Title : Betting on the micro-to-m Author : Robert Tasker Source : CW Comm FileName: tasker Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Despite IBM's current success with its latest departmental processor, the Application System/400, the company is betting on a future computing strategy that emphasizes a two-tier architecture consisting of the combined features of its new mainframe and microcomputer software and hardware. This strategy is targeted at meeting the major corporate processing requirements of the 1990s. It is based on the IBM 3090 S model and the Personal System/2 running MVS Version 3.0 _ informally known as Enterprise Systems Architecture (ESA) _ and OS/2, respectively. The familiar three-tier architecture, consisting of a mainframe platform, a departmental processor and personal computers, gained general corporate acceptance in the early to mid-1980s. Conventional wisdom held that the middle layer of processing, the departmental machine, offered the legitimate dawning of the distributed age of data processing for the average MIS shop. Though departmental computing brought some relief to end users frustrated with the insanity of 30-month lead times, it did not herald the dawn of true distributed processing. The potential of the departmental machines remains largely unrealized because of the immaturity of distributed processing technology. In spite of bombastic vendor claims, the age of truly distributed processing is not here now and will not be for another 24 months or so. For this reason, IBM is analyzing and ever so subtly encouraging movement toward the two-layer topology, reminiscent of the mainframe/terminal architecture of the 1970s. The resemblance is superficial, however. IBM's motivation is to gain even tighter account control by riding the future two-tier trend. IBM is not directly causing this shift but is early to identify its enormous potential, encourage it and attempt to capitalize on it. Corporate users and MIS organizations alike are now recognizing that their processing requirements are well met with two distinct sets of capabilities _ one reasonably formed around a multitasking micro operating environment and another formed around a robust multiprocessing mainframe operating environment. IBM's latest mainframe additions, the S model machines of the 3090 family, formally called the Enterprise System/3090 processor units, are receiving wide acceptance in the user community. Senior management likes the performance improvements, and the granular choice of upgrade paths _ no less than 67 _ allows budget-sensitive users to avoid premature investment in hardware. The most visible product used in the bid to totally recapture the MIS mind share is ESA (MVS/SP Version 3.0). With ESA, IBM delivered a master stroke. First, this new version of the MVS operating system is proving more difficult for the plug-compatible manufacturers (PCM) such as Amdahl and NAS to analyze than anyone within those companies thought possible. The enhancements to code are proving difficult to identify, much less to support efficiently. More circuit boards are involved than anyone predicted. Prepare to give the PCMs another six months to support ESA. Secondly, ESA in conjunction with the potential multitasking capability of OS/2 effectively leads to the solution of three corporate processing requirements: Provide a stable, rich applications development environment (yes, I can wait for OS/2 applications). Provide reliable, fast management of huge data deposits. Provide the muscle to manage worldwide networks. The PCMs are substantially less of an alternative to IBM without ESA support. The combination of ESA and OS/2 reveal to corporate MIS professionals an appealing cooperative processing architecture _ complete with its own IBM Systems Application Architecture label _ that potentially renders the mid-range irrelevant. IBM's own mid-range intentions place the AS/400 as the major processor for smaller companies but not a necessary level in the architecture of the large corporation. By Robert Tasker; Tasker is vice-president of International Data Corp.'s Software Research Group and IBM Advisory Service, based in Framingham, Mass. <<<>>> Title : Mini views Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: edit130 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: IT SEEMS LIKE just yesterday that we leveled a blast at the best and brightest in the analyst community who, in their infinite wisdom, were (again) sounding the death knell for the minicomputer industry. Minis, we were told, were the new dinosaurs, being edged out at an alarming rate by networked personal computers, which, as we all should know, were destined to rule the IS world. Well, that was almost yesterday (a mere three months ago), and now see what's happening. IBM's business is thriving, and priming the growth pump are sales of AS/400s. Hewlett-Packard is once again a recommended issue on Wall Street, because the Street likes HP's chances with its RISC-based mini lineup. And much-maligned DEC is similarly back in the Street's good graces, its recent success fueled by booming sales of its 6200 series minis. Meanwhile, cracks are showing in the business plans of some PC makers. Apple's growth is slowing, and Wall Street is acting predictably. So, should users assume that the LAN revolution was a ruse, that minis are rising Phoenix-like from the ashes? What next, a mainframe boom? Instead, let's take a simpler, more consistent, balanced and long-term view of the computer business. Vendor fortunes rise and fall with their product cycles, timing and luck, not as a result of armchair prognostications. As this week's In Depth article beginning on page 45 points out, minis aren't going away; they're simply being expanded, built upon and molded into new roles. Further, the products that sell over the long haul will be those that provide solutions. For the next few years, rest assured that product selections will feature a rich blend of PCs, mainframes and, yes, minis. Surprised? We didn't think so. <<<>>> Title : A new game Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: jedit130 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: There's been some editorial changes made in our Northern California office in Burlingame, changes we feel will greatly enhance our coverage of major IS sites and computer vendors out West. Jean Bozman, familiar to the IS community after having spent the last eight years as a computer journalist, has become bureau chief. She previously served as our Chicago bureau correspondent. Jean's experience has resulted in superb coverage of the major IS sites throughout the Midwest, experience she now brings to her expanded role in the larger Burlingame office. Also joining our team in Burlingame is Pat Waurzyniak. Pat comes to Computerworld from Electronic News. He also has worked at Infoworld and Computers and Software News. Jean and Pat will join the existing staff of Julie Pitta and J. A. Savage in reporting on the IS and vendor communities in the western states. They can be reached at 415-347-0555. <<<>>> Title : Watchdog watch Author : W. Gray Buckley Source : CW Comm FileName: bucklet Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Your article ``Watchdogs oppose FBI database growth'' [CW, Dec. 5] contained several misleading statements. A reference to the ``FBI's planned expansion'' is inaccurate. The FBI is reviewing the results of a Mitre Corp. study on ways to improve National Crime Information Center (NCIC) service. Plans for system ``expansion'' have yet to be finalized, let alone announced. Also, there has yet to be any evidence presented to document that a computer system threatens anyone. Only people using information inappropriately can threaten other people, whether the data is computerized or not. You report that ``two years ago the FBI announced plans to expand its central files.'' That is untrue. The FBI did announce a study, initiated at the request of NCIC users, to determine how NCIC services could be improved, but it has yet to act on the study's recommendations. The suggestion that the FBI director will unilaterally announce a system expansion is misleading. Once a decision has been made on how NCIC needs to be improved, it is highly unlikely any substantive change will be made without congressional approval and funding. When the FBI's plans are announced, I am confident they will be entirely reasonable, logical, lawful and worthy of support by the majority of Americans. W. Gray Buckley Chairman, NCIC Advisory Policy Board <<<>>> Title : Watchdog watch Author : Milt Ahlerich Source : CW Comm FileName: ahlerlet Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: In his article, ``Watchdogs oppose FBI database growth,'' James Daly depicts the FBI and users of the NCIC as intent on expanding the system into one that tramples civil rights. He says that but for the efforts of certain groups concerned with civil liberties, this might have occurred. The overall thrust of the article is wrong, and many statements are without factual basis. This study, called NCIC 2000, was fully briefed to the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights, chaired by Congressman Don Edwards, before it was undertaken and then again during its course. It received the Subcommittee's support, especially in the areas where we planned to insert leading-edge technology to strengthen security and privacy protections. The unconstrained list of functions suggested by NCIC users was reduced by the NCIC Advisory Policy Board. These determinations were made by a knowledgeable board that was sensitive to individual rights. Depicting this deliberative process as reacting to ``. . . objections to the scope of the expansion [which] forced [the board] to withdraw many of the controversial suggestions,'' impugns the integrity of board members and flies in the face of discussions that transpired during public meetings. Likewise, the depiction of FBI Director Sessions as waiting until the Bush administration took office to announce the extent of the system's expansion is without foundation. The director's careful consideration of the issues takes place during the normal course of business, independent of which administration holds office. Milt Ahlerich Assistant Director Office of Congressional and Public Affairs U.S. Department of Justice <<<>>> Title : Another server Author : Philip G. Duffy Source : CW Comm FileName: dufflet Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Your Product Spotlight [CW, Dec. 5] described the importance of distributed processing and dedicated database servers, yet did not mention Progress, which offers these capabilities. Microsoft, Ashton-Tate and Sybase's effort to develop SQL Server was mentioned instead. Philip G. Duffy President Electronic Cottage Associates West Chester, Pa. <<<>>> Title : Clone again Author : Dan Flasar Source : CW Comm FileName: flaslet Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Douglas Barney calls the computing industry to arms to clone the Mac [CW, Dec. 19], citing its seemingly impregnable position in the market. May I suggest an alternative? The Amiga 2000 is already available, has a Mac-like interface, is already in color, comes standard with 1M byte of memory expandable to 8M bytes, performs multitasking, dominates the microcomputer industry in graphics and sound and costs about the same as a good clone. If you really need more extensive software, the Amiga can be configured for IBM compatibility. While the rest of the world follows IBM and Apple, those of us in the know are quietly enjoying the computer for both sides of the brain. Dan Flasar Clayton, Mo. <<<>>> Title : When to model, when to si Author : John Barnes Source : CW Comm FileName: barnes7 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: The words ``modeling'' and ``simulation'' have been used almost interchangeably for a couple of decades for the perfectly good reason that a computer model and a computer simulation appear to be pretty much the same thing. But in the last five years or so, I've noticed an emerging difference in meaning. This change is a common one, often studied in linguistics: Originally interchangeable words become used to express differences in meaning. It generally happens because some important fact is being recognized. I suggest that in this case, although the nouns ``model'' and ``simulation'' are still close in meaning for the computer industry, the verbs ``to model'' and ``to simulate'' are coming to mean different things. Because these changes in language happen only when the new distinction is important, we ought to pay attention to the discovery it points to. Visualize someone simulating a process. You probably think of something like an aeronautical engineer studying airflow over a wing, a city traffic manager looking at possible ways of resetting streetlights downtown or a financial officer of a bank looking at the impact of a rise in the Fed's discount rate. Now visualize someone modeling a process. Chances are you think of things like a physicist applying basic fluid-flow equations to work up a cellular model of airflow over a wing, a traffic engineer writing matrix representations of known traffic flows and rates of change downtown or an economist working out chains of causality between Federal Reserve Board actions and impacts on the local economy. The difference To put it in the simplest possible terms, simulation is running software that is known to behave like the real world to find out what the real world is likely to do; modeling is creating software that behaves like the real world. Simulators use software; modelers create it. If this distinction were all there was to it, there wouldn't be much to say. I suppose it could be a rule for who gets into the United Brotherhood of Modelers and who joins the Simulation Workers Union, but it wouldn't matter much to anyone else. It might seem that the difference is only of interest to the in-group of practicing modelers and simulators. But there is one subtle point that flows out of these definitions that is significant to anyone who has to deal with modeling and simulation as a manager or administrator: Nothing in the definitions says that the purpose of modeling is to produce simulations. In the practical world, sometimes modeling is done to produce simulations, but more often it is not. In fact, it is more commonly done for its own sake. The benefits of simulation are obvious to everyone _ it's cheaper to crash things or create disasters in the simulated world than in the real one _especially since the price is figured in simulated dollars. But if there isn't going to be a simulation coming out of it, why model? The answer is complicated, and it is important to point out that there is probably a great deal of unnecessary modeling going on for the unbusinesslike but understandable reason that modeling is a lot of fun. Quite a few of us do it as a hobby, and, ethics aside, many modelers are not above selling modeling ideas to their employers to get a fun project onto their schedules. So if someone on your staff points out that a given phenomenon can be modeled, don't assume that it should be. On the other hand, there are some unique benefits to modeling even when it doesn't lead to simulation. A good modeler is forced foremost to learn a great deal about what he models. You may not get a simulation out of it, but you may get a genuine in-house expert. Be warned, though _ the sort of knowledge a modeler gets is deep and thorough, but it comes at tremendous cost in man-hours. It might be a lot cheaper to hire consultants. More important, modelers often find holes in the knowledge of how the existing system works. Everyone may be assuming that A leads to B, which leads to C and so forth to K. But a modeler is forced to ask, ``Exactly how does G lead to H, and how do we know that? And shouldn't there be a stabilizing feedback between J and B?'' Finally, although the modeler cannot tell you for sure that his model is right when it is done, he can tell you which assumptions he started out with proved completely untenable. Modeling tool If you suspect that the ``common sense'' that ``everyone knows'' about something is unfounded, impossible or just plain wrong, an attempt to model may turn up a good, solid list of what you don't know. This knowledge can be a vital tool in planning research, crisis management or just plain staying out of trouble. It may also be obvious from this that most of the information produced in modeling is not directly expressed in the final model. Enhanced understanding of a process _ perhaps wisdom is the best word _ usually does not reside in the model but in the modeler at the end of modeling. Therefore, I have one final piece of advice: Unless the purpose is to produce a simulation, modeling should be farmed out as little as possible. If you must use a consultant, make sure your own people are as involved as they can be. If you can't give the job to the person who needs wisdom on the subject, give it to someone from whom he can always get advice. And if you intend to use a model to replace some part of your own decision-making process, the only safe thing to do is to build the model yourself. By John Barnes; Barnes is Northwest area manager of ADG, a high-tech marketing company based in San Pedro, Calif. <<<>>> Title : Irksome MIS legacy of Jap Author : Charles P. Lecht Source : CW Comm FileName: lecht1 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: The recent death of Emperor Hirohito presents a monumental task to Japanese MIS for one simple reason: Dates must be changed. Under the 2,000-year-old emperor system of monarchy in Japan, the calendar has marked the years the emperor is in power. A reign is called an era. At its inception, each reign is given a name that signifies some sloganized ideal. For example, the new emperor is Akihito, while his era is called Heisei, which means Achievement of Peace. During the Meiji era (1868-1912), Japan adopted the Gregorian (Western) calendar but with one change: The year designation was replaced with the emperor's era and year. Thus, ``Showa 64/January/'' is the Japanese date for Jan. 7, 1989. During Meiji, it was also decided that the Gregorian New Year's date of Jan. 1 would mark when an emperor's reign would change. Noting that they could not count on an emperor dying on Dec. 31 so that Year 1 of the next emperor's reign would perfectly match the Western world's year, the ever-practical Japanese decided that the new emperor's first, as well as his last, year could be a shortened one. So, for example, the Showa era ended with the death of Hirohito on the Gregorian date of Jan. 7, 1989. Akihito then ascended the throne, and on Jan. 8, the Japanese year Heisei 1 began. The Japanese continue the tradition of honoring the emperor by making it seem as if time begins with his ascension to the throne and ends with his death. According to a controversial Japanese law passed in 1979 called the Gengo, all official correspondence, business papers, publications, broadcast media, banking slips and so on must bear the era name and era year. So for Jan. 7 and 8, 1989, such documents are supposed to show Showa 64/01/07 and Heisei 01/01/08, respectively. The data processing date mess created by Hirohito's death must be very annoying to MIS departments throughout the country. The event caused the diversion of as many as 10% of all Japanese DP personnel in Japan's largest companies for as much as a week to change systems to accommodate the new Heisei era dating. Reports dated after Dec. 31, 1988, but before Jan. 8, 1989, had to show Showa 64; those starting Jan. 8 show Heisei 1. Reports spanning both dates had to contain both; there is no provision for, say, Heisei 1 minus 1. As you can imagine, there is a massive forms redesign problem. The Japanese used preprinted Showa forms. Although it was known for some time that the emperor was dying, it was considered in bad taste, if not downright disloyal, to preprint anything that might suggest he wouldn't live forever. Besides, the name of the new era was held secret until after Hirohito died. Now, data entry clerks, accountants, calendar makers, billing department personnel and tax people all must suddenly take into account the change of the era name and year in their printed forms. Legislating tradition When the 1979 Gengo law was passed, it was very controversial because Japan had become so Western-oriented. It was passed despite _ or was it because of? _ the fact that over the previous 15 years or so, an increasing number of governmental as well as private organizations had quietly dropped use of the era name, and some the year as well. According to a recent survey by the Asahi Evening News of 52 Japanese publications displayed at the national Diet (equivalent to the U.S. Congress) library, 28 use the Western calendar, six use both and 18 use the Gengo method. Of 50 major companies polled, 27 said they abide by the Gengo law, eight use the Gregorian calendar and 15 said they use both. The accounting systems development load in Japanese MIS organizations is particularly heavy these days. The government recently decided to impose its first post-World War II consumer sales tax, to take effect in April. In comparison to this change, the calendar problem seems minuscule. But coming as it does during a massive work load, the calendar change especially annoys MIS management. Because of this feeling, in the Gregorian year 1989 _ that is, Japan's Showa 64/Heisei 1 _ large Japanese companies not already on the Gregorian calendar may well toss in the towel and silently adopt it. By Charles P. Lecht; Lecht is an IDG News Service correspondent based in Tokyo. <<<>>> Title : Lessons in Oracle-talk, D Author : Stanley Gibson Source : CW Comm FileName: stancolu Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: You may have been thinking it was safe to venture into the murky waters of benchmark reports and vendor claims. It's not. Two major vendors, Oracle and DEC, have crossed the line of straight talking _ Oracle in an advertisement and DEC in a benchmark ``audit.'' Oracle, which has been taken to task before in this space for its misleading benchmark claims, recently ran a full-page ad in this publication that included several charts and graphs, most of which presented Oracle as No. 1 in different categories. Oracle led off the ad claiming that it is the ``world's fastest growing company.'' At the bottom of the accompanying illustration it states, ``No other Fortune 1,000 company is growing as fast as Oracle.'' With eyebrows raised, I called Fortune magazine in New York. They said they do not list a Fortune 1,000 as such _ they stopped doing that in 1982. Instead, they compile the Industrial 500 and the Service 500. Oracle was not on either list, I was told. In the May 1988 issue, Fortune ranked the fastest growing companies from both 500 list- ings. Reebok International Ltd. led the list. In addition, Fortune's listings are only for U.S. companies, and thus, even if Oracle were included in them, it could make no global claim. Oracle also printed several benchmark results, including 265 transaction/sec. on an IBM 3090 running Oracle under MVS. Under the bar chart, it reads, ``Audited benchmark results are available on request.'' But not for those 265 transaction/sec., it turns out. Oracle's response? ``We stand by the ad,'' said Peter Tierney, vice-president of marketing. The ad contained other doubtful claims _ but enough; on to DEC. Last week, DEC released a portion of its audited benchmark report _ the one that is supposed to contain substantiating information on the results DEC first released in July 1988. This is the first installment of the report that was promised for October 1988 but was not delivered then. Not only was the booklet only a partial listing of what was tested (DEC's 3600, 6200 and 8800 models), the results of the 8800 models weren't even audited. Also, there is a difference between the tested and priced 8800 systems. The 8800s were tested with 256M bytes of memory but priced as if they had only 128M bytes. Ridiculous! If you went to an auto dealer and asked for acceleration figures for the four-cylinder model on which you were being quoted a price, and the dealer pulled out the zero-to-60 figures for a souped-up V-8, would you cry foul? Of course you would. One can only hope that the rest of the report, which DEC says it will release soon, stands up to closer scrutiny. Omri Serlin, head of Itom International, Inc. and chairman of the Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC), of which both DEC and Oracle are members, says he is waiting eagerly for the results of DEC's tests on IBM's 9370 Model 90. IBM has released an audited report that shows the model performs three times faster than DEC's results showed. The IBM results also present a five-year cost of ownership that is considerably less than DEC claimed. Both IBM and DEC are testing, ostensibly, according to Debit/Credit guidelines, which Serlin and the TPC are trying to develop into standards. IBM is also a member of the TPC. If there is still a discrepancy after DEC releases its figures, ``then we have a clear deficiency in the test,'' Serlin says. By Stanley Gibson; Gibson is Computerworld's senior editor, software. <<<>>> Title : What will the system be w Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: residual Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: When it is time to spring for a new mainframe, there are three ways to take the computer's long-term or residual value into account. Use your own wits; get a current third-party reseller, or ``blue book,'' evaluation; or subscribe to analysts' residual-value publications. For two recent additions to the MIS shop at Norwood, Mass.-based Analog Devices, Inc., in-house MIS consultant Joe Rocchio did his analysis on the cheap, relying on his experience and a few calls to used computer dealers. In both cases, he bought immediate gratification at a low cost rather than gamble on the resale price of a new CPU. After weighing the cost of a used IBM 3081 Model K and a new IBM 3090, Rocchio said the residual value of the 3090 was ``swamped'' by the low cost of the used machine. ``It's a difference of $300,000 vs. $1.7 million,'' he said. On a second CPU, expected to be acquired this week, Rocchio also decided on a used system, an IBM 4381, that he said could be bought for ``the cost of a few PCs these days.'' For Rocchio, the choice was simple to make. But if the most up-to-date features are needed and only a new machine can satisfy the applications requirements, there is a maze of variables in guessing what the new unit will be worth several years down the line. Unlike car shopping Using the blue-book approach to gauging the long-term value of equipment is slightly more predictable than evaluating the resale price of used cars. Usually, the value attributed to a new machine, such as a shiny new car, has little to do with the money it brings on the used market _ there are too many variables that cannot be accounted for during the interim use. Three issues have the most impact on the eventual worth of systems: the overall economy, which is the most important and the most difficult to predict; supply and demand; and the value of secondhand IBM equipment. Counting on such market variables is much like checking out a horse's demeanor before betting at the track, according to Russell Schneider, president of Marketex Computer Corp., a Santa Clara, Calif.-based marketer of used IBM CPUs and peripherals. Those in the remarketing business, like Marketex, are reliable indicators of short-term residual values because they put their money on their hunches. Unlike end users, however, they have leeway to stock up or liquidate their inventories in a matter of weeks if they see supply and demand changing because of product introductions or changes in the economy. Computer pricing publications, such as those at Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Group, Inc. and Framingham, Mass.-based IDC Financial Services Corp., predict long-term equipment values based on mathematical models and human insight but do not risk money on their predictions. Schneider likens such financial publications to tip sheets at the racetrack. ``If I didn't know anything about the track, I would be the first to buy a tip sheet. But if I was a regular player, I wouldn't need it,'' he said. While users could get by cheaply by picking the brains of remarketers, reports from financial services are a near necessity, not only for convincing a corporate treasurer that a particular machine is worth the price but also for offering a reasonable assurance of what it will be worth in the future. It also helps to have someone else to blame if the predictions are incorrect. Gartner bases its model on understanding vendors' strategies, according to Vice-President Jann-Marie Halvorsen. The company also models rates of change in price/performance and supply and demand in a product's market. Gartner's staff adds its theories of what will happen to equipment in terms of anticipated price cuts, mid-life kickers, competing products and functional differentiation. IDC uses much of the same information as Gartner but adds user feedback in assessing products, according to analyst Frank Gens. The simple equation of supply and demand is at the core of IDC's predictions, Gens said, but the black art of guessing the nation's economy can skew even the best-researched predictions. ``For instance, in the last year, fair market values dropped more quickly than anyone predicted,'' he said. This drop indicated that one of the largest industry sectors, the financal sector, had a recession in 1988; thus, it was tougher to sell mainframes, he said. Both companies offer long-term residual market-value forecasting. The firms rely on huge amounts of data to follow trends and predict the economy's performance. The numbers offered by those services tend to be conservative, but they get sharper as the equipment ages, according to Charlie Berry, president of Berry Computer, Inc., an Apple Valley, Minn., remarketer of Amdahl Corp. equipment. A third pricing publication straddles the gap between remarketers and mathematical modelers. ``Computer Price Watch'' is put out by Dale Taylor, president of Computer Information Resources, Inc. in Arlington, Texas. Taylor said he polls dealers and brokers around the country to reach a consensus on wholesale and retail prices of used equipment as well as prices of leased equipment. ``I try to be like an automobile blue book,'' Taylor said. He does not try to predict residual values; instead, his service is meant to be used by someone shopping for a used machine who needs guidance on reasonable prices. Just like the new mainframe market, the price of IBM equipment dictates what used prices will be, according to remarketers. ``Equipment moves on a bar chart in lockstep with IBM, with the same price/performance ratio in the new market as the used market,'' Berry said. By J.A. Savage, CW staff <<<>>> Title : DEC desktop software prov Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: tkprod Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Digital Equipment Corp.'s recent desktop rollout may mean more functionality for DEC customers, but at what price? To run Decwindows applications, users should be prepared to beef up their storage, DEC officials acknowledged at the announcement. When pressed about memory required to run VMS 5.1 _ the DEC release containing Decwindows _ company officials revealed that although 4M bytes was the rock-bottom memory requirement, performance will be best with 8M bytes on the desk top. There are three tiers of memory requirements, according to Rick Spitz, DEC's manager of VMS engineering. A minimum of 4M bytes is necessary for a workstation to run VMS 5.1 with Decnet, and then applications can only be executed remotely. With 6M bytes, a workstation can run VMS 5.1 in a DEC VAX cluster. However, for large applications and ``ideal performance,'' DEC recommends 8M bytes, Spitz said. In comparison, when running VMS 5.1 as a maintenance update without using Decwindows, the memory requirements are less _ around 4M or 6M bytes, he said. The minimum storage is adequate to run Decwindows, Spitz said, but many users will want to add more, especially to run large applications or many concurrent applications. In fact, it appears most customers will probably need more memory if they want to run applications, particularly storage-intensive ones that use DEC's Compound Document Architecture. For instance, DEC literature states that to be able to operate Decwrite and VMS 5.1, Vaxstations should be configured with a minimum of 8M to 12M bytes of memory. Decwrite, the compound document editor, is one of two new software applications that offer the ``live link'' capability. Although the price of memory has come down, ``the cost could be significant for the low-end user,'' said Steve Widen, an analyst at Technology Financial Corp. Widen explained that by the time a customer spends $2,000 on additional memory for a $10,000 workstation, the cost is up to 20% of that of the workstation. All of the new DEC workstations come with 8M bytes or more of standard memory, but there are many customers with Vaxstation 2000s and other workstations with 4M bytes or less. By Amy Cortese, CW staff <<<>>> Title : A system developed specif Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: hwhumand Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: A system developed specifically for networked Apple Computer, Inc. Macintosh computers has been announced by Human Designs, Inc. Dubbed Chorus, the floor-standing unit reportedly can contain up to 16 floating-point processors and connects to networked Macintoshes to create a multiuser desktop environment. The product offers performance of eight million to 32 million floating-point operations per second and was designed to accommodate software development, according to the vendor. Options include an Ethernet I/O upgrade and a software simulator. A Chorus 1 single floating-point processor entry-level system costs $9,700. A Chorus 4 configuration with four floating point processors is available at $25,000, which includes a dedicated I/O processor with an Apple Appletalk port and system software. Both systems are upgradable. Human Designs, 322 W. 71st St., New York, N.Y. 10023. 212-580-0257. <<<>>> Title : Pansophic Systems, Inc. h Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: hwpansop Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Pansophic Systems, Inc. has released Studio Works 3.1, a graphics workstation capable of producing 35mm slides, video animation, hard copy and color prepress. The product has been modified to offer support for Truevision's ATVista graphics board with a built-in Texas Instruments, Inc. 34010 coprocessor and also provides scanning capabilities at 300 dot/ in., the vendor said. The workstation is priced at $39,900 for an Intel Corp. 80286-based system and $47,900 for an Intel 80386-based configuration. Pansophic, 2400 Cabot Drive, Lisle, Ill. 60532. 312-505-6000. <<<>>> Title : Paracom, Inc. has announc Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: hwparaco Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Paracom, Inc. has announced its MTM-Sun/SP Transputer-based motherboard. The Motorola, Inc. VMEbus-compatible card reportedly allows Sun Microsystems, Inc. users to utilize the board as a coprocessor in a host machine or transform the Sun system into a front end for large, external parallel processing structures. It incorporates a 64- by 64-serial channel Network Configuration Unit to allow total software configurability of the processor topology, the vendor said. The MTM-Sun/XP is priced from $12,895; quantity discounts are available. Paracom, Building 9, Unit 60, 245 W. Roosevelt Road, W. Chicago, Ill. 60185. 312-293-9500. <<<>>> Title : Jupiter Systems, Inc. has Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: hwjupite Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Jupiter Systems, Inc. has enhanced its Satellite and J-Station display subsystems with the introduction of an extra-large frame buffer memory option. According to the vendor, the higher memory permits images with up to 5,120 pixels by 4,096 lines to be stored and allows large-image viewing and film-loop animation techniques. The Satellite operates in a Sun Microsystems, Inc. workstation environment; the J-Station was developed for Digital Equipment Corp.'s Microvax II computer. The subsystems are priced from $40,000 to $80,000. Jupiter Systems, 1100 Marina Village Pkwy., Alameda, Calif. 94501. 415-523-9000. <<<>>> Title : The Digital Equipment Com Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swdecus Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: The Digital Equipment Computer Users Society (DECUS) has released a directory management tool from its library that offers public domain software for DEC computer users. Directory Scan Version 1.8 is said to be written entirely in the new VAXTPU language that is distributed with every VMS and MicroVMS system. The directory is immediately available for the VAX/VMS operating system and is priced at $37. The product is shipped on a 600-ft tape at 1,600 bit/in. DECUS, U.S. Chapter, 219 Boston Post Road, Marlboro, Mass. 01752. 508-480-3418. <<<>>> Title : Computer Associates Inter Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swca Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Computer Associates International, Inc. has announced Release 5.0 of CA-Duo, the company's transition system software product for VSE under MVS. The most recent version allows VSE compilers to access MVS partitioned data sets, providing data center managers with uniform MVS procedures and controls over program management of VSE applications, according to the vendor. CA-Duo 5.0 is priced from $10,980 to $40,000, depending on the length of lease. CA, 711 Stewart Ave., Garden City, N.Y. 11530. 516-227-3300. <<<>>> Title : Tower Systems Internation Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swtowers Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Tower Systems International recently released an enhanced version of EPIC/VSE, its integrated tape and disk management system. According to the vendor, the system controls all aspects of storage media resources. Release 2.2 reportedly includes enhanced reblocking functions, tape pool definitions and tape vaulting by sequence number. Depending on CPU group, EPIC/VSE is priced from $8,000 to $29,000, the vendor said. Tower Systems, 2220 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa, Calif. 92627. 800-854-7551. <<<>>> Title : A tough haul, but worth i Author : Michael Alexande Source : CW Comm FileName: eucolmn Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: I just spent the last couple of weeks slogging through In the Age of the Smart Machine by Shoshana Zuboff, an associate professor at the Harvard Business School. The book was published several months ago, but it has taken me that long to find the energy to wade through its 450-plus pages. It's not the kind of book you would take to the beach on a sunny day to while away the hours _ we're talking weighty, even tedious, stuff here. Nevertheless, if you can manage to get through this tome, you'll find that it carries a powerful message that virtually any manager with some responsibility for end-user computing must think about. The book's message is that no matter what you have spent on information technology, you are probably not getting your money's worth. What's more, corporations cannot hope to completely leverage their investment in information technology without changing the corporation's culture. What distinguishes information technology from earlier generations of machine technology is that while it is used to automate a particular task, it also produces new information about that activity, Zuboff says. ``Infomating'' is what she calls the unique capacity of taking objects and processes and translating them into data, making them more transparent. Most companies are using information technology merely to make employees more productive or efficient _ that's automating. But the payback will not come until information technology is used for strategic or competitive advantage _ and that's infomating, Zuboff argues. Making the most of infomating will require a change in the business structure, according to Zuboff. One reason for this requirement is that information technology makes it possible for everyone in the organization to know what is going on in the business. Thus, there is no longer any need to pass information up through the ranks to managers who make decisions and then back down to those who will implement them. Now, information should be exchanged between employees at whatever level it takes to get the job done. That means many decisions will be made at lower levels in the company, Zuboff notes. Keep in mind that the employees who are at the lower levels of the organization are often those who are on the front line working with customers day-to-day. These are also the people who are among the first to know what it takes to keep customers coming back. Pick up the book; it's a fascinating insight on how information technology will change the way we work in the 1990s. It will also give you some ideas about how to get more for your money. By Michael Alexander; Alexander is a Computerworld senior editor, microcomputing. <<<>>> Title : Price cuts no big deal Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: macstuff Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Apple Computer, Inc.'s recent price cuts on some models of high-end Macintoshes may not be enough to prompt customers to rush out and buy the machines in the next quarter. About the same time that Macworld Expo was wrapping up earlier this month, Apple announced that it had reduced prices on the Macintosh SE and Macintosh II and two models of the Macintosh IIX from 9% to 16% [CW, Jan. 23]. The price reductions coincided with the release of Apple's first-quarter earnings report two weeks ago, which revealed that profit margins slipped for the second consecutive quarter. The culprit that caused Apple's gross margins to shrink slightly was the price hike it had announced in September, analysts said. While Apple's big customers did not entirely stop buying Macintoshes, they either scaled back their buying plans or bought machines in less rich configurations, they noted. ``The prices are still not as low as they were before the increase last September,'' said Rob Kinnin, microcomputer supervisor at Arthur Young in New York. ``If they want to be competitive with MS-DOS machines, they are going to have to lower the price even more.'' In a prepared statement, Apple said that its decision to cut prices was based on small decreases in the cost of some key components, including 1M-byte dynamic random-access memory chips and a shift in the last quarter in sales from more profitable high-end machines to less costly no-frills machines. ``Apple typically prices its machines according to what they feel they bring to the market in perceived value and on the cost of components,'' said John Wardley, senior analyst at International Data Corp. Whether to buy Macintoshes instead of Microsoft Corp. MS-DOS machines is an issue that comes up a lot at Sea-Land Corp. in Elizabeth, N.J., said Jeff Kaplan, information center manager. Connectivity with mainframes and MS-DOS machines is one of the biggest concerns of large corporations, Kaplan said. While the Mac has made progress in this regard, it still has a way to go before it will compare favorably with an MS-DOS machine's capabilities, he said. The Mac's pricing is not a factor, agreed Troy Williamson, a division manager at West Texas State Bank in Snyder, Texas: ``I am still leery of buying Macintoshes because I am not convinced that the company has a strong enough commitment to real-world business issues.'' The latest price cuts will also make room in the Mac product lineup for the new Mac SE/30, priced at between $4,369 and $6,569, which Apple officially introduced at Macworld Expo. By Michael Alexander, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Macworld is showcase for Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: macw3a Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: SAN FRANCISCO _ This year's Macworld Expo saw the ever-increasing popularity of Apple Computer, Inc.'s Macintosh II line among third-party developers. However, industry watchers say the less expensive Macintosh SE line _ particularly with the introduction of the Motorola, Inc. 68030-based Mac SE/30, priced at $4,369 for an entry-level configuration _ will attract more interest among end users. ``As far as developers go, they are more interested in the modular Mac rather than the traditional Mac,'' said Bill Lempesis, a personal computer industry analyst at Dataquest, Inc., a San Jose, Calif.-based market research firm. ``But customers tend to look at less expensive systems. We expect the Mac SE/30 to be a popular product for Apple.'' Although Macworld, like other trade shows, is becoming less of a forum for debuts than in the past, a number of third parties did announce products. Apple subsidiary Claris Corp. introduced three Mac software packages. The latest version of Macwrite _ Macwrite II _ adds more than 50 features, Claris said. Macwrite will be available in February at $249. Owners of Macwrite 5.0 can upgrade for a price of $65. Macdraw II, Release 1.1 is priced at $399 and is scheduled for release next month. Current Macdraw II users can upgrade for $30. Claris also announced Claris CAD, a two-dimensional computer-aided design package. The package, like Macwrite II, runs on the Mac II, Mac SE and Mac Plus and is priced at $799. Macdraw II users can upgrade to Claris CAD for $399, the company said. Acius, Inc. and Oracle Corp. said they have integrated their products, allowing Acius' Fourth Dimension for the Mac to act as a front end to Oracle's SQL-based database and networking software. Fourth Dimension SQL is scheduled for availability from Oracle in May at $199, which includes the interface to Fourth Dimension. Hewlett-Packard Co. introduced an interface kit offering Mac compatibility for its Paintjet printer. It costs $125 and will be available next month. By Julie Pitta, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Waving a carrot works Author : Douglas Barney Source : CW Comm FileName: decer Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Going for the Green. If you want something done right, there are two choices: Do it yourself, or pay a lot of money. For the Lotus management team struggling to kick out 1-2-3 Release 3.0 by June, the answer is clearly to spend a lot of money. Our sources tell us that $1 million is on the line. Heck _ that's chicken feed compared with the $2 million bonus pool that Ashton-Tate offered its developers if they got Dbase IV out on time. But like a field goal kicker kicking in the wrong direction, Dbase IV missed its delivery date by a wide margin, and Ashton-Tate kept the $2 million. While Lotus won't confirm the actual figure, it does admit that a bonus structure was put into place six months ago that applies across all product lines. Where some companies give out bonuses when a product ships, Lotus is a bit smarter. About half the money will be doled to developers if the product ships by June. The other half will come a few months later, if the product does not have any killer bugs that give the firm a black eye. Despite the lure of cold, hard cash, the atmosphere within the Release 3.0 development group is like a slumber party without the fun. As President George Bush once said, ``It is tension city.'' Instead of facing Dan Rather's beading brow, Release 3.0 programmers are staring at Lotus Vice-President and disciplinarian Frank King, who vows to get the job done. Like giggling children at an overnighter, Lotus programmers are at least being well-fed. Apparently, employees adept at cooking are making fabulous meals for the 30 hard-core coders that often work ferociously into the wee hours of the night. And the Lotus bug hunters can't leave for home until two bugs are found. This inordinate pressure is creating some results. Although the Microsoft MS-DOS version is still a mite slow and big, what Lotus hopes will be a clean beta-test version should be out in a month. This will sit in users' hands for a few weeks before going back for final revisions. Nevertheless, we'll have to wait and see which bites first, Release 3.0 or mosquitoes. Dbase IV directions. This'll be short and sweet. Dbase is all right for some, but for many people, it needs help, and that is exactly what Ashton-Tate claims it'll give it. Here's a quick list of the short-term goals. Ashton-Tate will improve its performance and fix its bugs. But first, it will ship out an OS/2 version, hopefully this month. Also, the firm has plans to integrate the easy-to-use Control Center interface with the hard-to-use IBM SQL data-access language. OS/2 data. Seeing as OS/2 is shipping, Microsoft can again open its robes and show the world what it is up to. That is exactly what the firm will do at its Systems Software Seminar. Slated for discussion are the Intel 80386 version of OS/2 _ actually expected late last year _ and Microsoft's long-term plans to incorporate object-oriented features into the system. Hopefully, Microsoft's goals will be less foggy than the weather at its Seattle-area headquarters. By Douglas Barney; Barney is a Computerworld senior editor, microcomputing. <<<>>> Title : WIS' Stephens directs PC Author : Julie Pitta Source : CW Comm FileName: weyer01 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Weyerhaeuser Information Systems (WIS) has the task of supporting the many branches of the giant wood products company in Tacoma, Wash. Most of the independent Weyerhaeuser companies have their own MIS groups, supported by WIS. Elisabeth Stephens is manager of WIS' personal computing support group, including a Help-desk line. Recently, Stephens spoke with Julie Pitta, Computerworld's West Coast correspondent. What kind of equipment are you purchasing at Weyerhaeuser Information Systems? We are a highly decentralized company. Every company within Weyerhaeuser works as though they're an independent company. The purchasing is not done through our group. We offer support. They use us as you would a contractor. Consequently, we work with a variety of vendors _ Dell, Compaq, Tandy and Olivetti. Is it difficult to provide support when users are purchasing such a wide variety of products? It is, especially on the software side. We try to limit their choices. If users ask us, we will recommend certain kinds of products. But they don't have to ask us. There is no policy requiring our companies to purchase certain kinds of equipment. Although we don't have any strict purchasing policies, people tend to stay in the mainstream because they want to be able to communicate with others in the company. Also, each individual department manager is responsible for their own bottom line, which motivates them to eliminate waste and extra cost. On what basis do you make recommendations? We test new equipment all the time _ about three hardware platforms in any given month. We do 90 days of testing. We have about 50 different software packages on our recommendation list. How was the Macintosh brought into Weyerhaeuser? Did your group recommend it? Our users began bringing it in. Because we're decentralized, if our users bring a piece of equipment in, we have to learn to support it. In the beginning, it was difficult linking the Mac into the IBM world. But just because something's difficult doesn't mean it isn't the right thing to do. It's definitely the right tool in certain situations, especially for its graphics and desktop publishing. We've seen a tremendous growth in the use of the Mac. The Macintosh II is being used by our technical center as a workstation for computer-aided design. The technical center is our research branch. I think the reason it's catching on is the ease of use. It's always been there, but people didn't recognize it. Until recently, the Mac hasn't been the best business tool. What's your position on IBM's Personal System/2? Are you buying it? We have a lot of clients that only buy IBM, so they're buying PS/2s. It's not a high figure, maybe about 10%. When it first came out, there were a lot of PS/2s that were DOA. With OS/2 and the Presentation Manager, it was definitely the direction IBM had to go. But it's not fully functional yet. <<<>>> Title : Genetic reproduction tool Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: genesb Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: If you were ever a student of biology, you may remember sitting in a classroom with a pot full of white and black beans trying to learn the Hardy-Weinberg law of gene equilibrium. Today, biology students at Edmonds Community College in Lynnwood, Wash., have it easier. They are learning about genetic reproduction with the help of a software program called the Principles of Gene Equilibrium. The program was developed by two professors at the college. Marc Reeder, an instructor in the computer information systems department, wrote the software in collaboration with Ken Marvel from the biology department, who provided the biological modeling. The software, which was the college's first try at using computer-aided instruction, was designed to help students understand how changes in a gene pool result in evolution. The conventional method for studying the phenomenon required that students manually plot the incidence of dominant and recessive genes in generations of randomly selected bean pairs. Mimic methodology According to Reeder, the Principle of Gene Equilibrium program mimics the traditional bean methodology but is much more thorough and efficient. It allows students to trace a specific gene through more than 20 generations and study other forces affecting the population such as preferential mating, natural selection, mutation, immigration and attrition. Without the program, it would take an entire class period to get results on a much smaller population. Although the program has been used successfully by first-year biology students at the college since 1983, a revised version is now being developed to take advantage of recent personal computer developments. The original program ran on the IBM Personal Computer, PC XT and AT and compatibles. The later version will run on IBM Personal System/2s, allowing students to deal with larger population sizes. It will work with IBM's Color Graphics Adapter, Enhanced Graphics Adapter or Video Graphics Array boards for graphics display. By Bonnie MacKeil, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Gupta Technologies' SQLba Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: gupta Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: MENLO PARK, Calif. _ Vendors engaged in the all-out war over SQL database engines have been fighting tooth and nail for the support of third parties. While SQL Server from Ashton-Tate Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Sybase, Inc. has rallied together the most supporters, SQL pioneer Gupta Technologies, Inc. is quickly gaining ground. Gupta, which already has a joint development deal with Lotus Development Corp., said its SQLbase will be supported by a version of Advanced Revelation from Revelation Technologies, Inc. Advanced Revelation is generally used as a development tool for applications programmers. Revelation is working on an interface that will work with a variety of SQL database engines, including Gupta's. The method, called bonding, should be ready for market this fall. Advanced Revelation reportedly supports ANSI-standard SQL and is being reworked for the IBM and Microsoft OS/2 operating system. According to company officials, by working with Gupta's SQLbase, Advanced Revelation will also gain access to data residing in IBM's DB2, a popular mainframe database management system. Revelation also plans to work with SQL Server and IBM's OS/2 Extended Edition. Gupta has pledges of support from Wordtech Systems, Inc., which markets an Ashton-Tate Dbase clone and a Dbase-compatible compiler, and Planet Software, a London-based firm that markets a program that allows users of Nantucket Corp.'s Clipper Dbase compiler to access the Gupta database. By Douglas Barney, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Genifer code generator sp Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: genifer Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Developing database applications is often time-consuming, but a code generator called Genifer from Bytel Corp. promises to speed the task for programmers. Version 2.0 of Genifer is designed to enable programmers to create well-structured Ashton-Tate Corp. Dbase source code for database applications that have facilities for updating applications, relating multiple files and generating reports, menus and inquiry programs. John Preston, an assistant professor at the College of Technology at Eastern Michigan University, uses Genifer to develop applications for clients of a business that he operates. Preston began developing software for commercial energy audits. But the time savings and ease of use of Genifer has allowed him to build applications for a variety of other clients, he said. ``I'm not in the software business, so if I had to write the code from scratch, I wouldn't be doing this,'' he explained. The program allows end users to install an editor of their choice, so that the program code can be altered without the need to learn unfamiliar commands. A real boost Version 1.0, which supported only Dbase III, was introduced in January 1986. The generation process used skeleton files of partial basic codes to do common database functions. Version 2.0, which shipped in August, has Genifer Template Language at the heart of Genifer's applications development. Bytel offers templates to support major database dialects, including Nantucket Corp.'s Clipper, Wordtech Systems, Inc.'s DBXL, Wordtech's Quicksilver, Fox Software, Inc.'s Foxbase Plus and Dbase IV. ``I prefer the Quicksilver and Clipper dialects,'' said Homer Branch, a programmer analyst at Chevron Exploration Production Services Co., who has been using Genifer since its introduction. ``I have a lot more control over what's done. With these dialects, I can add other high-level languages such as C and Pascal to get what Dbase doesn't offer, such as bit-level manipulations.'' Genifer's report writer allows both screen and report programs to access up to nine database files and nine look-up files. The code is accessible, allowing a developer to add functions. One user complained, however, that the report writer in Version 2.0 is overly ambitious. Once a report is specified, the programmer faces another input screen with an entire menu of text manipulation options, said Bill Ossler, project manager of end-user computing at GATX. ``It's not that the report writer falls short; I just feel they tried to do too many things for too many people instead of leaving it as a nice clean report,'' he explained. ``I end up getting rid of most of the stuff because I'd never use it.'' Genifer Version 2.0 retails for $395 and requires an IBM Personal Computer, PC XT, PC AT or Personal System/2. By Kevin Burden, CW staff <<<>>> Title : New at Macworld Expo Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: macworld Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: The following products were announced recently at Macworld Expo in San Francisco: Micro Dynamics Ltd. introduced its Apple Computer, Inc. Macintosh-based document-imaging system. According to the company, the Mars series can archive virtually any type of electronic or hard-copy document, as well as any application or data file, onto high-capacity optical disks. The product reportedly performs automatic Search and Retrieval functions based on any word or phrase, and typical transaction time is said to be less than five seconds. The system can accommodate up to 100 users and is available in three basic versions with prices ranging from $45,000 to $1.2 million, depending on the number of users and configuration. Micro Dynamics, Suite 802, 8555 Sixteenth St., Silver Spring, Md. 20910. 301-589-6300. Macromind, Inc. announced that its multimedia software application for the Macintosh is scheduled for delivery in March. Formerly called Videoworks Professional, the package has been rechristened the Macromind Director. It contains tools for combining text, graphics, animation, audio and video and can be used to create desktop video productions as well as storyboarding, the vendor said. The product reportedly includes more than 100 new features, including color-palette control and automated animation, and is priced at $695. Macromind, 1028 Wolfram, Chicago, Ill. 60657. 312-871-0987. North Edge Software Corp. introduced the upgraded version of its time and expense tracking and professional billing program, Timeslips III. Version 1.1 reportedly allows the user to print bills in various fonts and rates, and details of client funds can now appear on bills, according to the company. The software is priced at $199.95 and operates on any Macintosh computer, beginning at the Macintosh Plus level. It requires 390K bytes of memory and a hard drive or two 800K-byte floppy drives. North Edge, 239 Western Ave., Essex, Mass. 01929. 508-768-6100. A device management software tool for the Macintosh is now available from Insight Development Corp. According to the company, Macprint is capable of driving Hewlett-Packard Co. Laserjet series printers and compatible devices from the Macintosh. The software is installed as a Chooser device using a supplied installer program and runs on the Macintosh Plus, Mac SE and Mac II. Macprint costs $149. Insight Development, Suite 140, 1024 Country Club Drive, Moraga, Calif. 94556. 415-376-9451. General Parametrics Corp. unveiled a desktop film recorder for use with its Videoshow electronic presentation systems for the Macintosh marketplace. The Photometric Slidemaker, used in conjunction with Videoshow, is said to be capable of converting images produced on a desktop computer into 35mm slides at the user's desk. Features include full-color on-line previewing and automatic text kerning and film-loading functions. The recorder costs $4,495. General Parametrics, 1250 Ninth St., Berkeley, Calif. 94710. 415-524-3950. EMAC unveiled two high-capacity storage products developed specifically for Macintosh II users working with large-scale graphics applications, large databases and computer-aided design and manufacturing environments. The 5 -in. half-height 150ID reportedly provides 150M bytes of hard-disk storage capacity and does not require internal computer modifications. It is priced at $2,395. The firm also introduced the Impact Tape, an external unit said to offer 155M bytes of backup-tape capacity. The product lists for $1,995. EMAC, 48431 Milmont Drive, Fremont, Calif. 94538. 415-683-2222. <<<>>> Title : Buttonware, Inc. has anno Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micbutto Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Buttonware, Inc. has announced a program offering file compatibility with Ashton-Tate Corp.'s Dbase III Plus software. PC-File:DB will directly accept Dbase III Plus files and provides automatic record-locking functions and local-area network support, the vendor said. PC-File:DB costs $89.95 and requires 416K bytes of available random-access memory and DOS 2.0 or higher. Buttonware, P.O. Box 5786, Bellevue, Wash. 98006. 206-454-0479. <<<>>> Title : PC Publishing, Inc. has a Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micpcpub Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: PC Publishing, Inc. has announced a product designed to enhance screen display and output for users of Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 spreadsheet. Called Impress, the package reportedly provides several desktop publishing features, including eight different typefaces, eight levels of gray shadings and eight different colors. Users can also highlight important data with boxes, underlining, bolding or shading. Impress costs $139. PC Publishing, 1801 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, Calif. 213-556-3630. <<<>>> Title : Elite tact could win Author : Elisabeth Horwit Source : CW Comm FileName: lizcol Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: I used to belong to a volunteer hot line organization. We had periodic reevaluation meetings for the purpose of regenerating our enthusiasm and clearing the air of old grievances. Unfortunately, too much time was wasted arguing picayune procedural points, and even when a spark was lit, it faded in a few months because the people involved had left the organization. I was reminded of those happy gatherings at the recent meeting of the North American ISDN Users Forum, another organization that has commendable goals, spends too much time on procedural questions and suffers from volunteeritis _ a largely unstable, spottily committed membership. Let's start with the commendable goals. For years, users have complained that vendors have dominated the standards process without considering their needs. For years, vendors have said, ``Fine, come to our meetings'' _ accurately predicting that the majority of businesses cannot afford to send their technically knowledgeable people to bimonthly meetings around the country. The ISDN Users Forum offers users a chance to influence standards processes without making expensive commitments. Members of the Forum's ISDN Users Workshop come up with ``applications'' _ functions or features they would like to see delivered through Integrated Services Digital Network. They submit these to the Implementors Workshop, a vendor body that is supposed to come up with a set of protocols for implementing those applications. They are supposed to use existing standards whenever possible. If there is no standard for a particular function, they pressure standards bodies to come up with one. All this is laudable. The problem is that the Forum uses a pretty loose process for deciding on which applications to recommend. Any member of the Users Workshop can suggest an application. Any user who has attended two consecutive meetings can vote on whether a particular application is to be sent on to the Implementors Workshop. Forum membership carries no weighty membership fee or requirement for attending a certain percentage of meetings per year. The advantage of this setup is that it encourages user companies to get involved in the ISDN development process, which in turn could accelerate demand for and availability of ISDN products. Even if a user attends only one Forum session per year, at least that company will have had some education in what ISDN is all about, according to Edward Hodgson, a Westinghouse communications manager and former chairman of the Users Workshop. Yes, but the Forum is supposed to be more than just an ISDN consciousness-raising group for users. It also has the mandate of determining what ISDN functions the vendors will bring out first, and that means prioritizing the dozens of application suggestions that attendees have come up with so far. The Forum has just adopted a weighted voting system for prioritizing applications, but the prioritizing should begin before an application is proposed. Right now, an application can mean any number of things, including the following: Fundamental ISDN networking functions such as security and management interfaces between different types of equipment. Interfaces with computer and networking protocols such as Manufacturing Automation Protocol and Synchronous Data Link Control. More specialized functions such as LAN-to-LAN bridging and data conferencing. Even more specific functions tied to a given industry or job, such as sales information management. The ISDN Users Forum needs to decide whether its mandate is to address all of the above ISDN areas or just some _ and which areas first. Granted, its democratic method of selecting applications may produce some valuable ISDN products and boost user acceptance. No one seems to know exactly what will spark the ISDN market _ perhaps a lot of practical, cost-cutting functions like cable elimination and modem pooling or exciting, esoteric applications like having a customer profile automatically appear on your screen when the customer calls. That being the case, perhaps the Forum's haphazard method of collecting user priorities has some justification: Get enough individual dots together and you create a picture of the overall user population's wishes. But the ISDN Users Forum needs to be much more systematic if it wants to provide vendors with a more coordinated implementation strategy, ensuring that users get the basic ISDN features they need to start networking. Exciting applications aren't worth much if the basic systems support and reliability tools aren't there. And a coordinated plan cannot be developed by a volatile group of volunteers. It needs a dedicated core of ISDN-literate users who are willing to attend regular meetings and ride herd on an application from the initial proposal all the way through vendor implementation. If that is elitism, make the most of it. By Elisabeth Horwitt; Horwitt is a Computerworld senior editor, networking. <<<>>> Title : Drivers fix Novell-IBM li Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: sourcert Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Novell, Inc.'s resolution of compatibility problems with IBM's Token-Ring bridge software reportedly comes too late to save at least one major sale. But it should put to rest concerns at large Token-Ring sites about using a network application that talks to the Tokreui protocol from a Netware network. A source close to Novell reported several months ago that Novell had lost at least one large account that was in the process of implementing a large network. The account initially chose Novell but then switched to IBM when it realized that packets generated by Novell's Netware network operating system could not be transmitted over the IBM bridge. When questioned at the time, Novell would only say that it was aware of the problem and was working on it. The problem reportedly stems from Netware's method of addressing packets and the fact that IBM uses a data link layer bridge vs. Novell's network layer bridge. Two weeks ago, in an announcement at Macworld Expo, Novell said it had resolved this problem with the release of source-routing drivers said to enable IBM's Token-Ring Network Bridge to recognize and transfer Novell packets to servers or clients throughout the network. This also gives users an alternative choice of bridges when configuring the network, Novell said. A joint effort The drivers were jointly developed by Novell and Ungermann-Bass, Inc., a supplier of Token-Ring cards that also resells Netware and source routing bridges. In a prepared statement, Richard King, general manager of the Netware Products Division, conceded that ``Many of our large customers have indicated a desire to be able to access Netware file servers through IBM bridges from anywhere on their internetwork.'' The issue has surfaced a couple of times for Chuck Saunders, a vice-president with The Riverbend Group in McLean, Va. But the network reseller was able to sidestep the problem by offering a way around the problem, which Saunders claimed is a better so- lution than Novell/UB drivers. ``You don't have to go over IBM's bridge,'' he said. Instead, users can bridge two Netware-based Token-Rings using Netware itself either by putting two cards in a server or into an external device. ``You are bridging on the bus of the external or internal file server bridge, dividing the network up that way,'' Saunders explained. ``You generally want to be talking to a file server anyhow when you are working with Novell,'' he added, estimating that 99.9% of the network traffic communicates with the server. This is typically what most people are using their local-area networks for today, agreed John Carosella, an analyst with Ernst & Whinney in McLean, Va. However, that is changing rapidly. More and more, users want to link LANs together or add host access capabilities to their network services. Saunders suggested the new drivers are really targeted at IBM accounts that will not accept any noncompatible products. ``The only situation where [Novell's drivers] would be better would be for workstation-to-workstation traffic,'' he said. For example, a user on a LAN running IBM's 3270 Workstation Program while accessing an IBM 3174 is not processing Novell packets and is sending packets destined for a host, not another server, Carosella said. One will do Previously, in cases in which a network boasted both Novell-specific and IBM traffic, users might have required two bridges. Now, the drivers will allow a single bridge to support both Netware and IEEE 802.2 applications such as the Workstation program and Novell's Token-Ring Multi workstation software, Novell said. ``Now you can just buy the bridge from IBM and the drivers from Novell. It's a simple fix,'' Carosella said. The source-routing issue is just a subset of a larger issue, said Lee Doyle, an analyst with International Data Corp., a market research firm based in Framingham, Mass. ``One of the biggest problems today involves going through different gateways _ they all have different Netbios implementations, lower layers, upper layers, etc.,'' he said. ``One of Novell's biggest weak points is stringing together remote Netware LANs,'' Doyle added. ``They just don't have a good directory system or a good internetworking setup.'' Saunders concurred. ``I wouldn't argue with that. If you're speaking of remote bridging, [Novell's capability] leaves a lot to be desired,'' he said. Conversely, Doyle said Banyan Systems, Inc., which makes Virtual Networking Software (Vines), stands out here, with its resource directory under Streettalk and ``decent'' internetworking protocols. The trade-off, he added, is that Vines is ``clearly'' not as fast a Novell in a stand-alone situation. By Patricia Keefe, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Delta Air rehabs its back Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: delta1 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: ATLANTA _ The company that pioneered the idea of crop dusting in a small Georgia town 44 years ago is once again ready to do a little technological trailblazing. When Delta Air Lines decided to overhaul the network that supports its data processing and reservation systems, it chose a technology that is like, and yet unlike, the traditional packet-switched network. ``We needed to greatly expand our network capacity,'' said Delta's Director of Communications Bob Woodyard. ``We were looking for a whole bunch of improvements: response time, increased reliability, more functionality.'' Woodyard said he opted for packet switching to take advantage of its capability for adaptive routing and high-speed intermachine trunks. It was also less expensive than immediately installing a T1 network. In 1987, Delta awarded the $25 million contract to rehabilitate its network to Alcatel N.V.'s Christian Rovsing Division. Christian Rovsing's communications processors allow the airline's hosts to provide the routing flexibility and bandwidth economies of packet switching without the need to translate host communications protocols to ANSI's X.25, according to Jeff Palmer, a spokesman for BBN Communications Corp. The Cambridge, Mass.