new levels of usability QuickBooks offers a choice of 19 fifty pre-set reports, and QuickReport with its “What do you want to do today?” charts of accounts for different buttons are used to give immediate approach. New users are taken through industries, and invoice formats are pro- details of transactions. As well as being the steps of creating a presentation, vided for services, professional or prod- the ideal tool for recording transactions, including a choice of ready-made pre- ucts. It displays a Reminder window to QuickBooks is a powerful aid to manag- sentations which the user then indicate transactions to be completed ing the business. customises. Powerpoint has been that day and Qcards pop up as you Lotus 1-2-3 Release 5.0 has done designed to incorporate much of Word work to give explanations and tips. well to beat off Microsoft Excel and and Excel’s way of working to make it QuickBooks contains a wealth of Novell’s Quattro Pro in the highly com- easier to use. powerful and useful features. It has full petitive spreadsheet market. 1-2-3 is There are a large range of effects drill-down facilities, including double very easy to use, with tabbed and 1,000 colour clipart images to clicking on bars or segments in the workbooks, SmartIcons, interactive sta- enhance presentations. Hidden slides graphics. The user can record costs tus bar, Smartmaster sheets and range can be created to make presentations against a customer, which can be later fill by example. It even retains its famil- more flexible. There’s no doubt that recharged, including a mark-up. iar DOS keyboard shortcuts. Powerpoint 4.0 has improved the qual- The reporting features are simple A unique facility is that cells can be ity of business communications. and intuitive, and are helped by a set of linked to graphical mapping, which plots

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Photoshop 3.0 earlier this year object directly onto the screen. It’s well Best Creative introduced a Layer control and a suited for short movies and can handle Software Transparent facility. The most welcome any amount of graphics, sound and feature, though, is its speed — it’s very video. For non-programmers, Director is quick indeed. Filters boost performance easier to get going with than something 1 Photoshop 3.0 of three to four times from version 2.5 like Microsoft Viewer, and has the great on all platforms. advantage of being cross-platform. 2 Director As with most high-end applications, As the quality of sound cards nears 2 Procyon Pro the need for a highly specced system is that of professional synthesisers, the a must. Adobe encourages 16-32Mb temptation to dabble with on-board est Creative Software is a new RAM to be installed, which might scare sounds begins to run pretty high. To Bcategory, covering the many and less-demanding users away. Paintshop access the sounds you need a MIDI varied art packages that have hit the Pro, which will run in as little as 4Mb, controller, say a MIDI keyboard, and a desktop in recent years. It takes into was also considered for this award with sequencer to let you record and edit account multimedia authoring the release of version 3.0, but was just your performances. packages too, and video editing and pipped at the post. There has been an explosion of music software. It came as no surprise For the serious multimedia budget sequencers over the past year to anybody at PCW when Photoshop, developer, we all agreed MacroMedia — not everyone wants or needs all the winner of last year’s Best Art Applica- Director has the edge for best authoring features found in high-end applications tion was again voted tops. package and is the first runner-up in such as Cubase. The package we were Adobe Photoshop is probably the this category. Although it’s hardly intu- most impressed with was Goldstar’s best known and most respected photo itive and easy to learn, it has stacks of Procyon Pro, which has a wealth of retouching application. Just about every powerful features. features, is easy to use and reasonably bureau, design studio and publishing It lets you create animations in real- priced, earning it runner-up in Best house has a copy or two. The release of time by drawing the movement of an Creative Software.

Best Suite 1 Microsoft Office 4.0 2 Novell Office 2 CorelDraw

n terms of state-of-the-art features, elegance and allows drag and drop actions between modules and in-place Iconsistency of interface, Microsoft remains the undoubted editing of embedded objects. leader. Its core products, Word 6.0, Excel 5.0 and Powerpoint Despite its leadership, Microsoft cannot afford to be com- 4.0, are all stars in their own right — and deservedly so. placent. Although Visual Basic for Applications is now the Word’s capabilities have gone from strength to strength, official macro language of Excel, Word is still stuck with with “Intellisense” offering smart quotes, automatic formatting, and corrections as you type. Excel now boasts tabbed sheets within a workbook, enabling three-dimensional use of functions and ranges. Both offer drag and drop editing facilities, and Powerpoint’s range of wiz- ards, templates and other aids makes it easy for even the most artistically inept to construct an impressive presentation. The Professional version includes the illustrious Access database, and both have a generous sprinkling of extras including WordArt, electronic mail, clip- art management and charting. Oversee- ing the whole is the Microsoft Office manager (MOM) which provides a but- ton bar shell for the entire suite. Consis- tency is of a high level with near-identical menu layouts, button functions and overall feel. Wizards, Tooltips, Cuecards and other aids help to make a set of highly complex applications a pleasure to use, and combined with the tutorials boosts the confidence of even Microsoft Word and (inset) Microsoft Excel the greenest newcomer. Integration is excellent and OLE2

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WordBasic. The panacea of a universal cross-application Central PIM, the Envoy document viewer and GroupWise support for ZIP, ARC, ARJ and LZJ olutionises linking up SCSI devices and concentrates on being fast and slick at programming environment is still keenly awaited. The current mail as well as the Desktop Application Director — DAD to archives, and comprehensive help files. is plug and play today. Just physically what it does: rapidly loading, cropping implementation of OLE is still painfully slow and the limitations Microsoft’s MOM — and in the Professional version, the Because it’s shareware you’re free to link up your SCSI devices, run EZ- and converting virtually every type of of Windows 3.1 resources severely hamper performance Novell Appware visual development application. Integration try before you buy and registration is SCSI and that’s it. As an added bonus, bitmap image, and doing so quite bril- when several modules are running. In fairness though, these and interface consistency is now much tighter and more than reasonable at $29 a throw or the latest version comes with extra liantly. In the process it’s blown drawbacks apply equally to the runners-up in this category of PerfectOffice currently represents a far more serious as little as $7 a copy for site licences. knobs and dials, including hard-disk Windows Paint out of the water and has the awards. The sheer might of these applications has challenge to Microsoft’s supremacy. First runner-up is EZ-SCSI. It’s the speed benchmarking and Windows disk become the standard package for any- outstripped the capabilities of the operating system but the The other joint runner-up, CorelDraw, illustrates that suites most expensive utility of the bunch partitioning. one in the business of producing delivery of Windows 95 should see both products overcome aren’t just for suits. Corel has always been acknowledged as because you’ll have to buy an Adaptec Second runner-up is old favourite, screenshots. The latest version, 3.0, is these limitations. Despite the drawbacks however, Microsoft the best illustration software available and probably the only SCSI controller to get your hands on it, Paintshop Pro. It doesn’t even pretend a bit chunkier than before. Let’s hope Office makes the best job of fine-tuning the balance between graphics application to make Mac owners yearn for a PC. but these controllers now start from as to be a replacement for heavyweight the authors don’t let “feature-creep” run power and ease of use. Despite its tradition of bugged new versions which are gener- little as £60. Quite simply, EZ-SCSI rev- image editors like Photoshop. Instead, it away with them. Novell Office, a joint runner-up, is trying hard to close the ally corrected with a maintenance release, the product gap. The first version of this, Borland Office, was a rather remains a favourite. Not only has the drawing module become uneasy marriage with the WordPerfect corporation handling more powerful over the years, but the complementary the word processing, and Borland’s Quattro Pro and Paradox programs have grown from the role of mere accessory to that Best Networking Product chipping in with spreadsheet and database features. Integra- of fully-blown applications in their own right. The latest release tion and consistency were largely cosmetic and somewhat includes a competent bitmap image processing and painting 1 Lotus Notes 3.1 NetWare’s “additive licensing” is also half-hearted. Nevertheless, in certain areas such as file han- module, presentation graphics, and charting. There is also a boon to the system administrator, dling, tables, and graphics (in WordPerfect 6.0) it positively bitmap to vector conversion, optical character recognition, 2 Novell NetWare since if you have a 50-user setup, you outshone Microsoft. image file management, advanced colour management and simply purchase another 50-user pack The acquisition of WordPerfect and Quattro Pro by Novell colour separation. 4.1 and add the licensing to the original, has changed all this. The new bundle, Perfect Office, now fol- There is a high level of interface consistency and integra- 2 BW MultiConnect rather than having to incur extra lows the Microsoft and Lotus norms of having word process- tion, with drag and drop OLE between modules. The cherry expense and go through the process of ing, spreadsheeting and presentation graphics as its core on this substantial cake is the inclusion of a totally revamped for Windows NT upgrading. The fact that it comes on a components with the Paradox database as an optional extra in Ventura Publisher, for which buyers of the initial version 5.0 CD (although fairly standard nowadays) the Professional version. WordPerfect itself has been given an have had to wait. But Corel doesn’t merely offer executables, his year’s prize for best networking is also a plus point. Another feature of update release and its PerfectSense software now beats and in the past the bundled collections of clipart and typefaces Tsoftware had to go to Lotus Notes, NetWare 4.1 is the fact that it allows Microsoft’s Intellisense in offering word-form replacement. For have grown both in quantity and quality. There are now since it has added OS/2 NetWare and Mac connection via IPX with NDS, example, search and replace the word “purchase” with “buy” 22,000 of the former and 825 of the latter, with established Solaris versions to its original server which can save server memory. Finally, and it will also replace all instances of the word “purchasing” or names such as ITC and Bitstream having mostly superseded product. Improved connectivity between when it’s released, the new TCP/IP Lotus Notes “purchased” with “buying” or “bought”. Extras include the Info- Corel’s “own brand” typefaces. mail systems and the Internet also fea- interface will allow complete inter-net- tures heavily, and as a bonus, v3.1 can working integration, replacing the older NT machine to an existing NetWare now be installed from CD. We were also practice of encapsulating the IPX network, but will also function as a Best Utility particularly impressed with its multime- packet in a TCP/IP wrapper. standalone NetWare-type server. It is dia guided tour. The other runner-up award goes to dependent upon the NDIS protocol Novell NetWare 4.1 is a worthy run- BW MultiConnect for Windows NT. Put being loaded on the NT machine, and 1 WinZip 5.5 2 EZ-SCSI 2 Paintshop Pro ner-up due to its enhanced connectivity simply, BW MultiConnect emulates a requires its own private disk space for and portability. NetWare Directory Ser- Novell NetWare 3.1x fileserver on a the NetWare SYS volume area, his year’s best utility, WinZip, has vices (not a new concept with 4.1, how- Windows NT system, complete with although it will subsequently allow Tchanged everybody’s life at PCW. ever) add considerably to usability bindery and local and print server print- sharing of the whole NT disk structure, We receive almost all the features and within the enterprise-wide network. ing. It is actually intended for adding an whether in FAT, HPFS or NTFS. screenshots we publish (from outside contributors and freelancers) by elec- tronic mail. Almost invariably, these Best CD-ROM files are zipped up using PkZip. Until WinZip’s arrival that meant shelling out 1 The Way Things Work 2 Grolier 2 Bookshelf to DOS and indulging in a spot of old- fashioned command line typing, which he winner of PCW’s CD-ROM entertaining. The whole disc is “fronted” fact, sales of encyclopedia in disc form in turn often meant system crashes as Taward is a great example of an by a cartoon mammoth and many top- have now overtaken the traditional book DOS sessions seem to be one of Win- educational CD covering a wide variety ics have a separate, animated product. Microsoft’s Encarta is the best- dows’ shakier areas. If your DOS of bases. Although aimed at children, it Mammoth Movie. Although The Way presented encyclopedia available, while knowledge was a bit thin, or more likely includes plenty of interest for adults too. Things Work was one of the first CDs to Hutchison’s Multimedia Encyclopedia a bit rusty, you often ended up with files While being highly educational, it also bear the Dorling Kindersley name, it is has the best coverage of British and in the wrong directories. manages to be great fun and is a well- by no means the first disc to which the European issues. But Grolier’s Multime- Then WinZip arrived. Like all the conceived British product based on a company has contributed. Twenty per- dia Encyclopedia is the disc we have best utilities, it is pint-sized and as neat best-selling book. It is the Dorling cent of the company is owned by voted as runner-up. Although not partic- as a button: just 11 files and 475kb. Kindersley disc, The Way Things Work. Microsoft so several of the most popular ularly impressive — its presentation is Even on-screen it stays frugal, and by The explanantions are clear and educational CD-ROM titles have a large functional — the depth and quality of default throws up a window that’s just a concise. The style is well illustrated degree of British content, thanks to the text is particularly impressive. It few inches square. Despite this it packs and there are diagrams for every sub- Dorling Kindersley. shares the weakness of its American in just about every feature any zipper ject with animations scattered through- The encyclopedia is one of the most competitors by concentrating heavily on or unzipper could hope for. There’s Easy does it with EZ-SCSI out — some are informative, others are popular genres for CD-ROM discs: in its home country and providing less

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information about others. Nevertheless, most of the time as you work in the writing about Leonardo Da Vinci, you the information it does provide is office. The other runner-up, Microsoft’s can read about him in the encyclopedia, detailed and accurate with excellent Bookshelf, should be the disc that you reference famous quotations about him bibiographies provided to encourage keep in your machine as you work; it in the Columbia Dictionary of further study. While it doesn’t contain all contains a dictionary, a thesaurus, a Quotations, then use the atlas to look the knowledge in the world, it certainly book of quotations, a simple encyclope- up where he lived, all with just a few has enough information about sufficient dia and an atlas. There are also two mouse clicks. topics to be able to whet your appetite minor reference works: the People’s Bookshelf has been available in the for more. Best of all, although it is Chronology and the World Almanac & US for several years but due to legal slightly more expensive than other Book of Facts. The user can browse problems it has not been available here discs, it has reduced in price substan- through any of the texts but its primary until now. Its chief disadvantage is that tially during the past year to the critical use is as a writing aid — you can select all the texts and the spellings in the dic- level of less than £100. a word from a document and look it up tionary are American. But Bookshelf is No matter how much you intend to in any or all of the reference texts in due to be revised in the near future and use your CD-ROM drive, it sits empty Bookshelf. For instance, If you are this may be one of the revisions. Best Game

1 Doom 2 2 Colonization 2 Tie Fighter

here could only be one winner of this year’s game of the has to be applauded. It has inspired some excellent succes- Tyear award: Doom (and Doom II). No PC computer game sors, like LucasArts’ atmospheric Dark Forces, and has has ever been so famous (or notorious), and its success has shown games companies how useful and profitable it can be inspired dozens of “Doom-alikes” from other manufacturers. to provide demonstration software that is playable. This is all the more surprising when you consider its origins. Colonization, our first runner-up, is a very different kind of Doom was produced by a hitherto unknown company, Id game. Instead of mindless, instant fun, it requires a lot of Software, and marketed through word of mouth as thought, and is even educational in places. It’s the latest title shareware instead of through the from Microprose’s legendary Sid usual channels. The 3D engine which Meier, who is widely acknowledged as gives the game its smooth and one of the masters of strategic gaming detailed graphics was noticeably and one of the few software authors superior to anything else on the mar- whose name alone can sell a game. ket at the time, but that alone wouldn’t Colonization is similar in many ways to ensure it was a runaway success. Its one of Meier’s last triumphs, Civiliza- music and the graphic design of its tion, but while that attempted to cover environment were so atmospheric, a the whole sweep of human history in player might find himself jumping at an abstract fashion, Colonization cov- the sound of an enemy behind him ers a particular period: the re-settling during a late-night session. In provid- of North America by Europeans. ing network as well as modem play Doom: gory, violent and very successful In covering a sensitive time, it lays and having an open game system to itself open to criticism. It doesn’t include allow users to create their own levels, Id slavery, for example, as this would make was ahead of its time. Even now, few games companies are the game less fun to play and involve players in difficult moral putting these features into their games, but as use of the questions, and the objective of the game is to gain freedom Internet and online services grows, multiplayer games-play- for your colony from the oppression of British, French, Span- ing is bound to increase. A person makes a much more inter- ish or Dutch rulers. This aside though, Colonization does give esting opponent than a computer, however clever the some insight into what it must have been like to run a colony, software is. and hours of playing pleasure as you try to juggle food Of course, the notoriety of the violence in the game production against armaments and trade goods while wouldn’t have hurt sales, either. When Doom was launched, befriending or fighting off Indians and other Europeans. it was one of the most bloodthirsty games yet, and this made Tie Fighter, our second runner-up, must have been a brave it controversial even outside the computer gaming commu- decision for the games designers at LucasArts to develop, a nity. Id even emphasised the violence in providing tools like game in which you play a bad guy — a Tie-fighter pilot — in the chainsaw to help you kill things in the most brutal way the Star Wars universe. But questions of morality are possible. successfully fudged, and ethical dilemmas quickly fade once In some ways it’s a pity that the success of Doom should you’re immersed in combat in the game’s exquisitely rendered have inspired games manufacturers to produce more violent and well-designed universe. Last year we gave our best game pieces, and the early problems running it across a network award to Tie Fighter’s predecessor, X-Wing, and even now makes it one of the most damaging games ever to have this is still well up there with the best of the competition. In the been unleashed on company machines; but on balance it fast-moving games market, few titles can make that claim.

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information, as well as more consumer- online service, with a loyal base of When Associate Editor Simon round — Creative Labs’ AWE-32 Sound reckon will be the winner of the next- Best Online based information like film guides and 16,000 users. It plans to offer its mem- Rockman isn’t writing for PCW he’s Card. “While the SCC-1 is still a generation console battle. It’s got all the encyclopedias. In the last year, it has bers the option of full Internet access, editing What Mobile and Cellphone respected card, it’s limited to hardware to make it successful, and the Service made great strides in adding local infor- which should also make it much more Magazine. Hardly surprising, then, that WaveTable synthesis. The AWE-32 has list of third-party software developers is mation, like a British online encyclope- economical for its many users outside it’s a product that links personal com- a WaveTable synthesiser, sampling impressive and seemingly never-end- 1 CompuServe dia, a European rail timetable and the London. It may now have a puters and portable phones that caught capabilities and FM to provide compati- ing, with such classics as Tekken and 2 CIX, Demon Good Pub Guide. By the time you read substantially smaller user base than his eye. “Previous ways to connect bility with just about every sound stan- Ridge Racer already appearing.” this, British shopping and share trading CompuServe, but while CompuServe’s mobile phones to modems haven’t dard. It has on-board RAM expandable Editor Ben Tisdall fell for IBM’s he British public made our choice of schemes will probably also be UK users can feel dwarfed among the worked very well, but the Nokia Mobile to 28Mb, for downloading samples, and Butterfly notebook at first sight. “I’ll TCompuServe as the best online available. Unlike the Internet, millions of foreigners, CIX users have a Data Card is a PCMCIA device which comes with some great software.” never forget lugging a 17lb portable PC service an easy one. They have “voted CompuServe’s closed structure makes real sense of community, as shown by works with Nokia Digital Mobile phones Steven’s other favourite is that simple to Comdex in Las Vegas in 1989: I with their feet”, and the UK membership it easy for companies which use it to frequent barbeques which let members — either the GSM 2110 connected to but effective utility, Format.com. On vowed never to travel with a computer has soared above 100,000. Despite the charge for their services, so commercial meet face to face. Vodafone or Cellnet, or the Nokia PCW unwanted software soon builds up again. Of course I did, but usually phenominal success of relative information is readily available. Also, Demon is our second runner-up for phone on the Orange network. This on your hard disk, and unstable and regretted it. Then the Butterfly arrived newcomers to the UK marketplace, this because all of it is held and indexed by providing Internet access to the general gives good, reliable 9600bps connec- unreliable Microsoft GUIs can wreak — or rather, the Thinkpad 701C, to give still makes CompuServe more than six one organisation, it’s easier to find infor- public. It has been phenomenally suc- tions wherever you are. The card is havoc with your system files. Often the its official title. It’s light enough to carry times more popular than any other mation or files. Because it has been cessful — it started in 1992 on a small expensive, but works well and uses the quickest and easiest solution is to start on the tube yet small enough to fit into a online service. around for so long, it has built up a large scale without advertising, and by Janu- Hayes AT command set so it is compat- afresh using format C:.” briefcase with enough space left for a It has more dialup points across the assortment of hardware and software ary this year it had 22,000 users. ible with all communications software.” Staff writer Nick Lawrence is stack of paperwork. Above all, it doesn’t UK and the world than any of its main companies offering support for their Demon has also been crucially Steven Helstrip, PCW staff writer knocked out by the Sony PlayStation. compromise on keyboard or screen rivals, and with a history that spans products online. Best of all, important, almost by accident, in influ- and music fan, writes the Sound column “There aren’t too many consoles that size.” The other product Ben loved was more than 15 years and 2.7 million CompuServe instituted heavy price cuts encing the pricing of consumer Internet in Hands On, and it’s a sound product can come under the heading of ‘kit’, but the Psion Goldcard faxmodem. “It looks members worldwide, it has been able to earlier this year, and by the time you provision. From the beginning, it set an that he has picked. Last year he chose this is one of them. Starting life as an ill- great, worked flawlessly and makes you put a lot of money and effort into mak- read this it will provide full Internet aggressive price of £10 per month for a Roland SCC-1 and, true to form, it’s a fated CD-ROM add-on for the Nintendo wonder how they manage to get all that ing its service easy to connect to. access to its users. unlimited use, a target which other sound card that gets his vote this time Super NES, it has evolved into what I into something so small.” It provides unrivalled access to a CIX (the Compulink Information providers have had to approach in order variety of databases of commercial Exchange) is the oldest UK-based to be competitive. PCW Contacts

HARDWARE SOFTWARE Best Networking Software Most Innovative Hardware Most Innovative Software Lotus Development 01784 445808. PCW Team Awards Intel 01793 696000. Fax: 01793 641440 Mosaic can be downloaded from Fax 01784 445351 Fast Electronics 0171 221 8024. ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/packages/Mosaic Novell 0800 177277. Fax 0800 525321 BWS 001 919 831 8975 the PCW staff, unencumbered by and PCs, no piece of hardware or soft- become the latest PCW staffer to fall Fax 0171 792 3449 Netscape Communications 0101 415 254 1900. democracy, readers’ votes and ware has made as much difference to under the spell of the Psion 3a and pos- IBM 01705 492949. Fax 01705 492222 Fax 0101 415 254 2601 Best CD-ROM T Netscape be downloaded from objective opinion, get to reveal their my life as a single, rather pricey, length itively gushed with Psion evangelism. “I Best PC System Dorling Kindersley 0171 753 3488. http://home.netscape.com/eng/beta/nn1.1b2; of cable. I refer, of course, to Personal still can’t believe how useful this little Apple 0800 127755. Fax 0181 8709855 Fax 0171 753 3564 favourite products of the year. registration costs $39. Gateway 0800 172000. Grollier: Computer Manuals 0121 706 6000 Reviews Editor Gordon Laing was Computer World’s Pipex leased line gadget is. Now that I’ve got into the Adobe 0181 606 4017. Fax 0181 606 4044 Fax 00353 1848 2022 Microsoft 01734 270000 overwhelmed by the sheer wealth of connection to the Internet. At 64kbits habit of using its agenda, I never forget IBM 01256 56144. Fax 01256 843168 products he could choose from. “I still per second, it is hardly lightning fast; in an important meeting, birthday or date. Dan Technology 0181 830 1100. Best Game Fax 0181 830 1122 Best Business Software theory at least, a properly set up ISDN The freeform database is a godsend for Doom and Tie Fighter: Virgin 0181 960 2255. love Adobe Photoshop, and version 3, QuickBooks 2.0: Intuit 0181 990 5500. Best Notebook Fax 0181 960 9900 so long as you’ve got at least 16Mb line should be faster (though the way anyone who needs to keep contact Fax 0181 759 2077 Toshiba 01932 841600. Fax 01932 845606 Colonization: MicroProse 01454 329510. RAM, is absolutely fabulous. The prolif- ISDN works at the moment, it isn’t). But information, and as a replacement for a Lotus Development 01784 445808. Texas Instruments 01932 761595. Fax 01454 329 507 eration of wonderful notebooks hasn’t once we paid the setup and the hefty notepad the word processor is first Fax 01784 445351 Fax 01932 780126 Best Online Service passed me by, with top marks going to annual fees, it brought the Internet to class. Even when I broke my thumb and Microsoft 01345 002000 IBM 01345 727272. Fax 01345 720072 CompuServe 0800 289 378. Fax 0117 925 2210 the Apple PowerBook 500 series and me and everyone else on the network at couldn’t hold a pen, I could still attend Apple 0800 127753 Best Creative Software CIX: 0181 390 8446. Fax 0181 390 6561 the IBM Butterfly. Digital Audio Labs’ better than modem speeds, and for no conferences and take notes. Brilliant.” Adobe 0181 606 4000. Fax 0181 606 4004 Best Printer Demon 0181 371 1234 CardD finally allowed me to record and additional cost.” Technical Writer Eleanor Turton- Macromedia 0181 200 8282. Fax 0181 200 3788 Hewlett Packard 01344 369222. Team Awards edit high-quality audio with digital in and News Editor Clive Akass has cho- Hill has been knocked out by a pint- Evolution (Procyon Pro) 01525 372621. Fax 0171 735 5565 NEC Peripherals 01345 300103. out sockets. SCSI-2 AV drives, particu- sen Blackwell’s Idealist for Windows sized printer. “The Citizen PN60 has to Fax: 01525 383228 Lexmark International 01628 481500. Fax 0181 992 7161 larly from Micropolis, over a PCI bus 2.0. “I’ve been looking for years for a get the ‘cutest product of the year’ Fax 01628 481886 Best Suite Pipex 01223 250 120. Fax 01223 250121 were fast enough to cope with the database that would allow me to store award. At first sight it’s pretty uninspir- Epson Stylus Colour 01442 61144. Microsoft 01345 002000 Blackwell 01865 206206. Fax 01865 721205 demand. But my favourite product was information in the scrappy way that I ing — just a small, grey, plastic block Fax 01442 227353 Novell 0800 177277. Fax 0800 525321 Psion 0171 262 5580. Fax 0171 258 7341 NEC’s MultiSync MTg LCD video pro- receive it. Idealist can cope with every- with four buttons on top. But once you Corel Corporation 0800 581028. Best Budget Printer Citizen 01753 584111. Fax 01753 582442 Fax 010 3531 295 7723 jector, which turned my lounge into a thing from complex multi-field records to realise it’s a printer and not a child’s Hewlett Packard 01344 361300. Nokia 01480 434343. Fax 01480 445222 true home cinema within minutes, while free text, and even entire files, within pencil case, things get more interesting. Fax 0171 735 5565 Best Utility Creative Labs 01743 248590. Fax 01734 320271 enlarging Doom and Descent to truly the same database. You get most out of It’s 10in wide and 2in high and weighs Brother 0161 330 6531. Fax 0161 931 2200 Winzip: Shareware Marketing Sony 01932 816000. 01932 817000 terrifying proportions!” it if you can use a simple Windows lan- only one pound, so you can easily carry 01732 368042. Fax 01732 771513 IBM 01256 343000. Fax 01256 843168 Best Peripheral Cutting Edge editor David Brake guage like Word Basic. I have set Ideal- it around without breaking your back. It PaintShop Pro: Shareware Marketing NEC Peripherals 01345 300103. 01732 368042. Fax 01732 771513 usually has his nose buried in a copy of ist up so that I can file names, produces colour, prints on transparen- Fax 0181 992 7161 EZI SCSI: Adaptec 01252 811200 NetScape, so it’s hardly surprising that addresses and notes directly from my cies, and is compatible with both PC Creative Labs 01734 344744. it’s a product that makes netsurfing eas- word processor at the click of a key — and Mac. Definitely the most portable, Fax 01734 320271 ier that gets his vote. “In the six years and every significant word is indexed.” most flexible and most stealable US Robotics 01753 811180. I’ve been using and reviewing Macs Features Editor Chris Cain has product I’ve seen this year.” Fax 01753 811191

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Route66 If you’re after a high-performance multimedia PC but the mere thought of a Pentium makes your wallet run for cover, a DX2/66 could be just the ticket. Eleanor Turton-Hill reports on 20 of the latest complete systems in the £950 to £2,200 range.

PCW DX2/66MHz Photography by Bruce Mackie

he market for DX2/66s has gone from strength to conflicts. Quite simply, you shouldn’t have to be a Tstrength since our last round-up in November techno-boffin to put together — and use — a 1994. As Pentium adverts have swamped the media computer successfully. boasting ever increasing levels of performance, so A few enlightened manufacturers have started to the price of the DX2/66 has been rapidly dropping. realise this and several of the machines in this round- But the DX2/66 continues to provide a powerful up arrived with “getting started” manuals, pre-installed DX2/66 Contents enough system to run the current generation of tutorial software and pamphlets giving an overview of 457 Amstrad PC9486 i application software comfortably. the system. Sadly, the market is also full of PCs 457 AST Advantage Adventure 6066d If speed is your only worry then it’s easy to choose which have been slung together with whatever came 458 Brother BCR4486 VESA Local Bus between a fast 486 and a Pentium, but for most peo- to hand first and boxed up with a technical pamphlet 458 Carrera 486DX2/66 ple buying a PC involves weighing up all kinds of con- for each component. 462 CompuAdd 466 D Champion siderations. The DX2/66 doesn’t, of course, carry the When it comes to build-quality and components, 462 Dan Premium 66/MM 464 Dell Dimension 466 DL same kind of kudos as a Pentium, but nor does it this round-up has shown the usual mixture of good 464 Espy Impulse 66M carry the same kind of price tag; and when it comes ideas and compromises. Integrating components 468 Gateway 2000 P4D-66I Family PC to fast performance and economy in high-end onto the motherboard is commonplace on slimline 468 HP Vectra VL2PC 4-66 systems, the DX2/66 is setting the standard as the PCs, reducing the number of pre-installed expansion 469 Mesh Universal Media DX2/66 reliable entry-level PC. cards and freeing up slots for additional components. 469 Mitac DV446V This time round, we asked 20 manufacturers to Certain components appeared repeatedly throughout 471 MJN DX2/66 V/CD submit DX2/66 machines with full multimedia kit, 8Mb the group test, including the Creative Labs Sound- 471 Panrix Titan RAM, and a hard disk of at least 500Mb. Each Blaster 16 sound card, Cirrus Logic GD542X series 472 Peacock PPDOHDD machine was assessed for its overall combination of graphics card, and Diamond Stealth 64. There’s a 472 Simply Computers 66VLB performance, price, and ease of use. We also mixture of VL and PCI bus technologies with some 476 Tag DX2/66 476 Viglen 4DX266 Genie PCI Professional assessed each machine for system design, overall machines incorporating both and others including on- 482 Wearnes DX2/66 AV-Series build quality and expansion capability. board local bus video but only ISA slots. 482 Zenith Data Systems Z-Select 100 Another important factor is the extent to which the Prices range from £949 to over £2000, but remem- overall system caters for the ordinary user. If PCs are ber that it doesn’t always follow that the more expen- 463 Choosing a CD-ROM drive 475 What to look for when buying a monitor to become a true mass-market product, they will have sive machines are any better in terms of performance 477 Sound Cards to become more consumer-oriented. Ideally, they or build quality. We’ve ranked one machine as the 477 Performance Results should arrive with as much setting up done as possi- best all-rounder, which means that it has the best 480 Monitors ble so that the user can get started with the minimum mixture of qualities to satisfy the average user. But if 484 PCI vs Local Bus of fuss. It’s no good presenting new users with a col- you have specific requirements, this may not be the 489 How we did the tests lection of boxes, tangled cables and technical manu- best machine for you. Have a look yourself and see 491 Editor’s Choice als along with a handy guide for resolving interrupt what you think. 494/495/497 Tables of Features Group Test

454 455 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 GROUP TEST: DX2/66

Amstrad PC9486 i

Sony CD-ROM drive and the metal bar from the middle and removing Vibra 16 sound card. The the sound card to get a slot cover off. system box is a standard Thankfully, the RAM is easy to get to, low-profile design with the positioned at the front of the machine on the CD-ROM drive on the left- righthand side. There are four 72-pin slots, hand side and 3.5in drive two of which are filled with 4Mb each. on the right. The pink An introductory guide to PCs is included Amstrad logo sits in a with the documentation and there’s a good transparent plastic panel supply of pre-installed software including on the front, surrounded PFS Window Works from Softkey, by various stickers. Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia as well Inside, everything is as a copy of Doom, Cannon Fodder, and arranged in typical low- Star Wars Rebel Assault. profile style. A riser card towards the righthand PCW Details side of the machine pro- vides three ISA slots and Amstrad PC9486 i mstrad was hugely successful in the one PCI slot. The video and I/O are built into Price £1094 Contact Amstrad 0800 338844 ☎ Amid-eighties and more or less the motherboard so with just the sound card pioneered the sale of PCs in the UK high installed there are three slots free. The two Good Points Space-saving low-profile street. Last year, however, the company ISA slots on the righthand side would be dif- box. Good selection of pre-installed was finally forced to withdraw from the ficult to fill, however, due to the bird’s nest of software. Bad Points Poor monitor; badly retail store market due to fierce competition cables in the middle of the machine, but fur- designed inside. and continuing losses. It has now reorgan- ther investigation reveals a more serious Conclusion If you don’t think you’ll ever ised its marketing strategy to sell direct to problem. The screws holding on the slot open the lid of your PC, the internal customers, completely bypassing high- covers are inaccessible due to the position- design might not bother you, but it street retailers. ing of the power unit and can only be used would be nice to have the option. This compact multimedia machine by detatching the entire slot unit from the comes with a 540Mb Seagate hard disk, back of the machine. This means taking out

AST Advantage Adventure 6066d

chip and this is what total complement. makes them true 486 When it comes to pre-installed software, chips. AST has made an admirable effort. Like This is a neat, low pro- other manufacturers, it has replaced the file desktop machine with Windows program manager with its own all the usual advantages shell. This provides the novice user with a and disadvantages this kind of extended working environment with design brings. Low-profile built-in tutorials and help facilities. There’s machines are great if also a good selection of pre-installed soft- you’re short on desk ware including Microsoft Works, Microsoft space but fail dismally if Money and Lotus Organiser. you need any kind of expandability. Inside, a PCW Details riser card provides three AST Advantage Adventure 6066d ISA slots, one of which Price £1,399* (inc VAT) contains a SoundBlaster Contact AST 0181 232 5000 ☎ ll the machines in this group test use 16 sound card. In typical low-profile style, the Good Points Neat low-profile design. Intel processors apart from this AST video adaptor (supplied by Cirrus Logic) is A Good choice of software, especially for machine and the one from Peacock. built into the motherboard, but even so, the novice user. Cyrix Corporation started making you’re only left with two spare slots. This is Bad Points There are only two free ISA processors in 1988 and its principal busi- frustrating as the back panel is cut out to slots — no local-bus slots. The RAM ness is designing chips which are com- house two extra slots on the righthand side, cannot be upgraded without discarding patible with Intel products. AST was one but AST has chosen not to include the sock- at least 4Mb. of the first companies to use the Cyrix ets on this model. Conclusion Good buy for a novice user DX2/66 chip rather than Intel’s. Many The way the RAM is arranged gives rise who will never open up their machine Cyrix processors don’t look anything like to another annoyance. There are two 72- and needs some introductory tutorial software. Intel’s, and some are not even socket- pin SIMM slots, each filled with 4Mb RAM, so * The AST 6066d is now available with a compatible, but all of them execute the if you ever wanted to upgrade you would quad-speed CD-ROM drive at the same instruction set as Intel’s equivalent have to discard at least 4Mb to increase the cheaper price of £1,199.

457 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 GROUP TEST: DX2/66

Brother BCR4486 Series VESA Local Bus

The casing is com- There’s a Panasonic CD-ROM drive, pact but not exces- Maxtor hard disk, a standard Cirrus Logic sively slimline. The , and a SoundBlaster 16 sound slots are clearly laid card. There are also two very nice speakers out on the righthand provided from Zydec with individual volume side across the and tone controls and headphone sockets. base of the machine A good supply of pre-installed software is rather than being provided. provided by a verti- This machine is particularly well suited to cal riser card. This the novice buyer. It comes with excellent doc- makes slots far umentation, a good supply of software, nice more accessible speakers and enough room for expansion. and consequently, The best thing about it, though, is the price: inserting cards far only £949. The drawback is the poor quality less traumatic. of the monitor, but you can buy the machine This machine without it for just £799. has four ISA slots, two VESA slots, PCW Details rother, like Hewlett Packard, is best and an 8-bit slot. The fan on top of the Brother BCR4486 Series known for its printers, but also makes processor is awkwardly placed on the B VESA Local Bus a range of PCs. It entered the PC market in motherboard, slightly overlapped by the 3.5in Price £949 1985 but initially made little impact. In drive above. Otherwise, everything is nicely Contact Brother 01279 416888 ☎ 1993, however, the company reorganised laid out and accessible. Good Points Generally good build its marketing strategy to sell PCs direct to The RAM is well placed in the middle of quality, excellent introductory manuals, the end-user and Kyodai Electronics was the machine. There are four 30-pin slots, nice price. formed (Kyodai means “brother” in each of which is filled with a 1Mb SIMM, and Bad Points Average performance Japanese). two 72-pin slots, one of which is filled with a scores, poor monitor, no PCI. This machine, the BCR4486, is one of 4Mb SIMM. This arrangement rather thought- Conclusion An absolute bargain. Brother’ s series of local-bus machines. lessly fills up all slots but one.

Carrera 486DX2/66 VLMT-MM

off with the actual 30-pin slots. The standard 8Mb RAM has unit. been fitted into just one 72-pin slot, leaving Inside are three bundles of room for expansion. VESA slots and There’s a good selection of pre-installed three 16-bit ISA software with this machine including slots. One VESA Microsoft Works and Encarta, and a selection slot is occupied by a of CDs as well as a nice pair of speakers Diamond Stealth 64 from Creative Labs. There’s a three-year with 1Mb DRAM labour warranty, a one-year parts warranty and one of the ISA and a lifetime telephone support service. A slots by a Sound- few niggles about the way this machine has Blaster 16 card — been put together prevent me from recom- probably the two mending it wholeheartedly, despite the fact most popular that it’s made up of good components and peripherals on mul- came among the top five in our tests. timedia machines. PCW Details The I/O card, which provides Carrera 486DX2/66 VLMT-MM he first thing you notice about this Enhanced IDE, is positioned awkwardly in Price £1,299 Tmachine is its built-in security features. the middle of the machine with its cabling Contact Carrera Technology ☎ On the front there’s a lockable door which bulging out of the top, making the first free 0171 830 0486 prevents access to the CD-ROM and disk ISA slot difficult to use. The processor is also Good Points Nice sound card and drive. To the left of the drives there’s a badly positioned behind the hard disk with its video card, good selection of software large power switch and below it are the black heat sink preventing the use of full- — a good performance. usual reset and turbo buttons, but there’s length cards in this same top slot. Bad Points No PCI; badly put together. Conclusion A good deal if you never an extra button which allows you to disable The SIMM slots, on the other hand, are take the lid off. the keyboard before locking the door. easy to get to, placed towards the top of the These features can be handy, but of tower on the righthand side. And there are course, they won’t stop anyone from running plenty of them — two 72-pin slots and eight

458 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 GROUP TEST: DX2/66 GROUP TEST: DX2/66

CompuAdd 466 D Champion Low-Profile Platform Choosing a CD-ROM drive

cramped style. A constraints of a low-profile design but also hen choosing a new system, you minutes of MPEG-1 video and audio on a consequently miss any further recordings. riser card sticks up suffers from various cost-cutting attributes. Walready have enough to worry about CD. White Book is also known as Digital Luckily, all but the oldest CD-ROM drives are vertically to the right There are no local-bus expansion slots, for with hard disk sizes, type of processor and Video, DV. Other disc varieties include the multi-session devices. Look out for the of centre making example, and only two ISA slots are available whether the monitor is any good. With any native format for Philips CD-i, called Green phrase “Photo-CD compatible”, although three ISA slots for peripherals. This is very frustrating, espe- luck, one CD-ROM drive should be the Book. unscrupulous suppliers may be referring to available to the left- cially as the design allows for more slots on same as any other CD-ROM drive and you Confusion reigned temporarily when recognition of the first session only. To be hand side. The the righthand side of the riser card. The hard can at least relax on this element. Right? Philips put MPEG-1 video on Green Book certain, ensure that the drive is labelled standard Cirrus disk is only 340Mb instead of the requested Of course not. This is the computer indus- discs, which could only be played on CDi “multi-session- Logic video chipset 500Mb, and there are only two 72-pin SIMM try, after all, and CD-ROM drives, like any machines. All new MPEG-1 film titles compatible”. is built into the slots, both of which have been filled. Com- other IT subject, is a minefield of jargon conform to the White Book standard, which Once you’ve got all your books and com- motherboard, as is bined with very poor test results, these com- and misconceptions. may be read on any White Book-compatible patibility issues sorted out, there’s the I/O. Only one plaints put this machine way down the priority Before you give up completely and are machine including CD-i and suitable CD- performance. The first CD-ROM drives pulled slot is filled with a list despite its low price. found screaming or weeping behind the ROM drives. Note that additional MPEG information off at what was described as SoundBlaster 16 sofa, here’s a brief guide of what CD-ROM decoding hardware is required to view White “single-speed”. This translates into a sound card, leaving drives actually do, and what you should Book discs. CD-i uses what Philips calls a sustained data transfer rate of approximately two slots free. look for when choosing one. Those who Digital Video cartridge, while PC owners 150kb/sec, around the same as a floppy Underneath the PCW Details are particularly interested in this field require a suitable MPEG card. drive. Double- and quad-speed drives literally SoundBlaster card should look no further than our last CD-ROM Put simply, all CD transports are compati- spin the disc two or four times faster, and n November 1993 CompuAdd came out two rows of 72-pin SIMMs sit in an angled CompuAdd 466 D Champion drive group test, in last April’s PCW. ble with a certain number of the book stan- should sustain data rates of around 300 and Iof receivership, or “Chapter 11” as its position. The 8Mb has been made up by two Low-Profile Platform When Sony and Philips invented the dards: all you have to do is work out which 600kb/sec respectively. Doubles are the cur- know in the US. The UK arm was not 4Mb SIMMs and can be expanded to a max- Price £1,099 Compact Disc in the early eighties, even discs you are interested in, then ensure your rent standard, but prices are dropping on affected and the parent company is now a imum of 32Mb. Contact CompuAdd 0117 925 7435 ☎ they couldn’t ever have imagined what a drive is compatible. All CD-ROM drives are quads so much that these should certainly be successful organisation which designs and The processor is well placed at the front Good Points Cheap. versatile carrier of information it would Yellow Book- and Red Book-compatible, considered. Single-speed drives should be manufactures its own PCs. All its machines of the machine on a beige-coloured Ziff Bad Points No local-bus slots. become. What was originally designed to along with boasting built-in Digital to avoided at all cost. Six- and eight-times- come with one-year on-site warranty, a socket covered with a big black heat sink. Conclusion Suffers badly from the carry 74 minutes of high-quality digital Analogue convertors (DACs) which enable speed drives are on their way, raising the free technical support line and Lotus The Western Digital hard disk sits at the constraints imposed by a low-profile audio can now hold up to 650Mb transfer rates of CD-ROM to that of Organiser pre-installed. front under the disk drive while the Sony CD- design. If space saving is not important of computer data, 100 publish- average hard disks. Average This is a low-profile machine and ROM drive is placed to the righthand side. to you, then don’t even think about it. able photographic scans, or even access time is an important factor inside, everything is arranged in the usual This machine suffers from all the typical 74 minutes of VHS-quality full- too, with CD-ROM drives grabbing motion video and audio. Many at around 250ms. Faster access discs offer a combination of all times and higher transfer rates are Dan Premium 66/MM three, along with other types of obviously highly desirable. information besides. So, you’ve chosen your drive round-up, the an 8Mb SIMM (upgradable to 128Mb). A The trouble with such a vari- and now have to connect it to your cables are pressed generous 850Mb hard disk from Seagate sits ety of formats, continually devel- PC. Several interfaces are in cur- down tidily towards in the middle of the machine with the Pana- oped over what is now almost a rent use, the most common being the sides of the box sonic CD-ROM drive and disk drive on the 15-year period, is finding a three proprietary interfaces that so that all compo- righthand side. machine which can successfully have become standards offered on nents are clear to Its not just tidiness which distinguishes read all of them. After all, your most sound cards. They are Sony, view. The processor this machine from the others. It also audio CD players at home may Mitsumi, and Matsushita (aka is well out of the produced top performance results which put have the right laser pickup Panasonic). The oldest and still way of any slots on it head and shoulders above all the other assembly, but they don’t stand a highest performing, although the the righthand side of machines in this group test. There’s also an chance of recognising, let alone most expensive, is SCSI. the motherboard, excellent CTX monitor thrown into the deal actually doing anything useful with, other you to listen to Red Book audio discs directly Increasingly common these days are IDE sporting a shiny along with a pair of 25W speakers, and a types of discs. This is infuriating since the through headphone or line audio sockets. drives, which may be daisychained with IDE yellow heat sink. good selection of software. discs themselves are physically as good as Every CD has a table of contents (TOC) hard drives in much the same way as SCSI, The Ziff socket on identical. which carries track information. Orange Book while avoiding the need to buy a new inter- which it sits is posi- In order to realise what discs do what solves the problems of writing CDs, where face. Unfortunately, the IDE interface was tioned with its lever PCW Details and which machine will read what, you later recordings on the same disc require never designed for anything other than hard right on the edge of need to identify clearly the different their own update TOC. Part of the appeal of drives, and until companies like Microsoft Dan Premium 66/MM the motherboard so formats: at least this is an area of CD that Kodak’s Photo-CD format is that you don’t update their drivers, the desirable 32-bit disk Price £1,487 ver the years, Dan machines have that you can get at it easily. In one of the Contact Dan Technology is reasonably well defined. The information have to fill the disc with images on the first access of Windows 3.11 is sacrificed when Odeveloped certain characteristic traits three PCI slots is a Stealth 64 graphics card 0181 3801100 ☎ describing a CD standard is written on go: you can return at a later date and add an IDE CD-ROM drive is daisychained. Solu- which distinguish them instantly from the with 2Mb VRAM (expandable to 4Mb) while pages bound between the coloured covers more images until the disc is full. The infor- tions include fitting the drive to a different IDE Good Points Excellent build quality, crowd. The company has made its name by one of three ISA slots is filled by a Sound of a book. That standard is known by the mation on a Photo-CD is Yellow Book CD- channel: many I/O cards offer two IDE chan- good selection of pre-installed software, the excellent build quality of its machines Blaster 16 card. With parallel and serial ports top performance results. colour of that cover. ROM format and consequently readable on nels, some sound cards offer an extra one, as well as high scores on performance built into the motherboard, this leaves plenty Bad Points None. First up is CD-Audio, known as Red any drive — with just one small condition. while additional basic IDE interfaces are tests and solid after-sales support. All of room for expansion with two PCI slots, two Conclusion This is not the cheapest Book. CD-ROM is Yellow Book. Record- The problem is that subsequent record- available for around £10. Otherwise, wait for machines come with a 12-month on-site ISA slots and one VESA slot. machine in this group test, but the price able CD, which includes Photo-CD, is ings, known as sessions, are only recognis- Windows 95 and keep your fingers crossed warranty, as well as a free technical sup- The RAM is placed accessibly between is reasonable considering the excellent Orange Book. More recently is White able by a multi-session drive. Single-session that the problem will be addressed. port hotline. the power unit and on-board I/O and consists balance of components. Book, the standard for storing up to 74 drives can only see the first TOC and Gordon Laing Unlike many of the machines in this of two 72-pin slots, one of which is filled with

462 463 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 GROUP TEST: DX2/66

Dell Dimension 466 DL we finally liberated card you can upgrade the system to give two it. It’s a slimline VESA slots and one ISA. machine and the The monitor included with this machine is whole of the front of reasonable quality and there are a nice panel comes off as pair of Labtec speakers with volume, treble part of the lid, very and bass controls as well as a socket for much in the same headphones. One slight niggle is the style as the AST positioning of the keyboard against the machine. machine, as it obscures the CD-ROM drive. Inside, there’s a The test results showed only average perfor- standard set of mance despite the use of Enhanced IDE. components: a 525Mb hard disk from Western Digi- tal to the centre- PCW Details right of the machine Dell Dimension 466 DL with the power pack Price £1,199 at the righthand Contact 01344 728000 ☎ his machine from Dell comes with lots side at the back. There’s on-board local-bus Good Points Good general build Tof “getting started” help. On removing it video using the standard Cirrus Logic chip quality, excellent documentation. from the box you’re presented with a huge set (GD542X). To the left of the hard disk is a Bad Points No local-bus slots available fold-up piece of card listing stage-by-stage riser card providing three ISA slots, one of unless you install a riser card upgrade. instructions for how to put your system which is taken up by the Vibra 16 sound card Conclusion Generally good quality and together. Once you’ve turned it all on, from Creative Labs. reasonable price, but lack of VL slots there’s an opening screen with various Although this machine is in Dell’s ISA/VL on the standard model is frustrating, helpful menu options. Systems range, there’s no VESA slot avail- especially when other cheaper machines (like the Brother) do provide Getting the lid off this machine proved able on the riser card. Careful study of the such features as standard. something of a feat. It took two of us a solid manual, however, will tell you that by replac- 15 minutes of wrestling and pulling before ing the existing riser card with a VESA riser

Espy Impulse 66M

systems from of this machine is that large amounts of glue MBM come with a have been used to hold down the cables, lifetime labour and which doesn’t help when you try to move 12-month parts cables around or add new components. warranty. A few other bits and pieces are thrown This machine’s into the deal including a pair of highly casing is fairly stan- impressive Yamaha speakers. There’s also dard. Inside is a some pre-installed Windows software in the familiar set of com- form of an integrated package called ponents including a TopLevel Complete Works. These things Panasonic CD-ROM don’t make up for the annoyances inside the drive and hard disk machine, however, and despite the use of from Western Digi- Enhanced IDE it produced only average tal. The processor results in our tests. is mounted on a beige Ziff socket PCW Details with a fan placed on Espy Impulse 66M top, and a Cirrus Price £1,330* his machine is from Matek Business Logic (GD5228) graphics card is placed in Contact MBM 01403 822199 ☎ TMedia, a small Horsham-based com- one of the two VESA slots. There are four pany set up last year. MBM produces a ISA slots, one of which contains a Pro 16 Good Points Good warranty, nice speakers. range of standard systems from entry-level Plus sound card from Quickshot. This is Bad Points Awkward inside, no PCI. 486s through to Pentiums, but has built up -compatible and supports Conclusion Poor build quality is not much of its business creating bespoke Sony, Mitsumi and Panasonic CD-ROM drives. really compensated for by good systems for corporate clients. One of the The fan on the processor is poorly posi- warranty support. advantages of buying from a small compa- tioned as it prevents the insertion of full-length * Matek now has a PCI machine available ny is that the after-sales support and war- cards into ISA slots. The RAM is also awk- for a reduced price of £1,229. ranty are often of a much higher standard ward to get to due to the overhanging power than from large organisations. All supply at the top of the machine. One feature

464 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 GROUP TEST: DX2/66 GROUP TEST: DX2/66

Gateway 2000 P4D-66I Family PC Mesh Universal Media DX2/66

typical low-profile of the usual even number. One of them is and two ISA slots. These are easily accessible and can be design with a dou- filled with an 8Mb SIMM. The I/O card is made up to a maximum of 128Mb. ble-sided riser card There’s a sensible selection of pre- made up of two There’s a reasonable supply of pre- in the middle pro- installed software including Microsoft Works, parts joined installed software thrown in with this system, viding two PCI slots Microsoft Money and Encarta, as well as a together, one in a including Lotus Organiser, Microsoft Encarta and three ISA slots. pre-installed Windows program called QA PCI slot and anoth- and Microsoft Musical instruments as well as One ISA slot is filled Plus which contains information for new er in an adjacent a selection of CD-ROM games, but there are by a SoundBlaster users as well as details on the system config- ISA slot. This no “getting started”-type user manuals. 16 card and there’s uration. Although this machine only achieved strange-looking There’s a nice pair of Aiwa speakers, as well plenty of room for average performance results, its excellent arrangement is as a good 15in CTX monitor, and the perfor- expansion due to build quality, generous three-year warranty called a “paddle mance results were above average, but the on-board I/O and and low price have to put it high up on your card” and provides poor build quality prevents me from recom- video (Cirrus Logic short list. dual EIDE channels mending this machine wholeheartedly. GD5430). supporting up to To the righthand four hard disks. side of the riser One of the PCI card there’s one slots is taken up by free ISA and one a Diamond Stealth ateway 2000 and Dell are the two free PCI slot, but these are slightly restricted PCW Details his is the desktop version of Mesh’s 64 card while the sound card, a Spectrum PCW Details Gmail-order kings of the PC market. due to the positioning of the disk drive and TDX2/66 multimedia machine. Inside, from Media Vision, has been put into a VESA This method of selling has several advan- hard disk at the front. Gateway 2000 P4D-66I Family PC everything is fairly standard with the left- slot. Like some other machines in this round- Mesh Universal Media DX2/66 tages, the greatest being that telephone The ISA slot at the bottom on the lefthand Price £1,149 hand side of the box housing the mother- up, this is because of the bad positioning of Price £1,272 customers tend to be more knowledgeable side is also restricted by the positioning of the Contact Gateway 0800 602000 ☎ board, processor, and card slots while the the processor and fan which prevent the Contact Mesh 0181 4521111 ☎ about what they want, so mail-order PCs RAM at the front, which precludes the instal- Good Points Well constructed, good righthand side holds the power unit and insertion of long cards into ISA slots. This Good Points Lots of room for have to conform to higher standards. lation of full-length cards. The only slot you selection of pre-installed software, Sanyo CD-ROM drive. In the centre sits seems like a waste of a good VESA slot, but expansion, above average test results. The most striking thing about this could place a full-length card in is the top ISA generous warranty. the disk drive with a 730Mb Western Digital even with this in place there are still two Bad Points Poor build quality. machine is its colour — a clean white slot on the lefthand side. The RAM itself is Bad Points Cramped inside, average hard disk underneath. VESA slots, two PCI slots and one ISA slot Conclusion There are better ways of rather than the usual beige. The lid easy to get to at the front of the machine and performance results. This machine has all three slot types: free. The 8Mb RAM has been made up of spending this amount of money. comes off easily, and inside there’s a strangely there are three RAM slots instead Conclusion Good, safe buy. there are three VESA slots, three PCI slots 4Mb SIMMs in two of the four 72-pin slots.

HP Vectra VL2PC 4-66 Mitac DV446V

feature is the which holds it in is covered over by the metal socket. about this machine is that everything is easily strange metal block lip of the case. The CD-ROM accessible and there are no annoying on the lefthand side The video is integrated into the mother- drive supplied by obstructions which could prevent the use of which stretches board using HP’s proprietary local-bus tech- Mitsumi is a double- full-length cards. across the entire nology and the standard GD-5428 Cirrus speed 16-bit The pre-installed software is pretty mini- length of the Logic chipset. The sound card is HP’s own Enhanced IDE malist, however, so you’ll have to weigh up machine. This is a SoundBlaster clone with a SCSI interface. drive. An EIDE con- exactly what facilities you need and add their removable power In some ways it’s nice to see a machine troller offers twice cost to the total before investing. This unit with a built-in which hasn’t been cobbled together from off- the number of machine is very well put together, with easy fan which is set up the-shelf parts. On the other hand, it’s channels and dou- access to SIMMs and good expansion capa- so that it sits direct- depressing that so much design effort has ble the data transfer bility. It also produced excellent results in the ly over the proces- resulted in a machine which is not only awk- rate of IDE. This NSTL benchmarks with its overall score sor. This entire ward to use, but also ranked fifth from the machine is some- ranking it fourth out of 20 machines. block must be bottom in our benchmarks. thing of a hybrid removed each time with two VESA you want to gain slots, two ISA and access to the mem- PCW Details three PCI slots. The ory sockets, video 8Mb RAM is made HP Vectra VL2PC 4-66 PCW Details ewlett Packard is a company better memory, processor or accessory board slots. itac is the second-largest up of two 4Mb SIMMs, leaving two slots free. Price £2,106 known for its expertise in the printer At first this seems like a good design feature, manufacturer of PCs in Taiwan after The sound card is a Mozart from Oak Mitac DV446V H Contact Hewlett Packard M market than for building PCs. Vectra is the but it soon proved annoying. Acer. It invests a lot of money in R&D and Technology, a SoundBlaster clone with inter- Price £1,099 01344 369222 ☎ name of a series of multimedia PCs In the middle of the machine, between the makes its own motherboards and monitors. faces for the three most popular CD-ROM Contact Mitac Europe 01952 207200 ☎ Good Points Very nice monitor. produced by HP, all of which come with an power unit and the hard disk, are four ordi- The outside casing of this, its latest drives on the market: Sony, Mitsumi and Good Points Has PCI and VESA local Bad Points No local-bus slots, very integrated speaker, SCSI CD-ROM drive nary ISA slots. The bottom one is occupied offering, is pretty standard with a large Panasonic. One of the PCI slots is filled by bus, an excellent monitor and good little room for expansion, over-priced. expansion capabilities. and an audio front panel with jacks for by the sound card, with the audio cable and Conclusion The excellent monitor power button and small reset button on the the graphics card, a tiny ARK 1000 P from Bad Points There could be more pre- headphones and microphone. SCSI connector trailing upwards and obscur- accounts to some extent for the high front. The casing can be removed by three Ark Logic. All disk and I/O support is provided installed software and more guidance The cover slides off nicely by moving ing access to the other slots. This can, of price but cannot rescue this machine screws at the back and comes off fairly on the motherboard so there’s plenty of room for the user. two tabs on the front of the machine course, be moved to solve the problem, but from its poor performance. easily. Inside, the processor and the gold for expansion with two free PCI slots, one Conclusion An absolute bargain. inwards. The most noticeable internal the top slot is awkward to get at as the screw heat sink are located inside a white Ziff ISA and two VESA slots. The nice thing

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MJN DX2/66 V/CD

This machine making one of the ISA slots unusable. This looks more like an leaves two ISA slots free and two VESA office fileserver than slots. The processor is placed next to the a home PC. It ISA slots. stands 23in tall and There’s a generous 1Gb hard disk with 7in wide, with the this machine as well as a good supply of Help CD-ROM drive and manuals and tutorial software. The RAM is 3.5in drive at the top easily accessible at the top of the of the unit. Getting motherboard, with two 72-pin SIMMs filled the lid off this with 4Mb each and four 30-pin SIMM slots for machine turned out future expansion. If you really want loads of to be something of a room in your machine, then this is the system Krypton Factor to buy. exercise. A panel covering the whole of the back of the machine had to be removed to get at JN Technology was formed seven the screws holding down the lid. Myears ago, running as an independent Inside, there’s bundles of space with company based in Cheltenham. In 1993 it three 3.5 and three 5.25in bays free. A long PCW Details folded and shortly afterwards, Granville trail of cables and wires drape through the Technology bought the name. MJN now middle of the machine connecting the CD- MJN DX2/66 V/CD runs as a subsidiary company of Granville ROM drive to a Jazz 16 sound card and the Price £1,199 Contact MJN 01282 777555 ☎ Technology and has a UK customer base I/O card to the drives. Altogether there are of over 100,000. All machines come with a four ISA slots and three VESA slots. Two Good Points Loads of expandability. one-year parts and labour warranty, tele- VESA slots are filled, one by the I/O card Bad Points No PCI, below average test phone technical support line and Lotus and another by a Stealth 32 video card. results. Conclusion Good value for money. SmartSuite pre-installed. The I/O card takes up two back plates,

Panrix Titan

video card with 2Mb under the cables from the power unit are four DRAM. 72-pin SIMM slots. Two of them are filled with The plastic cas- one 4Mb SIMM each, and this can be ing is easily remov- expanded to a maximum of 128Mb. able. Inside, the This machine produced excellent scores components are set on our tests and the Enhanced IDE clearly up in a standard improved performance in many of the test arrangement with applications. There’s a bare minimum of pre- the PSU and hard installed software with this machine, howev- disk placed in the er, and very little help in terms of user top corner at the manuals, but it comes with a good ViewSonic back of the machine monitor as well as two very large 80W speak- and the CD-ROM ers. This goes some way towards justifying drive directly oppo- the higher-than-usual price of £1,495. site with three spare bays underneath. The first thing you notice about the anrix has a reputation for producing motherboard is the collection of bright red PCW Details Phigh-spec machines at high prices. In jumpers, clearly coloured so you can identify the past it has dealt mostly with corporate them easily. Panrix Titan clients but more recently has branched out Altogether there are three PCI slots and Price £1,495 Contact Panrix 0113 244 4958 ☎ into the SoHo market due to increasing four ISA slots, and with on-board I/O there’s demand for multimedia machines. plenty of room left for expansion. The proces- Good Points Excellent build quality This Titan DX2/66 tower machine is the sor, as with many of the machines in this and impressive performance. entry-level model in a range of PCs from group test, is badly placed to the righthand Bad Points None worth mentioning. Conclusion Well-specified machine Panrix. It comes with a 540Mb Conner hard side of the motherboard, preventing the use with excellent build quality and good disk, a Panasonic CD-ROM drive, a Sound- of full-length cards in at least five of the performance. Blaster 16 sound card and a Mach 64 PCI seven expansion slots. Slightly obscured

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Peacock PPD OHDD

although this makes on a white Ziff socket with the lever well the system box a positioned on the edge of the motherboard. little cumbersome, There’s no heat sink or fan with this proces- the advantages are sor because the Cyrix V80 runs at a lower clear when you take voltage than Intel’s chips, and next to the a look inside, where processor there’s a small cludge sitting on a everything is tiny platform to control this. immaculately laid For a machine which claims to use a out and labelled. superior chip technology, the Peacock pro- There are two duced disappointing results in our tests, VESA slots and four ranking eighth out of twenty DX2/66 ISA slots with a machines. This is not disastrous, but we local-bus STB Light- expected much more. The excellent speed graphics card construction quality, however, goes some with 2Mb memory way towards compensating for this. and an Orchid 16-bit sound card. There’s plenty of room for eacock and AST are the only two expansion thanks to on-board IO. Towards PCW Details Pmanufacturers in this group test to the back on the lefthand side sits an incredi- Peacock PPD OHDD submit machines using Cyrix processors. bly small power supply with at least three Price £1,349 This machine’s CPU, though, stands out in inches to spare above it. The hard disk from Contact Peacock UK 01256 811775 ☎ another way — it’s a DX2/V80. According to Quantum is found to the righthand side of the Good Points Impeccable build quality. Cyrix, it offers up to 35 percent power unit. Bad Points No “getting started” docu- improvement over an Intel-based DX2/66 On the other hand, all the slots, RAM and mentation. Big system unit. for the same price, which is why we decided screws are accessible and clear to view and Conclusion Excellent components and to include it here. the processor is ideally positioned so as not lots of room for expansion but still a little Saving space obviously wasn’t a high to prevent the installation of full-length cards. overpriced. priority in the mind of the designer and It is placed at the front to the right of the slots

Simply Computers 66VLB

while the bunch of keyboard away. cables from the This system does have some good fea- power unit has been tures. The components are all of good quali- folded in half and ty: there’s a Mitsumi CD-ROM drive, a wrapped up with Western Digital hard disk and a plastic ties. SoundBlaster 16 sound card. The combina- Further examina- tion of these components and EIDE have tion of the back wall given this machine good scores in the bench- reveals a more seri- mark tests, ranking it among the top third, but ous design fault: none of these things make up for the there are no slot appallingly sloppy build quality. Even if you’re covers. The pieces a novice user who will never remove the lid, of metal which you’ll still have to put up with the ugly casing. should be slot cov- ers are in fact pieces of flimsy, welded metal which must be pushed out of their PCW Details esthetically speaking, the case of this frames in order to get to the slots. Simply Computers 66VLB machine leaves a lot to be desired. On There are seven slots altogether: four ISA A Price £1,351 the front there’s a rectangle of smoked and three VESA. One of the VESA slots is Contact Simply Computers glass sporting Simply Computer’s red being used for the COMMs ports and the 0181 498 4002 ☎ heart-shaped logo, and inside the machine cables push out so much towards the middle Good Points Good scores on perfor- things don’t get much better. of the machine that one of the ISA slots is mance tests, nice speakers and nice The wires are curiously arranged. The rendered virtually unusable. Another minor monitor. audio cable from the sound card has been annoyance is that the keyboard is slightly Bad Points Very badly put together; tacked against the back wall of the case, higher than the 3.5in disk drive, making it overpriced. awkwardly dangling above one of the slots, difficult to insert disks without pulling the Conclusion Keep looking.