-based packet-switch vendor purchased Christian Rovsing's product line in mid-1988. Smooth connections The communications processors directly packetize host transmission in the original host protocols _ in Delta's case, either IBM Systems Network Architecture or Airline Link Control (ALC), Palmer said. ``The object is to connect to host computers with minimal or no changes to the host software,'' he said. As Delta's new vendor, BBN provided a new wrinkle for the airline's network. BBN's packet-switching system takes over some of the network-configuration and management tasks from the hosts. Ordinarily, much of the routing in a network is host-bound, but BBN allows direct routing between the terminal and the host without involving front-end processors. The new data network, which is currently in the final year of a three-year development and implementation cycle, will handle all of Delta's domestic internal data communications as well as internal inventory, airport operations and flight operations data. The network replaces a star-configured system composed of 9.6K bit/sec. dedicated lines running from four IBM 3090 mainframes at headquarters here to travel agencies and airport operations nationwide. Under the network plan, lines will emanate like spokes on a wheel from the company's headquarters. The packet-switched backbone network will use 56K bit/sec. lines to attach 11 regional nodes across the country. Concentrators at each remote site will gather traffic from the 9.6K bit/sec. lines. Three of the regional nodes are operational, and full implementation of all the sites is expected by the second quarter of this year. The transmission of data back to the central site commences at the individual travel agencies, which are equipped with IBM Personal System/2 Model 30s as well as an IBM Personal Computer AT. The computers are hooked together via an IBM Token-Ring network that is linked into Delta's Datas II reservation system. Their lines will feed into the regional nodes, which in turn plug into the central office. To speed transmission, regional lines run directly into the mainframe's channel rather than through an intermediate front-end processor, according to Woodyard. Little traffic While the system will begin at an easy pace of 1,000 transaction/sec., the setup has the capacity to handle up to 4,000 messages per second, Woodyard said. While the current network is based on terrestrial lines, ``we are testing satellite links in case of backup or land-line facilities failure,'' Woodyard said. The packet-switching system's adaptive routing feature will then kick in, and the system will route traffic in the most efficient manner, switching between the land lines and satellite links. Except for the increased response time and reliability, ``most of the people who've switched over don't even know they are on a different system,'' Woodyard said. ``And that's just the way we wanted it.'' By James Daly, CW staff <<<>>> Title : ICA decries carriers' der Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: states Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: WASHINGTON, D.C. _ State regulators should respond to local carriers' proposals for deregulation with a big dose of skepticism, according to a white paper prepared by the International Communications Association (ICA). The ICA, a league of 700 large telecommunications users, said the regulatory reforms being proposed by the telephone companies benefit the carriers far more than consumers and are based on only anecdotal evidence and speculative economic theories. The white paper was released at a time when many state regulatory commissions and legislators are considering proposals to reduce regulatory oversight of network services that are allegedly open to competition. Deregulation proposals already have been adopted in states such as Nebraska, Idaho and Montana, ICA officials said. Brian R. Moir, the ICA's counsel in Washington, D.C., said the white paper, which contains a set of regulatory guidelines to protect ratepayers, has been sent to all state commissions and key legislative committees. The ICA said it rejects the view that deregulation must be accelerated. In essense, the ICA's message is that traditional regulatory policies, which recognize that local exchange carriers have monopoly control over the local network, have served the nation well. Reforms should be adopted only after careful review, it said. State regulators should develop objective measures to determine whether a particular market is competitive and not rely on anecdotal evidence or assertions that competition is a theoretical possibility, the ICA said. The telephone companies tend to treat uses of alternative technologies such as microwave, satellite and fiber optics as full-fledged competition. But the ICA argued that those technologies usually are used for niche applications and link up with the public network, so they are not likely to replace local exchange services. By Mitch Betts, CW staff <<<>>> Title : ISDN users crave PC appli Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: northern Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: ST. LOUIS _ A recently released survey of North American ISDN Users Forum members uncovered an unexpectedly strong demand for personal computer-related ISDN applications. But respondents expressed reservations about the technology's comparatively low transmission rates and questioned whether it offers enough advantages over their present networks to justify its use for certain applications. The survey, which was conducted by Northern Telecom, Inc. at last fall's ISDN Users Forum meeting here, asked attendees to rate various Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) applications that had just been demonstrated by the organization (see chart above). The criteria A rating of 10 indicated the strongest interest in seeing that application become commercially available; a rating of 0 indicated no interest. The 50 respondents to the survey were users and vendors that were either currently involved in ISDN or interested in becoming so. Among the survey's findings were the following: Nine out of 10 of the top-rated applications had involved PCs in the demonstration, according to Northern Telecom spokesman Jay Brandstadter. The high ratings of applications such as information sharing and call management as well as message desk and desktop conferencing indicated a strong interest in ``putting voice and data together on the PC, not just moving data between them,'' Brandstadter added. ``Classic'' ISDN applications such as modem pooling and coaxial cable elimination fared poorly. ``People said, `It looks good, but I need numbers' '' on cost-justification, Brandstadter said. Low interest in IBM host access via ISDN reflected a low percentage of IBM users among respondents. This also lowered interest in coaxial cable elimination through ISDN. Among the most frequently cited reasons for low application ratings were the lack of security, lack of interoperability among different vendors' products and low transmission speeds, particularly for data-based applications such as LAN-to-LAN bridging and PC-to-PC connectivity. Several respondents questioned whether ISDN could provide significant benefits over their present non-ISDN system for applications such as modem pooling, message desk and PC-to-PC connectivity. Several respondents questioned whether they could cost-justify the more sophisticated applications such as desktop conferencing, shared screen and compressed video. While respondents included 26 ``implementors,'' including carriers, consultants and vendors, the study still reflected users' needs because ``there were no statistically significant differences in application ratings'' between the two groups, Northern Telecom said. By Elisabeth Horwitt, CW staff <<<>>> Title : IBM stake in fiber firm s Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: ibmfiber Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: CHATSWORTH, Calif. _ The recent purchase by IBM of a 25% stake in PCO, Inc., an optoelectronics subsidiary of Corning Glass Works, has fired up industry expectations that IBM will deliver a series of products requiring fiber optics during the next two years. PCO manufactures devices that allow high-volume data transmission on fiber-optic cable, and the purchase provides IBM with an external source of fiber-optics expertise. IBM told analysts at a briefing more than a year ago to expect a 16M bit/sec. Token-Ring in 1988, which was delivered in December, and to look for an announcement regarding the 100M-bit Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) in 1989. Not out front ``They'll probably announce FDDI in 1989, but I doubt they'll deliver it until 1990. They won't be first in this market,'' said Richard Villars, an analyst with International Data Corp., a market research firm located in Framingham, Mass. IBM is also expected to announce ``Summit,'' the code name for its next generation of mainframes that reportedly will require fiber channels, either late this year or early next year. ``You need to have FDDI as an integrated part of your system,'' Villars said. ``IBM needs fiber in three places,'' said Frank Dzubeck, president of Communications Network Architects, Inc. in Washington, D.C. ``Intraprocessor to connect to peripherals and replace the 3090; interprocessor, or channel-to-channel, from 600M bytes to 1.6G bytes; and networks.'' The reason for waiting The 16M-bit network is another reason IBM might drag its feet on FDDI, he said. ``It's not really in their best interest to come out with FDDI that quick,'' Dzubeck said. IBM is also likely to wait until Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based supplier of FDDI chips, is able to ship in volume; until a second chip source is available; and until the price of FDDI _ an expensive undertaking _ drops. Yet another obstacle is the FDDI standard itself. A finalized draft was supposed to be ready in November; it has been delayed because of problems with the station management software segment of the standard. Still, IBM clearly recognizes the future potential of fiber and has already begun to migrate to it, according to Villars. The 8220 Optical Fiber Converter extender was announced in November for both the 4M and 16M bit/sec. Token-Ring. It will be available next month. Fiber as a media of choice for the 16M-bit should be announced sometime this year, Villars predicted. By Patricia Keefe, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Novell/Apple link gets su Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: bitdeals Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: The Systems Products Division of Standard Microsystems Corp. (SMC) said it will support the Novell, Inc./Apple Computer, Inc. Open Link Interface technology recently unveiled at Macworld Expo. SMC said it will write to the new standard by incorporating the Multiple Link Interface within its network adapter drivers, starting with its PC 500. Sytek, Inc. has unveiled an OEM arrangement with Sun Microsystems, Inc. enabling it to resell the Sun-3 family of graphics workstations with Sytek's 9100 Network Management Center software. Using Timeplex, Inc.'s Link/2 facilities management system, Airline Telecommunications and Information Services plans to expand what is called the world's largest specialized telecom network. The first phase includes installation of Link/2s in New York, London, Paris and Geneva. Another 20 nodes will be installed during the next 12 months. Clarion Software Corp. and Oracle Corp. plan to jointly work on an interface for Clarion's Professional Developer software that reportedly will allow personal computer users to access data on Oracle's relational database management system directly, using a wide range of computers. Westford, Mass.-based consulting company TFS, Inc. has acquired Market Information Center, Inc. The Marlboro, Mass.-based research company's Comm/Surv telecommunications research program will form the basis for future TFS services, according to the company. Southwestern Bell Telephone and Telenet Communications Corp. have expanded their current packet-switching agreement to include Southwestern's largest metropolitan areas. The original agreement was limited to the eastern Oklahoma area. Hughes Network Systems, Inc. has inked two pacts. It will provide the Dow Jones Information Services Group with an advanced packet-switching system slated to become operational in early 1989. Hughes will also provide a data, voice and video satellite communications network worth an estimated $7.4 million to the Long Distance Telecommunications Administration of Taiwan. Separately, Hughes has signed a valued-added reseller agreement with Nova-Net Communications, Inc. to supply low-speed low-cost L-Band Satellite Terminals for remote site data collection. Nova-Net is also working with Teleport Denver, Inc. to jointly install a very small-aperture terminal (VSAT) satellite hub facility at Teleport Denver. The company said the hub will be linked via fiber optics into Nova-Net's existing nationwide satellite network. Videostar Connections, Inc. and Cylix Communications Corp. plan to jointly market VSAT video and data services. Cylix is a satellite network vendor; Videostar supplies equipment to television networks. Proteon, Inc. has installed a network valued at about $1 million at the Nissan Motor Co. in Yokahama, Japan. The network links more than 20 buildings using the Pronet-80 fiber-optic backbone and Proteon's P4200 routers. GE Information Services recently entered a five-year agreement with GE Americom that reportedly will make Americom's Ku-band satellite services available to GE Information Services users. Ordernet Services has agreed to market ASC Network Systems' electronic data interchange (EDI) management software for IBM System/34 and 36 and Application System/400 computers, along with its own EDI translation software. General Datacomm Industries, Inc. (GDC) has signed a contract with Hitachi, Ltd. in Japan to produce an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) multiplexer in 1989. The two will jointly develop ISDN capability based on GDC's Megamux/Megaswitch line of multiplexers. <<<>>> Title : New at Macworld Expo Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: macworld Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: The following products were announced recently at Macworld Expo in San Francisco: Synoptics Communications, Inc. and Kinetics, Inc. announced the integration of Synoptics' Lattisnet transceiver chip into Kinetics' recently introduced Etherport SE/30L network adapter. This integration reportedly enables the SE/30L card to directly link Ethernet for the Apple Computer, Inc. Macintosh SE/30 to telephone wire using Synoptics' Lattisnet version of Ethernet. The combined product technology allows Ethernet to run on ordinary telephone wire at a rate of 10M bit/sec., according to the vendors' announcement. The Etherport SE/30L is priced at $795. Synoptics, 501 E. Middlefield Road, Mountain View, Calif. 94043. 415-960-1100. Avatar Corp. introduced Macmainframe SE/30, a Macintosh-to-mainframe link said to support the Mac SE/30 computer and IBM 3270 networks. The product is reported to be an internal card with software communications facilities that allow full IBM 3278/79 emulation and file transfer under IBM's CICS, TSO and CMS operating environments. Features include keyboard mapping, pull-down menus and copy-and-paste support. Macmainframe SE/30 is scheduled for delivery in the spring and costs $995. Avatar, 99 South St., Hopkinton, Mass. 01748. 508-435-6872. Digital Communications Associates, Inc. (DCA) said it will support the Macintosh SE/30 with a new version of its Macirma turnkey 3270 emulation package. Available later this year, the planned upgrade reportedly will allow the Mac SE/30 to appear as an IBM 3278 or 3279 terminal to an IBM host. It will include all the current Macirma features. DCA, 1000 Alderman Drive, Alpharetta, Ga. 30201. 404-442-4000. Jasmine Technologies, Inc. unveiled a file server for Apple's Appletalk network said to emulate Apple's Appleshare server. Directserve, a dedicated server, allows Mac users to access the same files. The cost per node in a system of 10 nodes is about $130; for 20 users, the cost is halved, the vendor said. It reportedly operates 20% to 40% faster than a Mac running as a file server and features compatibility with the Appletalk Filing Protocol. Directserve costs $1,299 and is slated to ship in the spring. Jasmine Technologies, 1740 Army St., San Francisco, Calif. 94125. 415-282-1111. Simware, Inc. released Version 2.0 of its Macintosh-to-mainframe product, Mac3270. Designed to offer full-screen IBM host access and standardized file transfer independent of the 3270 emulation method, the latest version also provides error-free two-way Mac-to-mainframe file transfer capability across multiple communications paths, the vendor said. This includes support for dial-up, X.25, coaxial and IBM Systems Network Architecture. Mac3270 2.0 costs $325 per single copy and is available for site licensing. Simware, 20 Colonnade Road, Ottawa, Ont., Canada K2E 7M6. 613-727-1779. <<<>>> Title : Interlan, Inc. has announ Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: netinter Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Interlan, Inc. has announced the NI5210-STP data-link controller, which allows IBM Personal Computers, PC XTs and ATs or compatibles to use any shielded twisted-pair wiring scheme, the company said. The product reportedly converts PCs in a work group to Ethernet file servers or workstations capable of operating at a 10M bit/sec. data rate. The network connection is accomplished via a 9-pin connector. The controller is priced at $495. Interlan, 155 Swanson Road, Boxboro, Mass. 01719. 508-263-9929. <<<>>> Title : Dayna Communications, Inc Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: day2 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Dayna Communications, Inc. will launch Daynanet, a server-based network operating system bundled with an interface card. Network features reportedly include support for up to 100 users; an Apple Computer, Inc. Appleshare-like interface; a range of administration, security and print services; support for Novell, Inc.'s Message Handling Service and IBM's Network Control Program on IPX protocols, as well as many other Advanced Netware capabilities; support for Apple's Appletalk Filing Protocol and Printer Access Protocol; and the ability to upgrade to Novell's full Advanced Netware or SFT Netware. The product does not support IBM's Netbios. Dayna bundles its Daynatalk PC Card as the interface card. The server supports up to four cards or four separate networks. Available at the end of the first quarter, Daynanet software costs $1,249 per server for Localtalk or $1,749 for Localtalk and Ethernet. Dayna, 5th floor, 50 S. Main St., Salt Lake City, Utah 84144. 801-531-0600. <<<>>> Title : Mini makers seek fresh op Author : Helen Pike Source : CW Comm FileName: pike Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Vacuum tubes, Eniac, the Altair and . . . the minicomputer. Yes, the minicomputer. It could be retired into history sooner than you think. In fact, as a word, it may disappear sometime in the not-so-distant future. The more frequently marketed term MIS managers are hearing at the close of the 1980s is ``server.'' But just as minis are no longer stand-alone machines, neither are servers the sole offerings from mini manufacturers. Open platforms, data and telecommunications, software to create specific applications and better customer support are telltale signs of diversity. They bespeak the efforts of established mini makers that are coming to grips with a market that, instead of shaking out, is heating up with new technologies, terms and niche players. Every minicomputer company has had to bring out boxes with multiuser applications and communications in order to compete with younger, more aggressive networking companies such as 3Com Corp. and Novell, Inc., according to John Logan, vice-president of the Aberdeen Group, a Boston consulting firm. ``Minicomputer companies are doing a better job of capturing PC market share [than mainframe companies are] and as coordinators of work-group computing by pulling it all together with an integrated LAN,'' Logan says. These trends are best evidenced by the leaders of this industry, such as Digital Equipment Corp. In 1984, DEC replaced the established VAX-11/785 minicomputer architecture when it introduced its first clustered computer, the VAX 8600. DEC followed that up with networking technology linking all the newly created levels of distributed processing power. After the 8600 rollout, the company ``stopped talking about minis,'' says William Steul, vice-president of DEC's Corporate Systems Group in Marlboro, Mass. ``The term `minicomputer' [was] not meaningful anymore.'' What is more meaningful at DEC now is software, and the firm says it believes its next step is into application-specific software. Later this year, it intends to emphasize what is commonly called computer-aided software engineering, or CASE, but DEC would like to see the first three letters come to be known as ``commercial application software,'' according to Steul. ``We look at CASE as our Trojan horse for selling the rest of Digital's features,'' he says. The company is taking direct aim at ``three quarters of all commercial systems coded in Cobol.'' CASE tools will give end users more control of applications development and, with artificial intelligence elements, it will help them to avoid reinventing the applications wheel, Steul says; he estimates that companies spend 80% of their time simply maintaining old applications. The follow-on business from CASE, besides hardware sales, would be networking customers' main systems and laying down network backbones, he explains. ``As MIS connects all those PCs out there, network management and service will be in high demand,'' he predicts. DEC punch All of which doesn't mean DEC is turning down the burners on hardware sales. It delivered the first part of a one-two punch earlier this month with the introduction of a variety of low-cost desktop computers aimed at Fortune 1,000 accounts in which DEC has a presence alongside IBM and Sun Microsystems, Inc. personal computers and workstations. It followed that debut with last week's rollout of a new series of higher performing VAXs. ``It reinforces our commitment to give customers the best solution even if we have to go outside the company,'' Steul says, referring to the recent products netted from alliances with Mips Computer Systems, Inc. in Sunnyvale, Calif., for a reduced instruction set computing (RISC)-based 15-million-instructions-per-second (MIPS) desktop machine that can run Unix applications; from Tandy Corp. in Fort Worth, Texas, for a trio of IBM-compatible PCs; and even from IBM for tape drives. But, Steul adds, ``Over time, hardware and operating systems will fade into the background because [software] services will be at a higher level.'' If CASE is the Trojan horse at DEC, at Hewlett-Packard Co. it is networking. While DEC spent the early January weeks fanning the flames for a possible mid-range price war, the Palo Alto, Calif., company quietly advanced its cooperative computing environment strategy. Later this summer, HP says, it expects to ship the first local-area network manager on IBM and Microsoft Corp.'s OS/2 that is scalable to Unix-based systems. ``HP doesn't sell boxes anymore,'' comments one HP product manager. ``It sells around the network, not the box.'' So whither HP's minicomputers? ``Minis will still be around, but [they will be] increasingly in networks,'' observes Dick Watts, marketing director for HP's newly restructured Computer Products Sector. ``There is an evolution toward a mini really becoming a server on the network, with, ultimately, no terminals attached to it. It's a ways off; it'll happen in the mid-'90s.'' As though mirror images of each other, both DEC and HP are capitalizing on the commercial market as a place to sell machines and applications once used only by the technical community. ``Five years ago, we had different machines to run different applications. Now we can use the same machines to do all the same types of applications,'' says Watts, a 20-year HP veteran. Also like DEC, HP's focus on Unix, RISC, software development, strong networking and a low-end computer strategy are part and parcel of the company's marketing focus in 1989. ``The similarities in our strategies point to what the customer wants, rather than to the companies doing proprietary products,'' Watts explains. ``The market has really woken up.'' Last November's product-line restructuring, designed to shake off HP's slumber, allows it to pursue a dual approach for selling into the mid-range: desktop devices to be sold through indirect channels and high-end systems based on networked minicomputers sold by HP's direct sales force. The common thread will be connectivity. ``We will emphasize networking that gives users multivendor independence,'' Watts says, referring to HP's research and development investment in the International Standards Organization's Open Systems Interconnect after deciding to drop its proprietary network protocols. Another firm that strongly competes in mid-range computing _ though it has never directly hyped its offerings as minis _ is IBM. The Application System/400 debut, however, gives IBM a consolidated focus on mid-tier computing that coincides with an effort to integrate its disparate platforms into a single architecture _ Systems Application Architecture (SAA) _ by the next decade. As a result, IBM's big mid-range push in 1989 will be on third-party software development for the AS/400, the Personal System/2 and the 370 _ all big pieces of SAA _ so ``users can move from any architecture to SAA if they want to,'' according to Bill Grabe, vice-president and assistant general manager of marketing for IBM's U.S. marketing group. To Grabe, a 27-year IBM alumnus, the word ``minicomputer'' is never a good one where primary business is conducted. And ``server'' is too narrow a concept, he says. ``As we go forward, there will be more niches and special functions with machines aimed at those markets. . . . To me, server is just one application.'' Grabe is not alone in his observation about the changing minicomputer market. Ward MacKenzie, Data General Corp.'s marketing vice-president and veteran of the minicomputer's heady adolescence from his tenure at DEC, observes, ``The underpinnings are changing. Competitors are repositioning themselves. The desire is to grow, rather than maintain, market share. Historical definitions are blurred by technologies that are changing the ground rules by which we place our products.'' At DG, that means systems-level technology instead of minicomputers. And in the evolving DG culture, ``systems'' means the open platform of Unix instead of a proprietary architecture. ``Unix is a systems world,'' MacKenzie maintains. Developed at Research Triangle Park, N.C., DG's Unix kernel will allow the company's 27,000 MV users ``who are redoing their applications and want new flexibility'' to transport their software to a Unix platform, according to MacKenzie. The company's DG/UX Revision 4 will be bit-compatible with AT&T's Unix System V. DG/UX will run off Motorola, Inc.'s 88000 RISC chip, which DG expects to start shipping in March. Telecommunications products are expected to be integrated into the MV family by mid-year. In fact, MacKenzie points out, MV/70000 users already have fiber-optic functionality. This feature forms the groundwork for a joint development agreement with Nippon Telephone and Telegraph Corp. (NTT), he adds. The telecommunications offerings that come from the NTT deal will involve wide-area networking capabilities and telephone-switching products. As a company already involved in the minicomputer business, AT&T feels its customers today are faced with a melting pot of technology. Steve Lester, 3B2 product management division manager at AT&T's Data Systems Group in Lisle, Ill., imagines customers asking, `` `What does the change in computing and terminology mean to me?' '' To help these users sort that problem out, AT&T is ``trying to be more descriptive'' in selling the 3B2's capability as a server instead of a mini, Lester says. He concedes that the AT&T strategy is not a flamboyant one; rather, he says, the company will push price/performance down while closing the gap at the higher end of computing so there can be more users networked into a system. Lester declines to reveal the current installed base for the AT&T 3B2 line, but he does say the Data Systems Group's mandate in 1989 is ``to help [current] customers expand their performance. . . . It's a beefing-up more than an adding-to.'' Along with an expected emphasis on Unix, AT&T will focus on adding Integrated Services Digital Network into the 3B2 line _ ``like a card,'' Lester says, that will be a direct connect instead of a data switch. ``There will be a standard interface into the 3B2 line instead of going through a multiplexer.'' Another firm that could benefit from a successful marriage of data and telecommunications technologies is Wang Laboratories, Inc., the minicomputer vendor that has met frustration in bringing its own telephony dreams to market. But realizing that voice is still not a technology from which any computer company is making money, Wang has rechanneled its research and development funds into imaging technology, because ``the amount of paper that's out there is enormous,'' says Ken Ilsa, Wang's worldwide marketing vice-president. ``Most companies have been focusing on DP and have been reluctant to add WP,'' Ilsa says, referring to the management of statistical, rote information over textual and interpretive, or word processing, data. Wang proposes to have users take a leap into the next technology _ imaging _ in order to bring information back under control. ``Integrating image with the rest of processing is more important than squeezing the next 1% out of DP,'' Ilsa says about writing new but traditionally DP-only programs. Already the firm has 40 imaging applications available in the U.S. It hopes to quadruple that number here and overseas by the end of 1989 for a total of 160 imaging programs, Ilsa says. Wang is also beating the drum for Unix as a way to do business by driving DP costs down and helping the MIS manager make more money. In certain applications, such as payroll, Unix is cheaper to run, Ilsa says. To help MIS do better business, Wang is trying to do its business better. Late this spring, Ilsa says, Wang will come out with a state-of-the-art maintenance billing system for hardware-to-software-to-customer service that Ilsa hopes will put the company ahead of everyone else. ``We want to bring these people back into managing information by using technology,'' he adds, referring to the November release of Freestyle, a PC-based program for executives that uses a light pen and writing tablet for creating and sending electronic mail. With the emphasis on applications and operating systems software, it is not surprising to hear little mention of hardware. To Ilsa, a DP veteran since 1969, ``the word `minicomputer' is meaning less and less. There will be applications servers instead of print servers or whatever-it-may-be servers. Servers and services will be more meaningful,'' he adds. Nonetheless, Wang is announcing this week a 12-MIPS high-end mini. Prime Computer, Inc.'s strategy is similar to Wang's. Prime's target market is the Fortune 2,000, for which the Natick, Mass., company has also retooled its minicomputer strategy into one of ``service and servers.'' ``People are becoming more dependent on centralized servers,'' says Richard Snyder, Prime's R&D and marketing vice-president. The minicomputer/workstation level of computing is changing the role of the box, he says, with the computer becoming a server for shared applications rather than a device to crunch numbers. In effect, Snyder says, the transition means minis have become specialized to function as high-availability database servers, as compute servers and as vehicles for image processing. Like its competitors, Prime will be pushing Unix; it has joined Unix International, Inc., the Unix standards consortium that is a rival of the Open Software Foundation. Formerly called Archer Group, Unix International backs AT&T's Unix System V implementation. There will also be a push to attract more independent software vendors, Snyder says. Prime has nearly 1,000 such firms in its stable as a result of its 1987 acquisition of Computervision Corp. ``We have a view that the [independent software vendors] are moving to network-aware applications,'' he says. Network users need a set of tools to make it easy to build ``network-intrinsic'' applications, Snyder adds. ``We want to provide the platforms _ not all the applications on which to build distributed applications.'' By Helen Pike; Pike is a senior writer for Computerworld's new bimonthly magazine, Focus on Integration, due out next week. <<<>>> Title : Smaller firms get special Author : J.A. Savage Source : CW Comm FileName: miniside Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Challenging the large minicomputer vendors for a share of the evolving mid-range processor market are a host of smaller companies with strategies aimed at specific technologies. A contingent of companies to watch this year includes Altos Computer Systems, Inc. with an Intel Corp. 80386-based machine, Sequent Computer Systems, Inc. with parallel processor-based systems, Mips Computer Systems, Inc. with its widely licensed reduced instruction set computing (RISC) chip technology, Pyramid Technology Corp. with proprietary RISC technology, Tandem Computers, Inc. with its mid-range CLX line and proprietary operating system and Tolerant Systems, Inc. with its fault-tolerant computers. Users are likely to be hearing more from Sequent as applications become available for parallel processors; the company will likely be the mid-range leader in parallel processing. Such an architecture, now largely reserved for supercomputers at Sequent, will work its way down to the minicomputer level. Last fall, a company reorganization shifted the focus for this year to expanding business automation marketing. However, the lack of growth capabilities in its shared main memory may be limiting Sequent's success. Altos, after several strong years, has recently lost momentum because of a lack of differentiated offerings. While depending in the past on the 80386 processor, it recently branched out to encompass Motorola, Inc.'s newest 68030 processor. Pyramid and Tolerant, analysts say, need to do something to distinguish themselves and to retain the markets they have each eked out. Pyramid has big plans for the first part of the year. It is expected to introduce a new generation of systems to compete with low-end mainframes. Currently, Pyramid's largest configuration is in the 30 million-instructions-per-second range. A major difference between Pyramid and other mainframe vendors will be that the Pyramid machines are expected to act primarily as file servers, according to Ed Scott, vice-president of marketing. Tolerant does not plan to change its strategy; rather, the company expects that the marketplace for Unix-driven, fault-tolerant, on-line transaction processing will be catching up to its product in the near future. Another minicomputer maker, Tandem, with its mid-range CLX models, may be one of the few companies that can succeed while maintaining a proprietary operating system. The Guardian environment is optimized for transaction processing, and its ability to maintain high numbers of transactions per second is causing other firms, such as Digital Equipment Corp., to target Tandem as the transaction yardstick. Tandem is not planning to incorporate Unix. Instead, the company will be working to make the Guardian operating system more open over time, according to Bill Heil, Tandem's distributed systems manager. ``They've done well with their proprietary operating system, but they haven't shut out the corporate environment,'' says Clare Fleig, an industry analyst at International Technology Group (ITG) in Los Altos, Calif., referring to Tandem. ``They're creating interfaces into key communications environments.'' All but the largest minicomputer companies will soon appear more like a network than a stand-alone. Horizontally integrated firms will have a marketing edge in the 1990s. Those with the strongest ties to both hardware and software developers and multivendor marketing agreements will be the most successful. Companies with heavy vertical integration that will force them to spend resources on in-house development and distribution will be saddled with narrower profit margins and more risk. ``Companies of all sizes realize they can't survive alone anymore,'' Infocorp analyst Jeanette Sill-Holeman says. ``It makes sense to team up with companies that have all the bugs worked out.'' The rocket start-up of Mips is a lesson in horizontal integration, with liaisons to more than 50 companies. Mips markets Unix-based RISC architecture systems, and the market will be seeing a flood of this technology in the next few years, although Mips-based systems are not likely to flaunt the company's logo. DEC has signed on as Mips' biggest distributor, and Mips is looking for another distributor with the impact of DEC. Not only will Mips attempt to expand its entrance into the market with distribution companies, it will also try to save on research and development by buying into new technology. Thus, users may be able to take advantage of lower prices. While horizontal structuring may get products to market faster than in-house development for today's smaller minicomputer vendors, the resulting problem is in support, according to Carl Flock, an analyst at Dataquest, Inc. in San Jose, Calif. ``Some larger companies can put in support immediately,'' he says. However, smaller organizations may not be able to do so. Flock says this is a particular problem with networking products that require setup and immediate security support upon purchase. ``You can bring in a third party,'' he points out, ``but then who would ultimately be responsible?'' By J.A. Savage; Savage is a Computerworld West Coast correspondent. <<<>>> Title : Measuring a manager Author : Les Gilliam Source : CW Comm FileName: gilliam3 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Every information systems manager is being constantly monitored and measured. User departments surely are quick to point out deficiencies in products and services and always demand the highest priority on their work. The IS manager's own staff can often be more adversarial than supportive _ though probably not openly confrontational. Some IS managers are quite critical of themselves when their performance doesn't measure up to their expectations or that of their peers. But the one group that the IS manager must be sure to satisfy is senior management. How can the IS manager be sure that senior management is pleased with his performance? Does he just work long hours, doing his best, and hope everything works out? Will he be called in someday to be told his performance has been unsatisfactory and his services are no longer needed? First, let me suggest that the IS manager go on the offensive in measuring his performance and communicating the results to his superiors. The IS manager must take responsibility for ensuring that his accomplishments are documented and passed on to senior management. The IS manager who doesn't take the initiative in this matter allows others to make important decisions about his career without making sure that they have all the facts. Second, a set of measurements should be established to gauge the performance of the manager and staff on a regular basis. These measurements might include analytical data such as budget comparisons as well as opinion surveys of users. Of paramount importance is to measure the range of responsibilities for which the IS manager is accountable. Discussed below are several useful measurements. Not every idea is applicable in every company: Some are more useful in a larger environment, while others may be right on target in a smaller organization. Most IS managers are expected to prepare a set of annual work plans that describe the expected accomplishments for the coming year. The manager should use these plans as a road map for the year's activities and to monitor and report the progress of the organization in completing planned projects and activities. Senior management likes to have an IS manager who thinks about the bottom line _ how the computer and telecommunications organization can contribute directly to the profitability of the company. The manager should not only look for and capitalize on such opportunities but should be sure his superiors are fully informed of such accomplishments. Next, the manager must exert strong financial control over the company's expenditures for information technology. Just being under budget is not acceptable. If the budget was too large to begin with, being under budget does not reflect sound fiscal management. Preparing well-planned and justifiable budgets is the first step. Then, controlling expenses will point to good management practices. How can user satisfaction be measured? It sometimes seems that users will never be satisfied until all their requests are filled immediately and free of charge. In some companies, measuring user satisfaction can be done with an annual questionnaire if it is well-designed to elicit accurate responses. But in some cases, the manager will need more formal methods to measure service to all users. One such formal measure is a service-level agreement. With such an agreement, the IS organization agrees to provide a certain service quantity and quality, and the user agrees to buy that service for an established price. These agreements may include such things as response time goals, system availability and batch processing schedules. Thereafter, the various types of services involved should be measured and compared with the original agreements to reflect the service provided, not just the users' memory. Most top managers are concerned with the future of the company, and one key area of concern is how the company is training and developing its employees to assume greater responsibilities. In management terms, this is often called the plan of succession. The IS manager will do well to develop such a plan and outline the training or development assignments needed to assure that the organization's future will not be endangered by the lack of qualified personnel to fill key positions. This measure may also be meaningful to top management in determining how well IS management is doing in recruiting and keeping good people. Bean-counting Attempting to measure the productivity of computer people has been a subject of much talk for many years. Only recently has there been real breakthroughs in developing practical and applicable methods for such measurements. One method is the use of function points to gauge an application. If the size and complexity of an application can be measured, then perhaps its development, processing and support services can be measured. Quite often, top management becomes concerned that its organization is not taking advantage of technological developments. If the IS manager is forward-thinking and applying innovations to better the company's progress, such information should be documented and communicated upward. One measure that may be of great significance to senior management is how well its computer and telecommunications operation compares with other companies. If such information can be gathered, it could tell top management many things, such as whether the IS function is well-managed or under-funded. For these measurements to be fully effective, they should be communicated to senior management, users and staff. This can be done through progress reports, user meetings, project review sessions or a steering committee. But the final _ and maybe the most important _ factor in the process is feedback from senior management. The IS manager must use whatever initiative is necessary to determine where he stands with his boss. This can be done informally, by asking for advice on how to improve his performance, or in more formal counseling sessions. Success will come to the IS manager when he can make his own priorities, match those of senior management and carry them out in a satisfactory manner. By Les Gilliam; Gilliam is president of Gilliam Associates, a computer management consulting firm based in Ponca City, Okla. <<<>>> Title : An IS visionary Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: dunnprof Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Everybody who knows him likes to talk about Bill Dunn. Most of those acquainted with his 28-year career at Dow Jones & Co. call him a visionary. He is also called ``outrageous,'' a ``wildman'' and ``the brightest person I've ever known.'' In the frenetic, political and conservative world of Dow Jones, the colorful, profane and decidedly uncorporate Dunn is considered to be one of two finalists to succeed Warren Phillips as company chairman. All this is heady stuff for the former pressman from Des Moines, Iowa, who rose through the ranks on the production side of The Wall Street Journal to become executive vice-president in charge of the Information Services Group. Dunn's group, which includes Dow Jones News/ Retrieval Service and all of the company's electronic offerings, is the fastest growing part of the company. He is the acknowledged guru who has pulled Dow Jones onto the leading edge of technology. Salt and pepper The salty humor and boxer's mug cannot mask Dunn's business acumen and his knack for spotting opportunity. In the nine years since he formed the Information Services Group, Dunn has groomed it to an 835-person, $177 million business unit. If you add $295 million in revenue from Dow Jones' 66% stake in Telerate, Inc., an on-line financial information network whose acquisition Dunn spearheaded, he is responsible for nearly one-third of the company's $1.5 billion in revenue. The spectacular rise of Information Services has moved Dunn into the elite echelons ofDow Jones. ``He has made a tremendous, incalculable contribution to Dow Jones on both the Information Services side as well as on the entire range of the company's activities,'' Phillips says. Dunn's lofty status is a long way from his farm-boy days in Iowa. He worked as a night pressman for The Des Moines Register before talking his way into Drake University as an economics major. Born to be a techie From his start as a production assistant at the Journal in 1961, Dunn displayed both an innate technical ability and a smooth touch in personnel issues. In 1969, he was tabbed to be the national production manager. In that role, he helped orchestrate the automation of the paper's production and became visible as a mover and shaker who got things done. He soon took over the engineering and communications departments, and by 1980, he was given charge of the new Information Services Group. While Dow Jones' watchers and company insiders like to speculate on whether Dunn or Journal publisher Peter Kann has the inside track to the top, Dunn _ who could be the first executive from outside of the Journal's editorial department, as well as the first IS executive to become chairman _ refuses to comment. He is philosophical about his future and his life _ ``Right now, I'm just trying to figure out the `why' of all this'' _ and has no desire to get into a political conundrum. The point may be moot for several years, since Phillips is a young 62-year-old and is not giving a hint about succession. Dunn, 53, says he is unperturbed by risk, as evidenced by his leap of faith in spending nearly $8 million installing two Thinking Machines Corp. Connection Machines as part of Dow Jones News Retrieval Service _ an unproven technology in an untried market. ``Sure, it's a risk, but trying to stay in a leadership position is always risky,'' Dunn asserts. ``We don't care about `you can always tell the pioneers by the arrows in their back.' That's usually said by people who screw up a lot.'' Despite the fact that no one had ever used the massively parallel Connection Machine in a commercial application, Phillips considered it ``a reasonable business move.'' ``We have confidence in Bill because his judgments have been correct time and time again in the application of new technology,'' he says. Dunn himself is a self-proclaimed nontechnologist _ ``I don't really like to screw around with computers.'' But the technically competent around him say he quickly grasps concepts and understands the value of a new technology. ``He sees opportunities others don't see,'' says Charles Brady Jr., director of systems development in the Information Services Group. ``He has a good knack for the `Why not?' '' ``Once you get your shock absorbers in place, he's amazing,'' adds Tim Browne at MIT's Media Lab. ``He understands things so quickly and is able to cut through the crap and get right to work.'' Speaking the language Dunn explains that in his role as national production manager at the Journal, he was forced to understand the technical issues and lingo of the printers and typesetters. ``I always felt it was unfair not to understand the issues of the departments reporting to you,'' he says. And so it was the same when he formed the Information Services Group in 1980 and brought the technology and information systems people into his fold. Dunn views his role as the synthesizer of issues _ cutting through the complicated elements to bring out what is really important. Dow Jones pioneered in the areas of microwave transmission, satellite transmission, innovative pagination techniques and a myriad of production and delivery breakthroughs that helped enhance the Journal's position as the nation's most powerful business newspaper. Dow futures Dow Jones News/Retrieval, the jewel of the Information Services Group, is the dominant U.S. financial on-line database service, with nearly 300,000 subscribers. To Dunn, the electronic distribution of information represents the future of Dow Jones. ``I wouldn't spend any minute of my life doing anything if it wasn't driven by the fact that the electronic vehicle will far surpass the Journal in its best years, absolutely knock it dead,'' Dunn states. He espouses the delivery of ``content'' in a multitude of forms. ``Most people in the media think of the information content,'' says Ken Noble, first vice-president at Paine Webber, Inc. and a long-time Dow Jones watcher. ``Dunn has always thought about delivery of that content. And he thinks it pays to be first. It may not always be a success, but if it is, he'll be first.'' In fact, many of Dunn's firsts were less than successful. Forays into cable television, retail software and an innovative but flawed product called Dowalert all fell short of expectations. Several million dollars were lost. ``The culture allowed the survival of the individuals, and it didn't chill the creative spirit. We try to demonstrate that in an open environment, if you've screwed up, it's just a screwup,'' Dunn says. ``This is a guy who has learned to intelligently fail, so that when you come back the next time, you clean up,'' says Michael Schrage, a visiting fellow at MIT's Media Lab and a former Dow Jones Information Services staffer. ``He knows how to gamble and lose and then come back and take everyone else's chips.'' Just as Dow Jones is at a crossroad, finding the corporate balance between the powerful Journal and the fast-growing electronic delivery of information, Dunn is also evaluating his future. From deferred bonuses, he has accrued enough wealth to retire today ``and wander in the desert near Santa Fe in a white robe.'' But the mercurial Dunn is unlikely to let on to anyone what his plans are. Instead, he seeks and devours information that will facilitate the company's mission. ``We don't create things in Dow Jones; we really synthesize what is out there,'' Dunn says. ``We didn't invent satellite technology; we adopted it. So what do we adopt now? How does it fit into the continuum? We're here _ how do we get there?'' By Glenn Rifkin, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Changing the profile requ Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: hrmis Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: The coming year will bring the continuing information systems headaches of weeding out non-applicable technologies and getting mainframe junkies to look at personal computers and other platforms. But in the years to come, IS departments will also be looking carefully at the kinds of people they hire. With IS becoming less and less the backroom operation it was several years ago, companies need to hire more workers who have technical and people skills, according to human resources personnel in large companies. ``As you get cost-conscious, you continue to expect more from every person you bring in,'' said Gary L. Saenger, senior vice-president at Security Pacific Automation Co. in Los Angeles. ``You're hiring two or three levels from that entry-level position'' for any job that has a potential supervisory or managerial growth path, he said. Companies no longer feel that those hired for the IS department must come from a solid computer science background. With the continuing emergence of end-user computing, the traditional IS employee profile as one with a high need to achieve but a low need for social interaction has to change, said Robert Zawacki, president of Colorado Springs-based consulting firm Zawacki and Associates. Potential employees ``have been beating on PCs for years. We don't have to teach the college graduates we see today what an information system is,'' said Jim Valenteen, senior vice-president of human resources at Cigna Systems in Philadelphia. Blur in the future ``The technology and business person will blur in the future,'' Valenteen said, as it becomes increasingly critical for the IS workers to fully understand the business. ``They will have to understand why they do things, not to just keep doing them.'' Zawacki said many companies are offering programs to teach existing IS employees how to im- prove their interaction and workplace social skills as the emphasis on end-user computing escalates. Emmet McTeague, an assistant vice-president at Aetna in Hartford, Conn., who handles human resources within the IS department, concurs. ``An awful lot of DP people have still been consumed by back office operations and have felt some security in that. Now users are driving changes in the way systems are looked at, and it is hard for systems to keep up,'' McTeague said. ``Systems people have gone from being the definitive change agents in the company to being change targets.'' Because of the changes caused by end-user computing, the IS department will be forced to become more service-oriented and market-driven, said Bob Klepper, an assistant professor in the MIS department at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. ``A lot of the application development is moving to end-user areas, and the MIS department in a sense has had to compete,'' Klepper said. By Alan J. Ryan, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Anticipating the waves of Author : Alan J. Ryan Source : CW Comm FileName: ishot Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Human resources personnel dedicated to IS say changes taking place within the information systems arena will stir many issues during the next several years, including these: Redeploying old skills in technology into some of the evolving hardware and software technology. Expert systems, image-based systems and other types of automation as competitive tools. Exploring the possibility of downsizing. Better communications between IS and the users, as well as increased communications within IS. Getting more done while keeping expenses flat. Merging telecommunications and computer technologies. Integrating discrete IS shops following mergers. Keeping the IS customers happy as more and more companies give departments a choice on whether to purchase service from IS or an outside source. The IS worker will become more demanding, the human resources personnel said. Workers are expected to be less inclined to be mobile in their jobs and will expect the following: More flexible schedules. Telecommuting. Employers who have made a commitment to training and to remaining state of the art. A trend to watch during the next several years will be companies creating data processing operations remote from their central headquarters in order to locate the IS shops in which the top professionals can be found. ALAN J. RYAN <<<>>> Title : Firms turn to business an Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: careers3 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: As MIS shops increasingly assume the stance of service organizations, they are creating the position of business analyst, sometimes known as account executive, to reach out to customers. While business analysts typically continue to report to MIS, they work in a user department. The arrangement generates benefits for corporate management and also can boost career prospects for systems professionals who take on the job. Systems professionals are following technology out of the MIS shop and into user departments, says James Frazee, a former account executive at Richardson-Vicks, Inc. in Wilton, Conn. ``It's happening in more and more places,'' Frazee says. ``I think a lot of it is because the technology has reached the point that people have a chance to get out.'' With technology changing so fast, users need help in keeping up with it, adds Frazee, who now provides customer support for systems sold by Dun & Bradstreet Corp.'s Nielsen Marketing Research Service. Frazee previously oversaw sales and marketing systems at Richardson-Vicks, determining what functions users needed and how the systems to provide them would be implemented. ``I looked after the needs of the division from a systems point of view,'' he says. The approach provides two advantages for companies, according to Tom Pettibone, who set up the Richardson-Vicks program and later started one at New York Life Insurance Co. in New York, where he is vice-president of information systems and services. ``First, by being with our customers daily, the analyst makes [the MIS organization] a better vendor to our users,'' Pettibone says. ``Secondly, in the day-to-day planning and work of that customer department, he or she will bring a systems awareness to the floor immediately.'' When a new product or service is being considered, the analyst can bring systems capabilities into the picture early in the game, Pettibone says. Throw away the blinders Like Frazee, Phyllis Singer, who was promoted to business analyst at New York Life's individual insurance department a year ago, stresses that people in her position can acquire a broader view of the corporation. ``You have to understand the challenges the users are up against, not just as it relates to data processing but in terms of corporate challenges and industry challenges,'' Singer says. Frazee says MIS shops where he worked before Richardson-Vicks were insulated from users. ``They go by what systems they think the business wanted,'' he says. As an account executive, he says he was able to see how systems would fit in with the company's long-range strategic plan. ``That's the key that's missing in a lot of places,'' he says. The role of business analyst can attract technical professionals on the basis of potential for promotions, particularly where openings in the traditional career ladder seem unlikely, says MIS recruiter Hal Sullivant, president of recruitment firm Linn-Truett, Inc. in San Antonio. Pettibone notes that business analysts gain opportunities in user departments as well as MIS. ``I may have difficulty in pulling some of these folks out of the customers' side of our business,'' he says. ``They could definitely be prime candidates for senior management positions within the customer areas.'' Singer, who became an assistant vice-president with her move to business analyst, sees her position providing the knowledge of business necessary in both MIS and user departments. ``Whether you stay in DP or move on to other areas, the business analyst role gives you the insight that you need,'' Singer says. The knowledge of systems also can be a strength for a business analyst leaving MIS for a job with a business area, Frazee notes. ``The systems group really has an opportunity to look at the whole business because everything is becoming so integrated,'' he says. A business analyst who climbs up the career ladder on the user side may find himself considered for new opportunities back in MIS _ even in the top job, Sullivant says. Business analysts have emerged in several industries, including manufacturing, retail and utilities. The bulk of the positions, however, seem to be in insurance and banking. Sullivant suggests this pattern occurs because ``the marriage between the banker and data processor, for example, is so much more solid than in other industries.'' What it takes Managers agree on the attributes that make a good business analyst. A candidate must possess outstanding communication and presentation skills to serve as liaison between users and MIS, combined with business knowledge. A background in project development and management, particularly with large systems, is also important. These experiences will bring a professional through an entire systems development cycle. But business analysts must ``get out of the bits and bytes mode,'' Frazee says. ``A lot of people have trouble seeing things at a higher level. They like things nice and ordered.'' BYSheryl Kay, Special to CW; Kay is a Tampa, Fla.-based business consultant and free-lance writer specializing in emerging technologies and human resources. <<<>>> Title : It's a do-or-don't year f Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: mkt30 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Hewlett-Packard Co. continues to experience complications with its commercial processor offerings that are confusing potential buyers about its future directions. Hewlett-Packard's 3000 Model 930 and Model 950 minicomputers were announced in March 1986. They utilize a 32 bit/sec. reduced instruction set computing (RISC) architecture and are known throughout the industry as the Spectrum series. The 3000 Model 930 was scheduled to ship by the end of 1986, and the 3000 Model 950 was slated for shipment in the middle of 1987. By January 1988, only a few of these processors were shipped. Thus, it was evident that earlier rumors of software problems on the proprietary MPE-XL operating system had been correct. In April 1988, HP announced additional models: a high-end 3000 Model 955 offering more power than the Model 950, a Model 935 that replaced the troubled Model 930 and two smaller versions, Models 925 and 925LX. However, the problems with the MPE-XL operating system continued to plague HP. The processors would not perform up to their expected levels, and the migration from the older 3000 line, which had been anticipated as an easy move, was turning into a difficult one. Wait and see Last August, HP finally delivered MPE-XL Version 1.1 to replace the original Version 1.0. Industry sources indicated that the new operating system increased performance by 20% to 30%. But migration to the Spectrum series has been slow because clients are taking a wait-and-see approach. Industry sources and HP said that the next version of MPE-XL is on schedule for release in the first quarter of 1989. Expectations for Spectrum must be made clear if HP intends to get any new clients on the commercial side because the company can not grow in market share against the likes of IBM and Digital Equipment Corp. with the older 16 bit/sec. 3000 line. In the used-equipment market, the confusion caused by the Spectrum series has allowed HP equipment to flourish. It is a market that has been estimated to be half-owned by HP's Finance and Remarketing Division (FRD) and half owned by approximately 20 independent dealers and brokers. For the most part, HP's FRD focuses on the large users that it feels the independent dealers will not go after. However, there have been a number of situations in which the competition has become heated. The high end of the older HP 3000 line is the Model 70. Demand for this model continues to be strong. Smaller shops are bringing in the Model 70s to replace their lower-end models while some larger shops are doubling up on the Model 70s instead of purchasing a Model 950. For users who want to buy a new Model 950, HP is offering an upgrade credit of $120,000 toward a Model 950 in return for a user's Model 70. According to Leasing Planning Service, this upgrade credit may drop as low as $80,000 early this year. HP has kept a fairly tight grip on the 3000 Model 58 market. If a user is interested in upgrading from a smaller 3000 series to a Model 58-level processor, HP will offer a discount. In most cases it is an easy board swap to upgrade. There is also an upgrade credit available to go from the Model 58 to a Model 950, although it is much less than the one offered for the Model 70. The 3000 Model 52 performs slightly under the level of a Model 58. The Model 52 trades for $2,000 to $3,000 less on the used market. Presently, the Model 48 is a good deal for an end user looking to purchase a system of this size. Supply is ample, and dealers are practically giving them away. The older 3000 line is rounded out at the bottom by the Models 44, 42 and 39. These models are now bought and sold for parts. The parts are useful to maintain other HP processors and in some cases can be used to repair equipment that is involved in disaster recovery. HP has many fine computer products and has proven that it's RISC architecture can work well when performing scientific and engineering applications. The evolution of its commercial processors and the MPE-XL strategy must be made more clear, and announcement dates must be met if HP wants to become more prominent in the minicomputer market. For more information, contact IDC Financial Services Corp.'s Terri LeBlanc at 508-872-8200. By Hans Marquardt, IDC Financial Services <<<>>> Title : Training is CASE leading Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: train30 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) calls for significant changes in MIS departments at both the managerial and staff levels. Training is therefore an essential accompaniment to the introduction of CASE. The astute MlS manager should consider the following training aspects, which will contribute to successful CASE implementation. Train in CASE concepts as well as specific products. CASE is more than a software tool and a type of environment. It is a philosophy that imposes an engineering discipline on the development of applications software. Therefore, training is required on two levels: concepts and tools. At the conceptual level, CASE must be shown to embrace the entire range of development and maintenance. Conventional wisdom has popularized design tools and code generators as the circumference of CASE. But project management techniques, development methodologies, documentation generators, interactive testing tools and code restructurers all fall within the gamut of CASE. Indeed, strategic planning tools that spawn business models and information repositories are the true front end of CASE. Develop internal specialists. While it is certainly possible to purchase training from software and training vendors, greater flexibility may flow from development of internal specialists. Likely sources of these specialists are development center personnel and senior applications programmers and analysts. These individuals must be given time off from normal assignments to acquire knowledge, experience and fluency in CASE concepts and tools. Plan training before heavy investment in CASE software. Timely training is an essential accompaniment to any new CASE tool or technique. The curriculum planning for CASE training must reflect that it is a new and expanding field of system development. While it must address existing tools and techniques, it must also leave room for growth as CASE technology advances. Make training consistent. An MIS department embarking on CASE implementation must keep its training characteristics consistent as far as possible. Use the same vendor _ preferably the same instructor _ and the same training format and topics. This precaution will minimize disagreement and disparate styles among team members when applying CASE tools and techniques. Consider the first one or two projects as an extension of training. It is unreasonable to expect productivity improvements on the day CASE training ends and its application begins. On the contrary, because of learning curves and refinement of tool or methodology use, productivity may actually go down. Therefore, the first one or two projects that use CASE tools and techniques must be regarded as experimental and educational, an extension of the formal training. Nothing will damage the credibility of CASE as much as early failure. Do not forget management. It is management that sanctions change, secures budgets for hardware and software and answers to the client or user. Therefore, management must be a target of CASE training. Dollars saved, speedier development, error-free software, improved productivity and diminishing applications backlogs are topics guaranteed to grab management's attention. Management training should precede staff training to foster clear-cut commitment to CASE. Do not forget the user. An essential player throughout the application development cycle, the user will also feel the effects of CASE. Hitherto only of a segmented nature, user involvement under a CASE scenario will increase throughout the life cycle. Activities such as joint application design, prototyping deliverables and design walk-throughs will require the user to become more savvy. Familiarity with data flow diagrams, some screen design skills and frequent verification of prototyped deliverables will be expectations of future users. Marry the CASE tools to a methodology. CASE is as much about methodology as it is about software tools. Productivity improvement in system development can only be expected when appropriate automation is married to a methodology in a compatible environment. So training must address both areas to be effective. Teaching a methodology will lead only to disused CASE tools; teaching the use of software tools outside the framework of a methodology may simply result in the automation of weak and ineffective development practices. Expect resistance from die-hards. Pockets of resistance among applications developers will inevitably exist. The trainer must use whatever means he can to sell CASE technology to these people. Gaining their compliance purely on the benefits of CASE is the best one could hope for, but trainers may also have to bring to bear the influence of peer pressure and written policy on CASE commitment. Do not upgrade or change CASE tools too soon. No sooner do managers acquire one tool than they hear of another, which naturally has a few more bells and whistles than the one they already possess. Rapid change in an emerging technological field is normal, but it is often followed by a shakeout in the industry which, after dropouts and new alliances, will only leave a handful of survivors. MIS therefore should be wary of changing horses in mid-race. It is better to make a moderately strong commitment to one vendor or to one family of CASE tools and to stick with it until the product has truly outlived its useful life, the staff has outgrown the product or the product no longer fits the need. By Mark Duncan, Special to CW; Duncan is a quality assurance consultant at a large Dallas bank. <<<>>> Title : Net blazers push standard Author : Elisabeth Horwit Source : CW Comm FileName: netintro Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Sometimes they involve betting the budget on homegrown or untested products. Tenneco, Inc., for example, became a guinea pig for an early Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) setup while the standard was incomplete and supported by only a few vendors. Westinghouse Electric Corp. and Carnegie-Mellon University developed their own communications software because no products fulfilled their needs. But not all innovators are independent types who scorn vendors' help. Several companies profiled here show themselves to be particularly daring, inventive and determined in the way they extract concessions, special deals and extra effort from the major networking suppliers. G. D. Searle & Co. was one of several big users whose demands for more effective DEC-to-IBM links influenced Digital Equipment Corp. and IBM to provide such products. Westinghouse brought in technicians from several major networking vendors to cooperate with its own people in the development of a multivendor network management system. Carnegie-Mellon built its distributed networking system, Andrew, with a lot of assistance _ and funding _ from IBM. The U.S. Navy has been a major force behind recent efforts to develop high-speed fiber-optic networking standards, which it wants to use as the basis for its battleship networking system. Yet not all innovation is technology-driven. In several cases, the real challenge came from users, who were less predictable and malleable than the networking systems being developed. M. W. Kellogg Co. and Pacific Gas & Electric Co., for example, both used off-the-shelf networking products. But Kellogg's MIS staff struggled through an arduous trial-and-error process before it developed an effective user support system on its local-area networks. Pacific Gas expended a great deal of time in creating a multilevel security system for network access. Users' reluctance to give up tried-and-true business routines often causes more trouble than the technical challenges. When Levi Strauss & Co. decided to deploy electronic data interchange (EDI) links to its retailers, it had less trouble finding the right EDI service than getting retailers to adopt a new way of doing business. When Citytrust Bancorp, Inc. implemented a PC-based front end for its executives to access mainframe data, its biggest problem was developing applications to tempt users to accept the system. Despite the risk, frustrations and expense innovators encounter, they all seem to think the payback is worth the trouble. Sometimes the rewards take the form of hard dollar savings. ISDN is already saving Tenneco big bucks on wiring costs by putting both voice and data on the same twisted-pair wiring system. Weyerhaeuser Co. expects major savings in production costs from a computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) system at one of its pulp plants. Important benefits Key benefits that may be hard to quantify include giving employees faster, easier access to the information they need to do their jobs better. In other cases, service representatives can give more personalized service with account information at their fingertips. Executives make more timely decisions if they don't have to wait for MIS to deliver the data. Work groups cooperate better if they can share information electronically. Often, being innovative saves a firm a lot of trouble and, possibly, a costly system upgrade or redesign. For example, the Navy hopes that the fiber-optic networks it is installing on its ships will fill its communications needs for the next 20 years. Conversely, Weyerhaeuser's pulp plant let almost two decades pass by between its first major technological innovation and its second. As a result, it had to put up with outdated equipment and frequent network crashes until its systems people could decide on the next step to take. Weyerhaeuser's New Bern, N.C., plant did not deliberately set out to install a state-of-the-art system; its initial aim was to beef up an overburdened network and find a replacement for a computer that IBM was not going to support much longer. But once the firm's MIS managers started examining their factory's information technology, they ended up developing a leading-edge CIM system. And they had their reward in the form of better responsiveness to customer needs, lower production costs and the ability to pinpoint potential problems in the plant within hours instead of days. MIS managers such as those at Weyerhaeuser, who become innovators almost by accident, typify today's networking pioneer far more than the more idealized maverick. While such a venture is risky, many managers begin blazing trails because sticking to the well-worn path can be even more dangerous. Corporate MIS departments are starting to demand creative network solutions now that they view communications systems as strategic assets rather than utilities. Steering a ``safe'' middle course has become next to impossible, given the volatility of the regulatory environment and networking marketplace. Not that the innovators profiled here are all conservative folks who were forced into the innovator mode by circumstance. On the contrary: One of their main claims to the title ``networking pioneer'' was their willingness to go that extra mile for exactly the right answer to their company's networking needs _ even it takes them into uncharted territory. <<<>>> Title : Citytrust Bancorp, Inc. w Author : Ricardo Dobson Source : CW Comm FileName: citytrus Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Citytrust Bancorp, Inc. was looking for a micro-to-mainframe link that went a long way beyond simple terminal emulation. The Bridgeport, Conn., holding company wanted to provide loan officers using IBM Personal Computers with easy access to customer records on the IBM mainframe so that they, in turn, could provide more effective, individualized customer support. As a result, Briant Wolfe, a Citytrust vice-president, faced the classic MIS problem of guiding a nontechnical professional through the intricacies of mainframe communications and database access. Getting the PC to act like an IBM 3270 terminal was the least of Wolfe's worries. The current system forced users to navigate through multiple mainframe applications just to respond to routine banking questions. In order to access data, they had to learn different input requirements for each application as well as decipher cryptic reports targeted more at saving screen space than easy understanding for occasional users, Wolfe says. ``For the less-than-frequent user, it was almost impossible to use the mainframe,'' he says. Citytrust hoped that easier access to bank records would allow officers to practice a marketing-oriented strategy that stresses profitable account management over merely processing loan applications. For example, an officer could review bank records to identify high-potential customers for a new bank service or to analyze the profitability of ongoing bank relationships. It could also enable officers to reinforce bonds with their clients through the delivery of timely information, Wolfe reports. These goals started Wolfe on his search for a PC-style front end to guide officers through mainframe banking files and applications. After looking at about a dozen candidates, he chose Enter/3270, a software package from Aspen Research, Inc. Enter/3270 is a micro-to-mainframe package that runs on an IBM PC and works with a variety of terminal emulation and IBM LU6.2 communications products. It develops applications intended to guide nontechnical users through mainframe databases using a series of Help screens, lists and pop-up menus. Alan Parnass, Aspen's president, tailored the package to the software currently in use on Citytrust's IBM 4381 _ IBM's Integrated Banking Application and Mortgage Loan System from Kirchman Corp. One part of the bank's Integrated Banking Application system is a Customer Information application that provides a central database of customer account data. A second application, developed on the Mortgage Loan System, accesses information on customers' mortgage accounts. A third mainframe application, Infogram, was developed internally by the bank. It shows current rates on loans, certificates of deposit and savings accounts. Bank officers need constant access to Infogram to provide timely, accurate information to their clients. Under the old system, bank officers had to depend on the MIS department to get the information they needed. This effectively prevented them from doing ad hoc queries during a customer service call. To solve this problem, Wolfe used Enter/3270 to develop Citytrust Executive Information, an application that is designed to insulate users from many irksome conventions of the mainframe such as logon procedures. The application also takes care of accessing data across different files. Users can select from a menu the relationship, account profile or marketing information they require. The application is used to integrate information from both the Customer Information and Mortgage Loan databases, which can be called up on different windows and collated. User queries sometimes require linking information between the two mainframe databases, Wolfe says. Less relevant information is automatically deleted to leave screens less cluttered. Mainframe code is translated to less technical language. The system also generates hard copy reports with contents that span several mainframe screens. The Executive Information System was deployed at two sites. One is a headquarters staff office in which personnel gather data to support profitability analysis. The other is a branch office. The early period of use taught Wolfe what information bank personnel regularly accessed and what was rarely referenced. The system got mixed reviews. Branch managers, who primarily ran word processing on their PCs, complained they had difficulty moving from PCs to the mainframe. The branch had previously implemented Digital Communications Associates, Inc.'s Irma 3270 terminal emulation boards, which allowed branch users to hot-key to and from traditional mainframe applications and their word processing software. But moving between word processing and Enter/3270 required saving files and exiting one application, then starting up the other. Also, some managers who already knew how to use the traditional mainframe applications were reluctant to learn a whole new set of commands. The application is ``helpful for people who don't use the mainframe every day but less helpful for everyday users,'' says Ed Boyle, supervisor of the relationship profitability department. Another, more serious problem Wolfe's application faces is the fact that terminals are still in wide use at the bank, and Enter/3270 requires a PC. Wolfe and others are still evaluating to what extent and how soon terminals will be replaced with PCs throughout the firm. However, the application showed its worth among less frequent users who found it hard to master the intricacies of mainframe access. Boyle is particularly impressed by the application's ability to ``put it in English instead of requiring users to learn lots of commands.'' He also likes the clarity with which the software showed links between customers as well as the common front end it provided for Customer Information and mortgage loan applications. To promote use of the new system, Wolfe is planning to introduce it on a newly developed mainframe application called Profitability System. This application will allow officers to determine which banking relationships and other factors significantly affect their portfolios' profitability. Since this application is new, employees will be using Executive Information System commands from the start, and no relearning will be required. By Ricardo Dobson; Dobson is a trainer/consultant in Louisville, Ky., specializing in Ahton-Tate's Symphony, Lotus' Freelance Plus, DOS and HP's Laserjet. <<<>>> Title : When Westinghouse Electri Author : Arielle Emmett Source : CW Comm FileName: whouse Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: When Westinghouse Electric Corp. implemented its first T1 link in 1983, telecommunications managers decided to take aggressive control of the firm's private network. ``When we started to develop the network management system a couple of years ago, there was nothing out there to do the job,'' says Thomas J. O'Toole, manager of telecommunications systems at Wescor, the recently formed Westinghouse communications subsidiary in Pittsburgh. ``So we have a `roll your own' network. We've provisioned it ourselves, and it has been much more cost-effective.'' Now, Wescor plans to market its homegrown products and experience in network management. Wescor's network control centers monitor a wide variety of transmissions, including voice, facsimile and video, as well as packet-switched, dial-up and dedicated links for data. The company is developing artificial intelligence-based network management tools. These products were designed to provide such services as network surveillance and maintenance, performance monitoring and, eventually, system diagnostics. Surveillance and alarm data are communicated from the switches back to a central AT&T 3B2 600 computer, which converts everything into a common alarm format. Managing its own network rather than using vendor services has brought Westinghouse both increased reliability and cost savings, according to Brad Magill, Wescor's manager of corporate data operations. Voice and data networks are running with 99.7% to 99.8% availability, he says. O'Toole affirms that reduced costs exceed $50,000 per month. ``If you take a look at all the services we provide over the network and compare them with commercial services, millions of dollars are saved each year,'' he claims. The other side of the coin is that Wescor has had to invest heavily in software engineering and manpower to make the networks viable. ``Our software engineering alone will cost us in the seven-figure range,'' O'Toole says. Training operations people and providing staffing for 24-hour network monitoring also has been expensive, according to Magill. ``We have invested a reasonable amount in our network management system over the years, but we definitely feel [the outlay] will come back to us,'' O'Toole says. One direct payback is cost avoidance; by fixing things before they break, the system minimizes the use of a higher-priced service while a link is being repaired. Another payback comes from users. ``Network downtime costs money,'' O'Toole explains. ``While some of our divisions see the network as a commodity and just want more bang for the buck, for others, it supports their products.'' For example, Westinghouse Broadcasting Co. uses the network to access information on current prices and availability of time slots. ``If they sell something that isn't available, they lose the sale; if they sell at the wrong price, they lose the profit,'' O'Toole says. In addition, Wescor hopes to use its network management system to differentiate its new network service from competitive offerings, O'Toole notes. It is also positioning itself as a value-added carrier and has already signed up two outside companies. A reliable, well-managed network is a key selling point, he says. Wescor's 20-person network operations staff has been able to pick up 54% of all trouble spots on the network before any customer has complained, according to Jim Sever, manager of quality and reliability for voice services at Wescor. ``We clear 55% to 60% of all trouble on the voice and data network in less than four hours,'' he says. Substantial savings The company also hopes to maximize staff efficiency by managing unmanned remote sites from a central location. This move could save as much as $10,000 per network node each month, Sever reports. The heart of the centralized network management system is a common relational database that keeps track of components on Wescor's voice network. The database, linked via a network interface to the alarm system, stores constantly updated information on network topology, equipment installed and in inventory, event logs, vendor information and trouble tickets. Separate subsystems linked to the database and the network perform call detail analysis, quality assurance testing and traffic and switch management. The network is complicated by the presence of multivendor equipment, including private branch exchanges from AT&T, IBM subsidiary Rolm Systems and Northern Telecom, Inc. ``If we had had an all-IBM solution to our network, we could have used Netview and Netview/PC for management,'' Sever says. But the network's multivendor nature forced Westinghouse to come up with its own artificial intelligence-based solutions. According to Sever, Wescor is implementing three levels of AI in stages. The first level filters out alarms, invokes rules to determine problems and generates a report. The second level performs trend analysis and generates reports using additional network information from the alarm system. The third level, which has not yet been implemented, is intended to pinpoint problems by sending commands to alarm sources to perform diagnostic tests. A filtering system identifies major alarms, then activates a paging function to contact a network analyst directly. Automatic trouble tickets are then issued to vendors. Quite often, troubles on the network are reported directly to vendor representatives, who are on-site and work cooperatively with Wescor's own network analysts to solve the problem. Vendors have become active participants or ``network advocates'' in Westinghouse's management program. ``We've partnered with our vendors,'' O'Toole says. ``If you go into our network control center, you'll find that half the people aren't Westinghouse employees; they work for AT&T, MCI and U.S. Sprint. Because we do it this way, things get fixed faster.'' By Arielle Emmett; Emmett is a free-lance writer and editor in Hewitt, N.J. <<<>>> Title : Carnegie-Mellon forges st Author : Arielle Emmett Source : CW Comm FileName: carnegie Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: When Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh began to buy up personal computers, minicomputers and workstations in the early 1980s, university computer scientists decided to ward off impending anarchy by revamping the campus communications network. ``What we wanted to do was provide coherent growth to the decentralized computing environment,'' says John Leong, CMU's director of networking and computing services. ``We realized that if we didn't do something, the computing environment would become chaotic.'' However, the scientists found few commercial products to help them create the system they envisioned: a network that would preserve the autonomy and multivendor diversity of various computer installations, yet allow users to exchange electronic mail and share files and applications transparently. So CMU set out to develop its own network workstations, software and cabling, with a little help from IBM. Today, the university operates one of the most mature distributed file system in the country, one that features multimedia electronic mail, a network joining dozens of smaller local-area networks, a programmer's tool kit as well as an advanced workstation that may serve as a prototype for other universities. Named after the two university founders, Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon, the network has gradually changed how academic work is done. Professors and students now swap messages and homework day or night on any of 1,000 diverse computers and workstations. Composition students write and annotate their texts using Andrew's hypertext application, and history students make complex analyses of U.S. migration patterns by generating maps based on census data entered into a program called The Great American History Machine. As a distributed file and electronic mail system, Andrew supports 25 different network servers around campus _ storage vaults for workstation files providing as much as 30G bytes of capacity _ as well as diverse hardware and software applications. The network integrates computers from Digital Equipment Corp., IBM, Sun Microsystems, Inc., Symbolics, Inc., Apple Computer, Inc. and Cray Research, Inc. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol helps address the connectivity nightmare, along with new concepts of file distribution, giving users some control over resources. To develop Andrew, IBM and Carnegie-Mellon established the CMU Information Technology Center in late 1982, a project costing each institution more than $3.5 million per year. IBM contributed equipment grants and senior programming talent. Carnegie-Mellon provided personnel and expertise. Priorities for Andrew included: A network to interconnect departmental systems, mainframes and workstations. A distributed file system enabling students and faculty to access information transparently. A beefed-up authentication system. An E-mail system that would transmit text, graphics, spreadsheets and even animated images across the network. A separate workstation component featuring advanced graphics and a window manager. CMU wanted a file system that would link as many as 10,000 workstations and provide a view of the file system typically found only on a mainframe, explains Alfred Spector, the university's Information Technology Center director. ``Nothing existed before to connect so many machines together,'' he says. In 1983, network technicians began rewiring every room on campus. The $5 million job, jointly undertaken with IBM, included a fiber-optic backbone to provide maximum bandwidth for video, data and voice. Within buildings, it incorporates the IBM cabling system. ``No two buildings have the same wiring,'' Leong says. ``Independently, we've built a set of network servers supporting all the existing campus LANs.'' The LANs include Ethernet, IBM's Token-Ring, Apple's Appletalk and Synoptics' Lattisnet. The servers also support a large network of asynchronous terminals. This strategy helps maintain departmental computing autonomy while providing access to files and programs campuswide. Once the communications infrastructure was in place, however, the problem of developing a true distributed file system became vexing. ``No file-server system has really been designed for workstations on this scale,'' Leong says. At present, Andrew connects IBM RTs, DEC Microvaxes and Sun workstations. Distribution decisions One of the first questions to resolve was how to distribute responsibility on the network among file servers and workstations. CMU decided to let the workstations handle applications processing and the majority of networking and operating system chores, leaving the network of file servers to act as remote storage centers. ``From the user's point of view, network access is totally transparent,'' Leong says. ``You don't know where the server is physically located. All you need is a log-in code, and you can access your files from anywhere.'' Network architects enhanced security by adding access control features to standard Unix protection mechanisms. Unix was chosen because of its portability across multiple computer platforms, according to Spector. CMU plans to incorporate MIT's Kerberos authentication system in its file system. ``Basically we built an authentication system so that nobody trusts anybody,'' Leong explains. ``The workstation doesn't trust the file server, and the server doesn't trust the user.'' Encrypted tokens must be exchanged back and forth between workstation and server before the user gets access to his or her files. The robustness of Andrew's security system was tested last November, when a virus visited academic and research institutions linked by the Internet wide-area network. The virus did not get past the ``very careful programming'' of systems designer Craig Everhart, Spector says. ``Some of Andrew's software got overloaded when it detected and rejected a huge number of anomalous network messages. You could say it gagged on them,'' Spector recalls. This caused some network degradation and system failures, but while the virus got at systems in other parts of the university, it never affected files or messages on Andrew, he says. The Andrew distributed file system has gone through three major ``cuts'' in its six-year development, Leong says. The first cut, a prototype, was a shot in the dark. ``It was not great _ we built it and threw it away,'' he says. ``Response time was terrible, and quite often we couldn't tell whether we had a networking or workstation problem on our hands.'' CMU introduced a new concept of administrative control called Cellular Andrew File System, which permits each university department to maintain control over the file servers holding its users' data. For instance, a universitywide cell, representing access to information or bulletin boards on university servers, would be open to everyone, while a computer science department cell might be restricted to students in that department. Catching on The cellular concept has become so popular that Carnegie-Mellon is working with several other universities to develop a national distributed file system. ``We believe we can use Andrew to connect parts of organizations in remote places as well as different organizations,'' Spector says. ``That's a happy and exciting result of our work which we hadn't anticipated in 1982 when we got started.'' The Andrew E-mail system is built on existing networks on campus, including the Department of Defense's Arpanet, Bitnet and the National Science Foundation's NSFnet. The mail system is multimedia, enabling students to send images and drawings as well as financial data and text. It also departs from traditional E-mail structure by providing secure access to a central mail depository. ``The delivery system permits you to read your mail from any system in the environment in a secure fashion,'' Spector says. Electronic addresses are automatically ``stamped'' when the sender calls up the name of the recipient on the system. ``This encourages people to reply a lot more,'' Leong says. Mail transport to the outside world is handled through standard X.400 or simple mail transfer protocols. Despite the successes, Andrew has had its share of problems. Applications development has been slower than expected, especially for educational applications, according to software developers. They say these applications require development time as well as ``restructuring time'' to enable professors to integrate the computer into their course curricula. Furthermore, the advanced Andrew workstation and user interface had been targeted to cost $3,000. The real cost is about $5,000. ``We missed because the design requirements of the software pushed the cost up,'' says Walter Schymik, IBM's manager of Carnegie-Mellon studies. ``At the present time, students still can't afford it.'' Wiring the campus to accommodate existing networks has also yielded unexpected costs, according to William Y. Arms, vice-president of academic services in charge of computing libraries. ``We've spent about $500,000 in capital funds on bridges, routers and interfaces,'' Arms says. ``It has been like building a superhighway through an existing city. You can't just drive through the middle _ you need detours connecting existing road systems with new road systems.'' For applications developers and users of the Andrew system, the rewards have far outweighed liabilities. Writing students, for example, have been able to take advantage of several Andrew tools to improve their work, according to Christine Neuwirth, an assistant professor in the English department who designed some of the department's tools. Faster feedback The increased level of interaction between students and instructors is exciting for everybody, Neuwirth says. ``Students can send compositions in process to their instructors. They don't need to wait for office hours or class [to get feedback]. Students, in turn, can comment on each other's work. There's a dialoguing capability; if you get a comment and don't understand it, you can write back an electronic note saying, `Hey, I'm puzzled about this.' '' David Miller, a history professor, used Andrew to create the Great American History Machine, a cartographic application that provides a map interface to U.S. census data taken since 1847. Miller says that he was originally attracted to the capabilities of the Andrew workstation. ``Our program required the use of workstations as powerful as [those from] Sun or IBM RTs; it was the workstation concept that was uppermost in my mind when I came up with the program idea,'' he says. ``But the networking capabilities and the file server turned out to be extremely important.'' By Arielle Emmett; Emmett is a free-lance writer and editor in Hewitt, N.J. <<<>>> Title : Stand a 500-foot combat s Author : Jim Leeke Source : CW Comm FileName: navy1 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Stand a 500-foot combat ship on end, says Arthur G. Justice, and what you have is a 50-story building complete with all of the concerns about data transmission, reliability and security that can be found in the MIS department of any Fortune 500 office tower. That is why Justice, a senior engineer at the U.S. Naval Ocean Systems Center (NOSC), thinks business and industry will be interested in the Survivable Adaptable Fiber-Optic Embedded Network (Safenet), a shipboard local-area network system that the Navy is developing to meet its communications needs over the next two decades. Safenet is scheduled for a shipboard test by the Navy or Coast Guard early this year, possibly aboard one of the Navy's 1,000-foot-long aircraft carriers. Development of the system began four years ago as a project to simplify the Navy's expensive and largely incompatible tangle of shipboard networks. One priority for the committee appointed to the Safenet project was to preserve the Navy's existing computer base. ``Navy commanders don't want to hear that they have to change all their computer programs,'' says committee member Richard Bailley, a senior systems engineer at San Diego-based Navy contractor Vitro Corp. However, the committee felt no hesitation about ripping out more than 100 of the Navy's existing networks _ most of them, except for a few Ethernet LANs, proprietary or built for a specific purpose, Bailley says. A major function of Safenet is to replace these disparate systems, plus a massive spaghetti-like tangle of cabling, with a less cumbersome, standardized network. The Navy considers Safenet's most vital element to be survivability _ the ability to keep providing real-time data to vital combat systems during battle. Another top priority is that the system addresses the Navy's expanding bandwidth needs for the next 20 years, according to Richard Steinberger, manager for digital design at Martin Marietta Aero and Naval Systems in Baltimore. ``The general conclusion was, if you give someone bandwidth, they'll find some way to use it. Updating technology means taking ships apart, so this network will have to last 20 years.'' In addition, the Navy is going from centralized to distributed processing; ``That really takes up bandwidth,'' Steinberger says. Once the goals were set, the committee had to work out a strategy for meeting them. ``After looking at about 120 commercial networking products, we concluded that whatever we lined up had to be public domain, not proprietary where you had to go back to the vendor to get it fixed,'' Bailley notes. The committee settled on the IEEE 802.5 token-ring standard, because unlike the 802.3 Ethernet standard, it is deterministic, making it possible to guarantee that each message gets through within a certain amount of time. The fail-safe element of Safenet comes from a dual-channel, counter-rotating, token-ring configuration _ a design adapted from the single-ring 802.5 standard. ``We're taking IEEE protocols and making them survivable in hazardous environments,'' Bailley says. Only one ring operates at a time, but if that primary ring is cut or damaged, the secondary ring takes over. Tactical networks, such as those directing weapons systems, will be connected to both Safenet rings. Less vital networks, such as those used for administrative or personnel functions, could be connected to just one ring. Even if a ship is attacked, the Navy says it believes Safenet will keep working. The committee chose the ANSI Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) standard, which uses fiber-optic cabling. It did so for several reasons. First, the standard is based on the 802.5 protocols. Second, it supports 100M bit/sec. bandwidth, which gives Safenet plenty of room to grow as Naval transmission requirements increase. Third, fiber-optic cable is less easily tapped and less vulnerable to electrical interference and other outside hazards than is other media. A fourth advantage of fiber is that it enables the Navy to reduce the complex tangle of coaxial cable and mechanical switches on board to one cabling system. ``There are 50 to 100 tons of cable on some of these ships,'' Justice says. Bailley, a retired naval officer, estimates that as much as 70% of that could be eliminated via Safenet. Such an enormous savings in weight and volume is enough to affect performance at sea, especially aboard a relatively small ship such as a destroyer. The network will be implemented in two phases. Safenet I, based on 802.5, is a 16M bit/sec. network that can support 128 nodes at a distance of 300 meters. Safenet II, slated for testing aboard ships late this year or in 1990, will be based on FDDI. It reportedly will be capable of supporting 512 nodes over 2,000 meters. Although Safenet is a military project _ designed with combat systems in mind, and with some individual applications classified as secret _ the network itself is what Justice calls a public-domain technology. ``We are working with [other] committees to develop standards that will work both commercially and militarily,'' he says. ``We've got just excellent support from the commercial world.'' Approximately 250 people from some 40 organizations _ both military and business _ are participating in the development. Commercial potential Bailley says he believes Safenet will be easily adaptable to commercial applications because it has only ``very, very minor differences'' from 802.5 and FDDI standards. The Navy plans to implement Safenet gradually. New ships will likely be fitted with the network as they are built, according to Justice. Older ships generally will be retrofitted with Safenet as they are ordered into shipyards for regular overhauls. Safenet II actually has more capabilities than the Navy needs right now. ``We are trying to build a five-lane freeway out in the middle of the desert,'' Justice says. ``Even though nobody is using it today, eventually they will be. And there will be both Model Ts and Corvettes _ they can share it.'' Computerworld Senior Editor Elisabeth Horwitt contributed to this article. By Jim Leeke; Leeke is a free-lance writer based in San Francisco. <<<>>> Title : Mervyn's department store Author : Barbara Sehr Source : CW Comm FileName: levi Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Mervyn's department stores use the latest in electronic scanners and point-of-sale terminals to track which clothing items are walking out the door and which are staying put on the shelves. But until recently, the Hayward, Calif.-based retail chain had no way to respond to this information quickly enough to change orders to vendors. Then Levi Strauss & Co., one of Mervyn's key vendors, offered to tie the department store chain into Levi-Link, an electronic data interchange (EDI) network that carries order and shipment information between the clothing manufacturer and its retailers. ``We never looked closely at what it costs to do business this way vs. the old-fashioned way,'' says Kathryn B. Spangenberg, director of systems and programming at Mervyn's. ``We looked upon it as a strategic move.'' This strategic move means that Mervyn's no longer has to order 1,000 pairs of jeans several months in advance and pray that customer tastes within an area do not change. Orders are filled in terms of weeks, not months, and fashion trends can be more closely monitored. ``We've cut our lead time 50% to 75%,'' Spangenberg notes. Levi Strauss was initially drawn to EDI as a way to speed its own order-processing cycle after it had failed to come up with a way to speed deliveries. EDI defines standardized formats for business documents such as orders, shipment notices and invoices that are frequently exchanged between business partners such as manufacturers and retailers. In 1984, when Levi Strauss first considered EDI, it found no available standard means of electronic interchange. What it did find was a customer list of 17,000 retailers, each doing business its own way. Each had its own system of marking goods: Some had their own bar codes, while others used universal product code (UPC) symbols and still others used no discernible codes at all. Purchase orders and sales reports were put together in a variety of data formats. Levi Strauss responded to this situation by launching an 18-month effort to reach a common denominator for document formats. Led by Paul Benchener, director of EDI services, company officials visited retail locations all over the country. They held meetings and seminars to get input from their customers. A major obstacle to retailer acceptance was and continues to be senior management, Benchener says. Some senior managers are either not aware of the value of the electronic link or are not motivated enough to drive the process forward. However, he expects this resistance to diminish as the value of Levi-Link becomes evident. Levi removed a major stumbling block of its own in 1985 by revising the way it marks products. For the first time in the retail industry, a major vendor attached both its own UPC and the National Retail Merchants Association universal vendor marking to its merchandise. This move avoided the need for retailers to separately mark items as they arrived. Meanwhile, the Voluntary Interindustry Communications Standards committee, made up of vendors and retailers such as K Mart Corp., Sears, Roebuck and Co. and J. C. Penney Co. as well as Mervyn's, began meeting in 1986 to address a failure to communicate among retailers and vendors. Many of the large retailers had established proprietary product-marking systems for themselves and their biggest vendors. Levi Strauss, for example, was forced to adopt different markings for jeans sold to Sears, Mervyn's, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and others. The meetings and the retailers' quick adoption of the standards that they established paved the way for Levi-Link's acceptance. Most of the major retailers had their proprietary systems adjusted within a year of the arrival of Levi-Link in September 1986. Levi-Link uses the American National Standards Institute's X.12 protocol, an EDI standard used by a variety of industries. Purchase orders and other data from retailers are translated to the standard by local Levi-Link software or through the third-party network that links retailers with Levi Strauss. The orders use the universal vendor marking format. In most cases, the third-party network is provided by General Electric Information Services, which had already supplied Levi Strauss with an EDI service for its own vendors. Levi Strauss pays for messages it sends to its retailers; the retailers in turn pay for their end of the service. Despite its huge investment in Levi-Link, which at one point included a 25-member development team, Levi Strauss does not charge retailers for linking into the service. A third-party software house offers the PC-based package to smaller retailers that want to access Levi-Link. Lex Computer in San Mateo, Calif., sells a turnkey system, based on an IBM Personal Computer AT compatible, which includes the Levi-Link connection within an inventory control/financial analysis reporting system. Only about 25% of all Levi Strauss purchase orders are now submitted electronically. But the company has already profited from increased sales, according to Benchener. Levi-Link has been expanded beyond the electronic purchase order service. Additional modules allow retailers to improve inventory control, reduce handling requirements and improve stock management. Officials at Mervyn's are looking forward to a module dubbed Sell Through Analysis and Reporting System, or STARS, which will let Levi Strauss gather data from Mervyn's outlets and predict which colors, sizes and styles sell best at a particular store. For the retailer that has been keeping an eye on its own bottom line instead of the bottom line of its customers, it may mean improved merchandising and less markdown merchandise. For Levi Strauss, it will mean better prediction of fashion trends. By Barbara Sehr; Sehr is a free-lance writer based in Hayward, Calif. <<<>>> Title : Skidmore, Owings & Merril Author : Jean S.Bozman Source : CW Comm FileName: skidmore Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is known for designing high-tech skyscrapers, including Chicago's Sears Tower, the world's tallest building. But until recently, Skidmore's high-flying work was done by architects and designers working alone at their engineering workstations. That solitary approach changed about three years ago, when Skidmore obtained a number of IBM RTs under an early-release program. The architectural firm soon began to accumulate dozens of the machines, most of which were dedicated to single-person use. The only drawback to their operation, architects say, was the amount of available air-conditioning. That's because RTs, especially some of the earlier models, generate a lot of heat. ``It's like lots of people sitting around running hair dryers,'' one Skidmore manager says. The firm's intensive graphical applications use up much of an RT's capacity, so the architects still toil alone. But their 5-million-instruction-per-second RTs are now able to share data files through several networking schemes. ``In a sense, we have a mainframe,'' says Skidmore partner Douglas F. Stoker. ``It's just that the horsepower is not just in one box.'' This ``virtual mainframe'' is strung along several industry-standard networking schemes, including Ethernet, the IBM Token-Ring and an older IBM product, the PC LAN. Ethernet was chosen to link 60 RTs in Chicago because it offered distributed services, such as electronic mail and remote file server support, before Token-Ring did. This year, a Token-Ring began supporting similar distributed services for 80 more Skidmore RTs, which allows users to ask for a file on the same local-area network without knowing where the file resides, according to Michael del Medico, the company's data processing manager. Files can be exchanged between a Token-Ring and an Ethernet LAN ``as long as you know where you're sending your file and where the file [currently] is,'' del Medico says. Users without that knowledge can check remote RTs' directories until they locate the correct system. The firm has an Ethernet LAN on an upper floor of a downtown office building and several Token-Ring LANs on lower floors _ linked by yards and yards of vertical fiber-optic cable. With the successful networking of RTs, ad hoc work groups became possible at Skidmore. Project managers can divide up the job of designing a building into manageable pieces, and individual RTs can then pick up their slice of the job. ``We can cluster the RTs for different projects,'' Stoker says. ``At any time, the firm is planning about 100 different buildings worldwide. Any one architect might be working on several jobs at once.'' Once their portion of a job is completed, each work group can merge the segments and send them electronically to a centralized printing facility. One project might be for a space that includes one million square feet, another for 200,000 square feet. ``The network allows us to do multiple activities without people getting in each others' way,'' Stoker says. Architects working on the same job can exchange information and even complex drawings over the network. It takes only 35 seconds to send a 142M-byte file, including graphics, one manager reports. A user on an Ethernet can request a file that resides on a Token-Ring LAN. ``We're talking about distributed network processing power in which you truly don't know which network your job is running on,'' Stoker says. ``We can break up the building's image into a series of `tiles,' and then each [RT] machine can work independently on its part of the job.'' Because each task is ``sized'' to the appropriate number of processor engines, the need for a central host is greatly diminished, Stoker says. The distributed computing system will eventually replace the shop's aging Tektronix, Inc. and IBM 5081 workstations _ as well as its Digital Equipment Corp. VAX computers. The company has already dispensed with seven of its original 12 VAXs. In the end, the only host machine will be an IBM Application System/400 that is supposed to replace a System/38. Skidmore had to ramp up to get its RT project going. An initial task force of 100 people designed the software that runs on the reduced instruction set computing-based RT, Stoker says. Now, a smaller group of 45 maintains and enhances the software. Skidmore has, in association with IBM, developed a software program that will allow other firms to create architectural drawings on the RT. One advantage of becoming an IBM developer was that Skidmore did not have to pay for many of its RTs. IBM is just beginning to market the architectural software suite. But Stoker claims his firm will retain its competitive edge, which it derives more from how it uses the software than from the package itself. Skidmore's data processing operations staff is small. Four people maintain the hardware and peripheral equipment. There is no formal DP organization and only one small-scale computer room. The primary advantage of Skidmore's networking scheme, Stoker says, lies in its flexibility. Purchasing hardware systems represents a commitment to overhead that often is not justified by a firm's daily work load. ``You can't slice a VAX up and send half to another office,'' Stoker observes. ``This way, if a really big project shows up, we can always go out and buy more RTs.'' By Jean S. Bozman; Bozman is Computerworld's West Coast bureau chief. <<<>>> Title : If Fidelity Investments s Author : Alan Radding Source : CW Comm FileName: fidel Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: If Fidelity Investments still harbored any qualms about becoming its own telephone company, they were erased by the fire last May that knocked out an Illinois Bell transmission station and isolated local business for a week. A fire like that would devastate Fidelity, a financial services company that relies on the local telephone system to handle millions of dollars of transactions every day. Fidelity has implemented elaborate backup systems for its computers as well as alternative long-distance telephone services. But, like most companies, the firm depends on the local telephone company for voice and data communications between local sites and for connections to the long-distance networks. As a result, says George Hertz, president of the Fidelity Communications division, the company became a partner in Teleport Communications-Boston (TCB), a joint venture of Fidelity Communications, created to act as managing partner in the venture, and New York-based Merrill Lynch Teleport Technologies Inc. (MLTT), a subsidiary of Merrill Lynch & Co. Fidelity's primary goal was to create a fiber-optic bypass network in the Boston area that would provide redundancy in its voice and data communications systems. The network also has the potential to reduce Fidelity's local telephone bills and, through the sale of excess bandwidth to other companies, eventually become a profit center in itself. But these were secondary considerations, according to Hertz. The company could have waited for Merrill Lynch or someone else to establish a network and signed on as a customer, but that isn't like Fidelity, Hertz says: ``We are very aggressive when it comes to technology. We wanted to be involved in getting it off the ground. If [an alternative network] already existed, then it would be a different issue.'' Participation by other large companies as customers is crucial to the venture. Creating the network ``was too expensive to do on our own,'' notes Hertz. ``We were willing to invest if necessary,'' he continues, but the way to overcome high cost was to sell unused network bandwidth to other businesses. The fiber-optic cable has enough capacity to support a number of customers, and TCB plans to attract business by touting the higher reliability of an all-digital, fiber-optic network over traditional telephone lines that use twisted-pair wiring. The service will be priced competitively with offerings from New England Telephone, a Bell operating company, according to Paul Chisholm, TCB vice-president and general manager. The reduced costs for use of the TCB network will also appeal to users, but ``there is no intent to be a low-cost provider,'' Chisholm says. Instead, he plans to price TCB competitive with or just slightly lower than the carrier, but to provide better quality for the money. ``New England Telephone gives a single pair of wires. We'll give all-fiber and go directly to the floor, not just to the building,'' he points out. Anticipating demand for more reliable, high-volume communications among regional businesses, New England Telephone last spring initiated service on a fiber-optic network linking more than 130 buildings in downtown Boston. Another competitor, a 1987 start-up venture called Teleport Boston Corp., plans to link city businesses locally and west to Route 128, an area crowded with high-tech companies. In addition, Teleport Boston plans to provide its customers with a satellite-based link to other countries and areas of the U.S. The implementation of a metropolitanwide fiber-optic network is not a small undertaking, particularly in a major city like Boston. After formally announcing the project in February, TCB spent six months negotiating with the city of Boston about digging up streets to lay cable. Under the city's new policy on street cuts, explains Chisholm, companies digging up the streets must coordinate their efforts to minimize disruption. Fidelity will not use the TCB network simply as a backup to be kept in reserve, but, with other customers, it will use it daily on a load-sharing basis. To guard against failures, TCB will maintain redundant fiber cable and redundant electronics. A central operations center will offer round-the-clock monitoring, diagnostics and troubleshooting. TCB will offer a standard digital interface, 1.5M bit/sec., or 45M bit/sec., a high-capacity option. Multiplexers are used to interface conventional digital telephone lines with the all-fiber, all-digital network. TCB set up the operations center in September and began laying cable in October. The network went on-line this month. The first phase, connecting the operations center with nearby Fidelity facilities, was completed in December. Commercial service for one section of the financial district will begin in February, with other Boston areas scheduled to go on-line gradually during the year. Customers are already lined up to go on-line as soon as the service starts, Chisholm says. Construction will follow a two-pronged strategy. TCB will concentrate on linking with the carriers and simultaneously begin hooking up customers such as Fidelity. Marketing will not begin in earnest until the system is operational. ``We've been working on generic awareness while we are waiting for a product,'' Chisholm says. The Illinois fire gave the project's visibility a dramatic boost by heightening awareness of the vulnerability of companies that rely solely on the local telephone system. Following news of the fire, TCB experienced an increase in inquiries from prospective users. From a financial standpoint, it will take several years for Fidelity's investment in TCB to pay off, Hertz says. From an operational standpoint, however, Fidelity expects to receive dividends in the form of better quality telecommunications and peace of mind from the first day of operation. In the event of a disaster, its investment in TCB may prove to be invaluable. By Alan Radding; Radding is a Boston-based author specializing in business and technology. <<<>>> Title : When the city of Alexandr Author : Thomas Nolle Source : CW Comm FileName: alexandr Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: When the city of Alexandria chose a central office local-area network (CO-LAN) service for its data communications needs in 1986, it was, in a sense, taking a double chance. First, the Virginia city was gambling that its data transmission needs would not outgrow the CO-LAN's top speed of 56K bit/ sec. Secondly, it was assuming that a local switched network could adequately support IBM Systems Network Architecture communications _ which was by no means a given. So far, the gamble seems to have paid off. The city now has an inexpensive way to provide terminal-to-host access for all of its workers. The decision to implement Bell Atlantic Corp.'s central office-based communications services came out of the city's need for a way to coordinate a voice/ data network that was getting out of control. ``Every day there are a lot more desks with PCs or terminals, and new and old users want to communicate,'' says Gary Post, the city's deputy director of data processing. Alexandria is an IBM shop, running 4381 and 4341 mainframes. The network supports 400 devices in 41 locations, with hundreds of personal computers and casually linked users. Coaxial cabling between PCs or terminals and controllers was becoming a problem as the number of PC users grew, and so was the cost of terminal emulator boards. A second concern was the growing traffic between PCs, which tended to pass through the mainframe as an intermediary because there were no direct PC-to-PC links. The city uses IBM's Professional Office System (Profs) electronic mail system. PC users who wanted to transfer files would drop them in the mainframe and notify the receiver via Profs. This indirect communications made the mainframe the relay point in activities it had no particular involvement with and doubled the transmission load by requiring that everything be sent and received twice. A third concern was the growing cost of connecting different sites _ particularly small sites with just one or two workstations _ with leased lines and controllers. The city had a policy against the use of dial-up service stemming from security concerns. Like many users, Alexandria did not want to make a large capital investment in equipment and relied instead on Centrex, the central office private branch exchange alternative. ``PBXs were too expensive, and we were concerned about the ongoing cost of operational support for them,'' Post explains. The city's needs were indirectly served by a fire in the main telephone switching office at Alexandria, a facility owned by Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co. of Virginia, a Bell Atlantic Corp. company. It resulted in significant water damage, and the central office switching equipment was replaced. One of the facilities added was Datakit, a product from AT&T Network Systems that, when used in conjunction with voice/data multiplexers, allows a telephone company to offer fast-packet data and voice over the same circuit. As a result, C&P started offering CO-LAN services, which make a Centrex system into a telephone switch with almost LAN-like data connectivity. Alexandria's first guinea pig was IBM's Profs, a group of host-based office automation applications, including E-mail, that was generating the largest number of new users. Since that initial test, users have added a diversity of applications to the network. The print shop has installed a CO-LAN link through which PC users can dump files for typesetting. The new technology is also used as a backup for the computer-aided dispatch of emergency services. But the major application of the system is in the processing of police bookings and scheduling of court cases. Much of this traffic is concentrated in the morning, when courtrooms are being assigned, and late at night. ``A lot of businesses have their communications peak when the stock market closes. We have ours when the bars close,'' Post jokes. Even during these peak periods, performance and availability have met expectations. The new system has given many remote users access to mainframe data for the first time, says Linda Dell, a supervisory computer equipment specialist who has been showing PC users how to communicate over the network. But this new capability required ``learning a little bit more about how their PCs worked,'' she adds. To access or transfer a file, the remote user had to know what was in files, where they were and how to manipulate them. ``The separation of applications and communications has helped [users] learn DOS commands and stopped them from using application-specific, inefficient file transfer procedures,'' Dell says. The biggest benefit the new network brings users is in the file transfer area, Dell says. ``It's faster and lets you call other users.'' Where before the mainframe was used as a drop point for remote users, in which one person would leave off a Profs message and someone else would pick it up, users now can connect directly, eliminating the mainframe middleman and permitting communication when the mainframe is unavailable, Dell says. There have been applications that have proved unsuited to CO-LAN. For example, the city has not used the network for transactions similar to point-of-sale transmissions because the asynchronous connection between CO-LAN end points is not error-protected in itself, and many asynchronous emulation environments do not provide add-on error correction. As a result, a message being sent to the host might disappear without the user's knowledge, Post says. So far, however, the network has saved the city money on coaxial cabling, controllers, Irma boards and other equipment. And CO-LAN has been a winner at serving users' needs, Post says. Alexandria is now moving toward full commitment. By Thomas Nolle; Nolle is president of CIMI Corp., a communications consulting company based in Haddonfield, N.J. <<<>>> Title : When M. W. Kellogg Co. co Author : Ira Dember Source : CW Comm FileName: kellogg Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: When M. W. Kellogg Co. converted from a centralized mainframe to a distributed networking system, MIS managers had to learn the ins and outs of network support the hard way _ by doing. ``Maybe we bit off more than we could chew at first,'' says Marc Malacoff, an MIS manager turned network manager. ``No one in the company, including me, had any local-area network experience. We didn't even really know what a LAN was.'' Kellogg, a Houston-based subsidiary of Dresser Industries, Inc., designs and builds refineries and chemical plants worldwide. During the last five years, the company shed its IBM mainframe orientation in favor of a three-tier approach embracing mainframes, minicomputers and personal computers. As a result, Kellogg's MIS people have been supporting more than 1,000 computer users who communicate with one another and with computer resources throughout the company via local- and wide-area networks and micro-to-mainframe links. The MIS team's first job was to implement the right technology to provide these connections. It selected an Ethernet backbone LAN from Bridge Communications, Inc., now part of 3Com Corp. The team placed a server on each of the building's 21 floors. The installation did what it was supposed to do, but maintenance became a nightmare. In order to update protocol- and port-specific information, Malacoff recalls, ``I'd be running up and down stairwells on Sundays to update the servers with floppies.'' The job is now simplified by using two of Bridge's Compaq Computer Corp. Deskpro 286-based Network Control Servers, which update all servers simultaneously. Then there was the question of how to provide users with easy access to the resources they needed. Two MIS groups vied for control of the network turf. The Systems Programming department wanted to give users direct access to the operating system. Technical Support took an opposing view, favoring a transparent menu-driven interface. The latter group won. But, says Michael V. Key, manager of computer technology, ``We imposed the discipline of an IBM production environment onto the VAX environment: controlled libraries, controlled programs _ a structured mainframe approach, somewhat modified.'' Aside from protecting data integrity, says information center manager David L. Lee, ``structure makes it easier for us to help users. A user calls and says, `Help, I'm lost.' Without a structured environment, you sit there on the phone, scratching your head, wondering where to begin. But with structure, you can immediately figure out what directory he's in and where he needs to go. You can save hours of fumbling around.'' The MIS team developed an elaborate, evolving system of nested menus that take users wherever they want to go within the Digital Equipment Corp. VAX VMS environment. Numerical shortcuts penetrate multiple menu layers for those who know their way around. When new users come on-line, MIS customizes a menu environment to meet their specific needs. ``We let even novices have a big say in how their menus are set up, so they are participating in their own MIS support,'' Key says. ``Later, when their requirements change and we modify their menus, they help us understand what menu changes will make the most sense. That's when user participation really pays off.'' User support begins on a new employee's first day. The new person gets a six-page overview describing Kellogg's computing resources, classes and Help facilities. The company's information center operates a Help desk staffed by three people. ``We handle 150 to 200 calls a day,'' Lee says. ``About 20% of them are network-related.'' Barbara L. Thompson, a Kellogg secretary, says she typically calls the Help desk once a week _ ``usually when the system is running slow, or when I send a file to the [departmental] printer and it gets stuck somewhere in the print queue.'' End users receive a hefty, five-pound loose-leaf guide to Kellogg computer systems. It has a section on networking and communications, including information on how to access the LAN from a PC at home, something that hundreds of employees now do at one time or another, Lee says. Early on, Kellogg's MIS people learned that vendor promises can affect LAN user support. One vendor promised IBM Systems Network Architecture gateway software that would run on the network. ``It ran, all right,'' Key says. ``But we had to work with them intensively for 12 months before it was fully stable.'' During the shakedown period, mainframe users accustomed to a 132-column by 27-line display fumed that with the gateway, they could only get the standard 80 columns by 24 lines _ a flaw the vendor later corrected. In the mainframe days, Kellogg had more than 500 computer users _ most of them in engineering _ and some 300 people in MIS providing maintenance and support. Today, Key notes, 60 MIS people provide maintenance and support for more than 1,500 users ranging from expert to novice. Network analysis has become more sophisticated, too. ``A couple of years ago,'' Malacoff says with a smile, ``we'd measure off LAN capacity by using soda straws to hold down the autorepeat keys on 10 terminals connected to a single server, until the LAN overloaded.'' Malacoff now uses a Network Communications Corp. protocol analyzer, a Tektronix, Inc. 1502 time-domain reflectometer and Network General Corp. Sniffer to analyze network problems. He calls in a consulting team to give the LAN a checkup annually or whenever he makes a substantial modification, such as adding repeaters or fiber-optic links or replacing part of the Ethernet backbone. Kellogg has new support challenges looming on the horizon, Key says. ``We've started connecting with clients' systems and networks, and soon we'll be [connecting] with vendors.'' By Ira Dember; Dember is a free-lance writer based in Houston <<<>>> Title : With as many as 6,000 net Author : Clare P. Fleig Source : CW Comm FileName: pge3 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: With as many as 6,000 networked personal computers, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has been dealing with a problem that sooner or later confronts all large networking installations: how to help authorized users access network resources without leaving the door wide open for the unauthorized and unprincipled. ``We wanted to make networks easier to use, but that also makes them easier to get to,'' says David Langholff, the senior data/voice engineer in charge of building Pacific Gas' security system who has since become a telecommunications planning manager at Mervyn's department stores. While the San Francisco utility has itself experienced no break-ins, incidents at other companies, including at least one other California utility, have prompted it to develop a complex, multilevel security system to safeguard its mainframes, PCs and network servers as well as the local- and wide-area network systems themselves. The security system, built up at Pacific Gas from a combination of vendor products and homegrown programs over more than a decade, tackles the problem of break-ins from a variety of angles. On the physical side, an identification sequence would not only establish the user's right to be on the network but also the right to log on from that particular terminal, controller and port. Once users have gotten onto the physical network, they must enter a series of individual and group passwords in order to gain access to applications, databases and even individual records on a host or network server. LAN security proved to be a special headache for Pacific Gas. First of all, it was virtually impossible to implement a consistent security system _ or communications system, for that matter _ across the utility's heterogeneous installation of several dozen networks from Novell, Inc., Banyan Systems, Inc., Digital Equipment Corp., IBM and Apple Computer, Inc. Pacific Gas is solving this problem by phasing out all networks except the Banyan LANs, Langholff says. Most LAN vendors do provide some level of security at the file server level, and Banyan's encrypted passwords proved quite effective. However, LAN topologies have built-in security problems that no one has really addressed as yet, Langholff complains. For example, in the standard Ethernet bus topology, all messages are broadcast over a cable until they reach the right destination. Thus, unauthorized users can scan data packets as they go by without