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What to look for when buying a monitor

emember that when you use your computer, you will see improvements from 72 to 75Hz. Below 70Hz is generally Ralways be looking at your monitor. You can easily and considered unacceptable and will very shortly be discouraged cheaply make significant upgrades to most parts of your by office safety regulations. system at any point, but a new monitor is a hefty purchase. Interestingly, all current broadcast television systems Since it will be possibly the most expensive single element implement an interlaced display; our own PAL system in your system, it’s perhaps sensible to buy a good one to refreshes at 50Hz. That’s why a TV picture appears to flicker start with and worry about expanding memory or storage considerably more than a computer monitor, why a TV is at a later date. cheaper than a monitor of the same tube size, and why you When considering monitors that are supplied with PCs wouldn’t want to sit a foot away from one, typing for hours as standard, manufacturers tend to gloss over the finer on end. technicalities, but a trend has emerged. So-called So, you should look for a monitor that can support your “standard” 14in monitors tend to be rubbish, “standard” desired resolution, non-interlaced, at 70Hz or above. Of 15in monitors are okay, and “upgrade for only £200 to our course, having a superb monitor is no good if your graphics superb 17in model” monitors tend to be pretty good — a card is only giving out a maximum of say, 65Hz, so check handy guideline. Sadly, if you want something really good, everything before taking the financial plunge. you’ll be better off saying “no thanks” to almost all the The combination of a particular resolution at a certain standard models on offer and refresh rate will produce a unique spending a bit more for a brand signal frequency which your moni- name like NEC or Sony. This tor will have to recognise and lock can be a real minefield, so we’ve on to. The beauty of a multisync provided the following guide. monitor is that it will lock on to any How much is a bit more? If frequency between two ranges; if you’re serious about computer your graphics card is supplying graphics work of any kind, then something in this range, the moni- reach deep into your pocket: tor should be able to display it. decent monitors cost at least Having worked at high several hundred pounds, and if resolutions with finer details and you’re looking at something very considerably larger “real estate”, large then you’re unlikely to you won’t want to go back and will return from the shop with often want to drive your monitor change from a grand. harder. Some modest-looking There are several key things smaller monitors can, surprisingly, to look out for in a monitor display an incredibly high before you even think about resolution, non-interlaced, at a auditioning it. First must be the decent refresh rate. While this maximum resolution it will display, non-interlaced, at a would render system fonts and icons at tiny sizes, some users decent refresh rate. Resolution is the number of pixels the may want to try it just because the facility is available. video card is describing the desktop with, expressed as a The fourth monitor specification you should look out for is horizontal by vertical figure. Standard VGA resolution is dot pitch: the smaller the number, the finer and better 640 x 480 pixels, although other popular settings include resolved the detail. If you try to supply too many pixels to a 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768 pixels. monitor without a sufficient dot pitch to cope, very fine The terms “interlaced” and “non-interlaced” creep in details such as the writing beneath icons will appear blurred. around this point. Interlacing is the process of drawing Our best advice is to see the monitor demonstrated in condi- every other line, say 1, 3, 5, until the entire screen is full, tions approximating as closely as possible to those present in then going back to the top and drawing the others, say 2, your office or home — you’ll soon spot any problems. 4, 6 again until the bottom is reached. Since an entire Image controls are becoming increasingly frequent on frame is drawn in two goes, the resulting effect is a highly smaller monitors, which are extremely useful for correcting undesirable flickering display. Non-interlaced is where position, size and distortion. The external size and every line is drawn before returning to the top for the next appearance is important too, especially if you’re after a 17in frame, resulting in a far steadier display. Consequently, it’s or 20in monitor and only have a small desk. recommended that you only ever buy a monitor that can As far as safety regulations and dangerous radiation is support your desired resolution in non-interlaced mode. concerned, our best advice is to take regular breaks away Another main point to note is refresh rate, measured in from your monitor every hour or so. Additionally, try not to hertz (Hz) and representing the number of frames have the monitor up against a wall, since glancing to one side displayed on screen per second. Too few and the eye will and focusing on a distant object helps the eye to relax. An notice the intervals in-between and perceive a flickering HSE (Health and Safety Executive) publication, Working display; but at a certain point, most people’s eyes and with VDUs, contains guidelines for working with computer brains can’t keep up and perceive a perfectly steady display equipment. Other guides explain the regulations in display. The worldwide accepted refresh rate for a flicker- legal and practical terms. The HSE is on 01742 892345. free display is 70Hz and above, although many people can Gordon Laing

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Tag DX2/66 Sound Cards

PCI Moviecard from bad positioning of the processor. One PCI f you were to have looked at PC systems comes to the audio output from the synthe- slight loss of quality. Video Logic. The slot is rendered unusable by the cables from Ifive years ago, you would have been hard siser, the story is very different, however. When an audio cassette is played back latter gives high-per- the EA Pro, while another PCI slot and the pushed to find a 16-bit sound card among FM synthesis, used by the SB16, has too fast or too slow, its pitch is modified. The formance graphics 8-bit ISA slot are also made unusable by the them. Not only were they expensive then, been around since the early seventies. It same is true of digital audio. Playing a sam- and supports resolu- I/O card. This leaves just one 16-bit ISA slot but software that could use them was produces sound by generating a pure sine ple back at a higher frequency than its origi- tions up to 1280 x and one VESA slot free. uncommon. wave, known as a carrier, and mixes it with a nal results in a higher-pitched sound, thus 1024 with 256 Various goodies thrown in with this Today, it seems that no PC is complete second waveform known as a modulator. allowing instruments to play over several colours. It also has machine explain the higher than usual price, without a sound card, and more and more When the two waveforms are close in octaves. But when certain timbres are pro- built-in acceleration but it’s let down by poor build quality and multimedia packages are taking advantage frequency, a complex waveform is produced. duced and played back too fast, they begin to for Video for Win- disappointing test results. of 16-bit sound. With multimedia taking off By controlling both the carrier and the modu- sound weak and thin. dows which enables in such a big way, it isn’t just games that lator, it’s possible to create different timbres, This is also true when a sample is played full-screen video at benefit. You can add sound to most Win- or instruments. too slow: it sounds dull and unrealistic. To up to 30 frames/sec. dows applications — even text documents FM was impressive in the eighties but it overcome this, manufacturers split up the Like most tower can have sound files embedded within sounds weak now in comparison with keyboard into several regions and apply the systems, this one PCW Details them. WaveTable synthesisers. In our last sound relatively pitched sample from the original has a trail of untidy All the PCs in this group test have a card group test (April 1995) we tested fifteen instrument to it. The more sample regions wires draped from Tag DX2/66 16-bit sound card (most turned up with a sound cards, twelve of which were based on recorded, the more realistic is the resulting top to bottom, held Price £1,618 Creative Labs SoundBlaster 16 fitted). The WaveTable technology. WaveTable doesn’t reproduction. t the front of this machine, believe it or in small clumps by tie wraps. The EA Pro Contact Tag Technology SB16 has long been the industry standard use carriers and modulators to create sound, WaveTable produces more realistic- 0181 803 7770 ☎ A not, there’s a graphic equaliser, or provides a back plate with an output for the and is compatible with just about every but actual samples of real instruments. A sounding instruments than FM-based cards more specifically, the Equaliser Amplifier speakers and an input from the CD-ROM Good Points Good selection of compo- piece of software under the sun. It sample is a digital representation of a wave- and more manufacturers are using the tech- Pro from Platinum. It has seven bands, a drive. One small cable from the sound card to nents including the Graphic Equaliser produces audio in two ways: through its form produced by an instrument. The sam- nology. Upgrading to WaveTable sound volume and balance control, and aims to the EA Pro at the back of the machine makes Pro, PCI Movie card, Platinum speakers internal FM synthesiser or by playing a ples are generally stored in ROM, although doesn’t always mean having to buy a new and monitor. turn your PC into the full-range, stereo, this connection. digitised, or sampled, sound. some WaveTable sound cards store the sound card, though. Most 16-bit cards have a Bad Points Poor build quality and 60W sound machine that multimedia PCs Altogether, there are three PCI slots, two The current crop of 16-bit sound cards instrument samples on the hard disk and feature connector that connects to a unimpressive performance. always promised to be. 16-bit ISA slots, one 8-bit ISA slot and two Conclusion Great multimedia are capable of recording and playing digital download the patches to on-board RAM. The WaveTable daughterboard; one card that Inside, there’s a selection of good com- VESA slots. One of the VESA slots is taken peripherals, shame about the way audio at 44.1kHz stereo. This is the resolu- advantage here is that you can record your doesn’t is the SB16 Value edition. ponents including a Panasonic CD-ROM up by the SoundBlaster 16 because it’s too they’ve been put together. tion at which CD-audio is recorded, which own samples and treat them as instruments. It’s obvious that sound cards make drive, a SoundBlaster 16 sound card and a long to fit into an ordinary ISA slot due to the is why sound cards are often referred to as The quality of instruments is determined sound, but they also double up as CD-ROM having “CD-quality” sound. Although to by several factors: the frequency at which interfaces. In addition to SCSI and IDE, some extent this is true, some produce the samples were recorded and the number which are becoming more popular, there are Viglen 4DX266 Genie PCI Professional audible noise which distorts their quality. of samples used to create each instrument. three proprietary interfaces for Sony, Mitsumi Despite some cards being noisier than Most instrument samples are recorded in and Panasonic drives. Sound cards have an mini-tower which under the power unit — probably the worst others, digital audio will sound much the 16-bit 44.1kHz, but many manufacturers audio connector for the CD-audio output, too. offers three free place. There are four 72-pin SIMMs, two of same from one card to the next. When it compress the data which often results in Steven Helstrip 5.25in drive bays. which are filled with 4Mb SIMMs. If you want The front panel is to add more you have to take out four screws simple with turbo, from the back of the power unit and delve DX2/66MHz Overall Results reset and power underneath. Totals switches and a Apart from this annoyance, the general Manufacturer Overall results Genie PCI Profes- build quality of the machine is excellent and 012 3 sional logo. At the there’s a good selection of pre-installed soft- back, all ware including Microsoft Works, Encarta and CompuAdd 1.46 connections have Money. It also scored extremely well on our Zenith 1.75 been clearly benchmark tests, ranking third out of 20 AST 1.82 labelled. machines. Tag 1.91 Inside the HP Vectra 1.92 machine, the design Wearnes 2.09 is clear and simply Brother 2.14 laid out. On the left- MJN 2.23 hand side, there are PCW Details Gateway 2.28 iglen is another of the mail-order three PCI slots and four ISA slots. Two of Espy 2.33 Viglen 4DX2/66 Genie PCI Professional Dell Vgiants, selling PCs direct to customers each are left free for expansion. The proces- Price £1,463 2.35 using magazine advertisements and tele- sor sits on a white Ziff socket at the front of Contact Viglen 0181 7587000 ☎ Mesh 2.40 phone sales. The company was bought out the machine, preventing the insertion of full- Peacock 2.41 Good Points Excellent build quality, by Amstrad in July last year but continues length cards into two of the ISA slots. The Amstrad 2.50 good quality components. to sell its own branded PCs. hard disk from Western Digital is wedged to Bad Points RAM is very badly Simply Computers 2.51 This desktop machine is one of Viglen’s the righthand side of the power unit while all positioned. Carrera 2.56 Genie range. It has a 540Mb hard disk, the cables are nicely tucked away between Conclusion Good, safe buy, but a little Mitac 2.65 Vibra 16 sound card and a PCI Stealth 64 the power unit and the CD-ROM drive. overpriced. Viglen 2.72 video card. The system unit itself is a Everything seems perfect with this Panrix 2.74 sensible size, and is also available as a machine, until you realise the RAM is placed Dan 2.98

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Monitors

AST Vision 4I Goldstar 14in (with Espy machine less stable 1280 x 1024 at 60Hz. The con- is capable of displaying 1024 x 768 at 60Hz, better results in our tests, giving its best This monitor has been designed with a from Matek) and 15in (with the trols at the base of the screen are in the form but this is a little flickery. The screen is slight- picture at 800 x 600 at 72Hz refresh rate. It heavy, deep-set surround which looks like Carrera) of a digital control panel and LCD display, so ly curved and has a chunky, deep surround does 1024 x 768 at 70Hz, but this is not as it could be there to disguise an extremely The 14in Goldstar monitor is a very basic you can control the size and position as well in the same clean, white finish as the system stable. Like most of the monitors here, this curved screen. Unfortunately it doesn’t piece of equipment with an annoyingly round- as adjusting barrell and pincushion functions unit. The colour tests showed up slight one is EPA approved and has a power but- work, and just makes the whole thing look ed screen, and simple rotating controls for and trapezoidal distortion. A recall button patchiness and some discolouration in parts ton which changes colour from green to awkward. sizing and positioning at the base. Like most puts the display back to factory settings, a of the display. The usual sizing, positioning, amber when it’s in power-saving mode. A small panel below the surround of the monitors in this round-up it is Energy degauss function corrects the display after brightness and contrast controls are at the The usual array of buttons is available at opens out to show the usual array of con- Star compliant, which means that the power magnetic field interference, and there’s a bottom of the screen, but there are no extra the base of the screen, plus an additional trols for positioning, sizing, brightness and consumption will be automatically reduced function to display the current refresh rate. functions. Not the best monitor in the world, zoom button. If you frequently move from contrast. At 800 x 600 the picture flickers when the machine is not in use. Very poor This is undoubtedly one of the best monitors but overall not bad for the price. one screen mode to another, this will allow slightly due to its desperately low 60Hz picture quality is achieved at 800 x 600 at a in this round-up. you to switch quickly between two screen refresh rate, and at 1024 x 768 the image pitiful 56Hz and 1024 x 768 at an unbearable Peacock AG setups. The picture is slightly bulbous becomes unbearable, running at 87Hz 87Hz interlaced. If you care about your moni- Brother BM76L This 15in monitor from Peacock displays its towards the top, however, and cannot be

interlaced. tor at all, don’t end up with this one. This 14in monitor displays 800 x 600 at 75Hz best picture at a resolution of 800 x 600 at corrected because there are no trapezoidal Dell This is not a monitor you would want to The 15in Goldstar monitor, re-badged by and 1024 x 768 at 60Hz. It has an unusual 72Hz refresh rate. The screen is nice and controls supplied. look at for any length of time, whether Carrera, has several noticeable grey surround which is easy on the eye, and flat, and the controls provide more than the you’re using an ordinary word processor or improvements. The screen is flatter and the a curved screen. The screen control dials at average selection of functions. A panel at MJN Proscan 15in a top-of-the-range graphics package. controls are enhanced by added pincushion the base have the usual set of functions for the bottom of the screen opens out to two This basic Taxan monitor has the usual and trapezoidal functions. The picture at sizing, positioning, brightness and contrast. groups of four buttons, in diamond shapes, rotating controls for sizing, positioning, Hewlett Packard Ultra VGA 1280 1024 x 768 is reasonably stable, but the The picture on this monitor is slightly flickery which provide sizing and positioning brightness and contrast at the bottom of the This 17in monitor produced excellent colour tests showed up the grainy quality of even at 800 x 600 and curvature of the controls. The two bottom buttons when screen and gives a reasonable picture at results in our tests. The flat screen, thin the display as well as slight discolouration screen can become annoying. At 1024 x 768 pressed together force the controls into 800 x 600, at 72Hz. At 1024 x 768, however, surround and sharp colours are nice and towards the edges of the screen — not a the flickering is accentuated and Windows mode 2 which gives pincushion and rotation the picture is virtually unusable as it runs at it’s one of the few monitors in this review good monitor for heavy graphics use. icons become completely fuzzed up. The controls. A degaussing button resets the an extremely low 60Hz. The monitor tests which displays 1024 x 1280, although this colour tests revealed an overall graininess monitor if it has been damaged by magnetic revealed a lot of patchiness across the is not its most stable resolution. Mitac Monitor 1450 PD across the display. Not the best monitor in equipment. Despite its superior set of con- screen and colours seem generally fuzzy. The controls give onscreen dialogue This is an excellent-quality monitor manufac- the world, but it is part of a very cheap deal. trols, this monitor is let down by its pale, The focus tests also showed up a certain boxes, providing the usual sizing and posi- tured by Mitac. It has on-screen positioning washed-out colours, and the geometry tests amount of distortion at the edges of the

tioning functions as well as a pincushion and sizing tools, a neat, shallow surround Dell revealed slight distortion towards the edges screen. This is not a monitor you would want Amstrad control. All controls are manipulated using and a reasonably flat screen. A flap at the This 15in monitor is one of the few which of the screen. to look at for any length of time but its poor two mode buttons which select and high- base of the screen opens out to reveal five displays 1024 x 768 at 72Hz. The screen is quality is somewhat justified by the economi- adequate, but it is not suitable for heavy light functions, and two arrow buttons buttons which provide on-screen controls for reasonably flat and there are six rotating con- Tatung 14in monitor (with the cal price of the overall system (£1,199). graphics work. which alter the levels. It also displays the sizing, positioning, pincushion, barrel distor- trols at the base of the screen for positioning, Amstrad) and 15in Tatung current refresh rate, which confirms its tion, and a trapezoidal function. The two sizing, brightness and contrast. The surround CM15VDE (with the CompuAdd) Zenith Viglen Monitor Envy-15P superiority over other models in this selection arrows allow you to pick the func- is a little too bulky but not anything like as The Tatung 14in colour monitor is a typically The Zenith monitor performed well on our This Viglen monitor has a thin, unobtrusive round-up. tion you require from the on-screen palette clumsy as the AST model. The monitor tests budget piece of equipment. The best picture tests. It’s a stylish 15in flat screen model and surround with a full set of controls hidden in and adjust with the + or - buttons. A status showed up slight patchiness on some of the I could get was 800 x 600 at a painful 60Hz is built of bright, white plastic. There are a panel at the base. As well as the basic Wearnes VGM 1415N button displays the current vertical and hori- blank colour screens, although general refresh rate. It is noticeably flickery and has basic screen controls hidden behind a small controls, there are trapezoidal, rotation and Wearnes makes its own monitors as well zontal refresh rate. This monitor displays 800 colour definition seemed good. Generally, a blue tinge which cannot be altered using opening panel at the base of the surround, degauss functions. Like many of the moni- as CD-ROM drives, which may be a factor x 600 at 75.5Hz, giving an excellent-quality this monitor performed well in the tests the brightness or contrast controls. The as well as a trapezoidal function. In 800 x tors provided with machines in this round-up, which helps to keep the overall price down. stable image and vibrant colours. although best results were achieved at 800 x screen is also horribly rounded, and after 600 x 64K colours the picture is stable, and this one offers the best picture at 800 x 600 This model displays a clear, stable image 600 resolution. looking at it for a few minutes it can make colours display evenly across the screen. with 64K colours, but is capable of resolu- at its maximum resolution of 1024 x 768 CTX 15in colour you feel quite ill. If you value your eyes, shop But in 1024 x 768, the picture becomes tions up to 1280 x 1024. The Viglen running at 70Hz. The colour test revealed This highly recommended monitor has been Gateway 2000 CrystalScan 1024 N I around for something better. unpleasantly flickery. produced excellent results in our tests, and slight discolouration in the form of an oval included with the machines from Dan, Simply The best picture I could get on this monitor The 15in Tatung monitor produced much For home use this monitor is more than with its sharp colours and even display shape towards the bottom of the screen, Computers and Mesh. It has touch controls was 800 x 600 with a refresh rate of 72Hz. It across the screen, is a pleasure to use. but the focus and geometry tests gave rea- for the normal sizing and positioning sonable results. functions at the base of the screen, as well as Panrix Monitor ViewSonic 15G What really lets this monitor down is the pincusion and trapezoidal functions. The pic- This ViewSonic 15in monitor has a thin, design of the control panel at the base of ture is equally stable running 800 x 600 (at plastic surround and a full range of touch the screen. Features of the display are 72Hz) as at 1024 x 768 (at 75Hz) and colours controls at the base including rotation, adjusted using a combination of mode are bright and clear. It performed particularly trapezoid and degauss. There’s another buttons and + and - controls. While you well in the tests, showing good focus and interesting control called a Colour Tempera- adjust the chosen feature, the green light even colours across the display. ture button which switches the display from on the side of the screen turns orange, and 9300K, which gives a bluey tinge, to 6550K a few seconds after finishing the Tag which is a warmer pinkish colour. The pic- adjustment, the light goes back to green. The 15in monitor shipped with the Tag ture is stable at 1024 x 768 although colours This system makes a certain logical sense machine gave excellent results in our tests. in both modes seem a little patchy. There’s but is tough to operate. It has a completely flat screen and gives a an annoying white streak down the righthand stable, clear picture at 1024 x 768 with 65K side of the display which could not be Mitac colours at 70Hz and will cope with a slightly Wearnes removed. TAG

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Wearnes DX2/66 AV-Series

drive is Wearnes’ more than one full-length card. With the own double-speed ADSP-16 sound card installed in one of the model and looks ISA slots and the standard local-bus Cirrus similar to the Pana- Logic card in place, there are still four 16-bit sonic drive. ISA slots, one VESA, and one 8-bit slot free. Other This expandability is made possible partly by components include the on-board I/O number, and the maximum a Wearnes micro- system RAM is 128Mb. phone, ADSP-16 The expansion capability of this machine sound card, and two is one of its best features. Although it Labtec speakers. produced less than average results in the The sound card performance tests, the overall price comes bundled with represents a reasonable deal. two pieces of soft- ware: Voyetra, PCW Details which provides the tools for configuring Wearnes DX2/66 AV-Series the sound card, and Price £1089 earnes is a large Singapore-based HSC interactive, a multimedia authoring pro- Contact Wearnes Thakral 01895 430888 ☎ Wcompany which has just started sell- gram. There’s also a collection of CD-ROMs ing PCs in the UK. Recent problems with its supplied by Softkey, the more useful of which Good Points Nice price, good expand- UK distribution caused some bad feelings includes a supply of fonts, clip art and photos ability and on-board I/O. among many Wearnes customers, but the to help you to liven up your documents and Bad Points No PCI; below average performance. company has now turned over a new leaf presentations. Conclusion There’s nothing exception- with a distribution structure handled by its The inside of the machine is pretty clut- al about this machine, but it has been own staff. tered, but there’s plenty of room for expan- put together from reasonable-quality The AV-Series comes in a mini-tower sion with two VESA slots, four 16-bit ISA components and is competitively priced. case with the corporate logo stretched out slots and one 8-bit ISA slot. The positioning across the base at the front. The CD-ROM of the fan would make it difficult to install

Zenith Data Systems Z-Select 100

and a SCSI CD- sound card, while video is incorporated into ROM drive from the motherboard using a standard local-bus Sanyo as well as Cirrus Logic GD542X chipset. I/O is also built two interactive CD- into the motherboard, leaving three ISA slots ROMs, and a pair of free. standard Labtec The absence of any local-bus slots is a speakers. major drawback with this machine and This machine is there’s a definite shortage of general docu- stark white, but the mentation. A good monitor is included, but CD-ROM drive does the price still seems a little high for what you not match so you get and the poor performance results only end up with a two- add to the various annoyances. tone beige/white effect at the front of the machine. The lid is secured by just two screws at the back, enith’s system arrived in three boxes: and when removed, the whole of the front PCW Details one for the system unit, one for the panel comes off with it in one piece. Z Zenith Data Systems Z-Select 100 monitor and one for — you guessed it — Inside there’s a Seagate hard disk placed Price £1,399 the multimedia upgrade kit containing on its side at the front of the machine. There Contact Zenith 01756 702800 ☎ sound card, CD-ROM and speakers. are just two 72-pin RAM slots at the front of Good Points None worth mentioning. Fitting your own CD-ROM drive and the motherboard, one of which is filled with Bad Points Poor performance results, sound card is not everyone’s idea of fun, an 8Mb SIMM. The RAM can be upgraded to no local-bus expansion slots. and apparently Zenith normally does it for a maximum of 64Mb. Conclusion Overpriced. Best look you but for some reason made an excep- Like most of the slimmer machines, this elsewhere. tion in this case. The multimedia kit provid- one has a central riser card which provides ed includes a Spectrum 16-bit sound card four ISA slots. One of these is filled with the

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PCI vs Local Bus

It’s all very well having a high-performance for the second decade”, with chips to simu- since the workstation talks to the memory at 486, but if the disk can’t get the information late 10 devices, although three of these were 400Mb/sec and really fast chips like the new to the processor and the graphics card is to be PCI controllers. The high-performance MIPS R10000 run at 1.6Gb/sec. While this waiting for the bus to yield its bits, then you bus was known as the PCI Speedway — PCI may make Silicon Graphics machines sound might as well have a frame and a set of for Peripheral Component Interconnect, a lot faster, you need to look at where the PC beads. The need for compatible expansion Speedway after the funny kind of motor rac- is coming from: the EISA specification talks has produced ISA, a system where 32-bit, ing Americans do. of a maximum transfer rate of 33Mb/sec. 33MHz processors talk to an 8MHz, 16-bit The work Intel had done on PCI was pub- VL-Bus and other systems, including bus. The need for performance has lished as revision 1.0 and handed over to a Intel’s first dabblings, put the peripherals on produced some innovative work-arounds: separate organisation, the PCI SIG (Special the processor bus. With no system I/O con- various manufacturers offer local bus and interest group). The SIG produced the PCI troller to get in the way, this might seem some have joined the VESA (Video Elec- Local Bus Revision 2.0 specification in May quicker, but while it is much easier to engi- tronics Standards Association) local bus 1993: it took in the engineering requests from neer than making special system I/O chips standard which aims, but does not always members, and gave a complete component and provides the end-user with a quick sys- succeed, to produce a high-performance and expansion connector definition, some- tem, it is really only suitable for graphics and bus with some level of compatibility. thing which could be used to produce produc- limits system expansion. By separating the The initials VL stand for Video Local, tion-ready systems based on 5 volt “local” bus from the processor bus, the which is clearly aimed at the video market, technology. peripherals are not quite as local, but there and while PCW has seen a number of VL Beyond the need for performance, PCI are benefits. With the PCI local bus there is disk controllers it does not offer much seeks to make expansion easier to the ability to switch between 32- and 64-bit scope for a number of cards. VL-Bus has implement by offering plug and play operation. A card which fits into a 32-bit slot become more of a way for small manufac- hardware — no need to work out interrupts should work in a 64-bit slot, and vice versa. turers to integrate systems than a and break fingernails on jumpers; upgradabil- The bus also becomes independent of the consumer product. PCI, on the other hand, ity — today’s 32-bit PCI will work with the processor type. A processor-bus type local is intended to become an all-encompassing planned 64-bit version; and an insistence on bus solution ties the peripherals to the standard, for the connection of high perfor- reliability and compatibility. The use of reflec- pinouts of that processor. The bus multiplex- mance video, disk, LAN, motion video and tive wave voltages and the restriction to es address and data, combined with a burst audio features; not just for PCs, but for 33MHz at a time when most motherboards mode to increase throughput. While VL-Bus DEC Alpha machines and the Macs of the will run at 40MHz — and Intel is shipping true has to send address, data, address, data... future. 50MhHz 486s and 66MHz Pentiums — PCI can burst address, data, data, data. Intel engineers decided that it was keeps the tolerances within the manufactur- Adding a buffer helps, but using the PCI con- imperative they discover how signals ing capability of any experienced company troller eliminates the waits and makes the behaved on a computer’s motherboard, and allows for the use of ASICs (Application most of the burst mode. Intel claims that this something they claim was not well under- Specific Integrated Circuits — custom chips) can give up to 50% better graphics stood before. By using the HSPICE based on established 1 micron technology. performance than VL-Bus. software Intel was able to model the electri- The throughput of a PCI bus should be Clever physical design, with the PCI slot cal properties of traces travelling down 134Mb/sec; the 64-bit version will increase offset from the endplate, allows systems to tracks; they found that the drivers in the this to 234Mb/sec, which is up with the cheap be built with both a PCI and an ISA or EISA chips on the boards put on a bus rarely had workstations. The Silicon Graphics Indy runs socket next to each other, sharing an enough oomph to produce a clean signal at 267Mb/sec, but since 64-bit PCI is still endplate. While both slots cannot be filled, it which went from +5v to 0v, and that there some way off, the workstations, even the gives the user a choice without having to was an echo when this signal hit the end of cheap ones, can claim twice the data make the case huge. the bus. Intel built a special board, “A PC throughput of a PCI machine, especially Simon Rockman

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How we did the tests

he key to accurate benchtests is proper the situation achieved by a standalone Tconfiguration of the test machines. Excel installation. Then, a set of macros NSTL’s test setup program makes a clean executes, timing typical operations. These sweep of every machine it tests, automati- are recalculating a large spreadsheet, cally adding CONFIG.SYS and WIN.INI files which includes a broad spread of database, as required. This usually scuppers the man- arithmetic, database lookup and other func- ufacturers’ efforts to deliver attractive-look- tions, Copy/Paste through the clipboard, ing machines with applications pre-installed. scrolling through large and small The first step in testing is backing up all worksheets, highlighting various different- existing software. Files are copied to VNU sized ranges, and screen updates including Labs’ fileservers via Xircom parallel graphing ranges of numbers and labels. port/Ethernet adaptors, after a very careful Various other formatting controls — virus scan. toggling bold/italic and font changes are Timing over 20 machines at a time, all also timed, and a further test times clip-art running a mammoth suite of application paste operations: many spreadsheet users tests, is too hard even for the VNU Labs now create presentation-type documents staff, but it’s a piece of cake for our dedicat- rather than actually crunch numbers. ed test control system. This machine has The 1-2-3 tests, which use the latest two important functions: timing and record- DOS release, are more numerically based. ing the results. When, for instance, a copy Most people who want to produce fancy operation in a spreadsheet is about to take charts have now gone over to Windows- place, the application macro containing the based programs like Excel and 1-2-3 {COPY} instruction will first trigger the stop- Release 4.01. Nonetheless, 1-2-3’s graph- watch. When the copy has completed, the ing features (using WYSIWYG) are timed time taken is written into a controller- when producing 3D bar charts, line graphs, machine based database file, along with the measured. Further tests, which are less area, and stacked bar graphs. File I/O data from the other machines in the batch. highly weighted, time some of the less fre- (loading and saving large .WK3 files), Every test is run three times, to provide a quently used functions like text sorts. screen scrolling speeds, and range copies consistency check. make up the remainder of the tests. Performance is assessed in three key WordPerfect 6.0 for DOS/WordPerfect 6.0 areas (word processing, spreadsheets and for Windows FoxPro for DOS and FoxPro for databases ) using DOS and Windows appli- WordPerfect for Windows has many features Windows tests cations. The Windows suite includes Word in common with Microsoft’s Word for These test suites are very similar to one version 6.0, Excel 5.0, FoxPro 2.6 and Windows. A couple of differences have been another. Using a set of five tables, we run a WordPerfect 6.0. Our chosen DOS applica- introduced where the two packages do bookshop application which firstly joins and tions are the FoxPro 2.5, Lotus 1-2-3 things differently, for example, the Sort and queries the tables, searching for entries by Release 3.4 and WordPerfect version 6.0. Calculations tests. Similar weightings are ISBN number, author name, and book title given to comparable components in both using both specific and wild keys. After find- Word for Windows tests suites of tests. ing a selection of titles, an order number After auto-installing MS Word for Windows WordPerfect 6.0 for DOS is a different table and payment table are updated, 6.0, a macro automatically assesses a wide creature owing to its longer DOS-based her- reflecting the accounts department’s side of range of Word’s features. Spreadsheet-like itage, and our tests are based on the old the story when the books are sold. The features are now becoming more popular in NSTL WordPerfect 5.1 tests. This is database tests are especially useful for word-processing packages, and the Calcu- because, despite the new features in version identifying those systems with weak disk lation test is a macro which solves multipli- 6.0, the majority of users stick to the meth- subsystems. cation and division problems, assessing the ods they already know. The actual tests Throughout all the changes in the com- overall impact of embedding calculations in measure how quickly text can be typed in, puter industry, the 486DX2 has remained tables. Next, a pair of documents are com- scrolling speed, times taken to switch relatively consistent. For a large proportion pared, recording the time taken. The Copy between two documents (Shift-F3), search of users, the ascent of the Pentium has and File I/O tests record the time taken to and replace speed, Block/copy/paste perfor- been superfluous: most of their work is cut/copy/paste various blocks of text into a mance, retrieve Styles speed, time taken to word processing, spreadsheeting and data- second document, and to save the resulting write large documents as ASCII files, spell- base management rather than more file on disk. Fast screen updates are essen- checking performance, and regenerating an demanding multimedia applications. Still, tial for a good word processor. index page using Mark Text. new versions of applications like WordPer- To measure them, the formatting test fect 6.0 and 6.1 are extremely memory- performs various operations such as block- Excel 5.0 and 1-2-3 for DOS tests hungry, placing greater demands on ing and bolding lines of text. The next test Before running any Excel tests, the NSTL entry-level PCs. While we emphasise that times inserting various objects in different reconfiguration scripts completely remove all performance isn’t everything, we also ways — additional text, pictures, tables and traces of the previous (Winword) tests. Fresh appreciate the frustration of using bulky so on. Lastly, the time taken to select (high- copies of any shared modules and DLLs are new applications on a slow PC. light), search, and paste blocks of text is reloaded in place of the old ones, reflecting Julian Evans and Paul Philip

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Editor’s Choice

ll machines in this round-up have been and a SoundBlaster 16 sound card, as well Aassessed according to a list of basic as plenty of room for expansion with the criteria which together allow us to identify choice of VESA and PCI slot types. The the best all-rounder. Initially, all machines combination of excellent build quality, top are put through our VNU European Labs performance results and generous 850Mb benchmark tests and scored on their perfor- hard disk puts the Dan machine head and mance in DOS and Windows applications. shoulders above the rest. The performance results give us a rough Two other machines which stand out idea of the calibre of machines in the round- from the crowd are the Mitac DV446V and up, but are not used as a deciding factor the Brother BCR4486. Both provide excel- when it comes to choosing the best. lent value for money. The Brother, at only Other considerations such as construc- £949, comes with a good selection of docu- tion quality play a big part when it mentation for novice users, has comes to assessing the relative great expansion capability and merits of 20 group test PCs, and came very close to winning an in this round-up there’s a wide award. Unfortunately, it is let range of variation even among down by lack of PCI local bus, a those machines which produced poor quality monitor and unim- the most impressive performance pressive test results. results. The Mitac offers all the Once we’ve ranked machines things which the Brother lacks for their general build quality and for only £150 more, at £1099. It performance, other factors come has a combination of PCI and into play such as the amount of VESA local-bus expansion expandability, the choice of com- slots, an excellent monitor and ponents and the type of local bus generally good balance of com- which the manufacturer has cho- ponents. These characteristics, sen to implement. Out of all the combined with excellent perfor- machines looked at here, nine mance results, earn the Mitac have VESA expansion slots and PC a Highly Commended four have PCI. Some have award. implemented a combination of The Panrix Titan also wins a slot types while others have no local-bus expansion slots without being too pricey. Highly Commended award due to its high expansion slots at all. Those with PCI pro- Several machines fitted into this category scores on our benchmarks as well as its vide the best possibilities in terms of avail- but the overall winner was the Dan neat design and immaculate build quality. able peripherals, but VESA is cheaper to Premium 66/MM. Panrix machines have previously implement. Dan has long been established as more performed well in our tests and are well In the final analysis, we looked at the than just another clone manufacturer and known for using only the best components, combination of characteristics which came has built a reputation for reliability as well as so the good quality of this machine was no with each PC and weighed them up with the good warranty and after-sales support. At great surprise. It has on-board I/O, three overall price of the system. £1,487, the Premium is not the cheapest PCI slots and four ISA which give it good The Editor’s Choice goes to a computer machine in this round-up but it is a fair price expansion capability. It’s also well from a respected manufacturer which pro- considering what has gone into it. There’s an prepared for multimedia applications as it duced excellent performance results, is excellent balance of components, including comes with a good monitor and two large solidly built and has both PCI and VESA a Stealth 64 graphics card with 2Mb VRAM 80W speakers.

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TABLE OF FEATURES DX2/66 TABLE OF FEATURES DX2/66

Manufacturer Amstrad AST Brother (Kyodai) Carrera CompuAdd 466-D Dan Technology Dell Manufacturer Espy Computer Gateway 2000 Hewlett Packard Mesh Mitac Europe MJN Panrix Model Name PC9486i Advantage BCR 4486 Carrera Power HomeWorker Premium 66/MM Dimension 466DL Systems P4D 66I Family Vectra VL2-466 Universal Media DV446-V DX2-66 V/CD Titan Adventure 6066d Platform Model name Impulse 66M PC DX2-66 Price (as tested) £1,094 £1,399 £949 £1,299 £1,099 £1,487 £1,199 Price (as tested) £1,330 £1,149 £2,106 £1,272 £1,079 £1,199 £1,495 Phone number 0800 338844 0181 232 5000 01279 416888 0171 830 0486 0117 925 7435 0181 380 1100 01344 728000 Phone number 01403 822199 0800 602000 01344 369222 0181 4521111 01952 207200 01282 777555 0113 2444958 Fax number 0277 209009 0181 568 5337 01279 418130 0171 830 0286 0117 925 4881 0181 380 1100 01344 860187 Fax number 01403 822470 010 353 1 848 2022 0171 7355565 0181 2084493 01952 201216 01282 770844 0113 2444962 Sales and Support Sales and Support Free technical support line ●● ●●●●● Free technical support line ●● via dealer ●●●● Fax support? ●❍❍●❍●● Fax support? ●● via dealer ●●●● Basic warranty (months) 12 On-site 12 12 36 (labour) 12 12 12 Basic warranty (months) Lifetime 36 36 12 months 12 12 12 Secondary cache and RAM (12 months parts) (Back to base) Secondary cache (kb) 256 None 128 256 0 256 0 Secondary Cache and RAM Max secondary cache (kb) 512 N/A 256 512 0 512 256 Secondary cache (kb) 256 128 0 256 256 256 256 Main RAM (Mb) 88 88888 Max secondary cache (kb) 256 256 256 1024 1024 256 512 Max RAM (Mb) 128 32 128 128 32 128 64 Main RAM (Mb) 88 8 888 8 SIMM Type (pins) 72 72 30 & 72 72 72 72 72 Max RAM (Mb) 64 48 64 128 64 96 128 Expansion Bus SIMM type (pins) 72 72 72 72 72 72 72 Motherboard expansion slot types PCI/ISA ISA/Prop Local Bus ISA/VESA ISA/VESA ISA/VESA ISA/PCI/VESA ISA (opt.VESA) Expansion Bus Local bus architecture PCI Proprietary Local Bus VESA VESA VESA PCI/VESA Proprietary Motherboard expansion slot types ISA/VESA ISA/PCI ISA ISA/PCI/VESA ISA/PCI/VESA ISA/VESA ISA/PCI Free 8-bit ISA slots 00 10000 Local bus architecture VESA PCI Proprietary VESA PCI/VESA VESA PCI Free 16-bit ISA slots 32 32223 Free 8-bit ISA slots 00 0 000 0 Free EISA/MCA slots 00 00000 Free 16-bit ISA slots 42 3 123 3 Free PCI/VESA slots 10 12020 Free EISA/MCA slots 00 0 000 0 Motherboard manufacturer Amstrad AST Brother ANCO Intel Dan Dell Free PCI/VESA slots 12 0 441 2 Mass Storage and Floppy Drives Motherboard manufacturer Elite Anigma HP Intel Mitac Soyo Technology Panrix Hard disk interface PCI EIDE IDE IDE EIDE IDE IDE EIDE Mass Storage & Floppy Drives Hard disk controller cache (Mb) none none none none 32 none none Hard disk interface EIDE IDE IDE EIDE EIDE IDE EIDE Max. controller cache Size (Mb) none none none none 32 none none Hard disk controller cache (Mb) none 64 none none 256 none none Hard disk controller host bus PCI Proprietary Local Bus ISA VESA ISA PCI ISA Hard disk controller host bus VESA PCI Proprietary local bus PCI PCI VESA PCI Hard disk size (Mb) 420 420 540 520 340 850 525 Hard disk size (Mb) 540 540 540 730 540 540 540 Average access time (ms) 12 15 12 12 11 9 12 Average access time (ms) 11 11 12 12 12 11 12 Hard disk manufacturer Seagate Various Maxtor/Conner Conner Western Digital Seagate Seagate Hard disk manufacturer Western Digital Western Digital Quantum Western Digital Conner Western Digital Conner CD-ROM manufacturer Sony Mitsumi/Sony Panasonic Wearnes Sony Panasonic Sony CD-ROM manufacturer Panasonic NEC NEC Sanyo Mitsumi Philips Panasonic CD-ROM model CDU 55E CR-5633 CR-562B CDD-120 CDU-33A CD-562 DUR 5P1N CD-ROM model CD-562 CD-R260 2 Xi CDR-1194 SMV FX00IDE CM206 CD-562B Average access time (ms) 250 300 300 280 320 320 320 Average access time (ms) 320 320 320 300 350 357 300 Sustained data transfer rate (kb/s) 320 300 300 300 300 300 320 Sustained data transfer rate (kb/s) 300 300 300 300 340 299 300 Burst data transfer rate (Mb/s) 8.3 3.3 2 1 2 0 0 Burst data transfer rate (Mb/s) 2.3 8.33 1.5 2 1.5 2 2.3 Number of spare 3.5in bays 03 01000 Number of spare 3.5in bays 10 1 100 0 Number of spare 5.25in bays 10 11110 Number of spare 5.25in bays 21 0 211 2 Sound Card Sound Card Sound card manufacturer Creative Labs Creative Labs Creative Labs Creative Labs Creative Labs Creative Labs Creative Labs Sound card manufacturer Quickshot Creative Labs HP Media Vision Mozart Media Vision Creative Labs Sound card model name Vibra 16 SB16 SB16 Value SB16 SB16 CT2230 Vibra 16 Sound card model name PRO 16 Plus Vibra 16 Proprietary Spectrum Mozart OTI 601 Jazz16 SB16 SoundBlaster compatible ●● ●●●●● SoundBlaster compatible ●● ● ●●● ● General MIDI compatible ❍● ●●❍●● General MIDI compatible ●● ● ●●● ● Video & Monitor Video & Monitor Video circuitry location Motherboard Motherboard Expansion card Expansion card Motherboard Expansion card Motherboard Video circuitry location Expansion card Motherboard Motherboard Expansion card Expansion card Expansion card Expansion card Video card manufacturer Cirrus Logic Cirrus Logic Cirrus Logic Diamond Cirrus Logic Diamond Cirrus Logic Video card manufacturer Elite Cirrus Logic Cirrus Logic Diamond Ark Logic Diamond ATI Video chipset manufacturer Cirrus Logic Cirrus Logic Cirrus Logic Diamond Cirrus Logic Tseng Labs S3 Cirrus Logic Video chipset manufacturer Cirrus Logic Cirrus Logic Cirrus Logic Tseng Labs S3 Ark Logic Tseng Labs ATI Chipset model GD5430 GD5428 GD5424 Stealth 64 GD5428 Stealth 64 GD5429 Chipset model GD-5428 GD-5430 GD-5428 Stealth 64 Ark 1000P W32P Mach64 Video bus type PCI Proprietary Local Bus VESA VESA VESA PCI VESA Video bus type VESA PCI Proprietary local bus PCI PCI VESA PCI Highest display resolution 1280 x 1024 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 1280 x 1024 1280 x 1024 Highest display resolution 1280 x 1024 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 1280 x1024 1280 x 1024 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 Maximum colour depth 16m 16m 16m 16m 12m 16m 16m Maximum colour depth 16m 16m 16m 16m 16m 16m 16m Video memory type DRAM DRAM DRAM DRAM VRAM DRAM Video memory type DRAM DRAM DRAM DRAM DRAM DRAM DRAM Video memory (kb) 1024 1024 1024 1024 1024 1024 1024 Video memory (kb) 1024 1024 1024 2048 1024 1024 2048 Max. video memory(kb) 2048 1024 1024 2048 1024 2048 1024 Max. video memory (kb) 2048 1024 1024 4096 2048 2048 2048 Monitor size (inches) 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 Monitor size (inches) 14 14 17 15 14 15 15 Max. N-I refresh rate at 1024x768 60Hz 87Hz 60Hz 72Hz 72Hz 80Hz 72Hz Max. N-I refresh rate at 1024x768 87Hz i 60Hz 70Hz 72Hz 70Hz 60Hz 72Hz Monitor manufacturer Tatung AST Brother Goldstar Tatung Dan Dell Monitor manufacturer Goldstar Gateway HP CTX Mitac Taxan ViewSonic Monitor model number PC14M28LR AST Vision 4i BM76L 1520DM FST CM15 VDE 15659M V515 Monitor model number 1462DM GCS D2806A 1565 GM 1450 PD 510LR V15G

● = Yes ● = Yes ❍ = No ❍ = No 494 495 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995

CYAN•MAGENTA•YELLOW•BLACK CYAN•MAGENTA•YELLOW•BLACK PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD GROUP TESTS

TABLE OF FEATURES DX2/66

Manufacturer Peacock Simply Computers Tag DX2-66 Viglen 4DX2-66 Wearnes Zenith Data Systems Model name DX280 PPD OHDD 66VLB Tagsound PCI Professional DX2-66 AV Series Z-Select 100 Platinum Genie Price (as tested) £1,349 £,1351 £1,618 £1,463 £1,089 £1,399 Phone number 01256 811775 0181 498 2130 0181 803 7770 0181 758 7000 01895 430888 01756 702800 Fax number 01256 811839 0181 523 4002 0181 345 5358 0181 758 7080 01895 430777 0181 479 2267 Sales and Support Free technical support line ●● ●● ●● Fax support? ❍● l & E-Mail ●●● Basic warranty (months) 12 12 12 12 12 36 Secondary Cache and RAM Secondary cache (kb) 128 256 256 256 256 128 Max secondary cache (kb) 256 256 512 512 256 256 Main RAM (Mb) 88 88 88 Max RAM (Mb) 96 128 64 128 128 64 SIMM type (pins) 30/72 30/72 30/72 72 72 72 Expansion Bus Motherboard expansion slot types ISA/VESA ISA/VESA ISA/VESA/PCI ISA/PCI ISA/VESA ISA Local bus architecture VESA VESA VESA/PCI PCI VESA Proprietary Free 8-bit ISA slots 00 00 10 Free 16-bit ISA slots 33 12 43 Free EISA/MCA slots 00 00 00 Free PCI/VESA slots 11 22 10 Motherboard manufacturer Mitsumi Mitsumi Chaintec Viglen Wearnes Zenith Mass Storage &Floppy Drives Hard disk interface IDE EIDE IDE IDE IDE IDE Hard disk controller cache (Mb) mne mne mne mne mne mne Max.controller cache size (Mb) mne mne mne mne mne mne Hard disk controller host bus VESA VESA PCI PCI VESA ISA Hard disk size (Mb) 420 540 560 540 420 210 Average access time (ms) 11 11 12 10 13 13 Hard disk manufacturer Quantum Western Digital Western Digital Western Digital Samsung Western Digital CD-ROM manufacturer Mitsumi Mitsumi Panasonic Panasonic Wearnes Sanyo CD-ROM model FX400 FX400 562B CR-571 CDD120X CDR 1194 SMV Average access time (ms) 250 250 300 370 250 320 Sustained data transfer rate (kb/s) 450 600 300 300 385 300 Burst data transfer rate (Mb/s) 22 00 21 Number of spare 3.5in bays 01 21 21 Number of spare 5.25in bays 21 Sound Card Sound card manufacturer Orchid Creative Labs Creative Labs Creative Labs Wearnes Media Vison Sound card model name SDrive 16EZ SB16 SB16 Vibra 16 ADSP 16 Spectrum SoundBlaster compatible ●● ●● ●● General MIDI compatible ●● ●● ●● Video circuitry location Expansion card Expansion card Expansion card Expansion card Expansion card Motherboard Video card manufacturer STB Lightspeed Diamond Video Logic Diamond Cirrus Logic Cirrus Logic Video chipset manufacturer Tseng Labs Tseng Labs Video Logic Tseng Labs S3 Cirrus Logic Cirrus Logic Chipset model ET 4000W32 ET4000/WSZ PCI Movie Stealth 64 GD 5428 GD 5428 Video bus type VESA VESA PCI PCI VESA VESA Highest display resolution 1280 x 1024 1280 x 1024 1280 x 1024 1280 x 1024 1280 x 1024 1024 x 768 Maximum colour depth 16m 16m 16m 16m 16m 16m Video memory type DRAM DRAM VRAM DRAM DRAM VRAM Video memory (kb) 1024 1024 2048 1024 1024 1024 Max. video memory (kb) 1024 2048 2048 2048 2048 2048 Monitor & Video Monitor size (inches) 15 15 15 15 14 15 Max. N-I refresh rate at 1024x768 72Hz 72Hz 72Hz 72Hz 70Hz 85Hz Monitor manufacturer Peacock AG CTX Forefront Viglen Ltd Wearnes Zenith Monitor model number 50115065 1565 GM DM-1564 Envy 15P 1415 1540XT

●= Yes ❍ = No 497 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995

CYAN•MAGENTA•YELLOW•BLACK PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD UNINSTALLERS

UNINSTALLERS

CleanSweep

them as orphaned programs. CleanSweep gives you three other file CleanSweep’s search and deletion options. You can uninstall options choose to look for system components allow you to be very such as documents, screen savers, dis- selective about what play drivers, unused fonts, system and goes and what stays DOS files and so on. You can look for files that are obsolete or unused, either letting CleanSweep search for what it thinks are unused files or by specifying certain types of file such as backup, archive files, lost cluster files, WASTE DISPOSAL Instead of buying a bigger hard disk, consider and help files. The remaining choice is Find Dups clearing away the rubbish from the one you’ve got. (duplicates). CleanSweep comes into its own here because it allows you three Paul Begg has waved various feather dusters search choices: by name, size, date and time; or by name and size; or by name across the cobwebbed nooks and crannies of his only. This is particularly valuable if you have more than one document file with Before committing hard disk and reports on which worked best. the same name. For example, a company yourself, might have a word processor document CleanSweep offers a called Jones.doc filed in a letters sub- trial uninstall, dis- directory, as well as an invoice, also playing what you’d souvenir of its stay. does not recognise programs without an called Jones.doc, but in an invoice sub- free up if you went During the past few years, uninstallers icon, which means you can’t uninstall directory. Although they may have been ahead have grown in popularity. In the previous orphaned or DOS programs using the created at different times and be different issue, PCW briefly reviewed two default method. sizes, most uninstallers will list them as uninstallers but there are a number of To gain more control over duplicate files. With CleanSweep you can indows applications act others on the market. So how do they dif- CleanSweep’s actions you must use the filter these out by specifying a search for Wlike unwelcome day-trip- fer? Are they all the same filling wrapped Browse or Search buttons. The Browse files of the same name and size. pers at the seaside; when they go home, in different chocolate? Or do we have a feature provides a list of all the applica- Another plus point in CleanSweep’s they leave all their litter behind them. selection box offering assorted centres to tions on your hard disk. You can scroll favour is that it will check across all When you install Windows suit every taste? through this list to delete whole directo- installed drives, which is a good idea if applications they position bits of ries or subdirectories, known orphaned you have added a second hard drive. Not themselves all over the place, and when CleanSweep and DOS programs. The Search option all packages give you this flexibility. you delete them, assorted rubbish gets Probably the best known name in the examines your hard disk and presents CleanSweep is thoughtfully designed left behind. This gobbles up hard disk market of uninstallers is Quarterdeck, you with a list of Windows applications so and even has a module for uninstalling later discover you’ve deleted something unfortunate, as this is an area in which a space and may cause conflicts that will renowned for its memory management you can choose those you wish to unin- itself. Quarterdeck has taken great pains you shouldn’t have. Confirm Deletions fair bit of detritus can build up. impair the efficiency of your machine. utility and Program Manager stall. The choice is made from a drop- to prevent even the most fumbling user requests your confirmation that the item There were a couple of other minor You may believe that you don’t load replacement, SideBar. Its CleanSweep down search list: Windows Programs, from making disastrous mistakes. should actually be deleted, and Save to niggles, admitted by Quarterdeck and enough programs for this accumulated for Windows software is similar in appear- Orphaned Programs, or Orphaned Because it includes a database of files Master Log creates and saves a report of noted in the Readme file. For example, if detritus to become a problem. But just ance to MicroHelp’s Uninstaller 2.0. Windows Components. that should never be deleted (such as the action. there is more than one program icon for a think: have you loaded the software In use, the first screen you see offers When using uninstallers, a common SYSTEM. INI and WIN.INI) it brings up a On the down side, CleanSweep single program — that is, an icon for the thoughtfully supplied on computer four options: Uninstall, System, Find problem is that many alternative safety dialogue with four options before doesn’t track file usage, although Quar- same program in different groups or fold- magazine cover disks? Have you Unused, and Find Dups. There are three Windows shells — Norton Desktop, PC starting to uninstall anything. Trial Run terdeck may add a file-tracking module in ers — CleanSweep will only remove one experimented with shareware? Have ways of uninstalling programs but the Tools for Windows, Dashboard or Quar- gives you the option not to uninstall appli- a future upgrade. Neither is an installa- icon. To remove the others, it will you downloaded from a BBS? default is via a dialogue box that lists all terdeck’s own SideBar — allow you to cations but to see what would be deleted tion log available — this is a module that automatically uninstall them or enable If you have, gigabytes of software your program groups in alphabetical create program groups within others. This and gain an idea of the hard disk space keeps an eye on what is happening manual deletion of the extra icons. may easily have passed over your hard order. Clicking on one of these groups is known as nesting and uninstallers you’d recover if you went ahead. You are when a program is being installed. Overall, not venturing into .ini files and disk in a very short time. And every one shows all those with an icon within that either don’t recognise nested groups or, given the option (the default is “accept”) Access to manual deletion within .ini files the absence of an installation log are of these programs will have left a little group — in other words, CleanSweep as in the case of CleanSweep, regard to back up all components in case you is not offered by CleanSweep, which is negative points against CleanSweep, but

502 503 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 UNINSTALLERS

the protection against error and the flexibility to search for duplicate files weigh heavily in its favour.