acknowledging that the packets have been read. This problem, which also exists in the token-ring network, will not go away until network schemes are altered, Langholff says. Analyzers such as Network General Corp.'s Sniffer, which Pacific Gas uses to scan the network for problems, represent another potential security leak. Unauthorized users can use such products to scan the LAN for holes in security, Langholff explains. As a result, Pacific Gas imposes stiff penalties on unauthorized users of LAN analyzers, sometimes even firing them. Pacific Gas' security system needed to extend beyond the on-site world of LANs, however, to its wide-area network, which combines leased lines with Telenet Communications Co.'s packet-switched service. User access from remote sites via public data networks is particularly difficult to monitor and control, so Pacific Gas implemented special security measures on those long-distance links. For example, access to the network from remote ports is guarded by a procedure in which the user enters an ID and hangs up, then the system dials back to ensure that the call is being made from the site associated with that ID number. As part of the effort to tailor Pacific Gas' security system to its particular security needs, Langholff's group also tried to identify what type of break-in artist is most likely to go after the utility's systems. ``There are two types of thieves,'' Langholff explains. ``The merely curious who want to see what the system can do and the more dangerous ones with intent to do damage.'' As a public utility, Pacific Gas is a likely target for the second kind of break-in, Langholff says. ``We have the records of every person in California who has ever paid a utility bill,'' he adds. ``There are a lot of people who would like to have access to those files.'' Security is so tight on those records that even supervisors with a high security clearance can only get access to numbers in their district. Pacific Gas has installed software on both IBM mainframes and Banyan servers that maintains an audit trail of users' progress through the network. That way, the utility company can at least determine how a hacker got in and how far he went, Langholff says. But mechanical systems to foil the purposeful thief can easily be sabotaged accidentally by either ignorant or careless users, Langholff points out. He says he had particular trouble with top managers who found that ``getting the PC in their offices and getting it to run is wonderful, but then they have to deal with all of those passwords.'' Two-way dilemma This resistance posed a dilemma: If getting into the system became too difficult, users would be discouraged from using their computers. But techniques that facilitate access for authorized users can also pave the way for potential thieves. For example, it is a common practice at Pacific Gas to create macros that automatically input a string of passwords for the user. Unfortunately, this means that ``if you steal someone's computer, you turn it on and are automatically into Pacific Gas,'' Langholff says. The company is trying to guard against user carelessness by making its employees responsible for break-ins that occur on their terminals. ``It's not like a credit card where you are just responsible for the first $50 a thief charges on your card,'' Langholff says. ``Right now, anyone at Pacific Gas who is trained in the PC and network is also trained in security,'' he adds. ``Any security system is only as secure as the people who participate in it.'' By Clare P. Fleig; Fleig is director of systems research specializing in local-area networking and IBM communications at International Technology Group in Los Altos, Calif. <<<>>> Title : New York City is hoping t Author : Robert Moran Source : CW Comm FileName: net8 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: New York City is hoping to cut communications costs by $1.5 million per month by bringing its 12 data centers into a centrally managed network. To provide the power, reliability and flexibility it wants in its communications system, the city has become an early user of IBM's Systems Network Architecture (SNA) software releases, which the vendor just started shipping last fall. Citynet, which links 12 major data centers thoughout New York within a common communications network, will begin service in March and is scheduled for completion by September. It is expected to yield operating savings starting July 1, the beginning of the city's fiscal year. At present, the city's numerous networks are each managed separately; a mesh of wires running to and from buildings and offices gives users access to the various data centers. ``Some desks have two terminals so that users can access critical data from at least two mainframes,'' says David Passmore, vice-president of Network Strategies, Inc. and a participant in the initial stages of the project. New York is in the process of rebuilding this complex collection of networks into ``something that will be significantly less costly and more effective to run, expand and support in terms of disaster recovery,'' says Joseph Giannotti, commissioner of the city's computer and data communications services. The Citynet contract, worth $31.5 million, was awarded to Boeing Computer Services in Vienna, Va., with IBM serving as a subcontractor for the equipment and network software. The new architecture will consist of an SNA backbone that will manage access between 7,000 user terminals and the 12 data centers. Two switching hubs, linked together by two T1 lines, will be equipped with an IBM 3745 _ IBM's most powerful communications processor. The city plans to eventually implement a second, backup processor on each 3745 to increase network reliability, Giannotti says. As telecommunications controllers, the 3745s are expected to help cut the city's communications costs by as much as 90%. Right now, data centers and user sites are linked via direct, dedicated lines. This is costly because such links frequently extend between different New York Telephone Co. access regions, subjecting them to extra charges by the local carrier. Citynet will minimize such charges by collecting multiple 9.6K bit/sec. data lines from sites within one region, concentrating them at a wiring center and sending them over a 56K bit/ sec. channel to the 3745s at the networking hubs. The communications controllers will then switch the traffic to the appropriate data center. The use of 3745s as telecommunications controllers is not new, but according to Giannotti it has one drawback compared with the use of T1 switches: IBM communications controllers cannot handle voice. However, he adds, the city had already chosen to leave voice and data separate because the limited number of data centers makes designing a data network ``far more straightforward'' than the more dispersed voice system. Another crucial component of Citynet is a centralized network management system, which will reside on an IBM 4381 running VM/XA, VTAM and Netview. The host will control the logging on and off of terminals, monitor network traffic, diagnose faults and bring network components back into service. New York also plans to take advantage of advanced control, recovery and diagnostic functions that IBM has implemented in the latest versions of VTAM and Network Control Program by gradually upgrading all its data centers and hubs to those versions over the next year. IBM's newest releases introduced the capability of dynamically updating SNA tables without taking the network down. This capability should ``significantly facilitate network changes _ and with 30-plus agencies accessing 12 data centers on 7,000 terminals, we are continually changing something somewhere,'' Giannotti says. Robert Townsend, MIS director at the city's Financial Information Services Agency, has mixed feelings about the Citynet consolidation project. On the positive side, Townsend says, ``The backbone is in place for us to do what we want to do; [it] won't have to be coordinated and fought over.'' For example, if an application requires interagency communications, such as remote printing, the network pieces are in place. Townsend adds that a possible future application for the network would be distributed data operations throughout the city. But he also anticipates losing some of his department's autonomy under the new regime, since all agencies will have to go through Citynet whenever they want to introduce new communications facilities or share applications. ``We are adding steps that from my perspective will make us less efficient,'' Townsend contends. ``Now we must rely on someone else to do their piece and make sure the effort is coordinated.'' At present, if the agency wants to expand an application to other agencies, it controls the entire implementation _ from ordering the telephone lines to buying the hardware. Giannotti agrees that his group will be taking over several networking responsibilities from the agencies, such as coordinating the implementation of new applications and terminals. His group will also maintain a database to keep track of the location and use of all circuits in order to check the accuracy of bills, ensure maximum use of lines and anticipate the need to order extra capacity, he adds. But while Citynet will cost agencies some autonomy, it also is expected to reap big cost savings for New York and boost many agencies' quality of service, Giannotti says: ``Right now, some data centers handle [things] more aggressively than others; this way, all will get good service.'' By Robert Moran; Moran is Computerworld's Mid-Atlantic News Bureau correspondent. <<<>>> Title : Many information systems Author : Thomas Nolle Source : CW Comm FileName: tenneco2 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Many information systems managers still see Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) as something they will probably have to implement eventually, once the industry is more mature. But a few adventurous companies have been willing to act as guinea pigs for the emerging telecommunications standard. While a number of businesses have been hosting ISDN site trials in the last few years, Tenneco, Inc. was one of the first U.S. businesses to implement a commercial ISDN offering. The holding company recently cut over to an ISDN service from Southwestern Bell Corp., which supports both voice and data communications among its Houston sites. Among the paybacks that have resulted from ISDN implementation are lower connection costs, increased networking flexibility and the potential for more creative networking applications, such as local-area network-to-LAN bridging, when more ISDN products become available. As an ISDN pioneer, Tenneco had to break some new ground _ negotiating one of the first ISDN contracts with Southwestern Bell, for example, and persuading vendors to implement ISDN interfaces on their existing communications equipment. The risks Tenneco took should result in major paybacks in cost savings and enhanced voice/data capabilities, says Thomas Simmons, a Tenneco consultant with the project and now manager of worldwide telecommunications at the JICase division in Racine, Wis. Southwestern Bell's ISDN service defines a Basic Rate Interface connection _ two 64K bit/sec. digital lines, plus a separate 16K bit/sec. D channel for signaling and packet-switched data. This resembles the Bell operating company's Centrex offering in that it provides communications only within a group of Tenneco buildings in Houston. Unlike Centrex, however, the ISDN service also offers high-speed, universal data connectivity in direct digital form. Modems are not used with ISDN except when they are needed to connect to a non-ISDN user. Instead of using one set of lines for voice and a piecemeal implementation of incompatible networks and modems for data communications, Tenneco now uses one universal backbone of twisted-pair wiring that can carry voice, data and eventually video, Simmons says. Instead of incurring high costs every time a user is relocated or added to the network _ $500 according to a popular industry estimate _ Tenneco can make these changes simply by unplugging and plugging in a telephone jack. ISDN also offers users enhanced voice services, such as the ability to identify a caller before picking up the telephone, and more efficient routing of calls to an available service representative. Tenneco began to explore ISDN as a way to standardize the fast-growing data communications connections within its Houston building complex. LANs were not the answer, according to John Saccente, a consultant who until recently served as the company's director of corporate telecommunications. There was too much geographic dispersal and too many different sets of connection requirements in terms of interface hardware and cabling, he says. Tenneco was already using Southwestern Bell's Centrex system for voice communications. The holding company approached the local carrier about an ISDN version of Centrex. While the 64K bit/sec. ISDN links could carry both voice and data, it was data integration that ultimately sold Tenneco on the technology, Saccente says. ``ISDN data connectivity in a Centrex environment made it possible to justify the project through modem elimination. We would not have upgraded [to ISDN] for voice functionality alone,'' he asserts. Tenneco wanted to allocate turnkey project responsibility to one vendor to minimize the risk of being an early ISDN user. But divestiture made this move impossible. Southwestern Bell, wearing its local-exchange carrier hat, could provide the Centrex service but not the equipment. AT&T Network Systems made the ISDN phones and adapters and had the necessary technical expertise but sold its products to carriers such as Southwestern Bell. Southwestern Bell Telecom, an independent equipment subsidiary, offered better pricing in addition to a single point of contact for equipment of all types, but it lacked product experience. So Tenneco had to protect itself through careful negotiations with all parties. ``Centrex lets us off-load network responsibility on the carrier,'' Saccente says. The contracts dealt with issues such as vendor responsiveness and possible future price decreases in customer-premise equipment. Negotiations led to an agreement with Southwestern Bell Telecom covering customer premises equipment with a support assist from AT&T Network Systems. A separate service contract covering 10 years was executed with the Southwestern Bell carrier arm to provide stability and accountability for specific ISDN Centrex issues. Saccente says he tried to avoid dealing with the fine points of ISDN specifications, some of which have not been finalized by industry standards bodies. Instead, Tenneco's contract was negotiated on the basis of ordinary management issues such as mean time to respond and on-line management systems for moves, adds and changes. The contract calls for very specific acceptance criteria. ``You cannot take ISDN cutover issues for granted; there's not enough experience in the field,'' Saccente explains. The contract also provides Tenneco with some protection from the likelihood that pricing for ISDN equipment will fall. Since ISDN is considered a competitive service, Tenneco was free to negotiate the best deal it could make. Saccente declines to discuss the details, but other industry sources assert that Tenneco's service rates for ISDN Basic Rate Centrex are comparable with those for Centrex alone. The network Tenneco contracted for consists of ISDN Centrex services linked to AT&T 7506 ISDN station sets that support the ISDN Basic Rate Interface. All intra- and intersite voice and data traffic within Tenneco is routed through the regional carrier's central office ISDN switch. Tenneco originally planned to install 4,300 ISDN lines. The actual number is closer to 2,300, Saccente says, because the now-divested Tenneco Oil Co. was never linked into the network. From the start, Tenneco knew that some promotion of the concept of ISDN-based desktop communications would be needed. While the personal computer modem users were at least willing to listen to the ISDN alternative, some islands of LAN technology had to be won over. ``We showed Ethernet users the ISDN solution, and they said, `If we get this, what do we need Ethernet for?' '' Saccente says. ``We replied, `Indeed.' '' ISDN, with the proper customer equipment, provides users with LAN emulation as well as high-speed, point-to-point communications. Connectivity issues arose despite general agreement on ISDN. One was the need to support IBM's High-Level Language Application Program Interface (HLLAPI) as a way to provide PC-based 3270 terminal emulation. While most major emulation board vendors support HLLAPI, ISDN does away with those familiar adapter boards. Tenneco needed a program to extend HLLAPI support over an ISDN switched network. The board vendors, which were hardly being flooded with ISDN inquiries, have made some progress toward adapting their programs to meet Tenneco's needs. They still have some way to go, however, Saccente says. Users familiar with LANs and wires did not know what to do with the magical ISDN station sets. ``ISDN was presented out of context in an application sense,'' Simmons says. ``We had to integrate it into an IBM environment.'' This integration required evaluation and selection of a standard set of tools carefully presented to users as a selection of ``certified'' products to avoid generating resistance to the new regime. As was the case with HLLAPI products, this effort often required some customization. It is popular to believe that MIS organizations will resist ISDN that emerges from a telecommunications base, but Tenneco did not find such resistance. MIS accepted ``transparent data communications as the delivery vehicle for the MIS product,'' Saccente says. Management at Tenneco says ISDN has succeeded so far. ``ISDN has proved out even through a major organizational change,'' Saccente says, referring to Tenneco's restructuring and selling off of the Tenneco Oil subsidiary. But even supporters such as Saccente and Simmons admit there are some issues that still need further study. A better solution to 3270 connectivity is needed, and generalized software for LAN support would help ISDN penetrate the LAN-oriented applications. Many of these improvements will involve permanent connections ``nailed up'' to support the equivalent of dedicated lines. The need for permanent, dedicated lines would take away ISDN's major cost advantage over leased lines: the fact that customers only pay for actual connect time rather than set monthly rates. While Tenneco has had no use for packet switching until now, the packet-mode ISDN D channel turned out to be the only way users could access the modem pool provided at Southwestern Bell's central office _ which provides their link to the outside world. ``We were told at first that it wouldn't be available,'' Simmons recalls. ``It became almost mandatory in the end.'' Most Tenneco users seem comfortable with ISDN, though there are still some of the annoying disconnects that accompany the introduction of any new phone system and always seem to plague the lines serving board members and executives. Most users make and receive phone calls, use the D channel to send packet data and check out the identification of callers as though it were a normal procedure. Overall, Saccente and Simmons report, the implementation of ISDN was no more complex than any other telecommunications project of similar scope. They say that the ease of Tenneco's ISDN transition was due in large part to the project's focus on business issues and applications rather than on buying the technology for its own sake. By Thomas Nolle; Nolle is president of CIMI Corp., a communications consulting company basedin Haddonfield, N.J. <<<>>> Title : Two decades ago, Weyerhae Author : Bruce Richardson Source : CW Comm FileName: weyer3 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Two decades ago, Weyerhaeuser Co.'s New Bern, N.C., facility was one of the first computer-controlled pulp plants _ and as such was considered state of the art. But as the years passed and no further innovations were made, the plant slipped off the leading edge. Until recently, it was using its original IBM 8100, which the vendor stopped supporting in 1985, and a Bridge Communications Corp./3Com Corp. network that kept crashing. When management finally decided to upgrade its computer systems a little more than a year ago, the initial aim was simply to migrate from the obsolete system and fix the network. But with the help of the corporation's Weyerhaeuser Information Systems (WIS) unit, the mill has implemented a far more ambitious project _ a plantwide computer-integrated manufacturing system. The program's paybacks have included better responsiveness to customer needs, lower production costs and the ability to pinpoint potential problems in the plant in hours instead of days. In the mid-1980s, the mill had installed a Bridge personal computer network for file sharing and electronic mail. Network crashes soon became more frequent. Electronic messages were getting lost, which was a nuisance; loss of critical data was a more serious problem that required immediate action. The first step was to provide some stability to the Information Systems group, which was responsible for the network. As an initial step in addressing these problems, Carroll G. Ipock II, a 19-year Weyerhaeuser veteran with experience throughout the mill, returned to manage the mill's six-person information systems group. One of Ipock's first moves was to call Dan Miklovic, manufacturing automation engineer at WIS, to New Bern to spend three days meeting with mill management to discuss the network. As a result of the meeting, the mill decided to implement a new network and a new Millwide Information System capable of accommodating future systems such as the Maintenance and Materials Information System now under development. A review committee found that most networking problems arose from poor installation of software upgrades, loose network connections and improper mounting of transceivers. A decision was made to redesign the existing fiber-optic and baseband cabling systems and switch to Digital Equipment Corp.'s Decnet. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and Manufacturing Automation Protocol (MAP) were also considered. ``We could have salvaged the Bridge network by changing the protocol to TCP/IP, but this would have taken away people we needed to support the computer systems,'' Miklovic says. MAP was rejected because it was not supported by all of the vendors that the mill uses. The mill chose DEC as the primary vendor for the plantwide systems architecture partly because its equipment could run the software being considered for IS projects. Also, Weyerhaeuser had a large Vaxcluster and support staff that could assist the mill. Decnet became the new network protocol and Oracle Corp.'s Oracle the relational database management system standard. Oracle was chosen over DEC's RDB because it was the only package supported by Synergen, Inc., the software company selected for the maintenance management system. A key element of the IS platform is ``people integration,'' which includes making production data accessible to all workers as well as training them in the use of the systems, Ipock says. This effort was part of the mill's new participative approach. ``One important component was having a common user interface across our systems to minimize complexity,'' Ipock says. The group decided to standardize on Walker, Richer and Quinn, Inc.'s Reflection software, a VT340 terminal emulation package that provides access to VAXs, the HP 3000 or other remote Weyerhaeuser sites. The group wanted its Millwide Information System to provide a window into all processes. Several software products were reviewed before settling on Prosmart, a VMS-based package developed internally by Weyerhaeuser's IS department. The Prosmart system allows the mill to place decision-making responsibility at the appropriate level. For example, an operator starting a new pulp run can review Prosmart's database for variables used in previous runs. Up to one year's worth of data can be retrieved in seconds. The operator could then review cost trade-offs of a particular grade with a set of bar graphs on the individual and total cost per ton of additives. By comparing the costs of the different mixes, he can meet the customer's quality standards at the most cost-effective price. The network now supports more than 170 devices, including all hosts, control systems, terminals and PCs. To date, the total cost for the new technology is in the millions of dollars. Payback for the Millwide Information System/Distributed Control System has been estimated at less than 18 months. Ipock cites one process manager who was able to cut chemical costs $5 per ton by providing operators with needed information. A key benefit of the system is the ability to isolate problems as they occur, Ipock adds. For example, the mill was having problems with a critical chemical preparation process. ``We thought the problems were from fluctuations in steam header pressure,'' Ipock says. The new system allowed the plant to identify the real cause of the problem in hours, rather than days. During the last three months, Ipock's group has trained more than 40% of the mill workers, many of whom had never run a PC, to use the system. For example, a foreman with no previous graphics training now creates his own applications to monitor his process. ``He has trained his whole shift and other operators too,'' Ipock says. Overall, the mill is happy with the new information system and network, as is Weyerhaeuser's IS department. The key, Ipock says, is to ``choose friendly territory for the first implementations, then increase the visibility with each success. We have created a receptive environment for new technology.'' By Bruce Richardson; Richardson is a vice-president at Advanced Manufacturing Research, Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. <<<>>> Title : User demand for transpare Author : John Kador Source : CW Comm FileName: gdsearle Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: User demand for transparent access to both IBM and Digital Equipment Corp. hosts led G. D. Searle & Co. on a far-ranging search for gateways, file transfer software and other products to connect the two types. As a result, the company's manager of technology planning, Keith Addison, has become an expert on the comparative pluses and minuses of various vendor offerings. His conclusion: There is no ``perfect'' DEC-to-IBM connectivity system available _ trade-offs abound; so companies like G. D. Searle must make do with a combination of gateway products. The need for DEC-to-IBM connectivity at Searle was accelerated by its acquisition by Monsanto Co. Searle had been highly decentralized, deploying its computer systems in the traditional dichotomy: IBM systems were concentrated in sales and business support activities, and DEC VAXs were used exclusively in research and development for drug design, statistical analysis and other scientific applications. The acquisition prompted a strong movement toward centralization and interconnected systems across the board, according to Addison. Management clamored for standardization in such areas as word processing software, electronic mail and printer support. ``We found we were putting more emphasis on `let's do it all the same way,' '' he recalls. At the same time, individuals were relocated among departments, and people experienced with DEC workstations found themselves having to use IBM equipment instead, and they missed some of the tools available to VAX users. The situation was similar for people who were familiar with the IBM tool set _ they suddenly found a DEC workstation on their desks. Four in the hand Two years ago, Searle began installing different vendors' products to interconnect its disparate IBM and DEC systems. It now uses no fewer than four separate products, matching the gateway to the requirement at hand. ``All four systems address our needs for interconnectivity a little differently,'' Addison says. The first system installed was DEC's original Decnet/SNA Gateway, which provides a network attachment between a Decnet network and an IBM 3275 controller. However, the gateway can only support speeds of up to 56K bit/sec. and a maximum of 32 logical sessions. ``We have a potential throughput problem because the gateway is used for both remote job entry and 3270 interaction,'' Addison says. ``It doesn't take long before a number of sessions across that channel degrade performance.'' Searle's second gateway installation was Flexlink International Corp.'s Flexlink, a high-speed data transfer package that allows DEC- and IBM-trained people to edit files on either side under VM, using the editor they feel the most comfortable with. The package runs on Intel Corp.'s Fastpath, a box that supports an IBM host channel connection on one side and up to six VAX Multibus connections on the other side. The pharmaceutical company also implemented Interlink Computer Sciences, Inc.'s 3711 gateway, a channel-attached device that makes an IBM system look like a Decnet node. Supporting high-speed file transfer, it is particularly useful in applications that connect Searle mainframes to Monsanto corporate systems. Finally, Searle installed J-net from Joiner & Associates, Inc. Based on the Remote Spooling Communications Subsystem, the IBM protocol used by IBM's Professional Office System, J-net is Searle's primary package to send E-mail messages from DEC to IBM systems and vice versa. It also allows VMS users to exchange files and real-time messages with IBM users. Searle's array of DEC-IBM gateways has given it the flexibility to move between environments without adding hardware, Addison says. By bridging the IBM and DEC environments, Searle allowed its user groups to access both environments with the one set of equipment they are accustomed to. For example, members of one group use their DEC terminals for word processing and routine processing and to log on to an IBM host to extract data from a financial database. They can then direct printouts to their DEC laser printer. Printing provides another illustration of the value of the links, according to Addison. Without connectivity, groups that included both DEC and IBM users would need two printers within the unit. ``By having one printer connected to both DEC and IBM environments, however, we save space, money and operating effort, plus support on the MIS side in terms of training and supplies,'' Addison says. His exploration of the DEC-IBM connectivity market has provided no easy answers, only cost-performance trade-offs, he says. J-net, for example, requires millions of instructions per second but only on the DEC side. Interlink is a pure hardware solution. Flexlink is a third-level trade-off: It is a hardware system that imposes software overhead on both the DEC and IBM ends of the gateway. Jack James, Searle's manager of Statistical Computing Support Services, is one user seeking more seamless integration of the DEC and IBM networks. Currently, Flexlink is the file transfer mechanism of choice for his group's clinical research studies. Searle's clinical data bases are stored in the VAX environment; most of the statistical analysis is done on the IBM side. ``While the file transfer itself is handled quite smoothly, we still find that the level of technical expertise required to get things back and forth is higher than we want it to be,'' James says. Nor is he optimistic in the short term that either DEC or IBM will address these concerns. He says he will look to Searle's internal resources first. Addison's next challenge is to improve the functionality of document transfer to allow both the movement and translation of documents from various workstations, PC-based or otherwise. He is also facing a vexing printer technology problem: While users can dump graphics from a personal computer to a Hewlett-Packard Co. Laserjet printer, they cannot take the same output and dump it into an IBM host printer. Another question is whether Searle can justify replacing its comparatively clunky Decnet SNA Gateways with the vendor's recently announced Decnet SNA Gateway-CT. This product is a channel-attached device that reportedly supports throughput of more than 1M bit/sec. in speed and 255 logical sessions. However, Addison says, ``There's no incentive for anyone going in and replacing installed gateway systems that are working.'' The bottleneck is really not all that serious, he adds. By John Kador; Kador is a free-lance writer based in Geneva, Ill. <<<>>> Title : Flexibility is key to the Author : Phillip J. Gill Source : CW Comm FileName: bechtel Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Flexibility is key to the business of worldwide engineering and construction, according to Bill Howard, vice-president of information technology at Bechtel Group, Inc. Flexibility means being able to move into new locations quickly, and for Howard, that means absorbing new communications technologies and networking strategies. From the firm's downtown San Francisco headquarters, Howard's information technology group oversees all of Bechtel's information technology services, including local, national and international voice/data communications functions. Bechtel consists of more than half a dozen semi-independent business units circling the globe. All these units have distinct voice/data communications requirements along with the need to exchange information. Like the company itself, Bechtel's worldwide network is not a single network but many smaller ones. Voice lines connect about 50 offices in the U.S., while data lines connect about 20 offices nationally. Internationally, the firm maintains a dedicated 56K bit/sec. line to its London office, while public networks provide links to half a dozen countries, including Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Recent shifts in Bechtel's business have driven its search for network flexibility, according to Ray Pardo, information services manager at Bechtel Power Corp. in Gaithersburg, Md. ``In 1980, we had 50 to 80 very large to superlarge projects, with durations of several years or more,'' he says. ``In 1982, we knew our work load for four to five years into the future.'' The era of mega-projects has pretty much ended for Bechtel, as well as for other construction and engineering companies. The company's work load now consists of several hundred small to medium-size projects, most of which last only three to 18 months. Therefore, waiting 90 days for telecommunications carriers to put in trunk lines to a site is unacceptable, according to Pardo. The company might need to rapidly establish voice/data communications links to virtually any part of the globe. ``We must be able to move in quickly to mobilize and demobilize,'' Howard says. In the early 1980s, an in-depth management study of Bechtel's voice/data communications needs determined that its leased and private phone lines were not the answer. The report recommended installing an internal, private satellite communications network to handle all internal voice/data traffic. Bechtel started leasing equipment from Satellite Business Systems (SBS) in 1980 and is in the process of buying that equipment from MCI Communications Corp., which now owns SBS. Bechtel has established regional centers in San Francisco, Gaithersburg, Houston, Ann Arbor, Mich., and Los Angeles. From these centers, ``spoke'' links radiate to dozens of Bechtel's local offices across the country. The Gaithersburg office also provides the link to London, headquarters of the firm's Bechtel Ltd. subsidiary. Satellite communications provides shorter setup times, allowing Bechtel employees to establish an office in days or weeks rather than months. It also cut costs, a top priority in the wake of the accident at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island nuclear power plant and other incidents in the nuclear power industry, which have squeezed Bechtel's bread-and-butter business. Howard says he expects the number of PCs and terminals in place to double over the next three to five years from the present count of about 5,000. Eventually, Bechtel's goal is to ``link every intelligent terminal on every worker's desk,'' he says. To add more flexibility to its network, Bechtel is currently investigating the potential for very small-aperture transmission (VSAT) devices, according to Bob Burke, a member of the company's network planning team. Because of their size and transportability, VSAT devices can attach to a window ledge or even to the roof of a truck. Burke says VSAT will enable Bechtel to go places where it could not go before and where regular phone lines have never gone. ``VSAT means that we can afford much greater bandwidth than we had before,'' he adds. This ability will soon be important as Bechtel supports greater graphics capabilities and allows work groups around the world to work on the same projects, says Mark Bigelow, a chief architect of the network. Bechtel is not planning to rely entirely on satellites for its wideband communications, however. About the time the company was completing its satellite network, long-distance carriers started marketing fiber-optic links as a low-cost, reliable transmission medium. Bechtel now uses MCI's fiber-based terrestrial lines when it can but still needs satellite-based links to reach remote regions where fiber-based links are unavailable, Pardo says. The company wants to maintain this hybrid network, retaining the option of shifting back and forth between terrestrial and satellite links as price and performance trade-offs change. Bechtel also uses a mix of protocols; no one vendor offers a networking system to fit users' diverse needs, Bigelow says. Data communications networks include IBM's Systems Network Architecture, an Ethernet-based Digital Equipment Corp. Decnet for computer-aided design and engineering, a Unisys Corp. telecommunications network and dozens of personal computer networks. Such a plethora of protocols, while directly addressing business needs, has created problems when connecting two types of systems. One current project uses protocol conversion to ease communications between incompatible networks and computers. For the long term, Howard says that Bechtel has made a commitment to migrate its network and data communications facilities to the emerging Open Systems Interconnect networking standard. Bechtel is also looking at the emerging Integrated Services Digital Network standards. The company is an active participant in the Corporation for Open Systems. However, Howard says, Bechtel ``will not abandon functionality'' in favor of standards. In those cases where proprietary networks and systems better match the needs of the environment, the company plans to stay that course, he says. By Phillip J. Gill; Gill is a San Mateo-based free-lance writer. <<<>>> Title : X/Open promises interface Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: xo Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: BOSTON _ X/Open Company Ltd. officials laid out plans last week for specifying a Common Application Environment (CAE) for Unix systems. X/Open intends to define a high-level user interface definition in 1989, introducing yet another force shaping the battle for graphical user interface dominance. X/Open is a standards specifier, basing its CAE for Unix systems on official or de facto standards. However, in the area of a graphical user interface, Mike Lambert, X/Open's chief technology officer, said not only is there not likely to be consensus on any one product, but there are no market-ready products at the moment. Nonetheless, the consortium plans to announce a comprehensive user interface definition this year, including a tool kit and look and feel. Playing favorites Bill Bonin, marketing officer of X/Open's North American operations, said that in establishing the interface definition, X/ Open will not specify any company's product, although the interface definition may favor one. Given the makeup of X/Open's board _ half Unix International, Inc. members allied with AT&T and half Open Software Foundation (OSF) members opposed to AT&T's ``control'' of Unix _ the likelihood of a speedy agreement appears slim, with each group touting its own interface. Although X/Open officials claimed the board is cooperative, other accounts indicated that the group is logjammed when it comes to decision making. Supporting the latter scenario, the third edition of X/ Open's Portability Guide, which details the latest additions to the CAE and was originally due in mid-1988, has not yet been issued. However, support of X/Open by these and other industry groups has made it a unifying element in the Unix world. Both the OSF and Unix International have stated that their versions of Unix will comply with the CAE and have pledged support of future standards that X/Open defines. Currently, X/Open specifies only the lowest level of a graphical user interface, based on MIT's X Window System library. X/Open has already conducted evaluations of graphical user interface technologies. Based on a study of tool kits, Lambert ruled out the feasibility of an IBM Presentation Manager tool kit for Unix. He said that the Presentation Manager programming interface could not be implemented on X Window System because X Window is network-based, while Presentation Manager is not. Look and feel of interfaces Also studied was the look and feel of various interfaces, including those from Hewlett-Packard Co., AT&T and Digital Equipment Corp. The evaluation will be expanded to include the Apple Computer, Inc. Macintosh and Next, Inc. interfaces. In this study, X/Open concluded that although the applications looked similar, the differences were in the feel, or whether a user gets the same result by pushing the same button. Separately, X/Open added new members and opened a new office last week. X/Open's Asian operations will be managed by a new Japanese office, which officially opened last Monday. The addition of Apollo Computer, Inc., Hitachi Ltd. (both members of the OSF) and NEC Corp. and Prime Computer, Inc. (both Unix International supporters) preserves the OSF-Unix International balance of power on the board. Sweden's Nokia remains the neutral swing vote. Two large petroleum interests, Arco Oil & Gas Co., a division of Atlantic Richfield Co., and the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, were added to the User Advisory Council. By Amy Cortese, CW staff <<<>>> Title : International Telecom pla Author : IDG News Service Source : CW Comm FileName: attshort Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: BASKING RIDGE, N.J. _ AT&T, British Telecom International and Japan's Kokusai Denshin Denwa (KDD) recently announced plans to introduce digital services that they claim will reduce the cost of international communications. The companies said they expect to introduce switched 56K and 64K bit/sec. transmission services between the three nations this year. These services will be the first to come out of an implementation plan based on the evolving international standards for Integrated Services Digital Network. The digital services will allow customers to send six-second, photocopy-quality facsimiles and electronic data files between personal computers as well as use desk-to-desk video teleconferencing, the vendors said. <<<>>> Title : New life for NAS Author : J.A. Savage Source : CW Comm FileName: rosecol Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Surprising even those with the clearest of crystal balls, Memorex Telex N.V., not Hitachi Ltd., was the highest bidder for National Advanced Systems. Memorex Telex agreed to take half of NAS from National Semiconductor early this month, with an option to purchase NAS' remaining stock at a later date. This partial sale doesn't rule out some interest from Hitachi, which had been widely rumored to be NAS' suitor and which provides _ and will continue to provide _ NAS' CPUs and storage devices. That remaining 50% doesn't necessarily have to be bought by Memorex Telex; it could be slurped up by Hitachi with Memorex Telex's blessing, in a deal not unlike that of Fujitsu's partial ownership of NAS rival Amdahl. With the Memorex Telex interest, NAS users are likely to see some minor changes in a relatively short time. NAS will be its own company for a change. It won't be entirely beholden to National Semiconductor, either, for a stake of its profits or for a decision-making chain of command. A NAS that is quicker to respond to customers' needs and that will have more of its own money to spend on marketing and research and development is likely to result. While NAS won't have big daddy National Semi to bail it out when an IBM move wipes out the company's orders in the short term; it also won't see all of its profits being funneled to National Semi when the semiconductor business puts a strain on the corporate wallet. What Memorex Telex gets out of the deal is NAS' ability to provide CPUs. Thus, Memorex Telex becomes the first company outside of IBM to offer end users a soup-to-nuts product line. Memorex Telex also will get a stronger U.S. presence and, perhaps eventually, a chance to replace its high-end storage device line _ which has a tarnished reputation _ with NAS' (Hitachi's) devices, which are well respected, according to analyst Louise Biggs at Dataquest. Memorex has been the weaker of the Memorex Telex duo since they merged in early 1988, said Biggs, who spent 12 years working for Memorex. Biggs said that NAS will lend stability to the company's U.S. operations. London-based European operations have been run by a management less prone to turnover. ``Many end users have written Memorex Telex off. They're tired of listening to the company's changes and don't understand that now there are fundamental changes in the level of commitment by the [European] management,'' he said. With NAS to shore up Memorex Telex's U.S. reputation, both companies get some domestic benefit. Still unknown Memorex Telex could conceivably compete with NAS in high-end storage systems. It currently serves as an OEM for several sources, including Fujitsu, for its direct-access storage devices (DASD). Fujitsu owns 49% of NAS' rival Amdahl and supplies DASD to Amdahl specs. Analysts don't expect Memorex Telex to give up its Fujitsu contract. In fact, Memorex Telex still plans to ship its version of IBM's J and K storage subsystems this spring, as NAS already is doing in that market, according to Biggs. It is very likely that the two organizations' storage products could coexist but that their field operations would then overlap. Secondly, the way that the buyout is financed could affect NAS' operations. If the financing is based on immediate performance from NAS, it could constrict the economic breathing space NAS is allowed after the deal. By J.A. Savage; Savage is a Computerworld West Coast correspondent. <<<>>> Title : Litton downsizes to AS/40 Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: uswitch Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: SPRINGFIELD, Mo. _ Earlier this month, the information systems department at Litton Systems, Inc.'s Advanced Circuitry Division turned on its IBM Application System/400 Model B40 and brought its mainframe era to an end. For more than a decade, the company had relied on small Unisys Corp. mainframes. But when the company decided to implement a fully integrated manufacturing system in 1987, it also decided it was time to take a look outside its mainframe world, according to Paul Hoyt, manager of IS. The company, which makes printed-circuit boards, had purchased its first mainframe in 1977, buying a Sperry Corp. 90/60. According to Hoyt, Litton stayed with the mainframe and its subsequent upgrades because it was what it knew best. Resistance to change For years, the company rejected the idea of any big system change. But when it chose to go with a full suite of manufacturing programs, it decided to look for the best system available, whatever the platform. ``I think the people at Unisys thought it was a Unisys vs. IBM decision,'' Hoyt said. ``That was only about 30% of it. We looked for the software first. That drove the hardware decision.'' Hoyt said a committee made up of department managers was put together to review manufacturing systems. A total of 20 systems, all minicomputer-based, were given a first look. While reviewing other vendors' packages, Litton also considered the option of sticking with what it had and adding software modules. The company was running a Unisys 1100/71 with Unisys' Unis manufacturing software, but it was not running the full suite of applications. The list of systems was cut in half, and by May 1988 the committee had narrowed it down to two: the additional Unisys Unis modules running on the company's current system or a manufacturing package from Data 3 Systems, Inc. running on an IBM AS/400. Price not a factor When the committee announced its two finalists, Hoyt said he thought the minicomputer option would score big points against the mainframe contender because of its cheaper price. However, when Unisys factored in a number of discounts, the prices were not that different. Hoyt estimated that during the next eight years, he would have needed a $9 million budget to run the Unisys system and $6 million for the AS/400 system. Hoyt said the AS/400 package proved superior to the Unisys challenger primarily because it was less complex. ``It was their intuitive approach to manufacturing,'' Hoyt said. ``The data was just more accessible and the system was easier to use.'' Ease of use is a big factor in Hoyt's department, which totals nine. ``We were simply not able to serve the company the way we wanted to,'' he said. ``With such a complex system as any mainframe is, you spend a lot of time on system overhead, time you could be putting toward useful work for the company.'' Hoyt said the small staff has its work cut out for it. Turning on the switch earlier this month was the easy part. A one-year conversion project comes next, during which the Unisys and IBM systems will be operating in parallel. The plan is to slowly bring the Data 3 Systems applications on-line, which will give users the chance to adapt to the new machine while still having the older system to rely on. Hoyt said he hopes to get rid of the mainframe in November. Most of the Unisys software will be discarded at that time, he added. The initial reaction to the IBM minicomputer has been positive, Hoyt said. IS has the backing of all department heads, and their support of the conversion trickles down to other users, which lessens resistance some may feel about the change, he added. By Rosemary Hamiton, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Empress extends to Solbou Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: j30soft Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Empress Software, Inc. in Greenbelt, Md., said Empress, its relational database management system that runs on Sun Microsystems, Inc. workstations, will also run on Solbourne Computer, Inc.'s Series 4 workstations. The Solbourne workstations, like Sun's, use Sun's Scalable Processor Architecture, a reduced instruction set computing chip. Solbourne used Empress to verify compatibility between the two workstations, Empress said. Solbourne, based in Longmont, Colo., has formed a strategic alliance with Matsushita Electric Co. in Osaka, Japan, for development of the workstation. Cognos, Inc. in Ottawa, Ont., a supplier of application development tools, said it plans to provide application development tools for IBM's Application System/400. The firm provides tools for use under Microsoft Corp.'s MS-DOS and OS/2 and has said it will offer its tools on IBM mainframes. The company said it plans to offer a solution compliant with IBM Systems Application Architecture on all strategic IBM platforms. Biin in Hillsboro, Ore., said its Ada compiler had been validated under Ada Compiler Validation Capability Version 1.10. Such validation is required before an Ada compiler can be used in a U.S. Department of Defense application. The Ada compiler runs on the Biin 20 and Biin 60. The processors run Biin/OS. <<<>>> Title : Parting thoughts Author : Clinton Wilder Source : CW Comm FileName: cicol Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Vendors' quarterly losses or earnings declines, resulting from product-line transitions, memory chip prices and hostile takeover defense costs, have dominated the industry's financial headlines of late. But Sequent Computer was a diamond in the rough, pumping out about 100% yearly growth in both sales and profits _ and creating a little nostalgia for me. This week, I shift gears at Computerworld after three years of editing this section and nearly four years covering the computer industry. I have taken over our Management section and will spearhead our coverage of IS strategies, management issues and executive changes within user organizations. When I began following this industry in early 1985, financial reports like Sequent Computer's wouldn't have batted an eyelash. At that time, high-tech was virtually synonymous with high growth. Everything from the Inc. 500 to Massachusetts' Rt. 128 was replete with entrepreneurs successfully working 25 hours a day on the latest personal computer widget or software tweak. A couple of years later, they were all going public and investors in the roaring bull market eagerly gobbled them up. Tricky business But time would soon show that computers are a tricky business _ not unlike so many other industries. Today, no one, not even Compaq's Rod Canion or Sun Microsystems' Scott McNealy, should forget the first law of business: Nothing lasts forever. The pattern that has recurred time and time again in various industry segments is well exemplified by the minisupercomputer. At first, there was a perfect marriage of new technology and market need. Convex Computer and Alliant Computer Systems began to prosper, and suddenly minisuper companies, seeded by venture capital or by the likes of Prime, sprouted everywhere. Like minicomputer and PC makers before them, the minisuper vendors found out that demand was not infinite, and there was not enough room for everyone. Enter the four horsemen of the industry apocalypse: losses, layoffs, shakeout and consolidation. The lesson is, beware of the hot new technology; you will see the same pattern all over again. Being first to market is a decided advantage at first, but in the long term, the race is not to the swiftest but to the company most willing to adapt to a changing environment. If there is one statement that everyone would agree on, it is this: Change is very rapid in this industry. So, why do so many companies fail to react to _ let alone anticipate _ fundamental changes, such as the artificial intelligence market's move to industry-standard hardware platforms that blindsided Symbolics? At many firms, such as Cullinet, the realization of change is a long and painful one. But Cullinet should be commended for eventually hammering out a strategy for survival _ and maybe prosperity _ in its new world. The best firms make their moves before the losses and management upheavals force their hand. That is why it has been so painful to watch Prime being attacked by MAI Basic Four. More than any of its counterparts in size and market, Prime saw that the days of the general-purpose minicomputer were numbered and decided, with some controversial moves, to play its cards in computer-aided design and manufacturing. Prime's reward for farsighted and innovative strategy has been the ugliest hostile takeover bid since Asher Edelman went after Datapoint, a company not nearly as well-positioned for long-term growth as Prime. What kind of signal does this send to the industry? If MAI's Bennett LeBow succeeds, will the U.S.' most innovative technology companies fall into a shortsighted circle-the-wagons mentality to protect themselves from takeovers? If that occurs, each company may succeed in saving itself, but there may be only one real winner _ the Japanese competition. Having said that, I hate to leave my coverage of the industry on such a somber note. No matter what the future holds, the computer industry will continue to be filled with bright, fascinating people who, along with their companies, have been both a challenge and a pleasure to write about. One of the least savory aspects of this job, however, is dealing with the same scourge that confronts MIS executives every day: vendor marketing hype. My journalism colleagues and I have railed against it often in print, and I won't do so again. But I will leave the image of one imaginary vendor as a symbol of what the industry needs less of _ and I hope that all computer industry players can look at themselves and agree: ``Recognized as the world's leading technology supplier in its field, Vaporex Technologies Corp. conceives, designs, develops, manufactures, tests, debugs, markets, distributes, services, begs, borrows and steals a full line of real-time, high-performance, integrated, state-of-the-art industry standard business computing solutions to sophisticated corporate Fortune 2,000 MIS customers worldwide. Employing over 200 people, the company's products are sold by a direct sales force and by OEM, VARs, VAD and ISV partners through Vaporex's `I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine' cooperative marketing program.'' By Clinton Wilder; Wilder assumes the position of senior editor, management, this week. <<<>>> Title : Customer-pleasers earn sh Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: earn2 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: The customer is always right. _ Common marketing cliche Computer companies reminded us last week that time-honored marketing cliches got to be that way for a reason. Fourth-quarter earnings reports continued to track the rewards of new products delivered on time in working order to customers whose demand preceded the supply. Marlboro, Mass.-based Stratus Computer, Inc. rode the magic formula to its 24th consecutive quarter of profits. Its 1988 revenue increased 44% to $265.3 million; net earnings jumped 51% to $29.3 million. ``Stratus has a lot of advantages,'' said John B. Jones Jr., an analyst at Montgomery Securities. ``They're in a hot market with very capable products that are price-competitive and out on time, and [they have] a great relationship with a very good OEM named IBM.'' Stratus Chief Financial Officer Gary Haroian said the quarter and year reflect recent significant investment in the company's direct sales force, particularly on the domestic front. This in part accounts for Stratus being one of the few computer companies to tout burgeoning U.S. business this past quarter. Waning giant? Customers warming to the recently released Y-MP/832 helped fuel supercomputer maker Cray Research, Inc. to powerful fourth-quarter gains, which in turn helped edge the company into 10% earnings growth and 6% profit growth for the year. While this overall growth rate was Cray's slowest in years, Michael Geran, an analyst at Nikko Securities Co., cautioned against hasty conclusions that the giant is waning. ``Cray is confronted with accelerating technology, a changing customer profile and a much bigger company'' as hurdles to high percentage growth, Geran said. He noted that heavy research and development investments, even if they bog down earnings, should be applauded, not bemoaned. With Cray anticipating strong competition from DEC and IBM, he said, ``creative destruction is essential for long-term growth.'' Unisys Corp. reported a weak fourth quarter, drained by the customer-freezing effects of the company's transition from its 1100 series mainframe line to the new 2200s. Unisys also posted an approximately $20 million charge to cover the anticipated costs of its current reorganization and the integration of recent acquiree Convergent, Inc. The Blue Bell, Pa.-based organization also warned of continued weakness in the early part of 1989. ``The Unisys story could be A Tale of Two Cities this year, as customers wait for the new mainframes, with the worst of times coming in the first two quarters and the best of times in the second half,'' Geran said. ``They're going to have to walk through the valley before they get to the peak. Transitions are bloody.'' More transition woes Few at Westboro, Mass.-based Data General Corp. would disagree. With revenue slipping and profits among the missing in the December quarter, the company tagged its performance to the repercussions of a major transition in high-end systems. Drexel Burnham Lambert, Inc. analyst Peter Labe said, ``The explanation is simple: The MV/40000 was where all the orders were, and they couldn't ship enough of them. The MV/20000 was what they could ship, and nobody was ordering.'' In a prepared statement, Executive Vice-President Ronald Skates said that DG is plowing revenue from its proprietary systems into industry-standard technology without which, according to numerous analysts, the company's prospects will be bleak. Skates also confirmed that DG's vaunted Motorola, Inc. 88000-based computer line is still on target for a spring debut. The Motorola line ``is the future for them, but they can't expect much revenue from it over the next two years,'' Labe said. Meanwhile, workstation pioneer Apollo Computer, Inc. broke back into the black after a two-quarter absence. Lotus Development Corp. ran afoul of the on-time factor in 1988 and was still paying the penalty in the fourth quarter for the notorious delays in Release 3.0 of its 1-2-3 spreadsheet classic, according to Bob Therrien, an analyst at Paine Webber, Inc. On the other hand, Therrien pointed out, there is viability _ if not actual growth _ in giving the customers what they still want. ``You hear so much about how sales of Lotus' 1-2-3 are drying up, but the fact is that they aren't,'' he noted. ``Sales of a standard don't go away.'' By Nell Margolis, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Prime workers join battle Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: eat Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: NATICK, Mass. _ A group of Prime Computer, Inc. employees calling themselves Employees Against the Takeover (EAT) mounted an effort last week to dissuade Prime's stockholders from tendering their shares to MAI Basic Four, Inc. EAT's message is simple, said industrial designer Daniel Jones, 38, who helped spearhead the group: ``Don't sell to MAI. For those who have already tendered shares _ withdraw.'' The employees' message came none too early in the game. As of Jan. 19, Tustin, Calif.-based MAI claimed to have approximately 71% of Prime's outstanding shares sewn up. That puts the hostile would-be acquisitor within striking distance of the 85% minimum mandated by Delaware law to take control of the company. The message's urgency, Jones said, is fired by the group's conviction that MAI's bid, if successful, will create a heavily leveraged, research and development-starved entity that will be parceled up and sold off as expediently as possible. A number of analysts have speculated on a similar scenario. Eating binge So far, EAT has amassed between 750 and 1,000 Prime employee signatures on a statement of solidarity and support to be presented to Chief Executive Officer Anthony L. Craig. In addition, the group is building a war chest of employee contributions to publicize the employees' commitment to their company, Jones said. The employee initiative, he noted, has not yet had a measurable effect outside the company. Within the besieged firm, however, ``There's already been a remarkable change,'' Jones said. According to Jones, morale ``had dropped to shocking levels. Now we've seen an increase not only in activity but in productivity.'' By Nell Margolis, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Canadian vendors hail U.S Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: canada1 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: TORONTO _ The U.S.-Canada free trade agreement, which was approved late last month by the Canadian Senate, has been roundly endorsed by Canadian computer vendors and software developers. Senior Canadian executives of corporations ranging from Amdahl Corp. to Microsoft Corp. predicted agreement-generated breakthroughs in U.S. market penetration, cost-savings to the end user and even a chipping away of inferiority complexes. ``From a personal perspective, it's going to have a tremendous positive effect for Canadian developers,'' said Malcolm MacTaggart, general manager of Microsoft Canada. ``As a country, we have had this insecurity complex. The talent here is as good as anywhere in the world, and to be insecure about that is wrong.'' David Raye, president of Apple Computer, Inc.'s Canadian group, said he sees free trade as the right thing for the country. ``With Bush elected in the U.S. and the PCs in government, I'm certainly optimistic. Business in general realizes that unless there is an opening up of the market and reduction of subsidies, the economy is not going to grow,'' Raye said. One major change Under terms of the bilateral agreement, the only major change affecting the sale of vendor equipment is a lifting of a 3.9% tariff by the Canadian government within the next 12 months. Depending on the product, that reduction could mean sizable savings for Canadian end users. Amdahl, for example, expects cost reductions of $83,000 ($100,000 Canadian) for its 5890 mainframe and more than $166,000 ($200,000 Canadian) for the company's high-end 5990. ``The Canada-U.S. agreement represents more of a ripple than a wave for both our country and Northern Telecom,'' said Robert Ferchat, president of the company's Canadian division. ``It is a discontinuity to be sure but not a threat. In fact, it is an opportunity for all.'' Don Woodley, president of Compaq Computer Corp.'s Canadian subsidiary, said the agreement creates an opportunity for small Canadian companies to do business in the U.S. and bring talent to the forefront. Jim Leto, his counterpart at AT&T in Canada, said free trade allows the multinational to look at Canada as a risk-free environment. By Paul Barker, IDG News Service <<<>>> Title : In brief Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: 130week Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Cauterization Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Televideo Systems, Inc. is taking steps to stanch the flow of red ink that will continue to color its earnings report for the fiscal quarter ending this week. New President Dallas Talley announced a work force reduction last week that will pare the employee roster by some 60 manufacturing and headquarters staff jobs. Rent-a-byte The new division's name says it all: Businessland Rents. Billion-dollar microcomputer reseller Businessland, Inc. announced its entry into the micro rental arena last week _ a business niche estimated at $200 million and growing. Daisy chain A companywide reorganization aimed at consolidating Mountain View, Calif.-based Daisy Systems Corp., its hard-won recent acquiree Cadnetix Corp. and Cadnetix's own recent acquiree Simucad Corp. will keep all five of the companies' operations and engineering sites fully operational, according to Daisy Chief Executive Officer Norman Friedmann. Under the new structure, Friedmann will head corporate development, finance, human resources, sales and customer support. In charge of software and hardware engineering, analog products, marketing, manufacturing and program management will be former Cadnetix CEO and current Daisy President and Chief Operating Officer Bruce Holland. Stock marketing Hewlett-Packard Co. has applied to list its stock on four European stock exchanges, the company announced earlier this month. If the applications are approved, HP stock _ currently traded on the New York and Tokyo exchanges _ will be listed as of the fourth week of April in London, Frankfurt, Paris and Zurich. On-line modeling Alliant Computer Systems Corp.'s recently acquired subsidiary Raster Technologies, Inc. and Bechtel Software, Inc., owned by construction engineering giant Bechtel Group, Inc., joined forces last week to give users a plastic model alternative. Under a joint development pact, Bechtel will port a three-dimensional animation software package to Raster's GX4000 graphics accelerator built into a workstation from Sun Microsystems, Inc. The result will let architects, designers and engineers replace traditional plastic modeling with an interactive, real-time on-screen alternative, the firms said. <<<>>> Title : AT&T expected to add more Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: attunma Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: MORRISTOWN, N.J. _ AT&T is expected to bring out several missing pieces of its Unified Network Management Architecture (UNMA) this week as it continues to push the system as a de facto industry standard. However, UNMA may still be more promise than product when it comes to providing truly standardized multivendor management capabilities, industry sources suggested. AT&T is also expected to announce the integration of its incompatible private branch exchanges (PBX), the System 75 and System 85, at next week's Communication Networks '89 conference. AT&T will announce two UNMA integrator products this week, according to Thomas Taylor, president of Avanti Communications Corp. The first offering will be the long-expected link between UNMA and Cincom Systems, Inc.'s Netmaster. This will allow users to monitor logical IBM Systems Network Architecture sessions and physical networking transmissions on the same system, said Jeremy Frank, an analyst at Gartner Group, Inc. in Stamford, Conn. AT&T will also officially release the link between UNMA and IBM's Netview/PC, industry sources said. The second integrator offering will be enhanced versions of AT&T's previously announced Network Management Protocol (NMP) and Accumaster workstation, Taylor said. The new Accumaster will be based on either AT&T's 3B computer, a Sun Microsystems, Inc. workstation or both and will feature Oracle Corp.'s Oracle relational database management system for collecting and generating reports on traffic and error statistics, alerts and usage data, Taylor said. Avanti has been working closely with AT&T to integrate its own network management system with UNMA, Taylor said. The T1 multiplexer vendor plans to announce its own Oracle-based network management system at Comnet, he said. David Langholff, director of telecommunications planning at Mervyn's department stores, has already seen an earlier UNMA release that uses dial-up terminal links to call up alerts and alarms from different network management systems as windows on the same workstation screen. This feature makes it possible to manage a variety of vendors' networking installations from one screen _ a boon to companies such as Mervyn's, which uses equipment from 10 to 12 different vendors, Langholff said. However, AT&T's current system, like Netview/PC, does not provide access to the full functionality of other vendors' network management systems, Langholff said. What users really want is a multivendor system that both monitors and initiates action across the network and collects alarms and configuration data in a common database with a flexible fourth-generation language, he indicated. Also at Comnet, AT&T is expected to officially release products to integrate its System 75 and System 85 PBX lines. The products, prototypes of which were shown at a users meeting in November [CW, Nov. 21, 1988], will include a central controller to connect the two types of equipment and expansion boards said to add eight digital lines to either PBX. By Elisabeth Horwitt, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Travelers cuts graze MIS Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: traveler Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: HARTFORD, Conn. _ Twelve positions within The Travelers Corp.'s data processing group will be among the 225 jobs cut within the organization during the next year. Travelers spokesman Alan Fletcher said that the cutbacks are part of the company's cost-benefit analysis program, which was designed to look at all of the tasks within the firm and decide which ones could be eliminated, streamlined or combined. The 12 DP workers affected participated in a voluntary separation option that was offered to them, Fletcher said. Of the 225 affected by the cutbacks, 155 fall under the voluntary separation category, he added. Severance packages for all employees affected by the latest cuts include a minimum of 60 days' notice and up to one year's salary. The recent cuts are part of the second tier of the analysis program and included the study of 2,000 jobs, Fletcher said. The first tier of the program, which began last year, resulted in the elimination of nearly 900 jobs; since the beginning of the program, Travelers has identified savings to the company of close to $145 million by studying its operations. Travelers employs approximately 34,000 full-time workers. By Alan J. Ryan, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Dbase IV on course for so Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: dbaser Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: TORRANCE, Calif. _ Despite widespread reports of bugs, glitches and anomalies, early users are already saving time and creating snazzier applications with Ashton-Tate Corp.'s Dbase IV. Instead of spending time with the new SQL component, most users interviewed were concentrating on Dbase IV's ease-of-use features. With the Control Center interface and a new application generator, these users have developed applications without resorting to the painstaking programming process. While many large corporations plod through an elaborate evaluation process, smaller organizations have jumped on the Dbase IV bandwagon. For instance, spectators at this week's Los Angeles Open professional golf tournament will be greeted with a network of 25 personal computers running Dbase IV. The system will provide golfers' biographies and up-to-date scores. Golfing advocate and Dbase programmer Rick Guerrero used Dbase IV to develop the system that will also allow CBS to keep television viewers apprised of the latest results. CBS will also be fed stray facts such as how many golfers bogeyed on the 18th hole in the first round of play. ``The thing Dbase IV gives is pizzazz. It gives the system the visual appeal with its pop-up windows,'' said Guerrero, president of Lake Avenue Software, a Pasedena, Calif.-based developer of golf software. The L.A. Open application was written from scratch in Dbase IV and took about five months to build. Los Angeles residents may soon get their contact lenses prescribed by Dbase IV. Programmer Christopher A. Toughill has nearly completed a system that takes the parameters of a human eye and, with predefined formulas, recommends a contact lens prescription. The system will also learn from its mistakes. Employees at the Contact Lensbank in Torrance, Calif., will feed the computer the prescription that was given after a traditional fitting. ``The next time it recommends a lens, it checks back to the actual fitting,'' Toughill explained. If the system has been consistently wrong, it will adjust accordingly. According to Toughill, this type of application would have been impossible to build using Dbase III Plus. The best part for Toughill, he said, is ease of development: ``Dbase IV allows me to develop an application in two hours that would take two weeks in Dbase III Plus.'' Rent due Thanks to Dbase IV, the 1,100-unit Pavilion Apartments in Chicago has a new accounting system in the works. Pavilion assistant manager and programmer Mike Henneberry has been using Dbase IV at home on his IBM Personal Computer XT-class machine. ``It will develop full applications from the application generator and the Control Center,'' Henneberry said. ``I'm not writing as much code.'' With Henneberry's application, apartment managers will be able to type in a tenant's name and check his billing status. With Dbase IV, managers will have an easier time retrieving data with the use of pull-down menus. At the California Trucking Association in West Sacramento, Calif., MIS manager Stephen Saks envisions the new Dbase allowing novice PC users to tackle mundane, everyday programming tasks, freeing expert programmers for more sophisticated programming models. Saks said Dbase IV's Control Center has made a huge improvement on Ashton-Tate's previous Dbase menuing system. Out since last October, Dbase IV is starting to catch on. Ashton-Tate has been shipping 20,000 to 25,000 units per month, Goldman Sachs & Co. analyst Rick Sherlund said. By Douglas Barney and Patrick Waurzniak, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Court order saves Reagan Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: archive2 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: WASHINGTON, D.C. _ White House officials are upset over a last-minute court order that is preventing them from erasing computer files from the closing days of the Reagan administration. White House attorneys argued that purging the IBM Professional Office System (Profs) files _ like cleaning out desks _ is necessary for a smooth transition to the Bush administration. But a lawsuit filed by a research institute, the National Security Archive, argued that erasing the magnetic tapes would deprive the public of historically significant records in violation of the Presidential Records Act. The suit noted that the Profs electronic mail system was the source of the revealing National Security Council (NSC) messages uncovered in the Iran-contra scandal. Tape pause At an emergency hearing Jan. 19, a day before President Bush's inauguration, U.S. District Judge Barrington D. Parker issued a temporary restraining order preventing further erasures of Profs tapes. The plaintiffs said the suit was filed after government archivists decided that Profs messages printed in paper form would be saved but that messages that existed only on tape would not be preserved as a permanent record. Assistant Attorney General John R. Bolton said there was no sinister plan to destroy files. He reportedly argued that leaving the tapes full of Reagan administration files would ``affect the ability of the new president to get his administration up and running.'' A full trial in the case, Armstrong v. Reagan, was assigned to U.S. District Judge Charles R. Richey but has not yet been granted a court date. White House attorneys sought a quick resolution to the issue last week. ``To allow those issues to remain in limbo any longer than is necessary impairs the utility of the system to the new administration,'' the U.S. Department of Justice filing said. The White House's Profs system gained national notoriety in 1987, when investigators of the Iran-contra scandal discovered that, although NSC staff member Lt. Col. Oliver North had deleted or altered many embarrassing Profs messages from his terminal, copies of the messages could be retrieved from the system's backup archive [CW, March 2, 1987]. By Mitch Betts, CW staff <<<>>> Title : IBM moves to demystify se Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: 1ibmserv Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: IBM launched its latest assault on the third-party maintenance market last week with the introduction of Serviceplan, a restructured service package that is intended to simplify maintenance administration, a key concern for MIS directors. To sweeten the deal even more for users, IBM loaded the service package with new discounts and options that also reflect the maintenance-made-easy concept. The company threw one other punch at competitors by announcing that it would increase the number of maintenance plans that remarketers can sell. Competitors said last week that they were reviewing the move and will soon announce their responses. Sorbus, Inc., for instance, said it has been preparing a simplified standard contract that it will announce soon. Meanwhile, users contacted last week applauded IBM's goal of making maintenance administration simple. But some also said they were not certain it could be put into practice easily. One new option, for instance, would allow customers to establish an estimated bill for all equipment on a yearly basis. The total would be paid in monthly or quarterly installments. IBM touted this as a significant time-saver because users would no longer receive an itemized bill on every piece of equipment in their shop. But James Johnson, data center director at Hallmark Cards, Inc. in Kansas City, Mo., said he was confused by this arrangement. ``I'm not saying it's not a better idea, but someone here has to keep track of things,'' he said of the estimated billing. ``I've thought about how to simplify things myself and I haven't come up with an answer. You still have to maintain records, and you have to check details.'' Master contract Serviceplan will be offered as a master contract to users. According to Thomas Esposito, a vice-president of marketing at IBM's National Service Division, the master contract eliminates most paperwork by calling for one customer signature. A user then selects other options or services from the master list and initials them, instead of plowing through paperwork for each option. Ron Cipolla, corporate director of MIS at Kendall Co. in Boston, said he has been pushing for less paperwork for some time. ``I sign an agreement with the IBM reps, with the branch office, with the professional services people and on and on. The negotiating and reading and understanding you have to do is a drain. It's a pain, it really is. I say let's sign one agreement that says I'm your customer and you're my supplier.'' Other options While users shuffle less paper, there are also a number of new options under Serviceplan. In addition to the estimated billing, IBM announced the following: Discounts ranging from 18% to 30% will be offered on new equipment maintenance if a user pays the total up front for a three-, four- or five-year contract. Combined with other discount plans, that discount could reach 50%. IBM had announced this plan for the Application System/400 but is extending it to other processors; it will now be called the Extended Maintenance Option. Customers can lock in at a certain price for a set number of years and not have to renegotiate. But one user, noting the long-term commitment and up-front costs, said he is not interested in this deal ``just looking at the economics of it.'' IBM has simplified personal computer and terminal coverage with its Corporate Service Amendment (CSA), its offering for large shops that gives discounts averaging 25% if users perform several maintenance requirements. Locally attached PCs and terminals, which previously had required a separate option to CSA, will now be part of CSA coverage and get the same discount. High-end processor users now have the option of selecting the Midrange Service Amendment (MRSA), whereas previously they were limited to CSA to obtain discounts. MRSA is similar in concept to CSA, but it gives users less of a discount _ averaging around 15% _ because users have fewer maintenance requirements to fulfill. This option, IBM said, is aimed at users currently under MRSA who are upgrading to bigger processors and do not want the hassle of the CSA requirements. With Serviceplan, IBM eliminated the requirement of having either a Rolm Systems CBX or an IBM processor to participate in its Telecommunications Services Network Support plan. This has also been renamed Network Support. This option is aimed at multisite customers that may have remote facilities without an IBM computer or Rolm CBX. One way IBM hopes to peddle these options successfully is through the Remarketers End-User Serviceplan. It said last week that authorized resellers, which had previously been able to resell CSA, can now sell its mid-range counterpart, MRSA, as well as the Extended Maintenance Option. According to Esposito, IBM plans a big push to open reseller channels. He said IBM launched the CSA reseller effort in mid-1988, but ``we didn't do a good job of merchandising it, so we didn't get the coverage we were looking for.'' If successful, it will be another thorn in the side of third-party providers, some of which are already feeling squeezed because of IBM's earlier competitive moves in this market. Third-party concern ``There's a lot of concern, and we've been struggling with it,'' said Jerry Ritter, Sorbus' product manager for IBM minicomputer and mainframe systems. Ritter said Sorbus pointed to IBM's aggressiveness late last year when it announced a layoff, which he said was a onetime competitive action to fight IBM. Where there will be no price cuts to respond to IBM's latest move, he said Sorbus will be releasing simplification plans to parallel last week's announcement. Meanwhile, Control Data Corp. is standing firm with its claim that IBM's announcement does not offer any ``significantly increased value other than the simplified billing,'' according to a spokesman. By Rosemary Hamilton, CW staff <<<>>> Title : PS/2 storage monitor out Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: ibmserv4 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: IBM last week rolled out Service Director, a Personal System/2 Model 80 bundled with proprietary software that monitors storage-system performance. The system works with the IBM 3380, 3880 and 3990, as well as the company's tape subsystem, the 3480. Service Director will initially be offered at no charge to customers with the basic IBM Maintenance Agreement, Corporate Service Amendment, Midrange Service Amendment and the Extended Maintenance Option. According to IBM, Service Director will monitor the storage devices for problems. It has been programmed to call up the local service center and alert an IBM expert system program if a problem occurs. The expert system will analyze the data and recommend the appropriate service procedure. It can then dispatch a customer engineer with its recommendations, including replacement parts. <<<>>> Title : American Airlines HP for Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: hpair Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: DALLAS _ Replacing an office system based largely on interoffice manila envelopes and cryptic phone messages, American Airlines, Inc. last week announced its choice of Hewlett-Packard Co. for an $18 million office automation project. While the deal will be the largest implementation of HP's fledgling object-oriented New Wave software, New Wave was not part of the original bid. ``It was icing on the cake,'' said Wayne Pendleton, American's managing director of the automation project. Office systems for American, the nation's largest airline, have been largely typewriter- and copy machine-based, with ``small pockets'' of stand-alone personal computers, according to Pendleton. HP 3000s act as servers Included in the deal are a minimum of 135 HP 3000 minicomputers _ running the company's proprietary MPE operating system _ that will act as file servers for as-yet-unchosen PCs for 15,000 of the airline's 67,000 employees. According to Bob Frankenberg, general manager of HP's Information Systems Group, the MPE operating system was chosen because HP's newer Unix system has no X.25 or native IBM communications capability. Electronic mail and resource software will be added as well as networking to the airline's IBM mainframe-based reservation system. Peripherals and support are also included in the deal. American has called this the Interaact project, and company officials said they believe it will be the largest corporate information system of its kind outside the computer industry. Reservation personnel will be able to tap into the E-mail features, and office personnel will be able to access the reservation system for spreadsheet-type information, according to Pendleton. HP beat out IBM, Digital Equipment Corp. and Wang Laboratories, Inc. for the contract. HP's offer was the low bid, but American would not specify how low. By J.A. Savage, CW staff <<<>>> Title : News shorts Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: short130 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Trouble in paradiseApple Computer, Inc., which saw its once-booming profit growth slow in the December quarter, had much worse news last week: Its March quarter earnings will drop some 35% below 1988 levels. Apple blamed the expected drop on the micro industry's familiar refrain _ high memory chip prices forced systems price increases, and Apple customers were scared off. Apple Chairman John Sculley said buyers shifted to lower priced, lower margin configurations of the Macintosh SE and Macintosh II. Apple cut prices on Jan. 17 to stimulate high-end demand; those price cuts will result in lower profits for the Cupertino, Calif., company. GSA rejects Honeywell appeal The U.S. General Services Administration last week denied Honeywell, Inc.'s protest of the U.S. Air Force Unix minicomputer contract known as AFCAC-251. The GSA's Board of Contract Appeals rejected the Honeywell Federal Systems Group's claim that the Air Force was biased toward AT&T, which won the $929 million contract for 21,000 Unix minicomputers [CW, Nov. 7]. The GSA ruling ends the appeal process and frees the Air Force and AT&T to proceed with the contract. Worldwide cuts at Nixdorf West Germany's Nixdorf Computer AG has said that it could eliminate as many as 1,600 jobs through attrition _ or almost 19% of its work force _ by the end of the year. A hiring freeze coupled with the subsequent departures among Nixdorf's 30,450 workers could save the company as much as $40 million, analysts said.``They've planned for more growth than the market is giving them,'' said Horacio Valeiras, European electronics analyst at First Boston Corp. market research house. ``They've had some rough times and would like to get back to pre-1987 levels.'' Research, sales, production and administrative jobs would most likely be hit hardest, according to analysts. Western Union's multivendor ties Western Union Corp. last week announced an integrated facsimile, electronic mail, telex and mailgram package designed to link diverse office systems with Western Union's worldwide E-mail network. Office Access is available now for systems running Wang Laboratories, Inc.'s Wang Office. It is slated to be available for Digital Equipment Corp. VAXs in March and for the IBM Personal Computer and Personal System/2 family in April. Micropro wins in court A California judge ruled in favor of Micropro International Corp. last week in a challenge to Micropro's ownership of the Wordmaster text editor software. The suit, filed in 1988 by the former Imsai Manufacturing Corp., had charged San Rafael, Calif.-based Micropro and two former Imsai employees with misappropriating Imsai's software text editor, Ned, after Imsai declared bankruptcy in 1979. Imsai, founded by William Millard, was a hardware and software vendor based in Hayward, Calif. The bankruptcy case was reopened for the purpose of the suit. In its ruling last week, the court found that the statutes of limitations had expired. Bell Atlantic loses U.S. District Judge Harold H. Greene last week rejected Bell Atlantic Corp.'s request to use a single computer to provide Pennsylvania customers with a gateway for information services. Greene said the plan violates the court ban on Bell operating companies providing long-distance services, because traffic could possibly cross several local access and transport areas (LATA). Bell Atlantic will be required to install a computer in each of the state's five LATAs to comply with the ban on inter-LATA traffic, which the company argued will drive up consumer costs. <<<>>> Title : Livermore revamps tape li Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: liver1 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: LIVERMORE, Calif. _ Nuclear weapons researchers at the University of California's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have more than two decades' worth of data in storage, and with each supercomputer added to help crunch numbers, storage needs expand exponentially. Last week, the lab unveiled its latest mass storage device, which is already oversubscribed and predicted to be inadequate by 50% when a new $25 million Cray Research, Inc. YMP supercomputer arrives next month. The mass storage system consists of five Storage Technology Corp. 4400 Automatic Cartridge Libraries and replaces an 8-year-old reel tape library from a defunct company. ``[Our old system has] been very unreliable,'' storage group leader Sam Coleman said. ``In fact, a repairman left about half an hour ago.'' Livermore has owned four mass storage devices since 1966, according to Coleman, and each has been advanced for its time. But the profusion of weapons data is swamping the facility. ``Now we write in one month what took seven years'' to write a decade ago, said John Ranelletti, deputy director of the computer department. ``We need a Seymour Cray of storage.'' The lab generates one trillion bytes of storage per year, which is expected to double with the YMP. ``To store one memory dump from [the YMP] will almost equal what we currently store in an entire day, and users would like to do this every few minutes,'' Coleman said. The major obstacle in buying the new mass storage libraries was not the cost, because at $1.75 million for five libraries, the lab received a significant discount from Storage Tek's list price of $500,000. Nor was it the access time, which Coleman said ``is not significantly better'' at 30 seconds than the tape system being replaced. Instead, the major obstacle was the operating system. The lab needed a Unix operating system, and Storage Tek offers only IBM's MVS. Nearly 15,000 lines of code were needed to integrate the mass storage system. While Coleman and Ranelletti said there were no problems bringing the system up after customizing the operating system, John Kordas, the laboratory's computer scientist responsible for the code, said that in the last two months he eliminated ``plenty'' of bugs, such as robotic arms smashing tapes together in the middle of the night. Kordas said Storage Tek received a copy of the lab's Unix code. Storage Tek declined to comment on any potential offering of Unix-run storage devices. Despite using the easily accessed Unix operating system, the lab is trying to keep hackers from classified documents by restricting access to the storage controllers. Coleman said someone would have to physically break into one of 12 offices at the heavily guarded site and tap into a terminal with direct access to the controllers. By J.A. Savage, CW staff <<<>>> Title : DEC releases audited benc Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: decrepor Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Six months after proclaiming superior price/performance in transaction processing, Digital Equipment Corp. emerged with some audited Debit/Credit benchmark reports last week. DEC unveiled audited figures for the 6300 series as well as audited results for the Microvax 3600 and 6200 series. DEC had previously released performance figures for those systems, but not an audited report. The audited results for those systems are generally in line with earlier figures. However, the remainder of last summer's results, including those for IBM systems, are still unaudited. Last week, DEC promised that complete audited reports would be forthcoming for all tests. DEC said last summer that the report would be issued in October 1988. However, DEC's auditor, Peat Marwick Main & Co. reportedly did not agree to any audits until December 1988. DEC said it is rerunning all of last year's tests for the auditor. In addition, DEC also released an unaudited report for its VAX 8800 series that contained discrepancies, which some analysts called significant. In its audit, Peat Marwick certified that the results conformed to Debit/Credit test procedures. The firm said it did not observe the VAX 6310 results, although it did observe the tests conducted on the 6320, 6340 and 6360 systems. All systems were tested under DEC's ACMS teleprocessing monitor in conjunction with its RDB relational database. DEC said tests under its Decintact teleprocessing monitor would be forthcoming. In the 8800 results released by DEC, there were several differences in the tested and priced configurations. Notable among them was that DEC tested a system configured with 256M bytes of memory but priced a system with only 128M bytes. DEC explained that, in the 256M-byte configuration, the 8810 used 30% of the memory; the 8820 used ``less than half'' the memory; and the 8830 system used 56.8% of the memory. In the 8830, DEC said, by reducing ``specific VMS and VAX ACMS parameters,'' the memory can be reduced to 128M bytes. However, DEC did not perform this reduction. A DEC spokesman would not comment on the reason for the difference, but said the firm would rely on Peat Marwick to determine whether or not the test is valid. Frederic Withington, an independent consultant in New York, concurred that the different memory configurations could affect performance in all 8800 systems. ``The way the memory is used could mean there may be more throughput when more memory is configured,'' he said. Dale Kutnick, managing director of Meta Group, Inc., a consulting firm in Redding, Conn., agreed: ``The I/O throughput starts bogging down in the 8800 when you get over the 8820, so they played games with the memory configuration.'' However, Peter Burris, an analyst at market research firm International Data Corp. in Framingham, Mass., suggested that the Debit/Credit benchmark could be constructed in such a way that the memory difference would not be significant. Omri Serlin, president of Itom International, Inc., a consulting firm in Los Altos, Calif., said the 8800 results are not important because very few people are ordering the 8800. Kutnick said the slowness of the 8800 in transaction processing means it will be replaced soon with the much-rumored Aridus processor, an air-cooled follow-on with a larger internal bus of at least 100M bytes. The internal bus of the 8800 is only 70M bytes. Last spring, at the announcement of the 8800, DEC's William R. Demmer, vice-president of mid-range systems, indicated that the line would likely be replaced in a year or so. Several analysts noted that the benchmark report on the 6200 were released only a few days before that processor was superseded by the 6300 series. By Stanley Gibson, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Third parties shuffle fee Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: 1boards Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Personal computers equipped with the proposed Extended Industry Standard Architecture bus are expected to debut later this year, but users may have to search far and wide to find any add-in hardware to exploit the alternative architecture. EISA, which is being promoted by Compaq Computer Corp. and a number of other vendors as an alternative to IBM's Micro Channel Architecture, has failed to garner much support from the industry's leading board makers. Calls to almost a dozen of the leading add-in hardware vendors last week found that only EISA cofounder AST Research, Inc. in Irvine, Calif., has any concrete development plans to exploit the bus' reported potential. The survey comes on the heels of a renewed effort by Compaq to ``clarify misconceptions'' about the bus. Compaq's Vice-President of Marketing and Sales Mike Swavely gave Computerworld the names of three vendors to disprove the notion that add-in hardware support does not exist. However, one of the three vendors, National Instruments Co. in Austin, Texas, said it had no development plans for the EISA bus. ``When we see a market need for EISA boards, we will respond quickly,'' said Richard House, product manager at National Instruments. ``We have not seen that need.'' An Interlan, Inc. spokesman said the firm has placed ``moder- ate'' resources toward an EISA-compatible product, adding that it develops for ``every bus imaginable.'' The third vendor, Standard Microsystems Corp. in Hauppauge, N.Y., said it intends to support EISA, but a spokesman called it ``a gamble.'' Also, a survey of add-in board makers found few with concrete development plans for boards that take advantage of EISA's bus-mastering and 32-bit data paths. ``We have not made a decision yet or started any development plans, but we'll support all buses,'' said Geoff Karlin, Standard Microsystems' director of marketing for system products. Aside from AST Research, the other add-in hardware developers said they had not even seriously discussed developing for EISA. This may pose a problem for EISA, as IBM's Personal System/2s will have 650 MCA-compatible cards available in the next 90 days, an IBM spokeswoman said. Another 1,750 MCA add-in hardware products are in development, according to IBM. In contrast, Intel Corp. will start initial component deliveries to be used in building EISA machines at about the same time that Micro Channel bus-mastering cards ship commercially. Bad timing According to some add-in hardware vendors, the EISA consortium's timing could not have been worse, as most board vendors are still reeling from the loss of business they accrued during the dynamic random-access memory shortage. ``If IBM says the Micro Channel is the path to the future, then they can make board makers follow,'' said David Hunter, vice-president of engineering at Ideassociates, Inc. in Billerica, Mass. ``But as far as EISA goes, we're not even going to start development plans until we see that there is any kind of market.'' ``We don't have any confidence in EISA because it offers no additional performance over the Micro Channel,'' said Marty Alpert, president of Cumulus Corp. By William Brandel, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Fibronics to announce FDD Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: fddi Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: HYANNIS, Mass. _ The first Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) connection for IBM mainframes will be unveiled next week at Communication Networks '89 by Fibronics International, Inc. Fibronics, a manufacturer of FDDI network products, said it will release the FX8222, a high-speed networking device based on the emerging FDDI standard. The new product will reportedly allow an IBM host _ 370, 4300 or 3000 family _ to be channel-attached to a 100M bit/ sec. FDDI backbone. It will also support any system with a standard IBM block-multiplexer channel. Included in this catagory are mainframes from Amdahl Corp., Siemens AG, Fujitsu America, Inc. and Hitachi America Ltd. IBM is not expected to ship any FDDI products this year, although analysts said the computer giant is looking at utilizing fiber optics for mainframe channel connections (see story page 40). Available within 60 days of ordering, this latest addition to Fibronics' System Finex FDDI line is based on Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.'s Supernet very large-scale integration FDDI chip set and costs $35,500. The FX8222 also comes with an optical bypass switch for $38,400. High-speed connections Fibronics' connection will provide a high-speed interface betwen an IBM mainframe and an FDDI network. The connection reportedly enables the attached system to communicate with other FX8222-attached systems. It also provides host access for Ethernet networks that are linked via an FDDI bridge, the vendor said. For example, when used in conjunction with KNET, Fibronics' Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) software, the FX8222 provides mainframe file and applications access for all TCP/IP users over an FDDI backbone. By Patricia Keefe, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Cincom releases Supra for Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: supra Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Cincom Systems, Inc., moving to broaden its customer base beyond its traditional mainframe accounts, last week released Version 2 of Supra, its relational database management system for IBM, Digital Equipment Corp. and Unix platforms. Unlike its predecessor, Version 2 is built around SQL. That change will mean that Version 1 users who intend to move to Version 2 will have to rewrite their applications using SQL syntax, according to Tom McLean, vice-president of marketing and product planning at the company. However, he said, Cincom is offering tools for that purpose. ``We'll maintain Version 1 for some time. There will be future releases of Version 1,'' McLean said. He said the firm promises a Version 1 that will run above the 16M-byte line under IBM's MVS/XA as well as other performance improvements. Still on first One Supra Version 1 user who asked not to be named said he has no intention of moving to Version 2 because he is still in the process of implementing Version 1. The customer welcomed the news of continued support for Version 1, which has an installed base of 500 users, according to a Cincom spokesman. McLean also assured users that Cincom's Total DBMS product will continue to be supported as before. However, Cincom is also offering a set of utilities that will help Total users migrate to Supra Version 2. Version 2 was also designed as a building block for a fully distributed relational database of the future, according to Cincom. Version 2 currently executes in a client/server environment, the vendor said. ``They are trying to go into accounts where they don't have to compete with DB2,'' said Colin White, an independent consultant in San Jose, Calif. The hugely successful IBM DB2 has hit Cincom hard, as it has other independent DBMS vendors, he added. By Stanley Gibson, CW staff <<<>>> Title : OS/2 on the way for EISA, Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: osproc Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: REDMOND, Wash. _ In about a year, OS/2 will fully exploit the multiple processor capabilities of IBM's Personal System/2 bus architecture as well as the rest of the industry's still unshipped Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA), Microsoft Corp. officials said. A single version of OS/2, a product codeveloped by IBM and Microsoft, will be able to support multiple processing on both the EISA and Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) buses, according to Adrian King, Microsoft's director of operating systems. The upgrade to OS/2 should be welcomed by IBM PS/2 users waiting to exploit their systems. Until now, the difference between the IBM Personal Computer AT bus style of coprocessing and that of the MCA had been mainly one of potential _ the AT bus coprocesses in a serial fashion, while the EISA and MCA can provide multitasking on the bus, explained Mark Mackaman, OS/2 product manager at Microsoft. IBM's MCA has a clear lead in the race to offer multiple processing. Devices already exploit the so-called bus-mastering or multiple processing features of MCA (see story page 1). But these devices are relatively simple, and they do not provide the more sophisticated capabilities that will arrive when the operating system is more fully married to these advanced buses. Tapping the PS/2 IBM is already positioning the PS/2 for this new style of computing. Advertisements currently tout the PS/2's largely untapped ability to ``put multiple processors on your system, running independently, yet still be able to share important things like memory, disk storage and communications.'' For simple coprocessing cards such as disk drive controllers and networking cards, the IBM ad is true. But for yet-to-be-seen specialized devices that will sort databases, manage file systems or provide highly sophisticated graphics processing, systems software support is mandatory, King said. OS/2 multiple-processing support, due in about a year, will be aimed at specialized processors, King said. Soon after, he claimed, support for systems that contain multiple Intel Corp. 80286 or 80386 processors will be available. These systems will allocate tasks or processes between identical processors. The earliest multiprocessing support should arrive at nearly the same time that a 386 version of OS/2 hits the market. This version will have a nearly identical file system, interprocess communications capability, graphics engine and program-loading features to today's OS/2. A tool kit for this version reportedly will ship in the first half of this year, with a full version to follow. Also in the works is a networked version of Dynamic Data Exchange, a protocol for transferring live data between applications that first debuted with Microsoft Windows. With a networked version, multiple machines on a network could receive the same live data updates simultaneously, a useful feature for inventory and stock market quote systems. By Douglas Barney, CW staff <<<>>> Title : No small change for Visa Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: 1newvisa Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: ``Freeze.'' Some 230 direct-connects to Visa U.S.A., Inc.'s credit card network brace themselves annually for that chilling command. But this is no stickup: It's just Visanet's yearly suspension of all changes affecting network stability during the lucrative holiday period between Nov. 1 and Jan. 15. That is when most merchants meet their profit goals, and it is Visa's job to make sure there are no electronic obstacles. That 76-day period, a respite for Visanet, is hard-earned. Last year, prior to the interlude, it executed upgrades at 150 sites, or end points, while adding another 61 connections to meet ``explosive growth'' in both point-of-sale and electronic data capture services offered by Visanet, said Michael Massey, vice-president of Visa's Operations Center West. Visanet also processed another 13,000 changes that ran the gamut from hardware upgrades to software changes for clients. Just to keep things really interesting, the operations staff tiptoed around a three-month move into a new, $13 million data center that was three years in the making _ without creating a single disruption in customer service, said Neil Waldo, senior vice-president of Visanet operations. Meanwhile, an 18-month effort to convert what was once a bisynchronous network into an IBM Systems Network Architecture network was also put to bed in 1988. ```We also successfully converted 70% of our traffic to a new [Open Systems Interconnect] format to aid risk-control procedures,'' Visa spokesman Dan Brigham said. Obviously, the freeze is something of an aberration in that it involves just one small piece of Visanet's domain. The Visanet staff operates at a manic pace year-round in an effort to keep on top of a plethora of projects and the constantly changing needs of its clients. This swirl of activity underscores Visa's byword _ change, and lots of it. Visa's corporate goal is to become the leading consumer payment method in the world. Currently, Visa holds 60% of the market share for bank cards. To do this, it must move consumers away from checks and cash. Currently, cash and checks make up 90% of consumer payments, followed by Visa with a 3% to 5% market share, Brigham said. With volume growth in excess of 25% a year, Visanet worldwide must be prepared to handle the increased business. ``Visa is programmed for change; that's our whole emphasis,'' Massey explained. A close look at the constantly evolving network reveals more than 3.5 million reasons behind Visanet's zest for adventure. It is not easy keeping tabs on a network that collects data from 850,000 point-of-sale terminals while servicing more than 17,500 banks representing some 2.7 million merchants. Another 90 large merchants with electronic cash register systems maintain 250 direct connections to Visanet. Each access point to Visanet serves as a conduit for authorization requests and data capture activities. The network's sheer size necessitates nine months of sweat, detente and intricate planning on multiple levels to reach a freezable state. Only then does Visanet get a chance to catch its breath. ``When the peak season coordinator decided to get married last year, she waited for the freeze to have her wedding,'' Waldo said. As of two weeks ago, the fun began all over again in preparation for the 1989 freeze. ``It's a challenge _ no, it's a logistical nightmare,'' Waldo conceded. For starters, planning exercises alone for customer end points and internal Visanet upgrades gobble up almost four months. It takes another seven months to implement the resulting changes. But a well-stocked larder provides ample fodder for this arduous trek. In fact, the battle for bucks is a heck of a lot easier at Visa, where a whopping 50% of the corporate budget _ in excess of $100 million annually _ is devoted to data processing and its staff of 274. That budget ``connotes that DP is absolute,'' said Morgan Whitener, director of switching and authorization. But just like those annual credit-card offers to delay holiday billing, this cushion of cash does not come without strings. With big money comes big responsibility. Visanet's operations staff must not only grapple with establishing its own priorities for the coming year, but it also takes an active role in business planning, site assessment and equipment procurement for any domestic customer requiring it. Those customers are made up mostly of the 90 merchants and 140 member-processing companies or third parties that provide transaction processing for banks issuing Visa cards. If necessary, these planning services are extended to any of those 17,500 banks. Using a compartmentalized approach, logistics is a little more cut-and-dried. The capacity planning process just now getting under way concludes April 1. The process involves about four people who handle coordination and scheduling activities, which ties up a similar number of personal computers for 12 to 16 hours daily for three months. A peak-season coordinator works with the network engineering department to review weekly transaction volume for the system as a whole and for each end point. Based on this data, letters were sent out this month to clients making corresponding recommendations for changes at each end point and its system connection point. ``We talk to our customers and tell them what volume we saw from them on an individual basis,'' Waldo said. Determining size Waldo's staff consolidates this information and looks at its own capacity requirements, both as a nationwide network and as an end-point device for a particular client. ``It's very important that we know what new business ventures they are getting into because it directly impacts our own network,'' Massey noted. All this data is massaged to determine Visanet's data center host capacity. ``We measure the volume of messages per second so we can be sure we have the right size processor and [direct access storage device] to support those volumes,'' Massey said. Last year, this process resulted in upgrades of two IBM 3090 Model 150s to 3091 Model 180Es. Based on internal system changes and end-user projections, Visanet begins negotiations with the customer for the following year. The credit-card issuer both leases processors and connecting equipment and charges an access fee. ``We go back with transaction records and say, `Based on your input, we should take you from 9.6[K bit/sec. data line] to 19.2, put in a different modem, add more PCs or Series/1s and, in our case, we'll go from a Series/1 to a bigger processor,' '' Waldo explained. Once a configuration has been agreed on, Visanet's planning and implementation team has to design the network to support the changes and order the equipment as well as install and test it for the customer. Some activities such as telecommunications orders require a 90-day lead time. ``We spend from April to November installing all this stuff,'' Massey said. To keep on top of all this activity, Waldo's staff holds biweekly meetings to update projects. ``So that when dates slip, which impacts other items, we're in a position to energize people to go out and correct the problem,'' Massey said. By Patricia Keefe, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Taking inventory Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: visabox2 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Visa's real-time authorization system grows at an annual compound rate of more than 30%. There are 274 employees staffing Visanet operations; turnover is less than 10%. The number of real-time systems includes 140 member-processing companies doing the work for roughly 17,500 banks; 90 merchants at more than 250 sites are linked directly into Visanet. The number of transaction/min. peaked at 10,000 in 1988. The number of messages per second peaked at 350 in 1988. The network hit a $1 billion day for the first time in history on Dec. 13, 1988. Transactions increased more than 30% during the period between Thanksgiving and Dec. 14 during the same period in 1987. Holiday peak activity typically becomes the system norm by the following August. Visanet has two data centers, including a new, $13 million facility in San Mateo, Calif., which houses six mainframes; and a backup site in McLean, Va., which has three mainframes. <<<>>> Title : High spirits; low turnove Author : Patricia Keefe Source : CW Comm FileName: visabar Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Sanity, not to mention staff, is easily endangered in a fast-paced environment such as the one that exists at Visa U.S.A.'s Visanet, but the credit card company's MIS department manages to nurture both. It does so by combining personnel with the right temperament, an innovative incentive program and the time-honored management maxim of breaking large tasks into several smaller ones. Given Visa's corporate mandate, ``We have to make sure that people understand why we need Operations to be a catalyst and not an inhibitor,'' said Michael Massey, vice-president of Operations Center West. Consequently, Massey and Neil Waldo, senior vice-president of Visanet operations, and their respective data center and operations staffs are organized to accommodate change. One way to program for change is to hire people who are not looking to do the same thing from one day to the next. For example, despite a full slate of duties, operations staffers also managed to find time to concoct various marketing programs that directly affect their jobs. During the 1988 holiday season, Visa initiated a special promotion called Our Treat. The idea came from Operations and involved Visa randomly selecting transactions in order to pick up the tab for a particular purchase for some lucky consumers. A second approach to accommodating change involves having the operations staff specialize by service offering. The approach provides consistency, according to Massey. Also, Visanet computer operators and technicians are on an incentive plan designed to make them really feel accountable for Visanet service and quality. ``I've not heard of [another company] where operators themselves are given incentives; that usually stops at the manager level,'' said Morgan Whitener, director of switching and authorization. ``This really builds team spirit.'' It must _ despite the hectic pace, turnover is less than 10%. PATRICIA KEEFE <<<>>> Title : Scratch and spit Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: primo Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Prime Computer, Inc. and would-be buyer MAI Basic Four, Inc. exchanged paper blows last week as MAI's hostile takeover attempt, entering its third month, appears to be evolving from a preposterous escapade into a war of attrition. In addition to firing off a letter to Prime Chairman David Dunn and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Craig charging Prime with dereliction of duty to its stockholders, MAI moved on several legal fronts to further its position. As ordered by U.S. District Judge A. David Mazzone, the company filed additional disclosures concerning the financing of its proposed offer, which showed designated bidder and key financing source Drexel Burnham Lambert, Inc. possibly earning $55 million if MAI wins out. MAI also petitioned the federal court in Massachusetts to lift the preliminary injunction it had issued pending further disclosure. Earlier in the week, MAI petitioned the Delaware Chancery Court to hear a renewed motion to quash Prime's poison-pill provisions. MAI's original motion was denied last month; however, since that time, approximately 71% of Prime's outstanding shares have been tendered to MAI, a circumstance that MAI hopes will sit favorably with the court. Prime parried this thrust with an official statement calling its spurned suitor's additional disclosures insufficient on several grounds and asserting its intention to fight MAI's efforts to overturn the federal court's injunction. The company then whipped off a succinct ``No deal'' reply to MAI Chairman Bennett LeBow. ``What you're seeing here is a very, very well-staged high-stakes psychological game of `gotcha _ you blinked,' '' said Charles Varga Jr., a principal at Cerberus Group, Inc., a merger consultant and market research firm based in Frenchtown, N.J. Can MAI win by simply outwaiting Prime? Possibly, Varga said, if enough shareholders blink. By Nell Margolis, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Sears inaugurates DP/tele Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: sears Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: CHICAGO _ Sears, Roebuck and Co. last week announced the formation of a subsidiary charged with integrating the data processing and telecommunications activities of the corporation. Sears Technology Services, Inc. will be headed up by group President Charles A. Carlson, formerly vice-president of information services at the Sears Merchandise Group. He will direct operations of Sears Technology Services, which will include Sears' communications network, according to a company spokesman. Carlson, 55, will report to Charles F. Moran, senior vice-president and chief information officer. Robert J. Ferkenhoff, who formerly held the position of vice-president of information systems at Sears Canada, Inc., will assume Carlson's former duties. Carlson, a graduate of the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., has been employed by Sears since 1969. Ferkenhoff, 46, is a graduate of St. Benedict's College in Atchinson, Kan., and has been with Sears since 1964. According to a Sears spokesman, the Sears Technology Services group will service the needs of the corporation's member companies, one of which is the merchandise group that serves the retail stores and catalog centers. Sears recently announced plans for a new telecatalog center in Johnson City, Tenn., which it said completes its nationwide network designed to improve service for customers who shop through the Sears catalog. The center will open in June. Sears formerly processed its phone-in catalog orders in various retail locations but has now shifted its focus to the nine telecatalog centers. The centers allow closer monitoring of warehouse operations, replenishing of inventories, reserving of merchandise and improved customer service, a spokeswoman said. By Alan J. Ryan, CW staff <<<>>> Title : OS/2 Author : Douglas Barney Source : CW Comm FileName: ostrend Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Because users are skeptical of new technologies, plans to implement bold new products are usually scant. As customers learn more about these technologies, plans to implement generally rise. The exact opposite happened with Microsoft Corp.'s OS/2 operating system, said a report from Framingham, Mass.-based International Data Corp. Users, still flush with excitement from the OS/2 announcement in April 1987, were optimistic. Based on a survey in May 1988, 48.6% of the users said OS/2 would be their corporations' personal computer operating system standard by 1993. By August 1988, that number had been cut in half, with only 22.3% planning to standardize by 1993. According to the report, as users moved closer to deciding upon OS/2 implementation, they either postponed the decision or simply decided to give up. In fact, the number of firms that plan never to implement OS/2 rose a whopping 135% in that same three-month period. At the same time, user understanding of OS/2 gained steadily. Scaring away users is the large investment in hardware and software that must be made to run OS/2. OS/2 requires at least an Intel Corp. 80286 microprocessor with several megabytes of random-access memory and a 20M-byte hard disk drive. Microsoft said the key reason for sluggish OS/2 implementation has been a shortage of applications. Although some 200 OS/2 applications are shipping, many promised applications have yet to arrive. DOUGLAS BARNEY <<<>>> Title : Inside lines Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: liner130 Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: CIO for State. Secretary of State James Baker is expected to pick Ivan Selin, chairman of American Management Systems, as undersecretary for management at the State Department. Once confirmed by the Senate, Selin would oversee all administrative operations _ including the MIS department _ for the agency's 23,000 employees around the world. Selin was a management expert at the Pentagon from 1965 to 1970 before leaving to start AMS, a computer software and services firm based in Arlington, Va. AMS has close ties with the Bush administration; the firm worked for White House Chief of Staff John Sununu when he was New Hampshire's governor and then helped out the 1989 Presidential Inaugural Committee. Atlas greets the world. While most PC DBMS vendors blabber on about plans for client/server architectures and support of SQL back-end database engines, Microrim reportedly plans to go its own way. On Feb. 13, the $18 million firm will announce Atlas, an R:Base compiler product that promises ``enterprisewide'' DBMS capabilities. While few details are known, the firm plans to offer the compiler on a variety of host-style platforms and will provide access from a variety of workstations. The firm has no current plans to support the growing array of database servers. They won't leapfrog IBM in this area. Compaq is still leading the charge against IBM's controversial Micro Channel Architecture. According to company officials, the firm has ceased development of its MCA clone. If the market offered up enough opportunities, it would still take the firm one year to revive the project, said chief Compaq techie and father of the Deskpro 386 Gary Stimac. Who has the most lawyers? Lotus apparently did things by the book when it named its new hard disk utility Magellan. It searched for previous trademarks, found none, and proceeded. But two companies using the name have already reared their heads. First a software reseller called Magellan Software Corp. popped up. Then software developer Emerald Intelligence, Inc. surfaced with an artificial intelligence package called Magellan. It is likely, however, that Lotus will keep Magellan because both Emerald and Magellan Software failed to register their monikers. Don't VAX-stop now. Although last week's VAX announcements were based on an improved version of its CVAX microprocessor, sources said DEC may have even more chips up its sleeve. A 7-MIPS follow-on code-named Rigel is in the final design stages and could appear in mid-range models by the end of the year, thus fulfilling Vice-President of Mid-Range Systems William R. Demmer's prophecy that DEC will step up its technological turnover. And don't be surprised if DEC rolls out a Microvax line based on the new CVAX chip. What to do with all that power. DEC is apparently sitting on two major networking announcements. A fiber LAN based on the FDDI standard will definitely show up by year's end, one source said, because Decwindows, the Compound Document Architecture and Image Processing Systems all need the high bandwidth that fiber provides. However, DEC is still arguing with itself whether it will go against ``the great Decnet standard'' to support IBM's Token-Ring _ even though a lot of customers demand it. Cyclone has yet to hit. Tandem's 100-plus MIPS CPU, code-named Cyclone, was expected to be announced this spring. It will be lucky to hit ground by September. The system reportedly will have greatly expanded I/O, with two or three channels per processor. We stand corrected _ sort of. Apollo called last week after reading our item here about its scheduled workstation announcement. We erred by calling it RISC-based. Seems there is a difference between a RISC workstation and a RISC-based workstation; we asked what the difference is, but they declined to fill us in. We love examining these great marketing strategies, so call in your examples to the hotline, 800-343-6474 or 508-879-0700, and News Editor Pete Bartolik will hold them up to the light of day. <<<>>> Title : DEC unleashes VAX 6300 li Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: decvax Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: NEW YORK _ Digital Equipment Corp. inserted six high-powered entrants into its VAX mid-range line last week, replacing its wildly successful 6200 line and inaugurating a price/ performance booster cycle it expects to repeat as often as every nine months. The increased processing power of the 6300 series also taps the first nails into the coffin lid of the poorly selling VAX high end, the 8800 series. The top-of-the-line 6360, for example, runs at speeds of 22 million instructions per second (MIPS) and costs $751,900, offering comparable performance to the 8840, which is priced at $1.5 million. DEC Chairman Ken Olsen said the 8800 has sold tepidly since its introduction last March because of the unexpected success of the 6200, which brought symmetrical multiprocessing to the heart of the VAX line when it was introduced last April [CW, April 25]. Although DEC would not release sales figures for the 8800, Vice-President of Mid-Range Systems William R. Demmer said the firm has sold more than $1 billion worth of 6200s and is well beyond $2 billion in sales. Users have so eagerly exploited the ability to cluster 6200 models that it has ``become the fastest selling VAX in our company's history, destroying our planning and embarrassing us in some ways,'' Olsen said. According to analysts, the writing has been on the wall regarding the demise of the 8800 for some time. ``When the 8800 was announced, DEC still believed it was walking on water,'' said Barry F. Bosack, an analyst at the New York-based Robert Fleming Securities Ltd. market research house. ``Now, DEC wants people converted to symmetrical multiprocessing, and now, they've certainly got a robust enough program to do that,'' he said. Analysts also said the series should be a good defense against any inroads IBM's Application System/400 has made into the VAX mid-range. ``This blows past the AS/400 pretty quickly and does a good job at taking on the low end of the 370 architecture,'' said Robert B. Cameron, a senior industry analyst at Dataquest, Inc., a market research house in Boxboro, Mass. The 6300 line works 35% faster than the predecessor VAX 6200 and sells for only 5% more, company officials said. The line begins with the 6310, which runs at 3.8 MIPS and is priced at $184,100. Sleek and fast DEC officials claimed they achieved the added processing performance by shrinking the chip's thickness from 2 microns to 1.5 microns and souping up the chip's innards with a modified gate array and a clock speed that has been cut from 80 nsec to 60 nsec. Demmer boasted that he expects similar performance increases on a regular basis. ``We see an accelerating rate of change down the road,'' he said. Analysts speculated that this rapid succession rate may initially cause confusion among users. ``Buyers have been conditioned by IBM not to expect rapid upgrades,'' Dataquest's Cameron said. ``But DEC has put together a very aggressive pricing scheme that should be an adequate enough lure to get users to try the upgrade. Then the proof will be in the pudding,'' he said. This relatively quick technological turnover and imminent demise of the 8800 series spells good news for MIS managers like James Hackett, who stock their shops with used equipment. ``We'll wait a little while until the older machines come on the used market,'' said Hackett, manager of data services at Precision Components Corp. in York, Pa. ``We can find a used 8200 for half of what DEC wants for a brand-new one. If you lag behind for a couple of years, you can save yourself an awful lot of money,'' he explained. By James Daly, CW staff <<<>>> Title : No-hassle upgrade Author : James Daly Source : CW Comm FileName: decvaxsi Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Digital Equipment Corp. moved to undercut any sense of abandonment that new 6200 users may feel, claiming last week that those customers can effortlessly upgrade to the 6300 by simply swapping circuit boards. The Maynard, Mass.-based company has peppered the upgrade path with several incentive plans that frequently only require customers to pay the price differential between the new 6300 boards and the old 6200 boards, as long as they exercise that option by April 28. According to Stephen Blanchette, DEC's product marketing manager of mid-range VAX systems, this type of bill might run in the neighborhood of $10,000. Under one such arrangement, DEC would essentially offer a free board swap to users as long as they upgrade their systems to the next more powerful 6300 model. To upgrade a 6210, for example, users would first trade in their old processor for a new 6330 processor, then be required to purchase an additional 6300 processor in order to make their system a 6320, Blanchette said. ``It sounds like an excellent upgrade; we're very interested in it,'' said David Renaud, director of technical services at Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Co. in Grinnell, Iowa, where several 6200 models reside. Even users who are not planning immediate upgrades were impressed with the way DEC has indicated it will make good on a long-standing promise to offer an upgrade path that does not entail scrapping an old system. ``It's nice to know it's there, and I'm sure when we're looking for upgrade, this is where we'll look,'' said Gene Robbins, assistant provost at Queen's College, located in Flushing, N.Y. JAMES DALY <<<>>> Title : Rollouts from A to Z Author : James Daly Source : CW Comm FileName: decside Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Other DEC products announced during last week's blitz included the following: The VAX Fileserver 6310 and 6320, which offer simultaneous support for DEC VMS, Ultrix and Microsoft Corp. MS-DOS environments and are priced from $141,900. A pair of Vaxcluster arrangements using models from the 6300 series. The entry-level 6312 consists of two 6310s, runs at up to 7 million instructions per second (MIPS) and starts at $608,400. The 6333 contains three 6330s, runs at up to 30 MIPS and starts at $2.7 million. The DECTP 3000 and DECTP 6000, which are geared toward transaction processing application development and are based on the Microvax 3400 and VAX 6310 systems, respectively. Prices begin at $207,704. A complementary line of storage products that includes the SA650 and SA550 storage arrays. The high-end SA650 ranges in price from $103,320 to $243,250 and will be available next month. The mid-range SA550 is priced from $44,000 to $123,000. Also introduced was the TA90 cartridge-tape subsystem, which DEC claims offers full read/write compatibility with IBM's 3480 cartridge-tape subsystem and the entry-level HSC40 Vaxcluster storage controller. TA90 master unit prices start at $113,276, and optional slave units are priced from $38,748. Both are slated to be available in March. The HSC40 starts at $41,157 and will be available next month. DEC's optical storage line was also beefed up with the addition of the $205,000 RV64 optical jukebox, a write-once read-many drive that retrieves many disks used for optical information and offers access to 128G bytes of information. A RV64 with host adapter and software is priced from $205,652 and reportedly will be available within 90 days of order. JAMES DALY <<<>>> Title : Amdahl earnings zoom, whi Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: attamdah Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: Robust sales of its 2-year-old 5890 mainframe line and gathering strength in the newly announced 5990 series powered Amdahl Corp. to a strong fourth quarter and a 53% leap in 1988 profits, the company announced last week. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based mainframe maker posted fourth-quarter earnings of $72.98 million, up 38% from last year's comparable quarter, on revenues of $547.71 million _ a 13% improvement over the fourth quarter a year ago. For the year, Amdahl's earnings rose 53% to $223.33 million on revenue of $1.8 billion. Amdahl's ability to continue to cut a swath in a much-bemoaned marketplace is impressing and surprising analysts. ``I keep betting against them _ and I keep losing,'' Martin Ressinger, an analyst at Duff & Phelps said. Amdahl, he said, has double-pronged advantage over its chief competitor IBM in that it has ``better-designed machines and the ability to focus resources on them because they don't have to worry about carrying other, less-successful lines.'' Despite _ or even because of _ such advantages, Ressinger noted, the company's position is somewhat precarious. ``They continue to outpace their market by taking sales away from IBM,'' he said. ``But you'd rather have them growing because the market is growing.'' As matters stand, ``you've got to keep wondering when IBM will decide that [Amdahl's incursions] are worth doing something about,'' Ressinger added. One step at a time In other earnings news, AT&T, claiming it stepped backwards to prepare for quantum leaps ahead, reported an anticipated fourth-quarter net loss of $3.34 billion on revenue of $9.21 billion, up 6% from revenue logged in the comparable period last year. For the year, the company netted a loss of $1.67 billion. Both the quarterly and the annual losses were attributed to a one-time, $6.7 billion fourth-quarter charge against operations resulting from AT&T's network digitization initiative, on which the company is pinning hopes of significant strides in quarters to come. ``Without the charge,'' Chairman Robert E. Allen said, ``we would have shown healthy earnings growth.'' By Nell Margolis, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Streetwise Author : Clinton Wilder Source : CW Comm FileName: 130stock Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: It may be too early to tell if high-tech is actually returning to favor among investors or if last week's surge in computer stocks was merely a result of rally riders seeking underpriced issues. But the computer industry was an honored guest as the stock market bulls held a week-long celebration. Digital Equipment Corp., a market laggard for months, was an investors' darling for the second straight week. DEC closed Thursday at 114 , up 7 points for the week and a whopping 15 points in the previous six trading sessions. IBM tacked on 2 points to close at 126. New 52-week highs were all over the industry: Computer Associates International, Inc., increasing 1 points for the week to 30 ; Compaq Computer Corp., jumping 5 points to 69 ; 3Com Corp., inching up 1 points to 24 ; Oracle Corp., creeping up 1 to 23 ; and Sequent Computer Systems, Inc., moving up 3 to 23. On the downside, Unisys Corp. dropped off of a point to 29 and Data General Corp. also slipped of a point to close Thursday at 17 . CLINTON WILDER <<<>>> Title : Portable Mac lack Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: 1port Date : Feb 6, 1989 Text: CUPERTINO, Calif. _ With user anticipation growing, Apple Computer, Inc. is struggling in its efforts to push its long-awaited portable Macintosh out the door. A number of Apple's corporate customers have been briefed on the machine, but none of the half-dozen key Apple accounts contacted by Computerworld last week had received a working prototype of the Mac portable. Problems with the portable's screen and battery pack appear to be the culprits in the delay, sources said. Some said they believe Apple will resolve its problems by summer; others said by fall. Apple Chairman John Sculley has promised a Mac portable before year's end. Apple officials declined to offer other specifics. ``We haven't been told a date [for introduction], and we haven't been promised a prototype,'' said Mary Howlett, manager of office automation at Hughes Aircraft Co.'s Ground Systems Group. ``I get the impression from them that it's still in the future.'' Howlett, who said a Mac portable tops her wish list, has signed a nondisclosure agreement and declined to discuss the portable in any detail. Apple's failure to introduce the portable is testing the patience of corporate users who have been hearing of the system's existence for more than a year. They said they are willing to pay the premium price the Mac portable is expected to command. ``I think it'll be a big seller,'' said Mike Bailey, a systems integrator at Lockheed Corp.'s Missiles & Space Systems and president of the Apple Professionals Exchange. ``There are a lot of people who are on the road that need something light to do presentations and graphics, and they have a lot of money to spend.'' Like others, Jeff Ehrlich, MIS manager at General Electric Co.'s medical products group, said he eagerly awaits the product's introduction. ``I hope it'll be out by the summer,'' he said. ``But Apple doesn't take it out of the oven before it's done.'' Ehrlich said Apple has shown a number of different configurations of the portable to major accounts. ``They've had a lot of different models,'' he said. ``They're still doing a lot of design work. Unlike IBM, Apple makes design changes at the last minute.'' Apple has settled on ``active-matrix'' technology for the screen, according to corporate customers who were briefed on the product. The Mac's graphical user interface requires a very high-resolution screen so that icons will be legible to users. ``The screen is where they're punching through on the technology,'' Ehrlich noted. However, Apple has experienced difficulty manufacturing that screen in the quantities it desires, according to the sources. A source close to Apple said the company wants to reach a production yield of 15,000 displays per month before the portable's introduction. Apple engineers are changing another design element, the source added. In an earlier design, the portable's battery pack was built into the machine. However, Apple has reconsidered, opting to make the battery pack removable. By Julie Pitta, CW staff <<<>>> Title : tems is IBM mainframe-bas Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: jjcaron Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: tems is IBM mainframe-based, and the employees work on 22,000 terminals and 6,000 personal computers, Caron says. The core applications were developed at the division level and include backbone systems such as a health care and a property and casualty application. Caron says that over the years, Cigna Systems has typically gone with the traditional software tools such as Cobol, IBM's IMS and CICS. ``But there is a need to get ready for the next decade,'' he says. ``We need to be better at integrating office automation and workstation strategies into our backbone platforms.'' Caron said he is somewhat concerned about systems compatibility, and he will be looking carefully at the data plans for each division. ``Where we have data that is critical across lines,'' we tend to ensure that our data plans will allow for compatibility, he said. Still, he admits that there is much work to be done in that area. While some other companies are hiring more information systems workers from management backgrounds rather than those with technical skills, Caron still believes a solid knowledge of systems is the way to go. He should know: He earned his knowledge on the job. During his teenage years, Caron was like most people his age: He was rather uncertain about the career path he would choose. He was enrolled in the University of Connecticut, but as he ended his sophomore year, his father had a stroke, and Caron's college funding was no longer a priority. Living in Hartford at the time, Caron made his way into the personnel office of Travelers Insurance Co. After an aptitude test, he was hired to work in the company's data processing area as a computer operator. Next, he moved to programming at another insurance company and eventually joined a small consulting firm before moving to Philadelphia and Cigna in 1971. On the links, Caron is just a so-so golfer who at least enjoys the game, according to one co-worker who has shot some rounds with him. But at Cigna, Caron has a job to do and he works very hard to get it done. ``He's a very hard driver. He wants to get things accomplished _ he's not interested in just putting in his time,'' Natan said. To date, Caron says things are going well and the systems division is headed in the right direction. A staff of eight reports directly to Caron, who in turn reports to the corporation's chief financial officer James Stewart, who reports directly to Chief Executive Officer Wilson ``Bill'' Taylor. Top-down support has continued to grow within Cigna over the last five years, Caron said. ``Both Bill and Jim tend to bring to the effort a sense of the long-term role that technology can play,'' which is necessary because no project can happen overnight, he says. ``The lead times are so huge that you have to be able to have that vision of what could be, and they both have it as well as the group heads. We're blessed with that.'' <<<>>> Title : Exec puts DB2 in OS/2 rin Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: 1ibmdata Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: SAN FRANCISCO _ Users may soon have a new window on IBM's DB2 relational database management system, and its name is OS/2 Extended Edition, an IBM official said last week. ``We are getting into a world where the only window [on DB2] is in OS/2, mainframe or otherwise,'' said Jnan Dash, manager of IBM's Data Systems Strategy in Santa Teresa, Calif., during a speech at Database '89 here. Dash also told his audience of 200 MIS managers that IBM's Systems Application Architecture will provide a seamless interface to DB2, no matter what the user's hardware platform. When IBM announced transparency between multiple DB2 databases on mainframes last October, it also announced its intention of delivering the same transparency within other SAA environments. Now, another IBM manager explained last week, OS/2 Extended's database manager will be the vehicle through which that transparency will be provided to end users. The QMF facility in OS/2 now allows DB2 queries to be sent up to the mainframe, IBM said, but the process is carried out by a series of deliberate steps. Within two years, those steps will be ``hidden'' from end users, and queries will be made automatically to DB2 systems on remote mainframes, IBM said. In this way, DBMS updates will be managed at a small number of central sites, while access to the updated data will be provided throughout the network. OS/2 development is being coordinated through an IBM laboratory planning council with DB2 development, Dash explained. That means that OS/2 Extended will support requests to remote DB2 systems through IBM users' Systems Network Architecture networks. ``The OS/2 Database Manager will be viewed as the micro DB2,'' Dash said. ``The design points were that it would mimic DB2.'' Custom-made Dash said the point of having a separate DBMS for each environment _ micro, mid-range and mainframe _ is that each DBMS must be ``sized'' to the user environment. For microcomputers, the local DBMS would be the OS/2 Database Manager; for mid-size systems, the SQL/DS relational DBMS; and for mainframes, DB2 itself. IBM used the three-day DB Expo to outline its long-range intentions for the DB2 product line, including strengthened security and management controls, more auditing facilities, enhanced performance measurements and the accumulation of all objects in a global directory. IBM is also considering the release of DB2 tools and utilities to aid in tuning the distributed network. Until now, IBM has left the development of DB2 utilities and tools to third-party developers. Arms to managers Dash said that future versions of DB2 would arm MIS managers with far greater control over the increasingly distributed DB2 architecture. He said his laboratory would provide staged levels of distributed facilities in future releases of DB2. Colin J. White, director of DB/ Expo, said IBM has chosen to differentiate its product from other DBMSs by siding with MIS concerns. ``Some of the other DBMS vendors have said they'll provide distributed capability first and add the controls later,'' White said. ``But IBM believes you can't move to a distributed architecture without putting all the managerial controls in place.'' Managed or not, the complexities inherent in a distributed DBMS environment could prove to be a real headache for MIS managers, said Chris Date, executive vice-president of Codd & Date Consulting Group. ``The weakest part of security is the network itself,'' Date told the DB/Expo audience. ``And the only protection against that is encryption.'' Dash said IBM is also exploring new technologies to enhance DB2, among them expert system techniques. ``We want to use the relational model as a base, while adding some rules and inferential modeling on top of it,'' Dash said. Parallel processing is also on the horizon, allowing DB2 tasks to be cut into manageable pieces, he added. By Jean S. Bozman, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Glimpse of AT&T's net fut Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: 1unmatt Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: AT&T was the focal point of a tangled web of network management links and alliances last week that left users closer to _ but by no means within grasping distance of _ the multivendor system of their dreams. AT&T introduced Accumaster Integrator, the first solid product for managing other vendors' systems via its Unified Network Management Architecture. The AT&T system is said to have unique troubleshooting capabilities, as well as sophisticated graphics and windowing features that are still conspicuously missing from IBM's Netview. However, the initial product will only be able to collect alarm and alert information from other vendors' systems _ a much-criticized limitation of IBM's multivendor interface, Netview/PC. Integrator is significant because it is the first visible piece of UNMA for users to evaluate, according to Stan Welland, director of corporate telecommunica- tions for General Electric Co. ``It's good to see another horse in the race, and at least now you can see what the horse looks like,'' he said. The fact that Integrator ``has a lot more in the way of visual displays and graphic capabilities vs. Netview'' may convince GE to use UNMA to complement, if not replace, IBM's system, Welland said. GE already has several Netview installations in its data centers and is considering standardization on IBM's product. But the Integrator's sophisticated graphics may be one feature that the company could ``want badly enough to justify getting a second network management system,'' Welland reported. AT&T also introduced the first UNMA-based application, Accunet T1.5 Information Manager, which is said to present users with alarms, performance and configuration data about AT&T's T1 service in graphic form. Availability is slated for April. AT&T plans gradually to bring management of its other network offerings under the UNMA umbrella, said AT&T spokesman Donald Keller. Another key Integrator feature, the Correlator, reportedly makes use of an Informix Software, Inc. network configuration database to pinpoint the source of a problem. For example, a T1 switch malfunction could affect communications on a variety of devices using that link (see diagram below). Accumaster Integrator would receive alerts from the network management system responsible for each device, correlate that information with network configuration data and arrive at the most likely source of the trouble. The user can then invoke the network management system responsible as a window on the Integrator's screen to initiate a test or reconfigure traffic around the fault. Through Cincom Systems, Inc.'s Net/Master UNMA, the Integrator can also correlate fault data from both the physical and logical side of the network, according to Walter Thomas, Cincom's director of management products. Net/Master UNMA, also announced last week, is said to provide the Integrator with IBM Systems Network Architecture network alerts and alarms, generated either by Cincom's Net/Master or IBM's Netview. Because AT&T provides no Netview/PC connection for its product, users do not have the choice of having alerts and alarms pass in the other direction _ from AT&T network offerings to IBM's Netview. Some 18 vendors, including Infotron Systems, Inc., Digital Communications Associates, Inc., Racal-Milgo and Cincom, announced plans to develop links between their network management systems and Accumaster Integrator by the year's end. With the exception of Cincom's Net/Master UNMA, however, none of these products will make use of Network Management Protocol (NMP), which is AT&T's official full-function, multivendor connection to UNMA. Instead, the products use a limited, NMP-compatible link, which was designed specifically to carry alerts and which ``does not lend itself to additional functions we expect to roll out in the future,'' Keller said. Such functions will include security management and analysis of performance areas such as traffic and error statistics, he indicated. While AT&T published the NMP specifications last year, it does not expect support from other vendors until the OSI/Network Management Forum finalizes its network management communications standard and NMP migrates to that standard. That should happen sometime next year, Keller said. In the meantime, GE still has ``the same overriding issue [with UNMA] as we have with Netview: Who writes the interface software for our really mixed vendor network?'' Welland noted. The firm is choosing a companywide network management system and cannot wait for OSI standards to firm up, he added. By Elisabeth Horwitt, CW staff <<<>>> Title : DEC-Apple deal a dud? Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: 1macvax2 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: CUPERTINO, Calif. _ At the one-year anniversary of the Apple Computer, Inc. and Digital Equipment Corp. alliance, both firms' corporate customers are finding little reason to celebrate. Apple and DEC entered into a vague partnership in a glittering ceremony presided over by Apple Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Sculley and DEC President Kenneth Olsen at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco in January 1988. DEC and Apple executives pledged to address significant user concerns, including file sharing between the two systems and the ability to access VAX databases more efficiently from Apple's Macintosh computers. Today, the plans seem like nothing more than empty promises. ``I am very disappointed, especially in light of how much noise was made in the beginning,'' said David Newman, an assistant vice-president of information systems at Citibank N.A. in New York. ``I had expected products from Digital to connect the Macs to VAXs. ``We've been hard on Digi- tal,'' Newman continued. ``We wanted one-stop shopping, and we aren't getting it.'' User complaints are myriad. Since Apple and DEC's strategic alliance was forged in early 1988, neither company has introduced Mac-to-VAX connectivity products. Longtime DEC customers have been left to sort through a long list of third-party products with little guidance from either DEC or Apple. DEC, especially, has been reticent to endorse certain third-party products, they noted. So far, DEC and Apple have agreed that SQL will be the correct interface between Mac applications and relational databases residing on a VAX. Little more in the way of tangible guidelines have emerged. Apple officials cautioned that products may not be forthcoming from the alliance, contradicting an expectation held by many users from the original announcement. ``We're not going to introduce products, necessarily,'' an Apple spokeswoman said. Rather, the outcome of the alliance will be better guidelines for third-party product development, she noted. ``We fully expect to continue working to integrate Macs as effectively as possible in a VAX environment,'' a DEC spokesman said. ``What form that takes is still subject to further development.'' The spokesman added that the companies released a list of specifications for developers at a meeting last August. ``We never outlined specific products,'' he said. Better development guidelines for third parties are of little comfort to users who would prefer to buy DEC-created products. ``Certain third-party solutions are OK, but others aren't,'' said Bo Pitzker, associate systems analyst for Pacific Bell in San Francisco. ``Even with those that are considered leaders in Mac-to-VAX connectivity, it's been a real zoo story. I'm very cautious.'' Also, users say they are tired of waiting. They need guidelines today for connecting Macs to VAXs _ solutions that will be as viable tomorrow as they are today. ``I don't care if the local DEC salesman is well-versed and tells me this is good software to integrate my Macs if DEC as a company isn't behind it,'' said J. Roy Davis, director of systems operations for Hughes Aircraft Co. ``There aren't stable standards in this world that allow you to buy any products just because they conform. If I don't have DEC and Apple working third parties and each other, I'm going to be left holding the bag.'' Users said they are discouraged by signs that the two companies have drifted apart and that the relationship may never yield anything more concrete. In the year since the announcement, DEC has agreed to act as OEM for MS-DOS-based personal computers from Tandy Corp. with its VAXs and has struck an informal reference selling deal with Compaq Computer Corp. Furthermore, DEC recently introduced its own desktop systems that will compete directly with the high end of Apple's Macintosh line. For its part, Apple appears to be concentrating on Mac-to-IBM mainframe connectivity, which offers the company a greater marketing opportunity. By Julie Pitta, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Slow start-up for graphic Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: 1super Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: The roses weren't the only things in bloom last spring. In quick succession, industry newcomers Ardent Computer Corp. and Stellar Computer, Inc. hosted coming-out parties for the graphics supercomputer, a powerful graphics-intensive machine that promised to quickly hurdle the high-end workstation market and make the personal supercomputer a reality. At first blush, it seemed like they would succeed. Eye-popping graphics and processing power that carved through the most compute-intensive applications made the single-user machines a natural _ and welcome _ bridge between high-end workstations and minisupercomputers. But almost a year later, the seeds planted by the companies have yet to reach fruition, largely slowed by an industry unable to fully exploit the machines' explosive potential. Networking bottlenecks, a lack of wide-ranging software applications and premium price tags have bridled the market's growth. The machines are getting out, but at such low volume and narrow profit margins that some analysts predict the niche will disappear before it has a chance to survive. ``They've shown we have the horsepower to do sophisticated graphical applications, but the question remains, what do we do with these images once we have them displayed?'' said Ajit Kapoor, senior vice-president for electronic imaging systems at Cap International, Inc., a research firm in Norwell, Mass. The machines are targeted at users who require high-speed number crunching and high-performance graphics capabilities as well as visualization. Research scientists in the fields of computational physics, chemistry, fluid dynamics and mechanical computer-aided engineering quickly lined up for a peek. At the University of Lowell, for example, a trio of Stellar Graphics Supercomputer Model GS1000s are used for computer-aided chemistry and computer-aided design [CW, Dec. 5]. ``We've increased our computation speed nearly 30 times,'' boasted Tom Costello, vice-president of technology acquisition and planning at the Lowell, Mass., institution. But their use is not limited to the scientific field. Computer Graphics Laboratories, Inc. (CGL) in Roslyn, N.Y., uses Ardent's Titan graphics supercomputers to help produce animated feature-length films. The Titans replace a roomful of equipment, said J. J. Larrea, CGL's vice-president of engineering. Graphics supercomputers appeal to users who cannot afford a minisupercomputer but need that performance. However, the cost of running applications on a system up to 20 times faster than the most sophisticated personal computer was dear, typically around $100,000. It was still less than half the price for minisupers offering comparable computing power, but the budget pinch could be extreme. Stellar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John William Poduska noted this at the introduction of the GS1000 last March when he promised a machine twice as powerful but priced the same as the $104,000 GS1000 within a year. That tempting follow-on has yet to be announced. Meanwhile, users wait. John Ranelletti, deputy director of the computer department at the University of California Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has two Stellars for prototypes but said he is unlikely to get any more until the price comes down. Another growing pain graphics supercomputer vendors face is the networking traffic jam the machines sometimes create. One machine may require 600M byte/sec. in bandwidth, while the typical connection between a CPU and graphics terminal on a local-area network averages about 125K byte/sec. But this knot has begun to untangle. Although products based on the Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) are not expected until about 1992, the FDDI's 100M bit/sec. data transfer rate will leave the 10M bit/sec. Ethernet rate in the dust. Additionally, the High-Speed Channel _ a point-to-point channel standard that its authors claim can hit peak data transfer rates of 1,600M bit/sec. _ is expected to be put up for public review by the American National Standards Institute in the near future [CW, Sept. 5]. Server relief Immediate relief comes in the form of Stellar's $95,000 CS1000 server, which was announced in September and is now available; Ardent announced a similar server in October and expects to ship the $98,000 machine this quarter. Additionally, Marlboro, Mass.-based start-up Epoch Systems, Inc. has recently introduced a server for the technical workstation market that promises up to 150G bytes and could go a long way in greasing the networking wheels. A scarcity of software also exists, and vendors desperately need applications to be ported to their machines. ``The result is that even where graphics supercomputers are in existence, there is still light use [being made] of them,'' said Bob Trier, director of technical programs at the Minneapolis-based Research Consortium, Inc. The first place vendors often look is in the academic world. Academic use accounted for 30% of Stellar's first-year sales, a spokeswoman said, but a more real-life scenario would shift heavily towards industrial uses. Although firms such as Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Wavefront Technologies have jumped on the bandwagon, the comparatively slim number of graphics supercomputer users may sway developers to head for the more lucrative PC software market. Consequently, Ardent and Stellar have gone to lengthy measures to get software programs for their machines to run. ``They're all but giving them away,'' said Dick Shaffer, president of Technologic Partners, a high-technology publishing firm in New York. Vendors still have ground to cover. ``They must prove to users what is so super about these so-called super devices,'' Kapoor added. ``When all the pieces are together _ the network solutions, the software availability _ the market will explode, but for now it's slow.'' Positive future But the future looks promising. Ardent President Allen H. Michels said recently that his firm has shipped 199 units since the Titan began shipping in late May, although only 120 were expected to go out the door. Still, Michels confessed, ``It's an incredibly competitive market.'' Stellar reported last month that it had manufactured 200 of its GS1000s, 120 of which have been installed at customer locations and the rest either loaned out or used internally. As a result, the firm generated $12.7 million in revenue in only six months of volume shipments. ``Obviously, our market isn't as big as that for $50,000 workstations,'' said Ian Edmonds, vice-president of marketing at Stellar. Although the figures did not meet the $16 million to $18 million in revenue it had projected, Edmonds said the figure is respectable. While admitting that Stellar may not make much on each sale, Edmonds said, ``the important thing is to gain market share.'' A large amount of support for graphics supercomputers has come from the National Science Foundation. It has called for government funding of graphics computing to the tune of $2.5 billion by the early 1990s. The open Unix operating systems should also help the machines' acceptance. ``Unix makes it possible for multiple platforms to cooperate in getting the job done, so if it is not the current great equalizer, it is the eventual great equalizer,'' Trier added. ``The functions and acceptance of Unix is growing, and workstation users are leading that.'' West Coast Correspondent J. A. Savage and Senior West Coast Correspondent Julie Pitta contributed to this report. By James Daly, CW staff <<<>>> Title : FBI expected to throw boo Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: vcaper Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: The U.S. Justice Department appears close to filing felony charges against Robert T. Morris Jr., the 23-year-old suspected hacker accused of creating the worm program that caused the shutdown of some 6,200 computers systems on the Internet network in November. ``The truth is, they are going to prosecute,'' said Thomas Guidoboni, the Washington, D.C., attorney hired by Morris. He added that he expects felony charges to be filed against his client within a matter of weeks. However, according to a report last week in The New York Times, the U.S. Attorney's office in Syracuse, N.Y., which is heading the grand jury probe into the worm attack, and Justice Department officials are at odds on how to handle the case. According to the Times report, the U.S. Attorney's office reportedly recommended charg- ing Morris, who briefly attended Cornell University as a computer science graduate student, with a misdemeanor in exchange for limited immunity and information about the incident. But Federal Bureau of Investigation and Justice Department officials are adamantly opposed to plea bargaining in this instance and are pushing for a more severe punishment as a deterrent, according to the article. Felony frustration ``I would prefer not to do either one [misdemeanor or felony], and they haven't made an offer of either one,'' Guidoboni said. ``I have already made it clear to [the Justice Department] that I am not interested in talking about felonies.'' Guidoboni speculated that the U.S. Attorney's office in Syracuse may be considering the lesser charge because it may lack sufficient evidence to make a felony charge stick. ``We have no announcement to make and no comment on the investigation,'' said Frederick J. Scullin Jr., U.S. Attorney for Northern District of New York, who is heading up the grand jury investigation in Syracuse into the incident. ``It has been time involved; there has been a lot of investigating to do, and it is still going on.'' Calls to the Justice Department were not returned. ``If they allow a plea bargain, they are making a serious mistake,'' said Robert Campbell, president of Advanced Information Management, Inc. in Woodbridge, Va. ``They will send out the wrong message that people can get away with this sort of thing. I think that it is difficult enough with the existing framework of laws to exact punishment; plea bargaining will water down a case that is already not the strongest,'' he said. ``It is clear to me that the FBI is pursuing prosecution to the fullest,'' said John McAfee, president of the Computer Virus Industry Association. McAfee said that the Santa Clara, Calif.-based trade group had been contacted by the FBI for assistance in compiling an elaborate cost analysis of the incident. The trade group calculated that the worm infection ultimately caused $100 million in lost computing time and in manpower to detect and eradicate the worm. By Michael Alexander, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Correction Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: visacore Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: F No, there is no word ``creeze'' in the dictionary. Above is the letter F, which in a production foul-up last week was usurped by the letter C in our page 1 story on Visa U.S.A., Inc.'s credit card network operations. We were as surprised as anyone to see the mystery word show up on Monday morning, considering that page 1 undergoes rigorous scrutiny _ in fact, every member of our staff gets a proof copy before it is signed off. In this case, a misread instruction at the printer resulted in the wrong letter being used. There's nothing like a disaster to prompt a solution, and we've since implemented a method that should prevent a reoccurrence. <<<>>> Title : Wang wields new high-end Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: wanghigh Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Wang Laboratories, Inc. officially set out for the big time last week with the introduction of a high-end minicomputer and associated peripherals and software options designed for core data processing operations. But observers said Wang should stick to its own customer base, in which it can turn a nice profit by upgrading users to the VS10000, instead of shooting for mainframe-class business. ``I laugh when I think of these minicomputer companies going up against IBM,'' said Barry Bosak, an analyst at Robert Fleming Securities Ltd. Nonetheless, the company has positioned its offering against the low-end IBM 3090 and said it intends to snatch new customers with it. To show that it is off to a fast start, Wang trotted out a number of users that have already bought the system. But they were all previous Wang computer users. The early users were full of praise for the new system, which they said gives them the big performance boost they have been seeking. One customer has already shifted into production mode with his VS10000, and two others who are testing the system said they have encountered only minor glitches. It's a winner At Scottsdale Insurance Co. in Scottsdale, Ariz., the recently installed VS10000 has been declared a winner, according to Ronald Pieper, vice-president of data processing. Pieper said the company runs a nightly batch job to update its master file of insurance policies. It typically required seven hours to perform on the VS7310. The same batch job took two hours on the VS10000, Pieper noted. ``It's almost anticlimactic,'' said David Briezy, director of MIS at Admiral Cruises in Miami, where a VS10000 was installed at the end of last year. ``It came in and passed all the diagnostics and tests with a few burps and hiccups. Now, we're running our accounting, purchasing and Pace [Wang's database management system] and [are also supporting] the programming staff.'' Briezy and other users said they are impressed with the raw performance of the system. Depending on the application environment, the VS10000 can offer up to four times the performance of Wang's previous high-end system, the VS7000 series, which runs at an estimated 3 million instructions per second (MIPS). That performance boost can be achieved for about 1.7 times the cost of the VS7000. The air-cooled VS10000, designed for a computer room, will be offered in three different configurations, which differ primarily in CPU performance. Prices range from $395,000 to $670,000. Wang does not provide MIPS estimates but instead explained the CPU performance differences with internal results from a benchmark originally done at U.S. Steel Corp. (now USX Corp.). Based on that benchmark, the low-end VS10000 Model 50 would be given a relative performance rating of 1. On that scale, the mid-range Model 75 is rated at 1.25 and the high-end Model 100 is rated at 1.61. Caching controller Along with the VS10000, Wang introduced a storage controller that has a caching capability, a feature typically found in mainframe environments. The controller will support another product, a 1G-byte disk drive. The controller, which can support up to four of these drives, sells for $19,000. A 1G-byte drive will be offered for $25,000. Wang released a storage cabinet that will accommodate up to 16 of the 8-in. 1G-byte storage platters. The cabinet will allow a user to maintain more than 17G bytes of data in a 6-foot enclosure. The software product announcements also testified to Wang's hopes of moving into DP environments. Instead of offering departmental or office tools, Wang introduced software options to increase the system's availability, upgrade its security and monitor its performance. Enhanced System Access Control, for example, will be offered as an optional security package to beef up the VS operating system. This product includes new encryption features for controlling access and protecting data and has a starting price of $2,500. The VS Extended Data Management System (XDMS) is said to offer improved ways of setting up indexed files for quick access. In addition, it reportedly provides a roll-forward recovery feature that allows a user to quickly restore the indexed files after a system crash. XDMS' starting price is $2,500. The total package should be looked at as a positive step for Wang's customers, according to John McCarthy, director of professional systems research at Forrester Research, Inc. ``This is telling the customers the VS is alive and well,'' McCarthy said. ``I think it can be very profitable for them.'' By Rosemary Hamilton, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Computer to determine amo Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: bias Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: General Motors Corp. has settled a 5-year-old racial discrimination lawsuit by having compensation determined by an unbiased third party: a computer system. Under the conditions of a preliminary agreement reached with the plaintiffs last week, GM, without admitting guilt, has conceded that its employee-appraisal system has ``hampered the equitable awarding of pay increases and promotions to black employees,'' a GM spokeswoman said. To resolve the dilemma, a computer modeling system will calculate what type of compensation an employee should receive based on factors including education, experience and the amount of time the individual has been with the corporation. This is the first time a computer has been used to determine relief resulting from a lawsuit, said Dennis James, an attorney for thousands of GM employees represented under the class-action suit. So far, GM has agreed to pay $3 million to 3,800 past and current employees affected by alleged racial bias but could be expected to pay as much as $50 million in additional compensation, according to James. Much of the compensation will be determined by the computer monitoring system. ``After months of negotiations, we had to work out something that would assure fairness in the future,'' James said. ``With this system, it's not just a payoff where you wave good-bye and then they go do it again.'' Monitoring expectations GM has more than 100 facilities with thousands of different job descriptions and expectations that it must monitor. Bias aside, people cannot be expected to fairly calculate the huge mathematical equation that will assess what type of promotion or raise an employee should receive, James said. After compiling personnel data, the system will compare the promotions and salaries white workers are receiving at a particular moment and then apply those factors to what black employees are receiving. The system will help determine if bias exists by using the statistical formula, James said. ``And if they missed [compensating blacks] by a significant amount, [odds are] better than 95% it was not just by chance,'' he said. The results of the computations will be monitored by the plaintiffs' attorneys and GM, James said. A GM spokeswoman would not specify details regarding the antibias system. The preliminary agreement will not become final until after a fairness hearing is held in about two months, the spokeswoman said. By William Brandel, CW staff <<<>>> Title : DCA plays the field Author : Elisabeth Horwit Source : CW Comm FileName: sideman Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Digital Communications Associates, Inc. apparently intends to have its Open Network Management System (ONMS) play in everybody's ballpark. Last Monday, one day before it announced a software link to AT&T's Unified Network Management Architecture, DCA announced a joint agreement to integrate its system with Meridian Network Controller, from AT&T's archrival, Northern Telecom, Inc. DCA and Northern Telecom reportedly are the first vendors to announce plans to integrate their respective management systems using Common Management Information Services/Protocol, an Open Systems Interconnect Draft International Standard for data exchange among network management systems. The resulting product will ``provide the ability to manage Northern Telecom's PBX network along with our 9000 T1 backbone in an integrated, coherent fashion,'' said Joe Rosenthal, DCA's president of strategic planning. Initial development work will focus on fault management functions such as transfer of alarms and trouble ticketing, according to Ian Sugarbroad, Northern Telecom's director of network technology. The co-developers also plan a feature, similar to AT&T's Correlator, that ``lets the user see where the problem is and its severity,'' even when several sources report the same problem, Sugarbroad said. Future development work will focus on other network management areas such as configuration management and incorporating more of the two vendors' product lines into the system, he added. DCA has already announced a link to IBM's Netview/PC interface, as well as intentions to support Digital Equipment Corp.'s Enterprise Management Architecture. ELISABETH HORWITT <<<>>> Title : AT&T's Open Look support Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: rip Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: NEW YORK _ After failing to stir up excitement among software developers, AT&T's Open Look suffered its latest blow last week as its closest supporters distanced themselves from the graphical user interface. At a briefing here last week, Unix International, Inc. backed off from supporting Open Look, while AT&T conceded the interface would definitely not be bundled with the next release of Unix System V. Many analysts concurred last week that Open Look's days are numbered. John McCarthy, director of professional systems research at Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research, Inc., predicted that the Open Software Foundation's (OSF) OSF/ Motif will be the standard interface in the Unix world and that ``Open Look will become a great trivia question.'' George Schussel, president of Digital Consulting, Inc. in Andover, Mass., agreed, saying, ``Two or three years from now, Open Look will have disappeared.'' Although many software developers remain undecided about which, if any, Unix-based user interfaces they will develop applications for, most have already begun developing for Presentation Manager and IBM and Microsoft Corp.'s OS/2. When these vendors start developing for Unix, the easiest port will be OSF/Motif, which shares Presentation Manager's look and feel, McCarthy said. Defeat in the graphical interface area does not necessarily spell defeat for Unix System V, however. McCarthy said although this setback will put more pressure on AT&T to be ``more market savvy,'' it will not impact AT&T's Unix business. Harder hit will be Sun Microsystems, Inc., which will have to support ``an Open Look that looks a lot more like Presentation Manager,'' he claimed. AT&T first began backing off from its unconditional support of Open Look several weeks ago when it began saying that Open Look might not be bundled with Unix System V Release 4, as originally planned. Last week, Robert Kavner, president of AT&T's Data Systems Group, said that it would not be included but would be offered separately. Also, Donald Herman, organizing chairman of Unix International, said that the consortium is evaluating other interfaces and is not necessarily committed to Open Look. Herman said that Unix International would possibly announce its preference within the next few weeks. ``If Unix International members feel they would like a particular tool kit with a choice of look and feel, I suggest Larry [Dooling, president of AT&T's Unix software division] listen,'' Kavner said. Tom Mace, Unix International's director of marketing and promotions, said although there is no turning back from supporting Open Look, the group will discuss the subject of user interface. By Amy Cortese, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Unix group shows form, no Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: uinews Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: NEW YORK _ Unix International, Inc. last week revealed some long-awaited details of its operations. The group, which is structured by levels of bureaucracy, will advise AT&T on the development and licensing of Unix System V. The group announced its intent to form more than three months ago, along with AT&T's statement that it would spin off its software operations into a separate business dubbed the Unix Software Operation. The separation of AT&T's software from its hardware operations will take place gradually this year. Both actions are aimed at appeasing licensees of AT&T's Unix operating system. The recent moves are long in coming, analysts said, and will influence future releases of Unix System V more so than Release 4.0, which is due in the second half of this year. The Open Software Foundation (OSF), in comparison, has moved swiftly in fulfilling its objectives, including specifying a graphical user interface. Robert Kavner, president of AT&T's Data Systems Group, said there was a natural market need for Unix International, and, in a reference to OSF, said it was not a ``made market requirement.'' There are three tiers of membership, ranging from principal members, who pay $500,000 annually, general members paying $100,000, and associate members paying $10,000. Membership privileges are granted according to membership class. Of the 45 members of Unix International, principal members include Amdahl Corp., AT&T, Control Data Corp., Fujitsu Ltd., NCR Corp., NEC Corp., OKI Electric Industries Co., Olivetti USA, Prime Computer, Inc., Sun Microsystems, Inc. and Unisys Corp. By Amy Cortese, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Leading edge sells for re Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: leadedge Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: NEWTON, Mass. _ Leading Edge Products, Inc., one of the first companies to capitalize on the wave of Asian clones of the IBM Personal Computer, will be changing hands soon, and its founder, Michael Shane, will pursue other interests. Shane, who once sold wigs and blue jeans, has publicly claimed that the expense and hassles of his ongoing legal battles with Mitsubishi Electric Co. have spurred the sale of the once bustling clone distributor. Mitsubishi supplied the original Leading Edge computers, which are now made by Daewoo America International Corp. PC Systems, a Riviera Beach, Fla., microcomputer dealership owned by Stewart Fason, will reportedly pay $921,000 for Leading Edge. A Leading Edge computer division executive would not confirm the selling price of the company. Fason met with Leading Edge dealers in Chicago late last week and said he will retain the Leading Edge name on the computers, saying that the name is a major draw for customers. For instance, the Cordata Systems machine also manufactured by Daewoo ``is every bit as good as this one, but this one sells [at a ratio of] 20-to-1 over them,'' he said. Aaron Goldberg, an analyst at International Data Corp., a market research firm in Framingham, Mass., said that the name still carries strong positive connotations, many of which stem from a favorable review of the computer in Consumer Reports magazine several years ago. Goldberg said Shane may have chosen a good time to leave Leading Edge. ``Rather than change his margins and the way he did business, he rode it as far as it would go and has left it now,'' he said. Under Shane's guidance, Leading Edge became a major player in the clone marketplace. ``At one point during 1987, we estimate they had somewhere around 3% to 4% of the [PC] market,'' Goldberg said. Sales rose to $200 million in 1988. While the computers were popular with users because of their high quality and reasonable prices, dealers were not always pleased with the company's tactics, which included insisting that dealers pay up front before orders were shipped. Also, legal trouble with Mitsubishi began after a feud over price cuts in the industry, and Leading Edge began buying its computers from Daewoo, which makes the computers in South Korea. But the lack of an early entry in the marketplace of PCs based on Intel Corp.'s 80286 chip hurt the firm, Goldberg said, as did the costly lawsuit against Mitsubishi. The company dropped in size through attrition and layoffs from roughly 200 a year ago to 90 to 100 employees now. Fason said Leading Edge workers located in Massachusetts would not be retained. ``All I bought was the trademark. I didn't buy any physical fixtures or liabilities,'' he said. However, Fason said he has agreed to ``take care of dealers so they don't wind up with nothing.'' By Alan J. Ryan, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Hopes for academic merger Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: cause Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: A proposed merger between the two major professional associations concerned with computing and higher education has collapsed. Cause and Educom began negotiating a merger of the two organizations last April, but spreading discontent among Cause members at its annual meeting in Nashville in November spurred the group's leaders to rethink the coupling. Officially, the Cause board of directors stated that it ``did not do as much work as necessary to demonstrate to our membership the many advantages of a merger.'' At the Nashville meeting, it was clear that many Cause members felt their annual conference would simply get swallowed by the Educom group, which traditionally has more than twice as many attendees at its annual meeting. Cause represents those in the administrative side of campus computing, while Educom focuses on the academic and technical computing environment. The two groups have traditionally been at odds on many technology issues on campus. Kenneth King, head of Educom, expressed disappointment at the merger collapse, saying that his organization was enthusiastic about the proposed link. ``There are understandable tensions between the two factions on campus, and my suspicion is that those tensions caused the collapse,'' King said. Jane Ryland, president of Cause, said, ``It would have been a shotgun wedding with reluctant in-laws. It's better to let the families get to know each other through more cooperative initiatives.'' By Glenn Rifkin, CW staff <<<>>> Title : News shorts Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: short206 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: From the halls of justice If you still have it, it could not have been stolen. That was the bottom line of a Finnish municipal court ruling that threw out theft-of-data allegations against four businessmen and a former computer operator. The ruling, which upset some members of Finland's MIS community, said that while the defendants could be convicted of stealing $180 worth of cassette tapes, they could not be found guilty of copying the data on the tapes _ valuable client information of the Sampo Oy insurance company in Turku, Finland _ in conjunction with a plan to buy out the firm. The court said that since Sampo still had the data, it was not stolen. Contractors must say `no' Vendors seeking U.S. government contracts valued at $25,000 or more must certify that they will maintain a drug-free workplace, according to a governmentwide regulation issued last week. Contractors must establish drug-free workplace policies, notify the government of any employee convicted of a drug crime and impose sanctions. The regulation pertains to all types of contracts _ including those for computer hardware, software and services _ awarded on or after March 18. Long-line rates keep falling Continuing the domino effect brought on by AT&T's series of rate cuts last year, MCI Communications Corp. slashed its Terrestrial Digital Services (TDS) rates last week. For a typical 300-mile circuit, users of MCI's 1.5M bit/sec. T1 service will see a 26% rate reduction, while the 45M bit/sec. TDS 45 rate will be reduced by 9%, MCI said. The tariffs, which are already in effect, ``put us in the competitive arena with AT&T,'' an MCI spokesman said. He refused to comment on U.S. Sprint Communications Co.'s recent reduction of as much as 48% off its T1 service. Also last week, MCI expanded the range of its TDS 45 service from just three Southern cities to 40 cities nationwide. In addition, the company announced a multiyear, multimillion-dollar contract to provide a high-speed international data network to Cray Research, Inc. 9370 and Token-Ring head east The first shipments of IBM 9370s and Token-Ring networks may soon find their way into the Hungarian computer market. Officials of IBM's Hungarian affiliate _IBM Magyarorszag Kft. _ recently said businesses in the Eastern European country will be able to acquire Token-Ring products and those 9370s that fall within the performance guidelines set by the multination Coordinating Committee on Multilateral Export Controls, frequently known as COCOM. Former defense chief elected Frank C. Carlucci, former U.S. secretary of defense, surfaced in the communications world last week when he was appointed to the board of directors of Bell Atlantic Corp. Carlucci, who served in government posts for four U.S. presidents, also is a director of Ashland Oil Corp. and Westinghouse Electric Co. Others recently appointed to the Bell Atlantic board are James Howard Gilliam Jr., senior vice-president of Beneficial Corp., and Bell Atlantic general counsel Robert A. Levetown. Apple graded A-1 Apple Computer, Inc.'s commercial paper program received an A-1 rating _ just below the top mark of A-1 plus _ from Standard & Poor's Corp. last week. The high mark was issued during the week following Apple's own projections of continued but slower profit growth. The grade was based on the company's strong profit margins, lack of competition from clone makers and its successful transition from the education market to the business market, said Standard & Poor's analyst Martin Knoblowitz. The rating also reflects the risk that competitive pressure from IBM and IBM-compatible systems that make use of OS/2 will cut into Apple's sales, Knoblowitz said. <<<>>> Title : Recast Mac II in the work Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: mac3 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: CUPERTINO, Calif. _ Apple Computer, Inc. is expected to introduce a slimmed-down, more powerful version of the Macintosh II in early March at Hannover Faire CeBIT '89, the massive annual European technology exposition. According to sources, the new Mac _ called the Macintosh IICX _ will be a three-slot version of the Mac II, half the slots available on other Mac II models. As a result, the base of the Mac IICX is smaller than previous versions of the Mac II, sources who have seen the system said. Apple officials declined to comment on the new system. Sources said the machine will be powered by a Motorola, Inc. 68030 microprocessor _ used in the Mac IIX introduced last September and the recently introduced Mac SE/30 _ running at a clock speed of 15.7 MHz. In addition, it will offer 2M bytes of random-access memory and a choice of a 40M- or 80M-byte hard disk drive. Mac II replacement? The new system will likely replace the Motorola 68020-based Mac II with Apple's business users, said corporate customers who asked not to be identified. Apple said it would like to standardize on the 68030, which offers a better platform for a multitasking version of the Mac operating system, expected to be released later this year. It may literally replace the Mac II as the entry-level model in that line. Industry watchers said they expect the Mac II, introduced in 1987, to be phased out by year's end. The Mac IICX ``has got a nice footprint,'' one corporate customer said. ``For the corporation, it really is the answer. You need the 68030 for multitasking, and very seldom do you use more than three expansion slots.'' ``How exciting this product will be will depend on the pricing,'' another corporate customer said. The Mac IICX will also feature Apple's Superdrive, a 1.4M-byte, high-density floppy drive that can read, write and format Microsoft Corp. MS-DOS and OS/2 disks. If Mac users use it with the Apple File Exchange utility, they can access and transfer MS-DOS and OS/2 files. Pricing of the system remains undisclosed. Apple opted to introduce the new Mac at the Hannover Faire to demonstrate its commitment to the European market, sources said. By Julie Pitta, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Applied Learning offers s Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: filler Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: A videotape on software renovation as an alternative to ongoing software maintenance is available from Applied Learning in Naperville, Ill. Software Renovation: Justifying the Cost is geared toward directors of MIS and information systems planning and managers of technical support and application development. The video discusses the reasons that ongoing maintenance and enhancement of existing systems are difficult, time-consuming and costly. It then presents the case for completely renovating software systems, an alternative often cost-justified by improving system quality and software productivity. The video is part of Applied Learning's Technology Management library of video and computer-based training products. The tape is about 45 minutes in length, and the rental cost is between $50 and $150 per month, depending on rental volume. Applied Learning is located at 1751 W. Diehl Road, Naperville, Ill. 60540. <<<>>> Title : Options to T1, T3 drive d Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: proteon Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: WESTBORO, Mass. _ A number of users have begun to consider using single-mode fiber optics as a less costly alternative to T1 and T3 services for tying together enterprisewide systems. Users can either run their own services over the cable or opt for a new breed of modems said to enable bypass of the local carriers. Proteon, Inc. last week introduced a single-mode fiber-optic modem said to do just that while also providing users with a way to integrate multimode and single-mode fiber into an enterprise network. Single-mode fiber features an extremely high bandwidth and is optimized for communications over distances greater than 10 km at speeds up to multiple gigahertz. Priced at $10,000 each, the P3282 modem extends the reach of Proteon's Pronet-80 80M bit/sec. multimode fiber-optic token-ring network over distances as great as 30 km without repeaters. The FX8400, a similar product released in November by Hyannis, Mass.-based Fibronics International, Inc., extends distances up to 40 km between nodes on its 100M bit/sec. Fiber Distributed Data Interface-based network. It costs $38,000. These products are targeted for use in metropolitan-area networks or campus environments. Users typically lease 1.544M bit/sec. T1 or 45M bit/sec. T3 lines to connect geographically dispersed sites. The telephone companies charge fees for these services, which involve point-to-point connections routed through the telephone company's central switching facilities. Users who prefer to maintain their own equipment often just want to obtain the physical media over which they can provide their own services, said Gregory Koss, a Fibronics product manager. In one version of this scenario, buildings can be connected on one shared single-mode fiber ring vs. having to install a series of separate, dedicated lines between two points, said Diane Rahe, a Proteon product manager. Users save money because there is no need to go through the switching center when using these modems, Rahe claimed. One obstacle is that the telephone companies do not like to supply only the physical media; they prefer to charge on a per-usage basis or by the bandwidth, Koss noted. Yet, it is possible to lease fiber lines from local carriers, Rahe said. The carriers have circled many major cities with single-mode fiber, much of which has gone unused, according to Proteon and Fibronics. In Los Angeles, for example, the telephone company installed a good deal of single-mode fiber only to find that its intended targets _ business voice systems _ do not need the bandwidth, said Hal Spurney, Fibronics' director of marketing. ``It turns out that it's the data people who need it for enterprise networking,'' he said. Still other users such as Boeing Computer Services (BCS) in Seattle are seeking alternative means of obtaining physical links between their sites. Bypassing the local carrier, BCS is in the process of negotiating right-of-way agreements that will enable it to lay its own fiber cable. By Patricia Keefe, CW staff <<<>>> Title : DEC extends its Ethernet Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: dectwist Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: LITTLETON, Mass. _ Digital Equipment Corp. last week stretched its IEEE 802.3 Ethernet support to encompass both IBM's shielded twisted-pair cable and the emerging Electronics Industries Association (EIA) building-wiring standard. At the same time, DEC hauled out the big blade to hack an average of 27.5% _ and as much as 45% _ off pricing for its bridge products. In addition, DEC extended its VAX-to-Cray Research, Inc. Cray gateway capabilities to include all VAX 8800, 6200 and 6300 systems, providing users with greater computational power for high-throughput environments. Previously, only the VAX 8250 could link to the Cray supercomputer. The extended wiring support reportedly enables users of workstations or personal computers linked to shielded twisted-pair to directly access DEC's Ethernet devices in a wiring closet. This access also allows these users to take advantage of DEC's Decnet/Open Systems Interconnect, VAX/VMS Services for MS-DOS and IBM 3270 terminal emulators without having to rewire their office or building. Pricing varies for the shielded twisted-pair Ethernet adapter. A $2,000 starter kit supports eight workstations. Components can be purchased separately for $200 to $750. Citing customer demand and lower product costs, DEC also announced price cuts ranging from 12% to 45% on six bridge products. <<<>>> Title : Sears EDI services offere Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: searsedi Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. _ A Sears, Roebuck and Co. subsidiary, which for years has been providing proprietary electronic data interchange (EDI) services for trading partners of the Sears Merchandise Group, is now making those services commercially available. In an interview last week, Gary Weis, president of Sears Communications Co., said the EDI services will be marketed to any industry segment that has a requirement in the ANSI X.12 EDI standard world. Kathryn Korostoff, an EDI analyst at market research firm International Data Corp. in Framingham, Mass., said the Sears announcement does not come as a surprise. ``They already have the network in place, so the incremental cost of offering additional services over the existing network would be relatively low, especially considering the potential to generate revenue,'' she said. Lucrative services Weis declined comment on any potential profits to be gained from the new EDI services, but Korostoff said other companies offering EDI services have found it to be lucrative. For instance, at GE Information Services in Rockville, Md., EDI service accounts for approximately 10% of the group's revenue, she said. Weis, who is also vice-president of data communications and software services for the newly formed Sears Technology Services, Inc. [CW, Jan. 30], said customers of Sears National Data Exchange Network proprietary EDI services were briefed late last month in Orlando, Fla., on the new services. The new service will begin with an 800-member base of users of the proprietary EDI services, Weis said. The X.12 EDI formats include standard formats for purchase orders, for example, Weis said. ``We had our own proprietary format for a number of years, which we used in exchanging purchase orders with our sources. Now, in addition to supporting the proprietary format, which we will continue to support over time, we are adding support of all the X.12 standard formats,'' he said. Weis said new customers will join the service through a team of Sears' EDI specialists in Arlington Heights. The company will soon begin a marketing campaign to attract new customers, he added. Sears Communications employs more than 400 people. Weis said that the firm has added new positions and that more will likely be added as the business continues to grow. By Alan J. Ryan, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Apollo makes graphics ent Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: graphic Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: CHELMSFORD, Mass. _ Apollo Computer, Inc. trotted out its long-promised entry into the year-old graphics supercomputer market last week, vowing to play catch-up quickly through a design that brings the power of reduced instruction set computing (RISC) to the machine's graphics engine. Although Silicon Graphics, Inc., Ardent Computer Corp., Stellar Computer, Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. began shipping functionally similar machines as early as last May, Apollo officials forecast rapid success for the Series 10000 Visualization System, or 10000VS, based on both the RISC engine and immediate inroads in Apollo's extensive installed base. ``We have the advantage in both technology and corporate profile,'' Vice-President of Product Marketing and Programs Michael A. Gallup said. The power of the Series 10000VS stems from Apollo's RISC-based Parallel Reduced Instruction Set Multiprocessor (PRISM) architecture, which was introduced last year with the Domain Series 10000 Personal Supercomputer [CW, March 7]. The 62-bit design yields an engine that can deliver 15 to 30 million instructions per second (MIPS) with one processor and up to 100 MIPS in a four-processor configuration. Because of the delay in getting the machine to market, analysts said they feel Apollo has a lot riding on the Series 10000VS. ``It's an important product because Apollo has lost momentum and is not on a lot of people's short lists anymore,'' said Vicki Brown, an analyst at Framingham, Mass.-based International Data Corp. ``If they can sell it, it should improve the firm's profitability because they should get a lot of margins out of this system.'' Graphics engine Apollo's key merchandising point for the machine _ which is slated to ship in March _ will be a much-touted RISC drawing engine that handles pixel-drawing tasks common to all applications. The graphics engine is tightly integrated with the main RISC CPUs, Apollo officials said, marking a departure from the traditional approach of using an independent rendering pipeline with fixed capabilities. Analysts viewed the machine as a welcome addition to Apollo's product family. ``Although Apollo has a troubled product strategy at its mid-range and low end, this machine is an excellent addition and is now the strongest part of their product line,'' said Robert G. Herwick, senior technology analyst at San Francisco-based market research firm Hambrecht & Quist, Inc. ``Unfortunately, it's at the top of their pyramid, which makes it a smaller market.'' Apollo may also face competition from Digital Equipment Corp.'s recently introduced Vaxstation 3520 and 3540 [CW, Jan. 16], which ``is DEC's first serious attempt at graphics and should do well in their installed base,'' Herwick added. Graphics supercomputers span the gap between high-end workstations and minisupercomputers, sporting exceptional graphics and processing power that cuts through the most compute-intensive jobs. Apollo said it expects the mechanical computer-aided engineering market to be a prime target for the machine and brought out several software developers that announced support in that area. An entry-level Series 10000VS configuration with 8M bytes of memory, a 348M-byte disk and a 19-in., 1,280-by-1,024-pixel color display is available with 40 or 80 planes of color. A 40-plane single-processor system begins at $94,900, while an 80-plane single-processor system starts at $104,900. By James Daly, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Compaq conquers $2B mark, Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: compearn Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: HOUSTON _ Avid acceptance of its recently announced laptop last week rocketed Compaq Computer Corp. past the $2 billion mark _ the first microcomputer company to enter that rarefied territory since Apple Computer, Inc. planted the flag. Revenue of $668 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31 marked a 55% increase over sales in the corresponding 1987 quarter. Net income for the quarter showed an even larger leap, up 88% to $92 million. For the year, Compaq netted a 69% revenue rise to $2.1 billion. Net income jumped 87% to $255 million. ``It was an excellent quarter, strong across the board,'' said Bruce Watts, an analyst at Needham & Co. ``It exceeded our expectations.'' However, he added, it did not exceed historical precedent. ``If you look back through the years,'' he said, ``it's not unusual to see up to 33% of Compaq's sales coming in the fourth quarter.'' Laptop, 386 desktops credited Compaq Chief Executive Officer Rod Canion credited the company's stellar showing largely to the warm market reception accorded to products that debuted in 1988: three Intel Corp. 80386-based desktop models and the Compaq SLT/286, a 14-pound 12-MHz laptop. ``Extremely high-quality products, a reputation for reliability and an exceptionally good relationship with its distribution channel'' have kept Compaq at the forefront of the microcomputer market, Watts claimed. Perhaps even more significant, he said, has been the company's consistent regard for timeliness. ``They made a decision early in the game: If you make timely announcements of new technology and ship the same day, you're going to do very well,'' Watts said. ``And it's worked out just that way.'' Meanwhile, a $26.4 million loss posted by San Jose, Calif.