Remove-IT version 1.0 Remove-IT comes from the US company Vertisoft Systems, which claims that its product is the most comprehensive Windows and DOS application remover available. This is the sort of daring claim that almost begs to be disproved, but in this case it would be difficult. Remove-IT is easy-to-use and has a pleasing interface to which animated icons add a little fun. There is also com- prehensive documentation — the thickest manual of any of the products reviewed. Although intended for single-users, Vertisoft Systems can advise on support for network drives. Another brave claim by the company is that using Remove-IT guarantees 100 percent safe removal of applications, and Undo-IT means that you can not only Choose what you want to do from certainly, Vertisoft does provide enough reinstall the application, but reinstall it to Remove-IT’s Reference Card security features to rescue even the most a different directory, drive, or system. accident-prone user. There are nine With Recover-IT, you can prepare an modules: Remove-IT, Clean-IT, Find-IT, emergency recovery disk that will help upgrades to Windows 95. Undo-IT, Reinstall-IT, Recover-IT, you recover your system in the event of A point to watch is that when you Report-IT, Log-IT, and Watch-IT. corruption or accidental deletion of criti- install Remove-IT, a program item called Remove-IT enables you to perform an cal configuration files or system settings. “More Than About” is added to the Express or Custom uninstall. In the for- Report-IT creates detailed reports of Remove-IT program group. This simply mer case, Remove-IT decides which the exact status of your system and any displays an animation with licensing infor- files, icons and so on should be actions performed using Remove-IT. mation; it has no practical purpose and uninstalled, while the Custom method Log-IT, which runs continuously in the gobbles up 1Mb of disk space, so use gives the user a say in the matter. The background, pops up a dialogue box Remove-IT to get rid of it. program will not delete anything your every time you use the Windows Run Overall, Remove-IT looks like the system needs to be able run. It uses a command to install a new application. It most comprehensive uninstaller in this colour-coding system: a yellow warning then captures a detailed record of every review. It has features that many of the flag (why not red?) will alert you if you try change made to your system and others do not possess such as the instal- to remove anything it believes you might Remove-IT uses this log later on to pre- lation log, monitor of file usage, or the want to keep. Deletions are automatically cisely remove each from your system. ability to back up to floppy or hard disk. compressed and backed-up to a floppy An installation log is an essential ele- On the down side, it didn’t look for dupli- disk. One small point here, though, is that ment of an uninstaller; some have trou- cates across more than one hard disk. currently the backup function neither ble uninstalling every little bit of an This aside, it strongly rivals CleanSweep checks format integrity, nor will it reformat unwanted program. Although Remove-IT to be the best of the bunch. disks. Remove-IT can take a long time to sometimes failed to uninstall small files, archive large applications like Microsoft usually icons, the log lets you know Rosenthal UnInstall Word for Windows. where to look for detritus so you can This is one of two shareware uninstallers The Clean-IT option enables you to delete it manually. More importantly, if (the other is Winformant). It has a few remove undesired fonts, unnecessary you note a reduction in performance after tricks up its sleeve of which the commer- device drivers, and other system and a software installation, you can use the cial packages might take note — in par- DOS files, and there is an automatic log to see where files have been put and ticular, its ability to work in both DOS and backup feature. Find-IT looks for then check for possible conflicts. Windows. This is an important feature duplicate and orphaned files but regret- Remove-IT also has Watch-IT, which because situations can arise when a tably does not check across disks. Undo- constantly monitors file and application rogue program can lock you out of Win- IT is the safety net for those moments of usage over a 30-day period. The statis- dows. The easiest way of resolving such cack-handedness that result in the acci- tics generated can help you select a problem is to delete the program. dental deletion of necessary files. It lets unused files and applications to delete Rosenthal UnInstall removes it as well as you undo the most recent activity and from your system. Unfortunately, Watch- all the nasty bits that a program may restores your system. Reinstall-IT does IT does not support the detection of file have deposited here and there. pretty much the same thing but calls upon usage in Windows for Workgroups if the Unfortunately, we were unable to get the backup files and allows you to rein- 32-bit File Access option is enabled. This this program to run under Windows: stall an application or a file. But using could cause problems for anyone who when in Windows or OS/2 it forces the

505 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 UNINSTALLERS UNINSTALLERS

system into the DOS mode. For some The first uninstaller as directories, associated data files, once compressed and backed up, you and that no single section within win.ini or reason, the DOS window under Windows — MicroHelp’s Private .INI files and Drivers, DLL, and can copy the backup files to floppy disk system.ini may be more than 30kb. wouldn’t open and the cause of the prob- Uninstaller still VBX files. This done, a list of items for for restoration later. Uninstall-it! does a cracking job of lem was not immediately obvious. gives you the best suggested deletion is produced. The list A safety feature of Uninstall-it! is its searching every nook and cranny for Rosenthal UnInstall simply replaces access to .INI files shows you various information such as recommendation not to delete certain detritus and the backup facility is a great Windows’ Run command when you install where the item for deletion has been files such as shared files like .Dll’s. strength, but it’s a pity it won’t back up new software — it takes a look at, and found — config.sys, autoexec.bat, and Unfortunately, this is where alternative directly to floppies. It would be good to keeps a record of, your system configura- so on. shells like PC Tools can cause see a usage log and an installation log, tion before installation. When you have (files you won’t You can view the file if necessary. uninstallers such problems. A widely and it’s refusal to run under 32-bit Win- completed your installation, it has another need if you never Uninstall-it! can view various file and used feature of PC Tools is its ability to dows may cause would-be users a look around your system configuration use Windows in graphic types including Microsoft Word, create multiple desktops. Because Unin- problem. and makes a note of all the changes. standard mode), Microsoft Write, MS Works documents, stall-it! does not recognise more than Overall, it is hard not to like Uninstall- When it comes to uninstalling the fonts, DOS applica- WordPerfect, Ami Pro, and more. Graph- one at a time, it will not identify a file it! and few users will be disappointed, but software application, Rosenthal UnInstall tions and Miscella- ics types include PCX, TIF, GIF, BMP, shared between a program on desktop it’s not as good as CleanSweep or merely looks at what changes were made neous Files. The ICO, and WMF. Once files have been one and a program on desktop two. It Remove-IT. and then restores everything to the way it latter consists of selected, you can call upon the View Pre- won’t caution against deleting it and your was. those files that dictions facility which indicates how much program on desktop two will cease to WinDelete version 1.0 The company claims that it will work might be superflu- hard drive space could be recovered. function. Installation is easy and trouble-free, but with any drive with read and write access. ous to requirement such as moricons.dll. I ages, and it generally has trouble deleting Once a decision has been reached, The program did a good job of track- WinDelete will only install and work from This includes networks, multiple and think System Cleanup lists files that you icons. However, while it is an excellent you are given the choice of uninstalling, ing down strays, but the lack of informa- Windows Program Manager, not from removable drives, PCMCIA, RAM-card really shouldn’t delete. Inexperienced package, the .INI cleaner being moving files or performing a backup. This tion about the program to which the alternative desktops like Norton or PC and an unlimited number of floppy disks. users should exercise extreme caution, especially strong, it does lack the safety ability to do more than simply uninstall is strays were related was unimpressive. Tools. The Readme file warns that prob- All modifications, additions and dele- especially as Uninstaller does not features of CleanSweep and Remove-IT, an excellent feature of Uninstall-it!. Mov- You can select the sort of strays to look lems may be encountered with some tions made to the autoexec.bat, possess a backup feature. and it is short on features. ing a program from one directory to for — win.ini sections, win.ini shareware applications that directly config.sys, win.ini and system.ini can be The Duplicate File Finder and Orphan Unless MicroHelp get their act another might not sound much, until you associations, system.ini references, change the Program Manager. Neither restored. Registered users receive a File Finder seemed to present a danger: together with a very smart upgrade, Unin- consider that moving a program manually empty Windows groups and so on. This will WinDelete install under Windows NT usage log utility which maintains a identified orphan files were not orphaned staller could find itself being uninstalled. doesn’t affect the program and icon prop- is an excellent feature but unfortunately (contrary to what is stated in the user running timeline of changes, additions at all, they were.exe files contained within erties and references within key system you can’t search for specific system files manual) or Windows 95. And It won’t run and deletions made to the autoexec.bat, applications. And the duplicate file finder Uninstall-it! version 1.03 files. This means than quite often you such as fonts. on 80285 machines (contrary to the config.sys, win.ini and system.ini files. is very weak; finding duplicate filenames Unlike some other programs reviewed can’t load the moved application but with The Find Duplicates tool has the neat documentation). Rosenthal History enables a plain text rather than duplicate files — in other here, Uninstall-it! will load from alternative Uninstall-it! the move is undertaken lock, addition of a cross-reference feature. This is the least sophisticated history report to be set up and referred to words, it found files that shared the same shells such as PC Tools’ Desktop for stock, and barrel. There are sometimes important files uninstaller program reviewed here and is when uninstalling software. name in directories and subdirectories Windows and Norton Desktop. The down Making backups isn’t one of Uninstall- which have been duplicated in both DOS essentially a replacement for Windows’ Overall, this software does the job for and listed them as duplicates. A moment side is that application icons in Norton it!’s strengths. You can perform the and Windows. A good example given in Program Manager’s Run command. Like which it is intended at a knock-down of incaution and you could delete some- Desktop will not be displayed unless you backup as a simple safety measure, in the documentation is himem.sys. It is the shareware program Rosenthal price. thing you would otherwise need. are using an .ICO file and in PC Tools case you want to reinstall the uninstalled probably not a good idea to delete these Undelete, WinDelete keeps a record of Uninstaller creates a report every they won’t be displayed if the groups con- program, or simply to back up a program files but in case you do, the difficulty your current system configuration and UnInstaller version 2.0 action so if something refuses to work, tain more than 35 items. Also, Uninstall-it! in use. But Uninstall-it! does not support would lie in knowing which of the files is takes another look at it following an MicroHelp’s UnInstaller has been avail- you can check back to see exactly what does not recognise applications in nested tape or floppy drives, so you can only accessed by your config.sys. Calling up installation, then logs the differences. able for quite some time now. Version 2.0 happened — small satisfaction when you groups. The program did not run under back up onto your hard disk. However, .exe would be simple enough, but When you perform an uninstall, was released back in November 1993, so can't get it to correct the action. However, the Beta release of Windows 95. not all such examples as so easy — WinDelete simply puts everything back it’s now lacking some essential features although it does have a lifesaving Undo The opening screen of Landmark’s Uninstall-it! can do the job for you. the way it was prior to installation. and an upgrade is way overdue. We feature to rescue you from moments of Uninstall-it! offers four options: Scan The wealth of information offered by There is quite a clutch of “will not work There have been reports of WinDelete believe that plans are afoot but UK dis- stupidity, this doesn’t work if the mistake Applications, Find Strays, Find Uninstall-it!’s “Scan Applications" with” notes in the Readme file; mostly not being able to handle the deletion of tributor Contemporary Software would is only realised later on. The reporting Duplicates, and Restore Backups. concerned with networks, to which Unin- big applications and of being less than not comment on these. feature is optional. Scan Applications reviews and stall-it! has an aver- satisfactory when deleting .INI files and All the cleaning features are found The program has the most provides you with a list of Windows sion. Put it within DLL’s, but we encountered no problems. under Tools. You get five choices: Unin- comprehensive .INI file cleaner of all the groups and program icons. There is an sniffing distance of The safety features in WinDelete con- stall Applications, System Cleanup, Ini- packages reviewed. You can view all your abundance of detail. You are shown the a network and it will sist of a colour-coding system in which clean, Duplicate File Finder, and Orphan .INI files: either those that are new since icon, told which program the icon repre- refuse to work. green represents those files the program File Finder. you last viewed them, or non-standard sents, told what the program does, and More importantly it thinks it is safe to delete, while yellow Uninstall Applications is self-explana- .INI files. IniClean tells you the name of given property information such as the mentions, but does denotes those which should be treated tory. You are given a list of all your Win- the file, when it was last modified, and its working directory, command line, and the not specify, with caution. An Express Mode can be dows groups. Just click the appropriate size. You can also view the contents and icon path or file. features that won’t used to delete only the green items. icon and the programs in the group are this is a useful feature because it often You then select the program you want work without a If there is more than one hard drive on listed. Click on a program and you get a provides a clue to the application to which to uninstall. Uninstall-it! then analyses mouse. And it qui- your machine you can tell WinDelete list of all the files. Then click on the one it belongs. You can then edit the file when what files, items, icons, and entries within etly observes that which to scan before, during, and after you want to get rid of and Uninstaller you need to delete sections within it. key system files are associated with the problems can be installing or uninstalling an application. It does the business. If you wish, you can Users can also view sections within program you selected. It looks for refer- caused during can only delete programs with an icon on get Uninstaller to search directories for WIN.INI and entries in System.INI. ences in your autoexec.bat, config.sys, analysis if you have the desktop and it will create icons for specific files. System Cleanup allows Uninstaller is not without a few weak- win.ini, system.ini, and reg.dat, and uses win.ini and DOS programs — the DOS icons other- you to delete files in specific categories: nesses: you can encounter conflicts with whatever it learns from sticking its nose system.ini files wise serve no purpose as you can’t use display drivers, System Support files screen savers and on-the-fly font pack- into these files to search elsewhere; such greater than 60kb them to execute the application. If a

508 509 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 UNINSTALLERS

delete found files on the highwire without a safety net can with a simple be extremely hazardous. You can also mouse double- use Browse, which enables you to unin- click. stall programs that are not in program You can use manager groups. various search cri- Once you have selected the files for teria and during the deletion, press the delete button and search you are kept Winformant gets on with the job. It does up to date with its lack many of the features of programs status, the number like CleanSweep, but may nevertheless of directories satisfy your needs. At least it gives you searched and the the chance to check out an uninstaller, number of files fit- and a good one at that, for no more than WinDelete’s stats button offers this ting the criteria found. The Swap file tells the cost of a few pounds. graph viewer — is it really safe to you your current Windows Swap file set- delete the system? tings, the status of the existing file and Conclusion suggests improvements. It also shows the Uninstallers can be dangerous tools even drive, path and filename of the current in experienced hands, so you can’t really program’s icon is removed, you can’t Swap file. A button labelled Change is do without too many safeguards. For this uninstall that program. provided that automatically loads reason CleanSweep and Remove-IT WinDelete does have a couple of Windows Control Panel for easy Swap file come out best. CleanSweep just has the extras. A Statistics button reads all the modifications. Restart is a quick button for edge because of the flexibility it offers in files on your hard disk, then displays a exiting and reloading Windows following finding duplicate files across disk drives. pie chart that shows: the amount of hard modification of win.ini, system.ini, or other Winformant deserves an honourable disk space containing green files; the files, or following a GPF (general protec- mention, and so does Uninstaller for the amount containing yellow files; and the tion fault) or other critical error, and the access it gives to .INI files. amount used by files that need to be Eject button quickly exits Windows retained. System Information provides a Two modules of particular interest are lot of information about your hardware: DLL/VBX and Prof.Edit. The former finds PCW Details the type of processor, and whether or not and optionally eliminates redundant DLLs CleanSweep a maths co-processor is installed; the and Visual Basic custom controls VBX Price £59 operating system; system resources; and files. Only exact duplicates are listed for Contact Quarterdeck 01245 496699. ☎ local fixed-drive information. deletion and there is a feature to protect Fax 01245 496941 A log file is automatically created Windows DLL/VBX files in the WINOS2 Remove-IT every time you install or uninstall an directory of OS/2. The Prof.Edit (profile Price (US) $69.95 application. The installation log lists the editor) is a great little module that allows Contact VertiSoft Systems program files, where they were located most .INI modifications to be made using 0101 803 295 5875 ☎ and their size. The uninstall log file shows only a couple of keystrokes and mouse Rosenthal UnInstall what files you’ve just deleted, where they clicks. This makes editing .INI files the act Price $19.95 + $5 shipping (shareware were and their size. of a moment, and as the documentation disk about £3) WinDelete has a nice, uncluttered points out, editing .INI files is important Contact Rosenthal Engineering interface that worked well and was easy because Windows has a 64kb .INI file (Shareware disk supplied by PC to use. On the whole though, WinDelete limitation. Independent User Group is too basic and therefore limited. But The uninstaller module does a good 01732 771512. Fax 01732 771513) ☎ then it makes no claim to be other than a job. It seeks out and selectively wipes out Uninstaller “safe and simple Windows uninstaller”. programs, help files, .INI files, icons, Price £49 It could have been better though, and groups, subdirectories, OLE objects and Contact Contemporary Software anyone other than a computer novice even system.ini entries. It does all this in 01273 483979. Fax: 01273 486224 ☎ might be frustrated by the program’s limi- much the same way as other uninstallers Uninstall-it! tations. For instance, there is no backup reviewed here. You are provided with a Price £49 facility to hard or floppy disk, it doesn’t list of groups. Clicking on a group shows Contact David Case 01908 232350 ☎ look for orphans and it doesn’t delete a list of programs within that group and WinDelete unwanted .INI files. Neat, basic and sim- clicking on a program (or using the Probe Price £50 ple sums it up. It does the basic job pretty button) gives you a list of all the files that Contact IMSI 0181 7581447. ☎ well, but if you are going to spend money, make up that group. Also included is Fax 0181 581 2200 you might as well get something more some important information such as the Winformant sophisticated you can grow into. type of file and whether it is likely to be in Price (US) $39 + $5 shipping. use by another application. (Shareware disk about £3) Winformant A safety feature is a No Prompting Contact NEOCOM Microspecialists This is a polished little utility that does checkbox. Leaving it unchecked means 0101 703 666 9533. Fax 0101 703 666 ☎ more than simply delete unwanted files. It that deletion safety warnings are issued. 9534. (Shareware disk supplied by PC Independent User Group has a nifty file finder with the additional Although leaving it unchecked can slow 01732 771512. Fax 01732 771513) ☎ benefit of enabling you to edit, execute or you down, bear in mind that performing

510 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 ACCESS 2.0 TUTORIAL

ACCESS 2.0 TUTORIAL The Database and Tables windows

How to gain Access 2 1 The Database window 1 2 Creating a new table: the Table window in Design View

Microsoft Access 2.0 is well known as an end-user database, but with a categories that are used to classify these The lower portion is used to set prop- on the next Field Name area to enter the subjects for mail-shot extraction. erties for the currently selected field, details for the next field, repeating the little effort it can also be an effective developers’ tool. Iain Summers Ensure that the Table tag is selected such as the maximum number of charac- above steps for each field. in the Database Window, click the New ters or digits used to store data, input val- When you have entered details for all and Angus MacKellaig present the first in a series of guides to button, and select the New Table option idation criteria for data entry, etc. the fields, click on the Save button on the in the New Table dialogue box. Enter the field name in the Field toolbar, enter the name of the table in the ALL ABOUT ACCESS developing applications in Access. Access now presents you with a Table Name area, then press the Tab key. dialogue box, then click on OK. Select Window in design view (note that we Click on the arrow button on the Data Close from the File menu to close the have resized the window to reduce the Type area or press F4 to produce a list of table. The three tables are AddressBook, Access is a great database system relatively simple Mailing List Manager extension MDB. size of the graphics). See Fig 2. allowable types — the default type is Category1 and Category2. for end-users, but it’s been criti- whch allows you to edit and categorise The MDB file can be viewed as a con- The top portion of the window is used Text. Click on the Field Size area with Create these tables using the field def- cised in the past for the difficulty develop- subjects, plus create and use customised tainer that holds all the objects in the to specify the name and type of fields, as the mouse and enter a more sensible initions given in the tables below. To sim- ers experience when they want to reports on-the-fly. It will introduce you to database. The first logical step in creating well as an optional — but recommended — value than the default of 50. Next, use plify testing at later stages, enter some produce serious database applications. Access Basic code, providing some an application is to create the main object description that will appear on the status the Tab key to advance onto the other sample values in the Category1 and This was exactly our experience when we generic routines which can be used in any around which everything revolves, which bar when that field is selected for editing. properties (Default Value etc), and click Category2 tables. undertook some development work using Access application without modification. It is of course the database itself. Access 1.1 recently. After much head will also provide a few ideas on providing Select New Database from the File A Field definitions for the AddressBook A Field Name Type Size Default Value Validation scratching, manual (and soul) searching, an easy to use interface for the user. menu, or type ^N, or click the New Data- table: make the CustomerID field the pri- Rule together with a trip to the local bookshop For your convenience, the completed base button on the toolbar. (Hold the mary key by clicking on the Primary Key CustomerID Number 4 to supplement Microsoft’s documentation, application will be supplied on the July mouse still over the buttons on the tool- button on the toolbar. Index the table Title Text 10 the task becomes a bit more manageable. cover CD-ROM. The more adventurous bar for a description of each button’s (Duplicates OK) on the Surname field. Access 2.0 addresses many of the among you can follow the form and report function.) Type in the name of the data- FirstName Text 20 Surname Text 30 shortcomings we first experienced, design steps, but import the code from base in the File Selector dialogue box, B Field definitions for the Category1 Sex Text 1 “M” (=“M”) Or through the use of Wizards, the simple text files supplied on the CD. then click OK. Access will now present table: set the Index property of the Cate- (=“F”) interactive tools which prompt you for any We recommend entering the applica- you with the Database Window which dis- gory1 field to “Yes (no duplicates)”. necessary information required to tion as detailed in the notes, closing plays the name of the database (PCW) in DOB Date/Time 8 perform a task. There has also been a Access, then making a copy of the data- the title bar. Address Text 35 general improvement in the user interface base which you can then open for experi- All objects are accessed via the Data- Address1 Text 35 C Field definitions for the Category2 and a revamp of the programming mentation without corrupting the original base window, which as you can see from City Text 20 “Edinburgh” table. Set the Index property of the Cate- language Access Basic. We would file and losing all your hard work. After all, Fig 1, divides them into Tables, Queries, Region Text 20 “Lothian” gory2 field to “Yes (no duplicates)”. heartily recommend that anyone wishing playing around is often the best way to Forms, Reports, Macros and Access Postcode Text 8 “EH” Specifying input validation rules in the to develop applications upgrade to ver- learn. In particular, move the mouse Basic modules. STDCode Text 6 “0131” fields’ properties allows the user to start sion 2.0 as soon as possible. around the toolbars and design tools, By clicking on the required tab, a list of Phone Text 8 entering data immediately. Do this by The purpose of this series of articles is pausing over each icon, whereupon objects of that type will be displayed in Category1 Text 5 selecting a table in the Database Window, to provide an introduction to developing Access, like the other Microsoft Office the window. Category2 Text 4 then clicking the Open button (or simply applications in Microsoft Access. Each applications, displays a small tab describ- double-clicking the table name). This opens the table in Datasheet View which stage is broken down in a step-by-step ing that button’s function. Creating the tables B Field Name Type Size Default Value Validation Rule is similar to the Table Window in Design guide. The sequence of steps taken is Access is an object-oriented database Once the database has been created, we Category1 Text 5 View without the properties portion. This designed to get you up and running with system, that is, all the elements are need to create tables, the objects that Category1Description Text 4 a usable system as soon as possible, treated as objects on which appropriate store the data we will be using. is adequate, but is not very user-friendly. adding “bells and whistles” as they are actions can be performed. It stores all the Our Mailing List Manager uses three C Field Name Type Size Default Value Validation Rule Too many records are displayed to find developed. objects for a particular system in a data- tables, one to hold details of all our sub- Category2 Text 5 the one you require easily, and all the The application revolves around a base, which is one large file with the file jects, the other two simply lists containing Category2Description Text 4 fields may not be visible without using the scrollbars etc.

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Art & Design

3 5

3 A form being edited in Design View 5 The Property sheet The large handle at the top left of the label or text box allows either to be moved independently of the other. Note that if you click on a field’s text box and then delete the object, both the text box and the label will be deleted. If you click on the field’s label, and then delete the object, only the label is deleted.

Editing objects Whenever an object is selected, its appearance can be modified using the Palette tool, and its properties changed 4 with the Property Sheet (see Figs 4 and 5). Either tool can be displayed or hidden 4 The Palette tool using the relevant buttons on the toolbar.

Data entry using forms select Close from the same menu. Adding objects to a form To make things a little more user-friendly, Create a form for each table, naming The Toolbox is used to add a new object form objects are used. The first step is to them EditAddresses, EditCat1 and Edit- to a form by clicking on the relevant create a basic form using the Forms Wiz- Cat2 respectively. object’s command button. This can also ard, then add extra functionality. The be displayed or hidden as with the Prop- user-friendly bells and whistles will be Editing a form erty Sheet and Palette Tool — see Fig 6 added in next month’s column. Select the Forms tab in the Database for details. The bottom-left button in Fig 6 Window. Click the form to be edited, and is the Control Wizard button which loads Creating data entry forms then click the Design button (see Fig 3). a Wizard to guide you through the One form is required for each of the creation of many of the objects you may tables. To create data entry forms, select Selecting objects on forms wish to place on a form. the Forms tab in the Database window. Most objects on forms created by These are excellent tools for the Click the New button, click on the name Wizards are generally fields in the table. novice Access programmer, but when of the target table from the list, then click The fields are comprised of two parts: a you become more experienced, you may the Form Wizards button. text box which is the actual data entry find it easier to switch the Wizards off and From the option list select Single Col- area, and an attached label for the field edit the objects’ properties manually. umn Wizard, then click OK. Click the >> name. Clicking on either will select that Again, hold the mouse still over each button to select all the fields, then click on object for editing. See the Address field in button for a description of its function. the Finish button. (This uses default val- Fig 3 for an example of a selected field. We will shortly be editing the EditAd- ues for the remaining Wizard screens Positioning the mouse pointer on the dresses form and will initially use which will save quite a few minutes on a border of the text box causes the mouse Wizards, then for speed, copy objects slow system.) The form is then created pointer to change to a hand, signifying and manually change their properties. and loaded in Data Entry mode. that the object can be dragged. If the text Select Save Form in the File menu, box is moved, the attached label will fol- User-friendly forms entering the name of the form in the dia- low — the handles on the text box and We will now modify the EditAddresses logue box when prompted, and then label allow you to resize either. form, adding some user-friendly touches

520 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 ACCESS 2.0 TUTORIAL

6

The Toolbox

to speed up data entry. Wizard options: assigned automatically by Access and Delete the Title, Category1 and Cate- Select “I want the combo box to look cannot be modified. gory2 fields and their labels, and also up values in a table or query”, then click Select Tab Order from the Edit menu delete the labels for the FirstName, Sur- Next >. Select Category1 from the table and check that the fields are in the cor- name and Address1 fields. Ensure the list, then click Next >. Click the >> button rect order. Change the tab order of the Control Wizard’s button is active to select all the fields, then click Next >. fields by clicking the record selector at (depressed), and click on the Combo Box Adjust the sizes of the columns as the left of the field, then dragging it up or button in the Toolbox. required, then click Next >. Select Cate- down to the required position. (Note that Drag the mouse over the area in which gory1 field as “The value to store in the only the title field should need to be you wish to place the new Title field table”, then click Next >. moved — just after the CustomerID field.) object. Access will then run the Combo Select Store that value in this field, Size headers and footers as Box Control Wizard. select Category1 from the list, then click necessary by dragging the bar above and Enter the following values for each Next >. Enter “Category1” as the label for below the main form. You may wish to dialogue: select “I will type in the values the combo box, click Finish, and resize select all fields by holding down the Shift that I want” then click Next>. Change the the combo box and label on the form if key and clicking on each object on the value of Number of Columns to 1, and required. form, then setting their appearance using click in the first field area. Set the Name property in the Property the Palette tool. Type in the following list of values, Sheet dialogue to Category1, and set the You can use Format, Vertical Spacing, pressing the Tab key between each: Mr, “Restrict to listed values” property to Yes and Make Equal to speed the process of Mrs, Miss, Ms, Master, Dr, Rev, Prof, (which allows the user only to select a alignment. Your form (with a little bit of then click Next >. value in the list). Click on the Save button tweaking) should now resemble the one Select “Store that value in this field”, on the toolbar. in Fig 3. You can now click on the Form select Title from the field list, then click Since the Category2 combo box is View button on the toolbar to test that the Next >. Type “Name:” in “What label do almost identical to the Category1, it is new form is functioning correctly. We now you want for your combo box?”, then click much quicker to modify a copy of the Cat- have a database with three data tables on Finish. Resize and reposition the egory1 combo box than creating a new and associated forms to assist users Combo Box and Label as required. combo box via the Wizard. adding/editing records. We must now add a few minor tweaks, Select the Category1 combo box. In the next article we will adding con- to assist later stages. Select the new Title Copy the combo box to the clipboard ^C, trol buttons to these forms to further combo box, and if necessary, open the or Edit, Copy. Paste the clipboard to the assist the user. Property sheet by clicking on the Property form ^V or Edit, Paste. Move the copied Sheet button on the toolbar. Change the combo box to the required location. Name property to “Title”, and click on the Save button on the toolbar. In the Property sheet... PCW Contacts The Category1 and Category2 fields Change all occurrences of Category1 to Iain Summers and Angus MacKellaig must match up with values found in the Category2 in the Name, Control Source are both lecturers in Computing Science corresponding tables. We will now add and Row Source properties. at an Edinburgh college, specialising in combo boxes to present these values to Change the field label on the form to operating systems, hardware, systems the user. “Category2”. analysis, programming and applications At the position you wish the Category1 Set the Enabled property of the Cus- software. They can be contacted as field to appear, create a combo box as tomerID to “No”. This prevents the user [email protected] or for the Title field, using the following accidentally editing the key field which is [email protected]

524 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 MIT MEDIA LAB

MIT MEDIA LAB

Awildside walk on the

In the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute Main picture: Neil of Technology, radical research is taking place which Gershenfeld, assis- can and has affected the way we live. tant professor of physics at MIT Wendy M Grossman visited MIT and spoke to the force Inset: Professor Nicholas Negroponte,

OPEN HOUSE AT THE INSTITUTE behind the lab, Nicholas Negroponte. director and founder of the Media Lab

magine a cello whose notes can be PC’s keyboard is used to command a that media, arts and sciences — the field Isustained, and the exact sound of a walking tractor and when it passes a in which students initially work at the lab note and its overtones can be stretched, sensor, a windmill starts to turn. — is new, cross-disciplinary, and unpre- often returns. He also likes to rail at fax, “The next big wave,” Negroponte twisted, or subtly changed. Or imagine a All three futuristic pieces of technology dictable. Many successful applicants for slowing down the process of convert- says, “is intelligent interfaces; the concept daily newspaper that displays a summary were developed in the Media Lab at the have academic backgrounds that are var- ing the world from analogue signals to of agents and personalisation. That is, of your email, the daily results worldwide Massachusetts Institute of Technology iously described as unorthodox, innova- digital bits, and becomes intemperate on computers that know you well enough to for the sport in which you are most inter- (MIT) in Cambridge, USA. MIT was tive, or self-generated. the subject of the tardiness he sees as make intelligent decisions about items ested, and a note that your local weekly founded in 1984 by its director, Nicholas Students are expected to have some inherent in wiring up countries outside such as which news stories to clip from rubbish collection day has been Negroponte following five years of level of proficiency in programming in C the US. the wires for your personal daily changed. On an inside news page you fundraising, planning, and building. and/or Lisp, and to be familiar with Unix. Negroponte says, however, that a newspaper, or which email messages might wonder about a reporter's descrip- Like Stanford University in Silicon Val- But beyond that, graduate students are into information and entertainment, while recent request by publisher Alfred Knopf you would consider most important. tion of how President Clinton sounded ley, MIT dominates the surrounding area just as likely to have completed their Minsky and Papert are loosely grouped to publish a book based on his Wired Computers are on their way to no longer when answering a tough question and at least in terms of the technology busi- undergraduate degree at an art school as within the areas of learning and common columns, and the consequent need to being sensorily deprived. The big new click a mouse to obtain a video replay of ness. A couple of blocks off campus is the at an engineering school. sense — the home of the programmable expand those columns, made him stop wave is in understanding.” the speech. Or consider the addition of Open Software Foundation; Richard Stall- The areas of expertise within the fac- LEGO bricks. and think about what a difference the last Once he starts talking about his pro- electronics to Lego bricks so that kids man, its director, works in MIT's artificial ulty are diverse. Professors in charge of The perceptual computing section ten years have made to computing. jects you begin to understand some of can program their toys to move about in intelligence laboratory. research areas include: Marvin Minsky, works on machine interpretation of sen- “I believe there is now no ten-year-old the differences between corporate the way they want. It's not easy to get a handle on what co-founder of MIT's artificial intelligence sory data — trying to end what in the US who isn't computer literate,” research and corporate-sponsored acad- The cello, known as the hypercello, goes on at the Media Lab because it's not lab; Tod Machover, whose background Negroponte likes to term sensory depri- says Negroponte. Asked if he would like emic research. There is no master plan, has already been used in a special con- a single unit pursuing one goal. Rather it includes intensive musical training as well vation; a computer’s general lack of abil- to qualify this in view of the fact that or at least the Media Lab doesn't admit to cert by an internationally famous cellist. is a mosaic of projects and bits of as a degree in computer science; Neil ity to hear, see, or understand you. many families in the US still don't have one. Students start to experiment and The program used to create the person- research that overlap in some areas but Gershenfeld, a physicist; and Seymour Negroponte is probably the name computers, he says: “If I'm wrong, it's once they reach a certain stage of alised daily newspaper, known as Fish- not in others. Papert, MIT's “LEGO Professor of Learn- that's most often heard in connection with only for ten minutes.” research, projects “sort of surface”. Pro- wrap, is already in use by a community of Currently, research projects at the lab ing Research” who must be the only pro- the Media Lab. If you had read Wired The biggest difference though, he jects don't get stopped and this is even 6,000 American Indians in New Jersey fall roughly into three main groupings: fessor with a chair named after a toy magazine, you would probably have continues, is that the concept of more unlike corporate research. “If they which publishes a special-interest news- learning and common sense; perceptual company. come into contact with at least some of multimedia — shocking when the lab are not leading anywhere, they tend to paper. The Lego bricks are being computing; information and Matching these professors with the his ideas as he writes the back page col- was founded — is now commonplace. stop themselves, or divert into useful marketed now and a working model is on entertainment. The information sheet areas mentioned earlier reveals that umn. The sensory deprivation of comput- Accordingly, the lab itself must change channels,” says Negroponte. show at Boston's Computer Museum. A given to prospective students stresses Gershenfeld, Machover and Benton fit ers is just one of the topics to which he direction, and indeed is already doing so.

526 527 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 MIT MEDIA LAB

“There's an external discipline term view, focused on quarterly results, things like skin and muscle from one part imposed,” he continues, “by the fact that is persuading companies into short-term of a body to another, and began looking most students work at the Media Lab for planning rather than into speculative for ways to commercialise it.” four years, at the end of which they have investment for the future. But an organi- Most of today's common medical to obtain their degrees. To qualify for sation like the Media Lab can still carry imaging technology is based on film of these, they have to produce some solid out research that isn't specifically prod- slices of the body. So, instead of the sur- work. One must remember that this is a uct oriented while simultaneously work- geon having to assemble a three-dimen- place where 25 percent of the personnel ing in those areas a single company sional picture in his head, Piper's device changes every year; a problem (or oppor- couldn't afford. presents 3D images of that data. These tunity) even the most unstable corpora- techniques are contributing to the devel- tion doesn't have.” Demo or die opment of less invasive procedures such So, you wonder; he doesn't do It somehow seems typical that everyone as arthroscopic surgery for example. research and he doesn't manage at Media Lab has been too busy to Work being carried out on interactive projects. What does he actually do all update the project list since September storytelling, however, is harder to under- day? “Service debt,” he tells you. In the 1993. When asked about this, stand. The idea is to build elements into years since having founded the lab, he Negroponte simply didn't believe it. So the piece as the story unfolds: one stu- says, it has spent $200m. Eighty-five per- like a good scientist, he went and dent proposes to call his works “thinkies”, cent of the lab's funding is corporate checked, coming back with a sheepish in the tradition of “talkies” or “movies”, (compared to 12 percent for MIT as a expression on his face suggesting that because he wants his viewers/interactors whole) and 21 percent of that comes from by the time you read this, the list will to think about the long-term results of Europe, so a lot of his time is taken up almost certainly have been updated. their actions. A sample system on which with travel, presentations, dinners with It has been frequently said of the he was working used a psychiatric ward. sponsors. Meanwhile, the students and Media Lab that the rule is “demo or die”. One of the ways in which you could professors working at the lab carry out Unlike most research institutions where assimilate the stories of individual their work on high-end machines such as the rule is usually “publish or perish”, the patients is by reading the therapists’ files. Onyx workstations. pressure here is to achieve practical Your choice of how to approach the results. In the evening following the material requires thought; what drives Open house Digital Expression event, there were cer- you to think is your desire for a story. It's probably fair to say that a certain tainly a variety of demonstrations to visit. Another student is working on a sys- amount of the point of Digital Expression The holograms were the most popular, tem that looks as if it could be a saleable — this year's version of the Media Lab's up to the point where you could not get and successful product, although the annual open house — was to show the into the room without a long wait. student says that in fact it is further away corporate sponsors what their money Meanwhile, in the basement, a couple from being finished than it looks. It is an buys and hopefully, to make them feel of students showed off the sensor tech- interactive system that allows you to good about it. Some of them certainly nology that physicist Neil Gershenfeld place actors on a set and move them seem to: a spokesman from one of the has been working on and which was around, with the cameras, so as to be regional telephone companies spoke of such an integral part of illusionists Penn able to plot angles from which to shoot. the importance of being involved with the & Teller's musical spirit chair.The This would be useful in the film and tele- content of a project, that it's the content concept is that sensor technology could vision industries. At the moment though, owners that eventually make the money, be embedded in furniture, eventually the hardware required, a Silicon Graphics not the carriers. providing more flexible and comfortable Onyx, is too expensive. Computing Another visitor to Digital Expression, input devices. power needs to become cheaper. Hewlett Packard's Leslie I. Halberg, who One of the students explained about Along the hall, yet another student is a patent-holder in part of the technol- Penn & Teller's chair: a pad on the seat demonstrates a system for interacting ogy behind ultrasound scans, said: “We creates a tiny electrical field throughout with a virtual environment using body find that some of the things the Media the body of whoever sits in it. Thus, movements. Computer recognition of Lab works on are directly applicable to when a hand is waved in front of a sen- human movements has all sorts of possi- the issues that we face in medical ultra- sor, it breaks the electrical field to set off bilities for interface design, for video con- sound imaging.” As an example, he cites pre-programmed sounds and lights. ferencing (sending the joint angles rather the difficulties inherent in the way that On the third floor a former student, than the whole image), and for animation. today's ultrasound pictures are Stephen Piper, has started a small com- All of these demonstrations seem far synthesised; that is, from tiny sound sig- pany called Medical Media Systems with removed from Marvin Minsky. Minsky has nals. This is especially significant when two other Media Lab graduates. They plenty of practical inventions behind him; ultrasound is used in areas where move- intend to provide surgeons with tools to among others, his inventions include the ment, such as those of the heart, can help them increase their understanding robot arm. “But nowadays,” he says, “I give problems in reading the scans. So of anatomy. think about how the mind works and talk this area in which the Media Lab is work- “We were members of the computer to students about it, to try to get them to ing — trying to eliminate the effects of graphics and animation group at the consider such things when they construct such motion — coincides with the same Media Lab,” says Piper. “We had done a their systems.” problem that HP's team has to cope with. lot of work on anatomical modelling and So as the lab moves towards Negro- Other industry commentators point out became interested in developing tools ponte's envisioned next big wave, the that corporate research is contracting for helping to plan surgical procedures subject of “the understanding computer” throughout the US. Wall Street's short- such as wound closures and transfers of will be a major consideration. PCW

528 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 GROUP TEST; MATHS SOFTWARE ru Test Group Maths Software Contents Derive 3.0 XM 531 Derive 3.0 XM 532 Macsyma 2.0 534 Maple V version 3 538 Mathcad Plus 5.0 for Windows = = Derive, the only DOS mathematics software tistics, financial mathematics, Laplace and 539 Matlab 4.2 Second opinion on 541 Mathematica 2.2.3 Enhanced reviewed here, is available in two versions: Fourier transforms, Boolean algebra and Derive Classic 542 PV Wave Personal Edition the Classic (£59), which will run on anything truth tables, and Taylor polynomials. from an 8086 with 512Kkb RAM upwards; Derive permits the user to set precision to These are the main points of Numbers 543 Programmability & Connectivity and the XM Professional version (£120), as many digits as necessary. This is a pro- Count contributor, Alan Cox’s, opinion of 543 Editor’s Choice which requires an 80386DX with at least 2Mb gram which will calculate the first 10,000 dig- Derive Classic: 545 Table of Features of RAM. The latter version will accept larger its of pi in a couple of minutes — but the ● The editing interface is irritatingly incon- matrices and has been optimised for speed. 10,000 digits appear on screen as one line. It sistent. When previous work has to be Other than that, the two versions are identical is very difficult to fault Derive from a point of cleared out, Remove offers default settings and share the same front-end interface and view of accuracy, precision, or range of func- at Start and End. range of functions. The total number of func- tions, but as a computer implementation the ● It is surprising that Derive does not seem

FEATURE tions is in excess of 500 and covers areas interface is infuriating. to have built-in solutions for standard cases. such as symbolic computation, numeric com- Despite lowly system requirements, For example, it solves ax+b in 0.1 seconds putation, calculus, matrices, equation solving Derive supports colour 3D plotting and colour (on an 8MHz 8086); ax^2+bx+c takes 2.9 + + and equation simplification, in addition to sta- printing to HP DeskJet printers. seconds; but ax^3+bx^2+cx+d takes a hor- rendous 15 minutes and 16 seconds. Also, ax^4 +bx^3+cx^2+dx+e produced nothing after 3 hours. ● Simple arithmetic is impressively fast: for The right example, 2^10000 in 3.7 seconds. It is questionable, however, just how useful this } capability might be to the average user. } ● An irritating feature is that there is no indi- cation when there are more digits off- Derive 3.0 screen. Although one would know that 2^10000 is longer than a line’s worth, there Derive’s front-end will be cases where the overlap is only a solution workspace single digit and this could be confusing to As the boundaries which say the least. ● It does nothing for one’s confidence in a lthough manufactured by separate the various engine. Matlab can be used to call up the program when the manual and its output are competing firms, the mathemat- mathematics software Mathematica kernel. It can also utilise an inconsistent. Unless the manual is easily Aics software packages reviewed installed Maple kernel for advanced sym- misunderstood, it does not seem possible to here are to a certain extent complemen- packages become more bolic mathematics. Maple can be used to tackle SQR and therefore non-linear recur- tary. Although the categories may be blurred it is increasingly call the Matlab Matrix engine, as can sion. In our view, it should include either blurred, beneath a heading of symbolic difficult to choose the Macsyma. context-sensitive help, a tutorial program, or mathematics and equation visualisation Then there is Mathcad Plus 5; a pro- at the very least a document listing in detail + right package for one could place Maple and Macsyma; gram favoured by many technical com- the solutions to the various exercises+ in the under the heading of numerical calcula- particular needs. puter users who need to perform manual. tions and visualisation for pure Eric Adler reviews a numerical and symbolic calculations and ● Overall, an excellent program within its mathematics would be Mathematica; who like to both input and obtain output, limitations. Although Derive Classic is very while Matlab is within the realms of a selection of maths in simple mathematical symbols, either to capable, the learning curve is very steep matrix environment for numeric computa- programs and the screen or to the printed page. You and its ease of use leaves a lot to be tion and visualisation, in an applied math- calculates the best. can’t use Mathcad to calculate pi to ten Derive supports desired. ematics environment. Yet Maple also thousand digits but you might well be 3D colour offers advanced numerical procedures whereas Mathematica is more research able to use it to design and build a better graphics and the new version of Mathematica oriented. Matlab installations may be product. Derive, on the other hand, is an includes symbolic maths output. New found within hospitals, large manufactur- uninhibited DOS package which can be PCW Details Wave is designed for numeric computa- ing companies and research centres, but used to calculate pi to five thousand Derive XM 3.0 tion and representation of applied data, many of these installations may well places. Mathematica 2.2.3 may have Price £59 (Classic), £120 (Professional) but while Matlab offers a vast range of include Maple kernels for symbolic pro- better graphics but you can’t run Mathe- Contact Chartwell Bratt 0181 4671956. {procedures and add-on modules, the for- cessing; these are likely to have Mathe- matica from a floppy on an 8086. Fax 0181 4671754 mer utilises a small but carefully chosen matica on hand to use for advanced Above all, however, it must be borne Good Points Fast and accurate, with a { group of robust tools for use in a more numerical work. PV Wave in Unix is a in mind that even though the computer wide range of functions. restricted environment. favourite of the City finance houses and may take all of the drudgery out of mathe- Bad Points Poor front-end interface. Most university mathematics depart- merchant bankers. matics, the user must nevertheless be Conclusion Power packed, yet ments have either Mathematica or Maple To add to the confusion it is possible, aware of what the formulae and irritating. on line. Maple is often preferred as a using Mathlink, to utilise Mathematica as equations mean and be able to interpret teaching tool for pure mathematics, a front-end to access the Matlab matrix the results.

530 531 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD *JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995* GROUP TEST; MATHS SOFTWARE

Macsyma 2.0

This is high-quality software, developed at help files which interface with active demos in point arithmetic, combinatorial operations, =the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It the Macsyma MathHelp menu, contain sub- and number theory functions. Bernoulli and is based on a command line interface, with menus of major mathematical topics with Euler functions are included as well as separate kernel and front end. Output is for- other, even more narrowly defined sub- Fibonacci numbers, Riemann Zeta and other matted symbolic mathematics and numerics, menus. These offer a choice of description, related functions. The statistical distributions to a notebook-style document. Macsyma has example, or template for each mathematical covered include binomial, Bernoulli, beta, over 160 customisable graphics routines and topic, thereby making this an almost revolu- gamma, students, normal, chi square and features such as camera panning for anima- tionary mathematical reference source. hypergeometric. These are serious functions tion, and it will also play sound. There are literally hundreds of examples for the professional mathematician. If Although written in Lisp, while its competi- which cover almost every aspect of mathe- anything, this is an understated package and tors have been compiled in C or Fortran, matical programming in the online tutorial. there are functions available which appear to Macsyma is a mature product and one of the Full documentation is provided by a user be unlisted in the index. easiest to use of all those reviewed here. For handbook, a system reference manual, quick At a cost of £299 for the full package with example, it will generate a dialogue on data reference and mathematical function no extras to pay for, Macsyma fairly romped and command entry which simplifies its use manuals. home ahead of every other package tested in +and obviates the need to learn complicated The range of functions provided is exem- terms of value for money and functionality. instruction sets or data entry formats. If you plary: the 1,700 or more functions provided However, the tests for this review were all run make a mistake, for instance miss out a include libraries for symbolic mathematics, on a standard 486DX/33 with 8Mb of RAM, in bracket, it will tell you to put in another. Other differentiation and Taylor series, differential Windows 3.11 on DOS 6.2, and in this envi- programs will merely inform you that there is equations, definite and indefinite integration; ronment Macsyma was none too sprightly: it a mistake in the syntax. also included are Laplace transforms, Fourier took more than 100 seconds to load and con- This dialogue feature, combined with a series and tensor calculus. The numerical tinually needed to make extensive use of a } high tolerance on entry syntax, makes this an analysis feature offers arbitrary size integers, 20Mb Windows swap file. Stripping down the easy piece of software to use. The excellent single, double and arbitrary precision floating Windows environment by losing such unnec- essary extras as the anti-virus scan, the Macsyma 2.0 screensaver and so on, dropping the smart- drive cache to 256kb, rem-ing out mscdex Macsyma features and other drivers freed up enough memory to an advanced make a noticeable improvement in MathHelp facility performance. However, there definitely comes a point at which one can no longer describe this as “software which will run in 8Mb of RAM under Windows.” Nevertheless, at this price one could afford to buy an extra 16Mb of SIMM memory with which to run it and still be left with plenty of change from the cost of a comparable software package (Mat- + lab base, Maple kernel, Extended Symbolic). Macsyma may not offer those specialist application toolboxes which are available for Matlab or MathCad but in terms of pure mathematical functionality, ease of use, quality of interface and output quality, let alone the range of functions offered, it is a 3D graphics in good bet. Macsyma

PCW Details Macsyma 2.0 Price £299 Contact Chartwell-Bratt 0181 4671956. { Fax 0181 4671754 Good Points Good symbolic maths, MathHelp, user friendly and a wide range of functions. Bad Points Requires at least 16Mb of RAM to run quickly. Conclusion Well worth considering if you have enough RAM.

532 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD *JUNE 1995 GROUP TEST; MATHS SOFTWARE

Maple V version 3

This is a cheerful mathematics package; it packages being tested. The documentation leaves something to launches quickly and produces well-format- Maple has its own Pascal-like program- be desired; the review software package =ted mathematical symbols on screen which ming language. This can be used to call on included a spiral-bound handbook which also print well using a laser printer. It is a the Maple mathematical procedures to pro- referred to a previous version and two hard- highly capable program which includes facili- duce routines which can be added to the back reference manuals which related to an ties for calculus, linear algebra, equation library. Numerical precision can be as many even earlier version. Although the spiral- solving, polynomials, combinatronics, graph digits as desired and although Maple V does bound handbook offers a form of tutorial, not and number theory. There is a range of stan- not boast the ability to truncate inaccurate all the examples worked with this, the latest dard functions and constants and it can be digits, neither does it produce answers like version of Maple V, and a user would used to produce high-quality plots. Because 1.999999999 instead of 2.0 porbably have to phone the help line for it is a command-line driven package, it is It is a worksheet-based program: advice. The documentation of a program case, spacing and parentheses sensitive but worksheets may be scrolled up or down and should be an intrinsic part of the software, not not as difficult to use as some packages. As text regions inserted. However, as only one an afterthought. Clecom, who distribute with all command line packages, ease of worksheet at a time can be opened, it is not Maple V in the UK, offer a first class graphics use leaves something to be desired, possible to switch from one to another within telephone help service manned by PhD and but in Maple’s case the quality of the 3D plots a single session. It is possible to run two or MSc mathematicians and MSc computer +on screen must be seen to be believed. more Maple sessions concurrently and paste specialists. Although the service they provide Specific program areas include Simplex from one to the other. is quite excellent, it needs to be given the optimisation. There is a good range of statis- The math browser allows a knowledge backup of good-quality documentation. tical routines and as well as the usual finan- tree approach to mathematics and there are The Maple V symbolic kernel is very cial mathematics there is an implementation online help and tutorial facilities which permit quick. Having used Maple V, almost all the of the Black-Scholes function which calcu- multiple help files to be opened other packages seemed to be running really lates the present value of a call option. simultaneously. While examples from the slowly in comparison. If anything, the Maple } Strangely, Black-Scholes wasn’t included in help files may be pasted into a document, the V kernel is intrinsically faster and easier to the base package libraries of any of the other order in which they are pasted can be critical. use than any of its illustrious competitors. In the case of integer factorisation, it is a great Maple V deal faster. In fact, it was the fastest package on test when it came to factorising H1 (see Maple V graphics PCW December 1994) in 8Mb of RAM. and command line Most PC users who are interested in structure maths would find it easier to reach a given level of mathematical literacy with Maple V than with any other package. This would cer- tainly apply if they were interested in produc- ing well-formatted symbolic mathematical output along the way. But it must be taken into account that there isn’t even a quick ref- erence card and only one notebook can be + open during a session, and this tarnishes an otherwise competent program. Maple certainly is an excellent program: every school and college with a serious maths department should have a copy avail- able on a computer in the library. However, as a mathematics reference and teaching Maple V has a resource it needs better documentation. strong numeric capability PCW Details Maple V version 3 Price £695 Contact Clecom 0121 4714199. Fax 0121 4715169 { Good Points High-quality symbolic and graphic output. Bad Points Poor documentation, only one active worksheet at a time can be used. Conclusion The best mathematics kernel but marred by a poor front end and poor documentation.

534 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD *JUNE 1995 GROUP TEST; MATHS SOFTWARE GROUP TEST; MATHS SOFTWARE

Mathcad Plus 5.0 for Windows Matlab 4.2

Mathcad is a nimble mathematics package lation of complicated integrals and other func- tial equations has been expanded using The Notebook suite is a new addition to factorisations or other matrix operations and an OEM Maple kernel with a library of based on an active document language. It tions is facilitated by the SmartMath feature methods based upon the Bulstoer function in Matlab and this enables the computational so on. Therefore the value of Matlab, or any extended routines which harness the matrix= =deals with input and outputs as standard which will optimise an equation prior to its addition to the more usual Runge-Kutta tech- power of Matlab to be output to Word 6. The other computing environment, should be engine of Matlab with the symbolic mathe- mathematical symbols, and this means that calculation and solution. niques. The inclusion of Laplace, inverse most complicated functions can now be gauged by comparing the quality and power matics of Maple. This combination is instead of entering a command at a prompt, Mathcad has been designed to be an Laplace, Fourier, Inverse Fourier and other called from within a Word document to of those programs it supports, to those of awesome: systems of differential equations the command can be entered in mathemat- affordable, easy-to-use package. It is intend- advanced symbolic transforms makes this a enable the output to be fully formatted and other environments. handled in matrix format; Eigenvalue trajec- ics, anywhere on the screen. ed to provide advanced symbolic and numeri- powerful symbolic mathematical tool. The edited, thereby enabling the creation of inter- Most of the toolboxes for the Matlab tories combined with interactive plotting; for- The Mathcad screen works, looks, and cal computational facilities for technical numerical techniques are selected for their active documents. The program runs with the environment have been designed for interac- mulae for single value decompositions which feels just the way you would expect a normal professionals who neither feel the need to robustness and feature a Romberg algorithm Matlab command window minimised as an tive real-time data situations, for example; in reduce to pi — all can be calculated in the maths book to appear on the screen; that is learn a computer language, nor acquire a for integration, and the Ridders method along icon and its toolbar integrated with another hospitals to provide visualisations of body Notebook Word 6 environment. to say, a combination of equations, text and shelf of computer manuals in order to be able with the Levenberg-Marquardt augmentation from Word 6, and facilitates the production of scans, or in industry to monitor process con- Other toolboxes range from Simulink, an graphics. The difference between, say, a to perform their calculations. In fact, it is so of the Gauss Newton method. great-looking electronic notebooks. trols. Thus they are not intended for stand- interactive tool for simulating dynamic sys- Mathcad screen and the page of a book easy to learn that it is being adopted by the These functions can either be augmented The Matlab environment consists of a alone use, so Rapid Data (Matlab’s UK tems and which can handle linear and non- which has been word processed with the for- Open University for their symbolic mathemat- by additional function packs for specific appli- base module to run in Windows. The user distributors) provided the Statistics, Maths linear discrete and continuous time mulae entered using an equation editor, is ics programs. cations, or by more than forty electronic adds application modules (toolboxes) to Symbolic (Maple Kernel) and Extended multivariable systems, to those in areas such that Mathcad actually calculates the screen. Ease of use, however, does not mean a books (application packs) which cover a vari- undertake specific tasks. The base contains Maths toolboxes for this review. as neural networking and control systems. + +It performs numeric and symbolic limited range of features. The graph facility ety of topics ranging from economics to fluid a with a fast fourth generation The Statistics toolbox provides 19 basic The latest addition is the Fuzzy Logic calculations, solves differential equations and which allows 2D, 3D polar, contour and para- mechanics, statistics to thermodynamics, to programming language, 4GL. It uses distribution functions, each with probability toolbox, designed for application handles advanced matrix operations. metric plots has a zoom facility as well as co- astronomy, to building thermal analysis and advanced matrix operations accessed from density, cumulative distribution, inverse development in areas which can be Plus 5.0 combines pull-down Windows ordinate trace and direct title editing features. materials science. These electronic sources simple command line instructions, and cumulative functions and random number described as conditional probabilistic situa- menus with active toolbars and keyboard- The enhanced functions include complex root provide sections of mathematical formulae. graphical routines which can produce some generators. There is a full range of moments tions. The Optimisation toolbox offers a entered data, to provide a wide range of procedures for the solution of polynomials, Diagrams and graphs can be copied, pasted of the most stunning colour graphics. and descriptive statistics, plots, linear model- choice of algorithms for minimisation, max- graphical, symbolic and numeric processing. improved linear and non-linear curve fitting and edited into documents for everyday use. Although the base module can be used to ling, and tools for hypothesis testing. Only imisation, minimax and other forms of goal } The symbolic processing is due to a built-in routines, and advanced matrix handling. The Mathcad 5 Plus is a full 32-bit application call up a wide range of mathematical func- two of the reviewed statistics packages attainment using linear and non-linear } Maple symbolic processor. Numerical calcu- range of routines for the solution of differen- which will run in Windows 3.1, Windows NT tions and matrix operations, most users do could equal this range of distribution func- methods. or Windows 95. It features drag and drop not go looking for ways in which to manipu- tions and not one of them exceeded it. Matlab’s method of generating graphics Mathcad Plus 5.0 for Windows editing and has faultless DDE and OLE late Hilbert spaces or perform Cholesky The Math Symbolic toolboxes combine differs from that of other programs: it is first which makes it possible to live-link Mathcad necessary to call up the independent vectors, Mathcad’s statistics equations, text and graphics with word Matlab 4.2 perform the function and then call up a graph pack is useful for processors and spreadsheets to create very of the result. Although data entry requires teaching theory as well impressive documents. It has its own The Matlab Notebook tool- more entry lines, a plot is often obtained as for calculating enhanced with Windows fonts and bar is integrated into the more quickly. When special mesh, grid, or probability levels custom colours and features a Houghton- Word 6 toolbar contour effects are required, the changed Mifflin technical spelling checker. There are plots can be obtained more quickly than by also page headers and footers which offer using the non matrix-based method. date time stamps and automatic page num- Matlab has few faults. One is that data bering. A programming interface is provided can only be imported into Matlab as ASCII for C/C++ which permits one to call C/C++ files. Another is that although the graphic + routines from Mathcad and allows the inser- user interface tools allow DLL linkage with tion of compiled user-specific codes. other Windows applications, and there+ is a Mathcad Plus 5 requires a minimum con- Windows pasting and copying feature in figuration of Windows 3.1, a 486DX, 8Mb of addition to OLE2 linkage, drag and drop RAM and 24Mb of free hard disk space graphics editing is not possible. (16Mb swap file). Alternatively, Mathcad 5 for The minimum recommended configura- Windows, which costs £199, can be run tion for Matlab is a 486DX with 8Mb of RAM, using a 386 DX/387 with 4Mb of RAM. Windows 3.1, 20Mb of disk space and a The Mathcad desktop 16Mb swap file. reference is a ready source of technical PCW Details Matlab Notebook PCW Details information Mathcad Plus 5.0 pull-down menu Matlab 4.2 Price £395 Price £1,500 Contact Adept 01462 480055 Contact Rapid Data 01903 821266. Fax 01903 820762 Good Points Powerful and easy to use { with a wide range of functions and a Good Points OLE2 and awesome reasonable price. computational power. { Bad Points Fails to truncate inaccurate Bad Points Can only import in ASCII. digits. Conclusion Good all-round Conclusion For technical professionals, performance, with stunning graphics, a Mathcad Plus 5 is an excellent choice. comprehensive range of tools and few faults overall.

538 539 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD *JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995* GROUP TEST; MATHS SOFTWARE

Mathematica 2.2.3 Enhanced

Mathematica is the program which helped session and this permits work to be copied such as Mathematica which was once state= define the way in which we perceive comput- and pasted from earlier documents, and the of the art, but is it really too much to expect of er mathematics. For many years it was the values of constants and defined variables to Wolfram that they should keep pace with yardstick against which other mathematical be shared between active notebooks. other packages in terms of user interface? software packages were measured. Once The language of Mathematica is Items such as quality of output cannot be dis- synonymous with precision and quality, it command line driven. It is extremely sensi- missed as trivial and discounted against the attracted the interest of more mathematical tive and makes extensive use of different power of the kernel. Software must be easy programmers than probably any of the other forms of parentheses. This has resulted in to use and the form of the finished product is packages in this review. There are now more Mathematica users developing high levels of important; a page of mathematics should than 100 books and magazines dedicated to keyboard discipline, in which they take great look like a page of mathematics, not like a Mathematica and different aspects of Mathe- pride. Even in version 2.2.3, input to and out- page of computer printout. matica programming. put from Mathematica is the same as the Mathematica’s numerical routines are Aimed squarely at the professional math- DOS command line output of the first reputed to be second to none, but during the ematician, Mathematica consists of a vast version: that is, a stream of letters and num- PCW tests it took version 2.2.3 (enhanced) library of routines and subroutines accessed bers with parentheses. Mathematica is said 13 minutes and 27 seconds to find the first + and driven by essentially the same software to provide such a powerful computational factor of H1 (see PCW December 1994) on engine — the Kernel — irrespective of pro- engine that its devotees are willing to forgive an 80486DX with 8Mb of RAM. When Wol- gram version. For this review, we were sent the command line language and the fact that fram Research was informed of this, it replied the 2.2.3 enhanced version featuring a sepa- it is unable to output to mathematical sym- that Mike Mudge (PCW’s Numbers Count rate Windows front end, in an easy-to-use bolic format. They even put up with the fact contributor) had come up with a very difficult Notebook format, providing an interactive that it cannot accept input in mathematical number for Mathematica to factorise. The document interface from which the kernel symbolic format and that even version 2 2.3 company added that Mathematica could may either be called up or run separately. It does not offer menu driven mathematical factorise less difficult thirty-digit numbers in} is possible to have two or more active note- commands. an average time of 37 seconds, on an Apple books running from a kernel during a single It is very easy to be critical of a package 68040 Power PC. It was claimed that no other package offered the same degree of precision of numerical integration, and within Mathematica 2.2.3 Enhanced this RAM category Mathematica’s robust integration routines are good but not Mathematica command exceptional. line and 3D graphics This version offers a wide range of func- tions and there are over 60Mb of high quality, public domain, mathematics programs avail- able such as Maths Source on the Internet (also available on a CD-ROM). Wolfram also market specialist packages such as a Finan- cial Maths pack which includes a Black- Scholes routine, and a Time Series pack. The package is well-documented in a+ good- quality handbook. Useful help files and an excellent tutorial are also provided. Mathe- matica can be used to produce 3D colour graphics of stacked functions and the student version offers good value for money at a cost of £99. Mathematica displays numerical precision but takes 807 seconds PCW Details to factorise H1 Mathematica 2.2.3 Enhanced Price £795 Contact Wolfram Research 01993 883400. Fax 01993 883800 Good Points A wide range of functions as standard { Bad Points Poor quality output Conclusion If you need Mathematica, you are probably using it already.

541 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995* GROUP TEST; MATHS SOFTWARE GROUP TEST; MATHS SOFTWARE

PV Wave Personal Edition Programmability and connectivity of maths software

All the maths packages reviewed here seriously: included as standard in the basic WATCOM C386, Metawhare, MS Visual The Personal Edition of PV-Wave is a cut- a bridge into the world of real-time Unix command line but the package is capable of feature their own programming languages. package, there is a set of GUI tools (such as Basic, Borland C++ and Fortran. = =down version of a Unix Workstation applica- applications. high-quality graphics and can produce multi- Some can be used to call up routines and radio buttons, sliders, menus), with a hand- Mathcad Plus 5 provides a C/C++ tion and can now be run on a 486DX with PV Wave is a hands-on package and dimensional layered graphic visualisations. functions, others can be used to create book which can be used as a super Visual programming interface and offers DDE and 8Mb of RAM. It provides a unique collection utilises a command line to access routines The Personal Edition enables routines to be program objects for use in a Windows Basic with which to build Matlab OLE2 Windows integration. Macsyma has its of robust numerical analysis tools for specific which can be combined as procedures and constructed to access and visualise data environment. But some offer more connec- applications. The GUI interface can be used own programming language which includes application areas and is intended to be used then compiled into .exe files as programs for which changes from minute to minute (as tivity than others. Mathematica, for exam- to create external interfaces; with Mathemat- debugging tools and a facility to generate by the likes of astronomers, designers of specific data handling situations. The com- opposed to second to second in the Unix ple, features a series of Mathlink modules ica, or with C and Fortran routines for exam- Fortran and C coding as well as providing Formula 1 motor engines, pharmacologists mand line is neither case sensitive nor spac- version). The negative side of PV Wave is which permit the Mathematica kernel to be ple. These can be called up from Matlab or TEX output. or aerospace guidance systems designers. ing critical and it does not make good use of that it is purely a numerical visualisation pro- accessed from Excel or Matlab using Mex. can be used to call up Matlab matrix Maple provides debugging routines and PV Wave is not for amateurs. It is for use as the Windows environment. Output is to gram with almost no symbolic mathematics link, or Matlab to be called from functions. procedures for C and Fortran Code Genera- capability and the learning curve is quite Mathematica. But it is the Simulink Real Time tion. PV Wave Personal Edition includes a steep. Mathlink even includes a facility to pro- Workshop module which really grabs the 300-page programmer’s guide, has its own PV Wave Personal Edition While many of the routines available in duce a compilable C file of the interface imagination. At a mere £8,500, the real-time compiler and can access or write to C code. PV Wave are included in other products, no between the external function and Mathe- workshop will automatically generate C code Even Derive has its own programming lan- other offers such a collection of carefully matica; the file can then be compiled via from block diagrams — no need for hand guage and can be used to translate algebraic + + selected and robust tools. Visual Numeric is the usual procedures. Matlab, on the other coding and no debugging, and no need for C expressions into Basic, C, Fortran or Pascal clearly aiming at two groups of users for this hand, takes programmability far more programmers either. Matlab supports CMEX, using the Transfer command. product: existing users of PV Wave who would like to have a version to run on their PCs and portables; and existing PC owners Editor’s Choice who might be interested in switching to PV Wave — presumably in a Unix Workstation } environment. Unless you live in some mathematical Edition both displayed memory problems professionals, Mathcad Plus 5 wins the } PV Wave is well documented and the never-never land, where people sit around running in this environment. Mathematica Editor’s Choice award for ease of use, value demo can be used as a tutorial. Online help exploring the functionality of mathematical 2.2.3 displayed low memory warnings but for money, quality of output and its range of is available and in addition, Visual Numerics software packages all day, you must never actually went down in 8Mb. applicable notebooks. Matlab 4.2 receives a provides a UK telephone help line. Three-day choose a mathematics package on the Derive was a fast worker on the first Highly Commended for its excellent OLE2 training courses aimed at mathematically basis of its fitness to perform a series of thousand digits of pi but was somewhat con- notebook implementation and range of tool- literate and experienced computer users are practical tasks. strained, so the Editor’s Choice was boxes. available at a cost of £700. When we attempted to assess a rec- narrowed down to Mathematica 2.2.3, Maple Considering Maple V version 3 and Math- ommendation for Editor’s Choice on the V version 3, Matlab 4.2 , and Mathcad Plus ematica 2.3.3, we wondered whether either basis of a number of factors ranging from 5. Having decided that we were making an merited a Highly Commended award; Maple ease of use, to connectivity, through the award on the basis of usability for technical V has the better kernel and although marred range of functions offered, to the quality of by the single document front end, it is proba- documentation and the price, the task was Summing up: Mathcad Plus 5, our bly the better program of the two despite its far from easy as too few points separated Editor’s Choice faults. Nevertheless, Maple V beat Mathe- Left PV Wave Personal Edition offers the leaders. matica in the PCW + advanced, customisable, 3D graphics The tests for tests in terms of both visualisation these reviews were speed and output+ all run on two stan- quality and thus dard 80486 DXs deserves the editor’s with 8Mb of RAM award of Highly Com- using WfWG 3.11 mended in the cate- and 20Mb swap gory of pure files. While there is mathematics. little doubt that There is little 16Mb of RAM is doubt that next year PCW Details rapidly becoming we will be using more PV Wave Personal Edition for Windows the standard, it was RAM when reviewing Price £995 felt that a large pro- similar products. Contact Visual Numerics 01753 790600 portion of our read- Maple V release 4 ers, especially may carry proper Good Points An elite collection of those with documentation and { robust tools. Bad Points Makes poor use of the notebooks, are lim- there may be new { Windows environment. ited to 8Mb of RAM. versions of PV Wave Conclusion The Personal Edition is the Although excellent Personal Edition and only way to access PV Wave from a PC. programs, Macsy- Macsyma — and ma 2.0 and PV hopefully, a different Wave Personal yardstick.

542 543 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD *JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995* GROUP TEST; MATHS SOFTWARE

TABLE OF FEATURES MATHS SOFTWARE

Derive XM Macsyma 2 Mathcad Plus 5 Maple V version 3 Mathmatica 2.2.3 PV Wave PE Matlab 4.2=

Product Derive XM Macsyma 2 Mathcad Plus 5 MAPLE V version 3 Mathematica 2.2.3 PV Wave PE Matlab 4.2 TYPE DOS Shell Notebook Document Interface Document Notebook Document Environment * Distributor Chartwell Bratt Chartwell-Bratt ADEPT Scientific CLECOM Wolfram Research Visual Numerics Rapid Data Telephone 0181 467 1956 0181 467 1956 0462 480055 0121 471 4199 0993 883400 01753 790600 (44)-(0) 903 821 266 Price £125 £299 £395 £695 £995 £995 inc modules £1,500 Academic Discounts student vers. £29 ●● ● ●❍ student vers £35 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Minimum Processor/Ram/Disk 80286/ 512kb 386/ 12Mb / 20 HD 386/8Mb/ 12HD 386/ 4Mb / 12 HD 386/ 4Mb / 13HD 486/ 8Mb/ 20 HD 386/387/ 4 / 10 HD Recommended Processor/Ram/Disk 486 4Mb 2Mb 486 /16Mb/ 20 486 / 8Mb / 12 486DX/8Mb/ 25 486 / 8 + / 13 486/ 16 to 32Mb /20Mb 486/ 8+ / 20Mb Operating Systems DOS Windows 3.1 Windows 3.1 W3.1/NT, Apple, DOS Windows 3.1/ NT Windows NT/3.1 Windows/ Apple + Unix, VMS VMS, Unix, OS2 Apple/ DOS Unix , VMS Unix Time to launch ( seconds)* 6 110 10 8 32 ( Kernel 22) 13 11 Functions supported 500+ 1500+ 300+ 2500+ 2500+ 400+ 775 Units Conversions and constants ●●● ❍ ●● ❍ Mathematical Equation Notation Entry ❍❍● ❍ ❍❍ ❍} Display ●●● ● ❍❍ ❍ Numerical Computations ●●● ● ●● ● Truncate inaccurate Digits in results ❍●❍ ❍ ●● ● Symbolic Computations ●●● ● ●❍ ● Equation optimization ●●● ● ●● ● Calculus differential ●●● ● ●● ● Calculus Integral ●●● ● ●● ● Complex numbers ●●● ● ●● ● Evaluate i ^i ( = 0.2078795763507...) ●●● ● ●❍ ● Differential equations ❍●● ● ●● ● Single Value Decompositions ❍●● ● ●● l (module extra) Financial functions ●❍Electronic book extra ● Toolbox extra ❍ Toolbox extra Statistical Functions ●●Electronic book extra ● yes and toolbox ● Toolbox extra Max. Matrix size. 50*50 or RAM limit no limit 100 * +augment no limit no limit no limit no limit+ Customizable Graphics ●●● ● ●● ● graphics editing ❍●❍ ❍ limited ●❍ Supports Sound ❍●❍ ❍ ●❍ ● Supports Animation Acrospin module extra ●● ● ●● ● Graphics Export TIF WMF, BMG. WMF, BMP WMF BMG WMF, BMG, WMF. BMG, WMF, BMG, TIF Formats PostScript PostScript PostScript EPS2 Technical Spell Checker ❍❍● ❍ ❍❍ ❍ External Links C, Fortran, Basic C, Fortran, TEX. C/C++, OLE, DDE Math Edge c/c++ Mathlink, C/C++ not on P. Ed MEX, C, Fortran,$ Application Package Support ❍●● ● ●● ● Notebook Support ❍●● ● ●Maths/Stats included ● Public Domain packages available ❍❍❍ ● yes CD-ROM ❍❍ Online tutorial ❍●● ● ❍● ● Online help ●●● ● ●● ● UK phone helpline ❍●● ● ●● ❍{ Other Features Training available Training available* *N/book suite

* time to launch * Keyboard limit *plusWindows/ * plus new version * inc $ OLE2 seconds on a 486DX * no functional limit DOS package July with 12ms hard disk, times may vary.