-based Wyse Technology served as a sharp reminder that the microcomputer sector is not an endless sunny side of the street. The company reported a quarterly revenue of $65.5 million, a 49% drop from revenue for last year's corresponding period. Wyse laid the loss at the door of falling revenue, steep price reductions announced in December, changes in inventory valuation and the high cost of restructuring operations. By Nell Margolis, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Stanford scraps racist-la Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: joke2 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: PALO ALTO, Calif. _ A Unix news service offering jokes _ some of which had racial and sexual overtones _ was taken away from Stanford University's academic users late last month amid cries of censorship. ``Some jokes were extremely offensive and were also extremely funny,'' said Joel Shurkin, a Stanford spokesman. He added that the university has been particularly sensitive about racial tension on campus in recent months. Jokes in the file that were potentially offensive were labeled as such. The file was reportedly developed by a Waterloo, Ontario, software consultant; attempts to contact the consultant by press time were unsuccessful. A call to restore file John McCarthy, a Stanford professor of computer science, is asking the university to restore the file, based on ``the tradition of academic freedom.'' McCarthy said he had 90 signatures on an electronic petition as of last week. Currently, if a Usenet user attempts to access the joke file, the file itself will not appear. Instead, there is a message from Ralph Gorin, director of academic information resources at Stanford, that reads in part, ``Jokes based on such stereotypes perpetuate racism, sexism and intolerance.'' Gorin refused to comment but said in a university-released statement that he did not feel his actions constituted censorship, that receiving the service was like receiving a magazine unsolicited in the mail and that he ``simply decided not to subscribe.'' Cliff Johnson, manager of capacity planning at the Stanford Data Center, added that the joke file ``wasted resources.'' ``That's malarkey,'' McCarthy said. ``There are 500 news groups; they removed one.'' The furor was reportedly kicked off last year by a student from MIT who lodged a protest about an ethnic joke to the service's creator in Waterloo, according to McCarthy. By J.A. Savage <<<>>> Title : AT&T price caps vote held Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: caps Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: WASHINGTON, D.C. _ Dennis Patrick put AT&T on hold last week while the Federal Communications Commission chairman attempts to make peace with Democratic legislators who are skeptical of his plan to replace AT&T's current profit ceilings with a ``price caps'' regulation. Patrick postponed the FCC vote on price caps that was scheduled for last week to March 16 ``as an accommodation to members of Congress who have requested an additional opportunity to study and debate the proposal before it is voted,'' he said. AT&T said it was disappointed as well as frustrated by the delay because price caps regulation has been under consideration for more than two years. The plan would effectively replace the current method of regulating AT&T _ a 12.2% ceiling on the carrier's rate of return _ with a complicated form of price controls for ``baskets'' of related services [CW, May 16, 1988]. U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance, called the delay of the vote ``a constructive step'' and said that hearings will be held late this month. Flimsy case Markey and other skeptics have argued that the FCC has failed to make a solid case for revamping the decades-old system of regulating AT&T. But according to George R. Dellinger, telecommunications analyst at Washington Analysis Corp., ``About 95% of this [dispute] is partisan politics and egos, and 5% is substantive.'' Mostly, Patrick needs to patch up his strained relations with the Democratic-controlled Congress, Dellinger said. Price caps is a pet project for the Republican FCC chairman, who said it will give AT&T an incentive to cut costs and become more efficient. The price caps proposal would freeze current rates and then adjust the aggregate price ceiling annually to reflect the inflation rate minus 3%. Individual services would be subject to a price band, allowing them to rise or fall no more than 5% a year. Business network associations have complained that the proposal starts with current rates that are inflated and fails to provide major price cuts for users [CW, Aug. 1, 1988]. By Mitch Betts, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Airlines pick Cincom for Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: cincombi Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: CINCINNATI _ Galileo, a consortium consisting of 10 international airlines, has chosen Cincom Systems, Inc.'s Net/Master network management software as part of its effort to launch a global network capable of handling up to 1,000 transaction/sec. by 1990. Net/Master reportedly was chosen over three competitors' products _ IBM's Netview, Computer Associates International, Inc.'s Netman and Peregrine Systems, Inc.'s PNMS3 _ for its ability to integrate problem change management with operational control. It will be used to manage Galileo's IBM Systems Network Architecture network. ``We chose Net/Master for its ability to deal with . . . a highly distributed and very unpredictable environment. We were looking for the most flexible tool . . . to cope with the network and site management,'' said Jerry Krause, vice-president of technical services at Galileo and a Covia Corp. employee. Ten copies Galileo is purchasing 10 copies of Net/ Master and Info/Master _ Cincom's processing shell for defining applications to support network and systems-related data _ for the network, which is scheduled to go on-line in August. Net/Master will be installed at Galileo's new switching center located in Swindon, England. By August, the center will hold six IBM 3090 Model 280 mainframes linked to more than 9,000 IBM Personal System/2 Model 50s located in thousands of travel agencies throughout Europe. A central database will manage more than 33 million fares and is expected to grow by 20% each year. All airline inquiries and reservations will be switched through the Galileo Data Center, with links to each airline's own IBM installation in major cities, Cincom said. The 10 member airlines are Aer Lingus, Alitalia Airlines, Austrian Airways, British Airways, KLM, Olympic Airways, Sabena, Swissair, TAP Air Portugal and Covia. By Patricia Keefe, CW staff <<<>>> Title : American/Delta plan likel Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: airlines Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: DALLAS _ While two airlines were in the midst of discussions to establish an independent computer reservation system last week, a U.S. Justice Department spokesman said his office would likely look into any such combined system to be certain it violates no antitrust laws. American Airlines, which announced that the talks were under way, would not comment on details of the negotiations. The company did say that the independent reservation system for use by travel agents would combine the resources of American's and Delta Air Line's systems, called Sabre and Datas II, respectively. American's Sabre is reportedly the largest of any of the reservation systems, with a 35% market share in travel agencies [CW, June 13, 1988]. Delta's Datas II was listed as the fifth largest system by Travel Weekly in 1987. If combined, each airline would own 50% of the system, and the system would be operated as an autonomous company. Additionally, the parties would possibly offer interests in the new system to others, including domestic and international air carriers, according to information released by American. An official at the Department of Justice said there was no investigation of the potential system now but added, ``That would be the kind of transaction we would look into.'' The U.S. government has been studying airline computerized reservation systems more closely since 1984, when the Civil Aeronautics Board required the airlines to create systems that would not display bias for any particular airline. Previous to that decision, the airline that provided the reservation system to the agent would typically list all of its flights above its competitors on the screen, which created bias, according to the study. Financial encouragement Still, according to a 1988 study by the U.S. Department of Transportation, travel agents using the airline reservation systems may give preferential treatment to the airline that provides the system because the airline may include financial inducements for them to do so. A spokeswoman at United Airlines, whose Apollo reservation system would likely feel a negative impact if the American/Delta talks are fruitful, would not comment on the issue. She also declined comment on whether United would contemplate filing a complaint of unfair competition against the airlines if the system is put into place. In its statement, American said it had previously engaged in discussions with others concerning joint reservation system activity but that none of the discussions resulted in an agreement. Therefore, the airline said, there can be no assurance that the proposed transaction with Delta could be accomplished on mutually agreeable terms. CW Washington, D.C., Bureau Chief Mitch Betts contributed to this article. By Alan J. Ryan, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Unisys adds Unix system; Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: uniunix Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Apparently, Unisys Corp. believes a company can't have too many Unix systems. Last week, it added a fifth Unix-based line to its product array when it announced a deal with Sequent Computer Systems, Inc. However, a Unisys spokesman said the company was unable to explain where the Sequent box _ a Unix-based parallel computer _ will fit into its overall Unix strategy. Unisys also sells low-end Unix systems from NCR Corp., as well as an assortment of mid-range and high-end systems from Arix Corp. and Computer Consoles, Inc. In addition, Unisys offers its own Unix systems, which are actually based on those of Convergent Technologies, Inc., which it acquired last year. Sit in the dark A Unisys spokesman said last week's announcement was strictly a release from Sequent. The company, he said, was not planning to shed light on its Unix products at this time. Instead, it has scheduled a big Unix announcement Feb. 21 and will outline its Unix plans and give details on the latest addition at that time. Sequent, however, had plenty to say. It said the deal, which is a three-year contract that could be expanded to five years, could represent more than $250 million in revenue. The company said it expects to make $10 million in the first year, a sizable chunk for a company that reported $76 million in revenue last year. Sequent also said that Unisys is expected to begin shipping a system based on the Sequent computer by mid-1989. <<<>>> Title : Re-Groupeing Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: edit26 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: JOHN IMLAY, CHAIRMAN of Management Science America and venerable toastmaster of the computer industry, used to kid audiences by announcing the (fictitious) amalgamation of Fairchild Semiconductor and Honeywell. The new firm? Farewell Honeychild, of course. Last week, Honeywell did effectively fade away from the commercial computer market _ in name, that is _ and was recast as Bull H. N. Information Systems, one of two noncontiguous parts of the $5 billion, Paris-based Groupe Bull. To longtime Honeywell watchers and customers, this is about the umpteenth iteration in company structure since Honeywell bought General Electric's flagging computer business 19 years ago. So, nothing new here; business as usual. Or is it? In the public unveiling of the company, Groupe Bull executives gushed about the benefits that a truly global company, one fixing its product lines to prevailing and emerging standards, would provide to customers. That kind of claim might not necessarily be all bull. The parent company is committing more than 10% of revenue to research and development _ much of that earmarked for Groupe Bull's U.S. thrust. Furthermore, some unique benefits could be derived from the joint Franco-Japanese-U.S. tripartite ownership of Bull H. N. The continued, simultaneous development of the GCOS operating system in disparate countries could yield a sort of ``Esperanto'' to ensure more seamless computer communications across international borders in the future. But just how committed is this global company to the U.S. market? Unlike big U.S. players, Groupe Bull does not derive a majority of its revenue from the U.S., and a good portion of what is generated here comes from the lucrative federal market. While Groupe Bull has made strong pronouncements of its commitment to the U.S. market, privately it speaks of Honeywell as almost a bad word, fearing the company's reputation here is something to be put behind it once and for all. That's a little curious, because Honeywell was able to make some significant strides in the mid-1980s with its installed mainframe base. In fact, in the Datapro Research annual survey of user satisfaction in 1987, Honeywell _ the perennial cellar-dweller in the Datapro rankings of the early 1980s _ actually came out on top of the mainframe heap. Also, some questions remain about the appropriateness of some of Groupe Bull's strategies in the U.S. market. Do users in on-line transaction processing environments really want Unix as badly as Groupe Bull wants to deliver it to them? What's right for Europe may not be right for the U.S. market, and Europe is the big market for Groupe Bull. This is not to suggest that this unique company can't satisfy customers on three continents. It just has to work that much harder to do so. <<<>>> Title : Design-first proof Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: forlet1 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Regarding Gopal Kapur's Reader's Platform [CW, Dec. 5], American Management Systems has been using the design-first strategy for over 12 years to develop information systems for commercial and government clients. Our success with this method is proof of its capability. For example, in developing a custom financial management system for a large city, we based the design on the pattern inherent in financial transactions _ a header followed by a set of identically formatted detail lines. Common functions were implemented in table-driven foundation software, and the individual transaction programs had a standard control structure. This design approach has been applied to similar systems for a variety of firms. Although the functional details are unique to each application, the pattern and the software architecture that implements it are invariant. AMS has been applying these practices on large systems for over a decade. Although these practices may be well-known to some, it is clear that many are not aware of them. We wrote our article to share our experience, stimulate others to learn more about it and, ideally, help them achieve greater success. Fred L. Forman Executive Vice-President Milton S. Hess Vice-President American Management Systems, Inc. Arlington, Va. By Fred L. Forman and Milton S. Hess <<<>>> Title : Another gift Author : Chuck Lundgren Source : CW Comm FileName: lundlet Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: I'd like to add to your holiday gift list [CW, Dec. 19]: For Computerworld: A copy of Edward R. Tufte's The Visual Display of Quantitative Information to help rid you of misleading graphics and your irritating propensity to represent one- and two-dimensional data in three dimensions. Also, I called Apple about the 20-MHz Macintosh Pluses and SEs listed in the BoCoEx index on used computers in the back of Computerworld. Apparently, they don't make them. I guess I'll have to settle for my 8-MHz SE with a 20M-byte drive. Chuck Lundgren Iris Software, Inc. Chicago <<<>>> Title : Real value Author : Jack G. F. Hill Source : CW Comm FileName: hillet Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Douglas Barney defines ``pure value'' in a microcomputer [CW, Dec. 19] as solely the cost of the hardware, and then continues to vent his anger over the cost of an Apple Macintosh by berating the hardware's high price. The measure of ``pure value'' is the total value of the package. What are the total costs of ownership and operation? IBM uses this argument to defend higher prices for some of its mainframes _ and the point is valid. Has the productivity of PCs advanced to a state where hardware price is the valid measure of pure value? If so, you had better find another job, as the rest of us can learn all we need to know in the commodity market news or the BoCoEx index. Jack G. F. Hill President Applied Software Consulting Brentwood, Tenn. <<<>>> Title : Learning delay Author : Jean Causey Source : CW Comm FileName: causlet Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Regarding ``Staking out systems integration'' [CW, Dec. 12], which features declarations of a shortage of ``good people,'' as a DP management professional, I must protest that the reported shortage is not of ``good people'' but of ready-made highly specific skill sets. As a 20-year DP veteran who has never assumed a new position with an already-complete skill set, I wonder how and when we arrived at this commodity view of our people (and of ourselves). I suggest that what confronts us is not a shortage, but a learning-curve delay, which is to be expected in a field as dynamic as this one. I also suggest that we can afford the delay better than we can afford the underemployment of talent and the high turnover and frantic recruiting that results from our current misdirected hiring practices. We will thwart our own progress if we refuse to rethink our attitudes and if we continue to undervalue the ``good people'' whose backgrounds, while not fitting our narrowly defined, immediate-need profile, feature aptitude, adaptability and a good set of foundation skills on which to build. Certainly my personal situation would be more comfortable if I were not regularly confronted by well-meaning friends eager to show me the latest shortage article and clearly puzzled that my current job search is not trivially simple. Jean Causey Baltimore <<<>>> Title : MIS' future lies down a b Author : Dale Kutnick Source : CW Comm FileName: kutnick5 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: One profound change that will occur in the information processing industry during the next five years will be the rapidly evolving roles of the MIS department. The tumultuous 1980s have left the traditional management information systems charter far behind. The new MIS role increasingly will be delineated between a business-oriented and technical/service focus. Driving forces in the 1990s will include the management of highly distributed end-user computing resources (the cumulative installed MIPS on desk tops will be 1,000 times greater than those on minis and mainframes early in the next decade); the design and management of more complex and mission-critical networks; and the increasing necessity of hiding the complexity of systems and architectures from users. Simultaneously, the information demands of clients and suppliers will escalate, information systems spending as a percentage of capital outlays must be managed and IS must be designed to exploit information resources as a strategic weapon. CIO uprising On the business side, the emergence of the chief information officer _ in function if not name _ will set the career path for business-school bred, finance-experienced or ``New Age'' MIS vice-presidents. This CIO will take his place in the corporate executive hierarchy, setting strategies, architectures, interfaces and asset management priorities for his company's information resources. On the technical side, there will be at least two logical divisions, both probably but not necessarily reporting to the CIO. The first division, data center/systems administration services, will focus on operations and management of physical systems and information resources. The duties could include administering large CPU complexes and networks and overseeing and coordinating database management systems software, data distribution, integrity and synchronization. This job, which can be broken further into two or three separate functional areas, is basically an extension of current MIS responsibilities. The second division, systems integration services (SIS), will focus on bringing distributed personal computers, local-area networks, servers and heterogeneous (application-optimized) systems into the corporate information infrastructure _ with all the incumbent support requirements. This role is a broad expansion of the ``information center'' concept popularized in the early 1980s. This job, too, could be broken into two or three functional areas, particularly if it includes facilitating electronic information exchanges _ such as electronic data interchange _ with clients, suppliers, customers and the like. Both of these technical groups will enforce and implement the architectures and interfaces established by the more business-oriented CIO side as they relate to end users. Feedback loop Ideally, these groups will establish a strong feedback loop to set standards based on both corporate as well as end-user requirements. For example, while IBM's Systems Application Architecture is a good planning blueprint for a primarily IBM environment, users must develop their own strategic interfaces. These interfaces will allow consistent user and programmer access and incorporate other systems users work with _ such as Digital Equipment Corp.'s VAX/ VMS and Unix _ or would like to employ in their future. Consistent architectures and interfaces are critical to enabling the systems administration services group to create appropriate network management, data access and administration service standards in a rapidly decentralizing, distributed computing world. The future data center will become the focal point for these activities, as application development and more application execution move outboard. Pocket problemsAgain, data integrity, security, synchronization and coordination will become significantly more difficult as the distributed intelligence ``revolution'' engenders poorly managed information pockets _ such as on PCs and LANs _ throughout the organization. Indeed, one of the major focal points for the SIS department will be the LAN server and LANs themselves. Most of these systems and their software are currently acquired by end users or their departments through various retail channels. But with the sharply increasing sophistication at the server level, it is unlikely that any of these channels can support the future needs of users or their organizations without their becoming systems integrators, which is not likely. The future servers' communications requirements alone are far beyond their purview, as is implementation of distributed DBMSs with security and data integrity. Most retailers do not have the resources or expertise to play this game seriously, and it is unlikely that MIS departments will trust their data or networks to them. While there are already some outside companies _ value-added resellers, OEMs, traditional mini and mainframe vendors, service bureaus and so on _ providing these services, the SIS organization must coordinate these activities to keep consistency. Indeed, end users will abdicate operational and administrative control of their LANs and servers to MIS or SIS in exchange for service, support and transparent resource access. In other words, MIS/ SIS becomes the systems integrator for the organization. So, MIS must evolve in two clear directions. The first is toward the executive-level role, which is more attuned to the organization's business and IS strategy and architecture that drive the future business. The second is toward the more technical role _ implementing the vision by integrating the cornucopia of products and systems within budget and other tactical constraints. This job will require tremendous management skills and patience to deal with end users because it is basically creating a professional service organization. The business schools will provide the fodder for the first role. It will be the second one that will be more challenging. By Dale Kutnick; Kutnick is a data processing and communications consultant based in Redding, Conn. <<<>>> Title : That which does not kill Author : William D. Harri Source : CW Comm FileName: harrison Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: One of the most ineffective MIS managers that I ever worked with was named Joe. Joe had a particular talent for hiring and promoting people with the ability to report problems in a pleasant way _ or not to report them at all. No matter how late the project or how serious the problem, Joe's staff spared him the bad news. If he asked _ which he did frequently, since he was conditioned to expect no problems _ they assured him that all systems and projects were running smoothly. It is not as if Joe's staff did not have problems to talk about. There was the time the tape librarian released an obsolete parts information file for use with the bill-of-materials parts-procurement system. Then there was the day that a malfunction in the work-in-process data-gathering system ground the company's assembly lines to a standstill. Joe was not told about these systems problems. His staff took it upon themselves to find the solutions. Joe did not understand the seriousness of either incident until it was explained to him _ by the vice-president of manufacturing. Joe's problem-solving abilities were actually very good, but he never got a chance to use them. According to his staff, there were never any problems to solve. Thus Joe avoided many conflict situations, at least until someone outside his department brought them to his attention. Eventually his success at avoiding involvement in major problems cost him his job. The fiasco caused by the new order-entry system was the last straw for the vice-president of manufacturing. Autopsy results After Joe had brought the difficulties under control, the chief of manufacturing ordered a postmortem analysis. This management review revealed that the disaster could have been averted _ if Joe had taken action sooner. But Joe was avoiding action by avoiding seeing the problems. He never understood that confrontations and conflict are as normal a part of business as they are of life. Sometimes even the best of people do things incorrectly or do the wrong things, and they must be told of their error. Sometimes even the best of systems fail, and their logic and purpose need rethinking. Telling a person that he has done something incorrectly produces a certain amount of stress and conflict. But unless an employee is informed about his mistakes, he never has the opportunity to improve and do it right the next time. Joe simply avoided the messy situations in which blame might have had to be assessed. In so doing, of course, he avoided responsibility. The positive aspects of dis- agreements and confrontations can be seen in all areas of a data processing department, including strategic planning or meeting with a user to discuss his system requirements. Design and code reviews are successful because people take the time to point out errors made by others. If a design review does not produce an error action list, it probably indicates that the right questions were not asked. The role of the end user in reviewing software documentation is not to tell the software department that it has done a fantastic job. The end user must play the role of inquisitor, or there is a great danger that the wrong product will be built. If everyone is pleased with the first review of MIS' strategic plan, the department may be on very shaky ground. A good strategic plan is one that survives a review by a management gauntlet determined to tear it apart. One of the most effective MIS managers that I worked with had the ability to ask questions that rivaled the Spanish Inquisition for effectiveness. Whenever anyone challenged his plans, he interrogated the questioner relentlessly to determine whether he had facts to back up his opinions. This manager also always thanked the person. The conflicts and confrontations that most of us would like to avoid are essential to achieving the level of excellence in performance we desire for departments and individuals alike. Perhaps Nietzsche was right _ ``That which does not kill me will make me stronger.'' By William D. Harrison; Harrison is an engineering manager at Siemens Information Systems, Inc. in Boca Raton, Fla. <<<>>> Title : Languages may be cure for Author : Michael B. Cohn Source : CW Comm FileName: cohn6 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: I think someone is missing the boat. We spend millions of dollars on new computer languages. Code generators. Source optimizers. Report writers. But even with all these advances and tools, we still seem to make the same coding mistakes we made 20 years ago _ except that now we can make them a lot faster. We need smarter computer languages. Languages that don't get hung up on syntax or unbalanced parentheses or upside-down diskettes. Commands that understand we weren't really trying to divide the monthly gross revenue by the word ``Nebraska'' and have brains enough to go read another record or at least keep it quiet until someone shows up in the morning. We're pretty good at simplifying the names of computer languages; I understand some of them are down to just one letter. So why doesn't someone invent a language that uses simple abbreviations to do the things coders do with pages of code? I've already given somebody a head start by listing some of the most needed instructions and abbreviations below: DWIM-NWIT: Do What I Meant, Not What I Typed. WWWTW: Work the Way We Think it Works. WUMP: Work Until it's Moved into Production. PUTM: Perform Until Tomorrow Morning. PUIGIT: Perform Until I Get In Trouble. PUTFT: Perform Until They Find the Tape. MANTWO: Make A Noise To Wake Operator. D-JAM: Delete the Jobs Ahead of Mine. NT-PAP: Next Time, Please Align the Paper. EWIOV: Execute Without Incident Or Variation. EWIOV: Explode While I'm On Vacation. Abend(IAP): Abend In Another Program. Abend(WNL): Abend When Nobody's Looking. D-Abend(ALTA): Don't Abend, And Let's Try Again. MLK: Mysteriously Lock up Keyboard. ULISSI: Un-Lock It when Somebody Shakes It. FAST-W: Find A Subroutine That Works. UFWY: Use the File that Worked Yesterday. MWAT: Make this Work Again Tomorrow. SFOC: Someone Figure Out this Code. PACOMR: Print A Copy Of My Resume. By Michael B. Cohn; Cohn is a quality assurance representative based in Atlanta. <<<>>> Title : Books in brief Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: bksfeb6 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: BOOKS IN BRIEF EDI: The Competitive Edge By Phyllis K. Sokol This guide to the opportunities of corporatewide electronic data interchange covers implementation, case studies and cost/benefit analysis. Hardcover, 346 pages, $24.95, ISBN 0-07-059511-9, by Intertext Publications, Inc., New York. Who's Afraid of Big Blue? By Regis McKenna A look at the new computing world, where IBM is being challenged not yet in revenue or profit but certainly in innovation and development of new markets. Hardcover, 218 pages, $17.95, ISBN 0-201-15574-5, by Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., Reading, Mass. The CD-ROM Handbook Edited by Chris Sherman The perspectives of more than 20 experts on the CD-ROM environment, including artificial intelligence, local-area networks, integration and more. Hardcover, 510 pages, $59.95, ISBN 0-07-056578-3, by McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York. <<<>>> Title : DEC closer to modular dre Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: dec Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: At Digital Equipment Corp.'s recent introduction of the mid-range VAX 6300 series, Vice-President of Mid-Range Systems William Demmer motioned to his left as the lights dimmed and a spotlight lit up the new line's predecessor, a single-processor VAX 6210. As Demmer made his closing remarks, the spotlight again pierced the darkened room. The same machine remained, Demmer announced, but now it was a six-processor VAX 6360. What happened? In the intervening minutes, he announced, a DEC official had opened the 6210 and replaced its board with six of the updated 6300 boards. The upgrade took less than 90 seconds. Happy family In that simple and effective demonstration, DEC came closest to completing a plan it has kicked around for well over a decade: establishing a modular family of computers. The ultimate purpose of that strategy, as stated by DEC President Ken Olsen, was to enable users to implement systems at each level of their organization _ from the desk top to the overall company _ that can be tied together and expanded effortlessly. Sometimes the goal seemed elusive; other times it appeared downright abandoned. In the development of a VAX line three years ago, DEC offered the Microvax II and VAX 8200, 8300, 8500, 8600, 8700 and 8800 with almost no board-swap upgrade paths. With the introduction of Vaxclusters, however, the idea seemed to have returned to the mills of Maynard, Mass. Vaxclusters permitted upgrades from stand-alone systems to a shared-resource environment, yet they implemented a site's current CPUs and peripherals in the process. Similarly, 1986's introduction of Local-Area Vaxclusters, which allowed Microvaxes to become members of a Vaxcluster over an Ethernet, went a step further. When DEC introduced the Microvax 3300 and 3400 in October, it also introduced a disk subsystem based on a high-end subsystem design but intended for low-end machines. The move was supposed to be a first step in streamlining disk subsystems so that customers could work with one interrelated disk subsystem family. With its recent announcement, DEC has taken one more step toward making good on its earlier vows. Essential to this is the way the firm allows 6200 users to upgrade to the Young Turk of its microprocessor family: a souped-up chip capable of processing 3.8 million instructions per second (MIPS). The 6300 shares the same I/O structure, interconnects, software and powerful 80M byte/sec. XMI internal bus that made the 6200 successful. All DEC did was speed up the chip. ``This is the key,'' said John Logan, executive vice-president at the Aberdeen Group, a market research firm based in Boston. ``As a result, the system can be upgraded with faster processors or higher density, faster-access disks because the bus can take it.'' Role model The new system, then, is essentially a frame on which to build. ``The rest of the system was overdesigned to start with, and in that way, a user makes one investment in the platform and reaps the benefits over several generation of products,'' said Stephen Blanchette, DEC's product marketing manager for mid-range systems. Additionally, rumors have been bandied about that the company plans to roll out a Microvax line based on the new chip later this year. This, too, is good news for users. There are many reasons DEC took so long to reach a position it voiced so long ago, Logan noted. A key stumbling block is that DEC, like many large computer firms, uses several squads of research teams working on a similar product. The teams try to beat each other on a number of problems and the group that solves its problem first has the technology that will be emphasized. But if, as Demmer suggested at the rollout, DEC has truly inaugurated a price/performance booster cycle it expects to repeat as often as every nine months, a modular growth foundation is bedrock to its success. Although the new chip will also be replaced (a follow-on able to process 7 MIPS is reportedly in the final design stages), the new microprocessor establishes a good and _ DEC hopes _ long-lasting trend of simple upgrades. By James Daly, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Deloitte in final stage t Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: honey1 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Deloitte Haskins & Sells recently shifted into high gear on a consulting project in which the stakes are higher than perhaps ever before. This time the client is itself. The Big Eight firm is moving from a centralized environment that connected 100 offices nationwide to a Bull H. N. Information Systems, Inc. DPS 90/91 mainframe at the corporate data center in New York. The more costly decentralized system will be based on a network of 48 Honeywell DPS 6 Plus minicomputers. Bull is the new name of the former Honeywell Bull, Inc. The change will mean fundamental changes in the way Deloitte Haskins does business. The company began the project more than three years ago. Last month, the final phase began as the first few minis were installed. The next nine months should be a frenzy of activity, said Alec McLaren, a Deloitte Haskins partner responsible for the project. The firm hopes to be fully decentralized by September. According to McLaren, the primary benefit will be an up-to-date system that finally gives the firm's consultants timely and accurate data to work with in the field. He estimates the total cost of the project to be more than $20 million; about half was spent on new hardware, software and networks, and the balance is being put toward planning and training. Business change A multiyear project was required because it involved not just a change in computer systems but a change in the firm's business practices, McLaren said. Currently, all transactions such as signing on a client or billing are mailed from local offices to the corporate data center in New York. Clerks in New York input the data from the 100 local offices. When this project is complete, however, all transactions will be performed either at the local office or transmitted there from a portable personal computer by a Deloitte Haskins staffer on the road. The local office will transmit its daily and weekly information to the corporate mainframe. The mainframe will remain part of the new setup, but instead of doing the daily work, it will compile the subtotals of the other systems. When figuring out how to get to that point, Deloitte Haskins assembled a project group, numbering 80 people. This group was split into teams, each of which was responsible for a different aspect of the project. Small teams were formed for each major application area. And now . . . Once the application requirements were pinpointed, MIS stepped in. McLaren said the applications now rolling out are a mix of programs developed in-house and modified off-the-shelf software. The hardware selection was simple. Deloitte Haskins has a long-standing relationship with the former Honeywell Bull. The company has been selling Deloitte Haskins computers since the 1960s, and it is a Deloitte Haskins client. When all the hardware and software pieces were identified, Deloitte Haskins faced its biggest hurdle: the users. The firm will need to train as many as 3,000 people on the new system. While the training takes place, so does the campaign to win over users. McLaren said this has gone surprisingly well. The project team had management support ``up and down the line,'' he said, and when the team tests out a new application, it requests comments from users and adjusts the system based on those requests. ``That has brought us a lot of good will,'' McLaren said. ``They now understand that [the systems] will be a little rugged the first time out but that they will be improved.'' By Rosemary Hamilton, CW staff <<<>>> Title : IBM ponders 100-MIPS RT Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: rtpc Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: IBM's Micro Channel Architecture and 100 million instructions per second are in store for future versions of the RT, according to Nick Donofrio, president of IBM's Advanced Workstation Division. In a recent interview, Donofrio also said AIX, IBM's version of AT&T's Unix System V, which the RT runs, will probably come with a choice of graphical user interface _ either Next, Inc.'s Nextstep or the Open Software Foundation's OSF/Motif. Donofrio said IBM is currently evaluating Nextstep and will look at OSF/Motif when it is available. Despite its lackluster past, the RT is being groomed for a role of increasing importance at IBM, reflecting the emphasis that the company placed on its AIX operating system one year ago. Donofrio's Advanced Workstation Division, spun off from and now at a peer level with IBM's Entry Systems Division, is charged with the future of both the RT and AIX. In addition to polishing the RT's image, the group will also implement AIX on new platforms. The 1,800-employee division began its life in December amid the shake-up caused by the departure of IBM Entry Systems Division President William Lowe. Donofrio was formerly vice-president of that division. The RT follow-on, which has been discussed by IBM officials before and is anticipated to be released in the 1991 to 1992 time frame, is expected by many to be based on a new chip design and 64-bit architecture that will boost it over the 100 MIPS threshold, or 10 times the RT's current capability. Clare Fleig, director of research at International Technology Group in Los Altos, Calif., predicted that the machine will be a hybrid, including a reduced instruction set computing processor and a conventional Intel Corp. 80386-based processor. Closer at hand, the RT will receive boosts in the coming year in hardware and software performance, and AIX will make its debut on IBM's Personal System/2 and 370 families, according to Donofrio. However, analysts agree that IBM will have to overcome many obstacles to succeed in this highly competitive and rapidly changing market. From its introduction in 1986, the RT has been plagued with charges of poor performance. Although performance has improved, the reputation still clings, and analysts say it will be hard to shake. In comparison, Sun Microsystems, Inc. has been steamrolling along, and Digital Equipment Corp. has generated a lot of interest with product introductions. Donofrio acknowledged that the going will be tough, saying that IBM has improved the performance of the RT but still has a long way to go. ``We're not suffering from delusions of grandeur,'' he admitted. Dave Wilson, president of Workstation Laboratories, a benchmarking lab in Dallas, said that although the RT was underpowered when it came out in 1986, it is competitive today with workstations in the $20,000 to $30,000 price range. IBM will focus on the family concept for its AIX line, providing AIX on the RT and PS/2, all the way up to the mainframe. This strategy will prove successful for IBM when selling to corporate accounts that want to tie their workstations into the mainframe, Fleig predicted. A key IBM advantage will be data management capabilities it has engineered in AIX, such as those provided by the virtual resource manager, she said. However, OSF/1, which will be based on AIX, could also offer this advantage, depending on how OSF chooses to implement AIX. AT&T could reengineer its Unix System V to improve data management in the future, she added. By Amy Cortese, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Retailer cashes in on ESA Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: esauser Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: ST. CLOUD, Minn. _ For mail-order retailer Fingerhut Co., the huge storage capacity of IBM's MVS/ESA operating system will make retrieving thousands of inventory records faster and easier. The $1 billion firm is counting on the speedier access to help it keep up with an ever-increasing volume of orders. ``We depend tremendously on computing,'' said Mike Dille, managing director of data processing. Fingerhut runs 105 production applications, including payroll, accounts payable, order fulfillment and shipping on two IBM 3090 Model 400S mainframes. The firm also maintains an extensive mailing list and performs 350 million mailings per year of such items as catalogs and promotional materials. Fingerhut began life in the 1950s as a direct-mail firm specializing in automobile seat covers. The company gradually diversified, however, and now has some 50,000 stockkeeping units _ specific articles of merchandise. Last year, Fingerhut broke the $1 billion mark in sales. In the middle Because it does not have stores spread across a wide geographical area, Fingerhut has found it natural to keep its data processing centralized. ``In large volumes, distributed processors really don't hack it,'' Dille said. As it is for all retailers, the holiday shopping season is by far the busiest of the year at Fingerhut. During late November and early December, Fingerhut received as many as 150,000 orders per day and 200,000 to 300,000 payments per day, according to Dille. Just as the high tide of the holiday season was subsiding last year, Fingerhut made its move to IBM's Enterprise Systems Architecture (ESA). The switch went hand in hand with the installation of the 3090 S model processors. Despite minor glitches, Fingerhut has brought ESA up without great turmoil. Not too hard ``There was nothing terribly complicated about it. It was not a bad conversion,'' Dille said. At first, ESA was implemented on a 3090 Model 300E and a 3090 Model 600E. Each system was soon replaced with a 3090 Model 400S. The first S model was moved in during the first week of December; the second was installed about two weeks ago. Dille said it is too soon to tell whether or not the S models have any particular performance advantage running ESA than their E model predecessors, except for the power boost advertised with all S models. The obstacles to the ESA conversion had mainly to do with getting utility software towork with ESA. ``We had to wait a few months for the vendors to catch up and issue the ESA versions of their packages,'' Dille said. Even then, there were small difficulties, he added. They had three problems with non-IBM software _ which Dille declined to name _ that was used to monitor the I/O subsystems and CPU utilization. He added that even IBM packages were not free from minor bugs. ``But there were no obstacles that made it necessary to back out of the conversion. The guys [Fingerhut systems engineers] found ways around the problems,'' Dille said. In all, Dille said the move to ESA took one-third of the time it took Fingerhut to implement MVS/XA. The expanded memory of ESA will allow Fingerhut's applications to bring files into memory easier than can be done now, Dille said. Under MVS/XA, Fingerhut had already built a table to allow entire files to reside in memory and allow faster access to the data in the files than would be possible should the files reside on disk. No intervention required ESA will allow a similar capability but will not require programmer intervention. ``We won't have to create a table; we can just tell the operating system to do it,'' Dille said. With ESA, applications will run as though disk access is being performed, so the program will not know the difference, Dille explained. Using System Managed Storage (SMS) as an adjunct to this will be even better. SMS will automatically help allocate data sets, a time-consuming task that Fingerhut is now performing manually. Dille is also eager for the ultimate promise of SMS: to recognize how data is being used and automatically migrate it across I/O subsystems _ although he likened the advance to Star Wars. ``If it'll do what it's supposed to do, it'll be great,'' he said. Although Dille said he looked closely at PR/SM, the feature that partitions a CPU into as many as six logical units, he has no plans to implement it, preferring to use a single-system-image approach. Dille's operations center is in St. Cloud, Minn., 75 miles from Fingerhut's headquarters in Minnetonka, a suburb of Minneapolis. Fingerhut is owned by Primerica Corp., which was recently acquired by Commercial Credit Corp. Dille says he is aware that anytime a company changes hands, there is always the chance that changes could be made to computer operations. However, he said, early signs are clear that there will be no changes to Fingerhut's operations by merging data centers or other measures. By Stanley Gibson, CW staff <<<>>> Title : AS/400 makes its mark in Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: again126 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: LONDON _ La Compagnie Generale Calberson, based in Le Havre, France, was just another transport company until it discovered IBM's Application System/400. It took delivery of 83 machines in December and was proclaimed the 10,000th AS/400 customer in Europe. For Calberson, the event was probably no more than a passing note before a return to business. But it was a milestone for IBM. Europe and the rest of the world outside the U.S. are expected to be key markets for the AS/400, IBM's follow-on to its System/34, 36 and 38 minicomputers. According to IBM, as much as 45% of its AS/400 revenue may come from outside the U.S., with up to half of the AS/400 sales at sites new to IBM. But Dataquest Ltd., a London-based market research firm, suggested that new users will account for only about 20%. Whatever the final tally, IBM is dependent on its existing System/34, 36 and 38 users upgrading to the new mid-range if the AS/400 is to be a big success. System/38 customers reportedly have the easiest path to the AS/400. According to IBM, they simply transfer their software to the new machine. But they are a minority of the firm's mini user base _ only 40,000 out of a total 300,000 installations. System/36 users interviewed said they have a trickier conversion and must recompile their software to run on the AS/400. Construction firm Balfour Beatty's international division, headquartered in Croydon, England, is transferring its software from two System/36s to an AS/400 Model B30. George Tutt, the firm's senior systems engineer, said he is fairly impressed with the AS/400, but the machine has not been without problems. The date function failed, and engineers have replaced items such as the controller and linkage card. But Tutt is philosophical: ``They're just teething problems.'' Choosing which AS/400 to buy was difficult. Tutt said the B40 was ``massive'' for Balfour's need, but the B30 was too small. The company finally opted for a B30 with upgrades. Tutt said it is difficult to judge the performance of the AS/400 so far but thinks the new machine is slightly faster. Other System/36 users have, however, complained of performance degradation after conversion. Mike Moore at London-based bullion dealer Mocatta and Goldsmid is considering upgrading his System/36. But, he explained, ``Conversion for 36 users is not at all good news. I have spoken to a number of people and they have had difficulty in getting going.'' He called for development of tools such as the existing IBM System/36 Migration Aid, which helps users analyze data, libraries, files and programs prior to migration. By Jane Lawrence, IDG News Service <<<>>> Title : Language Technology, Inc. Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swlangua Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Language Technology, Inc. has announced an automated reengineering tool for IBM CICS on-line applications. Called the CICS/Recoder, the product allows applications programmers to decipher and untangle CICS/Cobol code, according to the vendor. The software provides a four-part set of HANDLE reports, designed to complete the documentation package necessary for tracing and supporting CICS applications. CICS/Recoder is available by license agreement with prices ranging from $87,000 to $174,000 depending on the number of Cobol programmers per site. Language Technology, 27 Congress St., Salem, Mass. 01970. 508-741-1507. <<<>>> Title : D & E Software, Inc. has Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swdandes Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: D & E Software, Inc. has released VSAM Control Online (VCON), a software designed to tune and inspect CICS VSAM files and LSR Pools in an on-line environment. The product reportedly provides IBM MVS users with status and analysis information, problem determination, LSR Pool performance information and on-line file control and entry display functions. VCON is available for a one-time fee of $6,995. D & E Software, 8020 Old Alexander Ferry Road, Clinton, Md. 20735. 301-868-6866. <<<>>> Title : Global Software, Inc. in Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swglobal Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Global Software, Inc. in Duxbury, Mass. has released version 5.0 of its mainframe software utility for users of large corporate databases with data dictionaries. $Name 5.0 is said to work in conjunction with the company's Hugo/Silas/ISPF front end and handles multiple languages and redundancy searches. As a set of callable subroutines, the product costs $11,000. It is included in the $25,000 price of Hugo-Silas/ISPF, which is an IBM DB2 interface to Datamanager. Global Software, P.O. 2087, Duxbury, Mass. 02331. 617-934-0949. <<<>>> Title : Telemap Corp. has introdu Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swtelema Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Telemap Corp. has introduced a software package that automatically generates, executes and saves Cobol programs for IDMS databases. According to the vendor, its Teleview package allows the user to generate any selected report, in any format, from an IDMS database simply by defining fill-in-the-blank variables on a series of screens. Teleview costs $16,500, which includes the first year of maintenance and support. The annual maintenance fee is 15% of the current license fee. Telemap, Suite 407, 4401 Rockside Road, Independence, Ohio 44131. 216-447-9300. <<<>>> Title : Development tools A prog Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swsystem Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Development tools A program design language developed to satisfy Department of Defense mandates has been introduced by Software Systems Design, Inc. The computer-aided software engineering tool, called Adadl, reportedly combines Ada with project management tools to provide portability among medium-, large- and very large-scale computer programs. According to the vendor, the product is a superset and extension of Ada and includes a definition dictionary. Adadl is priced from $7,150 for smaller host computers _ such as those of Sun Microsystems, Inc. and Apollo Computer, Inc. _ to $15,700 for larger systems. Delivery is quoted off-the-shelf. Software Systems Design, 3627 Padua Ave., Claremont, Calif. 91711. 714-625-6147. <<<>>> Title : Boston Systems Office, In Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swboston Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Boston Systems Office, Inc. has announced a language-sensitive editor for the Digital Equipment Corp. VAX/VMS computing environment. Called BSO/LSE Plus, the product will reportedly provide embedded system programmers with multiwindow and multilanguage capabilities. The software facilitates editing, compiling, assembling and reviewing within a single editing session and is priced from $500, the vendor said. BSO, 128 Technology Center, Waltham, Mass. 02254. 800-458-8276. <<<>>> Title : The Thoroughbred Division Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swthorou Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: The Thoroughbred Division of Concept Omega Corp. has announced that its fourth-generation language development package, Idol-IV, is now available to run on Digital Equipment Corp. VAXs. The product consists of three components: Dictionary-IV, Report-IV and the Script-IV 4GL development language. Pricing for systems running VMS 4.4 or higher ranges from $2,295 for eight users to $13,495 for 128 users. Thoroughbred, P.O. Box 6712, 19 Schoolhouse Road, Somerset, N.J. 08875. 800-524-0430. <<<>>> Title : Oasys, Inc. has announced Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swoasysi Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Oasys, Inc. has announced the availability of its proprietary implementation of AT&T's object-oriented C Plus Plus language on Digital Equipment Corp.'s recently announced Decstation 3100 systems. Called Designer C Plus Plus, the product runs on DEC's entire line of VAX and Vaxstation systems under both VMS and Ultrix, the vendor said. It is said to enhance the C language by providing extensive data abstraction, option-strong type-checking, operator and function overloading and other object-oriented programming facilities. Designer C Plus Plus for the Decstation 3100 costs $5,000. Maintenance is priced at $900 per year. Oasys, 230 Second Ave., Waltham, Mass. 02154. 617-890-7889. <<<>>> Title : A fourth-generation langu Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swmrc Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: A fourth-generation language productivity tool for IBM Application System/400 computers has been announced by Michaels, Ross & Cole Ltd. The MRC-Productivity Series reportedly allows programmers to modify applications and convert them to native mode when migrated from other systems to the AS/400. The software generates an externalized database and will automatically document the conversion process. The MRC-Productivity Series is priced from $5,000 for the AS/400 Model B10 to $35,000 for the Model B60. Michaels, Ross & Cole, Suite 203, 450 E. 22nd St., Lombard, Ill. 60148. 312-916-0662. <<<>>> Title : Concurrent Computer Corp. Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swconcur Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Concurrent Computer Corp. has announced that a new version of the company's ANSI/Mil Spec 1815A Ada Programming Language will be available in the first quarter. Operating on the Concurrent Model 3280MPS computer under OS/32, the C3Ada language system will reportedly offer an enhanced compile time of 600 to 1,000 line/min. as well as four compiler directives for improving runtime efficiency. The C3Ada compiler costs $24,900. Concurrent, 106 Apple St., Tinton Falls, N.J. 07724. 201-758-7000. <<<>>> Title : Global Software, Inc. has Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swglobal Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Global Software, Inc. has announced its Financial Institution Materials Management System (FIMMS) for IBM minicomputers and mainframes. The on-line system was designed specifically for multilocation, multifacility organizations such as banks, savings and loan associations and insurance companies, the vendor said. Features include real-time requisition processing, tracking and consolidating as well as on-line query capabilities. FIMMS is priced from $125,000 to $300,000, depending on hardware configuration. Global Software, 1009 Spring Forest Road, Raleigh, N.C. 27615. 800-366-7890. <<<>>> Title : IMSL, Inc. has announced Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swimslin Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: IMSL, Inc. has announced a series of software libraries for Hewlett-Packard Co.'s 9000 Series 800 systems. The IMSL Libraries reportedly run under the HP-UX operating system running on the HP 9000/Fortran compiler. The products include Math/Library for solving mathematical problems, Stat/Library for statisical data analysis and SFun/Library for analyzing special functions. The annual fee for the complete IMSL Libraries group on the HP 9000 ranges from $1,800 to $3,500 for the first year of implementation. IMSL, 2500 Parkwest Tower One, 2500 Citywest Blvd., Houston, Texas 77042. 713-782-6060. <<<>>> Title : Carolian Systems Internat Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swcaroli Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Carolian Systems International, Inc. has released Version A.04.00 of Sysplan, the company's performance analysis and resource planning tool for Hewlett-Packard Co.'s 3000 series computers. An expected highlight of the latest release is the ability to modify the value of any point or points that are on a line graph. There is also a ``scattergram'' function that reports the usage of two resources on a single machine, according to the vendor. Sysplan A.04.00 is priced from $4,000, depending on the size of the processor. Carolian Systems, 3397 American Drive, No. 5, Mississauga, Ont., Canada L4V 1T8. 800-263-8787. <<<>>> Title : Computer Consoles, Inc. ( Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swcomput Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Computer Consoles, Inc. (CCI) has upgraded its Unix-based office automation software. Officepower Version 4.02 reportedly offers several integration tools and user features not previously available, including bidirectional document conversion capabilities, a tool for customizing interfaces to graphics printers and a set of utilities and libraries for C language programmers. Officepower 4.02 is priced from $1,995 to $39,995, depending on CCI platform and number of users. CCI, Computer Products Division, 9801 Muirlands Blvd., Irvine, Calif. 92718. 714-472-7605. <<<>>> Title : A computer-aided design s Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: sweesof Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: A computer-aided design software package that runs on Sun Microsystems, Inc. and Apollo Computer, Inc. workstations as well as on Hewlett-Packard Co.'s 9000 Series 300 has been announced by Eesof, Inc. Academy provides a graphical design environment focused on the needs of the microwave and radio frequency engineer, the company said. The program utilizes layout-driven simulation and produces both production and report documentation. Pricing ranges from $6,000 to $14,000, depending on platform, configuration and options. Eesof, 5795 Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village, Calif. 91362. 818-991-7530. <<<>>> Title : Hewlett-Packard Co. has r Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swhewlet Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Hewlett-Packard Co. has released a version of the HP Manufacturing Management II (MM II) software for manufacturing resource planning (MRP) applications. The HP Materials Management/Advanced Version module includes back-flush for recording the consumption of raw materials and the manufacture of products, alternate parts to indicate the use of alternate recipes or components, by-products for planning production and recording use and selective MRP for anticipating the impact of changes to orders. HP MM II, which includes the HP MM/AV module, ranges from $170,000 to $300,000, depending on configuration. HP, Inquiries, 19310 Pruneridge Ave., Cupertino, Calif. 95014. 800-752-0900. <<<>>> Title : H & W Computer Systems, I Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swhandwc Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: H & W Computer Systems, Inc. has announced SYSD/ CPMS Release 6.1. The product is said to be an IBM CICS-based productivity tool that features ISPF/PDP-like Edit and Browse, SDSF-like Report Viewing and Routing, CICS/JES2 printer management and CICS debug and management utilities. The latest version includes automatic requeuing of printed reports and 255-char. print-line capability, the company said. SYSD/CPMS runs under IBM MVS and MVS/XA with CICS and is priced at $27,000. H & W Computer, P.O. Box 15190, Boise, Idaho 83715. 208-385-0336. <<<>>> Title : Unisys Corp. has announce Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: swunisys Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Unisys Corp. has announced the Easy Access Data Interchange (EADI) system, a Unix-based transaction-handling software package designed to implement electronic data interchange (EDI) communications. According to the vendor, the product provides automatic tailoring of business documents, purchase orders and sales and accounting documents and gives users the ability to meet the format requirements of the EDI network and their trading partners. The software system operates on the Unisys U 6000 series minicomputer and is priced at $3,500. First shipments were scheduled for delivery last month. Unisys, P.O. Box 500, Blue Bell, Pa. 19424. 215-542-2243. <<<>>> Title : A single-slot Motorola, I Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: hwdatacu Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: A single-slot Motorola, Inc. VMEbus image processor has been announced by Datacube, Inc. According to the company, the ICS-220 board provides real-time convolution, full analog and digital I/O and histogramming functions. The convolver supports several real-time data format conversion techniques, and the histogramming facility reportedly computes a 256-bin pixel count summary for every frame of data in real time. The board is priced at $9,500. A Unix driver for the Sun Microsystems, Inc. Sun-3 workstation is also available. Datacube, 4 Dearborn Road, Peabody, Mass. 01960. 617-535-6644. <<<>>> Title : Acer Counterpoint, Inc. h Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: hwacerco Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Acer Counterpoint, Inc. has announced an expansion chassis for its System 15 multiuser computer. The Intel Corp. 80386-based machine reportedly runs at 20 MHz and offers connectivity for up to 34 ports. It was designed to provide up to 700M bytes of additional storage per chassis. Disk modules are available in 90M-, 150M- and 300M-byte configurations. The chassis and the machine can be used with the company's C-XIX AT&T Unix System V operating system. The System 15 expansion chassis is priced from $800 to $8,600. Acer, 2127 Ringwood Ave., San Jose, Calif. 95131. 408-434-0190. <<<>>> Title : Encore Computer Corp. has Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: hwencore Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Encore Computer Corp. has announced a line of mass storage enhancements for its Multimax 320 parallel computing system. The I/O products will be incorporated into product shipments immediately, the vendor said. Modifications are said to include a 1.05G-byte formatted 8-in. disk drive; integral-buffered small computer systems interface tape controllers; and an optional mass storage interface card. The Multimax cabinetry has been redesigned to accommodate up to 64 disks and 16 nine-track tape drives, the company said. The list price of the Multimax 320 with peripherals cabinet is $148,500. Encore, 257 Cedar Hill St., Marlboro, Mass. 01752. 508-460-0500. <<<>>> Title : Technology Corp. has anno Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: hwstorag Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Technology Corp. has announced support for connection of up to eight host channels on its 4480 cartridge subsystem. The 18-track tape and cartridge unit is scheduled to be shipped in the third quarter of this year and will carry a list price of $5,040 for each channel interface, according to the vendor. Storage Technology, 2270 S. 88th St., Louisville, Colo. 80028. 303-673-4400. <<<>>> Title : CSS Laboratories, Inc. ha Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: hwcsslab Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: CSS Laboratories, Inc. has announced a laser printer specifically designed for departmental needs. According to the vendor, the Indy 223 is packaged with a proprietary raster image processor and a Minolta Corp. 22 page/min. print engine. Among other options included are a 2,000-sheet input tray and face-down stacker. The Indy 223 costs $19,500. CSS, 1641 McGaw Ave., Irvine, Calif. 92714. 714-852-8161. <<<>>> Title : A self-service financial Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: hwncrcor Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: A self-service financial terminal for the banking industry has been unveiled by NCR Corp. The NCR 5682 Automated Platform Machine will allow bank customers to obtain information, receive a statement and order checks. The color-graphics terminal is also capable of performing customer car-loan approval transactions. Scheduled for delivery this year, the terminal is priced from $17,000 to $20,000. NCR, 1700 S. Patterson Blvd., Dayton, Ohio 45479. 