545 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995* HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN POSTERS

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN POSTERS POST PRODUCTION Poster modernism To make a full-size, full-colour poster which really catches the eye, all you need is a PC, some fairly inexpensive software, and access to a colour printer. Film-maker and designer Chris Jones takes you through the surprisingly easy and highly enjoyable process.

am a film director by profession, and colour A1 poster run costing up to around The next problem, of course, is how to Iusually broke because of it. I made a £2,000, they often are expensive. How- create the artwork. The poster was to be film called White Angel, a serial killer ever, if you want to produce just a small comprised of photo images, text and a thriller, and a damned fine one at that. number of posters, you can do so with main graphic — the “logo”. I used Corel- Being of a creative slant the task of pro- surprisingly little cost or fuss. Draw to paste everything into position, ducing the film’s poster fell upon my The first thing I did on discovering my and the photographic images were pulled shoulders and, as usual, I turned to my transition from film director to poster off a Photo-CD that I had “cut down” at trusty PC to help me achieve the seem- designer was to check out what the com- Boots (from stills taken on set during the ingly impossible. I am now working on the petition looked like. To my surprise, when shooting of the film). The photo image international poster for White Angel, examined up close, a standard poster has montage was put together and enhanced which has been retitled “Interview with a an appalling resolution. The text is often using the fabulous yet inexpensive Serial Killer”. quite crisp but images seem to have less Photofinish. This image would form the Posters can be vital to the success of than 100dpi. Check it out yourself: next main backdrop for the poster and it was a film. They need to be big, bright, and time you’re in a bus queue, take a good important to keep in mind the spatial posi- look expensive — and with a typical full- close-up look at the posters around you. tioning of the words to help balance the whole image. I could have easily produced a snappy 3D logo in Simply 3D but I opted for a rather ragged ATM font with a white drop shadow. After jigging everything about on screen, and once I was happy with what it all looked like, I had to take that expen- sive step to final production. There are two ways to go: cheap and not so cheap. The former may sound crude at first, but is extremely effective. If a standard poster has a resolution of 100dpi or thereabouts, you can produce something smaller, with higher resolution, and blow it up. The Epson Colour Stylus has a superb image output at up to 720dpi with an almost photographic

The poster for "Interview with a ● Main pic This A1-sized poster was made by blowing up at A4 colour print and Serial Killer” under construction in copying the blow-up onto four A3 sheets (inset) which in turn are transferred to a CorelDraw, with text and images single A1 piece of paper being sized and placed

550 551 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN POSTERS

quality — certainly the best in its price range — and is ideal for this sort of job. A1 is roughly eight times larger than A4, and I was therefore able to blow up an A4 colour print in 720dpi to A1 and achieve approximately 100dpi. The blow- up is produced on a standard colour laser copier (found in almost all local printers) and copied onto four A3 sheets. This process is fully automated by the copier and takes only a few minutes. It’s worth- while checking several shops for quality as colour photocopies can be extremely varied. While in the store, use their trim- mer to cut the edges clean, and buy a sheet of A1 paper. Buy some spray mount and paste all four sheets into place. The result is a surprisingly good A1 poster that looks like it may have been folded once. Laser copiers are very good with colour and will retain all the vibrancy of the original, and (best of all) the whole lot should cost less than £10. The second, more expensive method requires output at a bureau and an A1 inkjet or electrostatic printer.

Don’t paint it black Large-format printing is often slightly patchy, especially on inkjets, so it’s worth avoiding large block colours if possible. Black is often the worst and it is worth considering using a broken background image, like a dark marble. In the past I have even opted for a poster that contained a lot of white as I knew this would sidestep the majority of inkjet printer problems. The major problem is that most bureaux are set up for Macs and will moan if you so much as utter the phrase “PC”; they can, in fact, handle the PC for- 2Mb). Zipping is a major advantage as it mat, but will give you grief about it. If you avoids the necessity for any high-capac- An A4 print at 720dpi will reproduce manage to find a bureau that can handle ity storage system like Syquest or quite acceptably at A1 at about native PC files, use it as this will reduce Exabyte. No Limits specialise in large- 100dpi, if it’s prepared properly file compatibility problems. format printing and recommended an The best file format to supply is EPS electrostatic printer for this job. My first (Encapsulated Post Script File) as this is print was not very good — low contrast, finest sheet of laminate plastic available. pretty much an industry standard. When dodgy colours and problems all round. This will save your investment from wear exporting to EPS, ensure that all the fonts Transporting files between systems is and tear and make it that bit glossier. A are converted to “curves” in case the notoriously troublesome, with things glass frame is even better and will ensure printers don’t have duplicate fonts. The often ending up very different from the that your investment is protected, as well EPS file has a header (a low-resolution original concept. Run as many tests as as making it look good. copy of the file, which the printers use possible before committing to any major One-off poster production can be very simply to line everything up) which should project, and make sure the bureau cheap and extremely rewarding — it has be set to something like 75dpi. knows that if the final product isn’t what it that “name up in lights” feel to it. So My 5Mb CorelDraw file produced a should be, they will have to redo the whether you’re advertising a new product 12Mb EPS file. Luckily, No Limits (0171 work. I have produced posters with other range, a chef’s special, a performance at 383 2686), the bureau I had chosen, companies on Canon Inkjets and the the amateur dramatics society, or in my understood PCs and were quite happy to results have been superb. The average case, a full-length feature film, you can be have the EPS supplied zipped up by cost for producing an A1 poster is £45. sure that if you put your full-colour, full- using PKZip, and spread over several Last but not least, I would recommend size poster in the right place, your efforts disks (once zipped, the file was only laminating the resulting poster with the will not go unnoticed. PCW

553 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 TUTORIAL: PROCOMM PLUS FOR WINDOWS

TUTORIAL: PROCOMM PLUS FOR WINDOWS Fig 1 Creating a log Upload succeeded Login: qix Scratchpad is 12851 bytes. UNIX System V Release 3.2.0 M:scput script In the second part of our tutorial, it’s the turn of CIX to benefit from gonzales M:script the Procomm Plus treatment as Stephen Rodda concentrates on a Copyright (c) 1984 AT&T No new messages waiting. All Rights Reserved Scratchpad is 2025730 bytes. simple automatic session and builds up the original script into a CIX Version 2.19 02/08/94 M:download more complex version, with enhancements. Copyright (c) CoSy Conferencing System, University of Zmodem download started... (to abort ^X^X^X^X^X) Guelph, 1984 Filesize 2025730 bytes, estimated time at 240 cps : 140 Portions copyright (c) Compulink Information eXchange min 41 sec Ltd, 1985-1994 **B00000000000000 You are on line: AG/AFGl Nickname? (Enter ‘new’ for new user) the_bear Download succeeded Password: OK to delete the downloaded scratchpad-file? (y/n)? Y Checking your conferences R:q You have 1 file(s) in your private subdir. M:go newsnet

GETTING YOUR CIX Disc space occupied = 10k. To access the Interactive reader, type reader at the For external use only You have 52 mail message(s) in your in-basket. Newsnet prompt There are 5 unread mail message(s). You are a member of 116 conference(s). Setting up environment variables ast month I suggested how you computer. In this case, you will Reading newsrc into memory Lmight use Procomm Plus for Win- simply start your CIX communi- Type HELP for help . dows to access the Internet. This month, cation session (as we did in the Building up command list CIX comes under the spotlight. Why CIX? last article with the Internet M:opt terse unix y d z u z compact y term pag 0 Welcome to the CIX Usenet Read/Write Gateway Version 3.1 Aren’t there enough packages already provider) and start the upload, Opt:messagesize 65535 ref n autorecent y edit quiet file Newsnet:batch all endbatch which will work with CIX? Shouldn’t we run the script, and read all topic single y q Batching messages be using Ameol, Wigwam, Telepathy and messages and mail messages Max messagesize during file has been set to 65535 bytes .... suchlike instead? into a file and download them. M:read forward q Newsnet:opt zwindow 8192 In the main, I’d reply “Yes”, but there Certainly you can’t use Read direction is FORWARD. Newsnet:download messages 2are some situations where using an some of the more complex utili- M:opt recent 100 . external communications package can be ties which the OLRs provide M:killscratch Finished advantageous. These are especially (like the Internet and so on) as Scratchpad Deleted Connection closed. where you are looking for faster file trans- they’ll need to be online in M:upl M:bye fer than some of the “blinking” (offline order to read CIX’s responses Zmodem upload (to abort ^X^X^X^X^X) the_bear, you have been online 34:10 on AG/AFGl reading, OLR) packages allow. Even to various commands. In this **B0100000027fed4 Goodbye from CIX !!!HANGUP NOW!!! between Zmodem implementations, all article, therefore, we are going to concen- Our script accessing CIX packages are not equal; but some are trate on a simple automatic session more equal than others, to paraphrase (called “blinking”) and from there we’ll omit to mention, since they assume that remember that we should reply “cix” or This starts CIX with terse responses; it George Orwell. If we look at the situation build up the original script into a more simply by recording a session during as you’ve bought a modem you already “qix”. also drops the download time. The “unix simply from the point of view of econom- complex version, complete with some which we press the right keys (or some know how to use it, is to point out that a y” option ends lines with character num- ics, it becomes easy to discover that enhancements. wrong ones and backspaces) and let modem often needs to be matched to the waitfor “ Login: “ ber 10 (a linefeed with no carriage there is more money available for the The first thing, as ever, which one Procomm get on with the nitty-gritty of gain (volume) of your local telephone transmit “qix^M” return). “d z u z “ sets download and programmers of the likes of Procomm must do is to create a log of what goes on producing the script, or we can write one exchange. Remember this tip if you are upload protocols to Zmodem type. The than there would be for the programmers during a connection to the remote service. from scratch. This time, we’ll look at the using a portable modem: sometimes the Having connected to CIX, we’ve only compact y option sets CIX message of the CIX reader programs. In CIX’s case this could well be as shown necessary keystrokes and write a script modem will work perfectly; others you now got to give our user name and pass- headers to compact headers since Ameol Now don’t think that I’m decrying in Fig 1. ourselves, since CIX isn’t a difficult ser- may get a lot of trouble with dropped word: prefers these. Term pag 0 sets CIX not to Ameol and all the rest; I use them, but From this log, we can see that we vice to write a script for straight from the carrier problems. The command for the page when we are reading messages, when you’re transferring a biggish file or have to look out for two different flavours keyboard. modem to establish a connection (and to waitfor “ new user) “ which is not sensible if these messages a series of files you’ll naturally want to of login; first the Unix account, which is The first thing to do will be to dial the compensate for the line) is AT\E1. It is transmit “the_bear^M” are to be sent to file! make sure that you aren’ t online any “qix” or “cix”, then the user name, which in relevant number. Remember that with issued once only before trying to connect waitfor “ Password:” longer than you need. I personally trans- my case is, of course, “the_bear”. CIX, you should use the correct line for on each new line, and you may have to transmit “secret^M” waitfor “Opt:” fer series of files of 8Mb and more on Note that the “cix” login will present the modem you have connected to your try a couple of times further before a con- transmit “messagesize 65535 ref n many occasions, and I wouldn’t want to you with a screen of information, most of machine. If your modem is 14,400 baud nection is established. This is best issued Now we have to initialise our CIX autorecent y edit quiet file be on the line to CIX a moment longer it about CIX’s maintenance — when nec- or less (V.32bis or worse), then you from the command line since it shouldn’t environment so that it is in a state ready single y q^M” than necessary, since apart from essary; as long as you keep up to date should use 0181 390 1244 or 1255. If it’s be part of your startup procedure. for the OLR (in the case of this example telephone call charges and CIX charges I (using cixnews, a conference from which a V.34, then the correct number is 0181 But back to CIX. The command line Ameol, although WigWam and other Here we are waiting for a new prompt; have also an Internet service provider’s you can’t resign) you don’t need the long 390 9787. Note that it is useful to add a will start off with: OLRs will accept much the same initial the “Opt:” prompt, which is the one CIX charges to think about. form of the login, but can alternatively use caret into the dialling string, so that the CIX environment as we achieve below). gives when we have issued an “Opt” Of course, you’ll have to use some of the faster “qix” login. modem gives an occasional bleep. This proc main command without a subsequent “q” in the the external communications abilities that bleep is known as a calling tone and can transmit “ATDT ^0181 390 1255^M” waitfor “ M:” same line. Note that I have joined a the OLRs have; some will build up a Preparing a script make the difference between a success- transmit “opt terse unix y d z u z series of lines containing “Opt” script file for CIX which you can upload Now we need to prepare a script. We can ful connection and a failure. Now we’ll need to wait for CIX to compact y term pag 0^M” commands into two lines rather than into your scratchpad and run it on CIX’s do this the same way as last month, Another thing some manufacturers answer the call and ask for us to log in: place these on separate lines, simply

554 555 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 TUTORIAL: PROCOMM PLUS FOR WINDOWS

because it saves CIX interaction time. In transmit “Mail^M” Procmain these two commands I’m telling CIX to waitfor “Ma:” limit downloaded message sizes to 64kb, transmit “file all^M” CIXlog not to bother reading messages as per waitfor “Ma:” . their threaded structure, since the OLR transmit “q^M” . will do that for us, setting autorecent to waitfor “M:” endproc yes which limits the number of messages transmit “download” in a new conference and/or topic we join getfile zmodem Proc CIXlog to a maximum of one month’s worth. Edit waitfor “? (y/n)? “ transmit “ATDT ^0181 390 1255^M” quiet selects a particular text editor transmit “Y;bye” endproc (known as the “text gobbler”) which sim- endproc ply picks up input from the file and So, at the end of the program we doesn’t bother responding to it, so you Here, having read and downloaded all define the procedure, otherwise it will be will get the minimum rubbish on screen our messages, CIX asks whether to called accidentally when the program (and hence less information to be down- delete the old scratchpad. Since it’s initialises. loaded which we don’t need anyway). already been downloaded, we answer This, however, doesn’t give us a result. Now we must start looking at upload- “Yes”. Note the semicolon after the “Y”. For this we’ll need to use a function: ing the script which any self-respecting This tells CIX to put the next command on OLR will write for you and allow you to the next line, so we don’t have to wait for procmain include in your own routine. As I am using CIX to send us the prompt again. CIX while cixlog() = 0 Ameol, the file’s called newmes.scr; it’s simply terminates. endwhile simple to include it as a file which is This script as it stands, however, has a . uploaded into the scratchpad, and from few problems. We don’t know whether we . there is run as a script, but first we’ll need are going to connect to CIX first time as it endproc to kill the old scratchpad (just in case might be engaged (a factor we ignored there’s anything there which might inter- with the Internet last month). File trans- func CIXlog : integer fere with the smooth running of the fers might not go according to plan, so we transmit “ATDT ^0181 390 1255^M” scratchpad commands). need to check for successful completion waitfor “ Login: “ both of upload and download. In the cap- if success Transmit “killscratch^M” tured log which is included at the begin- return 1 transmit “upload^M” ning of this piece, you’ll see that I’m a endif Sendfile zmodem user of Usenet; this script doesn’t take return 0 “c:\ameol\archive\newmes.scr” account of Usenet at all. Finally, someone transmit “scput script^M” could have sent us a crafty mail message Note that there are two return transmit “script^M” between our reading the mail and the end statements in the function. These allow of our download; this will leave the script both cases to be tested for, but only the Notice above that the sendfile hanging at another “y/n” prompt, which relevant one will, of course, be acted command specifies Zmodem; if it is we’ll have to test for. upon. See also that in the function decla- already selected as the default file proto- Firstly, let’s make sure that we man- ration line, we have to prepare ASPECT col (and if you’ll take my advice, that’s age to connect to CIX properly. We’re to return a value to the calling line. We how Procomm should be set up) you going to use a function for this, but first also have to specify the data type of the could replace that line with “sendfile let’s talk about subroutines, which is what value to be returned. default c:\ameol\archive\newmes.scr” a function is. Most programming I’ll leave the other error-trapping rou- which selects the default protocol only. languages allow you to define tines and the USENET message collec- The “scput script” line moves the file from subroutines from the simple GOSUB of tion as an exercise for the reader; these the scratchpad into the script holding Basic to the constructs available in a should not be difficult now that the basis area and the “script” command actually structured programming language. A of error-trapping has become evident. gets CIX to run the script from the holding structured programming language is one Another thing you will notice is that CIX is area. which requires no line numbers; we call (often) slower than Aspect’s default time- Once that has been done, we’ll need the procedures and functions by name. A out period. This may have to be adjusted, to get the results of the script (which cur- procedure is simply a method of putting a simply by adding a figure of (say) 60 or rently has added mail messages and frequently used series of commands into 120 — or even to “FOREVER” — during comments into the CIX message base). a specific area of a program which is the “file read all” if you belong to a large The way to do this is simply with a file denoted by name. A function is just the number of conferences. read all, followed by a mail file all. This same as a procedure, but for one extra Next month we’ll be looking at a simple allows CIX to finish processing our mail advantage — a function can return a fax management script, which Aspect messages (which it does in the value. If we were to create a dialling pro- supports very well. background) while we read our says and cedure, all we would have to do would be comments themselves. to remove the dialling portion of the script PCW Contacts (in our case the “ATDT ^0181 390 1255” Stephen Rodda is an independent com- waitfor “M:” line) and refer to it whenever we need it puter consultant specialising in DTP and transmit “file read all^M” by the name of CIXlog, for example. networking. He may be contacted as waitfor “M:” [email protected]

556 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 On the

CUTTINGCUTTING EDGEEDGE PCW

elcome to Cutting PCW Online PCW Futures Edge, the section in W 572 net.answers — A graphical 591 Innovations — Tim Frost Personal Computer World guide to getting connected to reports on Panasonic’s that combines our regular the Net, plus a query about revolutionary ENG direct-to- Navigator. disc video recording. reviews of games, books and CD-ROMs with features 574 net.surf — How to get free 593 Horizons — Ben Tisdall bringing you the latest Web pages, Reed looks at BT’s new Laureate news about computing and Employment’s new online speech synthesis system. venture, Usenet searching, and consumer technologies and high-performance motorbikes 597 Bluesky — Nick Beard on online services. online. various means of data We now have the most compression. comprehensive coverage of 578 net.news — Britain finally looks like getting a free Internet 601 Retro Computing — these topics available in a access point, RM launches a Simon Rockman remembers general computing magazine. Net access service, and Forté’s the Sinclair QL, the great PC Stay with us and we’ll take brand new Free Agent. that never quite made it. the pain out of keeping on 582 net.comms — Stephen Cobb PCW Media the cutting edge. invests in a US Robotics modem and experiences a few software 602 Books — A disappointing glitches, plus the latest on your introduction to cyberspace, many complaints about Mercury. plus eight of the latest guides to the Internet. 588 net.newbies — New to the Net? Wondering what it’s all 610 CD-ROMs — Culture, about? Net.newbies will help get cooking, computer equipment, you started. and a guest appearance from Bob Dylan. David Brake takes the latest discs for a spin. CD-Roms PCW Fun

● The times they 614 Kids’ Stuff — Paul Begg are a’ changing finally learns about the birds with the Bob and the bees, tracks down a Dylan CD-Rom sneaky egg thief, and looks at the National Curriculum.

Screenplay 619 Competitions — ● Descent: Multimedia kits, Microsoft a Doom-alike hardware, and music in three software up for grabs. dimensions 621 Screenplay — Battling the Empire in Dark Forces, and going into a spin with Descent. Retro Computing 624 Leisure Lines — Puzzles ● The Sinclair QL never with JJ Clessa. quite lived up to expectations

571 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 PCW ● ONLINE CUTTING EDGE PCW ● ONLINE net.answers Will Navigator work? though the designers of the soft- ing newsgroups in the same ware are aware of the demand way. Both Navigator and CIM for this feature and may work it for Windows will automate the Q: Do you have any info on messages. Could I use Naviga- into future versions. This is sending and receiving of email, OLRs for the Net? I use Naviga- tor across the Net? because of the way CompuServe whether from the Internet or tor, CompuServe’s own OLR, A: Second question first. As far has provided Internet services. from other CompuServe users. and find it a dream. I just as I can determine, you can’t They don’t work like forums, so Best of all, when CompuServe launch the program and it use CompuServe Navigator to software that automates reading implements its TCP/IP service

CUTTING EDGE goes searching for mail and automate Internet operations, of forums can’t automate read- — perhaps as soon as you read

this — you’ll be able to use any third-party NetScape’s use of HTML extensions software to access the Internet, some of allows Web page authors to give their which works offline (see Free Agent in the pages a less grey look net.news pages for a good free offline

G reader for newsgroup reading). F

SU across the wires unless it is hidden inside Tired of Grey pages a program. Of course, you can use the Online games Support (official) Support Discussion Shopping Files Databases Q: I really enjoy using NetScape Navigator Web to find programs, download and run to browse Web pages but I wish there were them: at that point you would be opening are £2.50 hour are D G F SU SH DB some way to change the background yourself up to a possible virus attack, but SH D DB

Most chargeable services Most chargeable colour of the pages, which is relentlessly this is something you do at your own risk, 2.7 million worldwide grey. Is this a function of Windows, or the and we therefore recommend you down- Web page designers, or Navigator? And load or purchase an anti-virus package

CompuServe 100,000 UK members CompuServe how do I change it? and test any downloaded program for A: In this case, grey for the background is viruses before you run it. a decision that NetScape Navigator made. Interestingly, a new development in The standard HTML coding system used Web browsing technology could change to create Web pages does not include an all of this. Hot Java, a technology being option to set a page colour. Mosaic 2.0.0 worked on at Sun Microsystems, will chargeable Sometimes Chargeable

F Beta allows you to set your own back- allow Web page programmers to embed D ground colour, and NetScape 1.1 goes one applications into their pages. Of course, further — you can choose your own this has a number of obvious benefits: colour, or the pages you connect to can instead of being limited to text and graph- use a proprietary extension to HTML to ics, it could allow Web designers to create SH specify a background colour for you. This entire multimedia experiences for people SU

Sevices (Oct 94) can produce some quite garish effects to connect to. But you may also find in from time to time, but that’s the price you future that the pages you have connected costs £10-15 per month Free Text only Text (only 14m have email) (only 14m have pay for progress. to have given you a virus as well as a good

G time. Not that you need to worry about DB source: Matrix information & Directory information Matrix source: Watch out, there’s a virus about

or academic nets. Dial-up access usually this for the time being: it is still in the Internet: Approx 27.5 million users Approx Internet: Some access free through existing business through Some access free Q: Michael Whooley ([email protected] planning stages, and will require power- cork.ie) asked, can viruses be transmitted ful machines with a fast connection to the via the World Wide Web? Internet to use effectively. A: Possibly, but you will always know David Brake and Stephen Cobb when you are at risk. At the moment, the At-a-glance guide to online services and the Internet

(Full graphical access (Full graphical only files that are transferred automati- may also be available at may also be available an optional extra charge) an optional extra cally when you connect to a Web site are G PCW Contacts SU D G D SU text (which contains codes that are trans- If you’ve got the questions, we’ve got the lated by your Web browsing software into answers. Just drop me (David Brake) a hypertext links and formatted text) and line at [email protected] or SH SH F DB graphics files in GIF or JPEG format by post and I’ll try to sort you out. Any- F DB

£3.60 per hour peak (which provide the illustrations that make one whose letter we use will receive a £2.40 per hour off peak £10 per month for 4 hours copy of the second edition of Ed Krol’s £6.25 per month minimum

and £4 per hour after that or Web pages more attractive). The impor- bestselling Whole Internet User’s 16,000 users (15,000+) UK tant thing to realise here is that you aren’t Guide and Catalog, which is published

Delphi 100,000 users (10,000 UK) Delphi 100,000 users downloading and running any program by O’Reilly and distributed here by £20 for 20 hours and £1.80 per hour after that £20 for 20 hours files, and (according to the virus experts at Compulink Information Exchange (CIX) Compulink Information International Thompson Publishing. S&S) there’s no way to receive a virus

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The Press Association Direct Access. Candidates for Price Jamieson at 0171 631 between 300kb and 1Mb in done first year Economics net.surf full time or contract work in the 1005 or email them at Price- The Press Association, the size. Unfortunately, you can’t knows what that means: oppor- IT sector can post their CVs via [email protected]. national news agency for get an idea of what the film tunity. Something for nothing email, through a form on a Web Britain and Ireland, has put up would be like any other way as One company using the page, by fax or through a bul- Usenet filters a free shop window on the the story outline provided is Internet to cash in on that letin board. Reed has invested The only way to be sure that Internet at http://www. sketchy. opportunity is American Motor f you are serious about sell- state.edu/HomePage/ at Ohio more than £1 million in the you don’t miss something in padd.press.net/. It includes Their next projects will Works of Palm Bay, Florida. Iing your company using the State University, but it only venture, which, if successful, Usenet newsgroups is to read selected news and sports include Home Entertainment, The company announced a World Wide Web, then you’re allows text without graphics could be extended to the other every last message that is stories, single-line summaries a “surreal fantasy story focus- brand new motorbike, the best off buying your own Web and it is also the most popular, employment areas Reed covers. posted. Even reading selec- of news as it happens, televi- ing on a series of romantic AMW Spirit, during the annual

CUTTING EDGE space. But if you just want to with a maximum of 1,500 Because of the system’s tively, though, you may find sion listings in all regions for encounters via a computer net- Bike Week in Daytona Beach show a picture of your baby, pages at any time. This means increased efficiency and lower yourself drowning in words. the day on terrestrial stations, work” on film, CD-ROM and and provides product details share information about your your page may “expire” after a costs, employers who find staff The Stanford Netnews Filtering Sky One and Sky Movies, Website, and The Gunpowder and pictures online. A classy pet topic or put the contents of few weeks or months. through Direct Access pay half Service at http://woodstock. “now and next” information weather forecasts for all Program, a “thriller about a collection of Web pages your CD collection online, If all you want to do is put Reed’s usual rates. Software stanford.edu:2000/ is one way for more television and radio regions. For more info, email computer virus triggered to (http://www.iu.net/amw) gives there are several places on the up a brief announcement of allowing employers to search to keep up to date. You register programmes, and 24-hour [email protected]. obliterate London’s financial you extensive details of this Internet which will give you your existence or of something Reed’s bulletin board is avail- one or more “profiles” (groups community”. For more infor- precision-built, high perfor- space for free. to sell, there are several Web- able free. The Direct Access of keywords like “apple com- recently has made available is 15 minutes long, but unless mation, check out http: mance, production machine. If MarketNet here in the UK based directories which offer team is also behind the installa- puter NOT fruit”) and it will excerpts from a short film of you have a very fast Internet //www.gold.net/~imagine/ or you’re interested, the Spirit is will allow you a single free free entries — notably tion of desktop videoconferenc- search through the usenet Jon’s, Pressing Engagement, connection it will take you email info@imagine. based on a high technology 84 page without graphics for com- Apollo Advertising at ing in seven offices around the newsgroups periodically, send- possibly the first British film much longer than that to down- dircon.co.uk. cubic inch V-Twin (that’s c.c.) mercial or private use; look at http://www.apollo.co.uk/, country. ing you articles which match to be downloadable. The film load. There are 11 excerpts featuring four valves per cylin- http://mkn.co.uk/HELP/ GoldSite Europe at CVs should be sent to direc- the criteria you select by email. On yer super bike der and fuel injection. Space- USERS/FREEPAGE. If you are http://www.gold.net/gold/ind [email protected], Unfortunately, it often seems to Are you tired of waiting for age materials are used through- non-commercial and you don’t exdir.new.html, the World 100546,1416 on CompuServe miss matching articles and that new Harley-Davidson out and the AMW Tri-Iso mind having your page resi- Wide Yellow Pages at or by dialling Reeds’s BBS at since it can take a few hours or Super Glide that you ordered? Mount chrome moly frame dent in the US, they are more http://www.yellow.com/ and 0181 288 3838. More informa- even days for it to deliver the Apparently, most HD dealers weighs less than 50lb. The oil generous. Volant Turnpike will Millennium Facilities tion on the service is available goods, it doesn’t help when you in the U.S. are having to main- tank is made of stainless steel donate up to a megabyte, which http://www.milfac.co.uk/ on 0181 288 3888 or on Reed’s want to search everything on tain long waiting lists due to a and all the sheet metal work is enough space for several milfac/. For more information Web pages at Usenet immediately. classic case of demand exceed- and fenders are hand-crafted. pages with graphics. Its terms on this sort of service, see last http://www.reed.com/reed/. Infoseek, which I mentioned ing supply. Anyone who has So how effective is the Web and instructions are at month’s net.answers. At last a Web-based British last month, at as a promotional tool for this http://turnpike.net/turnpike/ recuitment service that isn’t http://www.infoseek.com/, type of business? You could plist.html. Job centres aimed largely at IT profession- runs a Usenet news search It’s good to see British entrepre- expect a natural fit between The first place to offer free Reed, the largest British als. Price Jamieson Online spe- facility among other services, neurs using the Internet to sell bikers and the Internet. Well, pages, and the best-known, is employment agency, has cialises in media, marketing but it charges money to use it. their multimedia wares, though American Motor Works reck- on http://www-bprc.mps.ohio- launched an online division, and healthcare vacancies and it Another company, IBD, has a most of us don’t yet have the ons that their pages attracted lists them by category online at public access service which bandwidth at our disposal to over 4,000 enquiries in the first Left The limited http://www.gold.net:80/price- allows you to do an instant download even a short film two weeks. And it is probably space available jam/. You can submit your CV search of five days’ worth of through the Ohio online, but at press time there Usenet postings for free. It is server means pages was no way to search the jobs available at http://ibd. on it tend to be using set criteria or apply for ar.com/Search-IBD.html, and spartan specific jobs online. There are the results it provides seem Below The kind of plans afoot to improve the site more complete than the Stan- page you can make in several areas, some of which ford service (though it still with the megabyte should be ready by the time you doesn’t index the “local” news- of space Turnpike read this. groups like the groups specific will give you for free For more information, call to the UK or to a service provider like Demon).

Imaginary world It seems you don’t need to be a multinational with money to burn to start producing multi- media titles which straddle the worlds of film, the World Wide Web and CD-ROM. Imaginary Projects, a British collaboration between Jon Weinbren and Lynda Russell-Whitaker, put the Notting Hill carnival up on the Web last year, and more

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not a coincidence that the con- Contests/, but since most of the sultant who designed those prizes are restricted to Ameri- pages has now been hired as can entrants, they are of limited the Information Technology interest. Barclays Bank is one Director for, you guessed it, of the biggest British organisa- AMW. tions to get onto the Internet and one of the few companies Going down in Flames offering pounds to surfers. Do you write letters to the By the time you read this, a papers? Are you often tempted contest offering £100 to 10 to sound off about local and lucky winners will be over, but national issues? The Internet it’s worth keeping an eye on provides an ideal platform. http://www.barclays.co.uk/ for Usenet newsgroups are full of news of further giveaways. You bile and cross words — there’s might even learn something even a special term for hurling useful about Barclays’ travel abuse: “flaming”. But mes- insurance, banking services or sages on newsgroups are here Barclaycard. today and gone tomorrow. For For more information call a more permanent record of Mark Cloke at 01203 532258 or your discontent, why not sign email [email protected]. up with the 21st century equivalent of vanity publish- Credit notes ing? Steinkrug Publications A British company specialising runs Flames, a Web server at in worldwide credit reports has http://www.gold.net/flames, popped up on the Web at which will publish your dia- itsokco/, together with invita- Top Check what the stars have http://www.dbinfo.co.uk/ tribes for just £15 a year. For tions to purchase more detailed in store for you dbinfo/. It gives some examples good measure, it will even personal information by post or Above Get general financial of the kind of information it send a postcard to the person on the phone, of course. information — and the odd will provide its customers, but or organisation being flamed. giveaway— from Barclays it doesn’t give free samples — it It expects to have 100 mem- Child’s play charges from £58 to £190 for bers by the time you read this, There may be some distinctly ing Australia, Stockholm and each company search. Nor is and hopes to have 4,000 by the “adult” stuff in odd corners of Shepshead High School in the service instantaneous: the end of the year. the Internet, but this shouldn’t Leicestershire. To add your most expensive “Express” Sadly, from what I’ve seen discourage parents from letting school to it, send email to report can still take up to seven to date, the contributors are young children online. You are mccullen@ working days to arrive in your just as likely to have poor unlikely to stumble across any- aquarius.cc.ucf.edu. email in-tray. grammar and spelling as those thing disturbing unless you are The most polished Web site who write in green ink to local looking for it, and the Internet for children is KidsCom at The write stuff papers, and Steinkrug doesn’t offers great opportunities for http://www.spectracom.com/ It’s possible to get to know peo- seem able or willing to correct kids to explore, express them- kidscom/, for children aged ple on the Internet through dis- these faults, which makes selves and communicate with eight to 12. It includes a (mon- cussions on public forums, but reading many of these flames a other children. itored) grafitti wall, a pen pal the Pen Pal Connection at chore. If you want to encourage page, a geography quiz, a place http://www.start.com/start/pp For more information, call your child to write, what better for children to ask Scott menu.html provides a shortcut Steinkrug Publications on incentive could there be than a Yanoff, a recognised Internet to finding a pen pal with the 01223 208926 or email Flames chance to be read by others expert, for help, and other same sorts of interests. It also @Flames.cityscape.co.uk. across the world? KidPub entertaining resources. has a racier companion called WWW Publishing at Stephen Cobb Romance Rendezvous. Star gazers http://www.en-garde.com/kid- A second organisation has The Internet may be full of pub/ offers free Web space for Cash for questions also come to my attention: the scientists, but there is plenty stories from children aged six What’s the best way to get peo- Email Club. While Pen Pal of room for the supernatural — to 13; mail KidPub@ ple to check out your Web site Connection is free, the Email horoscopes, the I Ching, tarot en-garde.com. and read through information Club is run as a non-profit card readings and other super- MidLink at http://long- about your company? Offer group but it asks for a one-off stitions are all available wood.cs.ucf.edu:8/~MidLink/ them money! Many American payment of $10 to help pay for through the Web. Now one of is a bi-monthly Web publica- companies are using this the running of the scheme. For our own astrologers has turned tion which links together approach to attract custom, more information, check out up there. Jonathan Cainer, the schools with pupils aged 10 to and you can keep an eye on the http://www.mbnet.mb.ca/ Daily Mail’s horoscope writer, 15. It is based in Orlando, offers at http:// www ~lampi/email.html or mail publishes his horoscopes at Florida, but has contributors .yahoo.com/Business/ [email protected]. http://www.dircon.co.uk/ from all over the world, includ- Products_and_Services/ David Brake PCW

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● This clock, To find the UK distributor, call petence. Teachers (or parents) PPP and SLIP users. This will which updates Quadralay in the US on 001 512 could check the settings from include a limit of ten hours per every minute net.news 346 9199. time to time to ensure they had month, on the length of time and appears in not been tampered with. users can remain online. Each table form, is RM Internet for Learning Internet-hungry students additional hour will cost £3. part of the new Research Machines (RM), a can run up heavy phone bills, It will also offer access to NetScape Freenets Ltd, The Old Court House, St leading supplier of PC-compat- even at local rates. A unique Telnet and FTP as well as Navigator 1.1 At last, the launch of Britain’s Peter Church Yard, Derby ible computers to British edu- feature, says RM, is that it can email and newsgroups first free Internet access point DE1 1NN. cation, has launched an Inter- offer users a voluntary limit on through its Shareware Support Agent, will cost $40 and add terms of ease of use and func- far/sursays.html and it holds seems imminent. The equip- net access service. the duration of connection BBS, to its subscribers. Nil- more sophisticated email han- tionality. pointers to several others.

CUTTING EDGE ment has mostly been donated WebWorks Publisher The company says that RM time. The scheme would allow dram will also help other BBS dling features such as the Anyone with a Windows Although the NCSA's free- and help is being sought from Quadralay's WebWorks Pub- Internet for Learning is compet- schools (or homes) to set a vol- owners who wish to offer capacity to filter out messages PC and full Internet access ware browser Mosaic has both local councils and the EC. lisher is one of the first utilities itively priced, at £10 per untary cap on their monthly email and Usenet news on from specific, boring or offen- should check out Forte's Web recently been enhanced to give Exact details about the new ser- available which can translate month, for full access with pre- expenditure. All the modems their systems. sive posters. There will also be pages at http:// Navigator a run for its money, vice are sketchy at present but desktop published pages into configured Windows software. for dial-up access will support At the moment, the only a spelling checker, user- www.forteinc.com/ or its NetScape is not standing still. it seems it will be run from a HTML (hypertext mark-up lan- The service is tailored to meet the currently fastest available point of presence is at Tring. defined folders for organising FTP site at ftp.forteinc.com The latest version, Navigator location in Derby. guage) for placement on the the potential needs of the access speed. There are other points avail- messages, and full technical and look in the pub/agent 1.1 for Windows and Macin- Until now the only free, World Wide Web. school or home user, claims RM. Initially, there will be nine able across the country but support will be offered. It is directory. tosh, has fixed a few bugs and publicly accessible service con- The package works with Importantly, it provides a Points of Presence (local dial- these are only available via the free of charge for evaluation or Forte's email address is added improvements to the nected to the Internet has been FrameMaker, a popular pack- limited amount of censorship up sites) spread across the standard rate, unlimited use non-commercial use. [email protected] interface. Controversially, it Spuddy’s Xanadu BBS on Can- age for technical documents. of Usenet newsgroups to pre- country and RM expects to be account, which costs £30 per Usenet is one of the most or you can call them on 001 includes some support for fea- vey Island. But this is run on a Since HTML allows page vent schoolchildren from acci- able to install five or six addi- month. popular uses for the Internet 619 4316400. tures included in HTML 3.0, a small scale and only provides a authors only limited control dentally stumbling across tional points soon. By early Nildram Online is on and until now relevant Win- standard yet to be ratified. subset of full Internet access to over typography, graphics sexual or other contentious May, it expects to have con- 01442 891331 or email dows software in this area has NetScape Navigator Version 1.0 used some non- its users; email, file transfer placement and the like, the material. The RM news server nected more than 200 schools. [email protected]. lagged behind both email and It would appear that NetScape standard instructions to dis- and news reading services. translation cannot be com- passes on around half the total For more information call Web browsing packages in Navigator has become the Web play centered and blinking The new service will sup- pletely automatic. It does number of available news- 01235 826868, email Free Agent surfer's choice almost text. Version 1.1 builds on this port Telnet and email access allow you to view the original groups. [email protected], or check Several British companies Top A NetScape Enhanced overnight. Various, although to add support for tables and will be supported on the new and HTML versions side by There are no plans to limit RM's Web page at have been beaten to the punch page — you may find the unscientific, surveys of documents that update them- service. It is expected that lim- side however, and can convert access to other Internet http://www.rmplc.co.uk/. by Forte which has produced enhancements garish browser use around the Inter- selves. An example is the Higgs its will be placed on the total tables, graphics and foreign resources but the Web browsing Free Agent; a newsreader Bottom The same page net suggest that between 70 WWW Clock at http:// amount of time users will be language characters. software is set to use an RM Nildram which the company claims is when viewed by Mosaic, and 80 percent of browsers www.higgs.com/x.acgi$Time, able to stay online — possibly Versions for Windows and server as a proxy, so accesses to Nildram Online, a new spin-off streets ahead of its competitors which doesn't have the same now use NetScape. One such which updates every minute 30 minutes a day. It is not several Unix variants are avail- controversial Web sites are from a British shareware pub- in most respects. features as NetScape survey is at http:// and displays its information in expected that users will be able able now, and a Mac version is logged and can therefore be lisher, plans to offer a variety of Previously, because most WWW.netaxs.com:80/%7Ejay- to connect using SLIP or PPP, due shortly. A UK distributor prevented if neccessary. Internet access services includ- Internet software originates in so support for applications like should have been appointed by Even though a sufficiently ing full SLIP or PPP access at America where local tele- the World Wide Web is likely the time you read this. curious Internet user could cir- prices well below the going rate phone calls are free and to be limited. For more information, cumvent these restrictions by of between £10 to £15 per unlimited Internet access is For further information or to check http://www.quadralay. changing the setup of the soft- month. often provided by organisa- help with the project, write to com/products/products.html ware, this would require a rea- Nildram plans to charge £20 tions, there have been few the FreeNet Project, c/o EMS or email [email protected]. sonable level of technical com- per quarter as a starting rate for offline news readers available. The company says that Left Frame’s own Web pages were produced using WebWorks Free Agent works equally well Below Free Agent is a radical improvement over earlier Windows either on or offline and can be news readers, and works as well offline as it does online extensively customised. Typi- cally, a dial-up user would set up to connect, then download only the headers to articles in subscribed newsgroups, then disconnect. Any subject lines of interest could be marked. The body text of the selected articles would be downloaded following reconnection. Several tasks can be under- taken simultaneously, so users can read messages that have already been downloaded while it connects to a news server, reads new headers and downloads messages. The commercial version,

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tabular form. ● Mosaic now offers It also allows Web page control over its authors to specify a page back- settings from a ground, coloured text or other, standard Windows fairly limited enhancements to dialogue box. It also the look of a page. allows more detailed All these changes are user control over handy but they are also begin- fonts for display than ning to cause the Web to frag- NetScape ment. A page designed to look attractive when using allow users to cus- NetScape may not look the tomise settings using same in Mosaic. standard Windows Differences seen so far have controls. been largely presentational. Although some But if the capabilities of pages which have Navigator and other browsers been NetScape continue to diverge, users Enhanced may not may have to keep more than display quite as their one browser on their hard authors had disks, just to ensure they can intended, the new make sense of documents on Mosaic should enable the Net which have been dif- users to browse on ferently formatted. NetScape the Web with ease is aware of this concern and and speed. has pledged to ensure that Unlike most other its browser will conform to browsers, Mosaic standards. 2.0.0 only works as a 32-bit both currently working in this The new version of application, so users not run- Quarterdeck Free Guide area. Netscape includes more fea- ning Windows NT, or beta Quarterdeck UK has produced The Science Museum is on tures and there may be even a copies of Windows 95, must a free 19-page pamphlet which 0171 938 8080. newer version available soon. additionally install Microsoft's is a well-written, basic guide to So, for the latest information Win32s software on their sys- the Internet. Although it is no CompuServe check out NetScape's home tems. substitute for a book on the CompuServe has purchased page at http://home. At present, the chief advan- subject, it is nevertheless Spry Inc, the company which netscape.com/home/ tage of Mosaic is that unlike worth a look and is called sold “Internet in a Box”, a pre- welcome.html. NetScape it is free, even for "Discover a New World". configured bundle of Internet commercial users. Its various It can be requested by call- applications. A Lite version of NSCA Mosaic 2.0.0 Beta licensees can charge for it ing 01245 496699 or faxing the software is likely to be (Mosprefs) though and it cannot be com- 01245 495284. downloadable for CompuServe When the original NetScape mercially distributed to others customers and the new Com- Navigator was launched, it without the licence. Science Museum on the puServe Member CD-ROM quickly overtook Mosaic in On the other hand, Superhighway should have a similar package popularity because it was sig- NetScape Navigator is freely Last time I went to the Science in addition to the new version nificantly easier to install and distributed but you are only Museum its coverage of the of WinCIM 1.4. had a number of built-in licensed to use it without computer world was sadly CompuServe paid $100m enhancements, most of which charge if you are a non-com- lacking, but it has now clearly for Spry, which will be at the provided welcome speed mercial user or if you are eval- resolved to pull its socks up. heart of CompuServe's new improvements. uating it with a view to pur- It is mounting an exhibition Internet Division. The latest version of NCSA chasing a copy. The full ver- called Information Superhigh- Mosaic for Windows returns it sion comes with 90 days’ free way which will feature an USR more or less to parity with support and costs $39. introduction to the technolo- US Robotics wants your stories NetScape. Both allow you to The latest version of Mosaic gies involved. There will be a about how you use the Internet view the text of a document is about 1Mb in size and "Surf City" where visitors can to use in a new free booklet to before the images finish load- requires the latest version of see what it is like to be con- be entitled "The Internet Case ing and you can follow a link Win32 from Microsoft. This nected to the Internet, and a Book". If your story is pub- to another page while this is takes up another 2Mb, but future technology section will lished, USR will give you a happening. don’t let that put you off. feature demonstrations of Sportster 14.4 modem. In addition, setting up For the latest news about online shopping and interac- Send your stories to Nicola Mosaic is now much easier. Mosaic, look at http:// tive television. This latter Casey at US Robotics. Call Whereas configuration used to www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/ should be fairly realistic since 01734 228200 or fax 01734 be carried out by editing a Software/Mosaic/NCSA the whole exhibition is co- 695555 for more details. text file, the authors now MosaicHome.html. sponsored by BT and Oracle, David Brake

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Stephen Cobb splashed out on a US Robotics Sportster modem which went to Comms work with no Quality lines trouble. The host in most cases. QuickLink II by Stephen Cobb While checking out the US Robotics software that support section on CompuServe (GO came with it, how- USROBOTICS) I found some useful tips ever, took some on V.34 connections and can thank US time to settle in Robotics for letting me pass them on. The ike many other people I recently most important one is: “Very few people Modem configuration and soft- Lgave in to temptation and purchased can get consistent 28,800bps connec- ware setup can also affect connection This allows it to select a V.34 modem. Because the dollar has tions.” This is not due to any weakness in rates and throughput. When there is a the frequency range of been weak, I was able to get one from the the modem design but to the limited spec- sharp decrease in line quality during a better quality for that call. US for just under £140 (plus taxes). I ifications of analogue phone lines. Speeds call, your V.34 modem will switch to rates chose a US Robotics Sportster but had to of 28,800b/sec require “pristine line qual- as low as 4,800b/sec to compensate for Mercury without wings settle for the internal model: first, the ity along the entire length of the connec- these changes. If the loss of quality is About the middle of last November I con- external models were back-ordered at tion”. However, VFC and V.34 modems severe, it will drop the connection. tacted Mercury for a response to a number least three weeks; and second, I had no are capable of pushing the limits of ana- However, VFC connections can only of messages I had received complaining spare serial port with a 16550 UART chip, logue phone lines, “commonly offering switch rates down to 14,400b/sec. If you about poor data connections. I got a call which you need to make the most of a connect speeds of 21,600, 24,000 and connect using VFC and line quality drops back saying that someone would be look- V.34 modem. even 26,400 b/sec”. below that allowable for a 14,400 connec- ing into the matter, but heard nothing fur- I installed it in a 486SX/25 where it US Robotics believes that variations in tion, the modems will disconnect. If this ther. I tried again more recently and again replaced a Zoom V.32bis modem. Lately line quality are mostly to blame for low occurs frequently for a particular call, you received a call saying that Mercury engi- the Zoom had been performing poorly; it connect rates. Most people are familiar will want to disable VFC before calling neers were being consulted. By the time could have been the modem itself, the with calling someone to chat and getting a that modem again. A different modulation this article went to press I still had not lack of IRQs in the rather crowded com- bad line. You either suffer through the protocol (V.32 bis, for example) will be heard from Mercury. puter (hand scanner, SCSI card, sound interference and keep the call short, or established and will allow the modems to If Mercury replies, I will pass on its card, network card, two IDE drives plus a hang up and call again to get a better con- switch to lower bit rates as line quality remarks in this column. Meanwhile, I am Bernoulli) or deteriorating line conditions nection. Sometimes modems hit bad con- warrants. If you are using a US Robotics going to share with you the messages I (that insulation has a naturally tendency nections too and cannot make much modem, you can give the modem this sent Mercury because I don’t think hold- to wear off). The Sportster went to work progress until they drop the connection command to disable V.FC: ATS56=128. ing them back any longer is fair to the peo- with no trouble, once all the comms soft- and try again (which is where the auto- You must remember to return the ple who took the trouble to contact me. ware setups had been changed: WinCIM, resume feature of the Zmodem protocol modem to its original configuration after As an example, one reader reported WinRAMP, and Netmanage Custom comes in handy). However, you will want the call is completed by resetting the that he signed up for the PC User Group TCP/IP for my PPP Internet connection. to investigate the line quality of your con- modem or entering ATS56=0. US Robot- link to the Internet, called WinNet, and The QuickLink II software that came nections “if you find that you never or ics believes that some VFC modems from had many problems getting reliable con- with the Sportster, however, caused a rarely connect at rates above 19200 b/sec”. other manufacturers do not support rate nections via Mercury, mainly during the problem. Like many newer comms pack- Here are some suggestions: switching and so these connections “are day. He checked all the possible physical ages for Windows this replaces the stan- 1. Try calling a different location. Line more likely to drop”. For these calls, you and software options. dard Windows comms driver (replacing quality varies geographically and it may can force a lower connect speed by lock- After a few weeks, he says: “I got fed the comm.drv= entry in SYSTEM.INI). be a problem with the lines or with the ing the modem to a lower link rate via the up enough to ring the technical support at This makes sense as comm.drv does not modem at the other end of a call. &N command, or disable VFC by entering PC User Group who, after one or two alter- fully support today’s higher modem 2. Try connecting with a local call. Some- ATS56=128. Remember to reset the native solutions, gave me a BT number to speeds. Unfortunately, I have not been times the connections within a long dis- modem or return it to its original configu- try, saying that they had some experience able to get the Sportster to run Netmanage tance call can cause impairments. If this ration after the call is completed (AT&N0 of poor data connection via the Mercury TCP/IP with anything but the original isolates the problem, you can try com- or ATS56=0). serviced number they give out as comm.drv, which means that the modem plaining to company. Both V.34 and VFC connection rates default...I have not had a problem since. hardware is being restrained by the driver 3. Try plugging the modem into a different are based on the phone line’s available My obvious conclusion is that the Mer- software. I hope to report a fix in next phone line or wall jack. US Robotics sug- bandwidth. Modems of this type test the cury line was of much poorer quality than month’s column. gests: “If you know someone else in your phone lines before establishing a connec- the BT line.” Despite this, and although my Com- area with a high-speed modem, ask what tion rate and then select the highest sym- A commercial user who makes two puServe connect point is limited to type of connections they make. Try mak- bol rate allowable. In general, a higher data connections per day from the UK to 14.4kb/sec, the performance seems much ing the connection from their location. If symbol rate allows greater speeds but the Seychelles, using V.32Terbo modems, better, with fewer lost connections and you encounter the same low connection requires greater bandwidth. If the bit rate writes as follows. “The performance [over faster file transfers, particularly when rates, the problem may be resulting from is much lower than the maximum bit rate Mercury] was abysmal, with many calls accessing Web pages. There may still be a impairments along the lines running to supported by the symbol rate, the phone dropping out and poor throughput. Fortu- problem with my line as I sometimes get the local telephone company or within line has noise or other impairments on it. nately our modems (Sonix) can return “Unable to Locate Host” messages when your home or office. Your telephone com- Note that when using V.34, the modem quite a few parameters about the line, browsing Web links. However, simply try- pany or a private consultant may be able can operate at either of two frequency including the delay. This is the delay for ing the link again successfully locates the to help.” ranges for any of the given symbol rates.

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the signal to travel to Sey- restricts the bandwidth to If I get any more input on local high school. The reason Computer Emergency We apologise for this, but note sensible action ensured that remains to be seen whether chelles and back again. For a domestic customers, but this I will pass it on to Mercury. these systems are important to Response Team, the staff that the alternatives could have security compromises were there will be any noticeable normal satellite circuit (one doesn’t advertise the fact, fig- us is that we have a number of decided to take immediate been much worse. No files kept to a minimum. As soon as reduction in the demand for hop), this should be around 0.5 uring that most customer won’t Hackers cut off users who also have accounts action. It was impossible to were destroyed or damaged on they were informed of what new Internet accounts due to seconds. That’s 23,000 miles notice because they are voice The following events didn’t on those systems, and who tel- notify you any sooner via mail, our system, and we had mini- was happening, the customers these problems. (or so) up, down and back up, only. The connection sounds happen in the UK, but they net back and forth from those and email could not be used mal downtime. Allowing the involved were appreciative of The problems include the EDGE down — 92,000 miles divided different between BT and Mer- could have. A few months ago, systems to ours. because accounts might not be situation to remain the way it such prompt, albeit drastic, SATAN program, one of a num- by 186,000 miles/sec. cury as well, almost as if it’s on a sunny Sunday morning, “There was significant dam- secure. was so that we could give you action. The provider has given ber of “security testing tools” “However, our modem was clearer via BT. I’ve used Mer- Internet users in central Florida age done at the college as a “We spent Sunday ample notification time could permission to share the details promoted by people who think returning figures of up to 1.3 cury at home in South Kens- found they could not dial up result of those break-ins. Files installing a new operating sys- have resulted in loss of data of this incident, thus enabling that uninvited freelance testing

CUTTING EDGE seconds. After much digging ington, and at work using an their local provider; they could were destroyed, and several tem which has security from your accounts, major sys- others to learn from their expe- of network security is a public within Mercury I eventually office Mercury connection, dial the number, but they Unix systems have been taken patches to defend against the tem damage, and a much rience — in marked contrast to service. Someone needs to ask found an engineer who could and in Ruislip, and I had iden- couldn’t log on. This is not a off the network because they sniffer software and related longer recovery period. the attitude of some larger these people if they would wel- trace our calls. He reported that tical experiences: restricted back bedroom bulletin board were compromised. Several programs, and we issued new “To sum up, we hope we companies. The American come me testing the security of they were being routed via bandwidth and poor connec- but a commercial operation, machines were found to be run- passwords to re-secure any never have to do anything like company GE, for example, their TV or car radio with my India which involved two tions. BT has been fine for the run by people with many years ning ‘sniffers’, programs that compromised accounts. One this again. You can help by pro- found its computers invaded crowbar. Just because some- satellite hops — as borne out by last two months with dozens of of Internet experience. Calls to spy on information going out member of staff spent about tecting your account and your from the net last November, thing is digital doesn’t mean it the delay figures. We then perfect 9600 connections.” the provider’s office found the onto the Internet. They can be six hours on the phone on password as explained in the but refused to discuss the belongs to the world in general. switched to BT and the delay Another reader says: “I line engaged. used to capture login/password Sunday and 12 hours on Mon- letter we sent. If you have an details. Snatching private messages figures were consistently 0.5 often call bulletin boards in the For some users it was a cou- information when someone tel- day trying to notify customers account on another machine At this point I can almost from the ether and reading seconds. Better still, the num- USA using a V.32 modem and ple of days before the cause of nets from an affected machine of the password change and that you use to telnet to our hear some readers muttering: them is no different from the ber of failed calls reduced dra- have had the following experi- the problem was revealed and a to another computer. Then, the help those that needed it. Sev- server, please make sure that “Attacks like that might be postman opening your letters matically and the throughput ences concerning the various fix was obtained. All the user person reading the log can log eral other staff members put in account is secure. If you have bloody annoying, but they before he delivers them. The improved. Mercury claim that international carriers. With BT passwords had been changed. in to the other computer, plant a great deal of time doing the questions about the security of hardly portent the demise of sooner we dispense with the once a call leaves their interna- I can connect at 9600 with no Was this a prank? A sophisti- another ‘sniffer’ and gain same. Our security expert that account, please speak to the Internet.” Sadly, I cannot adolescent notion that hacking tional switch, they have no problems over 90 percent of cated hack? No, it was a delib- access to other systems, all by spent much of Saturday gener- your system administrator.” agree. I say “sadly” because I into other people’s computers control over the routeing. That the time. The modem takes erate action on the part of the hijacking someone’s account. ating the new passwords and My purpose in passing on believe the Internet, together is a bit of lark and recognise it may be true — their calls to about 15 seconds to connect, provider. Here is the message “Sniffers were also found at the letters that went out, and this account is not to alarm, but with its logical extensions, the for what it is, electronic Seychelles certainly don’t take though. With Mercury, I can that customers received, either one high school and in light all of Sunday putting the new to raise awareness. To put it bulletin boards and commer- voyeurism, the sooner we can the same route as BT’s. Of almost never connect at 9600 over the phone or by snail mail: of this information, it became operating system on our into information security, or cial services, has the potential get on with building a global course, BT manage Intelsat or 4800 baud, but can connect “There have been reports all apparent that some of our cus- server. “infosec”, jargon, the cus- to become one of civilisation’s network that works for people, which has a bird right over Sey- at 2400 over 90 percent of the over the country about break- tomer passwords could have “We knew that this would tomers of this regional Internet greatest achievements. not despite them. chelles, so it makes sense for time. I now use BT exclusively ins to computer systems on the been available to the people involve a great deal of work, provider suffered an “indirect Consider this statistic from them to put their calls on that. for any USA bulletin board Internet for the past several who planted the sniffers. Other and we did not undertake it denial of service” attack. The a company called Input, based PCW Contacts Possibly BT exclude Mercury downloads, because I find that weeks. On Friday, the 3rd of software found at those sites lightly. The result was that the effect of hacking activity in in Mountain View, California. Stephen Cobb can be reached on from using direct routes if they I am online for roughly half the February, it became clear that would allow such an individ- system was down for about 12 their area was to prevent them At current rates of growth, CompuServe as 72662,546 or the can.” time so it works out cheaper these had occurred on several ual to do severe damage to hours, and some of you didn’t from using their accounts for a there will be an Internet con- net as [email protected]. He is cur- Here is another example: “I even though the cost/min is local systems, specifically at a the system. Based on this, and have access to your accounts significant period. nection for everyone on the rently at work on a new edition of am convinced that Mercury higher.” local college and at least one the advisories issued by the for an additional day or two. The Internet provider’s planet by the year 2009. It his Guide to PC & LAN Security.

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because the football team at the college mail (send mail to [email protected] is called the Golden Gophers. to find out how), via telnet (to It resembles the WorldWide Web in archie.doc.ic.ac.uk or one of 23 other that it provides a way of linking together Archie servers), via the WWW net.newbies different information resources. While (http://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/- the WWW provides links in the form of archieplexform.html) or using one of Getting started on the Net “hot buttons” on pages of styled text with several pieces of front-end software. pictures, Gopher takes the form of a series If you know the name of the file you of menus and sub-menus on each server, are looking for, your task is fairly easy. some of which lead to other Gopher Archie allows you to search for exact file servers. names or files containing a set string. If CUTTING EDGE CIX and some other service providers you don’t know the name and it isn’t f you don’t know what a “newbie” It is hardly surprising that finding peo- Switzerland. As discussed in the July allow you to run it from their systems, but obvious, life gets more difficult. There is Iis, you probably are one. These pages ple is tricky, since there is no central issue, it is by far the sexiest interface to if your provider doesn’t have it set up a database which indexes files by key- are designed to be an easy-to-use reference authority with which every user has to reg- the Internet, and if someone wants to you can download your own Gopher word — it’s called “whatis” — but it isn’t guide to the Internet for the novice — or ister to get on-line, the population of the produce an impressive Internet demon- client software and use it or telnet to very well kept. newbie, as hardened netters will call you. Internet is growing incredibly quickly, stration, nine times out of ten they’ll use gopher.ebone.net to try it out. Archie is supposed to provide a com- If you don’t understand what I have and many companies and individuals WWW to do it. Rather than wander through the maze plete index of publicly accessible files written or you have any suggestions, don’t want their internal electronic mail The good news is that it can provide of menus to find the information you are and each of the several available servers please don’t hesitate to mail me at addresses listed. a graphical front-end to almost any interested in, you can use Veronica to should have the same data. [email protected]. Mail was Tool of the Month in last Internet resource, and like Gopher it search through all the menu entries on all This is not the case in my experience. compuserve.com, or via “snailmail” — October's Internet column. provides links to information all over the world’s Gophers (in theory) for the Each night, the servers index one thirti- Internet-speak for paper mail. the Internet. The bad news is that unlike information you want. To use it, direct eth of the files on the Internet, so they Meanwhile, here’s an easy-reference Newsgroups & Mailing Lists Gopher, it lacks mature search tools to your Gopher software to info.mcc.ac.uk should be a maximum of a month out of guide to the tools which will help you The ability to read and post to these is allow you to find just the item you want. and select the Veronica menu item. date. Unfortunately, the Internet is grow- make the most of the Internet. probably the second most popular ser- Instead it encourages you to browse Gopher and Veronica were featured ing so fast that being a month out of date vice after mail. They are the equivalent of from link to link. This is a good way to in August’s Internet column. can exclude many files. Also, not every Mail forums or special interest groups on bul- learn and have fun but a poor way to get publicly accessible file archive is Almost every BBS and on-line service letin boards, and cover every special things done. Anonymous FTP & Archie indexed. Demon, a service provider for can offer you some kind of gateway into interest imaginable. There are many WWW searching Both these services are all about files — personal and small business use, main- the Internet for electronic mail — In both cases the idea is simple: any tools you could try — the best one is how to find them and how to get them. tains a 5Gb archive of useful software at it is the “lowest-common-denomina- subscriber can post queries or comments probably the Yahoo search page at FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It ftp.demon.co.uk — because of a techni- tor” service. The standard way of which can be read and replied to by all http://akebono.stanford.edu/yahoo/bin/ is “anonymous” because FTP servers cal problem, Archie used to be unable to addressing Internet mail is person@ other subscribers across the globe. menu?185,16. There is a less user- require a username and password before index Demon's files, but it now can. organisation.something.something. But A mailing list, as the name suggests, friendly but more comprehensive you can connect to them but allow you Lastly, each server seems to have a the way you send mail out from a local uses mail, which has the advantage that database called Lycos that might be to connect to parts of them by giving them slightly different database, so if you’re system varies from system to system. anyone with mail can use it. Accessing worth a try if the Yahoo index draws a a login name of “anonymous” and your sure a file is out there somewhere but On CompuServe, to send a message newsgroups requires a newsreader pro- blank — it’s at http:// email address for a password. you don’t find it on one of the UK servers, to me at CIX you’d type gram — there are dozens available — and lycos.cs.cmu.edu/cgi-bin/pursuit.. Once you are connected, looking try one in the US. “internet:[email protected]” in they generally allow you to organise mes- The WWW’s graphical interface around the server for a file usually works the address field. To send a message from sages by subject and produce “kill files”, requires a lot of speed. Unless you have much like DOS. DIR or LS tells you the Telnet the Internet to my CompuServe account which enable you to ignore messages on a V.32bis modem, you may as well for- contents of your directory, cd directory- This is probably the easiest command to (70007,5442), you’d send to boring subjects or by boring or offensive get about the pretty pictures, alluring name puts you into that directory. understand — telnet to a site by running “[email protected]”. people. (Sadly, there are a lot of the lat- sounds and even video clips on the There are several graphical interface one of the many available telnet programs Because many users are limited to ter, and the problem is getting worse.) Web. A large number of the more programs available to make FTP easier (in many cases this is as easy as typing electronic mail-only access to the Inter- Specialist newsgroups such as interesting resources on the Net are to use. telnet from the prompt of the com- net, a number of ways have been devised bionet.molbio.embldatabank (discussion arriving on Web servers, so it’s worth Many files stored on other servers are puter you normally dial into) and you to allow you to read newsgroups and about the EMBL nucleic acid database) knowing that a much faster, if less glam- compressed or encoded in various ways, will be confronted by the login prompt of search for and download files. All these generate a manageable number of mes- orous, connection to the Web is indicated by an extension at the end of the your target computer. Whatever you type methods are very clumsy, though, and sages each day. But a popular newsgroup available via telnet (see the telnet entry file name. .HQX, .TAR, .ZIP, .SIT and will be transmitted directly to the remote not to be recommended unless you are like rec.arts.movies generates thousands opposite). .ZOO each indicate a different kind of computer as if you were typing on its desperate or don’t have any choice. of messages a month from its huge read- For the moment, at least, Com- file requiring one or more utility pro- keyboard, and its replies are sent back One of the most commonly asked (and ership — estimated at 100,000 in May puServe subscribers have no WWW grams to convert them. to your screen. understandable) questions about the Inter- last year, which means it could be twice access at all, and most other BBS-based Finding the file you want on the Inter- Normally when you log in like this, net is “how do I find a person on the that now. Reading through a couple of services like Delphi and CIX offer text- net is not as hard as finding the person you either have an account on the target Internet?”. There are at least ten different newsgroups of that size without sifting only access. For full graphical WWW you want. But it is still not straightforward machine already or it is set up to give ways of doing this, none of them partic- through them beforehand could be a full- access, you need a TCP/IP connection or dependable. you access for specific tasks. To see what ularly reliable. It is a subject in itself : to time job and run your phone bill into the (ask for it by name). There are several tools available to you can do, try telneting to telnet.w3.org get a mail message giving some of the stratosphere. help you find specific documents, but (a computer in Switzerland). This gives options, send mail to mail- Gopher & Veronica Archie is, as far as I know, the only tool you text-only access to the World Wide [email protected] with “send WWW — the World Wide Web Gopher, designed in 1991 at the Uni- which helps you find the file you want Web. The Web program runs on the Swiss usenet/news.answers/finding-addresses” This tool was designed at CERN (the Euro- versity of Minnesota, is called that from the 2.5 million or more binary machine, but you can manipulate it from in the body of the message. pean Laboratory for Particle Physics) in because it “goes for” information and files in its database. You can use it via the comfort of your chair. PCW

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Innovations

Bringing ENG to England

Panasonic, never short of new ideas, is currently revolutionising the way TV news reports are pieced together, with ENG direct-to-disc video recording and editing. Tim Frost, our man on the spot, reports.

ith four test channels of digital TV being compression doesn’t lose frames of the editor instant access to any Wbroadcast in London this very moment, video which is important because clip. These can then be built into the focus is moving to the acquisition end of the it means that the video can be eas- a single virtual news item which business, and video recording directly to disc for ily edited, which is not so easy is virtual because the final result electronic news gathering (ENG). Over the past using a system like MPEG which will not necessarily exist as a few years, ENG has been the cutting edge of must have complete blocks of single linear recording, but as a broadcast technology, with news gathering com- frames to decompress the images list of linked references to the panies like CNN demanding ever smaller cam- properly. Usually, a new video original video recorded on the era/recorder systems and the fastest possible system is inextricably linked with disc. methods of getting a broadcastable news item its physical tape format. Panasonic The laptop field edit package back to the studio. has gone for a system that will developed jointly by Panasonic In the old days, a foreign report would be record on a 1/4in video cassette and CNN’s reporting teams made on 16mm film which would have to be tape or onto the rewriteable optical reduces all the traditional edit- flown back to the TV station, processed and disc that gives 45-minute record- ing hardware down to a hand- edited before it was transmitted. This worked ing — more than enough for small held package, a dedicated com- remarkably well, although at a high cost because news segments and usable for puter with LCD screens for mon- of all the transporting and the number of people longer interviews, given a suitable itors and a disc drive to replace involved. Today, the use of portable satellite break to drop in a new disk. the tape machines. links which can run off a car battery means that In doing so, Panasonic is start- This will make the news- reporters can deliver live-to-camera reports from ing a new way of working with gathering team even more self- virtually anywhere in the world. Although not ENG video, giving the news contained. Not only will they go cheap, the cost of the satellite links are now con- gatherers the chance to edit their out in the field and record the siderably lower than those involved in physi- reports in the field before trans- interview and news footage, cally transporting film or tape half-way around mission back to the studio, rather they will also edit it on the spot. the globe. than sending back the raw footage And as the icing on the cake, But there are always further demands for deliv- to be edited in the studio. Panasonic is working on a four- ering completed reports on-air at even higher Videotape editing can be a times fast transfer protocol so speed and less cost, which has lead to the devel- time-consuming job. As with any that the edited video footage can opment of the portable hard-disk camcorder. linear system, if the editor decides be downloaded to the studio’s Panasonic, which has already done well in to change an edit at the start of the main video server faster than the broadcasting world, has come up with its piece, then everything after the realtime. DVCPRO, a hybrid video format which can use new edit has to be re-done. Since Speedier news delivery is video tape and phase-change rewriteable optical video editing needs at least two one plus, although the attraction discs for storage. videotape machines, plus video of further cutting back of staff The video is kept in the digital domain and is monitors and vision mixers, it costs by removing a lot of the in- data compressed at a 5:1 ratio so that it isn’t can’t easily be done on the move. house editing function is likely quite up to full studio quality, but is of the But computer-based non-linear to be a strong driving force to the same quality as the other acquisition formats editing is a different matter. Plac- new system. used currently by ENG teams worldwide. The ing the video onto computer gives Panasonic 01329 833865 PCW Tim Frost

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Horizons With a new voice

Bt’s new Laureate system takes speech synthesis into new realms of credibility — no longer will we have to listen to Dalek-like mechanical voices coming at us over the wire. Ben Tisdall has his say.

t’s Christmas Eve 2010. You're back late from voice from scratch. able during recent years origi- Ia hard day of electronic shopping on the The former category began nated from research carried out by information superhighway, so late that you've with voice tubes and developed Dennis Klatt and Jonathon Allen missed the 10 o'clock news bulletin. Of course, into concatenated, or linked, in the late seventies. you could pull it off the video-on-demand news recorded speech as used by the BT's Martlesham Heath Labo- server, but instead you decide to use the PCTV speaking clock for instance (intro- ratories recently announced its in your living room to access a news report cre- duced in 1936). Another example Laureate system which is ated just moments before by CNN. Next, a menu is the computerised voice which intended to combine the best of of newsreaders appears. You decide to choose reads telephone numbers to you the concatenation and purely syn- Trevor Macdonald, from his younger days in the from directory enquiries. thetic approaches. Laureate starts early eighties, but for a laugh and a bit of variety The latter category, that of with a recording of someone select Jeremy Paxman's voice. Seconds later voice synthesis, developed from speaking a carefully structured your very own news bulletin is being read by Von Kempeln's first efforts with 20-minute script. This contains Trevor, with Jeremy's voice. bellows and leather flaps, to a all the sounds required to gener- If that scenario sounds far fetched just con- mechanical talker invented by a ate natural sounding speech. Dur- sider that all the technology required exists man called Riesz. A talking piano ing the synthesis process, these today, in its infancy. The movie Forrest Gump appeared about the same time as sounds are matched to the com- uses advanced video editing techniques to lip- the speaking clock. ponents of written words from a synch words that President Kennedy never Advances in computer tech- large pool that includes a list of uttered with archive footage and voice synthesis nology and rapid falls in the cost 8,000 names. The names are technology. Now, the Laureate system from of digital storage have enabled included with an eye to future British Telecom is able to take chunks of ASCII concatenated speech to become a applications like automated tele- text and read it aloud in a voice that sounds fairly straightforward and afford- phone catalogues. almost human. able technology, but it does have This approach also has the serious limitations. The vocabu- great advantage that Laureate can Making machines that talk lary is limited to words, numbers be made to mimic a particular For hundreds of years now, people have been or sentences that have been pre- voice. For example, the physicist interested in creating machines that can talk. recorded and it is almost impossi- Steven Hawking lost his voice a Early attempts by the Greeks and Romans relied ble to make it sound natural. few years ago and now uses a on straightforward trickery; using voice tubes Because the system is unintel- voice synthesiser. Had he connected to the mouths of statues. But by 1791 ligent it is unable to add things, recorded his voice prior to losing an inventor called Van Kempeln had made the such as intonation, that make the it, it would have been possible to first serious stab at building a machine to syn- meaning easier to understand. reconstruct it using Laureate. thesise real speech. His machine used a system Computer synthesised voices are Although Laureate's first “voice” of leather flaps to imitate the human voice. more flexible. But although there is English and male, female The whole business of making machines that are no limitations on vocabulary, voices, regional accents and for- talk falls into two distinct categories: those they do tend to sound robotic, eign languages will be added in which deal with harnessing real human speech; lifeless and mechanical. Many of the future. Ben Tisdall and those which tackle synthesis of the human the voice synthesis systems avail- Laureate has a fair degree of

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intelligence built in. For exam- The structure of the Laureate software with different linguistic ple, it is able to distinguish rules. And because it is writ- between St (saint) and St ten in ANSI C running (street) from the context in under Unix, it should be which it is used and will cor- easy to port to different plat- rectly read 1cm as “one cen- forms. It is already running timetre” and 20cm as “twenty on HP and Sun workstations centimetres”. as well as PCs. Sadly, BT It also has the ability to cor- has no plans to release Lau- rectly read out numbers, even reate as a shrink-wrapped

CUTTING EDGE very large ones. It would realise application but the proto- that 32678483924 was thirty type version currently being two billion, six hundred and demonstrated has a particu- seventy-eight million, four hun- larly unpalatable command dred and eighty-three thousand line interface. nine hundred and twenty-four, Researchers who work in far quicker than any human language synthesis appar- reader. ently tend to suffer from Laureate will also look out what is known as the for punctuation and will read “golden ear” effect, where out questions with a rising they lose their ability to dis- inflection. This is more crucial tinguish between the qual- to comprehension than one ity of different speech syn- might think as questions are thesis technologies. So the often written as statements, for quality of Laureate was instance; “she's still married?” tested by assessing the lis- The meaning of this phrase tening effort required by test changes depending on which subjects to understand a word is emphasised. Try read- series of sentences. ing it out loud for yourself. At Laureate’s launch, BT The BT engineers who played synthesised sen- developed Laureate say that tences from Berkeley Sys- there were two main con- tems’ Best Speech and from straints when they were devel- Dec’s Dectalk. Laureate eas- oping the system: technical ily outshone the others constraints and theoretical although it did appear to unknowns. Technical con- have a marked Scandina- straints have receded during vian accent — or is it just the past few years as the price of that Scandinavians speak English memory, storage and processing have its own internal linguistic structure unlike any of like robots? power has fallen. the others. Satellites which need a lot of linguistic infor- Although the concept of a per- The reducing cost of memory mation can be placed after components which add a lot sonalised TV newsreader is still was a particularly important factor of information to the linguistic object. Although satel- years away, there are already as it allowed the flexibility to save lites are separate, the linguistic rules they contain fre- masses of application possibilities small portions of speech and nail quently overlap with others. For example, text normali- for Laureate. An automated tele- them together, end to end on the sation is the satellite which copes with distinguishing phone-based catalogue ordering fly, but theoretical unknowns or between St, Saint or Street. service is one. Laureate would be lack of knowledge about how the Phonotactics and Parsing are both involved in work- able to read out the contents of the mechanics of speech are put ing out how similar words are pronounced, but in dif- catalogue held in a database. It together remained a problem. The ferent ways. Phonotactics decides how Laureate tackles would also be able to read back the BT engineers’ response was to a word ending in “ough” and whether it sounds like address to which the item is to be develop an extendable architecture cough, plough or enough. Parsing breaks down sen- sent. This is an application where for Laureate. The interface medi- tences into separate words and will work out from the the sheer quantity of data would ates between the linguistic object, context whether the word “bow” is a verb or a noun and render using pre-recorded speech which is a dynamic database of how it is pronounced. impractical. Another application information, with a simple under- Often, Laureate uses a process called “constraint sat- that BT proposes is to allow the standing of the structure of lan- isfaction”, where for example a question in a sentence police to check car registration guage and a whole range of lan- has to pass a number of tests. Does the sentence start details by dialling the Swansea guage models and theories (see with a “wh” word like who, why, what or where, and computer direct and getting that diagram). are there clues in the intonation at the beginning and computer to read the details back. These satellites, as BT calls end of the sentence as to whether or not it is a question? And for people who have lost their them, are completely isolated from Laureate’s architecture also makes it relatively voices, Laureate could help them the rest of the system and each may straightforward to port the program into other languages speak again.

594 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 PCW ● FUTURES CUTTING EDGE

Bluesky

Crushing remarks

Around 30 percent of all radio- The difficulty of transmitting large amounts of logical images recorded in US hos- data, whether for text, pictures or X-rays, is giving pitals are digital. Techniques such rise to ingenious solutions for squeezing it into as MRI, PET (positron emission tomography) and DSA (digital sub- more manageable shape. Nick Beard sums up the traction angiography) have revolu- art of compression. tionised medicine. Images can be derived which enable radiologists to build 3D reconstructions of parts of people’s bodies. These may t’s hard to find a magazine that has not avoid the need for more unpleas- Irecently covered the Internet. It is a hot ant tests, or make surgery more topic, usually generating more heat than light. accurate and effective. For some people it is a valuable resource, for The other 70 percent others it remains a game or an irrelevance. of radiological images One thing the Internet demonstrates well is are still captured onto the difficulty of transmitting images. Rapid film, which remains transmission of large quantities of data is crucial a far higher-resolu- in remote image access, and conventional data tion medium than rates are barely adequate. any digital system. Multimedia might have been displaced from Nevertheless, there the top slot of clichéd topics in computing cov- are many tech- erage, but it is still popular. Just try combining it niques for digitis- with the Internet, and the result is enough to ing film-based pic- choke all but the most expensive of communica- tures, and there are tions lines. Yet as multimedia resources con- many reasons for tinue to develop, the gradual growth from plau- wanting to use digi- sibility to operability will demand far more than tal representations. the 80 characters-per-line commonly pushed The X-ray dose can down phone lines. often be reduced by Text-only data rates are fine for the more using digital tech- imaginative members of discussion group niques. Film is bulky alt.sex.hamster, but the real perverts want pic- and expensive. Data stor- tures. Accessing a World Wide Web server at the age rates are falling fast, and it will White House and waiting for 10 minutes to Medical images like this one can soon be cheaper to store radiologi- download what turns out to be a picture of Al need heavy compression for cal pictures on discs than on silver Gore is hardly a high-tech thrill. storage or transmission halide film. Also, digital images So with images eating so much data space, can be manipulated using digital and wire-width remaining a bottleneck in trans- of photos of Nastassja Kinski are image processing techniques. mission, what are we to do? The answer is: com- downloaded regularly. There are, Teleradiology is becoming press. This is a common approach to extracting though, more serious uses of image increasingly common, enabling additional capabilities from a computer. Double- compression. Among them is the images to be sent to specialists in Space is now in widespread use, giving more compression of radiological images, particular radiological problems storage without buying more disk surface. Many such as X-rays, CT-scans (comput- who may be thousands of miles users of online image databases are regular users erised tomography) and MRI (mag- away. Images can be captured of image compression techniques. Large numbers netic resonance imaging) scans. directly from CT or MRI scanners, Nick Beard

597 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 PCW ● FUTURES

or by scanning a plain X-ray film essential. Approaches to compression include logical the effective resolution to the point using a scanner much like an ordi- and physical methods. Logical compression involves where important detail is missed? nary desktop scanner, only with good systems analysis and program design: for example, Alternatively, the compression only a much higher resolution instead of storing dates as text they are stored as digits: technology may introduce arte- (and therefore cost). 14th February 1943 becomes 140243. facts, which lead to unnecessary Alternatively, there are now X- Greater savings can be made by other coded repre- further investigations or even ray cameras that don’t produce sentations. Yet these methods are limited, and data- treatment. film, but instead shine an image dependent. Physical compression is required for bigger It is for this reason that the rec- directly onto a digitising plate compression yields. This means finding ways to repre- ommended minimum resolution which then squirts the picture to a sent data in ever smaller spaces. for viewing mammograms (the

CUTTING EDGE waiting computer. The growth in Physical methods are classed as “lossy” and “loss- images produced in breast screen- these techniques is set to continue, less” techniques. Lossy techniques destroy data on com- ing clinics) is a massive 4,000 x and as it becomes possible to man- pression, but in a way which enables a reasonable 4,000 pixels. In practice, however, ufacture higher-resolution work- approximation of the original to be recovered. This is there is emerging evidence that station screens, there will be no fine for images, but not what you want for your bank carefully selected lossy techniques image which cannot be interpreted details. The most elementary lossless technique is null are tolerable, and that the diagnos- at a workstation rather than on one suppression — not storing strings of blanks as strings of tic quality of judgements made can of the traditional lightboxes used blanks. This can enable 30- to 50-percent improvements be preserved at compression ratios in most hospitals. in throughput — and you can still apply other tech- of 10: or even 20:1 in certain cases. The result is that the demand niques on top. This is known as “visually loss- for storage capacity and transmis- Next is run length encoding, where repeating less” compression. sion bandwidth continues to out- sequences are replaced by a code series: a special sym- A further approach is to use strip technology. There is esti- bol, a count of the repeating sequence, and the repeated what is known as “clinical image mated to be over 1,015 bytes of thing. For example, 1234444444567 could be replaced compression”. This means simply radiological image data captured by 123C47C567. Diatomic coding replaces character having a doctor reduce the number per year in the US. The amount is pairs with single characters, and a special case of of images, selecting only those also rising every year. So compres- diatomic coding, pattern substitution, substitutes com- which are relevant to the case. sion is vital: imaging exploits com- monly occurring patterns with shorter codes. This is This can achieve dramatic reduc- pression because the overall tech- especially effective where the data includes sequences tions in the volume of films — and nological application would barely that can be anticipated, such as computer programs. A thus data — required. For exam- be possible without it. If you think program has LET, GOTO, IF, THEN, READ and WRITE ple, an ultrasound examination the latest download of statements in it. A pattern table lists the expected may include many seconds of StarTrek.GIF was a big one, try a sequences and the corresponding short-codes. Shorter video image, at 30 images per sec- radiological study series: they can codes are given to more common, longer sequences, and ond. The radiologist may choose to easily hit 32Mb. Compression longer codes to less frequent sequences. This results in preserve only eight frames and dis- enables hospitals to consider pic- only 20-percent reductions, but is easily combined with card the rest. ture archiving and communication other techniques such as statistical systems. Image compression is progress- systems (PACS) which would oth- Statistical encoding techniques take advantage of ing constantly, squeezing more erwise be simply unaffordable. known probabilities of occurrence of code sequences. In and more capacity out of limited The real problems, then, are Morse code, “.” represents “E” — the most common let- space. It is the nearest we come to high-resolution images and video. ter in English. Statistical approaches work by reducing getting something for nothing. Here are the raw numbers. A redundancy. Redundant information is overspecified. It medium resolution digitised image is th hi levl of rdndcy wch maks ths sentnc readbl (well, PCW Resource guide (just a normal picture) needs 512 x almost). This improves some modes of communication, 480 pixels, though TrueColour but swallows more bytes than necessary. Advance in Image and Video Compression Special Illus of takes 24 bits per pixel. This swal- As we saw in the back-of-the envelope calculations Proceedings of the IEEE lows about 720kb. A diagnostic- above, images eat bytes at alarming rates. Lossless com- February 1995 quality film, such as a chest X-ray, pression is valuable, but better yields are available if YQ. Huang, W Li and ML Liou needs a 2,000 x 2,000 resolution, perfect reconstitution of the image from the compressed (editors) though at least only 12-bit code is not needed. If the “unpacked” image need only A highly authoritative survey of the greyscale is needed. However, be good enough, then lossy techniques can be used. state of the art in still and moving with a typical examination using Lossy techniques allow as much compression as you image compression. four images, we soon reach that like — depending on how much data you are prepared Data Compression: Techniques ugly 32Mb number. Imagine to throw away. This depends on your level of concern and Applications, Hardware and downloading that at 9,600 baud. over the quality of the reconstituted image. Software; Third Edition Gilbert Held, Wiley. Video sequences are just as bad An important lossy coding technique is the discrete A thorough and accessible book — a minimum of 720kb per frame. cosine transform. There are many such methods, such as describing many data compression To replay this at 30 frames/sec sine, Fourier, and Slant-Walsh transforms. The problem methods in depth. The emphasis is takes a data transfer rate of over for radiologists and doctors who need to interpret X-rays on alphanumeric data rather than 20Mb/sec. Standalone PCs struggle is that the most effective compression techniques, lossy images. Illustrative programs are with such rates, let alone phone algorithms, may not be suitable for the very high file- included which implement the lines. size images they need to handle. What if the data lost in methods discussed. They are also Compression, therefore, is efficiently crushing the image is just enough to reduce available on disk.

598 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 PCW ● RETRO COMPUTING CUTTING EDGE A leap in the dark

Things moved faster back in the eighties, says Simon Rockman, who thought the QL was so good he bought several, only to see it flop for lack of fellow purchasers.

was the first person to buy a mono screen, and it had to stop ISinclair QL. At the launch the display when it was doing the press packs were spread any processing. The QL had a one to a chair and I quickly Motorola 68008 processor, snaffled a couple. The back of colour, 128kb RAM and a the pack had an order form for multi-tasking operating system. the new computer. Anything This was a true multi-tasking from Sinclair was such a dead system like OS/2 or Windows cert that I filled in a form, 95, not a fake like Windows adding my credit card details 3.11 or System 7.5. Unfortu- and committing myself to the nately you needed to be a com- £399 the machine cost. I petent programmer to make the handed it to a Sinclair market- most of it. Back then, no com- ing man before the presenta- puter was worth its salt unless tion even began, and then it had a version of Basic; the ordered a second one. QL had SuperBasic, which After the launch I called a reflected all the current think- friend. He wanted one too so ing about structured program- the credit card was stretched ming. Unfortunately, the 48kb beyond its limit. This was in of ROM didn’t fit inside the February and the machines machine when it was launched were delayed for a long time. and early owners were sent sys- They finally appeared in May. tems with a couple of EPROMs It is incredible to think of plugged into the cartridge port the rate of change in those at the back. early days. Today we see a The more you look at the new CPU from Intel every cou- specification of the QL, the ple of years but the basic more you realise how far ahead machine remains the same. of its time it was. Networking microdrives were. As PCW printer and a monitor, you PCI may be a significant devel- was built in as standard, and a pointed out in its June 1984 could be up and running for opment but it is all softly peer-to-peer serial link worked review, it is difficult to believe £1,000. PCW reflected upon softly. In the early eighties some of the time and allowed that anyone would use the lit- what a bargain this was. things were very different. QLs to be networked with tle high-speed tape drives for As with all the Sinclair The QL — the initials stood Spectrums. The engineers anything serious. In the end, machines, the QL never quite for Quantum Leap — was couldn’t figure out why the net- David Tebbut was won over by lived up to expectations. But code-named ZX83. We’d seen working worked in the morn- the bundled software. the area which really let it the Spectrum in 1982 and the ing and not in the afternoon. Remember this was at a down was sales and marketing. ZX81 and ZX80 in the two Then someone realised that the time when most home users There are still a few die-hard previous years. To move from problem was heat-related. The tinkered with programming, users soldiering on but sales the ZX80 to the QL in the same test machines sat on a bench by and the idea that they might predictions of a million amount of time as it has taken a window. In the afternoon, the use applications, particularly machines in the first year to progress from the 486 to the sun shone on the bench and those as advanced as the Quill turned out to be wildly opti- P6 shows how much things heated up the machines. word processor or Access data- mistic. As so often happens, it are slowing down. But the networking wasn’t base, was progressive thinking. was the trailblazer that brought The ZX80 had 1kb RAM, a the QL’s major problem; the With a QL, a cheap dot matrix the company down. PCW

601 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 PCW ● MEDIA PCW ● MEDIA CUTTING EDGE BOOKS CUTTING EDGE

Cyberspace for Beginners service provider you need to complex software translates ous. The author has ISDN con- Author: Joanna Buick; get connected to the Internet, between your machine, the fused with high-bandwidth fibre illustrations Zoran Jevtic for example. It doesn’t have a designated client, because you optic cable. It is fine for video- Publisher: Icon Books glossary or index to help you request the services and the conferencing and transfer of Pages: 173 make sense of terms, and when remote computer, the server, images and text but not, as she Price: £7.99 it does provide explanations, since it supplies the services.” suggests, for multi-channel tele- ISBN: 1-874166-24-2 they can leave you more con- Er, right. vision, and certainly doesn’t Rating: ✒✑✑ ✑✑ fused than before. When the book is not irrele- provide “almost infinite band- Here’s just one example: vant or inadequate, it is all too width”. “To use a database, software often inaccurate. Some inaccu- There is room for a book that The book gives instructions are the ones on setting up a Winder explains the basics: names the three essential Inter- o not, under any circum- called Telnet is used — an racies are minor but irritating discusses the digital future in on getting started for PCs, Windows machine, particu- what the Internet is, how to get net tools as FTP, Telnet, and Dstances, buy this book. applications programme just — the assertion that Doom layman’s terms, but this, alas, UNIX boxes, Macs, and larly the section on Trumpet connected to it, and how to use mail (including Usenet). You You’re still reading? Perhaps like any other. Once you have plays in millions of colours, for isn’t it. VAXes; it explains about bin Winsock, which includes step- mail, FTP, the World Wide get no help with configuring you have seen some of Icon logged in with Telnet, the very example. Others are more seri- David Brake hex and GIF formats; and it by-step instructions on down- Web, Gopher, IRC, and Archie. software to run on a Windows Books’ other productions. They even gives you a list of the loading the software using Interspersed are carefully machine, although you do get are well-written and easy-to- COMPARATIVE REVIEWS: INTERNET GUIDES things that people on Usenet Windows Terminal and config- culled listings of Usenet news- instructions on using online digest introductions to fairly never want to hear about. The uring it — normally a tricky, groups, mailing lists, and FTP, Unix newsreaders and mail complex subjects — Lenin for All You Need to Know ISBN: 0-7897-0077-8 Second Edition list is a little shorter than the unpleasant, and poorly docu- Gopher, and Web sites. One programs, unencoding, picture Beginners, The Universe for About the Internet Rating: ✒✒✒ ✒✑ Author: Peter Kent real one, but that may be dat- mented business. The book particularly useful section for formats, and Internet utilities. Beginners and so on. “How bad Author: Davey Winder Publisher: Alpha Books ing: this book goes as far as does the same for other pieces British readers is the hands-on Although it’s a British book, could Cyberspace for Beginners Publisher: Future Publishing The Internet Navigator Pages: 367 NCSA Mosaic, but obviously of publicly available software, look at accessing the Internet there’s no service-specific be?” you might ask. The answer Pages: 296 Author: Paul Gilster Price: £18.95 (with disk) went to press before the such as Eudora, WinWAIS and via the different service information. is: very. Price: £14.95 (with disk) Publisher: Wiley ISBN: 1-56761-535-X release of Netscape. The Mosaic. providers, with instructions on The listing of FTP sites is In an introductory guide to ISBN: 1-85870-064-7 Pages: 590 Rating: ✒✒✒ ✑✑ authors also make the unlikely More Internet for Dummies downloading the software you particularly frustrating: it lists cyberspace, I would expect to Rating: ✒✒✒ ✑✑ Price: £21.95 statement that there are no also goes through how to use need to get started. sites in alphabetical order, by find an an explanation of what ISBN: 0-471-05260-4 he Internet is a particu- public FTP archives holding Internet Relay Chat, mailing All in all, this is a well- name, with only a couple of computers are. What I certainly The Internet Guide for Rating: ✒✒✒ ✑✑ Tlarly ripe area for how-to pornography. lists and FTP by mail, and rounded guide. The one thing words (“Amiga related”, “Perl would not expect is page after New Users books: it’s a hot topic; there are The positive side of the closes with about 50 pages of to worry about is that Winder’s stuff”, “Sci-Fi works”) to page of info-tidbits about travel, Author: Daniel P Dern The Internet for Dummies, no user manuals for the Net book is that it guides you Internet sites to get started with. technical competence leads describe the kind of material printing, numbers, clocks, pho- Publisher: McGraw-Hill Second Edition itself; and there is pitifully lit- through sample sessions with It’s a reasonable, if mainstream, him to think that Demon’s stored there. There’s no subject tography, holography and other Pages: 570 Author: John R Levine and tle comprehensible documen- services like Gopher and selection: books, magazines, DOS software is “pretty easy to reference. topics utterly unrelated to the Price: £24.95 Carol Baroudi tation for the tools you must WAIS, and even gives interna- weather, food. A reality check use if you read the documenta- The Internet Navigator was ostensible purpose of the book. ISBN: 0-07-016511-4 Publisher: IDG Books use to access it. So Internet tional information, like the is provided in the form of a tion”. But this is a small point; one of the better Internet books Am I being overly narrow in my Rating: ✒✒✒ ✑✑ Pages: 427 books are being released in main European and UK ser- three-part urban folklore quiz. he gives some very good tips of its year, but this edition definition of relevant? Well, Price: £18.99 shoals. This month’s collection vice providers (pre-Phone Day Step-by-step instructions that can save time and money seems crowded, intimidating, would you say this is relevant: The Essential Internet ISBN: 1-56884-222-8 even includes a few British number changes). The nega- also feature heavily in All You using each service. Unlike and as technically oriented as “Sunspots and eclipses could be Information Guide Rating: ✒✒✒ ✑✑ titles. tive side is that the jokes are Need to Know About the Inter- American authors, whose out- The Essential Internet Guide. viewed on the floor of a room Author: Jason J Manger The Internet for Dummies is worse than usual. net, one of the new wave of look is coloured by free local Part of the reason is that it’s with a small aperture in the ceil- Publisher: McGraw-Hill More Internet for a more or less standard entry in More Internet for Dummies British books. The author, Dave telephone calling, Winder aimed at dial-up users access- ing”? Or this: “In 1546 attempts Pages: 515 Dummies the long-running series: same presents the technical side of Winder, is well known on CIX understands the importance of ing the Internet via a Unix were made to find El Dorado... Price: £22.95 Author: John R Levine and stupid jokes, same cartoons. the Internet, coupled with and, more recently, on Delphi, offline readers. interface; even a system like and in 1547 Nostradamus made ISBN: 0-07-707905-1 Margaret Levine Young But authors Levine and instructions on using the gate- where he holds court in his The Essential Internet Delphi or CIX doesn’t qualify his long-term prophecies”? He Rating: ✒✒✑ ✑✑ Publisher: IDG Books Baroudi have a tough job ways provided by services like own forum; he has a column in Guide is a British book, too in this category, as they have may well have done, but so Pages: 390 because the basic technology Delphi, America Online, and the Sunday Times on net top- (and offers a free trial on proprietary interfaces. There- what? Using the Internet, Special Price: £18.99 behind the Internet is so much public Unix providers. The ics. The included disk is a copy Pipex), but it seems to be out- fore, large chunks of the book Perhaps no more than a third Edition (2nd Edition) ISBN: 1-56884-164-7 more complex. They manage example it uses is the US sys- of the widely distributed dated already, even though it aren’t particularly relevant to of the pages have anything to do Author: Mary Ann Pike et al Rating: ✒✒✒ ✒✑ fairly well, covering how to get tem World, but a number of Chameleon Sampler; there are came out in 1995. World Wide most UK users, and a number with the title. Sadly, even these Publisher: Que started on the Net, how to use other providers use the same also money-saving offers from Web coverage is limited to a of things — like configuring disappoint. The book doesn’t tell Pages: 1,241 The Complete Idiot’s all the main services, and some commands and programs. most of the British Internet ser- couple of pages on using a text- Windows-based software — you what kind of PC, modem or Price: £37.49 (with CD-ROM) Guide to the Internet, general resource information. The most useful sections vice providers. based browser, and the author which UK users need to know

602 603 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 PCW ● MEDIA

about are left out. Gilster’s includes a certain amount of providers or resources, but a standard for these big, black research into UK service his personal experience in the short chapter lists a few sites to books: they are expected to providers is unimpressive: he book, such as a listing of a take a look at. None of them are cover all the bases. lists Demon and The Direct morning’s worth of new email. Web sites, though — this book, This one does, and it’s well Connection, but not CIX or This makes sense if the goal is too, needs updating again. organised: we like the early CityScape. to give a new user an idea of If you fancy weightlifting, chapter that quickly sketches This book has a pleasantly what the Internet is good for — Using the Internet, Special Edi- what the main Internet services broad view of the world, people who haven’t used email tion, is also the first book we’ve are. It lets a newcomer identify though, even at the beginning, tend to think of it as a burden, seen bundled with a CD-ROM. quickly what service is appro- where it tries to whet readers’ rather than a useful tool. You get everything, even a cou- priate and flip quickly to the

CUTTING EDGE appetites by listing a variety of The book probably has ple of HTML editors, several appropriate section — FTP, online resources, from check- more information in it than a different Web browsers, and so Web etc. It’s an obvious idea, ing out the weather to a virtual lot of new users might like, but on. For a new user it’s probably but no other book does it. tour of New Zealand. It’s also it’s well presented and well confusing, but you get a chance Some of the material in this reasonably up-to-date; you get a chosen. It’s meant to be to try out a lot of different book is quite specific, such as short section on Mosaic, generic, so you don’t get choices with relative ease. You the chapters on connecting via including complaints that it’s specifics on American service should be able to install a par- The Pipeline, NetCom, Com- slow. The resource list is good providers, but instead get ticular bit of software, and then puServe, Delphi, and America and varied, if unfortunately explanations of the different turn to the relevant section of Online. International informa- organised by service type types of service — dial-up, the text and try out a session. tion is sparse, but the resource (Campus systems, FTP, Telnet) SLIP, UUCP. Similarly, the The book is as up-to-date as guide at the back is good and, first, with subject headers only section on Usenet talks about anything on the market. It’s the unusually, well illustrated. within sections. the generalities of posting arti- only one reviewed here that Like everyone else, though, the The Complete Idiot’s Guide cles, but doesn’t give you step- includes a section on creating authors seem to have kept the to the Internet comes with an by-step instructions for any your own Web pages, some- most useful search sites to Access Sampler, which particular software or service, thing that will become more themselves. After all, to tell includes a TCP/IP stack for although Dern does include common as providers get into someone about Yahoo is to Windows, plus FTP, Ping, and some information on commer- the swing of offering sub- limit their need to buy a an online newsreader. Instruc- cial services. scribers free Web space. It’s resource guide. tions for configuring the soft- There’s no listings of service also a reflection of Que’s Wendy M Grossman ware for an unlisted service provider are supplied, which is Top ten books: March 1995 a benefit. Once you’ve set up Author Title Publisher Price This Last the software, you should be Getz et al Microsoft Access 2 Sybex £41.17 1 — able to download any other Developer’s Handbook Windows-based program and (book/disk) slide it right in. Lemay, Laura Teach Yourself Web Sams £19.50 2 1 Idiots apparently need fewer Publishing with jokes to encourage them than HTML in a Week dummies, so this book is a little Dave Jewell Instant Delphi Wrox £22.99 3 — less frenetic than its counter- Programming part. However, the selection of Ethington et al Introducing Microsoft Microsoft Press £11.99 4 6 material isn’t really as good — Windows 95 there’s a bit too much about Jennings, Roger Database Sams £41.67 5 3 those Unix-based newsreaders Developer’s Guide again. However, the sample with Visual Basic 3 sessions are handled well. For (Book/Disk) example, the sample FTP ses- Minasi et al Mastering Windows Sybex £40.99 6 — sion sends you to Project NT Server Gutenberg to retrieve a copy of Adrian King Inside Windows 95 Microsoft Press £21.95 7 — the CIA World Fact Book rather Schulman, Andrew Unauthorized IDG Press £28.99 8 4 than some piece of software. Windows 95 International information is Gamma et al Design Patterns: Addison-Wesley £28.95 9 — extremely sparse; the list of Elements of Reusable Archie servers doesn’t even Object-Oriented include London’s Imperial Col- Software lege, surely one of the best- Krol, Ed The Whole Internet: O’Reilly £18.50 10 5 known in the world. User’s Guide & The Internet for New Users Catalog, 2nd Ed. has been well publicised on the Prices include VAT on Disks/CD-ROMs. Net by its author, who includes List supplied by The PC Bookshop of 11 & 21 Sicilian Avenue, London WC1A 2QH. the book’s information in his Tel: 0171 831 0022. Fax: 0171 831 0443. .sig. So it’s only logical that he

604 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 Personal Computer WorldBookshelf Selection CUTTING EDGE

THE WORLD WIDE WEB MASTER VISUAL BASIC 3 UNLEASHED Nathan Gurewich & Ori Gurewich John December et al Learn how to write sophisticated The ultimate guide to the Web and powerful programs with this its uses, resources, and tools in Visual Basic package. complete detail. 1994 1,184pp CD-ROM 1994 400pp 0-672-30617-4 included £31.50 0-672-30514-3 £40.95 (inc VAT) THE INTERNET UNLEASHED Steve Bang, Rick Gates, Martin THE MAGIC OF INTERACTIVE Moore, et al ENTERTAINMENT This all-in-one guide targets the SECOND EDITION Internet navigator. Its packed Mike Morrison with all the latest advanced Packed with product reviews and techniques for exploiting all the inside information from the Internet tools. hottest companies in the industry. 1994 1,500pp 0-672-30466-X 1994 400pp CD-ROM £37.60 (inc VAT) included 0-672-30590-9 £40.95 (inc MASTER VISUAL BASIC C++ 2 VAT) Ori Gurewich, Nathan Gurewich Written by experts in the field of PETER NORTONS INSIDE C++ programming, this second THE PC, 5/E edition provides you with Peter Norton, Corey Sandler, advanced techniques to lead you Tom Badgett to programming success. A completely updated version of 1994 1,190pp CD-ROM this classic text focuses on the included latest developments behind the 0-672-30532-1 £39.51 (inc VAT) case. 1993 638pp 1-56686-097-0 MULTIMEDIA MADNESS! £22.95 DELUXE EDITION Ron Wodaski THE WINN L. ROSCH Updated version to one of the HARDWARE BIBLE, 3/E best-selling multimedia titles Winn L. Rosch available! This book/CD-ROM set Voted as one of the twenty all- provides a complete introduction time best microcomputer books for end-users as well as by Computer Magazine. Now programmers. Winn L. Rosch is back with this 1993 1,100pp CD-ROM newly revised and expanded included edition. 0-672-30413-9 £50.82 (inc 1994 1,100pp 1-56686-127-6 VAT) £31.50

Please indicate which books you require by placing a tick (or number if you wish to purchase more than one copy) in the relevant box(es) above and sending this complete form, together with payment, to:

Sam Lane Please charge my Access/American Express/VISA Prentice Hall, Campus 400, Diners Club/Mastercard/Switch card with the sum of: £ Maylands Avenue, Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP2 7EZ. Account No: Tel: 0442 881900, Fax: 0442 257115 Expiry Date: Postcode: *Handling & Carriage Charges Credit card customers: please ensure that the address stated below corresponds with For delivery in the UK please add £3.00 the address at which the card is registered. per order (up to 5 books), plus £1.02 for each additional book. For delivery in EC I enclose a cheque for: £ European countries, please add $7.50 Payment to be made to: INTERNATIONAL BOOK DISTRIBUTORS LTD. for the first book, plus $6.05 for each additional book. For delivery in non-EC Signature European countries please add $5.35 for the first book, and $3.90 for each Name additional book. Prices are correct at the time of going to Organisation press but are subject to change. Orders are supplied at prices on receipt and are Address subject to our Terms and Conditions of Sale a copy of which is available upon Postcode Country request. 605 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 PCW ● MEDIA PCW ● MEDIA CUTTING EDGE

Contact Wiener World Gogh’s works but only one of Picture this copies of PCW and other maga- 0181 954 8777 them can be enlarged. This is zines on your shelves it will Price RRP £49.95 at times disappointing. take a while to retrieve the arti- Rating ● ● ● ● ❍ The zoom facility is a little cle you want. CD-ROMs primitive, and it is annoying This is where The Computer that the close-up view divides and Equipment Suppliers CD- the painting into blocks, limit- ROM 1995 comes in. It is pub- Culture, cooking and computer equipment feature in ing your selection of what you lished by VNU, which also this month’s disc round-up. We kick off, though, with a can see, and you cannot scroll publishes this magazine, and to around the painting. You may start with the bad news, it costs

CUTTING EDGE compendium of Bob Dylan songs and memorabilia. have to come out of the whole £335 just for an index to hard- painting and back into close- ware, so you would have to be up four times to see the spe- a computer consultant or Knocking on Heaven’s door cific area you want to study. dealer to justify the expense. In contrast, Art Gallery has But for your money you get a a vast number of paintings but database of over 5,700 products none can be seen in as much including 860 PCs and 1,500 detail. All the paintings can be comms products plus 2,600 slightly enlarged, but with manufacturers and VARs. It mixed results. For example, also comes with a Windows Crivelli’s Annunciation with search engine which can easily St Emidius can only be answer the kinds of questions I enlarged by about 10 percent, mentioned above, and 500 so you cannot see the detail hardware reviews from PCW. Highway 61 Interactive which is vital to understand- The Software User’s Year- eeping up with the ing the work, especially when book is the ideal complement, Kchangin’ times, Mr Robert demonstrating the principle of although its information is Zimmerman, alias Bob Dylan, linear perspective. Still, some slightly older and its search now has his own CD-ROM, a other paintings enlarge well, engine is less sophisticated. It nostalgic multimedia trip Great Artists/ and given the disk’s high reso- costs £285, but you can get the through 35 years of rock his- Art Gallery lution, the colours and repro- two together for £580. tory. You get 10 full-length he National Gallery can duction quality are excellent. David Brake songs and 42 short extracts, Tnow boast two CD-ROMs Both disks organise the Contact VNU 0171 316 9000 including many rare and previ- devoted to its collection. contents in a similar way, but (book sales department) ously unreleased items. Microsoft’s Art Gallery has their presentation is very dif- (Codehigh 01734 724905) Then there are the lyrics to been out for a year and now ferent. Great Artists is aimed at Top Great Artists will introduce children to the world of art Price £335 all Dylan’s songs, three full- there’s a new offering called children so the interface is and artists, but it might not hold their attention for long Rating ● ● ● ● ❍ (value for length videos and numerous Great Artists. brash, bold and fun, and the Above Art Gallery’s interface is plain in comparison, but it money ●) clips, a collection of Bob Dylan How do they match up? On information does not require will give you virtual access to the treasures of the National drawings, hundreds of pho- the most obvious point, the any prior knowledge. Art Gallery Art de la Table tographs, and several interac- number of paintings covered, Gallery is very plain in com- f cookery CD-ROMs don’t cut tive simulations of key places there is no comparison. Great parison but it goes into more Ithe mustard it’s because most in Dylan’s history. These Top A collage of memorabilia is the main interface to Artists contains 40 main works detail, for example devoting Art Gallery would turn to was Inside people don’t keep their PCs in include New York’s Greenwich Bob Dylan’s CD-ROM and a measly 1,000 colour an entire four pages to Contact Microsoft Information, a DOS database the kitchen. Your hollandaise Village, and backstage at the Above “I wrote my first song to my mother an’ titled it ‘To images, while there are a whop- Turner’s The Fighting 0345 002000 on a floppy disk listing prod- sauce could curdle in the time star-studded 30th Anniversary mother’. I wrote that in 5th grade an’ the teacher gave me a ping 2,000 paintings in Art Temeraire. It also moves much Price around £38 ucts reviewed in a range of it takes you to run into the next concert in 1992. B+.’” Gallery. The result is two very faster than Great Artists, Rating ● ● ● ● ❍ magazines, including our own. room and check the recipe. Created with Dylan’s co- different packages, one concen- which goes at snail’s pace. It covers hardware and soft- Granted, a CD-ROM doesn’t get operation, the full package is trating on a small area in detail If you are looking for some- Computer Equipment & ware — some 6,000 products dog-eared and acquire olive oil reckoned to take 10-12 hours to would recognise, being no by title, not by word or phrase, and the other aiming to cover thing for a young child then Suppliers CD-ROM from 2,000 suppliers. It costs splashes, but for the price of a navigate. The main interface is more than a collection of stills thus neglecting a key advantage everything. Great Artists is a good intro- “I’m looking for a V.34 modem anywhere from £95 to £270, dinner at l’Escargot it ought to a scrolling collage of Dylan peppered with multimedia of electronic media. Great Artists is an educa- duction, although they will but I can’t afford to spend more depending on how often you be more than a mere cookbook. memorabilia. Click on the har- hot-spots. It is redeemed by the Highway 61 Interactive is a tional package for children quickly grow out of it. If you than £200.” “When did you last want it updated; corporate Arome Interactive has tried monica, for example, and our sheer quantity of archive mate- hybrid Windows and Macin- aged 10 upwards. Its strength want virtual access to the review a Bloggs machine?” licenses are also available. to address the problem with hero plays it for you. Tickets rial, truly a feast for Dylan fans. tosh disc, created primarily by lies in an enlargement facility National Gallery, it will have “Can you suggest some It’s a very useful tool but it discs that it guarantees will and backstage passes take you But is this an adventure the Apple Media Kit and using which is invaluable if you are to be Art Gallery, even if you medium-sized PC manufactur- isn’t the answer to every prob- revive a dead duck à l’orange. to concert events, while a guitar game, light entertainment, or Quicktime technology. System studying technique, as you can end up feeling myopic. ers here in Manchester I could lem as it only indexes products The first two titles in its Art de leads to a database of over 300 an archive for researchers into demands are heavy — realisti- see the brushwork and the Adele Dyer ask for a quote?” These are the that have been reviewed, and it la Table series — The Four Sea- songs with full lyrics. Dylan’s poetic genius? It strad- cally a 50MHz 486 with 8Mb. detailing. However, the facility Great Artists kinds of questions we get every can only search by name of sons of Gourmet French Cui- What the publicity calls a dles all three categories while On the Mac, 8Mb and a screen reduces the number of images Contact Attica Cybernetics day here at PCW, and they product, category or supplier. sine and The Art of Making “hyper-realistic 3-D environ- not fully meeting the needs of capable of thousands of colours that can be stored, and only a 01865 791346 aren’t easy to answer. It doesn’t contain reviews, Great Pastry — are more like ment” is not one that any self- any. For example, the database is required. few can be seen in close-up. For Price £49.95 Until recently, the first either, only page references to cookery masterclasses. Each respecting games programmer of lyrics can be searched only Tim Anderson example, there are five of Van Rating ● ● ● ❍❍ source of information we them, so unless you have back contains 100 recipes supported

610 611 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 PCW ● MEDIA

want to add panache to your ing British multimedia devel- are indexed by keyword, but dinner party, I can’t help feel- oper, has branched out into this you can’t hear a thing without ing you’d learn more from business with ResourceBank, a paying out. And because these watching Junior Masterchef. disc indexing more than 15,000 are clips from high class outfits The illustrations are only in photographs, 3,000 pieces of like LucasFilm, Warner Broth- 256 colours – a disappoint- artwork, 20,000 sound effects ers and Universal Studios, they ment when you’ve shelled out and 600 musical themes. Seems don’t come cheap. You buy for a graphics card which can like the bargain of a lifetime? them in collections costing handle millions – and the Well, the key word here is between £300 and £935. QuickTime movies are low-res “index”. What you are buying Although the packaging

CUTTING EDGE and limited to a small corner of is no more than a vast comput- seems to suggest that video the screen. And the discs are erised catalogue: your small clips and maps would be part slow, even on a standard dou- investment doesn’t buy you the of the index, they are not yet ble-speed drive – you could rights to use any of these files. available. The disc will be fast-forward a VHS cookery You have to send off an order to updated between two and four tutorial in the time it takes to Andromeda; the minimum times a year, and the second by QuickTime demos of every- load one of the movies. value is £300, so only serious disc should have both. thing from chopping basil and It’s nice to see discs that use business users need apply. Andromeda is not stopping coring an apple (yes, really) to most of the 650Mb available on As a catalogue it works quite at CD-ROM distribution for its melt-in-your-mouth choux CD-ROM, but there’s little here well: the interface is easy to use archives, either. It expects to buns. that you can’t get from a good and the material is well put the same collection online The search engine is pretty book or video or, for that mat- indexed. Having found what on the Web at www.androm- thorough. The interface is intu- ter, a Prue Leith masterclass. itive enough and you can For my money, I’d rather have search for recipes according to a disc that handles the washing ingredients, techniques, alpha- up afterwards instead. betically, or, in the case of Four Nicky Glatter Seasons, the time of year. You Contact GEM Distribution can print the recipe, plus a 01279 822800 shopping list and list of uten- Price £39.95, PC and Mac sils, so you don’t even need a Rating ● ● ● ❍❍ computer at home: you can plan your dinner party during a Resourcebank dull moment at the office. re you planning to pro- Usefully, in each Four Sea- Aduce a newsletter, a pre- sons recipe there’s an indica- sentation or perhaps even a tion of the cost, cooking and multimedia CD-ROM of your preparation time and the own? Arranging the text is degree of complexity. There are easy, but producing pictures recommendations for wine to and sounds can be a headache. accompany your meal (all Andromeda Interactive, a lead- French, of course) and you can you want, the software makes it Resourcebank’s pictures adjust the ingredients accord- You too could whip up a cake easy to assemble a “shopping are extensively indexed, ing to the number of people that looks this good, but it list” which you can then print but how can you be sure you’re entertaining. But if you would help to have your PC in out and post or even email to you have what you want if the kitchen with you [email protected] the thumbnails are so .uk. What you get back is a CD- small? This is taking anti- ROM full of JPEG format images piracy measures too far and/or an audio CD containing the music you ordered. eda.co.uk where you will be As far as I could see, all the able to browse through it for pictures and illustrations on free (though you will still have offer are of high commercial to pay for your phone calls). quality. They cost between £15 If you don’t mind spending and £120 apiece; all the ones I a few hundred pounds to make viewed cost £30. Regrettably, in your presentation look right, order to protect them from this CD may help you find just theft, the thumbnails of the what you were looking for. images on the CD are occasion- David Brake ally so small that you can’t tell Contact Andromeda Interactive what you are ordering. 0181 977 9132 The situation with the Price £19.95 sound clips is even worse: they Rating ● ● ● ● ❍

612 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 PCW ● FUN CUTTING EDGE PCW ● FUN

● Wonderful pictures — but beating kids! How times have changed Kids’ tuf CUTTING EDGE S f Parenthood is fraught with problems, not least being when and how to explain how babies get into a mummy’s tummy. Paul Begg looks at the facts of life, plus the and lesson structure. The extensive docu- I like the disk because when the images National Curriculum, a sneaky egg mentation and exercises are in a large, are converted to .BMP files they make sturdy ring binder and slip case. some of the best Windows wallpaper thief and a KidBoard for bored kids. around, but they can also be used as roy- The National Curriculum alty-free illustrations in non-commercial I mentioned that The Facts of Life covered publications such as in-house journals, t’s been another tough either. The Facts of Life is a Key Stages 3 and 4 of the National Cur- club newsletters, parish magazines and Imonth. So much brilliant new CD-ROM produced by a riculum. But what is the National Cur- so on. software has piled up next to consortium that includes a riculum? Most people seem to know that my desk that it’s been difficult team from the London Hospital it’s some sort of guide for teachers, but lit- Chadwick and the Sneaky Egg Thief to know where to start. And not Medical College, who pro- The National Curriculum as a straightforward way, with tle else. Well, the revised National Cur- Chadwick is the latest addition to the just software either: hardware vided the text and glossary plain ASCII text is here being extensive use of audio, graph- riculum for England and Wales is organ- growing range of multimedia titles dis- manufacturers are beginning to and, under the guidance of read in Microsoft Word ics and animation, as well as ised on the basis of four key stages (which tributed in the UK by Guildsoft and it realise that computer users Professor JG Grudzinskas, still photographs. are defined precisely in section 3(3-6) of comes from a new company called start young and little hands acted as editorial advisors from Femidom to the Terrence There’s a glossary of short the Education Reform Act 1988, as KnowWare. I have to say, it’s a great little don’t always manage to use a supervising the medical illus- Higgins Trust. explanations of general sex amended by the Education Act 1993) and program and KnowWare hasn’t missed a full-size keyboard or mouse as trations, diagrams and pho- This is obviously a serious education related words and each stage applies to children in particu- trick in making Chadwick an entertaining easily as grown-ups. This tographs. Other members of program, treating a difficult terms (including the naughty lar age groups. The stages lay down what program children will want to use time month I’ve taken a look at a the consortium are The subject with care and responsi- and offensive words), some of the children should be studying and indi- and again. keyboard just for kids. First, National Society (the educa- bility. The depth and breadth of which have an audio track that cate what they should have learned by a The 20-page story is about a young though, sex. tional wing of The Church of coverage is extensive. There are lets you hear the correct pro- certain age. dinosaur called Chadwick who searches Sex education is a tough England), Projection Visual three sections: The Facts, nunciation. What I especially So, okay, the National Curriculum is a with his friends for a missing egg. The topic for parents and teachers Communications and Interac- which is subdivided into three liked about this CD-ROM was guide for teachers, but it’s also for parents. story is aimed at children in the 3-8 age and it isn’t easy for children tive Learning Productions. The sections, Reproduction, Health, the way it was possible for a If you want to supplement your child’s group, though I’d suggest its appeal will professional advice and expe- and Growing Up; Your Life, child or young adult to learn education, read it. Now you can get all 11 be to the lower end of that range, and it’s The Facts of Life treats a rience of a large number of with nine sections — Preg- more about sexual topics that subjects of the National Curriculum in told in a simple cartoon drawn by award- tricky subject with individuals and organisations nancy, Abuse, Relationships, they might otherwise be embar- ASCII text on a 3.5in disk from HMSO winning Disney animator Mike Bailey. intelligence were also called upon, ranging Sex and the Law, Sex, Culture, rassed to ask about, and I was Electronic Publishing. What makes Chadwick different is that My Sexuality, My Body, Myths; especially impressed with the I also received from HMSO Electronic your child can colour the cartoons with an and Other People, which con- various case histories designed Publishing a curious little disk that is a on-screen crayon, paintbrush or marker tains 20 male and female case not only to help children delight. Called Cocoa and Corsets, it’s a pen. There are quite a few simple-to-use studies ranging from 13-21 understand, but also to explore selection of Victorian advertising and but powerful drawing tools. You can fill years. Each section contains sexual feelings and experi- commercial art from the Public Record (fill a character or object with the selected further subsections. For exam- ences. The icon taking you Office collection. The pictures and accom- colour) or scribble, create effects with pat- ple, Abuse has a general directly to a database of useful panying explanatory text have been cho- terns and stamps, lighten a colour, erase descriptive introduction with telephone numbers and organi- sen for use by teachers of Social History, and undo. And once you have the cartoon highlighted hypertext links to sations is a good idea. Media Studies and Graphic Art, and coloured, you can print it out. related topics, and then five This is a responsible CD- specifically chosen to fulfil the require- A nice but not an original idea, you subsections or chapters cover- ROM intended for schools — it ments of Attainment Target 3 at Key may think. But that’s only part of what ing Sexual Harassment, Mali- covers Key Stages 3 and 4 of the Stages 2 and 3 of the National Curriculum. can be done with Chadwick. Below the cious Phone Calls, Rape, Sexual National Curriculum — but The images, which date from 1879 to 1912 cartoon is text that the child can read or Abuse, and Abuse Stories. All also affordable by parents. A and number about 100, will also be useful can have narrated (one of the voices is the sections are detailed and to Teacher Custom setup enables for anyone taking A-Level Art History and June Foray who provided a voice in The my unprofessional eye give you to provide access that’s in degree-level Art and Graphic Design Flintstones TV series). Or you can click on sensible advice in a clear and line with sex education policy courses. characters and objects in the cartoon to

614 615 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 PCW ● FUN

make something happen. You Negotiating The Crystal Maze intended to help children can also display and hear the become familiar with the name of every character and ● Aztec alphabet, the keyboard, and object in the picture. This helps Zone: the PC computer operation. The easi- a child build a vocabulary and game is est game is Letter Rap. Kick learn how to spell (although pretty Ball and Clown Bounce the pronunciations and faithful to become progressively more spelling are American). And as the TV challenging, and the games a final treat, once the story has series talk, squawk, sing and ping. been coloured you can go to the I liked the idea of the colour-

CUTTING EDGE movie theatre to watch the car- ing to indicate left and right- toon — coloured as you have hand keys and this led me to chosen and with your name in look at the Microsoft Natural the credits! Keyboard, on which the right and left keys are even more The Crystal Maze ● Arrrggghhh! clearly defined. Siobán is get- One of my daughter’s favourite One thing is ting to grips with this and I’ll TV programmes was The Crys- certain: you’ll have her report soon. Other- tal Maze on Channel 4. Siobán play The wise, she liked having her own wasn’t alone, of course. In fact, Crystal Maze keyboard and thought the Kid- so many kids liked The Crystal over and over Board was fun. Grownups Maze that Chatsworth Televi- again might find it a bit bilious and sion, who made the series, did not worth the bother of having some special kids-only to change for a more conven- episodes. Siobán also devel- tional keyboard in those brief oped a passion for a Crystal moments they can get the fam- Maze game we discovered in an ily computer to themselves. amusement arcade. She was PCW Details determined to beat the various puzzles and I thought at the it follows the theme of the TV challenge in the Crystal Dome. The Facts of Life time that a version for the PC series. You choose six players What I got to see of The Price £109 would be a great idea. It would from a choice of 12. You have Crystal Maze was good. And it Contact Projection Visual be great because like the TV to choose them with care doesn’t have to be played alone Communications programme, it forces you to because each player has differ- — up to six can play. And 0171 250 1706 look at problems and consider ent strengths and weaknesses, while I haven’t had much time Fax 0171 251 5957 Rating ★★★★✰ solutions before taking any making them more or less to examine it myself, Siobán action; because it would help adept at solving certain puz- isn’t showing any signs of bore- The National Curriculum develop keyboard skills; and zles. There are four zones: dom — which is a good sign. Price £25 (inc VAT) for all because it would keep Siobán Aztec, Ocean, Futuristic and subjects Rating ★★✰✰✰ quiet for a while — and any- Medieval. Each contains a dif- KidBoard Cocoa and Corsets thing that keeps Siobán quiet is ferent set of challenges and the A bit on the garish side, Kid- Price £35 (inc VAT) a prized possession in my challenges themselves fall into Board is a full-size, fully-func- Contact HMSO Electronic house. four types: mental, physical, tional 101-key keyboard for Publishing 01603 695550 Now there is a Crystal Maze skill and mystery. kids aged three and up. The Fax 01603 696501 game. From Sherston Software, Players can be “locked in”, housing is made of heavy-duty Rating ★★★✰✰ just as on TV. To release the plastic, and there’s also a built- Chadwick and the Sneaky Chadwick doesn’t miss a player you sacrifice a crystal in wrist and hand wrest. The Egg Thief trick to keep the boredom and five seconds off the time number keys are red, letter keys Price £29.95 factor to a minimum you have to complete the final and Enter are Blue, F keys and Contact Guildsoft everything else, including the 01752 895100 number keypad, are yellow. Fax 01752 894833 Above the letters on the letter Rating ★★★★✰ keys are little pictures. The pic- The Crystal Maze tures coloured yellow are left- Price £34 hand keys and the letter keys Contact Sherston Software with red characters are right- 01666 840433 hand keys. Fax 01666 840048 Rating ★★✰✰✰ This colouring is to aid the purpose of KidBoard, namely to KidBoard help children to identify letters Price £99 and locate them on the key- Contact AKO 0181 446 0666 Fax 0181 446 0666 board. To this end it comes Rating ★★★✰✰ with three simple games

616 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 PCW ● COMPETITION CUTTING EDGE PCW Competitions

We’ve got two Aztech Music Multimedia Kits up for grabs this month complete Software Multimedia Kits with the WaveRider 32 Have you ever fancied yourself as a hot sound card, double-speed music producer but don’t know the first CD-ROM drive, powered speakers and software. The WaveRider 32 walked away thing about music? If so, Circle with the Editor’s Choice award for best all-round sound card in our April group test. It Elements could be right up your street. has a 2Mb WaveTable synth for compatibility with General MIDI and Yamaha’s Each of the two CD-ROMs contain over OPL3 chipset for AdLib. 1,000 professionally recorded samples The CD-ROM drive is compatible with CD-i and MPEG standards, and can of guitar riffs, keyboard sequences, accommodate audio CDs. To get you started, the package includes ten CD titles vocals and drum loops. All you need is a including The New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia and Macromedia Action. sound card and a good ear for what The WaveRider 32+ Multi- sounds good. media kit is a steal at just £299 The Circle software lets you load any — the cost of the software Element, say, a drum beat, and combine alone. To win one, simply tell us it with guitar, bass and brass-section to what IDE stands for. Is it: produce anything from a five-second (a) Integrated Disk Electronics; jingle to a complete five-minute song. (b) Intelligent Disk Electronics; The first CD, Intergalactic, has sam- (c) Integrated Drive Electronics; ples of analogue instruments, synthe- (d) Integrated Digital Electronics? sised effects, robot voices and stacks of Please send your entry to the percussion. The second disc, Planet address at the bottom of the Earth, has everything from thunder page, or telephone 0839 storms and restaurant atmospheres 777722 to leave your answer. through to gospel choirs. Thanks to Time + Space, we have ten sets of Circle Elements to give away. To win a copy simply answer the follow- ing question correctly and send it to us Microsoft hardware before 30th June 1995 or call 0839 777722 to leave your answer. Microsoft’s Natural Keyboard is the touch-typist’s dream. It’s Each CD usually costs £29.95 or ergonomically designed for maximum comfort, and its angled £49.95 for the two from Time + Space split keyboard reduces the risk of RSI. Microsoft has given on 01442 870681. us four Natural Keyboards to give away along with 10 stylish Q: At what sampling rate is CD-audio Home Mice. The first four correct entries out of the bag will recorded at? win the Natural Keyboard and Home Mouse; six runners-up a) 18kHz b) 22.05kHz c)44.1kHz will each receive the Home Mouse. d)48kHz To enter, simply tell us who is the President and CEO of Microsoft. Is it: a) Bill Sykes b) Bill Gates c) Steve Jobs d) Steve Davis

How to enter You can enter all three competitions by placing your answers on a postcard or the back of an envelope. Entries should be sent to: June Competitions, Personal Computer World, 32-34 Broadwick Street, London W1A 2HG. All entries by post to arrive by 30th June 1995. Alternatively, call 0839 777722 to leave your answers. Competition entries made by telephone will be charged at 39p per minute cheap rate and 49p at all other times.

Rules of entry The competition is open to all readers of Personal Computer World except for employees, and their families, of VNU Business Publications, Aztech, Time + Space Interactiv, and Microsoft. All entries to arrive no later than 30th June 1995. The Editor ofPCW is the sole judge of the competition and his decision is final. No cash alternative is available in lieu of prizes.

619 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 PCW ● FUN CUTTING EDGE

The 1995 ECTS screenplayNEWS Awards ondon’s Kensington Roof Gardens was Lthe site for the announcement of the all important 1995 European Computer Trade Show [ECTS] Awards to the games and multi- media entertainment industry. This year's winners were as follows:

BBC Live & Kicking Viewers Award The Lion King Game of the Year (Powerplay/Germany) Magic Carpet Game of the Year (Micro Mania/Spain ) Doom II Game of the Year (Zeta & game Power/Italy Donkey Kong Country Game of the Year (High Score & Micro Bitti/Scandinavia ) Doom II Game of the Year (Joystick/France) Magic Carpet Game of the Year (Power Unlimited/Benelux) Donkey Kong Country Origin wings its way to Mac The WIRED Award/USA Doom II The LOGIN Award/Japan Wing Commander III Developer of the Year Bullfrog ontinuing the fight against the dark forces of the Kilrathi, Origin’s Super Marketing Award CWing Commander II is set to hit the Mac. This enhanced CD-ROM edition Virgin Interactive Entertainment of the classic PC shoot ’em up boasts 256-colour 3D graphics and has 68K and Software Publisher of the Year Electronic Arts PowerMac code on the same disc. Innovation Award Bullfrog In keeping other games in the series, and just about everything else, Super Best Edutainment Microsoft Encarta Wing Commander II casts the player as a space pilot fighting alien invaders. Video Game of the Year Donkey Kong Country The aim is to progress through the ranks, complete increasingly challenging Computer Game of the Year Magic Carpet missions, and get your hands on some of the best hardware in the galaxy. Hardware Award 3DO Super Wing Commander II will cost £49.99 and is published by Electronic Most Original Title Magic Carpet Arts on 01753 549442. Faster than a silver bullet

NovaLogic, author of the bestselling Comanche combat simulation, has announced Werewolf vs Comanche — a first in multiplayer PC software. Two full games in one package, this new title allows users to fight head to head in American or Russian and attack helicopters across a modem or network. Thanks to the company's new Voxel Space technolo- gy, battles are fought over highly realistic terrain (as you can see in the accompanying screenshots). Each simulation has been designed to handle like the real thing, and missions can played standalone if desired. To cap it all there’s also a option for up to eight co-opera- tive users — four Werewolf pilots can take on four Comanche ones. Werewolf vs Comanche is due for release in May 95. NovaLogic is on 0171 607 9707

621 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 PCW ● FUN PCW ● FUN CUTTING EDGE

There's only one word for the environments LucasArts has Screenplay designed — stunning hope that when you restart you won’t have to fight your way through clouds of stormtroop- ers all over again. One last warning: Doom had

CUTTING EDGE its share of puzzles, but they Dark Forces tended to be fairly straightfor- ward. The puzzles in Dark Essentially Doom on board the Forces require more lateral Death Star, this game impressed thinking. If you enjoy the kinds of convoluted puzzles which David “Darth” Brake for its music, often turn up in adventure visuals and attention to detail, yet games, fine; but if you are in it was ultimately something of a for the mayhem and bloodshed you may end up frustrated. disappointment... System Requirements: 486DX/33 ark Forces undoubtedly of a Heads Up Display which allows international obsession, and it position at certain pre-set rest of us who have to “dip in” highly recommended, 8Mb RAM, has some striking simi- you to see the map of where you have has only 14 levels — large ones, points in each mission. This is to a game over a lunch hour or 3.5Mb hard disk space, CD-ROM D drive. A Mac version should be larities to Id Software's record- been while still keeping your eyes out it’s true, but still less than half fine for those players who can for an hour or so after work. If available shortly. ● For breaking Doom. Anyone who for new dangers. of the number you get with give themselves over wholly to you can’t figure out a way Price: £42.54 has played Doom (and there The scenery in Dark Forces is just a Star Doom II. It also lacks a Save fea- a game for a weekend or two, around a particular problem, Contact: Virgin Entertainment can’t be many serious PC as atmospheric as that in Doom, and Wars fan it's ture — instead, it will save your but it makes it difficult for the you have to quit the game and Interactive 0181 960 2255 gamers who haven't by now) better detailed — not surprising when much more should find it easy to get to you consider that the game is CD- satisfying to kill Wars is a great deal more emotionally grips with this new game. Both ROM-only and contains upwards of stormtroopers involving than Doom’s fantasies could Descent. There are walls and to orient yourself against. titles are first-person-perspec- 70Mb of data. There are plenty of than Doom’s flying possibly be. Descent doors, but as there is no gravity Rooms can and often do have tive shoot ’em ups (though Dark interesting surprises, like a sewer you eyeballs... Despite all of these advantages, there are no “floors” or “ceilings” doors in every wall, and ene- Forces places more emphasis wade through with a perceptible cur- though, Dark Forces is something of a ... as was Descent, yet another mies can spring out of any of on puzzles) and the default key- rent which tugs you around, and some ● The levels can be disappointment. Its improved tech- ● The scenery is impressive but them to attack you. To defend board layouts are similar. But jokes to reward those who explore lev- very complex and nology comes at a price — it requires a variation of Doom, but this time the flying robots aren't very yourself you have the usual each has its advantages and dis- els thoroughly, like a stormtroopers’ detailed. As well as minimum of 8Mb RAM and CD-ROM in three dimensions. Again, David exciting. They're polygon-based, assortment of weapons — advantages. urinal. Whereas Doom’s plot is rudi- this full-screen map drive, which will put it out of reach of not bitmapped, and shooting a some guns, several kinds of While Doom's game engine mentary at best, Dark Forces has ani- view you can have many players. It lacks the network Brake thought it looked and creature or person is much missile, and mines. is more than a year old, Dark mated cut scenes between each mis- the map floating in play features which boosted Doom sounded great, but it never quite more... well... personal than a The music is excellent and Forces’ is right up to date, and sion, and the familiar world of Star front of your face from a superior shoot ’em up to an matched the excitement of the flying blob the environments are nicely it incorporates a number of technical improvements that original. Doom players have been crying out for. It allows you to look (and shoot) up and down as well as left and right. It also lets you crouch or jump, although many times you will still find escent can be summed yourself able to see a hole big Dup in one phrase — enough to fit you that you can’t Doom in three dimensions. enter. There are nine basic There is a plot but it's pretty weapons available, and several meaningless. What it boils of them have two different down to is you flying a space- modes of operation (giving craft through a succession of even more variety). Best of all, mazes, shooting at robots or up you aren’t limited to direct-fire to four fellow human players. weapons — you can also find The importance of the and use grenades and mines for three-dimensional element killing stormtroopers and other cannot be overstated. Even the riff-raff without coming into most experienced Doom play- their line of fire. A minor but ers may find themselves floun- welcome touch is the addition dering when they go to play

622 623 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 PCW ● FUN

rendered, but you'll need a ● Descent’s map is nice to look pretty hefty machine to play it at, but difficult to learn how to properly. The manufacturers use unless you naturally think recommend a 486DX/33, but in three dimensions some players on our network felt that a 66MHz 486DX2 was You then have 30 seconds to sometimes annoyingly jerky. get to the exit (usually close by When playing against the but hard to find) and escape computer, the objective of the before the reactor blows up. A game is to fly around the mazes map is created as you fly along

CUTTING EDGE — there are 30 in all — dodging which you can refer to, but or destroying guard robots and since it is in three dimensions destroying a central “reactor”. it can be rather difficult to

Charts

PC 1 Disc World Psygnosis 2 Dark Forces Virgin 3 Star Trek Final Unity Demo Microprose 4 Star Trek Interactive Ablac 5 Descent Interplay 6 Theme Park EA 7 Wing Commander 3 EA 8 Alone in the Dark 3 Interplay 9 Little Big Adventure EA 10 Doom II Virgin interpret. Despite playing the then you will tire of it. Part of game for hours I was still the problem is that you can kill MAC unable to use the map effec- your opponent too quickly — 1 Marathon (CD) EA tively, and you can't move you can wander the mazes 2 Stalingrad US Gold around while viewing the looking for other players for 3 SimCity 2000 Maxis map, so you have to try to hold several minutes, then when at 4 Myst EA it in your head as you go along. last you meet it's all over in a 5 Links Pro Golf Access Although there are lots of quick flurry of blaster bolts. 6 Peter Gabriel Xplora (CD) Real World different opponents, weapons 7 Flying Nightmares (CD) Domark and levels, playing the game System Requirements: 486DX/33 8 SimCity Classics Mindscape by yourself can get tedious and with 8Mb RAM recommended, 9 3D Atlas EA repetitive after a while. If you 15Mb of free hard disk space. Mac 10 Another World Kixx are lucky enough to have a net- version due this summer work to play across, this makes Price: £39.99 it more appealing, but even Contact: Interplay 01235 821666

Leisure Lines

Brainteasers and sheep. Altogether, he Winner of March 1995 Prize extra-large envelope is not courtesy of JJ bought 47 animals. The Puzzle prohibited, but it doesn’t alter number of pigs exceeded Not quite as good a response your chance of winning since Clessa. the number of cows by as to our musical prize puzzle as the selection is done by gener- Quickie many sheep as he could we would have hoped, ating a random number R A man arranges to pay off a have bought for £9. although the entries came within the range 1 to N where debt of £3,600 by 40 annual The question is: how from all over the place, includ- N is the number of entries. The instalments which form an many animals of each kind ing India, Oman, Helsinki, card in Rth position gets the arithmetic series. When 30 of did he buy? Mauritius, Belgium and Brad- prize (assuming it has the cor- the instalments have been Answers on a postcard or ford. Just over 100 replies rect answer). paid, the man dies leaving a the back of a sealed enve- came in, most of them However, those cards third of the original debt lope — no letters and no correctly deducing that which come in with Harrogate unpaid. What was the value of floppy disks, please. Send ELGAR wrote the chorale. The spelt as HARROWGATE are the first instalment? to: Personal Computer winner picked at random was automatically disqualified (if World Prize Puzzle — June Ms CJ Archer of Beeston, you don’t know why, ask any This Month’s Prize Puzzle 1995, P.O. Box 99, Harro- Notts. Nice one, CJ, your prize Yorkshireman!). Not too difficult this month. A gate, N Yorks HG2 0XJ, to is on its way. Usual message to all the farmer spent three equal sums arrive no later than 20th By the way, as a point of also-rans — keep trying, it of money in buying cows, pigs June 1995. general interest, the use of an could be your turn next.

624 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 HANDS ON

Hands On Contents

OPERATING SYSTEMS Windows 628 Tim Nott continues his spring cleaning, Hardly a month goes by without a change to Hands tightening up his Windows subdirectory and On. Regular readers will have noticed the change in releasing a few extra megabytes. the title of Tim Anderson’s Visual Basic column. The Microsoft product used to be so dominant that it justified its own section, but recent developments DOS 632 make the Visual Programming tag more appropriate. Wondering how to back up batch files or make We could have called it RAD (Rapid Application the most of the elusive Winstart? Only Simon Development) but that’s too much of a mouthful. Collin has the answers. Also new (or newish) to Hands On is our Beginners section, now written by Eleanor Turton-Hill. PCW is the sort of computer magazine 32-Bit 634 that a lot of absolute beginners find a mite tricky Chris Bidmead has a peek at Portage, Awk, and Beginners sets out to put that right. and Robert the window cleaner. Hands On remains the place where readers can contribute to PCW, and as always we’ll pay for any- APPLICATIONS thing we use. Macros, sections of code and hints Word Processing 638 and tips will be rewarded with a £20 book or record So what exactly have Lotus and Novell been token (please say which you’d prefer) and we’ll pay up to? Tim Phillips, detective extraordinaire, hard cash for longer, more involved pieces. Please investigates. include relevant screenshots in GIF format. All submissions should be emailed to the author of the appropriate section or snailmailed to Hands Spreadsheets 642 On, Personal Computer World Editorial, VNU House, Stephen Wells shows how to get the most from 32-34 Broadwick Street, London W1A 2HG. arrays, and offers a financial analysis template. Questions and short hints and tips can be faxed on 0171 316 9313. Databases 646 Mark Whitehorn carries on with his look at relational database management systems. Numbers Count 674 Smarandache, permutations, class/student Graphics & DTP 650 allocation... just another day for Mike Mudge. Gordon Laing explains the ins and outs of histograms, and explores Quark’s latest plans. AND THE REST... Networks 676 Multimedia 656 Stephen Rodda finally installs Carbon Copy, Want to spice up your presentations? Take a and gives the thumbs up to SoftWindows. look at Asymetrix’s 3D F/X, says Karl Dunkerley. Macintosh 680 Sound 660 Chris Cain looks at the long-awaited System Steven Helstrip demonstrates how to get hip 7.5 Update 1.0, and brings the latest from the drum sounds from your setup, courtesy of loops. world of Mac.

PROGRAMMING Computer Answers 684 Visual Programming 662 Frank Leonhardt provides his usual forum for Clarion for Windows, Visual Basic, Borland’s your PC problems, hints and tips. database engine vs Microsoft’s Jet — it’s all in this month’s offering from Tim Anderson. Beginners 686 New to the weird and wonderful world of the Low Level 666 PC? Eleanor Turton-Hill takes you through the Mike Liardet, PCW gamer-in-residence, shark-infested waters. extends the mini-max method to Go-Moku, a two-person VB game.

627 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● WINDOWS HANDS ON ● WINDOWS

look at your fonts. It’s amazing how the list of installed fonts can grow without the user ever doing anything to help it. Windows starts off with a set of screen fonts in .FON files: MS Serif and Sans Serif, Courier, Symbol and Small fonts. These are needed, and if they are Clean up your act deleted, strange things happen to your dia- logue boxes, help files Mouldy old files gathering dust in your Windows and icons. Certain applications will install Parse that regular expression over here... subdirectory? Defunct drivers? Orphaned fonts? more, and generally speaking the host application won’t run properly (if at all) mouldy in the Windows or System subdi- Last month Tim Nott began clearing the cobwebs without them. Obviously, if you no longer rectories? The trouble is, you never really from his hard disk; this month he continues by use the host application they can go. The know what is used by which — if at all, if easiest method is to use Control you see what I mean. Old .INI files are freeing up a few megabytes. Panel/Fonts to remove them, with the fairly easy to recognise. If the name Delete Form Disk option checked. Unless doesn’t ring a bell, opening them in you have a plotter installed, or use one of Notepad should give some clue. ast month, we started spring clean- variable and DOSPRMPT.PIF must all the rare drawing packages that can’t use Although these files are usually tiny, Ling the hard disk by freeing “lost point to the remaining copy. If neither of TrueType, you can give Roman, Modern getting rid of any unnecessary files is a clusters”, deleting old temporary files and the first two figure explicitly in and Script the elbow. Although they take Good Thing. Even a one-byte file has an backups, getting rid of bits of Windows CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT then up little disk space they’re completely overhead in minimum actual disk space that aren’t used, and doing a search and the drive you boot from (usually C:\) is unnecessary, look ugly, and slow down and directory entry, and fewer files leads destroy on duplicate .DLLs. Another set of assumed. It’s a good idea to make sure the display dramatically. to less fragmentation and thus faster disk duplicates to look out for are DOS files. you have a bootable floppy to hand in case performance. It’s also worth editing For some reason Microsoft seems to alter- you delete the wrong one. FOT chance WIN.INI to get rid of obsolete sections. nate between installing new versions of The DOS directory itself can contain a Turning to TrueType, these fonts all have Although the growing trend is for polite HIMEM.SYS, SMARTDRV.EXE and lot of files you never use. This, however, is two files. One is the small .FOT file listed in applications to have their own .INI files, EMM386.EXE in the DOS and Windows going to vary considerably with both the WIN.INI, which points in turn to the .TTF many still write their own sections to directory, so if you’ve recently installed a version and individual users. It’s also, I’m file that contains the font itself. It’s an awk- WIN.INI, which will have an identifying new version of either DOS or Windows relieved to say, beyond this column’s brief ward and messy arrangement, and you’ll header in square brackets. Look also for you might find these files in both locations. so you’ll have to dig out that manual. Suf- be pleased to hear that Windows 95, at defunct lines in the [Extensions] and Check which set are referred to in CON- fice it to say that you may well be able to least in its current beta, cuts out the mid- [Embedding] sections. Again, though the FIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT, confirm do without the DOS shell, and the more dleman and uses the .TTF files directly. bytes saved may be few, a lean and clean that these are the later versions and delete exotic utilities such as Debug and Windows comes with a basic set of 13 — WIN.INI means Windows loads and runs the duplicates. You might also have a Exe2bin. Remember that anything with a four styles each of Courier, Times, and faster. DOSAPP.INI is also worth a look. It duplicate of COMMAND.COM — usually .DLL or .386 extension will be a Windows Arial, with one of the Wingdings symbols. stores a log of all DOS sessions and, if you one in C:\ and one in C:\DOS. Things get file; others, such as HIMEM.SYS and the You’ll often find that other applications will have the Save Settings option checked in a little tricky here, as the SHELL= line in others mentioned earlier, are essential to come bundled with a stack of TrueType DOS boxes, the window size and font as CONFIG.SYS, the COMSPEC system run Windows. Other essentials might fonts. A polite installation routine will ask if well. It can grow quite large, so if you don’t include DoubleSpace or DriveSpace for you want them; a very polite routine will need to save this delete it regularly. Windows 3.11 File Manager tells you more compressed drives, and Mscdex for CD- ask which ones. The normal thing is to Getting down to the WINDOWS\SYS- ROMs. No PC first-aid kit assume you couldn’t possibly want to turn TEM directory, many support staff feel should be without utilities these freebies down and bung them in this should carry a sign saying: “Danger. such as chkdsk, scandisk, anyway. But bear in mind that not only do Do not open. No user-serviceable parts format, undelete, MSD and these take up disk space, but too many inside.” It is true that tampering herein is defrag. None of these lists fonts slow down Windows. So, once again the best way to bring Windows to its should be regarded as com- looking at my own system, I can find a lot knees, there’s still usually scope for prun- prehensive, however, and that I really don’t need, the Arabic, Japan- ing. If you never use Windows in standard, finally, if you delete QBA- ese and Extended Maths being not so rather than 386 enhanced, mode, then SIC.EXE, the DOS text edi- much typographic as status symbols. With you can get rid of WINOLDAP.MOD, tor EDIT.COM will no longer a few more decorative typefaces that have DOSX.EXE, DSWAP.EXE, KRNL286.EXE, work. never been used, that’s another megabyte WSWAP.EXE and anything with a .2GR reclaimed from the swamp. extension. You may well have some Just pretty faces What about other stuff that has been orphaned TrueType fonts: those which Getting back to Windows, left behind, by long-gone applications or aren’t installed in Control Panel but whose it’s worth taking a long, hard pieces of hardware, and sits growing .TTF files are still on the hard disk. For

628 629 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● WINDOWS HANDS ON ● WINDOWS

every .TTF file there should be a .FOT file go. Don’t, however, delete VGA.DRV: this What the DLL is that? — any without are just taking up space. It’s is an essential part of your Windows first- Files that don’t come with Windows 3.1 but may be used by several applications: also possible, as I’ve just discovered, to aid kit, and when things go wrong, one of have orphaned .FOT files (possibly with a the first things to try is: “Does it work with AAPLAY.DLL, AAVGA.DLL For playing Autodesk Animator (.FLI, FLC) files .TTF in tow). The way to check for this is to the standard VGA driver?” BWCC.DLL Borland 3D dialogue box controls compare the list in WIN.INI with the files DLLs are more difficult, but let’s start CTL3D.DLL Microsoft 3D ditto themselves. Don’t, by the way, assume with some obvious ones. MORICONS.DLL, MSTOOLS.DLL MSDOS 6.0 extensions for File Manager. any unmentioned .FON files are orphans. which actually lives in the WINDOWS MSVIDEO.DLL, AVICAP.DLL For playing Video for Windows (.AVI) files Some, like the System font, are needed by directory, contains nothing but a load of OLE2*.DLL, COMPOBJ.DLL, Object linking and embedding files used by Windows as screen fonts but are not icons designed for use with common DOS STORAGE.DLL, TYPELIB.DLL OLE2-aware applications. installed for general use by applications as applications. Other .DLLs get more diffi- QT*.DLL For playing Apple QuickTime video clips they’re not really suitable for printing. cult. Whereas there are shareware appli- TWAIN.DLL Used by TWAIN-compliant scanners, digital cations that will tell you what .DLLs are in cameras etc Asleep at the wheel memory, or are used by a particular appli- VBRUN*.DLL (*=1,2 or 3) Visual Basic runtime libraries for versions 1, 2 and You may have several screen and printer cation, I’ve yet to find the converse — one 3. Note that these aren’t backwards-compatible drivers doing absolutely nothing, but that will point from the .DLL back to the so you may need all three. again, the problem is which? This is where application. Anything with the same date *.VBX More files used by applications written in Visual the detective work starts. To start with, any as the main Windows is fairly likely to be Basic .DRV file not listed in WIN.INI or SYS- essential and others may well be in use by TEM.INI is not currently installed. Look in more than one application; see the table This makes it a lot faster, although bear in of 1.27Mb, I have to admit it’s good. So the [devices] and [printer ports] sections of for a list of the more common ones. Cre- mind that other directories, such as good, in fact, that it could put columns like WIN.INI for installed printer drivers, but ation dates are often a useful clue to the MSAPPS, can contain common files which this out of business, as it does nearly note the filenames are given without the parents of a doorstep-abandoned .DLL, as may be augmented or changed. Unlike everything I’ve mentioned in these two .DRV extension. The current installed is the extended Attributes command avail- Inctrl, which is standalone, Inst-all needs months automatically. screen driver is to be found in the [Boot] able in the Windows for Workgroups 3.11 some DLLs and a .VBX file. These may CleanSweep will look for duplicates, section of SYSTEM.INI, against the entry File Manager, which gives further informa- already be on your system so read the and indeed it found some 1.8Mb that had “display.drv”. tion on a file’s origins. Note that this isn’t as readme file carefully. Anyway, you should accumulated here since last month’s Having found an orphaned .DRV file, always as helpful as it might be, as many find both on this month’s CD-ROM. purge. It will look for files that you may the first task is to try and identify its applications come with .DLLs written by never use, including old .TMP and .CHK antecedents. The first place to look is in Borland, say, or Microsoft. If you don’t Get a GREP files as well as archive, help and picture the sprinkling of *.inf files that live in the have this facility, loading the file into a file Having the information for each applica- files. A tabbed dialogue box leads to a SYSTEM directory. Windows’ own instal- viewer or Windows Write will usually tion installed is all very well, but getting at variety of possible redundant system com- lation uses SETUP.INF and others, usu- unearth some clues: look for copyright it is a different matter. What you need, guv, ponents, ranging from redundant display ally OEM*.INF, come from third parties. information near the beginning or end of is a Global Regular Expression Parser, or drivers, through orphaned fonts, system Looking at these, you might find a line the file. With both drivers and .DLLs, Nott’s GREP. This is Unix-speak for a utility that files such as the 286-specific ones men- such as: first law applies: if in doubt, move the file to searches though a stack of files for a tioned earlier, down to wallpaper and ultra = a:ultra.drv, “Win 3.1 a holding directory (or back it up to floppy) sequence of characters; this could turn out screensavers. Finally, it will uninstall appli- ULTRA 1024x768 16/256 Normal” and see if life continues as normal before to be a word, phrase or piece of code. In cations and remove all their WIN.INI refer- which identifies the file ULTRA.DRV with deleting it. this case, should you find the mysteri- ences. It comes with a panoply of safety the display description following. You can The best cure for orphaned files is (he ous ORPHAN.DLL languishing in Win- devices. You can do a dummy run to see then make a decision as to whether or not says smugly) prevention. For the last cou- dows\System, then “grepping” through all how much disk space a particular piece of you still need it. Many display cards have ple of years I’ve always used Neil Rubenk- Inctrl’s or Inst-all’s reports will find those cleaning would gain, back up deleted files different driver files for different resolu- ing’s Inctrl and, indeed, banged on about it that mention this file, thus giving you the in a compressed form, log all its actions tions. If you never use certain resolutions, in this column. It takes before and after chance, if not to finger the owner, at least and opt to confirm each deletion, which is or you’ve replaced the card, the files can snapshots of your hard disk and main .INI to make a short list. You may already have as near as it gets to hard work. files, and saves details of additions and a File Finder in your word processor that It isn’t perfect, and like the advice in this CleanSweep is fast and professional, but changes in a report. I’ve now converted to will do this. If not, then Hugh Millington’s column, needs to be used with some com- not quite as thorough as DIY Jason Ozin’s Inst-all. Like Inctrl, it’s free- Windows Grep 1.6 is the answer. This is monsense. It found a load of files with the ware, but offers the advantage an ocean-going, industrial-grade GREP .PAK extensions that it suggested might that it will recover if the natural with more options than a top-of-the-range be archives; in fact, they were essential order of things is disrupted, for BMW. It’s shareware, costs £10 to regis- parts of a DOS-based game and missed example by a crash or some ter, and is worth a look just for the fun of two whole directories that Claris Works smart-bloody-alec installation playing with it. You will find it on this had installed. It avoids the tricky subject of routine that performs a gratuitous month’s CD and it’s also in the CIX Win- the DOS directory completely and doesn’t restart of Windows. The other dif- dows conference. seem to make any effort to search for ference is that it’s not quite as If you really can’t face any of this, then foundling DLLs. However, it’s a lot faster extensive in its enquiries as Inctrl, fork out forty quid and call in the profes- than the DIY methods I’ve been dis- which searches your entire hard sionals. During that brief period of mar- cussing here. disk. Inst-all confines its attention ginal existence between the deadline for to the WINDOWS and WIN- this column and my joining the ranks of the PCW Contacts DOWS\SYSTEM directories, fig- unemployed, a copy of Quarterdeck’s Tim Nott can be contacted either by uring that stuff dumped CleanSweep landed on my desk. Although post c/o PCW or by email as elsewhere will be fairly obvious. installing it undid the good work to the tune [email protected]

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mand) has been executed. If you use the in particular or is it used by Windows for correct is to use a file manager utility such you’re using Delete Sentry, then as long as /K switch, the new copy of something else? as XTree or PC Tools and look for hidden it’s not too old, the system just moves it COMMAND.COM stays in RAM taking up directories. The File Deletion Sentry cre- back out of the hidden directory. Using extra memory. You can check for the pres- Congratulations! You’ve discovered one of ates a hidden directory. Delete Tracker, the utility checks in the ence of an extra version using the MEM /C the rarer parts of Windows. The Winstart You have two options: either keep the tracking database, and provided you command which lists all resident pro- batch file is used to load programs during File Deletion Sentry — which would be the haven’t already copied another file over grams. To unload the command inter- the Windows startup sequence. It is actu- safest — or downgrade to the lower level the same sections of the disk, your file will preter, just type “EXIT” from the DOS ally supposed to be used to gain extra of security provided by MSDOS 6.0. The be recovered. prompt. memory for DOS applications or to allow lower level deletion protection takes up If you want to conserve hard disk TSRs to use the Windows-managed less space on your hard disk, but isn’t as space, the Delete Tracker system pre- A quick solution extended memory. good at recovering files. sents far less of an overhead: it’s unlikely I use DOS’s quick format option because The logic goes like this: if you have a MSDOS 6.2 has two ways of protecting to grow over 50kb. In fact, you can specify the normal formatting takes too long, but TSR that’s only used by a Windows appli- your files in case you accidentally delete the number of files you want Tracker to Life in the old DOS yet I've been told that this could be danger- cation, then you’re taking up precious DOS them. The first, which you have installed, monitor (you’ll find that 50 files need a 9kb ous. Can I continue to use quick formatting space if you load it before Windows. How- is the Delete Sentry system. This is a TSR file, 100 a 11kb file) up to a maximum of or should I hang around while the normal ever, TSRs loaded after Windows is run- utility which takes up around 13.5kb RAM 999 files. Do this using the /T switch after Down but not out, DOS is still due for a few format is carried out? ning will only run in a DOS session (unless and keeps an eye on what you’re deleting. the UNDELETE command. For example, they’re Windows applications). If you issue a delete command then, to enable Tracker on Drive D: and monitor upgrades later this year. Simon Collin looks briefly To do the quick format you’ve described This is where Winstart comes in. If you instead of deleting the file, it moves it to a a maximum of 100 files, use: at these, and answers your queries on backing up you use the /Q switch after the FORMAT add a line to the Winstart batch file to load hidden directory. The file is kept for a batch files, formatting, and the esoteric Winstart. command, for example: the TSR, then it’s only loaded when you period of time that varies depending on UNDELETE /TD-100 issue the WIN command to start Windows. how many files you delete and how big FORMAT A: /Q This way, you don’t lose memory when in each file is. If your hard disk space is really tight you DOS and your TSR can be used by all Win- If the Sentry directory contains more could make do with no file delete protec- ver the last month there’s been a year ago, so here’s a quick reminder of When DOS is carrying out a quick for- dows programs. than seven percent of the total disk space, tion at all. Just use the Standard method Otrickle of news regarding the ver- the basics for this very useful technique. mat it’s not actually doing very much. For the utility really does delete the oldest file. provided by DOS. There’s no TSR, and sions of DOS scheduled to appear in the The command that starts the debug- example, it doesn’t look through the whole Space needed As you can see, Delete Sentry takes up you don’t lose any disk space. Instead, the near future. Some issues ago, I mentioned ging is, rather surprisingly, COM- disk, nor does it delete any files which Ever since I upgraded my PC to MSDOS RAM and a not inconsiderable amount of undelete utility uses the file’s old data in that when Windows 95 is launched it won’t MAND.COM, the standard DOS might already be on the disk. The quick 6.2 it seems to have lost almost 30Mb of hard disk. the DOS FAT that carries its starting clus- run on top of DOS but will, instead, be an command interpreter. Type in COM- format only clears out the FAT and the root disk space. The PC is a standard 486 with The second option available is the ter. It’s no good if you deleted the file and operating system itself. Windows 95 will MAND and DOS will start up a new copy directory and removes any entries it finds a 400Mb hard disk. Does DOS really take Delete Tracker system. This, too, uses a have since copied a new file onto the same still support DOS programs and still has a of the command interpreter. COMMAND in these areas of the floppy disk. This up this much space these days, or have I TSR (also 13.5kb) that tracks files as you area of the disk, but it’s easy on your reassuring DOS icon. is useful when you consider the options effectively means you cannot access any misconfigured it? delete them. Instead of moving the file to resources. However, MSDOS 7.0, which will be available when you first switch on your data previously stored on the floppy — a hidden directory, Delete Tracker keeps a part of Windows 95, was not scheduled to PC — after the “Starting DOS...” mes- unless you use a disk tool such as PC It sounds as if you’ve installed MSDOS’s note of the file’s starting cluster in a data- PCW Contacts be released as a separate product. Appar- sage you can step through each line of Tools or Norton Utilities. Deletion Sentry software: this, together with base (called PCTRACKER.DEL) and ently, Microsoft has now decided that it will your CONFIG.SYS file using the F8 key. By default, a normal format command the MSDOS files, could easily take up marks the space on the disk which the file Write care of PCW or via email to release DOS 7.0 as a separate product for You can use the same trick with your issued with no switches will store informa- around 30Mb on your size of hard disk. The occupies as available. [email protected] or users who want to upgrade. This will, one batch file if you use the /Y switch. tion on your hard disk about the contents simplest way to check if this diagnosis is If you want to undelete the file and CompuServe 72241,601 hopes, be available at the same time as For example, if you want to check a of the floppy disk that will let you carry out the official release of Windows 95 which is simple batch file called TEST.BAT you a DOS unformat and recover any files still down as August of this year. could just enter TEST at the DOS prompt; which were on the disk. IBM is also working on the next version the command interpreter that was loaded By default, the normal format is a good of its DOS product. There aren’t many when you switched your PC on will exe- choice if you’re not too sure about the details on what will be new in this version, cute the whole of the batch file. Alterna- quality of the floppy disk. A quick format but the Stacker disk compression technol- tively, if you enter the following command: doesn’t carry out any checks to see if there ogy and better memory management will are any bad sectors on the floppy, but if be two of the sections updated. IBM is cur- COMMAND /Y /C TEST.BAT the disk’s old or damaged you could be rently planning to release the new version using an unreliable disk. before this summer, taking some of the DOS will load a second copy of the The third type of format is called an thunder from DOS 7.0. command interpreter and will step unconditional format. This is the exact through each line in the batch file ask- opposite of a quick format: it deletes every Life’s still a batch ing you with a [Y/N] message if you want sector on the disk and, in the process, also I have been trying to get to grips with the to execute this particular line. Once all checks and marks any bad sectors on the more advanced batch files you’ve the lines of the batch file are executed, disk. It’s carried out with the /U switch. But described over the last couple of months, this new, second, command interpreter is watch out — with an unconditional format but find that when I start to make my own unloaded. you lose any files that were on the floppy. changes nothing works. Is there any way For those who want to know a little of debugging a batch file as it’s being more about the /Y switch, it must be used Is Winstart any good? developed? together with either the /C or the /K I run MSDOS 6.0 on my PC but usually use switch. The /C switch I’ve shown above Windows 3.1. On looking through the I covered the subject of how to debug unloads COMMAND.COM from memory directories, I’ve discovered a batch file batch files using existing utilities over a once the batch file (or any other com- called WINSTART.BAT. Is this of any use

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simplest possible mechanism: by piping 4.2. He tells me that he got into Linux OS/2, and it should be out by the time you the output of one into the input of the next. through reading this column and has been read this. Result: “From the earliest days,” says using the GNU C compiler that came with He brought three ThinkPads along to Consensys, “the purposes, methods and his Slackware 2.0 distribution to develop show us how it worked. The new results discovered by Unix users have software. His machine is a 486DX2/66 ThinkPads come with built-in IRDA infra- astonished the creators of the tools.” with 8MBb of memory, a MediaVision red connections, and he claims that if Microsoft’s approach to tools is in sharp sound card and a CD-ROM. And a tape you’re running OS/2 Connect, on a plane contrast. “Time and time again,” says Con- backup drive: Robert doesn’t just like my trip you can bounce IR signals off the ceil- Material world sensys, “they build special-purpose tools column, he takes my advice. ing to network with a colleague sitting six that can at best do exactly the task their So there he was, happily running DOS, rows away. Six rows! Did I hear this Chris Bidmead has been wading through the mass authors conceived for them.” Windows and Linux. And then I thrust aright? But he confirmed: “It’s really cool A salutory distinction. I’m looking for- OS/2 upon him. Was he thrilled? — it works like a champ.” Amazing — and of stuff on his desk and come up with some ward to installing Portage and seeing how “I wasn’t very keen about installing definitely something to try out on my next snippets that might be of interest. There’s the two cultures manage to mix ‘n’ match. Warp because I had obtained a CD-ROM flight. Alas, he couldn’t do this in the IBM Portage, Awk and Robert the window cleaner, version of OS/2 given free on a magazine demo room because the ceiling was too Robert graduates from Windows three months back,” he says. “Having tried high, so he used plain old Token Ring to who sees OS/2 in a very favourable light. I was going to tell you about my window to install it disastrously — I lost all my DOS wire his portables together. cleaner. I don’t want you to walk away with Windows setup...” He concluded, rather Peer-to-peer OS/2 works in the familiar the impression that I hand out software to more restrainedly than I’d have done in the way with a user on one machine being ach month when I clear my desk fascinating package called Portage (pro- all and sundry — manufacturers entrust lit- circumstances, that “OS/2 was not for me”. able to publish selected drives or directo- Eand settle down to write this col- nounce it the French way — it comes from erally tens of thousands of pounds worth However, lured no doubt by the ries so that they can be shared with col- umn, there’s always a mass of material Canada) which adds Unix to Windows NT. of software to me each year and I hope I prospect of international fame as a guinea leagues on the network. By default the that has accumulated since last time — This isn’t just a set of Unix utilities, it’s a full handle it responsibly. But then, Robert pig in this column, Robert bit the bullet. connection protocol is NETBIOS, but you invariably enough to write a complete Unix SVR4 with its own kernel. And it inte- isn’t all and sundry. And I did have this Next time we met I asked: “Installation go can substitute TCP/IP, which is also book. In the past month email discussions grates into Windows NT, so you don’t spare copy of OS/2.... okay?” “No,” he said. bundled. NetWare’s IPX is also in there, about BSD have produced thousands of have to choose whether to run in Unix You’ll have heard how incredibly easy it Robert ran into exactly the same prob- but only as client services for a NetWare words of correspondence about the his- mode or NT mode. is to install the latest version of Warp — lem as I did. Warp probes around to find server, so you can’t use IPX for peer-to- tory of the operating system. The beta ver- What’s the point of this? You can look according to IBM. According to a lot of the interrupts you’re using on devices like peer. Novell, who did the NetWare imple- sion of Object Rexx has finally arrived. An at it two ways. The result is either Win- other people who’ve actually tried the MediaVision sound card, and the, mentation in OS/2 Connect, has always Awk expert has contacted me about the dows NT with Unix, or Unix with Windows installing it, it isn’t. I told you about the throws the information away. Wally Casey been tight-fisted about IPX being used for modest series of Awk lessons I’ve been NT. From the Unix user’s point of view it problems I had with it. It’s an improvement (see below) promises me that this is being anything other than a connection to a giving here, and when I get his permission looks like a very good way of bringing on version 2.11, but how much of an fixed in the new versions of Warp. So I NetWare server, so this comes as no I’ll pass on his (very polite, in the circum- DOS and Windows (with all those low-cost improvement, and how far has IBM got to should hope. surprise. stances) criticisms and suggestions. applications) into the Unix environment. go with this until my grandma can install it? Apart from that little hitch, Robert reck- Wally also introduced the third IBM’s Wally Casey came over to talk Coming at it from the other direction Robert isn’t quite my grandma. He ons he’s now a permanent OS/2 user. ThinkPad as a Lan Server machine to about the new peer-to-peer version of you could say that Windows NT needs comes from Ghana and my grandma “DOS programs work wonderfully,” he demonstrate client-server working. The OS/2, and to cap it all I’m currently writing Unix because something is badly missing. came from Bolton in Lancashire. And my says, and he finds he can run most of his theory is that you should be able to con- this with IBM’s new VoiceType for OS/2, The Consensys people argue that grandma didn’t have a degree in Com- Windows programs without any trouble. nect to any kind of network straight out of which Terence Green reviewed in the April Microsoft did a remarkable job with Win- puter Science at the Polytechnic of Central The Pocket Sound Recorder that comes the box — and this also goes for Windows issue. Obviously I want to give you my dows NT but missed a fundamental lesson London, which happens to be Robert’s with the MediaVision sound card is an for Workgroups. The TCP/IP connection impressions of that too. Oh, and of course from the success of Unix over the past 20 qualification. I had no idea about this until exception, though: it causes a GPF. But gives you something more: a machine there’s my window cleaner... years. The Unix philosopy is to offer gen- one day when we were breaking for coffee he’s impressed by the OS/2 crash-proof- with a modem can share its modem eral-purpose tools that are open-ended in at the same time down in the kitchen he ing. When a Windows app bombs out he across the network. If it’s connected to the Portage for NT their design and don’t attempt to second- suddenly said to me: “I really like your col- can just close down that session without Internet then any other machine on the I’ll try to give you the best of all this over guess how you’re going to use them (and umn, by the way....” affecting the rest of the operating system. network can also get to the Internet the next couple of months. Meanwhile a of course Awk’s a perfect example of this). At the Poly (now the University of West- through that shared modem. Unix vendor, Consensys, has sent me a These tools work together through the minster) Robert had been using Unix BSD Warp gets connected Demos are, well, demos, and I’m not For a long time people have been saying going to let myself get carried away with What’s new in the world of OS/2 that OS/2 isn’t a proper 32-bit operating the wonder of all this until I’ve got it up and Left The new OS/2 system because it doesn’t have built-in running here in my own office. I particu- Warp Connect networking. I’ve been using the OS/2 Net- larly want to try playing video and sound comes with a Ware Requester supplied free by Novell to over the network with the source machine bunch of new join up my OS/2 workstations to my net- also being used to run a Windows applica- features to do with work, but I agree, it all ought to be bun- tion, a directory search, and displaying sharing and dled. And, more importantly, you shouldn’t picture files, all without interrupting the connecting have to dash around between IBM and video or noticeably being slugged itself. If Right SimCity for Novell looking for support. Well, that’s it works for me the way Wally demo’d, I’ll OS/2, one of many being fixed. Wally Casey, IBM’s worldwide let you know — next month, if we’re lucky. offerings on the director of marketing for personal software To make all this clever stuff instantly new IBM CD show- products, dropped in on the UK on his way useful out of the box, IBM also throws in a case, 45 Ways to back from the Cebit exhibition in Hanover cut-down version of Lotus Notes called Get Warping to give a demo of OS/2 Warp Connect. It’s Notes Express. This includes seven pre- the full peer-to-peer implementation of set templates of the kind most commonly

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Fig 1 General form for the Newsbytes input Article: 122 of cix_newsbytes.government I’m not going to lower down. The downside if you don’t the author’s name. That’s what we do with run the “unload” function. The pair of printf some other sillinesses in there that make Newsgroups: cix_newsbytes.government go through all the really need them structurally is that they the catchall, no-pattern line at the bottom: statements print out the header to the out- this wee program of mine somewhat unfit Path: cix.compulink.co.uk!usenet code in detail, but probably slow down the program in opera- {line[++n] = $0} put file and log file, and then we unload the for exposure to the public gaze. From: [email protected] (mat) here are some gen- tion by adding two new pattern tests. This increments the array variable “line” buffer using Awk’s “while” statement. The But it happens to work, and I use it all Subject: Fed Govt Slashes Computer Buys 01/03/95 eral points. Awk has Frankly, the 32-bit version of Awk I’ve and sticks the whole of the current input “{!}” printed is the end of document marker the time. If you don’t like the way some of Message-ID: user-defined func- started using under OS/2 is so much faster line ($0) into it until there aren’t any more I use for my text retrieval system. it looks, fix it and tell me about it. If this col- Organization: Compulink Information eXchange tions which can be than the 16-bit version that I don’t care. input lines. One of the elegances of Awk is Er... then we delete the array with the umn has a message, it’s don’t do as I do, Date: Wed, 4 Jan 1995 10:35:03 GMT called from the body The code creates a log file, cix2std.log, that this bit about “until there aren’t any “for” statement. Coming back to this code don’t even do as I say. Do it for yourself, Approved: by Matthew Sims of the code just as in which is a list of all the new headers that more input lines” is taken care of automat- after about a year, this looks really ugly. your way. But do it. This stuff is exciting... modern versions of have been created, stripped of the body ically, and you don’t have to set up a DO... The array deletion has obviously been WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1995 JAN 3 (NB) — The General Basic. I use these to text. A visual check on this file after the run UNTIL look or check for an error condition. stuck in as an afterthought to fix buffered PCW Contacts Services Administration ...... (try to) keep the is over is a quick ‘n’ dirty way of making Once we have the author’s name and lines being carried over from one News- Chris Bidmead is a consultant and code reasonably sure that things like dates haven’t been we’ve buffered up the whole body of the bytes item to the next. If I’d thought it commentator on advanced technology. (Kennedy Maize/19950103/Press Contact: Anne Marshall, modular and clean. mangled in the input text, which can pro- text, it’s time to start writing it all out. The through properly there would just be a sin- He can be contacted as 202-501-1231) They’re a good way duce serious garbage in your output file. It END pattern is triggered automatically at gle loop, erasing it line by line as each line [email protected] of handling reusable might be more elegant to put the checks the end of each input file, so we use it to is printed. Looking more closely I can see chunks of code, like into the code, but as far as I’m concerned Fig 2: The Awk program used in small businesses, which means the dMony routine. In conjunction with the Awk is much more about quick ‘n’ dirty print ArticleLine you can set up an email system, a com- months assignment that’s one of the than it is about elegance. If I wanted auto- # converts NBYTES input into for (n in line) mon conference board, a shared white- BEGIN routines, this takes US-style matic checking I’d be more inclined simply [title][source][date][author] form delete line[n] board system and a number of other types mm/dd/yy date patterns and converts to run cix2std.log through a second Awk # NB MAKE SURE this is run with GAWK 2.13 or later, or print “{!}” of workgroup interaction, very simply them into my standard dd-Mmm-yy style. program to test for valid dates and the right the regexps inside } indeed. If you want to take it further, the Take a look at the patterns that trigger number of square brackets. # the split functions won’t work Notes Express shipped with OS/2 Con- the instruction {next}. These simply ignore Fig 1 shows the general form for the BEGIN {tlength = 50 # how long are we going to allow function dMony(mdy) {split(mdy,num,/\//) nect can be unlocked with an encryption that particular line and move on to the next Newsbytes input. A typical file will contain the title to be? mon= substr(months,num[1]*3,3) key to become the full version. line of the input file without doing anything. a series of articles like this. Obviously you months = return num[2] “-” mon “-” num[3] Notes, of course, works as workgroup Okay, but if I didn’t include the pattern at need guaranteed consistency in the input: “xxJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec” } software over a telephone line. Lan Dis- all in the code, wouldn’t this happen any- here you can always expect the title to author=””;title=””;n=0} tance, also bundled with OS/2 Connect, is way? No, not quite. Consider a line like appear in the heading after the word “sub- /^======/ {next} function initials(namestr) {split(namestr,word,” “) another way of achieving a similar thing /^—————/ {next} ject:”. The Awk program in Fig 2 caters for /^—————/ {next} if (word[2] ~ /\”.*\”/) but is more flexible. It enables you to dial This is looking for an input line that this in the section of the code with “Sub- /^Usenet\/cix/ {next} word[2] = “” up your Lan Server and connect as a client begins with a string of dashes (the “^” indi- ject:” as the pattern to be searched for. /^\(.*\// {split($0,a,/(^\()|\//) else across the telephone line, getting full cates “beginning of the line”). If I find a line You’ll notice that we also pick up the author = initials(a[2]) word[2] = word[2] “ “ access to the network services. IBM like this I know I definitely want to throw it date from this line (rather than using the } aa = substr(word[1],1,1)”.” word[2] undertakes to support OS/2 Connect as a away and exclude it from the output file I’m date lower down in the header — this is word[3] single product. The price won’t be the creating. If I don’t explicitly throw it away purely for historical reasons) and the title is /^Article:/&&title!=”” {unload()} split(aa,aaa,/ $/) same kind of giveaway deal you’re cur- like this, the dashed input line will continue passed through a function called “truncti- return aaa[1] rently getting for Warp but it should be less to fall through the other pattern recognis- tle”. This is to ensure that a very long title /^Article:/ { } than $200, which sounds to me like a real ers in the code and may be caught by a gets reasonably intelligently abbreviated. ArticleLine = $0 bargain. more ambiguously written one further Apart from requirements like these the split($0,s,/newsbytes\./) function trunctitle(tstr) {sub(/(^ +)|( +$)/,””,tstr) down, for example something like Newbytes stream ought to be a reason- source=substr(s[2],1,6) tstr = cleanout(tstr, “\\*\\*+”) More Awk /^.*$/ {do something here} ably simple form of input to process source=”nb_” substr(source,1,3) if (length(tstr) > tlength) A couple of months ago I was explaining This is catch-all code that defines what because the header virtually hands it to title=””;author=”” tstr = cleanout(tstr, “^[ A-Z]*: “) how I use the text manipulation language should happen to any line that has zero or you on a plate. But some of the header next} tstr = cleanout(tstr, “^ +”) Awk to prepare the documents that go into more characters in it, and it is typically information, like the message ID, I don’t tstr = dropword(tstr,tlength) my text retrieval database. To keep every- something you might stick at the bottom of need. And unfortunately one key item of /^Subject:/&&(title == “”) {date = dMony($NF) return tstr thing simple and portable the documents your program to act as a sort of OTHER- information, the name of the author, split($0,t,” “ $NF) } are all in ASCII, and they all have four key WISE clause. As it happens, I don’t have doesn’t appear in the header at all. split(t[1],tt,”Subject: “) attributes that I don’t want to lose sight of: such a line in this version of the code, so I wrote the original version of this code title = trunctitle(tt[2]) function cleanout(str1, rgx) {sub(rgx,””,str1) title, source, date and author. All my ASCII the two {next} lines near the top are for a much less tractable input stream, so n = 0; return str1 files keep this information in their first line redundant. luckily I was ready for the fact that the do getline } in the following form: Or are they? Did you notice the line author’s name doesn’t appear until the while ($0 !~ /^[ ]*$/) [][<source>][<date>[<author>] right at the bottom that doesn’t have a pat- very end of each article (here it’s “Kennedy getline function dropword(line, len) {if (length(line) <= len) Awk is the natural choice of language tern at all? This is the classic catch-all line. Maize”). Moving the name from the bottom } return line to extract this information from the input It says: If you’re a line that’s fallen down to of the article to the top isn’t entirely /^ *$/&&author!=”” {next} else documents and rearrange it into this stan- here I don’t care what your content is — straightforward in Awk, which mostly likes {line[++n] = $0} { dard format. Obviously, various sources just do it. to check a line, do something with it (or END {unload()} split(line,bit,” “) store the information in different ways so So, the {next} statements aren’t as inel- not) and then write it out (or not). The trick function unload() {printf “[%s][%s][%s][%s]\n\n”, accum=bit[1]; n=1 you will need a set of Awk programs, one egant as you may have thought. Even here is that once we’ve extracted as much title,source,date,author while (length(accum) + for each source type. I’ll show you how I without a catch-all line down below they info as we can from the header, we store printf “[%s][%s][%s][%s]\n”, length(bit[++n]) < len-3) convert NewsBytes information for my text could still be a good idea, because they that in a set of variables (title, source and title,source,date,author > “cix2std.log” accum = accum “ “ bit[n] retrieval database, and leave you to mod- clarify the code and proof it somewhat date) and start buffering up the whole of # close(“cix2std.log”) return accum “..” ify this for the kind of input files you use. against silly errors in later modifications the body of the article until we can extract m=0; while (m!=n) } print line[++m] }</p><p>636 637 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● WORD PROCESSING HANDS ON ● WORD PROCESSING</p><p>Spare us the details</p><p>Nothing is certain in life, especially not the that means they won’t have an OK button. Thanks to Jonathan Sandys for There’s no need, you already know it’s evidence that Microsoft does have a Windows 95 shipping date, so it’s hardly surprising okay because you saw the changes. sense of humour. Rumour has it there to find Lotus and Novell being cagey about their 95- Lotus will also be implementing its own will be another joke in the next version dependent releases. Tim Phillips hunts for clues. Visual Basic clone. Microsoft doesn’t license VB, but ha! Lotus has made Ami’s shareware Windows text editor. It is forthcoming macro language VB-compati- always useful to have a DOS text editor ble. It has added some non-VB object-ori- with windows (small “w”), though, which is had rather hoped this month to bring Lotus had the greater cheek. The com- ented extensions, but that’s Windows 95 why I’ve picked out a couple of programs Iyou the inside track on new develop- pleted menu structure had a dozen items stuff so they’re a secret... you might like to look at. You can find them ments in word processing to take advan- saying “interesting feature”. Thanks. Meanwhile, WordPerfect has grabbed on many bulletin boards, or from the tage of Windows 95. Unfortunately, we are All the major vendors have turned their the high ground for suite interoperability phone numbers given below. all suffering from the “Windows effect” by attention away from the race to add new following some furious post-merger devel- PROword is 1994 vintage and a com- which everything new that relies on fea- features in the last few years. Most of the opment. I heartily recommend the new pact little program, taking up only about tures in Windows 95 gets sucked into a big programming effort is now directed version of Office, although if you just want 500kb. It is strictly feature-limited, with a black hole, to be spewed out if Windows towards getting applications to work to run WordPerfect and the “shared” appli- menuing system that uses WordStar con- 95 ever gets finished. together and adding ease-of-use changes, cations you’ll need 32Mb of hard disk. For ventions. It will mark, cut and paste blocks, Recently I’ve been briefed by Lotus and and some of these I can review. one application! Three years ago I didn’t and it uses a menu bar and a coloured Novell about their word processors, and Word 2.0, Ami Pro 3.1 or WordPerfect have 32Mb of hard disk for all my apps. screen to make things visually interesting. I’ve seen betas that look pretty solid, but 6.0 users will be well aware of one effect of WordPerfect Envoy is worthy of more Files are written as ASCII. both companies refuse to let me see the all the new features that a Windows word detail at a later date but I recommend you Apart from the ability to have more than exciting interesting new features. The rea- processor user is expected to control — take a look at it. Envoy is a multiple-format one document window open at once, son? Because until they have a definite dialogue box overload. Word 6.0 solved file viewer similar to Adobe Acrobat. It is PROword doesn’t have much in the ease- shipping date for Windows 95, pre- this by putting all the options into freeware and if you buy Office you can of-use area to offer. But it’s a step up from announcing the features has the important megaboxes, which are more like dialogue write Envoy documents, including hyper- Edit and only costs £15 to register. Con- effect of telling their rivals what surprises filing cabinets. Lotus is enhancing this with text links. tact Jupiter software on 0181 947 4059. they have planned. the next release of Ami Pro by having “live” WordPerfect gets three complements An old favourite that has been doing dialogue filing cabinets. this month; it has also produced the first the rounds for some time offers a Oh dear, WordStar for Windows isn’t In the next release you will not only be add-on to write HTML documents. Web smoother look, more functions and the perfect after all — but it’s still a lot better able to set all your style features from one fans, go to it — it’s available on the Word- chance to save files with soft returns at the than version 1.0, isn’t it? dialogue box, but you will see the text Perfect Web server. Microsoft’s HTML end of each line — ideal for exporting to changing in the add-on is still in beta as I write, and if other word processors. Galaxy ProLite is a background as you you’re an Ami Pro user forget it: there’s not useful utility for banging out a few hundred select the features. one due before the next release. words in the evening on an old PC, or for This means you can quick cut and paste jobs. Again, the main toy with all sorts of DOS incentive is the chance to paste between changes, see the Much of my DOS mail seems to be about two windows open on screen, but there’s text previewed on PC-Write. I thought to myself, if PC-Write also a dictionary and even a limited macro the page, and settle is causing so many problems, can it still be language. for what makes you the shareware number one? The answer, If you like a clean screen you’ll love happiest without from my scouring of the WP shareware this, as the menu bar doesn’t even show having to dive in and vaults, is yes. up until you press F10. ProLite has been out of dialogue There hasn’t been a great deal that’s on version 2.11 for a couple of years, and boxes all over the new in DOS shareware recently as many it’s beginning to look its age. Software is menu tree. This also developers are playing with Visual Basic moving on at a faster rate than this pro- enables dialogue and putting out some pretty neat Windows gram, so at £40 it’s not cheap. Make sure boxes to be “non- utilities; and with Write coming free in you try before you buy. It’s available from modal”; in British, Windows, the last thing we need is a Shareware Publishing, which has an</p><p>638 639 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● WORD PROCESSING HANDS ON ● WORD PROCESSING</p><p> enormous range of alternatives and some LIST. The message displayed on screen good advice for shareware hunters; call was “THIS US VERSION OF CA-RET 01297 24088. DOES NOT WORK WITH UK KEY- Personally, I’ll stick to edit when I’m BOARDS”. He adds that his call to Softkey forced into DOS. With WordStar for Win- has had no response. dows at £50, DOS lovers are compara- Roger Cook-style, I chased down the tively poorly served by the state of cheap shamefaced Softkey staff who owned up: software. it’s a bug and, may we say, a pretty big one too. This affects all UK versions of Problems, problems WordStar for Windows 2.0, which is a Michael Levy, who works in a London shame because it’s a fine piece of soft- accountancy firm, has a print to file prob- ware otherwise. An upgraded version with lem. He writes: “I want to print out my let- a bug fix should be on sale by the time you ters from home on the printer at work, but read this, but if your copy is similarly bro- they use a different word processor and I ken, call Softkey technical support and don’t want to mess about converting files. they’ll send you a disk with the fix on it. How does it work?” He’s a WordPerfect Apologies from Softkey too about the put in an all-points bulletin requesting Galaxy ProLite is almost 10 years old 5.1 user. lack of a prompt response to the query. Easter Eggs — the secret jokes and and is beginning to look it. Like Print to file is often ignored but it’s Apparently the new voicemail system was screens that developers hide in their appli- PROword, it offers multiple document always there, and pretty useful it is too, malfunctioning, so, technically speaking, it cations. Here’s a digest of the responses windows, though, and a macro language especially if you’re stealing the office hasn’t been their month. I’ve had. I haven’t checked them all paper, which of course we cannot possibly Martina Crewe of Islington, London because my software is just too damned you’ll ever use to be easy to find in the dia- condone. In WordPerfect you find Print to wants to know how to improve her field advanced and Intel-based. logue box. File by Shift+F7, Select Printer, Edit, Port, handling in Word. “I have fill-in fields for 1. Macintosh: Microsoft Word 3.01 and 4.x Either you decide which style sheets Other, then typing a filename. WordPer- addresses but I have to reformat them. Try spell checking the word “childcare” you’ll need and delete the rest, which is fect will then print a binary file. Make sure Can I put formatting in a fill-in field?” and the only suggestion is “kidnaper”. dangerous, as you know that the following you are using the correct printer driver — Yes: in every insert field, using a simple Odd, isn’t it? Bad joke, bad spelling. day your boss will ask you for six different that is, the driver of the printer you will switch. Try this as a format when you 2. Macintosh: Microsoft Word 4.0 fax cover sheet styles ASAP, or you eventually print out to — as you can’t insert a field: Select “About Microsoft Word” and com- rename your favourite styles. The best change this after you have saved the file. {fillin “What is your street mand-click on the Word icon for a list of way to do this is to add the @ character at When you are at the local PC you can name?”\*charformat} beta testers. One hopes that a similar the front, so they are at the top of a dia- print from the DOS command line. If you The resulting insertion will pick up the gang screen will not be incorporated into logue box.In Ami Pro there’s an alterna- put your floppy in drive A: for example, formatting of the first letter of the field com- Windows 95 or we’d be there all day. tive. Give each style a unique first letter, as type COPY A:file_name PRN/B. Don’t for- mand — in this case the “f” of “fillin”. Use 3. Word for Windows 1.1 the dialogue box “homes in” on styles as get the /B, as it copies until the physical any insert field for the same effect. Turn Caps Lock on, then Format, Define you type. Pressing that unique first letter end of the file. One other useful proofing tool for a fill- Styles, Options. In the Based On field, selects the style. Derek Mackenzie writes from Been- in field is the \*firstcap switch. It capitalises select Normal. There’s an error message, In Word for Windows 6.0 there are a ham near Reading with a WordStar prob- the reply, useful for first names, last click the OK, then Cancel, then Help, feast of top tips that pop up in a dialogue lem. “As a result of you singing its praises names and titles. About. Make sure your mouse cursor is box at the beginning of each session. This I purchased a copy,” he says. “I was also inside the Help box, then press O,P,U,S at tip-a-day format works well if you don’t let impressed until I came to print the MAIL Hints the same time. The result is apparently it get under your skin and it should gradu- A couple of months ago Michael Hewitt, fireworks with the authors’ names scrolling ally make this column redundant. That’s it, New kid on he block shareware WP my predecessor, now sadly lost to the on the screen. Can I confirm this? No. Not typical Microsoft software users don’t PROword flies the flag for UK word processing world after a nasty inci- because I can’t get a copy of 1.1, but need anyone else’s help, oh no. Jonathan shareware. I’m not convinced it’s a step dent with two unhappy Samoan macro who’s going to go through all that? Obvi- Sandys mailed us on CompuServe in an forward, but for £15 it’s not bad writers and a Microsoft natural keyboard, ously someone did, which makes you amused fashion when he found a silly tip wonder how they find these things in the in the tip a day format. Plaid shirts and first place? You are sick people. striped pants rarely make a positive fash- 4. Word for Windows 2.0 ion statement, it said. I’ll leave you with In the Tools menu, click on Macro, in this tip: in the Tip-a-day dialogue box, macro name, type spiff. Click on Edit, More Tips will give you the full list, includ- delete the lines Sub Main and End Sub. In ing all seven silly ones (You should never the File menu, choose Close and save the dive into murky waters — Win 95 beta changes. In the Help menu, click on About testers, take note). Taken together, each and click on the Word icon to get a gang section is great primer, so use them as a screen and a nasty WordPerfect monster. way to develop fast WinWord skills when Note: this is best viewed in 640 x 480. you have the odd half-hour. In any style-sheet based word proces- sor, you can be sure that straight out of the PCW Contacts box it is larded with useless style sheets: And that’s that for this month. Surface or four types of invoice and half a dozen fax airmail to PCW, otherwise I’m on email covers, for example. To speed your work, at wong@cix.compulink.co.uk and you need the two or three style sheets CompuServe 100436,3616</p><p>640 641 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● SPREADSHEETS HANDS ON ● SPREADSHEETS</p><p> a tortuous solution using several columns numbers are positive and some negative. do the job. In effect, we’ll say that if any of IF statements, and the COUNTIF com- In a cell below, you want to show the low- number in the range A1 to A10 is more mand in Excel 5.0. But what I really est positive number. than zero, include it in a pile. Go through wanted to get into was the wonderful world You can’t use the MIN function as is the pile and find the lowest number. of arrays, available in Excel 4.0 or 5.0. because it will return the lowest negative The formula, entered as explained An array can be defined as a table that number. But you can have an array for- above, is: a program treats as one data item. If mula combining MIN with an IF statement =MIN(IF(A1:A10>0,A1:A10)) you’ve ever written in Basic, you’ll recog- nise the following simple program which provides the number of days in each month: Pretty as a picture chart 20 DATA Can I have arrays? 31,28,31,30,31,30,31,31,30,31,30,31 Fig 1 Dressing up 30 FOR month = 1 to 12 simple statistics 40 READ days(month) with a By all means, says a benevolent Stephen Wells, 50 NEXT picture chart For January, which is month(1), the if you want to discover a particularly easy way of program reads from the data line and finds organising your data. He explains how to make that days(1) = 31. Then it goes to the most of arrays, and also presents a financial month(2), or February, and finds that days(2) = 28, and so on. analysis template. Excel uses the concept in what is called an “array formula”. It’s not often found in keen reader writes: “We’ve just document and copy the ambulance. financial spreadsheets because accoun- Amade a departmental presentation Switch back to your chart and paste it on tants like to see a detailed paper trail with and resolved to improve on it next time.” the Series 1 bar. Copy the van to the no steps left out. But for jobs like a staff “Where we need help is in dressing up Series 2 bar, and the police car to the rota it’s perfect. some simple statistics which are now just remaining bar. When you find yourself entering the bulleted points. We use Excel 4.0.” Now double-click any of the pictures to same formula throughout a block of cells, How about picture charts? If you can get the Patterns box. The default is Stretch and just changing the formula’s cell refer- find some appropriate clip art, they are but in this instance I think you’ll agree that ences to match the new row or column, Fig 2 The final easy to make and can look quite dramatic. Stack looks better. This repeats your you can save time by entering an array for- results produced by Let’s say you want to illustrate your esti- drawings in their original proportions along mula. You’ll also reduce the amount of the template listing mated department costs for health, trans- the axis until the entered values are memory used by the worksheet. port and security costs next year. reached. Click the Apply To All box. Now One other good feature of Excel is that Assemble your selected clip art in one new all three pictures will be stacked. you don’t have to write a macro to use an word processing document. I happened to If you want to add vertical gridlines, IF statement. That function works just like have used the pictures of an ambulance, don’t go back to Gallery and switch to Bar in Basic, too. police car and transit van which come with Chart Type 6 or you’ll lose your pictures. In English, what the sister would really Microsoft Works for Windows. Instead, display the Chart toolbar and click like to state in a cell is: if there are any E’s Open a new worksheet. Enter the the horizontal lines icon. Don’t worry — in column A, find them and add ’em up. labels Health, Transport and Security in vertical ones will appear. Trust me. Talk about intuitive. Excel virtually lets cells A4:A6. Enter the estimate for health Finally, choose Chart, Attach Text, you put it that way. If you’re searching costs in B4, transport in C5 and security in Value Y Axis (the horizontal axis in this the range A2 to A21, you use the following D6. If you put them all down column B your case) and enter the label of your choice in formula: chart would initially only have one series, the Formula bar; and, for neatness, {=SUM(IF(A2:A21=”E”,1))} which would mean doing a lot of editing choose Chart, Axis, delete X axis. Save The only thing to remember is that you work later to avoid having the same picture the chart. don’t actually enter the braces, {}. You Fig 3 A chart of in all three bars. Select the block A4:D6. If all’s well you should now have a chart enter the rest of the formula and then company assets Press F11. as shown in Fig 1. instead of pressing Enter, you press from rows 84 to 90 In the dialogue box which appears, use Ctrl+Shift+Enter. Mac fans press Com- of Fig 2 the default, First Row Contains First Data Arise arrays mand+Enter. Excel will add the braces, Series. Choose Gallery, Bar type 1. In the March column, I wrote such a long just to acknowledge that it will treat the Choose Format, Main Chart, Overlap introduction to a reader’s problem that entry as an array formula. 90%, Gap Width 1%. You should now there wasn’t space for the preferred solu- To add up the L’s, in another cell you have three sizeable horizontal rectangles tion and I haven’t had a chance to get back enter, as an array: into which you can paste your pictures. As to the subject. {=SUM(IF(A2:A21=”L”,1))} you move around with the mouse, the Ref- Just to recap, a sister in a hospital, Leaving the hospital rota aside, there erence Area of the formula bar will say S1, preparing a duty rota, needed to be able to are many other uses for array formulae. S2 or S3 so you’ll know which series count key letters in a column and total Let’s look at another. you’re in. Also, if you click a bar a centre them at the foot. She uses the letters to Assume that, in a worksheet, the block marker will appear. represent shifts: E for Early; L for Lates; N A1 to A10 holds a series of numbers. They Now switch to your word processing for Nights; and D for Day Off. I mentioned could be cash amounts. Now, some of the</p><p>642 643 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● SPREADSHEETS</p><p>Results in £’s template listing Financial analysis Text and add the x and y axis labels. Financial analysis uses standard ratios. A B F To insert the main title, choose Chart. That’s because they enable a company to 82 Attach Text, Title and enter an equals sign be compared with others in its industry for 83 Assets Line Chart in the Formula Bar. Press Ctrl+Shift+F6 to which the ratios are published; and they 84 =F1 =B1 display the worksheet. Click on cell A99, provide a feasible comparison of a com- 85 =A3 =F3 =B3 press Enter. To make the title larger, pany’s progress from year to year. 86 =A4 =F4 =B4 select it then choose Format, Font. Save But management thinks foremost in 87 =A6 =F6 =B6 the chart. pounds. So while I was writing the tem- 88 =A8 =F8+F7 =B8+B7 The categories in this chart are accu- plate to produce the 22 ratios I added a 89 =A10 =F10 =B10 mulative, by the way. The top of the few rows which simplify charting of the 90 =A11 =F11 =B11 columns represent Net Sales in each year. principal elements of a company’s balance 91 This month we’ve completed the tem- sheets and income statements. The listing 92 Debt & Equity Line Chart plate for companies which carry stock. shows rows 82 to 104. The purpose of this 93 =F1 =B1 Before we leave it, I want to underline that final block of the template is to enable you 94 =A14 =F14 =B14 there are no universally good or bad to produce three charts which show a five- 95 =A15 =F15 =B15 results for a calculated financial ratio. Not year picture in pounds. The results shown 96 =A17 =F17 =B17 only do industries differ — some tradition- in Fig 2 are from the sample balance 97 =A19 =F19 =B19 ally working with more debt than others, sheets and income statements used 98 for instance — but times in the life of a par- throughout the series. 99 Costs Expenses &Income ticular company can result in dramatic Column A picks up the category names 100 =F1 =B1 changes in a ratio. from earlier in the template where possi- 101 =A27 =F27 =B27 When a company is housed in a heav- ble. Because these financial charts tradi- 102 Operating Expenses & Interest ily depreciated old building, and then tionally read from left to right, with the most =F29+F31 =B29+B31 moves into a brand new, expensive build- recent year on the right, the columns are 103 =A32 =F32 =B32 ing, this is liable to change the Fixed reversed. The most recent year is now in 104 =A33 =F33 =B33 Assets to Long-Term Debt ratio and the column F, the oldest in column B. To save Plant Turnover ratio considerably. That space, columns C through E aren’t shown doesn’t mean the company shouldn’t have — you can’t drag column C from B. Cell made the move. It just means that such a C85, which is supposed to have =E3, Choose Chart, Attach Text, Chart Title, change can cause repercussions which would become =G3. Nor can you select OK. It’s best to type in the chart title, the wise management will plan for. columns E and F and choose Shift+File, Assets. That’s because you can’t drag the Financial ratios are an extra eye for Fill Left. Cell E85, which is supposed to title to a preferred position. The only way management, helping watch over the ebb have =C3, would become =A3. Even to move it right is to add spaces in front of and flow of the company. Excel has its limitations. But the sequence the text in the formula bar. And if you get It has been proven time and again that is clear and you can enter it easily. your title by pointing to cell A83 in the in the long run it is the conservatively man- In many financial reports, the ups and worksheet, and then try to insert spaces in aged companies which survive. It is usu- downs of a company’s assets over time front of it, the text on the chart will change ally better for the changes from year to are shown in a line chart. So are Liabilities from Assets Line Chart to: year to be moderate, rather than fluctuate and Equity components. That’s why they =EXAMPLE.XLS!$A$83 wildly. Steady consistent growth, with a are shown that way here. But Excel offers To make the title larger, select it and proper control of costs, shows a firm hand several other chart types which you can then choose Format, Font. Then choose at the tiller. employ. Chart, Attach Text, X axis, and type: Years Some financial analysts suggest that a Similarly, costs, expenses and income Ending Dec 31. Select Chart, Attach Text, company need only watch just a few are most typically illustrated in a stacked Y axis and type in “(£000)” to show the ratios, particularly pertinent to that indus- column chart as shown here. But you correct amounts. To thicken the lines on try. But by using this spreadsheet tem- could instantly switch to an area chart, 3D the chart, select a line, press the RHB and plate, which automatically calculates all ribbons or make a pie chart for each year if choose Patterns, Line Weight. You should the important ratios, there is no reason for you wished. now have a chart as shown in Fig 3. Make management to limit its view to segments To make the first chart, select the block sure you save it. of the complete picture. A84:F90. Choose Chart Wizard. Drag out The Debt and Equity line chart is made Next month we’ll examine a template a rectangle and choose Next. exactly the same way, but using the block for service companies. On Step 2, choose Line. On Step 3, A93:F97. choose Type 2. On Step 4, choose Data Costs, expenses and income are illus- series in rows and accept the defaults of trated as a stacked column chart. Select PCW Contacts Use first row for labels, and use the first the block A100:F104. Press F11, RHB, Stephen Wells welcomes feedback on column for Legend Text. On Step 5 just Gallery, Column type 3. spreadsheets via PCW Editorial at the choose OK. Double-click the chart and Choose Chart, Add Legend. Drag the usual address or at enlarge to fill the screen. new Legend box to the desired location. stephen_wells@pcw.ccmail.compuse Press the right-hand mouse button To make the default colours more descrip- rve.com. For the financial analysis template for companies which carry (RHB) and remove all toolbars. Click on tive, select a colour stripe on a column, stock, in Excel 4.0 format, send a the Legend box and move with the mouse press RHB, Patterns, and change Fore- formatted 3.5in disk and a stamped, to the preferred position. ground colour. Then choose Chart, Attach self-addressed envelope.</p><p>644 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● DATABASES HANDS ON ● DATABASES</p><p> to data dictionaries, one might be sur- If you apply the rule rigorously to the and/or columns from one or many base prised to learn that several of the big-name modern Windows products — Paradox, tables. Stored in a base table of customer RDBMSs with “relational” writ large upon dBase for Windows, Access etc. — some information might be customer ID num- the box fail to meet this criterion. dBase, fail to make the grade. Access, for exam- bers, names, addresses, phone and fax Paradox, FoxPro and Approach all oper- ple, while it has a single control language numbers, and a view of that data might ate without a database description to their in which it is possible to carry out most show only the names and the fax numbers names. database functions, uses a GUI to create of all customers in Scotland. A view Just Codding forms and queries. Although Access equates approximately to what we’d call Comprehensive data queries can be defined in SQL, whether a query. sub-language rule SQL is actually part of Access basic is We can thus rewrite the expansion of Rule 5: A relational system may support highly debatable. Rule 6 as: Mark Whitehorn continues our demystification of several languages and various modes of The same is true in Paradox: there is Note that a query is theoretically updata- Codd’s rules for relational database management terminal use (for example, the fill-in-the- no single completely unifying language. ble if there exists a time-independent algo- systems with an investigation of Rules 4, 5 and 6. blanks mode). However, there must be at However, while these packages are rithm for unambiguously determining a least one language whose statements are breaking the letter of the law they are abid- single series of changes to the underlying expressible, per some well-defined syntax, ing by its spirit; the GUI brings increased tables that will have as their effect pre- as character strings, and that is compre- simplicity, and it was to simplify it that cisely the requested changes in the query. Dynamic online catalogue and take it somewhere safe first. If you hensive in supporting all of the following Codd wrote the rule in the first place. So, have my definitions helped to clar- based on the relational model don’t take heed of this warning, you have items: dBase for Windows, on the other hand, ify the clarification? Not entirely, no; but Rule 4: The database description is repre- only yourself to blame if your database • Data definition is better than all the opposition in obeying you have to agree that it’s a further excel- sented at the logical level in the same way goes up in a puff of pink smoke. • View definition this rule. Tasks, including building forms, lent grounding to help you make headway as ordinary data, so that authorised users If you do wish to see these tables (in • Data manipulation (interactive and by can be carried out either with the language with Codd’s singularly abstruse use of can apply the same relational language to your copy table), click on View, Options, program) or the GUI, and users can swap between English. its interrogation as they apply to the regu- and under the category General, set the • Integrity constraints these two methods at will. Other DBMSs Another way of expressing Rule 6 lar data. option “Show system objects” to Yes (see • Authorisation fall short of Rule 5 by failing to have any might be that you should be able to look at An implicit assumption in this rule is Fig 1). The dictionary tables will then • Transaction boundaries (begin, commit control language at all (Lotus Approach, data in a query table and update it so long that every RDBMS will have a “database appear among those you’re used to see- and rollback) for instance). as that updating action (be it modifying, description”; Codd apparently believes this ing in the normal list of tables. They all Looked at in one light, this rule is some- Finally, does SQL satisfy this rule? The inserting or deleting information) does not to be so fundamental to the whole concept start with the letters MSys which makes what anachronistic. It was defined in the answer is, “It depends if you are a purist or break any of the fundamental rules of the of an RDBMS that he does not actually them easy to spot. There are quite a few of days when it was necessary to learn sev- not.” I’m not, so broadly I’d say “Yes.” database structure. In other words, users state it. A database description, more them — for instance, there are separate eral languages before being able to grap- should not be obliged to return to the base commonly known as a database dictionary tables for relationships, queries and ple successfully with a database, with View updating rule table before effecting any changes; the (a term which Codd himself uses in his macros, and these can be opened and perhaps one language for querying and Rule 6: All views that are theoretically system should allow editing from subset expansion of Rule 4) is an entity which viewed in the normal way. Certain others, another for defining the structure of tables updatable are also updatable by the views so long as the integrity of the data holds a description of the tables in the columns and indexes, for example, can and the relationships between them. system. remains uncompromised. database, their structure, the relationships only be viewed if you change the security Codd’s aim was to simplify the interface by On the face of it, this is a simple rule: it’s If you were looking at the view between them, the queries and so on. permissions to allow you to do so. determining that only one language should short, concise and unambiguous. How- described above (the one showing just The rule says that the form in which the To change permissions, first have a be used for controlling all aspects of data- ever, reading Codd’s further expansion of names and fax numbers) this rule says information in the data dictionary is held look at how the permissions are set for base work. Rule 6 rapidly disabuses you of that first that you should be able to correct the should be the same as that for the tables one of the tables you can see by click- This situation simply didn’t occur in the naïve interpretation. He says: “Note that a spelling of a customer’s name (you know of data themselves, and that there should ing on Security, Permissions and not- early RDBMS software written for the PC, view is theoretically updatable if there full well his name isn’t Mr Boring, it’s Mr be no additional complexity for users who ing the settings. Then do the same for, in programs like dBase II and III, because exists a time-independent algorithm for Baring). On the other hand, other actions need to deal with data at dictionary level. say, Columns, and make the settings they essentially had only one control lan- unambiguously determining a single may be forbidden, not by this rule, but To put that another way, if you look inside identical. guage and therefore they conformed to series of changes to the base relations because such changes would affect the the data dictionary you should find infor- Given the importance afforded by Codd the rule. that will have as their effect precisely the overall database integrity. For example, mation about how your database is struc- requested changes in the view”. Oh. using this particular view, you might well tured, and that information must be held in Perhaps some definitions might help to be forbidden from adding a customer. tables. It all sounds a little incestuous Viewing the shed light on this obfuscation. Why? Well, suppose that each customer because we end up with tables that define system tables, is required to have a manually entered, tables, but the concept behind this rule is which make up Relation unique ID field. Since you cannot even see perfectly sound. Once you have learnt the data Codd uses the term “relation” to mean that field from this view, you cannot possi- how to drive the RDBMS, you can access dictionary, in effectively a table of data. bly enter that data, so adding a customer all the information that your database con- Access from this view should be forbidden. tains, even the information about itself, in Base relation/base table Very few of the current crop of exactly the same way. This is a table which exists within a data- RDBMSs conform to this rule; most simply Microsoft Access conforms to this base, and excludes the more transient refuse to allow you to edit via a query. model, though in normal use the data dic- tables such as answer tables. Answer Access is one of the few exceptions, and it tionary tables are hidden, presumably tables are considered transitory since their can do this because it uses dynasets to because they can be dangerous in inex- values can change as the base tables are generate the answer tables. perienced hands. However, it is interesting updated. We’re now nearly two thirds (seven (and educational) to play with these tables, twelfths, to be exact) of the way through and it’s perfectly safe to do so provided View Codd’s twelve rules; keep practising, there you make a copy of the entire database A view is a combination or subset of rows will be questions at the end. </p><p>646 647 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● DATABASES</p><p>Questions & Answers Address table; I am getting a lot of questions based on 2.Tto get a complete list of the contact names Access, which suits me fine: I think it is an (in other words, every record from the Com- excellent product. However, this may well panies table) for the Contact Names table. be boring for users of other products, so I Solutions: will do my utmost to answer questions 1. Set up a query on Companies and include generically. This isn’t difficult since most the fields you want to appear in the Address of the questions are actually about data- table. Call up the properties box for the query bases rather than specific RDBMSs. SQL (right-click and select Properties) and set the 1 is particularly helpful here, since it is large- Unique Values property to Yes, then run the ly transportable, so I will endeavour to query. If all is well, this will produce a unique show SQL solutions whenever possible. list of companies. In practice you may well have duplicated entries. These arise simply Splitting up is hard to do because people often make slight errors We purchased MS Access in the hope that we when entering data multiple times, particularly could convert all our PC databases from age- addresses. However, at least they should be ing, non-MIS written programs into polished, reasonably easy to spot and you can edit the usable and, above all, maintainable systems. original table to remove them. Alas, I was brought down to earth when trying Don’t select Unique Records in the Prop- to convert and split up an old database file. erties box because this will only suppress I have a file in Microsoft Access 2.0 which duplicates which are identical in every way in 2 was imported from a Fox database. This is a the original table. Since your records in Com- single flat file which needs to be converted to panies will vary by contact name, you won’t two related tables: get a unique list of companies. When you are happy with the result, gen- Companies erate a table called Address from the query ~~~~~~~~~~~~ (pop down the Query menu, select Make Company Number Table, enter Address as the name of the new Company Name table and run the query). Address 2. Set up a new query on Companies, but just Contact Name choose the fields Company Number, Contact etc. Name and Extension. Again, use the query to 3 generate a table (called Contacts). There can be more than one contact name So far, this answer has been fairly generic for a company at a certain address. I need to for all RDBMSs since you can use the SQL, split the above file into two. One will hold the but the next bit is peculiar to Access since it company name and address, and the other involves the Counter field type. How do you (connected by a counter field in Address and turn the Company Number field in Addresses a number field in Contact Names) will hold the into a counter field? You can’t just redefine the contact names for that company at that field type because Access refuses to make address, e.g: this change. The answer is, from the data- base window, highlight the Address Table Contact Names Table newly created Address table 4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ and use Edit Copy, Edit Paste Company Number ——————— Company Number to make a copy of it. When Company Name Contact Name asked if you want to copy the 1 The query to generate the Address Address Extension structure only, or the structure table, together with its SQL equivalent Telephone and data, select only the struc- 2 The query to generate the Contacts ture. You will need to give the table, together with its SQL equivalent new table a name, perhaps 3 Running the append query to move the The relationship is One-to-Many with Ref- Address Temp. Since this is an empty table, data into Address Temp erential Integrity with the cascadedelete you can happily change the data type of Cus- 4 The conversion is complete option set. tomer Number to a counter. Then use an I have nearly (sort of) managed to do this Append Query to add the contents of Address with myriad select, update and append into Address Temp. Rather surprisingly, con- queries, but have not had a satisfactory result sidering Access’s normally defensive attitude as yet. to Counter fields, it will let you do this. Finally you can delete Address, rename Address I have set up a (tiny) table which mimics your Temp as Address and make Company Num- PCW Contacts problem (upper table in Fig 2, right). The prob- ber into a primary key. Mark Whitehorn welcomes readers’ lems are: Assuming that all is as it should be, you correspondence and ideas for the 1. To get an unique list of the companies from should be able to join the tables and establish Databases column. He’s on this table which can then be converted into the referential integrity. penguin@cix.compulink.co.uk</p><p>648 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995</p><p>CYAN•MAGENTA•YELLOW•BLACK PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD HANDS ON ● GRAPHICS & DTP HANDS ON ● GRAPHICS & DTP</p><p> specified in the command list, which may Histograms explained and darkness in an image. If the image be edited, offering in effect, unlimited lev- Take a deep breath, here goes: a his- has a broad tonal range, the histogram will els of undo. The list can be saved and togram is a visual representation of the be complete and uninterrupted, with verti- applied not only to the high-resolution orig- tonal distribution of an image. The hori- cal bars for every level. Dark images show inal but to any other files, allowing batch zontal axis runs from pure black to pure emphasis towards the left side, while processing. white, with shades of grey in between; bright images will be biased towards the Also of interest is Quark’s use of lenses there are 256 levels in total. Each of the right side. Poor-quality images, or those to apply effects over a specifically shaped 256 levels has a vertical bar proportional lacking in contrast, may be immediately area. Along with a set of standard filters, in height to the number of pixels in the identifiable by the lack of values at the Quark XPosure will be compatible with image which are that shade of grey. In a extreme black or white ends of the his- Photoshop plug-ins. We’ll bring you more colour image, you may choose from a togram. Gaps in the histogram indicate lit- information as soon as we have it, and combined histogram representing overall eral gaps in the tonal range. look forward to seeing whether it will pose distribution, or separate ones for the com- Careful analysis and modification of application remembers the list of com- any threat at all to Photoshop, which is ponent RGB or CMY and K elements. the histogram can be the easiest and Making histograms mands and applies them to the original about as established as any application in In plain English, histograms show, at a most efficient single step in correcting or large image at a later time, leaving you a niche market can be. glance, the range and extent of brightness optimising an image. There is, of course, free to do something far more important Histograms Many paint-program enthusiasts are scared off by like having lunch — or sleeping, depend- histograms, but they shouldn’t be. Gordon Laing ing on just how big the original is. The same picture Here, the middle makes good use of these oft-neglected facilities, The downside is that retouching spe- with much poor scan has cific areas on a low-resolution version may reduced been optimised reports on the exciting plans afoot at Quark towers, not accurately transpose to the original; contrast. Notice by stretching the and traces the history of his Font of the Month. other fine details or aberrations of the orig- the limited range histogram’s inal may not show up on the low-resolution of tones on the edges to the full version. histogram. There tonal range. This istograms are one of the most useful LowRez and Command List. The rather Where this technique really comes into are no pure results in gaps, Hbut least understood facilities offered sensible approach to manipulating poten- its own is for general mode changes, over- whites or blacks but it’s still a by advanced paint and photo retouching tially huge and utterly resource-crippling all adjustments of brightness, contrast, considerable applications. But fear not, for there is no files is to edit a low-resolution version. The colour and the like. Any operations are improvement longer any need to cower at their mention, as Graphics & DTP spills the beans, dishes the dirt, and explains just what’s A good quality going on, generally dispelling myths as it scan displaying a goes along — or something like that. large variety of Along with “everything you wanted to colours and know about histograms but were afraid to tones. Notice the ask”, we’ve got the traditional Font of the full, uninterrupted Month and all the hot news from the tonal range on the graphics world. histogram. This is the best of all The latest from Quark three images Several months back, Quark implied that it would be either acquiring or creating its own drawing application. At the time many, including myself, speculated that it would eagerly snap up FreeHand, after Adobe returned all rights to the develop- ers, Altsys. MacroMedia ended up taking the initiative and is now responsible for FreeHand, with the recent release of ver- sion 5.0, currently only available for the Macintosh. So what of Quark? Chances are that freehand drawing tools will be available on forthcoming versions, but for now, the shock news is that Quark is soon to announce an image manipulation package to rival Adobe Photoshop around the time you read this. Quark XPosure, jointly developed by JVC and expected to ship late this year for less than $1,000 on the PowerMac plat- form, uses concepts similar in many ways to Micrografx Picture Publisher 5.0’s</p><p>650 651 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● GRAPHICS & DTP HANDS ON ● GRAPHICS & DTP</p><p> spond on the actual image. the possibility that an image is deliberately Font of the Month Click on the Shadow Eyedrop- light, or soft, without the need for correc- per, then find the darkest area tion, but displaying the histogram will leave on your image; next find a typi- you in no doubt as to the tonal nature. cal midtone on your image then They can also be very useful in testing the click it with the Midtone Eye- quality of an image source or scanner, dropper; finally select a bright since any tricky tonal gaps or unintentional area with the Highlight Eye- bias will immediately make themselves dropper. apparent. This technique requires The following tips are specific to Adobe reasonable judgement and Photoshop 3.0 but are equally applicable understanding of which are to earlier versions, or indeed any paint or the typical high- photo retouching application which offers lights, midtones and a histogram facility. shadows in your Clicking Histogram from the Image image. Even with a menu displays the tonal distribution for the little experience rescanning with current image or selection — obviously, the results can be higher quality drum scanners. the bigger the image size the longer the Above Runic, the digital slightly unpredictable, but overall, I prefer process will take, although typically you’ll typeface, as used by PCW it to the sliders. You can always re-choose Just my type only have to wait a few seconds. The com- Right A 1969 advert for certain areas until you’ve achieved the “A work of art does not have to be beauti- bined histogram is displayed by default, Runic, the hot-metal typeface desired correction. ful but it will need to be displayed with either as CMYK for CMYK images, or grey Ultimately, bear in mind that the his- some discretion if it is to have the desired for RGB or indexed images. A pulldown gamma, and the brightest togram describes the overall quality of an impact. Runic Condensed could be seen menu offers individual histograms for the or highlight value. The image. A limited range, or gaps within the as belonging to this category. It was not red, green or blue, or cyan, magenta, yel- slider’s positions are indi- range, are easily spotted and represent designed as a text face, but although low or black channels. cated numerically above — less than perfect quality. It’s a worthwhile extremely compact, it is surprisingly read- The histogram is displayed above a remember, 0 is black and exercise to look at the histogram of an able. Used with care it has considerable graduated bar representing each of the 255 is white. A gamma of unmodified file before any manipulations, merit where attention is being courted.” 256 levels. The vertical scaling factor may one places the midtone then check it after each overall change. I can’t argue with that quote from Agfa’s result in some bars going off the range, but level exactly in between the You should notice gaps appearing left, Type Reference book for PostScript Users the count will always indicate the total shadow and highlight. right and centre, revealing a loss in qual- regarding June’s font of the month. Runic number of pixels at the particular level the Below the histogram ity. Consequently, try to make as few con- Condensed, available from MonoType or pointer falls on. In addition to the count at and its sliders lies the 256- trast, brightness and colour changes as Adobe collections through the usual sup- that level, Photoshop’s histogram function level graduated grey bar, possible to retain optimum quality. In pliers below, was first designed and mar- shows the total number of pixels in the this time labelled Output many cases, these adjustments can be keted in 1936 in hot-metal. It’s an in-house image, the average brightness level, stan- Levels, and with a triangu- made at scanning stage, saving you sub- design, based on early foundry types from dard deviation and median. lar slider at each end. sequent processing time and potential the Caslon foundry, later known as You can immediately spot if the image These determine the low- quality loss. Stephenson and Blake. has a full tonal range by seeing if the his- est and highest overall out- Incidentally, users of Photoshop 3.0 for Runic Condensed is best used in large togram extends to the pure white and/or put brightness, and Windows may be experiencing scanning point sizes, ideal for headlines. You can black edges of the range. Gaps in the his- effectively control the con- problems. This, I am reliably informed, is see it in action within the hallowed pages togram represent the lack of a particular trast of the image. Drag- the fault of a duff TWAIN file. The file at of PCW since our November 1994 tone. Simple or indexed images may only ging the black slider to the fault is the obviously titled twain8b.8ba, redesign issue. PCW’s art editor Darrell consist of tens of shades or colours, result- right decreases the contrast of the image. This may produce gaps between levels, which resides in the Plugins directory. Get Kingsley chose four new fonts specifically ing in a sparsely populated histogram The point is that all these little triangles but the overall result is usually preferable. in touch with Adobe or your scanner man- for headline use. Runic Condensed made more resembling a bed of nails. In these are just dying to be dragged around, and You may have to play about with the mid- ufacturer for a replacement, which should it to the final fab four and finds itself cases there is little you can do to correct tagging the Preview button presents the dle triangle to reassign the be simply copied over the original. most used on science and technology fea- the image, if indeed any correction is results without any permanent damage midtone/gamma level correctly. Trial and Before I go any further, many of you tures. It also makes a refreshing change required at all. being done. Before trying to understand error along with healthy experimentation is may be interested in CDs full of stock pho- from your typical weighty sans-serif head- Image correction by histogram manipu- completely the theory behind histograms, the best advice. tography. In the very near future I’ll be line faces. lation really comes into its own for files I thoroughly recommend a good wiggle Photoshop does a pretty good job of doing a round-up of any I can get my stored with a large pixel depth, such as 24- with the sliders to see what they do in adjusting the sliders to stretch the his- hands on, but until then check out Pho- bit RGB, or 32-bit CMYK. So how’s it practice. togram itself, by pressing the Auto button. toDisc, which Faces put me on to. PCW Contacts done? Remember, a full tonal range will have Of course, you can manually tweak them All PhotoDisc CDs contain between Gordon Laing welcomes any tips, ques- Selecting Levels from the Adjust sub- a histogram which extends to both the far later before committing with the OK button. 100 and 352 images stored as RGB tions or traditional cash bribes. Please menu of the Image menu generates the left, shadow, and far right, highlight trian- If adjusting sliders doesn’t appeal, a far TIFFs at several sizes. All the volumes write to the standard PCW address, or histogram again; as before, it can be set to gles. If your image’s histogram falls short more visual option is open to you. To the contain 5 x 7in versions at 72dpi (600kb) those suitably equipped can email him display individual or combined channels. on either or both ends, just drag the high- right of the histogram and below the other and 300dpi (10Mb). Certain collections as Gordon_Laing@pcw.ccmail.com- The histogram is labelled as Input Levels light/shadow triangles to the edges of the buttons lie three Eyedroppers: one (black) also offer larger images: 8.5 x 11in at puserve.com and has three triangular sliders below, one histogram, and the application automati- representing shadow, another (grey) for 300dpi (28.5Mb) — the 10Mb and 28.5Mb Adobe 0181 606 4000 ☎ at each end and the third in the middle. cally reassigns the tones. Now you’ll have midtones and a third (white) for highlights. files are JPEG compressed. Some ear- Adobe tech support 0800 232223 ☎ From left to right, they represent darkest or true blacks and whites, at the expense of Select them one at a time, then manually lier volumes were created with CCD scan- Faces 01276 38888 ☎ shadow value, the midtone value or the original histogram being stretched. choose which area you believe to corre- ners, but PhotoDisc is now systematically FontWorks 0171 490 5390 ☎</p><p>652 653 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● MULTIMEDIA HANDS ON ● MULTIMEDIA</p><p> menu to remove the Main Status bar and cursor over the head. An outline box con- turquoise. To check that the surface has the ones in the Preview and Catalogue taining the head model should appear. changed, click the Snapshot icon and windows. Then use Window and Tile Ver- The best way to resize the model is to put you’ll see the rendered effect. The rainbow tically to show Preview and Catalogue the cursor just off-centre of the object. pattern should cover the entire head. side-by-side. This way you see more cat- Depress the mouse button and move This is where where things get really alogue objects on the screen at once. away from the centre, and the model will mind-bending. Choose Globe 4 from the It helps to review the catalogue before shrink. Move towards it and it will grow. In Models folder and drag it to the Scene you start as there are quite a few objects. effect, you’re moving further way or closer Preview. Leave it in the centre but shrink it Remember before you start that you will to the centre and the object will then the same way as before to the size of the only see the best results using a good appear smaller or larger. Once you’re skull, not the hair. The head and globe will graphics card with TrueColour. used to it, it’s fairly easy to understand in intersect so that the nose and chin poke For this example, I decided to go for a these terms. out of the globe. Deep and meaningful psychedelic effect with a spinning head set The second icon on the Position bar Right-click on the globe and Modify against a map of the world and with the moves the model around the backdrop Animation. Change the Duration to four globe spinning around the scene. The first and alters the viewing angle. The first icon seconds, Start and End Position to Enter In case you're seeking relief from flat presentations, task is to choose the backdrop. To add this gives you more control over the viewing Scene and move the Off-Screen Position to the scene you click on the Backdrop angle and lets you spin the model in three to the front and bottom-left. Switch to the Asymetrix comes to the rescue with an affordable folder and find World Map 1. To add it to dimensions, but we want to leave it in Spin folder and the Number of Turns to 3D animation package. Karl Dunkerley leads you the scene, simply drag and drop it onto the place for this exercise. What you have three. Then go back and run the Anima- Scene Preview. done is to define the end position of the tion. The globe will spin in from the bot- through some special effects to bend the mind. Next, you need to add the head which model. tom left and will also intersect with the is found in the Model folder and called spinning head. Male 2. This time you drag-and-drop it Choosing the right path With the righthand mouse button click t isn’t just the Flat Earth Society that The Catalogue window holds all the onto the backdrop. If you have a standard You now need to give it a path to follow. on the backdrop. Choose Snapshot and Ibelieves we live in a two-dimensional models, surface textures, paths, lights, graphics card then you may be better off Click on the Paths Folder and find the Spin Animation Settings. You can now choose world. Unlike the real 3D world, virtually backdrops and user-defined models in clicking the Wireframe icon (as this will Z-Axis icon. Drag this over the head. You the screen size, rendition quality and num- the whole of the PC world exists in two folders. The Scene Contents window allow you to work faster) and then only may hear the hard disk thrashing at this ber of colours. What you choose depends dimensions. DTP, graphics packages, holds a nested diagram of the scene and rendering the object by clicking on the point. To see what you have done, you on your graphics card, processor speed, drawing software and all major applica- its components such as the model used, Solid Models icon when needed. should use the Animation floating toolbar motivation and patience. Photo-realistic tions produce flat output. Even animation the lighting and angles, or the paths taken The head will probably appear larger and click the Play icon. You will see the images at high-resolution can take several packages miss out on the third dimension. by various objects. than the backdrop so you have to reduce head flip over once. This, however, is bor- hours in some cases. Before you start the This month, though, I’m going to take you The biggest problem initially is that the it. In the Scene Preview window you ing. Click the head with the right-hand process, use the Generate Snapshot icon into the Z dimension and all the trip will screen is cluttered, especially on a 14in should see a floating Position toolbar. The mouse button and a menu will appear. to see the final effect. cost you is £150, at most. monitor. The best solution is to close the third icon along allows you to resize an Choose Modify Animation. You will see There have been 3D packages around Scene Contents window, use the View object. Click on this and then move the three folders on the new window. Change In the frame on the PC for some time but the Movement Duration setting to 10 sec- When ready, click Scene and Generate Redesigning the world their prices have been pro- onds. Click the Spin folder followed by Animation. Here you need to decide which hibitive. Asymetrix has now Define Spin and set Number of Turns to video CoDec you want to use (this will come to the rescue with its two. You should now click anywhere on affect quality).The Realistic setting is 3D F/X package. the little Preview and Define Spin window. excellent and renders. It’s fascinating to Most of us will never Where you click defines the spin style. Try watch each frame build up, like a picture want to produce our own a few until you are happy. You get to see developing on a photographic sheet. 3D models so the package the whole model this way. Click OK and The first effort lacks a certain some- ships with a CD full of them. return to the scene window. To see a jerky thing. A little text will do the trick so I create Even better, you can buy version of the real effect, click the Play but- two Text Models using the A icon. The first more because it lets you ton in the Animation toolbar. piece of text is just the phrase “Planet import AutoDesk’s 3D-Stu- The surface details of the head, though, Earth” in Arial 36-point. Any text is auto- dio libraries. 3D F/X isn’t a are hardly psychedelic. This is remedied matically treated as 3D but the defaults fully-fledged 3D design 1 2 by adding a new surface texture but the give a crude image, so using Modify 3D is package — it is aimed at process is not easy because the head has essential. I then use the options to give it people wanting to add AVIs a set of defaults that need to be changed. an 18 percent bevel size and thickness of to presentations, video clips 1 Clean up your 3D F/X screens if you want to The first steps are to click on the head and eight and set it to Helicopter in from the top and documents, and to make life easier then to select the Surfaces folder and find right to the bottom centre. In the Effects make their work stand out. 2 The last act in the scene, but in a measly 256 the Rainbow one. Drag this onto the head folder make sure you switch off Use The best aspect of the colours which will turn grey. Reflection Map. Highlighting the Earth package is its ease of use. 3 Entering a new dimension of the mind in 640 x Click the head with the righthand theme, I change the text colour to green — When you fire up the pack- 480 and TrueColour mouse button and then choose Modify the effect is altogether classier — and then age you see three win- Surface and Colour. In the Surface Pattern set the path to stay where it is in the top dows. The most important folder click Bitmap Pattern and choose left-hand corner and for each letter to spin is the Scene Preview, Rainbow1.bmp from the Surface Settings over the top. which is where you do the box. Click the Effects folder and check that Next, to expand on the psychedelic- most work — it acts as your the Use Reflection Map option is unticked. green theme, I add the phrase “wrap your scratch pad and visualiser. 3 Click OK. The model head should turn mind around it” and modify the surface</p><p>656 657 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● MULTIMEDIA</p><p> and colour to a green granite. You need to which could then be outputted using a set the thickness to 10 and add a convex video scan convertor on to normal PAL bevel of 18 degrees. video tape. Adding text means rendering the whole If you really want to impress with video, file again and even on the P90 took ages then you won’t find a better way of doing it — approximately 3.5 hours. Fortunately it than this. For £99 on the street, 3D F/X is went smoothly. just knockout. The final result looks very pleasing with few dropouts or jagged edges, even PCW Contacts though I haven’t used the highest-quality Asymetrix Corp 0800 716957 ☎ settings. If time were no problem I could 3D F/X £149 set the whole scene to render at 768 x 576 Hints and tips</p><p>Following on from my video capture card board’s installation is very different. group test last month, I’ve drawn up a list of 2. Check the README files for the latest hints and tips on buying, installing and cap- information. turing with a board as well as the kind of 3. Check you have the latest drivers and video gear needed for top quality results. installation software. 4. Check you have the correct cables to hook Buying a board up the VCRs to the board before you start. 1. Make sure your retailer guarantees that Some boards do not come with them. you can return the board (or that they will 5. If possible, set the size of the initial capture install it for you) if you cannot get it working. file first. Most Video for Windows installations 2. Ensure the connectors on your video and capture/editing packages allow this. If not, match those of the card. SCART is often save a long clip to a dummy file, capture to used on video and TV equipment, though this, and then Save As. composite and S-Video are used on capture 6. The BIOS version, bus type and speed, cards. Normally you can buy a converting video and other cards, plus the amount of cable, but not always. RAM can all affect the way installation is car- 3. Save up for a more modern board as they ried out. are generally easier to install and give better 7. If you’re changing boards, it’s best to capture rates. remove all the drivers and software of the old 4. Decide on the editing software you need board or installation may fail. This even and buy it as part of a card/software bundle applies when adding a daughtercard onto an to make substantial savings. existing board. 5. Buy a board with an upgrade path if you feel you may want to go further in the Capturing clips future. Find out the maximum size, capture 1. Make sure your hard disk is big enough. If it rate etc. isn’t, buy one that is. 6. Check to see if latest VfW drivers are 2. Defragment your hard disk to keep frame included. Currently these are version 1.1d rates up. which are greatly enhanced. They have ele- 3. For high data rates, ensure that your PC’s ments of Win95 included for the future. processor and bus are fast enough. 7. Remember that you will probably need to 4. Capture to Memory. This is only useful add an audio capture board, which will raise when you have a large amount of RAM such overall cost. 16Mb+. Dropout rates will be significantly 8. True Plug ’n Play doesn’t yet exist on the lower while capturing to RAM, but will rise PC. Three elements are needed for P&P: the once this is filled. right BIOS, operating system and add-in 5. Upgrade to 32-bit disk and file access using cards. Until Win95 appears the triangle is Windows 3.11. incomplete. 6. Turn off SmartDrv when using Windows. 9. For boards with software-only CoDecs, a 7. If the board cannot capture at the full frame faster machine will affect performance. Ones rate, reduce the rate to one where the dropout with hardware Codecs will be largely unaf- rate is acceptable. Trying to capture at too fast fected unless the bus is particularly slow. a rate leads to unpredictable dropout, where- as a lower rate gives more predictable results. Installation 1. The order in which you install the software Video equipment and hardware, and especially the capture 1. For higher quality pictures, choose S-VHS drivers, can affect the success of installation or Hi-8 equipment. and capture. Read the manual very carefully 2. Buy a proper editing deck from a well and do not assume a particular order. Each respected manufacturer.</p><p>659 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● SOUND HANDS ON ● SOUND</p><p> when you find yourself listening to every Most drum loops are record in your collection over and over either one, two or four bars until you find that full bar of funky drum- in length, which doesn’t ming with no instuments in the mix to spoil provide much scope for it. Once you’ve got the loop, and only then, rhythmic variation. Try can you even start to think about writing splitting each bar into four some music. sections and assigning There are no hard and fast rules when them to separate key it comes to using drum loops: if a loop ranges. This way you can adds something to your music then it has combine, say, the first two worked. The temptation, though, is to rely beats of bar one with beat on a loop to “lift” the music and have it run- three of the third etc. If Looping the loops ning throughout the song. Unless it really there are any sections of is a sample of top-notch tub-thumping, try the loop which repeat, dis- If you’re wondering how to get that “modern” to avoid this. card them as this will save Making a drum loop work with a given memory. Inserting pitch bend messages to drum sound from your setup, you probably need to tempo is straightforward if you use a dedi- If you have Creative WaveStudio, the fine-tune a one-bar percussion loop get looping. Steven Helstrip explains how to cated sampler; just cycle a one-bar section fastest way to break up a one-bar loop is to negotiate drum loops, and brings the news from from your sequencer and fine-tune the mark the section you want as a separate marked section to a new file. Do this for sample until no glitches occur between sample, and while holding down the Con- each section. For the final region, mark the world of PC-based music. bars. If you’re working with an AWE-32 or trol key, type C, N and V. This will copy the the area and use the Crop to Selection. Tropez this becomes slightly more tricky. Drum loops usually work better when In this case the easiest way VindaLoops used with other percussion samples. Try ver the last month, to perfect the loop is to insert a adding, for example, a kick, snare and hi- Oeverybody seems to pitch bend message from the This CD brought hat pattern over the top. This will result in have been extremely busy writ- edit page of your sequencer. a smile to my a unique sound and, to some extent, ing software upgrades. Musica- Altering its value has the same face even mask the loop. tor has launched an audio effect as fine-tuning from a sam- before I’d Unless you have bags of memory to version of its Windows sequenc- pler. A value above 64 will heard it. To spare, you can get away with sampling ing package, Steinberg has increase its pitch, so reducing get in the drum loops in mono. Little will be lost in released another entry-level the length of the sample to val- mood, I terms of spaciousness as they are gener- product, and there’s also a new ues below 64 will have the bought ally positioned centrally anyway. There’s version of Cakewalk. opposite effect. It is important to myself a chick- more to be gained recording percussion Musicator now combines place the pitch bend from where en Masala from samples in stereo as they tend to be direct-to-disk recording with a 64- the sample is triggered, usually the local Indian and panned more drastically. track notation-based sequencer on the first beat of the bar. settled in for 72 minutes of listening. Despite having a stereo output, the which works with any sound A metronome will help you VindaLoops is a compilation of ethnic AWE-32 doesn’t allow you to download card. You can record audio at get this right. Listen carefully to percussion loops and single-shot stereo samples. To get around this, any resolution supported by your beats two and four of the bar samples. The loops have been arranged record each channel separately and save sound card, and as much as your where the snare drum lands. No into groups according to their tempo, as separate samples. Using Vienna (Cre- hard disk has room for. With Musicator, you can combine MIDI flam should occur between the sample groove, and instrument family. A glossary ative’s patch manager), you can assign It comes with a wave editor which lets sequences with direct-to-disk recording and the click. If this happens the final prod- of ethnic percussion and styles is printed the two samples to the same keyboard you create fades/crossfades and has tools uct isn’t going to be as tight as it can be. in the inlay booklet, although it isn’t thor- range, and pan one hard left, the other for creating audio regions from existing on-screen piano which lets you input If the sample seems to loop perfectly ough enough to explain what a Dhun hard right. Alternatively, assign the sam- wave files. All editing is non-destructive music with your computer’s keyboard, so but flamming occurs then it’s probably the Chapi Kerwa Loop is (found on track 5). ples to different key ranges and trigger and sound clips can be arranged in much no external MIDI instrument is required. It drummer’s fault. There are two ways of Tempo listings are approximate, so be them at the same time from your the same way as MIDI patterns. It’s priced now has support for lyrics in its score page getting around this. The first, although a prepared to do a little tuning. sequencer. This way you can offset either at £299 and is available from Arbiter. and an improved Faders window. Both tad excesive, is to create a groove quan- Most loops have been recorded over channel until they sync perfectly. Aptly named Cubasis, Steinberg’s new allow you to trigger MCI clips. Express is tise map for your sequencer. The other is two or four bars, and most are stereo. product offers 64 tracks, four times that of supplied with a MIDI adaptor kit allowing to use more pitch bend messages. Many of the shorter samples (fills, for PCW Contacts Cubase Lite, and two further edit pages: you to connect a MIDI device to your By inserting a message before the example) appear twice, giving you time to Each month this column will have news Key and List. The score editor has been sound card, and will cost around £59. offending beat, it is possible to offset that hit the Sample button. of the latest developments, as well as preserved and now lets you print. Cubasis Home Studio is priced at £84. Contact Et section of the sample. For example, if the The CD is a real eye-opener to new practical advice for getting the most out is supplied with a mixer for General MIDI Cetera Distribution for further details. snare drum in the sample falls slightly sounds and its contents can be used with of music technology. If you have an and GS instruments and has MIDI clock before beat four, insert a pitch bend a wide variety of musical styles, not just audio program or utility, any hints or tips, sync. It’s yours for £149. Using loops message with a value of, say, 50 on beat banghra. There are 60 tracks in total, or a topic you would like to see covered, Twelve Tone is releasing new versions Drum and percussion loops play a large three and a half. The difference in pitch will each containing anything between two write to our usual address or email of Cakewalk: an entry-level product, called part (no pun intended) in music produc- go unnoticed, but will tighten up the loop. and 20 samples. There are 10 samples steve_helstrip@pcw.ccmail. Cakewalk Express, and version 3.0 of tion, so this month we’ll be looking at tech- After beat four, insert another pitch bend from VindaLoops on this month’s cover compuserve.com Home Studio. Express has all the func- niques for using them, and at ways of message to return the pitch to the original CD-ROM. You can find them in the Loops Arbiter (Musicator) 0171 379 5148 ☎ tions of Home Studio, but doesn’t allow squeezing the most from your sampler. value. This technique can also be used in folder. Vindaloops costs £59.95, from Steinberg (Cubasis) 0181 207 5050 ☎ you to print scores. Once you’ve caught the loop fever, it’s reverse for adding feel or groove. Try Time & Space on 01442 870681. Et Cetera Distribution (Cakewalk) Additions to Home Studio include an hard to shake. You know you’ve got it experimenting. 01706 228 0339 ☎</p><p>660 661 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● VISUAL PROGRAMMING HANDS ON ● VISUAL PROGRAMMING</p><p> for example. This opens a new dialogue in coming of age, and seemingly which you can define all the elements of every significant new develop- that window, including the visual design, ment tool supports it. the data-handling, and the response to Its bloated database engine Windows events like losing and gaining aside, Delphi is slicker, tighter focus. Of course, one thing your new pro- and more standard than Clar- cedure is likely to do is to call further pro- ion, leaving just a small niche cedures, which then appear in the for Clarion’s rapid develop- Clarion call application tree in their own right, for defin- ment cycle and small, fast exe- ing and customising as required. cutables. That said, Clarion’s The Clarion approach has several development environment, Tim Anderson sounds out Clarion for Windows, advantages, including easy access to the with its data dictionary and helps put Visual Basic back into focus and structure of your application and very rapid hierarchical application view, is explains why the Borland database engine is less initial development. The secret of its power conceptually one of the best I is the use of templates, or pre-defined pro- have seen. If the underlying VB’s GotFocus and LostFocus events flexible than Microsoft’s JET. cedures which can be customised so that language and tools were brought up to caused problems for shareware developer frequently used code becomes part of the date, Clarion would be a winner. Grahame Giddings development environment. The idea is to n pursuit of the perfect visual develop- be used for any Windows application. gain the main benefit of object-orientation, Losing focus in Visual Basic Text1 got focus Iment language, I’ve been investigating Most Clarion applications begin with a reusability, without using object-oriented Grahame Giddings has written a share- Text1 lost focus Clarion for Windows from TopSpeed. Like data dictionary, which defines data tables, syntax. Clarion also supports VBX version ware VB program, Cricket Statistics for Text2 got focus Borland’s Delphi, Clarion compiles to indexes, relationships, validity checks and 1 controls. The result is a package which Windows. He writes: Text2 lost focus native executable code, while also provid- more. The functionality is impressive, with creates fast, freely distributable Windows “I think most of the problems I have had Text1 got focus ing a graphical application builder for ease 19 data types, support for referential executables which are far smaller than a were in the area of data entry and valida- of development. The Clarion language is integrity, and the ability to define a view, typical VB application using JET, or run- tion. In Cricket Statistics for Windows, I’ve In other words, although you wrote the brainchild of Bruce Barrington, founder which is a virtual table based on one or time versions of FoxPro, Access or Para- tried to make sure that invalid entries are code in the Text1 LostFocus event to pre- of the company, and he explains its phi- more underlying files. Data can be stored dox. Clarion also scores over Delphi and detected before moving on to the next field vent the user tabbing out of the field, VB losophy in a detailed foreword to the lan- in Clarion’s own TopSpeed format for best its memory-hungry Borland Database rather than waiting and performing a actually gave the focus to the next text box guage reference. performance, or a variety of xBase and Engine. Ironically, it fits the Clipper for global check before saving all the data on before moving it back to Text1. There is a Clarion combines elements of xBase, other formats. ODBC is supported. Windows niche better than Computer a particular form. This approach gave me reason for this, and it relates to the effort Pascal and Modula-2 with its own unique Once the initial spadework is com- Associates’ Visual Objects, a powerful but a number of problems due to the Microsoft made to make VB relatively features. As a DOS database develop- pleted, Clarion displays what it calls the over-complex product which has not been GOT_FOCUS event on the field you were crash-proof. But in effect it is a bug which ment language it was a successful niche application tree in a window. This is an well received. moving TO firing before the can leave the program in an endless loop product. The company then merged with outline list of all the procedures in your It is bad luck for Clarion that Delphi LOST_FOCUS event on the field you were if two text boxes are both trying to claim JPI, creators of the respected TopSpeed application. The term “procedure” in Clar- should follow its launch so closely. Nice moving FROM. The situation was further the focus. It’s not an obscure bug either, compiler. Clarion for Windows combines ion has a special meaning. More than just though Clarion is, it suffers from an indi- complicated by the interaction between since this kind of code is exactly what you the Clarion language with a new applica- a chunk of code, a procedure can be a vidualistic language which many will not certain fields and my decision to display a write when validating data entry, as Gra- tion generator and the TopSpeed compiler window, a menu, a report, a browse grid, bother to learn, and gives sparse support message box telling users what they had hame discovered. technology. or any program element. At the start, a for Windows features. It has not heard of done wrong.” Here’s one way to fix it. You need a Clarion claims the performance of C or Clarion application has one procedure, OLE, for example, or recent innovations It sounds bizarre, but to see the effect routine that will keep track of which text C++, without the obscure syntax or steep usually called Main, which does nothing. like tabbed dialogues, tooltips or floating Grahame is talking about, set up a form box is current, and only allow a change of learning curve. It is more like programming When you double-click, a list of procedure toolbars. It is also the wrong time for Clar- with two text boxes and a label. Size the focus if the contents are valid. To achieve by dialogue than visual programming. Pri- types opens. Choose one, and Main ion to say that object-orientation is not label to display several lines of text. In the this, take the following steps: marily for database development, it could becomes whatever you chose, a window worth worrying about. Object-orientation is GotFocus event of Text1, place the follow- ing code: 1. In Form1 Declarations: Clarion for Windows Dim gFlag As Integer label1.Caption = label1.Caption + Dim gCurrentControl As Control Chr(10) + Chr(13) + “Text 1 got Const CANMOVE = 1 focus” Const NOMOVE = 0 Place an equivalent message in the GotFocus and LostFocus events of Sub valcheck (chkControl As Control) Text2. In the LostFocus event of Text2, write this code: If chkControl.TabIndex <> label1.Caption = label1.Caption + gCurrentControl.TabIndex Then Chr(10) + Chr(13) + “Text 1 lost ‘ a simple way of checking that focus” ValCheck is being called Text1.SetFocus ‘ by the text box the user is actual- It all begins with a data dictionary, the Clarion’s application tree shows all the Clarion’s window designer has only bare ly leaving best approach to managing an elements of an application in the form of functionality by today’s standards, but it Now run the form, and try to tab from Exit Sub application’s underlying database a collapsible outliner. Double-click, and does support VBX controls for extending Text1 to Text2. As you would expect, the End If structure the procedure dialogue opens, allowing its features cursor remains stuck in Text1. But look at the characteristics of the procedure to be the label, and you see the following string If chkControl.Text <> “” Then ‘ it is quickly defined of text: valid</p><p>662 663 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● VISUAL PROGRAMMING</p><p> gFlag = CANMOVE track of two control Else variables, gCurrent- MsgBox “No way - you gotta type some- Control and gLast- thing” Control, and calling ‘ DO NOT replace with a decision dia- code in the GotFocus log! event of each control gCurrentControl.SetFocus to validate the entry in gFlag = NOMOVE the gLastControl, set- End If ting the focus back as necessary. It’s all End Sub rather messy and best avoided. 2. In Form1.Load: gFlag = NOMOVE Learning Delphi Set gCurrentControl = Text1 Borland’s Delphi has arrived, forcing Visual 3. In Text1.GotFocus: Basic into a painful If gFlag = CANMOVE Then re-positioning. VB is Faking a live query in Delphi by joining a Set gCurrentControl = Text1 no longer the first choice for rapid applica- table to a query End If tion development under Windows, at least until the next version is unveiled. But as one link on the table’s key field, for exam- 4. In Text2.GotFocus: Delphi beccomes established, its limita- ple CUST_NO. If gFlag = CANMOVE Then tions are emerging. While Delphi code 5. Set the Dataset property of Data- Set gCurrentControl = Text2 runs very well, its native database engine Source2 to Table1. End If (Borland Database Engine, or BDE) is less 6. Place a DBNavigator on the form and attractive than VB’s JET. JET’s Dynasets, point its DataSource property at Data- 5. In Text1.LostFocus and Text2.Lost- QueryDefs and SnapShots are a delight in Source1. Finally, add any DBEdit controls Focus: comparison. One of the problems is that you require, and link them to DataSource2 Call valcheck(Text1) BDE queries are only updatable in limited and its fields as required. circumstances. In the case of local data- If you now set the Active property of This code simply checks that each field bases (Paradox or dBase), the stringent Table1 and Query1 to True, and run the contains something. Typically, you would conditions include involving only a single project, you will have live editing of the want to vary the validity check from field to table, and not having an ORDER BY table while limiting available records to field. You can do with a Select ... Case clause in the SQL statement. Borland’s those in the TQuery. But is this really a code block, in which case the ValCheck suggested way round it is to bind data- good solution? Notice for example that the routine will need to know the identity of aware components to a TTable object editing buttons on the DBNavigator control gCurrentControl. Unfortunately the Name instead, while performing a one-to-one are greyed out, because the query is not property is not available at runtime, but join between a TQuery and the TTable. really live. If you insert or delete a record, that can be overcome by putting the name, For example, here are steps which for which you will need additional code, the or another identifier, into the Tag property assume you have a CUSTOMER.DB query must be refreshed to recognise the of each control. Another possibility is to table, and want to perform a SQL query on changes. And where multiple tables are use a control array and identify each con- the table while still allowing editing: involved, this is going to get messy. It may trol by its index. One final point: ValCheck 1. Place a TTable component, 2 TData- be worth sticking with VB/JET until a more ensures that gCurrentControl is the same Source components, and a TQuery com- flexible BDE is available. After all, it is only as the control which calls it, otherwise it ponent on a form. when there is extensive front-end pro- immediately exits. Otherwise the error 2. Set properties for the TQuery compo- cessing to be done that Delphi’s compiled message will be displayed twice, since nent. The DatabaseName must be the code brings substantial benefits. after an invalid entry ValCheck gets called directory where the data resides. The SQL Is Delphi working for you? If you’re first on the way out of Text1, and again on string might be something like: using Delphi, please report on any particu- the way out of Text2. lar problems or successes for the benefit This needs care because VB has select * from customer where of other readers using or considering this another unexpected feature. If you display customer.surname >= “J” and new development tool. a message box in the LostFocus event, customer.city = “Birmingham” order by the GotFocus event for the next control customer.surname never fires. In the example given this does PCW Contacts not matter. But what if you displayed a dia- Note that this query will be read-only. Tim Anderson welcomes tips and logue offering the user the chance to con- 3. Set the Dataset property of Data- suggestions for Visual Programming tinue to the next field despite the invalid Source1 to Query1. Hands On. Contact him at the usual entry? The next GotFocus would not get 4. Set the DatabaseName property of PCW address, or by email as called and gCurrentControl would go out Table1 to the data directory, the Table- freer@cix.compulink.co.uk. of synch. The way around this is not to call Name to CUSTOMER and the Master- TopSpeed 0158 276 3200 any dialogues from LostFocus. You can Source to DataSource1. Then, click the Clarion costs about £500 simulate the effect if necessary by keeping MasterFields property and set a one-to-</p><p>664 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● LOW LEVEL HANDS ON ● LOW LEVEL</p><p>The game of Go-Moku</p><p>The mini-max method The mini-max method can be used for generating the computer’s moves in cog- nitive games as diverse as chess, bridge and Go. The basic idea is to generate all the moves that can be made from a given 5 game position, consider all the replies that might be made to all these moves and A selection of positions from the many possible ways of forcing a then all the replies again, and so on down win, by creating two lines of three simultaneously to some depth of analysis. At this cut-off depth the resulting positions can be scored in some way. These scores can be Over the counter systematically propagated back up the analysis tree to the original position, where the computer chooses the move with the Regular readers will know that life is one big best score attached to it. 4 game for Mike Liardet. This month the mini-max Even at computer speed it is surprising how quickly the mini-max method can run Another forced win for White, this time in five moves. The last method resurfaces to help with Go-Moku, a two- out of steam. Most implentations rarely go two moves are essentially the same as in Fig 3 person game programmed in Visual Basic. to an analysis depth of more than five or six moves ahead. In order to make it more efficient there are several refinements 6 7 o-Moku is a two-person game played The game of Go-Moku Gon a traditional Go board, a square Possible replies to the open- 44 possible replies after the game area ruled in the form of a 19 x 19 grid. ing move has been going for ten moves Each player plays with his own colour counters (traditionally black or white) and moves are made in turns. To make a move, a player places one of his counters on any vacant intersection point. The first move (played by black) is always on the board’s centre point, but thereafter players can play anywhere. The winner is the first player to make a line of five adjacent counters in his own colour. 8 The line can be in any direction — hori- 9 10 11 zontal, vertical or diagonal. A draw is also 1 2 theoretically possible, although it rarely Scoring for one of the Scoring for various configu- The scoring system identifies Mapping a 7 x 7 board into a happens in practice: a game is drawn if the points in a typical rations of black points, in an the best moves to try (marked one-dimensional array board is filled with counters, with no side A win for White Not a win for White game position “Easterly” direction only with a black square) making any line of five. Fig 1 shows a win for White with five white counters arranged in a diagonal. which are often used. Principally there is rather boring game because after only a the game in much the same way as Chess White’s last move, the counter placed at the “alpha-beta cutoff” which can cut out a few rounds have been played it becomes players will sneer at Draughts. But for the bottom of the line, is marked with high- lot of unnecessary computation without apparent that a fairly obvious playing strat- most players Go-Moku offers ample scope lighting to distinguish it from counters jeopardising the accuracy of the analysis. egy always results in a drawn game. for exploring different strategies and tac- played earlier. Notice that Black could win The immediate rejection of seemingly Related games like Connect-4 and tics. In this month’s Low Level we will on the next move by adding to either end implausible moves also helps, although Nine Mens Morris are more interesting show how to develop a Visual Basic pro- of the horizontal row of four black coun- this can sometimes miss powerful “sacri- than Noughts and Crosses, as they are gram to play Go-Moku. ters, but this is just too late. fices”. It can also be beneficial to order the fought out on larger play areas which offer The rules of Go-Moku are given in the There is a subtle point in the wording of more powerful moves so that they are greater scope and variety. There is also a side panel. From the computerisation the rules, which can easily be missed by a dealt with earlier in the analysis, possibly three-dimensional variant of Noughts and viewpoint the good news is that the rules newcomer to the game. The rules state rejecting weaker moves out of hand. See Crosses, called Fours, where the object is are very simple. There is only one type of that the winning line must consist of five Low Level in PCW June 1994 and July to make a line within a 4 x 4 x 4 cube. All piece (a counter) and one type of move. counters and it is important to realise that 1993 for more information. these games can be challenging and inter- The playing area is simply a square grid this means exactly five counters. A line of There are a considerable number of esting to play, but perhaps the best of the with no distinguished areas or other com- six or more would be no good. Fig 2 shows two-person games which require a player bunch is Go-Moku. plications and the winning position is a move by White that creates a horizontal to get counters, tokens or symbols Go-Moku is a traditional game which is equally straightforward. All this means that line of seven white counters, but this is not 3 arranged into a line before his or her oppo- played on a Go Board, with the same it could not really be easier to implement a win. In fact, Black can win on the next nent. Noughts and Crosses (or Tic-Tac- counters that are used in Go. Go-Moku code to input a user’s move, validate it and move by placing a counter at either end of A forced win for white in three moves Toe as it is also known) is perhaps the games are often finished fairly quickly and determine when the game is won or lost. the horizontal row of four blacks. best known, but most people consider it a serious Go players tend to look down on Unfortunately, although the rules are</p><p>666 667 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● LOW LEVEL HANDS ON ● LOW LEVEL</p><p> simple, the playing strategy is complex Before proposing a method for gener- Fig 3 shows a winning sequence for Having recognised the importance of an Fortunately, there is a reasonably obvi- and lots of complications arise when trying ating computer moves it can be instructive White. If there is a vacant point at each open-ended line of four, we can go back ous heuristic that can be put to work: in to generate sensible computer moves. Of to look at some of the tactics that are com- end of the line of four then Black cannot another stage and see how two lines of practice it is generally a bad idea to play a course, the computer could just choose a monly adopted in play. Although a line of prevent a line of five from being built, no three can force a win. Fig 4 shows a typical counter at any distance from the existing vacant grid-point at random — a valid five finally wins the day, it soon becomes matter where he plays. The situation is situation. By playing at the intersection counters. For example, the first player approach when debugging the user inter- obvious that a common way to win the analogous to a “fork” in chess, where a point of two lines of two, White creates two (Black) holds the initiative and White face for example, but this would not game in practice is to get a line of four piece must be captured no matter how the lines of three simultaneously. No matter should reply defensively to the central amount to a very challenging opponent. counters, with a vacant point at each end. opponent replies. where Black plays it is impossible to pre- move with a counter placed nearby. If vent White from creating an open-ended Black then plays at some distance from Fig 12 Type and Variable declarations for representing the End Type line of four on the next move, and this ulti- these two counters the initiative will Go-Moku board and state of play mately leads to a win. inevitably pass to White if he plays near his ‘Classic Go Board has 19 by 19 points There are many positions from which it existing counter. This line of reasoning Option Explicit Const N_SIDE = 19 is possible to create two lines of three extends throughout the game, and in gen- ‘Possible returns from GameMoveXX functions Const NN = N_SIDE * N_SIDE simultaneously, and Fig 5 shows some of eral all the strong moves (which are the Global Const ILLEGAL = 0 Dim board(0 To NN) As pt them. It is part of the charm of the game only ones we really want to analyse) tend Global Const LEGAL = 1 ‘(board(NN) is not a visible point - only used for ring that these configurations can be quite diffi- to be near existing counters. Global Const DRAW = 2 pointers) cult to spot in actual play, especially when Thus for our implementation we will Global Const HUMAN_WIN = 3 Const WIN_LENGTH = 5 ‘length of a winning line there are many other counters around. only consider moves that are one or two Global Const COMPUTER_WIN = 4 Dim SC(-5 To 5) ‘scores for lines containing 0 to Of course, none of the above tactics will points away in a straight line from any Const WIN = 5 ‘a win by the current mover 5 points, both colours work unless the game is going to continue occupied point. For example, in Fig 6, after Const LOSS = 6 ‘a loss by the current mover Const INFINITY = 99999999# ‘bigger than any possible for long enough to secure a win. It is point- the single opening move has been made, Dim gameOver As Integer ‘can be 0 or HUMAN_WIN, COMPUT- total score less for White, say, to make a neat move the only replies that will be considered are ER_WIN or DRAW that creates two lines of three, if Black can for the points marked with an “X”. This ‘Values for moving from one point to next, in various immediately reply with a move on some far reduces the number of opening replies to ‘Values for contents of each point dirns region of the board that creates an open- be considered from 360 down to a more Const BLACK = -1 Dim DIFF(0 To LAST_DIRN) As Integer ended line of four. The correct move for manageable 16. More generally, after the Const EMPTY = 0 White under these circumstances would game has progressed a few moves (Fig 7) Const WHITE = 1 ‘Structure for saving old scores, so they can be be to block Black’s line in some way. Sim- we can see that only a few of the total num- Dim colour As Integer ‘Colour that is about to move: restored ilarly, it is pointless to make an open- ber of vacant points are considered feasi- BLACK or WHITE Type score ended line of four if the opponent is about ble moves. Notice that we do not pSaved As Integer ‘index of point where to make a line of five elsewhere. distinguish between black and white coun- ‘Values for directions used in scoring move made As with many cognitive games there is ters when generating the plausible moves Const NUM_DIRNS = 4 dirnsaved As Integer ‘posn in Score() the possibility of using the mini-max in any given situation. Const NORTH = 0 numPointsSaved As Integer ‘previous value there method to generate the computer moves, Const NORTH_EAST = 1 End Type and certainly mini-max should play a part How to score Const EAST = 2 in any solid implementation of the game. In any non-trivial game application the Const SOUTH_EAST = 3 Const MAX_PLY = 10 We won’t go into the details of mini-max mini-max method rarely completes its Const LAST_DIRN = NUM_DIRNS - 1 Const LAST_PLY = MAX_PLY - 1 itself here as we have covered the method analysis down to a clear win, loss or draw ‘Each move can change a maximum of WIN_LENGTH + 2 scores before in this column. To achieve a practi- result for a game, so it requires some scor- ‘Structure of a point - upper case fields are, in in each direction cal implementation of mini-max for Go- ing mechanism to determine how well or effect, constants Const LAST_OLDSCORE = (WIN_LENGTH + 2) * NUM_DIRNS * NN Moku it is necessary to overcome one or badly the game is progressing for a given ‘which are initialised in BoardInit - 1 two special problems relating to the game, side, even if the game is not actually fin- Type pt Dim oldscore(0 To LAST_OLDSCORE) As score so instead of covering mini-max in any ished at that point. We have already seen Contents As Integer ‘=EMPTY, WHITE or BLACK Dim scoreTop As Integer extra detail we will go over these special that two lines of three or an open-ended NUMCLOSE As Integer ‘number of squares that Dim totScore As Long difficulties. line of four can force a win (if the opponent are close: 0 to 16 Most obviously, there are an enormous does not have something better on the go CLOSETO(0 To 15) As Integer ‘index of squares that ‘Structure for holding moves, so they can be undone number of possible moves available at already), so this suggests that a scoring are ‘close’ Type stack each stage in Go-Moku. Following the system should be based, in some way, on avail As Integer ‘number of close scoreTopSaved As Integer ‘scoreTop before move opening move in the middle, White can the number of lines of given lengths avail- squares that are occupied made play on any of the other 19 x 19 points, giv- able to each player. PrevAvail As Integer ‘index to previous totScoreSaved As Long ‘totScore ditto ing 360 possibilities. Then for each of For each point on the board we need to available point PMoveMade As Integer ‘index of point where these moves there are 359 possible replies consider if it can be made into a line of five nextavail As Integer ‘index to next move made from Black, followed by 358 replies from in any direction, and how many points are available point colourPlayed As Integer ‘colour placed there White etc. With most other games the already in place to help the line of five be numPoints(NORTH To SOUTH_EAST) As Integer ‘’score’ BLACK or WHITE choice of moves at each stage is limited to completed. Fig 8 shows how we can score = -5 to +5 = number of points held in next ‘five’ End Type a handful or no more than 20 or 30, say, for just the one marked central point. Mov- NUMAFTER(NORTH To SOUTH_EAST) As Integer ‘0 to 4, Dim stack(0 To NN) As stack ‘up to NN moves are pos- but with Go-Moku the numbers are much ing Northwards from the point there are 4 unless pt near edge sible larger. With even the most powerful two white counters already in place so we NUMBEFORE(NORTH To SOUTH_EAST) As Integer ‘ditto Dim stackTop As Integer processor it would not be feasible to use can assign a count of plus two for this. In LINEAFTER(NORTH To SOUTH_EAST) As Integer ‘index mini-max to analyse these moves exhaus- the North Easterly direction there are three to point five along, or -1 if off edge ‘Details held on picture box tively to any great depth, so it is essential black counters in place. Being the opposite LINEBEFORE(NORTH To SOUTH_EAST) As Integer ‘index Dim gridsize As Single to find a way of cutting down this analysis colour to White we assign a count of minus to point five before, or -1 if off edge Dim picGame As Control space to manageable proportions. three there. </p><p>668 669 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● LOW LEVEL HANDS ON ● LOW LEVEL</p><p>In the Easterly direction there is one However, this is not a fair reckoning. Black from which it can participate in a line of each stage. Fig 7 showed that once the A two-dimensional 19 x 19 array could be black counter available, but immediately has one line of three emanating from this five. In contrast, the broken line of four game has got going there are still a con- used to represent the board, but this is PCW Cover Disk The full code for this month’s Low Level is on to the left there is also a black counter. point which is worth considerably more scores only 1,020 points in total. There is siderable number of possible moves that inefficient for a number of reasons. Firstly, the cover disk given with this issue of PCW. This means that a winning line of five than White’s line of one and line of two. If it only one way in which it can be used to might be considered at each stage (44 in two-dimensional arrays are slower to Black counters could never be made from were Black’s move at this juncture then make a line of five (and also two ways that this case) but we can use the scoring sys- access (as the programming language this point in the Easterly direction Black could force a win by playing at this its components can contribute just two tem to identify the most likely ones. Any has to compute a multiplicative expression board, but it is even more tricky with a 1D (because inevitably we would actually point, resulting in an open-ended line of points to a line of five). move that lengthens a line, or blocks one to locate any given array element). This representation. The solution is to precom- have six in a line) so the score is zero four, whereas White does not have very The difference in scoring correlates with of the opponent’s longer lines, is more may not matter so much now that PC pute all the edge conditions for the board, here. Finally, in the South Easterly direc- interesting possibilities in this area at all. the obvious fact that an open-ended line of likely to be considered first. processors commonly have powerful arith- so that each point’s distance to the edge is tion there is one white counter in the line, A more realistic scoring system is to four can be used to force a win, whereas a Fig 10 shows the highest scoring metic built in, but the more important rea- predetermined. Fig 12 gives the Visual so we assign minus one to the count in give, say, one point to a line of one, 10 for broken line of four is merely threatening a moves of the 44 possible ones (marked son for avoiding a 2D array is that every Basic type and data declarations for the this direction. a line of two, 100 for three, 1,000 for four win but can easily be blocked. Similarly, with a black square). Two of them create a move or reference to a board grid point board structure and Fig 13 gives the code Notice that for scoring purposes it is and 10,000 for five. This gives an overall the scoring system allocates a higher line of four which must be defended imme- needs to have two numbers, and it compli- for setting up and manipulating them. only necessary to consider these four score for this point of +200 -3,000 + 0 -10, score to an open-ended line of three (300) diately by White and one of them defends cates the program to store and retrieve Next month we will show how to tie directions, as lines in the other directions which comes to -2,790, reflecting a supe- than it does to three points with breaks. against a fairly strong possible move by two numbers when one will do the job everything together with some neat graph- will be covered by other points. For exam- rior position for Black. Again, an open-ended line of three consti- the opponent. In the long run these may equally well. ics effects and an elegant user interface. ple, the line to the South of our point will In practice this scoring system seems to tutes an immediate threat, which can be not be the best moves available, but the It is fairly straightforward to arrange for be considered by the point five below work fairly well. Fig 9 shows various con- converted into an open-ended line of four. mini-max analysis is in any case likely to the board to be represented as a one- when analysing its scoring possibilities in figurations of black counters and how they A broken line of three is a much weaker find the alternatives. In the meantime dimensional array. Fig 11 shows how a 7 x PCW Contacts a Northerly direction. are scored for various sequences of configuration. these are good moves to be considered 7 board can be mapped into one dimen- Mike Liardet is a freelance programmer It might be supposed that to score a points, considering scores in the Easterly An important point is that the scoring very early on. sion by assigning a number to each point and writer. He can be contacted via the position it is only necessary to add up the direction only. The open-ended line of four system can not only be used to evaluate Although the game rules are fairly sim- in a fairly obvious fashion. The principle is PCW editorial office or on email as counts. If we were to do this for the one scores the highest number of points terminal positions for the mini-max ple it is worth devoting a little bit of effort to exactly the same for larger boards. mliardet@cix.compulink.co.uk point we have considered its score would (2,000). It gets this score by tallying 1,000 method, but can also be used to select the arriving at a reasonable underlying repre- It is difficult enough with a 2D array to come to + 2 - 3 + 0 - 1, which equals zero. points twice, because there are two points most powerful moves for evaluation at sentation of the board, moves and pieces. detect when a point is at the edge of the</p><p>Fig 13 Data Manipulation Routines accumulated below.. dCol = 1 Dim pp As Integer 'index of current point For r = row - dist To row + dist Step dist End Select Sub DataInit () Dim dRow As Integer 'vertical increment '..in the col to left, same col, and col 'One-time initialisation of board(). Should be called Dim dCol As Integer 'horiz increment to right.. 'Find how far forward we can go without in Form_Load Dim dirn As Integer 'direction For c = col - dist To col + dist Step dropping off the edge ' For each point.. dist r = row '1. Computes the index of points which are 'close' to 'ignore points off the edge, and our c = col it 'Set up DIFFs - the index increments needed to move point itself For dist = 0 To WIN_LENGTH - 1 'For example for the point marked '*' below, the from one point If 0 <= r And r < N_SIDE And 0 <= c r = r + dRow points marked 'X' 'to another in the appropriate direction And c < N_SIDE And (r <> row Or c <> col) Then c = c + dCol 'are considered close (but in general some of these DIFF(NORTH) = -N_SIDE 'Set this point as being close If r < 0 Or r >= N_SIDE Or c < 0 Or c points might DIFF(NORTH_EAST) = -N_SIDE + 1 board(pp).CLOSETO(count) = r * >= N_SIDE Then Exit For 'be off the edge) DIFF(EAST) = 1 N_SIDE + c Next dist ' X . X . X DIFF(SOUTH_EAST) = N_SIDE + 1 count = count + 1 If dist >= WIN_LENGTH Then ' X X X End If board(pp).NUMAFTER(dirn) = WIN_LENGTH ' X X * X X SC(0) = 0 Next c - 1 ' X X X SC(1) = 1 Next r board(pp).LINEAFTER(dirn) = pp + ' X X X SC(2) = 10 Next dist WIN_LENGTH * DIFF(dirn) '2. Computes the number of points after it in each SC(3) = 100 'Record the number of close points Else direction. Anything SC(4) = 1000 board(pp).NUMCLOSE = count board(pp).NUMAFTER(dirn) = dist 'more than four is taken as four SC(5) = 10000 board(pp).LINEAFTER(dirn) = -1 '3. Ditto points before it For i = 1 To 5 'Deal with the direction-orientated stuff End If '4. Computes the index of the point five points after SC(-i) = -SC(i) For dirn = NORTH To SOUTH_EAST it in each dirn Next i 'Set direction increments 'Find how far backward we can go without 'Set to -1 if no such point exists Select Case dirn dropping off the edge '5. Ditto the point five before it 'Visit each point on the board.. Case NORTH r = row ' pp = 0 dRow = -1 c = col 'Also sets up DIFF and SC() For row = 0 To N_SIDE - 1 dCol = 0 For dist = 0 To WIN_LENGTH - 1 Dim i As Integer For col = 0 To N_SIDE - 1 Case NORTH_EAST r = r - dRow Dim row As Integer 'row being visited '..and set it up with index of points which dRow = -1 c = c - dCol Dim col As Integer 'column ditto are 'close' to it dCol = 1 If r < 0 Or r >= N_SIDE Or c < 0 Or c Dim dist As Integer 'distance of a point from current count = 0 Case EAST >= N_SIDE Then Exit For point 'At a a distance of one or two from our dRow = 0 Next dist Dim r As Integer 'row of neraby point point.. dCol = 1 If dist >= WIN_LENGTH Then Dim c As Integer 'column ditto For dist = 1 To 2 Case SOUTH_EAST board(pp).NUMBEFORE(dirn) = WIN_LENGTH Dim count As Integer 'number of close points '..in the row above, same row, and row dRow = 1 - 1point</p><p>670 671 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● NUMBERS COUNT HANDS ON ● NUMBERS COUNT</p><p>(2) The Smarandache Digit Sequences (SUPERSEEKER by NJA Sloane, S length arithmetic implementation. Can the Gustaaf of Grimbergen in Belgium using General Definition: in any numeration Plouffe, B Salvy, ATT Bell Labs, Murray count, P, be represented asymptotically Turbo-Basic on a PC 1512 Amstrad base B, for any given infinite integer or Hill, NJ 07974, USA). for large S and/or G? Is there any known (6MHz) with 640kb and a hard disk of rational sequence S1, S2, S3,... and any Problem Y (an.) (a) Investigate the practical application of this asymptotic sit- 20Mb. Lahousse attempted the G1 prob- digit D from 0 to B - 1 we define a new inte- Smarandache Consecutive & Smaran- uation? Responses to either or both of the lem with an array size limitation of 8000. ger sequence which associates with S1 dache Symmetrical Sequences in a gen- above problems may be sent to: Mike He devoted about three hours “to writing the number of digits D of S1 in base B, eral number base, say B, examining the Mudge, 22 Gors Fach, Pwll-Trap, St two programs, for testing and running with S2 the number of digits D of S2 in occurrence of both PRIMES and indeed Clears, Carmarthen, Dyfed SA33 4AQ, tel them” and came up with some valuable base B etc. any other special types of integer that may 01994 231121 to arrive by 1st August 1995. output. He goes on to say, regarding H1: “I e.g. Considering the prime number be considered appropriate, e.g. Fibonacci, Any complete or partial solutions cannot buy manufacturer’s packages sequence in base 10, then the number of Triangular, Binomial Coefficients etc. received will be judged using suitable sub- (they are not cheap) so I wrote programs digits, says 1, of each prime number fol- (b) The Smarandache Digit & Smaran- jective criteria, and a prize in the form of a for multiplying and dividing two numbers Top of the class lowing their order is: dache Construction Sequences are clearly £25 book token, or the equivalent over- with more than 4,000 digits, and they are 0,0,0,0,2,1,1,1,0,0,1,0... (The Smaran- (very) open-ended. Implement the exam- seas voucher, will be awarded by Mike to extend to 10,000 and more digits for a dache digit-1 prime sequence, the penulti- ples given, in the first instance, and carry Mudge to the “best” solution arriving by the bigger PC.” He also goes on to observe 29 mate entry in the sub-sequence quoted out a frequency count of entries in the closing date. Such contributions should = 3.11 - 22... Some sequences of Smarandache contrasted with corresponding to the one 1 in “31”). associated sequences. Consider the pos- contain a brief description of the hardware Problem H1 has attracted much inter- a permutations problem relating to class/student Similarly, the Smarandache digit-0 fac- sibility of modelling this algebraically. Then used, details of coding, run times and a est. Gordon Bird of Street obtained the torial sequence begins: extend the philosophy (i.e. the general def- summary of the results obtained, all in a required factorisation in three hours on an allocation; presented by Mike Mudge. 0,0,0,0,0,1,1,2,2,1,3... whilst the Smaran- inition of these sequences) in any way that form suitable for publication in PCW. Addi- Amstrad 1640 using version 3.0 of Derive. dache digit-5 n*n sequence begins appears to be either natural or interesting tionally, readers’ comments upon the gen- Michael Cohen used Maple V on a 0,0,0,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,... the last 1 in this sub- and repeat the analysis. The above prob- eral, or specific, nature of this month’s 486DX/33 and solved it in nine minutes, sequence representing the 5 in 77 = lems appear to me to be of a most abstract column would be most welcome. In partic- while Alan Cox used UBASIC’s MPQSX ome Sequences of SMARAN- Craiova, Department of Mathematics, 823543. References include: Florentin and in some sense unnatural type (COM- ular, the contrast between between the program on a 12MHz machine and SDACHE... contributed by J Yan of April 1979, “Some problems in number Smarandache, “Only problems, not solu- MENTS ON THIS OBSERVATION applied and the abstract problem... which obtained the answer in less than two min- Tucson, Arizona. theory” by Florentin Smarandache. Ari- tions!”, Xiquan Publishing House, PLEASE!). While realising that today’s type do YOU prefer? References to any utes. Very extensive solutions were (1) The Smarandache Consecutive zona State University, Hayden Library, Phoenix-Chicago, 1990, 1991, 1992, Pure Mathematics may be tomorrow’s recent work on the Smarandache Type received from Henry Ibstedt in Paris and Sequence “The Florentin Smarandache papers” spe- 1993; ISBN: 1-879585-00-6, Unsolved Applicable Mathematics, I wish to contrast Sequences (either published or unpub- Nigel Hodges in Gloucester; the latter 1, 12, 123, 12345, 123456,... What fraction cial collection, Tempe, AZ 85287-1006, Problem 3, p.7. with a CLASS/Student allocation problem lished) would be greatly appreciated. using a remarkable mixture of theory and of this sequence is prime? Generalise this USA, tel: (602) 965-6515 (Carol Moore (3) The Smarandache Construction posed by Neil Charlton. Please note that material can only be practice and fining among many other problem to any number base B. Refer- librarian), email: ICCLM@ASUACAD.BIT- Sequence returned if a suitable stamped addressed things the first non-trivial solution of y2 - ences: Student Conference, University of NET. General Definition: in any numeration A PERMUTATION PROBLEM from the envelope is provided. 1549 - x2 = 1 where y has 71 digits and x base B, for any given infinite integer or real world a mere 70. rational sequence S1,S2,S3,... and any If I have S unique items and I wish to group Feedback from readers However, the very worthy prizewinner digits D1,D2,D3,...Dk (where k is less than them in G groups, how many possible The introduction of the BEGINNERS this month is David Broughton, of 17 B), we define an integer sequence such combinations are there? For example, if I START HERE feature has not, at this time, Golden Ridge, Freswater, Isle of Wight, that each of its terms Q1 less Q2 less Q3... have 5 items (S=5) called a, b, c, d, e some generated a significant response. Is this PO40 9LE. Using an IBM PC compatible is formed by these digits D1,D2,D3...Dk permutations for three groups (G=3) are what readers want? Is there a different for- with a 386DX/33MHz CPU without a only (all these digits are used) and mat of “beginners” articles which would be maths co-processor, running Desqview matches a term Si of the previous a b cde; a bc de; abc d e; likely to prove popular? Please suggest under PCDOS 6.1 and using a 4DOS ver- sequence. any subject areas, or specific problems sion 4.0 as the command line interpreter, e.g. Consider the base 10 prime num- (Note: a b cde is strictly equivalent to b that you would respond to... David concentrated his efforts on Problem ber sequence starting 17, 71,... called the a cde and is only counted as one per- There has been pressure from several N2: finding delay taps on a shift register; Smarandache digit-1-7-only prime mutation.) Assuming that it is possible to quarters to write something about the although he concludes that “An efficient sequence. The Smarandache digit-0-1- calculate P as a function of S and G, Neil National Lottery. In the writer’s opinion solution to the converse problem of deter- only multiple of three sequence begins asks for an (efficient) algorithm which there is more than sufficient information mining the delay from a given tapping pat- 1011, 1101, 1110, 10011, 10101, 10110, would generate all of the sequences. (He and misinformation already available. tern has not been solved”. Technical detail 11001, 11010, 11100,... References suggests the use of for-next loops.) Typical However, if this topic is of interest and felt including the overcoming of the absence include Arizona State University cited output he suggests for the above example to be relevant to Numbers Count please of a parity funciton from high-level lan- above, and “Only problems, not solutions!” are 12333 — implying that A is in the first let me know. guages are discussed in precise terms, full (4) The Smarandache Symmetrical group, B in the second etc. Following up on Leisure Lines, PCW listings are supplied. Details on request Sequence This appears to be a straightforward April 1995, Alan Cox requests the most from David... I hope! 11, 121, 1221, 12321, 123321,...... application of permutation theory, but since efficient algorithm for establishing that all 12345678910111213121110987654321.. it originates in a “real world” situation we of the digits of a given integer are distinct. Florentin Smarandache asks, how many ask: This is easily done by eye, but “How do we prime numbers are there in this Problem NC Design and implement an effi- do that?” PCW ContributionsWelcome sequence? NOTE: In its most general cient algorithm for the solution of the above Mike Mudge welcomes readers’</p><p> form the Smarandache Symmetrical Abrams problem; particular attention needs to be Review of Numbers Count -140- correspondence on any subject within Sequence is considered in base B (Radix given to the format of the final output... December 1994: A Christmas the areas of number theory and B arithmetic). Reference: “The Encyclope- and, to relate this to the typical difficulties Miscellany computational mathematics, together dia of Integer Sequences” by NJA Sloane with Numbers Count problems, specify the As expected, a wide variety of problems with suggested subject areas and/or and S Plouffe, Academic Press, 1995; on integer limitations on the attracted a wide variety of responses,</p><p>Photography by Jake specific problems for future Numbers email: superseeker@research.att.com algorithm supplied for a given integer including a creditable one from Lahousse Count articles PCW</p><p>674 675 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● NETWORKS HANDS ON ● NETWORKS</p><p> in Norton DOS. It worked perfectly. Just to The great advantage of SoftWindows is add insult to injury, I created the icon for that a Mac will join a Novell network with- one of Jeff’s least favourite programs in out the need to load the AppleTalk NLMs Program Manager, and now he can run at the server. Other advantages are that it WordStar on his Macintosh. incorporates the AccessPC technology to SoftWindows isn’t just a gimmick. allow it to recognise PC file extensions Clients of mine are using it quite success- correctly across a NetWare LAN, for fully. Their output bureau is mainly Mac- instance, allowing Word for Macintosh to based, and at one office they have an NT see files with the DOC extension as native server which successfully deals with Word files. queueing of print jobs and so on. At their SoftWindows also allows a gateway to second office, which is smaller, they felt be installed; this allows a machine Taking the soft option they couldn’t justify the expense of a attached both to Ethernet and LocalTalk to server so they decided to try SoftWindows bridge from one network to the other in the as their file exchange method. From their background, allowing any machine without If you’ve a burning desire to run Windows on a reports and my own experience, SoftWin- an Ethernet card to access the network, Mac, SoftWindows could be the answer. Stephen dows seems to be just the product for this albeit somewhat more slowly. sort of application. Rodda gets to grips with it, finally installs Carbon Questions & answers: memory problems Copy, and settles a memory debate. We have just put together a specification run the server and to cache file writes for the for a network server to be used on our exist- users. This means that with a NetWare server ing Windows for Workgroups network. We with, say, 4Gb of disk space, you will probably while ago I wrote part of my column Windows for Workgroups 3.11 to Windows intend in future to move to a Windows NT end up with the same specification of machine Aon the Tube. This month I’m using a 3.1 (the fact that it supports more than one network. However, we specified that RAID 1 as you would originally have needed for NT. Macintosh. No, not a Macintosh word pro- network at a time being one reason) but disk mirroring based on two SCSI 1Gb drives Larger disks will increase the difference cessing program, I’m using Windows — I’m sure that once Jeff gets used to the fact be included as part of this machine. We have between the NetWare server and the NT one. SoftWindows for the Macintosh. Jeff (reg- that he’s got Windows on his machine he’ll been informed that rather than hardware mir- Of course, both NetWare and NT allow ular readers of this column will know that come around to the idea. I’m missing roring based on the SCSI controller, we both disk duplexing and mirroring. The differ- Jeff is my business partner and a being able to access the NetWare server should go for software mirroring based on a ence between these two forms of reassurance designer), whose machine I’m using, is a and the Windows for Workgroups PCs at proper network OS such as Novell NetWare. is that mirroring involves holding a copy of the little put out, since my Macintosh, an the same time. I’m still thinking of convert- Would you agree? We have also been server’s data area on another section of disk elderly SE, isn’t up to the job, so I’m using ing everything to TCP/IP for complete informed that we need 16Mb RAM to run surface, while duplexing is a description of his Macintosh IIci. SoftWindows’ minimum interchangeability. such a system. Is this true? We had original- mirroring which involves making sure the disk recommended hardware is a Macintosh Jeff’s initial reaction was hostile. “Why ly specified 8Mb. surface referred to is on another physical disk with a 68040 processor or a PowerPC and did you do that?” he asked. “I’m quite Andy, ah@eu.net unit. Carried to its logical conclusion duplexing 12Mb RAM. happy with my machine as it is. You know also demands a separate SCSI controller card Although SoftWindows isn’t supposed I hate DOS and Windows.” Firstly, 16Mb is only just enough memory. I’d for the separate disk unit(s). to run very well on this machine, it’s got “So that you don’t have to grab my sec- be inclined to go for 24Mb or 32Mb RAM. Put more simply, then, mirroring means 32Mb RAM and I’ve allocated a reason- ond PC when you want to use Ventura,” I Remember (and this applies to either Net- having a complete copy of the data, and able amount of memory to iti, so it runs like replied. Ware or NT) the more memory you throw at duplexing means having it on another disk. a reasonably fast AT. Now, I appreciate SoftWindows is really only a 286 emu- the machine the better the network’s perfor- Obviously, duplexing represents a far more that an AT won’t run enhanced mode Win- lator for the Macintosh with a few cleverly mance will be. In the case of NT, this would reliable solution, since it would be extremely dows, and I’ve now realised why I prefer written drivers for Windows; the rest of the probably peak at around 32Mb in a simple unlikely for a pair of disks and controller cards code for Windows is exactly the same as server situation. to fail at the same time, unless you were A SoftWindows screen showing the it would be if you went out and bought a NetWare will just carry on using the RAM struck by lightning. If you were just mirroring NetWare connections Microsoft shrinkwrapped version. There up to the maximum installed. The rule of and the data resided on the same hard disk are special video, net- thumb is more difficult, but I’d say that a (say it were divided into two identical work, keyboard and rough approximation is 4Mb for the operating partitions), the drive electronics or mechanics mouse drivers. Although system and 1Mb for every 250Mb of extra might fail and you wouldn’t be able to access the only special network disk space. Add another 2Mb if you’re using either copy of the data. driver is the MLID (the NetWare 4.0. As far as the choice of network operating device-dependent por- From the tone of your letter, it seems system (NOS) is concerned, you say the client tion), LSL, IPXODI and you’re not quite sure whether you should use machines have Windows for Workgroups. NETX all run unmodified. Novell NetWare or NT. In the first case (that These make the ideal NT client. Remember I even tested the DOS is, for smaller networks) NetWare uses less that under NetWare, printer sharing to and implementation (like an in the way of hardware than an NT network. from a Windows workstation can be problem- ordinary PC, SoftWin- Having said that, once you add disk space to atic to say the least. dows loads DOS before a Novell network you start having problems For ease of use, since you already use and Windows) with 4DOS, a with memory — NetWare needs memory know the Windows networking system, I shareware COM- based upon the amount of disk space would suggest that you go for Windows NT as MAND.COM replace- installed in the server. NT, on the other hand, many of the administrative jobs are fairly simi- ment also partly included needs no more than the memory required to lar between the two operating systems.</p><p>676 677 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● NETWORKS</p><p> people to be able to use the machine, and others not to, is easily dealt with. Simple pre- cautions like issuing unusual passwords, changing them reg- ularly, setting up callback (when the remote machine hangs up and calls the user back) where applicable, and ensuring proper network security, should defeat all but the most determined hacker. This level of security should prove adequate for most applications. Internet access on the LAN. Does it How does a faxmodem connected to a carry a security risk? network work? The answer is that such a faxmodem may be shared outwards only, the fax files being manually routed to their Carbon Copy recipients by an operator, or the faxes may Last month I was berating Microcom for its be recognised by optical character recog- Carbon Copy for Windows, and Traveling nition (OCR) and their destination arrived Software for LapLink for Windows. This at by reading the “To:” entry on the cover month I’ve managed to get them installed. page. Of course, manual intervention Carbon Copy didn’t like my video driver, would also sometimes be required. but once I’d replaced it with ordinary VGA Some people worry that a faxmodem it all worked. Well, at least it didn’t crash. attached to the network will also allow a The only problem was that I couldn’t con- security breach; it won’t. Most fax software nect the machines together. I found the in receive mode will allow the modem to problem was that although NetWare and receive only fax-type transmissions and Windows for Workgroups were working, not other data or commands. An outsider the network wasn’t defined precisely might just as well try to connect to the enough for Carbon Copy. I ended up office coffee machine. removing the NETBEUI protocol, allowing It is also possible to connect your net- all communication over IPX/SPX, and work to the Internet. Remember you’ll Carbon Copy worked perfectly. have to use TCP/IP over the whole LAN or I’m often asked about connecting have a means of routeing data from the modems to networks, sharing modems, LAN to the Internet. Another item on your Internet access and so on. The main shopping list will be either a demand con- questions are: Can I share a modem over nection to the Internet, or a direct Internet the network? If I connect a modem to the feed. If you have a direct Internet feed you network or to the workstation, can people will have to have an Internet address dial in? If I connect a faxmodem to my net- assigned to you — not just like work how does it work? steve@bear.co.uk, but a four-byte number The first question is easily answered. (usually represented in decimal notation) Yes, you can share a modem over the like 197.0.2.45. It is this number to which network. The answer to how you do it is your address will be translated whenever not so simple. There are a variety of meth- a message or file is sent to bear.co.uk. ods, from Novell’s own NACS through to Of course, if you have an Internet feed pcANYWHERE. The main variants on this you will have to consider the necessity of theme are whether the modem is shared firewalls. Firewalls are machines on the over the LAN as a resource (NACS and so network which decide what commands to on) or whether you are going to take over allow from the Internet and which to disal- the machine with the modem connected low. You wouldn’t want people to link to (Carbon Copy et al). your server and download a copy of your As for whether people can dial in if you diary, although you might well want them connect a modem to the network, the to be able to download your latest sales answer is both yes and no. They can if you brochure. want them to. Related to this is the ques- tion of whether a modem on a network will PCW Contacts allow people to hack the network or the Stephen Rodda is an independent machine. The answer is that it will only if it computer consultant specialising in DTP is configured to answer incoming calls. and networking. He may be contacted The fact that you want some (authorised) as the_bear@cix.compulink.co.uk</p><p>679 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● MACINTOSH HANDS ON ● MACINTOSH</p><p>Performing regular maintenance is essential for a healthy Mac</p><p>Another instantly noticeable change is the ability to turn your Mac off using the Power key on the keyboard. Pressing this with the system on now results in a dia- logue box offering the option to Restart, Shutdown or Cancel — nothing special, Health and safety but it saves switching from the active appli- cation to the Finder. Users of PowerBooks will be offered the chance to put the machine to sleep. Apple’s latest update can bring all-round Update 1.0 has a number of specific improvement to your machine’s performance. improvements for PowerMac. Top of the Chris Cain looks at this and other ways to stay list is more native code in QuickDraw, the part of the operating system that handles away from crashes and keep your Mac in top shape. graphical operations such as line draw, pattern fill and scrolling. Increased native code makes these faster, and I’ve noticed the improvement even on simple desktop he hot news in the Mac world at the stage is to close down any active applica- commitment to cloning and producing window activities. Tmoment is the launch of affordable tions, or restart the machine, then run the generic code that will run on non Apple The PowerMac Serial Driver has been PowerMac Performas. Fitted with the new Installer from disk one. ASICs. As you can see from the picture adjusted to avoid a potential crash in cer- 75MHz PowerPC 603 processor, these Apple’s Installers are normally smart below, it looks attractive too. tain circumstances, and new video soft- look set to finally deliver RISC power to the enough to install only the relevant parts of More important is improved memory ware puts an end to the occasionally people. And about time too. All we can the update software for your particular management, especially in low-memory scrambled startup screens some users hope now is that dealers will get the prices Mac. When I accepted the Easy Install situations. Update 1.0 helps prevent those have reported. The ever helpful Apple right. For a full review of the new systems option everything went smoothly, but if you annoying crashes that occur when you Guide now runs more smoothly in native see page 402. have problems, try re-installing with the have multiple applications open and are mode and an update system maths library This month’s Hands On Macintosh manual Custom Install option. It’s easy down to your last 200kb. WindowShade’s (MathLib) gives even faster performance. takes a look at the new System 7.5 Update enough to work out which bits you need, memory handling has also been tweaked, Other general improvements worth not- 1.0. A must-have for all Mac users who then just check the box next to them and and there’s a fix to a potential crash situa- ing are changes to the SCSI Manager, a want to keep their machines on track, this click OK. tion which can occur while pasting large new LaserWriter driver, an internally brings improvements and bug fixes to just So what does Update 1.0 give you? amounts of data (how many times has enhanced version of SimpleText and a about every area. Read on too for some The most obvious, though minor, change your machine frozen in Quark when Launcher with Drag and Drop support. tips for fine tuning the way you work, rest is that when you next start your machine you’ve been doing just that?). There are far too many small but impor- and play, and a peek at possibly the best you’ll be greeted by a new Mac OS logo tant updates for different Mac models to CD-ROM ever. while the software boots up. This demon- The first sign of a change with System discuss in detail in this column. My recom- strates, if nothing else, the company’s 7.5 Update 1.0 mendation is to just download and install Patch and mend this latest update, making sure that you Every so often Apple releases extensions get the correct localised version for you. to the Mac operating system that increase The only problem I’ve found with Update performance and mop up any stray bugs. 1.0 is that it doesn’t work with Newer These small files are distributed online as Technology’s CPU accelerator, at least disk images for users to download: you not on 7100s. can pick them up on eWorld or from Apple Web sites on the Internet. Anti-crash course The latest major patch is System 7.5 If there’s one thing about computers that Update 1.0 which comes, alarmingly, on can drive you mad it’s losing important four high-density floppies. To help min- data due to a system crash. You may think imise file sizes and phone bills Apple has your colleague’s 10-second error beep is posted the images in a highly compressed annoying, but it’s nothing compared to half regularly. This simple operation takes no sees — what they look like, which program BinHex format. Once downloaded they a month’s work suddenly going up in more than a couple of minutes and helps they belong to, which package created need to be uncompressed using an appli- smoke. To avoid this and other potential keep a file called the desktop database them, and what comments are in the Get cation such as DropStuff, and then turned nightmares it pays to run a few periodical in shape. Info boxes. into floppies using Apple DiskCopy. Both checks and maintenance routines on your The desktop file is something users The Mac uses this to manage its win- DiskCopy and DropStuff should also be Mac. Prevention is better than cure. don’t normally interact with: it’s purely for dow displays. Unfortunately, with around available for download at eWorld. Perhaps the easiest way to boost your the Mac’s own use. It’s a database of infor- nine individual pictures for most programs When you have your disks the next Mac’s health is to rebuild the desktop mation about every icon the Finder ever (one for each possible view), the database</p><p>680 681 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● MACINTOSH</p><p> finds anything amiss it will give you the option to repair it, and to save a report to disk as a text file. Should the problem be on your startup disk, you’ll need to boot the system from another hard disk or a bootable floppy to correct the situation. Disk First Aid is simplistic compared to commercial packages, but used regularly it can nip potential problems in the bud. Other programs recommended for a healthy Mac are Norton Speed Disk, to keep your hard disk defragmented, Symantec Anti Virus (SAM), and the shareware virus killer Disinfectant. </p><p>A dog’s life Simulators that let you fly planes and build cities have always proved popular with Mac users. People all around the world love to play with dials, navigate with the help of maps and make sure the trains run on time. Everyone, that is, except me. I can’t stand them. At least I thought that until those nice people at Softline sent me A close encounter a copy of the ultimate simulation: PAWS, of the furred kind from Domestic Funk Products. PAWS, the Personal Automated Wag- ging System, is a dog simulator. Based on the prize-winning children’s book, How Dogs Really Work by Alan Snow, the pro- gram casts you as a cartoon canine and lets you explore the world from a dog’s perspective. Being a dog isn’t a simple as you might think. There’s so much to do. You’ve got to bury bones and dig them up again. Find PAWS lets you cats. Chase cats. Growl, bark, sniff and explore the won- whimper. Check your bowl for food, derful world of snooze, and dream doggy dreams. It dogs could well be too much for some people. As well as the simulation, this CD-ROM has a section on anatomy which shows exactly what goes on inside the average can become bloated and corrupted. It may want to quit the Finder. Say OK, then pooch. You can play games to build contain masses of information about data quickly hold down the Option and Com- mouse to eye co-ordination and watch a that isn’t on your hard disk anymore, and mand keys. movie that shows how the whole thing was as it has to search the database every time Common problems cured by rebuilding put together. Domestic Funk has done a it’s asked to show an icon this can slow the the desktop include icons that have mys- sterling job and produced a disc you’ll machine down. Rebuilding the desktop teriously gone generic and slow system or want to play over and over again. clears the database and makes the Mac application startups. It’s generally recom- PAWS is ideal for anyone aged 4-103. build a new one from current data. It also mended by Apple that you rebuild the If you have a spare £35, buy it now. clears any comments you’ve entered in a desktop at least once a month. program’s Get Info box. The next best way to keep your Mac in PCW Contacts To rebuild the desktop all you have to check is to make sure the hard disk is in tip Apple is on 0181 569 1199 ☎ do is boot the system while holding down top condition. Investing in a diagnostic PAWS costs £29.78+VAT and is the Option and Command keys, until a dia- application such as Norton Utilities is thor- available from Softline 0181 401 1234 ☎ logue box appears asking you if want to oughly recommended, but if you don’t Norton Utilities 3.1 for the Mac costs £99+VAT and is available from rebuild. Contrary to popular belief, if you’re have one you can use Apple’s Disk First Symantec on 01628 592222 ☎ already using your Mac and want to Aid, which can be found on the Disk Tools Chris Cain loves to hear from Mac rebuild you don’t have to restart. Just quit system disk that came with your Mac. users and can be contacted via email as all open applications and press Option, Disk First Aid will scan your hard drive chris_cain@pcw.ccmail.compu- Command and Esc together. A dialogue for bad blocks, problems with the directory serve.com, on eWorld as Cain or box will pop up asking you if you really structure and general disk disorders. If it simply by writing to PCW. </p><p>682 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● COMPUTER ANSWERS HANDS ON ● COMPUTER ANSWERS</p><p>Communications breakdown under Windows memory — the process where hard disk On each occasion the system loaded is used to supplement RAM for running We have recently opened an Internet A common problem with Windows is a correctly on a second attempt. One of large programs. account with Demon and received the DOS hardware clash. For example, if you have a your advertisers promotes parity check- 386SPART.PAR is set up under the version of its DIS program. This works fine, mouse plugged into COM1 you can’t connect ing memory. Does this mean that other “Enhanced” icon in the control panel. If and we can FTP and mail people without a modem to COM3 because they both share memory is usually not parity checking? you select the Virtual Memory button on any problems. the IRQ3 interrupt. The same applies to Richard Ellis, Cheltenham the resulting dialogue you will have the We then decided we would like to use COM2 and COM4 sharing IRQ4. The PPP option of changing the swapfile size and Gopher, WWW, Telnet etc. and downloaded protocol used to talk to your Internet provider In general, memory found in IBM-compat- location. To find out how much memory Demon’s DISWIN program for Windows. demands proper hardware flow control ible PCs does have parity checking. The you are currently using, select the About.. Although our modem works fine in DOS and between the PC and the modem — this check is made by the memory controller option under Help in File Manager or Pro- did work fine in Windows last year when we would not have been necessary for using and not the chips; all that is needed from gram Manager. You will see an amount in had a CompuServe account for a short time, Windows Terminal. them is that they are 9 bits wide instead Any questions? kilobytes for free Memory and a percent- we are unable to dial out in Windows. You may find that, in spite of the of 8 bits. You will sometimes see SIMMs age remaining for System Resources. In We have tried every different combina- hardware flow control, your PC just can’t advertised as 8-bit or 9-bit as appropriate. general, if you get down to 1Mb of mem- tion of settings in Terminal, but nothing keep up with the flow of data. The solution, in In a parity-checking system the ninth ory or 20 percent of resources you will works. Any ideas? this case, would be to fit a fast serial port in bit is used as a check that the other eight If you’ve got a PC problem or think you could help have trouble running any more programs. Aidan@beeson.demon.co.uk place of the standard unbuffered fitting — or bits have remained unchanged since other readers out, contact Frank Leonhardt. Unfortunately, there is no way to increase buy a 486+ machine. being stored. This does nothing to the amount of System Resources, how- Communications under Windows has If the modem just refuses to dial, it may improve the reliability of the system ever much RAM or hard disk you have always had a bad reputation, though the sit- be unhappy about your telephone line. You because once the RAM is corrupted you allocated to Memory. uation has been much improved since ver- will need to examine your modem manual have lost the contents. However, having Putting law in the picture tection Act because you may be storing In my experience there is little point in sion 3.1. Demon’s DISWIN is actually a and the initialisation strings used in Trumpet parity error detection does give you the I am currently working in a department information about your account holders. having more than 16Mb-20Mb of total compilation of the standard Trumpet Winsock to solve this properly, but exchang- opportunity of spotting the problem so which is interested in setting up a bulletin There are several shareware bulletin memory (RAM+virtual) available for Win- Winsock, NetScape and other utilities and ing ATX4 with ATX3 forces the modem to you can have your computer serviced. board to enable people to download our board packages you could experiment dows 3.1 — you tend to run out of other should require no special configuration. ignore the dial tone and get on with dialling. Mr. Ellis also wrote: drawing files for a fee. Could you please with. The simplest might be Telix from system resources long before the mem- However, it is worth checking again to make Most Internet providers, including “Printer manufacturers seem correct in inform us of laws governing this type of Exis, an excellent DOS terminal emulator ory is exhausted. This should change sure that you are using the correct cable and Demon, have a technical support department warning about careful choice of consum- bulletin board, and any literature or soft- with a host mode for allowing remote with Windows 95, whenever it appears, modem configuration. for dealing with this sort of problem. ables. I recently tried a ribbon from an ware available to aid the initial setup. users to transfer files. At the other but until then you are better off limiting independent (EU) manufacturer in a A Blazey, Hull extreme, Mustang Software’s shareware swapfile sizes to 12Mb with 4Mb of RAM Japanese dot-matrix printer. This was Wildcat! BBS system has just about any and 8Mb with 8Mb of RAM: anything When the computer is turned on, a piece sector. For the IBM version of PCDOS, practically unusable. I am not aware of any laws governing the feature you can think of (including multi- more is a waste of disk space. of code in the BIOS ROM called a boot- the names IBMDOS.SYS and “The replacement ribbon is probably operation of a bulletin board system, but line operations). Telix, Wildcat! and strap loader will read the boot sector into IBMBIO.SYS are substituted, and since not the correct thickness and the printer you might be breaking an agreement with numerous other packages are available <a href="/tags/Backup_and_Restore/" rel="tag">Backup and restore</a> memory and attempt to run it. This will MSDOS 6.0 you will also get the is a sensitive word-processing type. In your telephone provider by using the line through normal shareware channels. In addition to carrying out a full backup to start loading the rest of the operating sys- DBLSPACE.BIN or DRVSPACE.BIN addition, the replacement has an inferior for anything other than telephone calls. QIC tape, from which I can execute a full tem from the hidden files described (6.22+) disk compression drivers. plastic moulding and seems less inky.” But such contracts were devised before It just growed and growed restore with no problem, I also back up above, which eventually run MSDOS and You would be well advised to copy modems and it is hard to imagine a tele- While I was looking through my hard disk using MSBackup or PCTools to an exter- the programs in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, SYS.COM, FDISK.EXE, FORMAT.COM Using the right printer consumables can phone company objecting to an using Windows File Manager, I checked nal SCSI hard disk. However, a full up to and including Windows. Each stage and XCOPY.EXE onto the floppy disk, make an enormous difference to output enterprise which makes them money. the box in the By File Type dialogue restore from either the hard disk or the is more elaborate than the last. together with the appropriate file-backup quality. Inkjet printer paper is another There are a few odd laws which you marked Show Hidden/System files. This compact disc to which I have transferred There are several advantages to a restore program (for example example: if you haven’t tried using the could fall foul of. The Obscene Publica- revealed a number of files, especially in the backup file produces an unbootable multi-stage boot process, the most rele- RESTORE.EXE or MSBACKUP.EXE) in paper recommended by your manufac- tions Act is one which springs to mind — the root directory, with a red exclamation system unless I subsequently reinstall vant being that it keeps the operating sys- order to get you started in the event that turer, you could be in for a pleasant sur- it depends on the nature of your mark as the icon. On closer examination MSDOS 6.22. I have narrowed the prob- tem apart from the hardware. As the your hard disk was lost. prise. Of course, proper inkjet paper is drawings. It could also be argued that you of one of these files, named lem down to the root directory and sus- bootstrap loader makes few assumptions If the worst happens you will be able much more expensive. should be registered under the Data Pro- 386SPART.PAR, I noticed it was well pect that it is something to do with the about what it will find on the boot sector, to boot from the floppy disk and reformat over 20Mb long. It seems to be growing relocation of hidden files which does not you can easily upgrade or change operat- the hard disk. Then use SYS C: to copy PCW Contacts Here all hidden files are displayed in size and I am unsure of its use. occur with a tape restore. Is there an ing systems without modification of the MSDOS back to the hard disk to make it Frank Leonhardt is an independent As my hard disk easy solution? hardware. To switch from DOS to OS/2 bootable, and proceed to restore every- computer boffin who can sometimes be becomes more cramped Roger Tully, Penrith you just install it on the hard disk with the thing else from tape, CD-ROM or wher- contacted on 0181 429 3047 or via I am hoping that some- appropriate OS/2 boot sector: the boot- ever else you’ve stashed it. email as frank@dircon.co.uk or thing can be done about There are some things found on a strap loader remains unchanged. leo2@cix.clink.co.uk. Letters may be this to free some space. bootable hard disk which won’t normally Returning to the question, MSBackup If memory serves sent to PCW at VNU House, 32-34 D Khanna, be saved and restored during a file won’t handle the boot sector for you, How reliable is modern computer mem- Broadwick Street, London W1A 2HG, Northwood backup. Files which form part of the oper- though it will optionally do the hidden and ory? With my 1980 personal computer I but individual replies are not normally ating system (MSDOS in this case) are system files. Fortunately, it is not difficult had two memory failures in the 16kbit possible. Please do not ask about cover The file you have found deliberately kept hidden in order to stop to back up the boot sector and system RAM chips. With my 1993 486SL I have disks or CD-ROMs! is the permanent Win- users messing about with them. Your files the official way. now had the following error message on Exis Inc. (Telix) Canada 416 289 4641, tape backup software is probably treating MSDOS is shipped with a utility called dows swap file and you five occasions while booting: Fax 416 289 4645. certainly shouldn’t delete them as a special case. SYS.COM which does exactly this. Just 05.05 The computer has a memory Hawkastle (Wildcat! BBS) it. This file covers the In addition to the critical system files in put a disk in the A: drive and type SYS A:. problem and needs to be serviced. 01344 860890, Fax 01344 860588, area of the disk used by the root directory, there is an area at the This transfers IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS and Error address: 01:3000:0000. Found BBS 01344 869277. Windows for virtual start of each disk called the boot sector. COMMAND.COM together with the boot FFFFFFFF. Expected 00000000. Demon Systems 0181 371 1234 </p><p>684 685 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 HANDS ON ● BEGINNERS HANDS ON ● BEGINNERS</p><p>Lotus Approach come with a selection of When creating a fields already set up, but most systems new table in require you to define your own fields. Access, the First, you have to specify the length of Table Wizard each field — some fields will contain far appears with more data than others. Next, you must dialogue boxes decide on the type of field you want to to talk you create. There are many different data through each types, but the basic two are “text” and step of the “numeric”. Text fields can hold letters process and numbers whereas numeric fields can only hold numbers. extended This may seem slightly strange. After relational data Databasics all, if you can store numbers in a text models in which field, what’s the use of a numeric data very different type? The answer is simple. Many num- types of data can Many IT novices are somewhat wary of databases, bers stored in a database are not used be stored such as but they shouldn’t be — if you can work a filing as numbers at all — that is, they aren’t programs, text, or used to perform calculations. Telephone any kind of unstructured data in the form results on-screen or on paper. On an cabinet, chances are you can use a database, as numbers are the obvious example. They of binary large objects (BLOBs). employee database, a query program Eleanor Turton-Hill explains. sit on your database next to a particular provides a facility to extract any selection name or company, and are referred to in Indexes of records, for example all the employees the same way as textual information. Once you’ve defined fields in each table, in a certain department, or all employees here was a time when the only access that it can be accessed most efficiently. Lists of accounts figures, on the other indexes must be created to help the data- with salaries over a certain amount. Most Tpeople had to a database was via At the moment, the relational model is hand, may well be used in calculations base find specific records and sort packages also allow you to perform their company’s mainframe. Most users the most popular, and the vast majority and reports. Numbers used in this way records faster. An index in a database queries which link together data from dif- were resigned to the fact that the only of database management packages on must be stored in numeric fields. performs the same function as in the ferent files and perform calculations. kind of interface a database could offer the market are based on this. Other types of fields include memo, back of a book or in a library. The fields consisted of a luminous green menu with graphic, data, and binary. A memo field you choose to index should be those you Database integrity an unfriendly command line. Users of Records and fields is a long text field which allows you use repeatedly to search for data. For The word “integrity”, when applied to large corporate databases were at the Each unit of information you create on attach additional notes to a record. Date example, if you regularly search your databases, relates to maintaining the cor- mercy of IT departments who had your database is called a “record” and fields can be used to pick up the current database by surname, the index should rectness and consistency of the data. ultimate control over how the system each record is made up of a collection of date from your system at the time the be defined on this field to speed up the Some integrity checking is made possible looked and what facilities it provided. “fields”. Typically, a single record record is created. Most interesting, searching process. As well as commonly by the simple specification of a field’s Since that time, databases have made consists of a set of field names like: though, are graphic and binary field searched fields, there should also be at data type. If an identification number, for their way slowly but surely onto the PC, Title types for storing pictures and sound. least one index in each database file example, is specified to be five digits and more recently, onto Windows. With FirstName These field types have been around which is set up on a unique field, i.e. a long, then updates which attempt to Windows’ graphical user interface (GUI), Surname since the first Windows database came field in which the data stored, for example lengthen the stored data will be rejected. databases have become easier to Job Title onto the market but have not been a serial number, is different to all other Referential integrity, or the way design, use and understand. If you’re TelNo. widely used until now because of the records. That way, you will always have a records from different files are dependent new to computers, databases can seem TableNo. heavy demands which sound and graph- way of identifying a record uniquely. on each other, is also essential. For complex and daunting, but they’re easier When you’ve filled in all the relevant ics make on your system resources. example, one department may be linked to learn now than ever before, and once information for each field and saved it, a The need for increasingly powerful Linking tables to many employees. If the department is you’ve got to grips with a few basics you’ll new record is added to the file. Some and flexible data models to support non- Identifying records uniquely is essential deleted, then each employee will hold a realise how simple it is to put your own database management systems such as business applications has led to when it comes to linking files. Two data- DEPARTMENT NUMBER which is no personal database together. base files can be related or joined if they longer valid, and this will leave the data- hold a piece of data in common. A file of base in a state which is no longer valid. Getting started Microsoft employee names, for example, could Microsoft Access deals with this by A database is simply a computerised Access allows include a field called “DEPARTMENT including a checkbox in the file definition record-keeping system. If you’ve worked you to view the NUMBER” and another file containing which allows you to “enforce referential with a manual filing system then you’ll relationships details of the department itself could integrity”. This means that when a depart- already understand most of the basic which you’ve include the same field. This common field ment number is deleted or changed, all concepts — that is, you know how to add created between can then be used to link the two files. the child records follow suit. a new file, throw away an old one, and different files. Most database packages allow you to link update an existing one. You’ll also have Here, the key two files provided the chosen fields are of Learning more... some kind of indexing system which fields are shown the same length and the same type. Most database packages have become allows you to retrieve files and some key in bold type. All more sensitive to the needs of the ordi- information which allows you to cross- tables are linked Queries nary user by including learning tools. refer from one filing cabinet to another. in some way to Extracting information from a database is Microsoft’s Wizards, for example, take You’re already half way towards under- the “products” known as performing a query and most you through common database tasks, standing how to create a database. or “orders” files database management systems feature a step-by-step on your own live data. Most There have been many different ideas in a one-to-many separate query program which allows you also have comprehensive help facilities to about how data should be organised so relationship to design intricate queries and see the explain every aspect of database design.</p><p>686 687 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 BUYER'S CHARTER BUYER'S CHARTER</p><p> and support details you require. Check the prices advertised, there are the price advertised still applies to any the total price of the goods (including occasions when, due to unforeseen cir- goods from which an order is to be VAT, postage and packing) and make cumstances, such as increases in manu- placed. sure there are no hidden extras. Use the facturing costs occurring during the Buyer's Charter Order form on the reverse side of the period that copy was received and sub- 10. Help Line “Buyer’s Charter” to record those items sequently printed (6 to 8 weeks), a fluctu- Always ensure when purchasing a PC or (MAIL ORDER PROTECTION SCHEME) ordered, and your dealings with a ation in prices may be experienced. related equipment that you are fully pro- supplier/advertiser. Customers should always obtain from tected and have access to a “HELP” line the advertiser/supplier a guarantee that service. 6. Delivery As defined under “YOUR RIGHTS” para- Personal Computer World Buyer’s Charter ello, I’m for any money in advance to: 4. Payment graph 1.5. The customer has a legal right 1. Private Individual Reader’s Protection HAnthony Provide samples of their goods at the You should not be charged for any goods to expect that the goods delivered corre- When you purchase goods as a Private Individual Reader from a Great Britain Supplier’s George, your address shown in the advertisement so until they are despatched and therefore spond with the description advertised and advertisement in PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD and pay in advance of delivery to Customer Services that callers can examine them. whenever you can, always endeavour to in accordance with the order taken. that Supplier who subsequently goes into receivership administration liquidation or Manager. My job is Refund payment in full if goods are pay on delivery or, failing this, collect On delivery, check that the goods bankruptcy or ceases to trade prior to delivery of the goods you may under the Buyer’s to assist you when returned UNDAMAGED within SEVEN them when you buy. received do correspond accordingly, and Charter qualify for compensation from PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD provided that things go wrong or days of receipt. (It is not necessary for the If this is not possible, consider care- if not, to notify the supplier/advertiser you have:- when you have a complaint in relation to customer to give any reason for this.) The fully your method of postal payment. By immediately. (i) not had your money returned by the Supplier; the advertisements which appear in this customer is entitled to try the goods dur- far the greatest protection is afforded by a (ii) have followed the PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD guidelines when placing your publication. If you encounter such a prob- ing that period, unless the supplier has PERSONAL CREDIT CARD, for in the 7. Purchasing from Overseas order and have taken all reasonable steps to effect delivery or refund; lem, write to me with details of the exact previously made it clear that a trial is not event of the supplier/advertiser ceasing Companies (iii) have retained as proof and for verification purposes:- nature of your complaint and I will contact permitted — for example, when any use to trade, or failing to deliver the goods, The risks involved in buying from (a) a copy of the original advertisement you accordingly. of the goods would make them unfit for you are automatically covered under the overseas nearly always offset the advan- (b) a copy of the PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD Order Form IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU sale to anyone else. credit card company’s insurance scheme tages. Don’t consider it unless you cannot (c) comprehensive proof of payment FOLLOW MY TEN GUIDELINES, Send goods within TWENTY EIGHT days for all transactions in excess of £100. buy the product in the UK, or the price 2. Claims BELOW, AND RECORD DETAILS OF of receiving an order — or notify the cus- Should you consider making a postal advantage is so great it outweighs all (a) Claims must be submitted in writing to the customer services manager of PERSONAL ALL TRANSACTIONS, ESPECIALLY IN tomer within TWENTY EIGHT days, with payment by “CHARGE CARD” you must other considerations. If you still decide to COMPUTER WORLD with full details of the claim not earlier than 28 days and not later THE EVENT OF CLAIMS UNDER THE a reply-paid postcard and the offer of a check carefully with the CHARGE CARD purchase from overseas, make sure the than 3 months from the official sale date of the relevant issue of PERSONAL COMPUTER “BUYER’S CHARTER”. refund. If the customer prefers to wait for COMPANY to ascertain if they operate a product is suitable for use in the UK. WORLD. the goods he should be sent progress protection scheme similar to that offered Hardware has to be adaptable to 240 Claims received outside this period will not qualify under any circumstances for com- 1. Your Rights reports every FOURTEEN days. by the PERSONAL CREDIT CARD com- volts (in the US, 110) and hardware and pensation under the Buyer’s Charter. The official sale date of PERSONAL COMPUTER 1.1 Under the rules that control buying pany. INVARIABLY THEY DO NOT. software have to be configured correctly. WORLD is the first Thursday of each month. and selling of goods through the post, 2. The Product There is considerable confusion It is essential that any software is (b) Once a Supplier has become subject to insolvency proceedings or has ceased to trade, mail order customers are protected partly Before placing an order, shop around and between a credit card and a charge card. supported by the manufacturer in the UK: PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD guarantees to process as expeditiously as possible any by law and partly by codes of practice consider the software and configuration Perhaps it would be as well before using most international versions are not. You private individual reader’s claim properly made and submitted. drawn up by advertising agents and pub- you need. If possible, test the product at a a card which will be employed to make should also know the supplier’s exact (c) If there are insufficient tangible assets available processing of claims under the lishers. dealer’s or at an exhibition, or read maga- the payment to check with the issuing terms of trade and what kind of support to Buyer’s Charter will commence immediately. 1.2 By Law, advertisements or zine reviews of current products. Don’t be company whether you will be using credit expect. Returning hardware to the US, for (d) If there are assets available and it has been confirmed that a dividend will be made catalogues inviting people to order goods afraid to speak to manufacturers about card or a charge card. example, can be expensive, time- then pending payment of a dividend claimants under the Buyer’s Charter will receive by post must include the supplier’s name parts and accessories, their compatibility If you pay by cheque, cross it, endorse consuming and risky. compensation for any shortfall existing after the payment of such a dividend. and operating address. with any equipment you already have and it “Account Payee Only” and fill in all the Finally, you have to arrange for your (e) Payments by PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD will take into consideration and 1.3 If money is sent with an order, it must the possibility of expanding or upgrading details on the counterfoil, or payment list, goods to be shipped to the UK. Work out reflect on the rights the Private Individual Reader might have against third parties such be returned as soon as possible if the in the future. There is no point buying in your cheque book. how and when they will be delivered, the as credit card or insurance companies. order is not accepted. A customer can hardware which will soon be obsolete or If you pay by Postal Order, cross it, fill cost of the exercise and who should (f) PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD reserves the right to take an assignment of any sue if there is an unreasonable delay. is incompatible with your own equipment in the counterfoil and keep it with your insure the goods in transit. You will have claim made by a Private Individual Reader as a condition of making a payment under the 1.4 No contract exists until the supplier and requirements. Check the manufac- record of the advertisement. to pay duty and VAT whether you clear Buyer’s charter. accepts an order. So the customer has turer’s maintenance or service contracts, If a purchase has to be made with them through Customs yourself or via a no right to demand goods if the supplier in response times and any third-party cash, always ensure that such a transac- shipping agent. 3. Limitations chooses to reject his order and no right to involvement. Many companies offer a tion is only undertaken in person, by you, (a)PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD’s Liability under the Buyer’s Charter will not compensation if he then has to pay more one-year maintenance contract, but who at the supplier’s/advertiser’s address and 8. Problems exceed £2,000 in respect of any claim submitted by any one Private Individual Reader to buy the goods elsewhere. will be responsible when it runs out? that you take immediate possession of In the case of even the smallest problem, and in any event will not exceed £100,000 in respect of claims submitted by any Private 1.5 But once the goods are sent, there is the goods you’ve paid for. CONTACT THE SUPPLIER FIRST. If Individual Reader against all Suppliers in any one calendar year. Any additional a binding contract. The customer is enti- 3. The Supplier NEVER SEND CASH THROUGH you are dissatisfied after several attempts payments by PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD will be made entirely at the publisher’s tled to his or her money back if the goods Make some enquiries about the company: THE POST to <a href="/tags/Get_Help/" rel="tag">get help</a>, write to me, Anthony George, discretion. do not correspond with their description. you are entitled to check its financial sta- Customer Services Manager, at the (b) The Buyer’s Charter only applies to advance payments made by Private Individual If their quality proves unsuitable for their tus, trading record and customer 5. Ordering Goods address shown on page 8. If you paid by Readers and as a direct response solely to goods itemised in display advertisements in normal purpose, the customer has the references. Look at the returns and Do not place an order until you are sure credit card, the card company should the magazine; it does not include goods purchased from classified advertisements, loose right to demand a replacement or refund. refund policy, warranty agreements, after- that both the product and the supplier are also be able to assist. inserts, catalogues or other sales material obtained from any relevant advertiser. 1.6 In addition to any legal requirements sales service and stock availability. reliable. Be precise about what you want: (c) The Buyer’s Charter is designed to safeguard the Private Individual Reader not com- the Advertising Standards Authority Check its means of delivery and how quote the model’s make and number, the 9. Price Fluctuations panies, societies, organisations, unincorporated bodies or any other commercially orien- administers a code of practice which soon it can dispatch. “ARE THERE ANY memory specifications and the hard disk Whilst every endeavour is taken to tated outlet of any description. There is no protection for goods purchased from outside requires MAIL order suppliers who ask HIDDEN EXTRAS?” size. With software, state the disk format ensure that goods ordered correspond to Great Britain or goods purchased for resale.</p><p>696 697 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 JUNE 1995 ORDER FORM</p><p>ALWAYS </p><p>Use this form when you order by phone, fax or post. KEEP A COPY !</p><p>SUPPLIER'S DETAILS CUSTOMER DETAILS</p><p>COMPANY ...... NAME ...... </p><p>SALESPERSON'S NAME ...... COMPANY ...... </p><p>ADDRESS ...... ADDRESS ...... </p><p>...... </p><p>...... </p><p>...... POSTCODE ...... POSTCODE ...... </p><p>DATE OF TELEPHONE ORDER ...... / ...... / ...... DATE OF TELEPHONE ORDER ...... / ...... / ...... TIME ...... ORDERED BY: ❏ TELEPHONE ❏ FAX ❏ POST</p><p>ORDER REFERENCE NUMBER (IF QUOTED) ...... ADVERT APPEARED IN PCW: DISPATCH REFERENCE NUMBER ...... ISSUE DATE ...... PAGE ...... </p><p>QUANTITY DETAILS OF ORDER UNIT COST £ TOTAL £</p><p>SUB TOTAL METHOD OF PAYMENT DISCOUNT ❏ PERSONAL CHEQUE ❏ PURCHASE ORDER ❏ CREDIT CARD ❏ C.O.D ❏ CHARGE CARD ❏ OTHER (SPECIFY) ...... CARRIAGE CREDIT CARD COMPANY ...... START DATE ...... / ...... / ...... SURCHARGES CHARGE CARD COMPANY ...... START DATE ...... / ...... / ...... VAT CARD NUMBER EXPIRY DATE ...... / ...... / ...... ❏❏❏❏ ❏❏❏❏ ❏❏❏❏ ❏❏❏❏ TOTAL</p><p>DELIVERY DETAILS AGREED DELIVERY DATE ...... / ...... / ...... ❏ TERMS OF WARRANTY ❏ MONEY BACK DELIVERED TO (ADDRESS) (IF DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE) ...... ❏ RETURNS POLICY ❏ COST OF EXTENDED WARRANTY ❏ HELPLINE ...... Details: ...... POSTCODE ...... </p><p>SIGNED ...... DATE ...... / ...... / ...... DAYTIME TELEPHONE NUMBER ...... </p><p>698 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995 CHIPCHAT</p><p>• Microsoft recently unveiled its new totally ChipChat product testing environment — a 2,000- unfounded... square-foot living space complete with a • Computer theft freezer full of ice cream, dog-eared is not the most paperbacks on the shelves, old photos on amusing subject, the fridge, and a pot of hot coffee on the but we had to burner. The idea is to test new products in laugh at an arti- an environment more similar to the one in cle spotted by a which they’ll end up. “When you sit in a reader in a soft chair with a drink in one hand and a Hampshire local remote in the other, it becomes a more paper which men- realistic experience,” says Microsoft’s tioned that in a consumer division VP. Presumably you recent robbery, as well use your third hand to control the as hard disks and mouse... motherboards, • If you’re one of the many PC users still thieves had made worried enough about Pentium bugs to off with “four consider replacing yours, don’t expect the Rams”. Truly a bit chip to slide easily out of its ZIFF socket. of baaad luck... As reported in sister magazine PC Week, • Games magazine PC Zone recently it appears that Intel has started glueing its redefined the term 3D action when it gave processors in situ following a series of away a cover CD boasting over 1,000 disappearances from its warehouses. WAD files for the popular shoot ’em up Luckily, there’s an easy way to get Doom. The files, gleaned from various round this. Just remove the heat sink and public domain libraries across the globe, keep the machine running for a while. The are designed to enhance your fun with Pentium runs so hot it melts the glue... new levels, graphics and sounds. Unfortunately, its quality control team pages an issue — and also, that those didn’t spot the subtly named XXXWAD pages which remained would be which texture-maps the walls of the game festooned with ugly signs like they are in with pornographic images. Some people the US, where lawyers make huge sums were not amused. Goodness knows what drawing up and enforcing daft rules. The it does to the rocket launcher... British way, we said, was to be sure to • We always knew those designers at IBM capitalise those trademarks like Hoover had a wacky side, and this month it was and Tannoy that have become part of the confirmed when a reader spotted a sus- vernacular. “Oh,” said the lady from Intel, pect instruction in a PowerPC program- “we have trademarked Pentium with a ming manual: small ‘p’.” Opcode: Enforce In-Order Execution of I/O — eieio • Bill Gates is shifting the goal posts for Looking for a new computer desk? IBM, the largest computer company in the launch date of Windows 95 yet again. Why not combine the benefits of new the world, produces mainframes, oper- At a recent press conference he technology with the beauty of antique ating systems, PCs — practically every- announced: “August is likely, but it’s not furniture, and invest in an Albert Plumb thing. Of course, you’d expect guaranteed and it’s not the highest prior- original. Who could resist? people from a company at the vanguard ity.” PCW has also heard of technology to use the technology. rumours that big G is pushing Surprising then that Val Russell from IBM a further name change to Software, despite being surrounded by ease development problems. thousands of PCs running OS/2, prefers Apparently, the new version of to rely on a pen and paper the OS is now called WinEver... • A puzzled reader who works for a com- • We got a letter from Intel last pany in Cirencester has recently been month pointing out that the receiving vast quantities of mail name Pentium is a trademark addressed to Intel Corporation — based and should bear a ™ sign, fol- some 15 miles away in Swindon. The lowed by the word “processor”. address on all of these parcels is exactly Naturally we resisted, pointing the same but totally wrong for Intel — out that this would in all proba- and, according to the post office, the post bility lose us at least half a code doesn’t exist. page of editorial, and that if Rumours that Royal Mail has just stan- every other company followed dardised on Pentium PCs are, of course, suit we would lose about six</p><p>703 PERSONAL COMPUTER WORLD JUNE 1995</p> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> <script type="text/javascript" async crossorigin="anonymous" src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-8519364510543070"></script> <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/jquery/3.6.1/jquery.min.js" crossorigin="anonymous" referrerpolicy="no-referrer"></script> <script> var docId = 'c42f58ea2d2310c585189bd228536170'; var endPage = 1; var totalPage = 151; var pfLoading = false; window.addEventListener('scroll', function () { if (pfLoading) return; var $now = $('.article-imgview .pf').eq(endPage - 1); if (document.documentElement.scrollTop + $(window).height() > $now.offset().top) { pfLoading = true; endPage++; if (endPage > totalPage) return; var imgEle = new Image(); var imgsrc = "//data.docslib.org/img/c42f58ea2d2310c585189bd228536170-" + endPage + (endPage > 3 ? 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