513-445-5000. <<<>>> Title : Promote or perish Author : Michael Alexande Source : CW Comm FileName: mcol Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: End users and information center managers are uneasy allies at best, probably because quite a few managers of this type believe that the rising influence of end-user computing has come at the expense of the information center. To a large extent, that's true. In companies in which end-user computing is well entrenched, employees buy personal computers without guidance from MIS, set standards, train and support each other and write applications. But does the growth of end-user computing signal the decline of the information center? Not necessarily, although information center managers will need to find new ways to get along with end users. End users will not go to an information center if they think the people there cannot deliver the goods. If the center grudgingly doles out support services, end users may feel they are not getting adequate assistance. Without repeat business, no one is in business for long. The best product in the world is worthless if you can't get anybody to buy it. Promote the center's services and objectives through newsletters, Help desks, hot lines, walk-in services and every other tool at your disposal. Solving problems is more important than selling services; avoid pushing services that end users don't want. Many information center managers are not embarrassed to refer an end user to a PC power user for assistance that the center is unable to provide. ``We have guys here that know more about Lotus' 1-2-3 than we'll ever know,'' a manager of micro support said to me recently. ``They're closer to their jobs than we are, and they know how the tools can be used in their work.'' With end users doing more to help themselves, the information center can focus on the truly critical tasks. For example, an information center staffer at a large corporation told me he spends increasing amounts of his time conducting needs analysis for end users. He added that bringing end users into the decision-making process earlier for selecting hardware and software has sped up the cycle and increased their willingness to begin using new technology. ``End users began pushing us for desktop publishing systems, but we weren't ready to do it,'' he explained. ``So, we finally ordered some sample programs and asked a couple of the most vocal end users to evaluate the software and make recommendations.'' As a result, end users got what they wanted sooner and, in return, shouldered much of the training and support responsibilities, he said. Rather than making policies too strict, give end users some option for buying nonstandard products; however, limit support and training to those packages on the approved list. There is probably little that information center managers can do to stop end users from developing their own applications, despite the potential risks involved. And like it or not, the center will probably have to support those activities. Take control of the conditions under which end users are allowed to develop applications to ward off some of the potential problems. That means setting guidelines for the review, documentation, testing and support of end-user developed applications. The vice-president of computers and communications at a large railroad company offered this last bit of advice: ``When it comes time for budget-cutting, the IC goes first unless you can show end users what you have done for them. When end users ask for services, ask them to tell you what the job would have cost if they had done it on their own. The day will come when you will need that information, and there is a good possibility that in times of cutbacks, you may be increasing your staff.'' By Michael Alexander; Alexander is a Computerworld senior editor, microcomputing. <<<>>> Title : End users in charge Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: usegrps Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: When information center managers at UNUM Life Insurance Co. in Portland, Maine, were looking for ways to save money, they asked their end users to help themselves. ``We had too many resources tied up supporting end users,'' said Don Caton, UNUM's manager of personal computer technology. By relying on end-user groups to take on more of the training and support duties, the company was able to consolidate five decentralized information centers into one ``PC Technology Area'' and simultaneously reduce information center support personnel from 60 to six employees. ``We took a `before' picture for a cost study, but the program is not completed, so we don't have the `after' picture yet. But I would guess that the savings have been one half or better,'' Caton said. The prospect of realizing dramatic cost savings from downsizing the information center is certainly incentive enough for a corporation to establish at least one end-user group. However, there are several other benefits that can be realized by information center management. Two end-user groups at UNUM, for example, also help the information center with the often tricky job of implementing new technology and provide feedback to information center management about each depart- ment's unique needs. This feedback allows UNUM to better tailor support programs. UNUM's PC Users Group is made up of equal portions of 20 to 40 ``zealots'' and systems personnel, Caton said. The company has a second group, called the Key Operator Network, made up of 60 active members and 60 backups who regularly work on office systems and data access networks. ``They are most important as feedback groups to test applications, evaluate products and to preview new technology rollouts,'' Caton said. End-user groups at UNUM and elsewhere also help information center management to select and test new technology, set standards and establish ground rules for applications development by end users. Market opportunity One additional benefit is that the regularly held meetings give the information center an opportunity to market its services to end users, Caton said. ``We use these meetings to present what we think the industry will do in the year ahead and to give them our position on such things as OS/2 and Presentation Manager,'' he explained. ``It keeps us from getting requests for things we do not plan to move on.'' There are several end-user groups at Merrill Lynch & Co. in New York, according to David Hasiba, manager of microcomputer acquisition and maintenance support. ``They are a great forum for exchanging ideas, training and enforcing standards,'' Hasiba said. Merrill Lynch's Network Administrator Group, composed of about 30 end users responsible for managing the company's local-area networks, meets monthly to learn techniques and to talk about developments in networking technology. There are several aspects to setting up and managing end-user groups. Perhaps the most critical component of a successful program is the active participation of information center management. The information technology support team at Merrill Lynch, for example, establishes end-user groups, spells out the groups' objectives and meeting guidelines and is responsible for ensuring that issues raised by the groups are acted on. Another key to setting up a successful end-user group is promoting a self-driven culture that keeps users motivated and willing to regularly participate in users group activities. ``We tried it for a while, but we couldn't keep it up because there was very little participation,'' said Warren Harkness, director of corporate information systems at Bose Corp. in Framingham, Mass. ``There is a tendency here for people to seek out the self-professed computer experts whenever they have a problem; they don't want to wait for a meeting that's going to be held a month from now to get what they need.'' Getting the support of management is also vital. When UNUM's information center management team decided to establish an end-user group to provide departmental-level support to end users on the company's networks, it went to the company's chief executive officer to ask that each department manager be required to volunteer an employee for the group. ``We mandated their participation because of the rapidity of having to evaluate and implement technology,'' Caton said. ``We wanted to make sure that we would reap the benefits that we could only get with full participation.'' Management's approval is also necessary to permit end users to hold meetings on company time. Without it, the end-user group is doomed to fail, warned several information center managers. ``We had one that was set up by the information center, but once it was started, we wanted users to run it. But the idea died,'' said Bob Nelson, an end-user computing systems consultant at Harris Bankcorp, Inc. in Chicago. ``It needs to have middle management's involvement _ for them to say to their employees, `This meeting is important and you should attend.' '' By Michael Alexander, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Glut means 286 bargains Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: ats1 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Corporate buyers are getting better deals on Intel Corp. 80286-based systems as these personal computers glut the market. ``Suppliers are much more willing to deal,'' said Phil Gordon, manager of office systems at Charles Schwab & Co. in San Francisco. ``We're not having to do too much to force prices down. The competition between retailers and hardware vendors for business is doing it for us.'' Like many MIS departments, Charles Schwab is standardizing on 286s. ``It's about all we're buying,'' Gordon says. In recent months, discounts on 286s have increased to 35% from a usual 30%, he noted. Tom Egan, a vice-president at Wells Fargo Bank, said his organization has made the decision to purchase more fully featured 286-based systems. Like Charles Schwab, Wells Fargo is standardizing on 286 technology. ``We're getting more for less,'' he explained. ``We're forcing better deals,'' a phenomenon he said he took note of only a couple of months ago. Make your deal now Bill Lempesis, a PC industry analyst at Dataquest, Inc. in San Jose, Calif., said the first half of this year will be a prime time for users looking for good deals on 286s. An average 286 system is currently selling for about $2,000. Lempesis said he expects prices to drop between $1,000 and $1,500 in the next few months. About 5.7 million 286-based systems were shipped worldwide last year, Dataquest reported. That figure is expected to climb to 6.5 million this year, according to Dataquest's projections. Better prices are the result of oversupply. In the beginning, the 286 market attracted clone makers because it offered better margins. As more vendors jumped into the 286 market, users have been the big winners. They have a choice among suppliers who are willing to deal to get their business. An ease in the scarcity of memory components has also contributed to price reductions, according to Lempesis. ``DRAM prices are going down to a certain extent,'' he said. ``But they're not back to where they were before the shortage.'' However, the oversupply of 286s has forced vendors to drop prices to compete, despite the higher price of memory. Clone makers such as Wyse Technology are feeling the pressure. Wyse recently reported its first operating loss and blamed its stumble on a failure to drop prices quickly enough to fuel demand in an increasingly competitive market. Wyse conceded that it has a significant inventory of 286 systems. Marginal returns ``We're going to continue to see downward pressure on pricing,'' Lempesis said. ``There's an awful lot of competition in the marketplace. Margins will be under pressure.'' Vendors are expected to place a greater emphasis on Intel 80386 technology by year's end in a search for better margins. They may find many users unreceptive unless prices for 386 systems drop significantly. Gordon said Charles Schwab will stick with 286 technology until prices for 386-based systems begin to fall. ``It doesn't make sense economically for us to migrate up,'' Gordon explained. ``The price differential between what we're able to get a 286 for right now and a 386 is too great.'' By Julie Pitta, CW staff <<<>>> Title : MCA vs. EISA: Shedding li Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: techass Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: It is rare that arguments over subtle distinctions become virulent, but that is exactly what has happened with the debate between IBM and its personal computer competitors. The battleground is the confusing world of advanced PC buses. The issues being debated delve into the intricacies of bus mastering as well as edge-triggered vs. level-sensitive interrupts. Dig deeper, and it gets even more esoteric. The well-documented combatants are IBM and the Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) group, led by Compaq Computer Corp. along with eight top PC cloners. Fanning the flames, each group has attacked the so-called technical shortcomings and market bungling of the other. Reduced to its essentials, the EISA group's claim is that IBM has tried to shove an incompatible and useless bus down the throats of unwilling customers everywhere. According to IBM, the EISA bus mimics Micro Channel Architecture (MCA), validates the IBM position, but in the end fails to match the technical prowess of the IBM version. With the exception of backwards compatibility to the IBM Personal Computer AT, the EISA proposal looks remarkably similar to MCA. ``The distinctions are pretty subtle,'' said Rich Bader, general manager of Intel Corp.'s Personal Computer Enhancement Operation, a group that develops PC board products. Both buses eliminate annoying DIP switches during board installation and support 32-bit data transfer. In addition, each camp supports multiple processors, a technique called bus mastering. This allows separate processors to take over the bus and simultaneously access memory and disk. So at this fundamental level, the two adversaries agree. When arguments over technical minutia are put aside, it all boils down to positioning. IBM says it introduced the Personal System/2 with its MCA to set the stage for a new style of computing in which users will do several things at once and communicate with a wide variety of devices while micro-based servers proliferate. But first, a new bus was needed, IBM said. And the bus it introduced, MCA, was viewed as closed and proprietary to IBM. This drew howls from its competitors, who used IBM's more open AT bus to steal gobs of market share away from IBM. In fact, the EISA coalition has chosen to rename the AT bus it has cloned to Industry Standard Architecture, or ISA. IBM's competitors have complained that MCA is unnecessary for single-user machines and that IBM's pro-MCA argument is a nonissue. IBM disagrees and points to an approach called ``level-sensitive interrupts'' as a potential boon for users. Level-sensitive interrupts replace the so-called edge-triggered interrupts used in the PC AT bus. Simply put, with edge-triggered interrupts, the system essentially handles requests from software and hardware as they occur. LAN pitching Because Compaq believes that advanced buses such as MCA and EISA are ``useless'' for single-user computing, the firm is pitching EISA for $10,000-to-$15,000 departmental and local-area network server systems. It is in these applications alone that advanced buses are required, Compaq said. There is one outstanding technical difference between EISA and MCA upon which Compaq places great emphasis: EISA will reportedly protect the corporate user's investment in AT bus-compatible add-in hardware. Naturally, IBM has a completely different view of the EISA bus. Chet Heath, senior engineer in the Entry Systems Division and the man widely viewed as the father of MCA, says that EISA simply will not work. Compaq confidently contends that users can mix yesterday's old modem, graphics cards and networking with tomorrow's coprocessing and bus-mastering cards specifically designed for EISA. Perhaps, counters IBM's Heath, if you want to roast hot dogs with it. The implications of interrupt-sharing between edge-triggered (AT-compatible) and level-sensitive (32-bit address) devices will eventually lead to disaster, Heath said. In other words, users who mix old PC AT cards with ones developed specifically for EISA are following a recipe for disaster. ``What the user would see is the two devices getting very hot,'' Heath said. ``Eventually, one would burn out. And that's what we call a silicon barbecue.'' Compaq's Stimac concedes that Heath is theoretically correct but argues that EISA has taken pains to ensure that the bus cookout never ignites. New EISA boards tell the system how it will generate interrupts and how it will work with other products. Also, existing boards, when installed, go through a configuration utility that provides the same protection, Stimac said. The bottom line for Heath is that IBM has a massive head start. ``We've had for 21 months what the other guys will have 21 months from now,'' he said. That doesn't faze Compaq, which points to EISA's support of today's cards and its claims that board makers are working on advanced boards [CW, Jan. 30, 1988]. This combination will let EISA catch up with MCA, Compaq claims. It is likely that these opposing forces will continue to squabble over petty differences between buses. But like any marketplace wars, customers will ultimately choose the winner. By William Brandel and Douglas Barney, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Sales: Practice your pitc Author : Douglas Barney Source : CW Comm FileName: dcoler Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Not all computer salesmen are lunkheads. Of course, not all politicians are crooks, either. But talk to enough computer customers and you'll hear the horror stories: ``They sold me the wrong machine, recommended the wrong software, didn't tell me I'd need a special space on the store's repair bench to fix the same nagging problem and didn't let on that the store was a day away from Chapter 11.'' Again, many stores are staffed by decent, God-fearing people who give good advice and excellent service. These folks are no fun to write about, so henceforth, this column will ignore them. Instead, we will focus on the rats. For instance, the people who sold a new computer with a laser printer to a public relations department of a popular Massachusetts hospital were obviously boobs. These folks neglected to mention that an additional drive was needed to load the fonts. Then, during a service call, they condescendingly referred to a couple of mature women as ``girls.'' It was these ``girls'' that pinpointed the problem in the first place. The result was an extra $300 to get the system working right. And there are the yahoos who tried again and again to fix my friend's Tandy 3000. Each time, the system came back worse. Go back to used cars, guys. This is not news to MIS. Many avoid these tribulations by dealing directly with competent vendors. Others seek out and hang onto top-notch dealers. But in just about every case, corporations set up their own dealer-type operations to help end users select and set up products, troubleshoot installed systems and answer technical questions that range from dull to sublime. That is a lot easier than explaining to a dealer what a graphics card is and why it doesn't work. This problem is going to get a lot worse. There are these things called networks and workstations and OS/2 to worry about. Most dealers will be dumbfounded by this stuff, and MIS will say what it usually says: ``Just give me 30 points off and hand me the box.'' Hope for EISA. EISA, which is short for Extended Industry Standard Architecture and long on promises, has a saving grace. Compaq, the ringleader of the group, is one of three companies that have access to OS/2 source code. The other two, as you may have guessed, are co-developers IBM and Microsoft. We're not sure how IBM or the other EISA members feel about this, but we know Compaq is happy. Compaq can work at a very detailed level to ensure that OS/2 embraces the EISA bus' way of supporting multiple processors. New Mac semiclone. Nobody has fully cloned the Macintosh yet. Several companies such as Phoenix Technologies could do it if someone gave them the proper millions; so far, none has stepped forward. Atari, however, already has a Mac semiclone that requires users to buy Apple read-only memory. But the 68000 processor in the Atari box doesn't give Mac software much ooomph. On the way, however, is an Atari 68030 box with Mac ROMs in plentiful supply from a third party. This speedy, cheap compatible may be just what Mac users have been waiting for. By Douglas Barney; Barney is a Computerworld senior editor, microcomputing. <<<>>> Title : Hypercard clone undergoes Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: super2 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: SAN DIEGO _ Beta-test versions of a clone of Apple Computer, Inc.'s Hypercard database for the Macintosh reportedly were shipped to third-party developers and corporate end users last week. Supercard, Silicon Beach Software, Inc.'s Hypercard clone, is being positioned as a second-generation product compatible with Hypercard, according to a Silicon Beach spokesman. Like Hypercard, Supercard allows users to incorporate text, graphics, sound and animation to create personalized databases. Users store information on screen images of ``cards'' as they would with an index card. The software allows users to organize information by linking cards that are then organized into ``stacks.'' New wrinkles However, Supercard adds features that are currently not available in the original package, according to Silicon Beach officials. It supports color, adds a debugger and extends Hypercard's scripting language Hypertalk. The extension adds new commands for managing windows and menus. Both products require 1M byte of random-access memory. The color version of Supercard requires 2M bytes of RAM and can only be used in a Mac II, Apple's top-of-the-line system. Hypercard is bundled with every new Macintosh sold. Users who purchased a Macintosh before Hypercard's introduction in August 1987 may purchase it for $49. Supercard is priced at $199. Industry watchers say it remains to be seen whether Supercard finds a following. Compared with Hypercard, it is expensive, and Silicon Beach lacks the name recognition of Apple. Mixed success Also, Supercard's predecessor, Hypercard, has met with mixed success, they said. Average users have found Hypercard difficult to use, and Apple has failed to lure many third parties into developing ``stackware'' to facilitate the use of Hypercard. The product adds a number of beneficial features to Hypercard, said Fred Thorlin, director of software industry services at Dataquest, Inc., a San Jose, Calif., market research firm. However, it may be subject to the same factors that hampered the success of Hypercard, Thorlin noted. While the Mac community has been excited about Hypercard, few third parties have developed successful stackware, he said. ``Apple made a mistake in that it promised Hypercard would be everything to everybody.'' John Wordley, an industry analyst at International Data Corp. in Framingham, Mass., said Hypercard has been a tough sell. ``A big problem with Hypercard is that it's difficult trying to explain it,'' Wordley said. ``It's difficult for users to relate to it.'' By Julie Pitta, CW staff <<<>>> Title : IBM division exposes soft Author : Douglas Barney Source : CW Comm FileName: sarrat Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: IBM has never been a name-brand vendor of personal computer software. In fact, the $54 billion computer firm has been overshadowed not only by PC biggies such as Lotus Development Corp. and Microsoft Corp. but by bold upstarts such as Borland International. This image is not likely to change with the recent creation of the Desktop Software Group. Instead, IBM will work to boost the visibility of packages from small, underfinanced organizations. The company will also develop relationships with medium-size companies that seek marketing and technical assistance. At the same time, IBM appears to be deemphasizing its own applications software efforts in favor of marketing deals with smaller, and perhaps more creative, companies. Computerworld Senior Editor Douglas Barney recently spoke with Fernand Sarrat, general manager of IBM's Desktop Software Group, to discuss plans for IBM's embryonic software efforts. Why was the Desktop Software Group formed? The genesis came when the Application Software Division was presenting its strategy to John Akers and our management committee, and the question came up about revenue from PC software. John asked that we look at it, a task force was put together, and the recommendation was this unit. I came on board with no desk, no pencils. How is this effort different from previous ones? The arrangements with people like Software Publishing [IBM remarketed this firm's PFS series] were heavily oriented toward launching our PC offerings at the time. The differences are, first, the focus on software as a business in and of itself. The second is that, from a marketing standpoint, our prior efforts were focused on the development side and not as much on the marketing side. This time, we are going to put in place a dedicated sales force and allocate the dollars to do the marketing launch. Who will you be pitching the product to? The sales force's primary objective is to work with the retail channels. When they go into large accounts, it would be to support efforts that retailers have going. How many products will be from IBM? I would say, on the front end, products like Displaywrite's revenue stream will be very significant compared with the new entries into the portfolio. But as time goes by, the mix will change. The objective is to really take products from the outside rather than develop them. Our objective is not to write a set of specs and develop but to act as facilitators for developers to bring products to market. Will IBM be marketing products that are currently in development? It can vary across the spectrum. We are working right now with small developers that do not have any marketing capability on products that are not on the market today. We are also working with small developers that have products on the market, and we are working with medium-size PC software companies that have both products on the market and a marketing capability themselves. Are you looking for particular operating system platforms? Now the focus is on DOS and OS/2, but we are open-minded. At some point, we will take a look at [IBM's] AIX as part of the charter, and we are not closed-minded about taking a look at the Apple environment sometime down the road. Will IBM help these products become more Systems Application Architecture-oriented? For products that we have in the portfolio that come from IBM labs, we are very committed to the SAA strategy, and we will aim to shape the products in that image. If we are going to be in the publishing business, that will be slightly different. We obviously will be very interested in shaping our offering to work with that strategy, but it is not a delimiter. How are you going to get this thing rolling? We have met with a fairly good number of developers, and basically we have said, ``Look. What we can bring to the table is technical support from a development standpoint _ either how to work with OS/2 or product plans. We can also provide our view of product trends, development tools like loaner machines, early software tool kits or funding.'' Will you provide guidelines to expand the portability of these products to other operating systems? In some cases, it goes as far as sharing of technology. Some company may have an excellent set of skills in one area but will want to add to their product's communications capability or natural language stuff. Here you can do joint development. Will you focus on so-called horizontal applications? On the front end, yes, but verticals will be very interesting to use later in the year as a second step. When will we see the first of these products backed by IBM? We have several negotiations under way, but I don't want to put time pressure on myself. Would you care to be vague? Sometime this year, that is for sure. What applications areas are you primarily interested in? Front ends to databases are very important to us, and that is an emerging area, particularly in an OS/2 environment. The Personal Information Manager category and graphics are very appealing, and of course we have a good entry into word processing. Here, we are interested in products that work around word processing like desktop publishing or page recognition. We are not much interested in spreadsheets. We have some arrangements with Lotus there anyway. What are your goals? To become ``The IBM of software?'' The objective is to build a healthy revenue stream. I would also like to put a set of applications out there that is breaking new ground. <<<>>> Title : Compaq targets techies wi Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: compaq Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: HOUSTON _ Compaq Computer Corp. has introduced a graphics board and color monitor targeted at technical personal computer users such as those involved in computer-aided engineering and design. The $1,499 device, called the Compaq Advanced Graphics 1024 board, provides 1,024- by 768-pixel resolution and the ability to display 16 colors from a palette of 16.7 million. It supports Autodesk, Inc.'s Autocad Releases 9 and 10 and drivers for Autoshade and Autosketch as well as Microsoft Corp.'s Windows/286 and 386. It can be plugged into either 8- or 16-bit slots. It is not compatible with IBM's 8514/A graphics adapter. A companion board _ the Advanced Graphics Memory Board _ allows the display of 256 colors and a resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels for shaded three-dimensional images. It costs $599. Comaq also introduced a monitor for use with the advanced graphics board. The Advanced Color Monitor, priced at $1,999, offers resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels and IBM Video Graphics Array resolution of 640 by 480 pixels. It supports up to 256 colors on a 16-in. screen. Compaq claims that a quarter of its Deskpro 386/20 users are running computer-aided design software. The Deskpro 386/20 is positioned near the high end of Compaq's PC line. Compaq Vice-President of Sales and Marketing Michael Swaveley declined to offer projections on how the new products will allow Compaq to increase its penetration in technical markets. By Julie Pitta, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Rapid Systems, Inc. has i Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micrapid Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Rapid Systems, Inc. has introduced a library of personal computer-based lab courses that were designed to provide comprehensive coverage of digital instrumentation and digital signal processing techniques. The lab programs run on IBM Personal Computers and PC XTs and ATs. The courses consist of both hardware and software to convert a PC into a turnkey digital oscilloscope, spectrum analyzer, data logger or data acquisition model. Pricing for the products ranges from $995 to $3,995. Rapid Systems, 433 N. 34th St., Seattle, Wash. 98103. 206-547-8311. <<<>>> Title : Nostradamus, Inc. has rel Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micnostr Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Nostradamus, Inc. has released Quattro-Assist 1.0, a tutorial for Borland International's Quattro spreadsheet package. According to the company, Quattro-Assist 1.0 covers several topics, including data entry, spreadsheet functions, graphing and macros. The tutorial has a price tag of $79.95. Nostradamus, Suite 252, 3191 S. Valley St., Salt Lake City, Utah 84109. 801-487-9662. <<<>>> Title : Microvideo Learning Syste Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micmicro Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Microvideo Learning Systems has developed a training program for users of Ashton-Tate Corp.'s Dbase IV software program. The package reportedly consists of two modules: the Using Dbase IV Learning System and the Advanced Dbase IV Learning System. Both units utilize a videotape, a data diskette and an in-depth workbook, the vendor said. The modules may be purchased together for $895 or separately for $495 each. Videotapes are available in either VHS or Beta formats, according to the company. Microvideo, 119 W. 22nd St., New York, N.Y. 10011. 800-231-4021. <<<>>> Title : Practical Computer Techno Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micpract Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Practical Computer Technologies, Inc. has announced a series of add-on, floppy drive subsystems for users of IBM Personal Computers, PC XTs and ATs and compatible machines. The Practidisk product line includes a proprietary controller that is reportedly capable of coexisting with the computer's currently installed controller and drives. Available in both external and internal versions and in configurations for 3 -in. and 5 -in. disks, the series is priced from $179 to $489. Practical Computer Technologies, 3971 Walnut St., Fairfax, Va. 22030. 703-385-3332. <<<>>> Title : Priam Corp. has integrate Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micpriam Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Priam Corp. has integrated its Innerspace family of high-capacity Winchester disk drives with the small computer systems interface (SCSI) for IBM Personal Computers, PC ATs, Personal System/2s and compatible systems. The company has added 160M-, 250M- and 330M-byte SCSI drives to its line of internal disk add-in kits. The ID160, ID250 and ID330 kits reportedly include a disk drive, mounting hardware, cables, installation manual and partitioning software on a floppy diskette. They are priced from $2,195 to $3,255. Priam, 20 W. Montague Expwy., San Jose, Calif. 95134. 408-434-9300. <<<>>> Title : Grid Systems Corp. has an Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micgrids Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Grid Systems Corp. has announced a 100M-byte Winchester disk drive option for the company's line of Intel Corp. 80286- and 80386-based laptop computers. The 3 -in. Model 325 drive reportedly uses four disks and eight heads and has a 28-msec access time. It has 104M bytes of formatted capacity, according to the company, and can store approximately 50,000 pages of typed material. The Model 325 has a price tag of $2,895. Grid, 47211 Lakeview Blvd., Fremont, Calif. 94538. 415-656-4700. <<<>>> Title : Toshiba Corp.'s Informati Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: mictoshi Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Toshiba Corp.'s Information Systems Division has introduced the Expresswriter301, a portable printer that provides 24-dot letter-quality printing, the company said. The four-pound printer includes 2K bytes of memory and prints at 60 char./ sec. in high-speed mode and 42 char./sec. in normal mode, according to the company. The Expresswriter301 is priced at $489. Toshiba, 9740 Irvine Blvd., Irvine, Calif. 92718. 714-583-3000. <<<>>> Title : NEC Information Systems, Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micnecis Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: NEC Information Systems, Inc. has introduced the Silentwriter LC 890XL page printer, developed for graphics production in multiuser, local-area networked environments. The device features Adobe Systems, Inc. Postscript support as well as a Motorola, Inc. 68020-based Atlas controller, also from Adobe. The printer offers 4M bytes of random-access memory, which is expandable to 8M bytes, according to the company. A 20M-byte external hard disk drive may purchased as an option. The LC 890XL has a price tag of $6,995. Shipments are scheduled for March. NEC, 1414 Massachusetts Ave., Boxboro, Mass. 01719. 508-264-8000. <<<>>> Title : Mitsubishi International Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: hwmitsub Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Mitsubishi International Corp. has introduced the Intelligent Graphics Controller. The controller comes standard with the company's CHC 336 thermal color printer and reportedly allows the printer to interface with almost any computer's graphics system. The product does not require custom-written software drivers and is especially suitable for the personal computer and desktop publishing marketplace, according to the company. The CHC 336 costs $6,300. Mitsubishi, Computer Graphics Department, 701 Westchester Ave., White Plains, N.Y. 10604. 914-997-4999. <<<>>> Title : A series of image scanner Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: mictheco Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: A series of image scanners has been introduced by Complete PC, Inc. The Complete Page Scanner reportedly offers sheet-fed scanning of full 8 -in. wide pages up to 14 in. long. Users may select either 200 or 300 dot/in. resolution, and the product includes an interface card for Microsoft Corp. MS-DOS personal computers. The scanner costs $899. According to the vendor, the Complete Hand Scanner/400 scans at resolutions of 200, 300 or 400 dot/in. Especially suited for use with desktop publishing and word processing packages, the unit costs $249. The Complete Half-Page Scanner can cover a page in two scanning passes, the company said, and scans images up to 4 by 14 in. at 200 dot/in. It costs $299. Complete PC, 521 Cottonwood Drive, Milpitas, Calif. 95035. 408-434-0145. <<<>>> Title : Sharp Electronics Corp. h Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micsharp Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Sharp Electronics Corp. has reportedly expanded the capabilities of the Wizard, the company's handheld electronic organizer. The product is said to provide a database facility especially suited to traveling executives. According to the vendor, the unit can transfer data to desktop personal computers as well as hard-copy devices. The organizer also offers optional peripherals, including a PC link, software diskette and printer and dubbing cable. Integrated circuit software cards are available. The Wizard costs $299. Options are priced separately. Sharp, Sharp Plaza, Mahwah, N.J. 07430. 201-529-8874. <<<>>> Title : An IBM Personal Computer Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micvende Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: An IBM Personal Computer XT-compatible system developed specifically for novice users has been introduced by Vendex Technologies, Inc. The Headstart Plus reportedly operates at a rate of 9.54 MHz and comes standard with 640K bytes of random-access memory, two 360K-byte 5 -in. floppy disk drives and Microsoft Corp. MS-DOS 3.3. The unit will accept an optional hard disk drive, and the customer has the choice of either a color or monochrome monitor. Headstart Plus is priced at $995, excluding the monitor. Vendex, Suite 438, 40 Cutter Mill Road, Great Neck, N.Y. 11021. 516-482-4255. <<<>>> Title : A family of Intel Corp. 8 Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micmicro Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: A family of Intel Corp. 80386-based systems has been introduced by Micro Express. The ME 386-20 and the ME 386-25, with speeds of 20 MHz and 25 MHz, respectively, are said to be IBM Personal Computer AT-compatible and especially suited for networking or multiuser applications. Standard configurations include 1M byte of random-access memory, a 40M-byte fast-access hard disk drive, serial and parallel ports and a battery back-up. The ME 386-20 is priced from $2,650, while the ME 386-25 is priced from $3,995. Micro Express, 2114 S. Grand Ave., Santa Ana, Calif. 92705. 714-662-1973. <<<>>> Title : Database Applications, In Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micdatab Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Database Applications, Inc. has announced a business and scientific graphics product for IBM Personal Computers and compatibles. Called DR&G, the package is driven entirely by fourth-generation language statements and combines graphics with tabular reporting, mail merge and SQL-like queries of relational databases, the vendor said. There are several chart formats to choose from, and up to six data sets can be plotted at once. Other features include automatic scaling, 33 hatch and line patterns and up to 128 colors. DR&G costs $179. Database Applications, 400 Wall St., Princeton, N.J. 08540. 609-924-2900. <<<>>> Title : An analytical software pa Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micmarke Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: An analytical software package for market research suppliers and buyers has been announced by Market Action Research Software, Inc. Called Mapwise, the package reportedly analyzes research tables for presentation in boardroom-quality graphic formats. The product will transform any type of tabular data into a perceptual map, the vendor said, and can summarize up to 100 rows and 100 columns of data. Mapwise costs $495 and requires an IBM Personal Computer, PC XT or AT or compatible system with 256K bytes of random-access memory. Market Action, Business Technology Center, Bradley University, Peoria, Ill. 61625. 309-677-3299. <<<>>> Title : A presentation design pro Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micgenes Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: A presentation design program that incorporates tools for project prototyping and interactive tutorials has been announced by Genesis Data Systems. Running on IBM Personal Computers, Personal System/2s and compatible computers, the Rapid Prototyping System (RPS) reportedly allows users to manipulate text and graphics through the use of animation, transition, branch, subroutine and numeric/text variable commands. RPS costs $249.95 and requires 256K bytes of memory. Genesis Data Systems, Suite A, 8415 Washington Place N.E., Albuquerque, N.M. 87113. 505-821-9425. <<<>>> Title : Accel Technologies, Inc. Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micaccel Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Accel Technologies, Inc. has introduced the Series II versions of Tango-PCB, the company's IBM Personal Computer-based electronic design software, and Tango-Route, its companion autorouter program. Series II enhancements reportedly include an improved menu-driven user interface, an on-screen Prompt line and user-definable macros. The software packages are priced at $595 each, which includes one year of free updates, according to the firm. Accel, 7358 Trade St., San Diego, Calif. 92121. 619-695-2000. <<<>>> Title : Pagebuilder, a graphics-b Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: miccsipu Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Pagebuilder, a graphics-based desktop publishing package for IBM Personal Computer XTs, PC ATs and compatibles, is now available exclusively from CSI Publishing, Inc. The program reportedly includes image-scanning capabilities for logos and photographs and incorporates 16 Compugraphic Corp. fonts. The software runs on four disks and comes with documentation, according to the company. Pagebuilder costs $300. CSI Publishing, 2960 S. Daimler, Santa Ana, Calif. 92705. 714-955-2232. <<<>>> Title : A business forms processi Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micdelri Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: A business forms processing software program is now available from Delrina Technology, Inc. Per:Form reportedly allows users to design, create and maintain business forms in a Microsoft Corp. MS-DOS environment. Offered in both 3 - and 5 -in. disk formats, the program costs $259.95, the company said. Delrina, Suite 210, 10 Brentcliffe Road, Ont., Canada M4G 3Y2. 416-423-0456. <<<>>> Title : Digi-Fonts, Inc. has intr Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micdigif Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Digi-Fonts, Inc. has introduced a library of fonts for Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Laserjet printer family. Fontmaker includes up to 272 scalable typefaces and will create any font in portrait or landscape orientation with complete or partial character sets, according to the company. The basic set, including eight scalable typefaces and a converter program, costs $69.95. The complete library offers an additional 264 typefaces and is priced at $349.95. Digi-Fonts, Suite 285, 3000 Youngfield St., Lakewood, Colo. 90215. 800-242-5665. <<<>>> Title : Digital Vision, Inc. has Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micdigit Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Digital Vision, Inc. has begun shipping an Apple Computer, Inc. Macintosh version of its gray-scale video digitizer. Computereyes for the Macintosh is reported to be a combination hardware and software package that connects between the computer and any standard video source, including video cameras, videocassette recorders and disk players. The system offers 256 shades of gray and is especially suited for desktop publishing and presentation and animation applications, according to the vendor. The unit is priced at $249.95. Digital Vision, 66 Eastern Ave., Dedham, Mass. 02026. 617-329-5400. <<<>>> Title : A maintenance management Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micdpsol Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: A maintenance management software package for plant engineering and machinery maintenance functions has been announced by DP Solutions, Inc. Preventative Maintenance Control (PMC) Version 2.5 reportedly provides scheduled maintenance by either time frequency or equipment run hours. Other features include printed work orders, labor and spare-parts forecasting and purchase order and requisition tracking. The program runs on IBM Personal Computers and compatibles and the IBM System/36 mid-range system. PMC 2.5 is priced from $2,000 to $10,000, depending on configuration. DP Solutions, Suite M, 207 S. Westgate Drive, Greensboro, N.C. 27407. 919-854-7700. <<<>>> Title : Isicad, Inc. has released Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micisica Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Isicad, Inc. has released an enhanced version of its IBM Personal Computer-based computer-aided design package. Cadvance 3.0 includes an on-screen three-dimensional Visual Guidance System (VGS) that provides a visual reference as the user draws, the vendor said. The package also incorporates a three-dimensional database for design and presentation applications. All dimensioning techniques reportedly follow ANSI and International Standards Organization standards. Cadvance 3.0 is priced at $2,995. Isicad, P.O. Box 61022, 1920 W. Corporate Way, Anaheim, Calif. 92803. 714-533-8910. <<<>>> Title : A terminate-and-stay resi Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micisogo Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: A terminate-and-stay resident program for Ashton-Tate Corp.'s Dbase III, Dbase III Plus and Dbase IV users has been introduced by Isogon Corp. Called Dboost, the package uses between 16K and 64K bytes of expanded memory and is available for $69.95. The company is also shipping 4-Sure, an add-in product for Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 spreadsheet package. According to the vendor, 4-Sure prevents accidental loss of the current spreadsheet and features user command monitoring and Autosave functions. The package is priced at $39.95. Isogon, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, N.Y. 10001. 212-967-2424. <<<>>> Title : A computer slide imaging Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micjackw Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: A computer slide imaging service for Apple Computer, Inc. Macintosh users is now available from Jack Ward Color Service, Inc. According to the vendor, the imaging center promises to deliver boardroom-quality slides and transparencies and is open 24 hours a day. Files may be transmitted by modem, and slides are priced from $3.95. Jack Ward Color Service, 220 E. 23rd St., New York, N.Y. 10010. 800-342-5420. <<<>>> Title : Macola, Inc. has released Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micmacol Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Macola, Inc. has released three software packages that were specifically developed to integrate with Autodesk, Inc.'s Autocad design systems, according to the vendor. The software is part of the company's Rapid Modeling Platform (Ramp) product line and reportedly allows users to convert a simple center-line drawing to a three-dimensional model via a personal computer. The packages consist of Ramp Piping Design, Ramp HVAC Design and the Ramp Equipment Builder. They are priced at $2,095 each. Macola, P.O. Box 485, Marion, Ohio 43302. 614-382-5999. <<<>>> Title : Tools and Techniques, Inc Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: mictools Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Tools and Techniques, Inc. has upgraded its data conversion and data entry software tool for IBM Personal Computers, Personal System/2s and compatibles. Data Junction 2.1 was designed to translate incompatible data from one format to another and has been enhanced to include Help, Prompt and contextual data information for the user. The program is priced at $195 and requires Microsoft Corp. MS-DOS or IBM PC-DOS 2.0 or higher. Tools and Techniques, 1620 W. 12th St., Austin, Texas 78703. 512-482-0824. <<<>>> Title : Avalon Development Corp. Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micavalo Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Avalon Development Corp. has begun shipping Photomac, its full-color photodesign software for Apple Computer, Inc. Macintosh II machines. Targeted at graphic design and corporate electronic publishing professionals, the product provides low-cost methods of photo retouching and process color separations, according to the company. The package includes program and image disks, documentation and a tutorial videotape. It is priced at $695. A 40M-byte hard disk and 2M bytes of random-access memory are required for operation, the vendor said. The product is distributed through Data Translation, Inc., 100 Locke Drive, Marlboro, Mass. 01752. 508-481-3700. <<<>>> Title : A printed-circuit board t Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: micbenta Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: A printed-circuit board that measures computer usage is now available from Benta. The Utilog II reportedly provides monitoring and accounting information for IBM Personal Computers and compatible systems and is offered in two versions. The Model 1 provides a real-time clock and monitoring of total usage time and is priced at $195. The Model 2 contains all Model 1 capabilities as well as monitoring facilities for printer, disk and keyboard functions. It costs $295. Benta, 12708 E. 62 Court, Kansas City, Mo. 64133. 816-353-3765. <<<>>> Title : Enablers will bloom on pl Author : Tony Friscia Source : CW Comm FileName: friscol Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: The next step in the evolution of computer-integrated manufacturing may be enablers _ customizable applications that can be fine-tuned to meet plant managers' needs. The tool/enabler concept is becoming the foundation of the plant-floor software market. Plant managers do not want canned applications that cannot be modified, configured or tuned _ for example, a manufacturing resource planning package that limits parts identification to eight numbers and does not permit the use of letters. Instead, managers want to be able to customize applications that control and coordinate cells _ groups of plant-floor devices that work together on a given component or process. This demand is being addressed from two market directions. Leading cell controller vendors are coming out with platforms designed to make it easier for manufacturing and process people to create their own applications. Also, existing enablers such as Lotus' 1-2-3 are being modified to address the manufacturing environment. IBM's Distributed Automation Edition and DEC's Digital Systems Architecture are two good examples of cell controller platforms. Such offerings include various software tools for tailoring applications to a given manufacturing environment, including enablers for process application development, a common applications programming interface and programming tools. Platform vendors also may provide device enablers, which allow integrators to easily link foreign devices to write custom interfaces for each. For example, Hewlett-Packard's Device Interface System (DIS) can be used to develop protocols, drivers or interfaces for any RS-232-supported device to an HP 9000 Series 800 computer. With DIS, the user can replace one brand of programmable controller with another without rewriting the application. One advantage of existing enablers is that they provide a familiar environment in which users can develop their applications. General Motors is working with Lotus to develop a version of 1-2-3 for Manufacturing Automation Protocol (MAP) networks called 1-2-3MAP. Initially, 1-2-3MAP users will be able to ``read'' variables from any MAP node _ programmable controllers, robots or data collection devices, for example _ into a spreadsheet. Likely enhancements include a file transfer capability for uploading and downloading programs. Note that 1-2-3MAP will provide real-time analysis, not control, of programmable devices. A step toward applications MAP's primary drawback has been the lack of applications. So the Lotus products mark an important step for MAP from a technology to an application focus. Regardless of the chosen network, however, we are also at the beginning of a wave of enabler offerings. The plant-floor market has great potential not only for Lotus but also for its general-purpose PC software competitors. There are several advanced-user companies that have courses for hourly plant employees on ``how to write your own applications'' using 1-2-3 or Ashton-Tate's Dbase. As one user said, ``It would be great if I could obtain all my plant-floor data coming over the network in a spreadsheet form. Every variable would be listed in a row and every node on the network in a column.'' The network enabler is another existing software tool that should soon make it easier for users to mix and match computers on the factory floor. For example, Microsoft's OS/2 LAN Manager can support a host of PCs, workstations and minicomputers running different operating systems and network protocols. The need exists to extend LAN Manager's reach to the factory floor by adding support for real-time database management systems as well as of the MAP protocol, Manufacturing Message Service. The enabler revolution on the factory floor has only just begun. But users can expect to see plant-floor software companies such as Intellution and Indelec and cell-control vendors such as Allen Bradley and Motorola Computer X team with Lotus, Ashton-Tate and Microsoft to further address this market. By Tony Friscia; Friscia is president of Advanced Manufacturing Research, a Salem, Mass.-based research and consulting firm. <<<>>> Title : Novell to polish SNA gate Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: gateways Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Early users of Novell, Inc.'s Netware SNA Gateway product line are a diverse but generally satisfied group on the verge of seeing their few caveats eliminated by forthcoming upgrades. Following beta tests at 40 sites, the Provo, Utah-based vendor began shipping gateways last month for IBM's Systems Network Architecture. Host channel attachment, reliability and the ability to handle up to 40 sessions were purchasing reasons for beta testers such as Steven Stoneman at Unisys Corp., which has a facilities management contract with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Don Broughton, a technology consultant at Technical Services Plan, a division of Dun & Bradstreet Corp. Novell's gateways talk to IBM's Token-Ring Interface Coupler, or TIC _ a directly addressable node on IBM's Token-Ring and several controllers that provides a high-speed link to the host, eliminating the need for a coaxial or Synchronous Data Link Control (SDLC) line. As a result, instead of having 56K or 9.6K bit/sec. SDLC lines, the EPA has attained ``almost'' channel-attach speed, said Stoneman, a local-area network systems manager for Unisys. Also, his gateways have been running 24 hours a day with ``super reliability,'' he said. ``We wanted a gateway that provided channel-attach-type speed, and we chose the 40-session gateway,'' Broughton said. He could have gone the Token-Ring attachment route, but ``we didn't want to make the investment in IBM software and hardware,'' he said. Instead, the 40-session gateway has saved the cost of 40 separate connections while also providing the flexibility to configure those sessions any way he wants. ``The LAN administrator can configure the sessions rather than having to ask MIS to make the changes,'' Broughton said. Future versions of the gateway software will correct two problems: file transfer speed and memory overhead on the workstation, confirmed Darrell Miller, general manager of Novell's Communications Division. Ironically, Novell's release last month of source-routing drivers jointly developed with Ungermann-Bass, Inc. [CW, Jan. 30] may push some Netware users toward IBM's Token-Ring gateway, said to be the faster of the two. Stoneman looked at the IBM gateway a year ago. But the EPA was already linking a large number of LANs together with Novell's software, which at the time did not support IBM's source routing. This forced the EPA to stick with Novell, he explained. ``The IBM gateway's file transfer is so much faster than Novell's gateway,'' Stoneman said. Despite the source-routing drivers, he said he will wait for Phase II of the Netware SNA gateway _ said to be four times faster than the current product _ before deciding whether to give IBM a second look. The turbo gateway, which Stoneman expects to address the current lack of certain statistics, is slated to be delivered to users late this month or early March. ``Novell has really listened to us all,'' Stoneman said. Novell also plans to deliver a less memory-intensive version of its terminal emulation software, according to Robin Melrose, a senior systems programmer at Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco, which helps support about 32 3Com Corp. Ethernet LANs with 1,000 nodes: ``We've had good luck with Novell's gateways.'' But the current version takes up 175K bytes. ``They need to get it down to about 110K,'' Melrose said. Melrose's wish for network management facilities will be answered in Phase III, which is slated to ship in June. ``We'll have full IBM Netview interaction,'' Miller said. This is not a matter of writing to Netview/PC; Novell will use its own LU6.2 PU2.1 code, which Miller said will enable its networks to become full members of the Netview system. By Patricia Keefe, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Users fear EDI union Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: edifact Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: A transatlantic movement to merge European and U.S. electronic data interchange (EDI) standards is generating conflict and anxiety among various user and industry standards bodies that are implementing older versions of the standard. The idea behind EDI is to standardize the formatting of commonly used business documents such as invoices and shipping notices so that they can be sent directly from one business computer to another system. The International Standards Organization has released the first few pieces of a proposed worldwide EDI standard called EDI for Administration, Commerce and Transport (EDIFACT). The standard is designed to supersede both ANSI X.12, which has emerged as the U.S. EDI standard, and the Article Numbering Association's Tradacoms, which is widely used in Europe. However, on both sides of the Atlantic, user organizations _ particularly U.S. companies that have recently begun migrating to X.12 _ are reluctant to migrate to EDIFACT, according to Victor Wheatman, manager of EDI Planning Services at Mountain View, Calif.-based research company Input. ``It would be nice to have one EDI standard, but it would also be nice to have the whole world speak Esperanto,'' he said, drawing an analogy to the century-old attempt to encourage use of an international language. It has been hard enough for various industry groups to migrate to X.12 from their own EDI protocols, which were designed specifically for their particular type of business and often preceded the ANSI standard, Wheatman said. However, most industries have accepted the need for X.12 to provide links with other types of business _ between manufacturers and shipping companies, for example. Each industry also retains its own EDI subset of industry-specific formats, Wheatman said. Command performance But now, such companies are under siege to perform yet another migration to an international EDI standard, and they may be reluctant to do so, Wheatman said. Companies with foreign trading partners may use X.12 domestically and EDIFACT with their overseas partners, or they may rely on third-party services to translate between the two protocols, he added. EDIFACT was formally endorsed by the U.S. Customs Service, both for the agency's own internal use and in the interests of foreign trade, Wheatman said. Unfortunately, the agency's endorsement angered ANSI, which feels that the Customs Service should endorse the existing X.12 rather than the unfinished EDIFACT, he added. Currently, EDIFACT ``only has a few transactions approved and ready for use,'' Wheatman said. The EDIFACT movement is also encountering resistance in Europe. The Tradacoms standard is said to be solidly entrenched among the UK's EDI users, who make up 70% of the total European EDI installations, according to The Yankee Group, a Boston-based research firm. A catalyst for change in the UK may, however, be the European Community's (EC) plan to abolish economic borders in Europe in 1992. Currently, UK EDI users deal primarily with firms within UK boundaries, but the EC plan is focusing their attention on international trade, both across Europe and beyond. The EC commission said it believes the creation of a single European market could be worth $250 billion a year, boosting Europe's gross domestic product by 5%. European organizations are therefore beginning to view EDI as an important tool to help them become more effective players. Noncommittal overseas But while they accept EDI as a way forward, many are unwilling to take standards responsibility upon themselves. The majority use third-party network suppliers for transmission of EDI messages, and many think the problem of standards is one for the suppliers to solve. One such vendor may be IBM, which offers EDI services in the U.S., UK, France, Denmark and Italy. IBM's European EDI services support both the EDIFACT and Tradacoms standards. Keith Blacker, systems manufacturing manager at UK electronics firm Lucas Industries PLC, says users must take control of the standards debate because of the commercial implications of using EDI. Lucas is using EDIFACT in a limited way while it waits for the standard to become more widely accepted, Blacker said. IDG News Service staffers Jane Lawrence and Kevan Pearson contributed to this report. By Elisabeth Horwitt, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Taking the sting out of t Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: lanmemor Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: The 640K-byte barrier _ that proverbial thorn in the side of many DOS users _ is rearing its ugly head on the local-area network. In response, a number of connectivity vendors have begun bowing to user pressure to shrink their memory overhead. The memory issue _ or rather, the lack of sufficient memory _ remains an inherent weakness of DOS. Stand-alone power users hoping to reap the benefits of windowing while utilizing a number of packages have long lamented DOS' 640K-byte limitation. These same users linked together in a LAN may find their memory constraints stretched to the maximum. This is because the network applications have to reside in the DOS shell, noted Mark Freund, a network consultant at Interconnect Consulting Group in Pasadena, Calif. Consequently, ``by the time you get the network operating system and the workstation software loaded, you're limited in the amount of memory that's left for the application,'' complained Robin Melrose, a senior system programmer at the systems resource management department at Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco. This creates problems for sites such as Wells Fargo that prefer to have emulation capability resident on each workstation. With so many packages ``gone wild with memory,'' he noted, users may be forced to unload some programs where this was previously not necessary. ``They've gotten used to that. So when you give them a new application, and they can't toggle back and forth, they get rather upset,'' Melrose said. As a result, memory requirements are becoming a purchasing consideration. ``The LAN operating systems have got to be cut down in size,'' Melrose said, adding that both 3Com Corp. and Novell, Inc. are doing just that. A separate but related issue involves sufficient storage and the trade-off between slapping in another disk and system throughput. This is a particular problem for users who build a lot of databases, said Clare Fleig, director of research at International Technology Group in Los Altos, Calif. Cutting back on memory-hogging Reducing overhead can be done. ``This is what leads to RISC, or using fewer instructions to do the same job, on the hardware side,'' Fleig said. Among the strategies being employed to cut back on the memory-hogging are the following: Utilize optimal compilers. ``You can usually get at least a 25% to 30% reduction by using one of these,'' said Darrell Miller, general manager of Novell's Communications Division. Optimize memory management routines. Instead of statically allocating or preassigning memory, some workstation emulators can dynamically allocate space ``so you reuse areas of memory as you need them,'' Miller said. Build intelligent cards. Vendors can situate diagnostics and the lower level networking protocols in hardware rather than in memory. This results in having the intelligence on the hardware instead of having the handshake of protocols occur in the software on the computer, said Gail James, president of Lanquest Group in Santa Clara, Calif. The icing on the cake for vendors executing these methods for preserving memory is that they should also be able to improve performance and throughput in terms of the number of packets and messages handled across the LAN, James said. As for users, one coping mechanism is to purchase extended memory boards, such as those based on the Lotus/Intel/ Microsoft (LIM) Expanded Memory Specification. ``What people are really working toward is how to take advantage of LIM to let applications, terminal emulation or portions of the network operating system reside up in the non-DOS-accessible area above 640K bytes,'' James explained. By Patricia Keefe, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Users doubt BOCs' intent Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: boctalk Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Despite regulatory measures such as Open Network Architecture (ONA), users continue to harbor strong reservations about whether the former Bell operating companies (BOC) are moving to meet their networking needs more effectively. Postdivestiture times have brought ``a great deal more flexibility in terms of solutions to corporate communications problems,'' admitted Kenneth Phillips, chairman of the Committee of Corporate Telecommunications Users and a vice-president at Citicorp. The Federal Communications Commission's ONA ruling has not met its stated goal of ensuring uniformity among the different BOCs' regional offerings, Phillips said. ``What's good for the goose in Nynex territory is not necessarily good for the gander in US West territory,'' he said. Various regional carriers are ``functioning on different marketing plans and product development tracks,'' which is a major concern to large users who want to ensure that a given service is provided ubiquitously to all their sites, he added. Package deal Another objection Phillips voiced focused on regional carriers' tendency to make certain crucial services available only as portions of a larger service package. ``In order to buy a pair of tires you have to buy the whole car,'' he said. Phillips also said he perceives a danger in the operating companies' recent strategy of positioning themselves as gateways to a variety of value-added services such as electronic mail and database services. ``This is problematical for large users,'' particularly those in rural sites who may end up paying exorbitant rates for the right to use the regional carrier's local connection, he said. Edward Hodgson, computing and communications manager at Westinghouse Electric Corp., agreed with Phillips that each operating company ``is going its own way in terms of what services to supply and how.'' ISDN will hopefully bring some standardization of the companies' offerings _ but ``with AT&T no longer a strong arm to guide things, services like ISDN are slow to come,'' Hodgson said, because rapid conversion to the new technology would not be profitable to the firms. On the other hand, AT&T and the operating companies have emerged from a chaotic period right after divestiture and are beginning to work together effectively to provide communications services, Hodgson said. Dennis Murphy, director of telecommunications at Warner Communications, Inc., said he would like to see the companies offer more services than they do currently _ but in areas such as voice mail, which are logical product offerings for the companies. ``I also think they have to keep in mind that service quality is a key criterion; it could be a problem as some try to move off into some areas at the expense of dial-tone service,'' Murphy said. By Elisabeth Horwitt, CW staff <<<>>> Title : BERNARDSVILLE, N.J. _ The Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: osiman Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: BERNARDSVILLE, N.J. _ The OSI/Network Management Forum has officially adopted a protocol that allows different network management systems to exchange data, and several member companies have announced plans to support it. However, at least one user expressed skepticism about vendors providing standardized integration at the functionality level that network managers are looking for. Last week, Digital Communications Associates, Inc. (DCA) and Northern Telecom, Inc. announced an agreement to integrate their respective network management systems using the forum's specification, which includes CCITT's Common Management Information Services/ Protocol (CMIS/P). AT&T, which filled in some crucial elements of its Unified Network Management Architecture (UNMA) last week [CW, Jan. 30], intends to make its Network Management Protocol (NMP) fully compliant with the forum's specifications by 1990, according to company spokeswoman Ruthlynn Newell. Such announcements begin to address the needs of companies that install ``a T1 network, modems, PBXs, stat muxes and IBM systems, then buy [a different] network management system for all those,'' said David Langholff, telecommunications planning manager for Mervyn's department stores. ``You can imagine their quandary.'' Tying together At Langholff's former job at Pacific Gas & Electric Co., he wrote a specification to integrate 22 stand-alone systems. ``I think there are 10 to 12 systems here,'' he added. But the ability to send alerts and alarms between systems via CMIS/P addresses only one aspect of users' needs, Langholff indicated. ``Right now, each vendor has its own host platform. What I would really like is for only one mini to run all [network management] applications,'' including monitoring, configuring and analyzing all networking devices, he said. While some vendors such as AT&T are beginning to promise such capabilities, Langholff said he worries about the lack of industry standards to define how such functions will be delivered. Langholff said that with any multivendor network management product, he would ask the supplier three sets of questions: ``First, is it in conformance with standards committees addressing that very issue, or are you coming out with a standard before CCITT? And once a standard is there, how will I be able to migrate to it? Second, what are the differences between what I can get through Netview and other open architectures and yours? Is your philosophy similar? And third, what's the cost? Can I buy standard, off-the-shelf software that will continue to be supported over time? What happens if I want to switch my AT&T Dataphone II modems for Codex modems?'' While DCA and Northern Telecom announced their intention to support the forum's specifications, such protocols do not yet constitute a full-function system, according to Ian Sugarbroad, director of Network Technology at Northern Telecom. The forum's recently released specification includes the upper application layer of CMIS, CMIP and some of the lower layers contained in Open Systems Interconnect (OSI), he said. Ready to travel Northern Telecom and DCA will be migrating their network management systems to the forum specification, but company officials indicated that the two vendors will also be working on management functions for which there are no CCITT standards or forum-approved specifications. AT&T is in a similar position with its NMP, which specifies how other vendors can interface their network management systems with AT&T's UNMA. NMP is ``OSI-based in that it is a compilation of all standards work that's been done to date in terms of network management,'' AT&T's Newell said. But AT&T has also announced multivendor management capabilities for which no finalized standard exists. By Elisabeth Horwitt, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Internet committee to rev Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: internet Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: WASHINGTON, D.C. _ The Internet Activities Board, which runs one of the largest electronic mail networks in the world, will shortly unveil a security standard designed to enhance the privacy of Internet E-mail messages. In essence, Internet users will be able to encrypt E-mail messages and verify the identity of the sender and receiver. Developed by the board's Privacy Task Force, the security standard combines the Data Encryption Standard for encrypting the message; an authentication system from RSA Data Security, Inc. in Redwood City, Calif.; and the CCITT X.509 format for authentication and security of E-mail messages. The proposed security standard includes an endorsement of RSA's Public Key Cryptosystem, said Stephen T. Kent, task force chairman and chief scientist at BBN Communications Corp. in Cambridge, Mass. RSA's technology will be used for key management and authentication of the public keys used to unlock the encrypted E-mail. RSA President Jim Bidzos said the key authentication service will be available to the Internet community in the second quarter of 1989. Internet users will be able to use and test the standard within the next six to nine months, he said. Other organizations using Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) could also adopt the Internet security standard, Kent added. Internet is a group of interconnected TCP/IP data networks serving some 500,000 users, including Arpanet and the National Science Foundation's NSFnet. The network received some notoriety last November when it was invaded by a hacker's computer virus [CW, Nov. 7]. However, Kent said the forthcoming encryption standard is not related to that episode, which exposed flaws in the Unix operating system and the password controls for host systems connected to Internet. By Mitch Betts, CW staff <<<>>> Title : EDI council launches user Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: ediuser Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: ALEXANDRIA, Va. _ TDCC: The Electronic Data Interchange Association (EDIA) has launched the EDI Council of the USA, or EDICUSA, as an open forum for EDI users to share information and actively address mutual concerns. EDICUSA is open only to users, including people from the user side of a vendor organization. A two-tiered dues structure has been instituted: EDIA dues will automatically include membership in EDICUSA. A separate fee will be implemented for non-EDIA members. TDCC:EDIA serves as the secretariat of the users group, providing administrative support and a resource base for EDICUSA members. Otherwise, the users group will independently pursue the following objectives: Promote EDI within the business environment. Provide education and sources for EDI training. Encourage ongoing dialogue between users and vendors. Create synergy between and among the various standard-setting groups within the user community. Monitor the impact of relevant legislation on users, as well as future developments within the international EDI community. The group met in December and elected the following to its board of directors: Vincent J. Calandra, Union Carbide Corp. (chairman); Ed Null, Giant Food Stores, Inc. (vice-chairman, technical); Lydle P. Simpson, Federal Express Corp. (vice-chairman, business); and Jerome L. Dreyer, EDIA (president and chief executive officer). Other members include Robert T. Crowley, Trans Freight Lines; Rachel Foerster, Baxter Healthcare Corp.; Kent Jamison, Yellow Freight System, Inc.; Gene A. Nelson, Dry Storage Corp.; and Marvin K. Segar, Southern Pacific Transportation Co. EDICUSA's board meets again in March; the next general users group meeting is slated for April 11 in New Orleans in tandem with the ANSI ASC X.12 EDI Conference and Exposition. By Patricia Keefe, CW staff <<<>>> Title : NCD fires early-warning s Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: ncd Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. _ Network Computing Devices, Inc. (NCD) fired an early-warning shot at the low-end of the scientific workstation market with last week's release of a network display terminal. Industry observers said they expect entrants in the network display arena to begin peppering workstation competitors during the next six months to a year. NCD's desktop box is said to feature high-resolution graphics, an X Window System-based interface and communications capability for $2,500 _ about half the entry-level price of a typical technical workstation. In the middle Judith Estrin, NCD's executive vice-president, said the NCD16 is positioned between an ASCII terminal and a full-blown Unix or Digital Equipment Corp. VMS-based workstation. The differentiating factor is an orientation toward display and communications functions at the expense of applications processing, which is handled by the host or server such as a DEC VAX or Sun Microsystems, Inc. workstation. Functioning as a graphics front end, the NCD16 lets users protect and leverage installed bases of minicomputers without having to make more costly investments in workstations and personal computers, according to Estrin. Developed at MIT, X Window Version 11 is a de facto windowing standard for networks. The technology is in the public domain and is supported by 35 major computer vendors. Price-sensitive arena Analysts expect what has been dubbed the X-terminal market to become an extremely price-sensitive area; early comments from users indicate that NCD may have to lower its $2,500 sticker price. In addition to support for the X Server, key features of the NCD16 include extremely sharp resolution _ 1,024 by 1,024 pixels and 105 dot/in. _ and concurrent access to multiple network resources residing in different environments, displayed in separate windows. The enabling integrators are Unix, Ethernet and Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) support. The NCD16 display station features a built-in X Window server, a graphics coprocessor, a bit-mapped graphical interface, 1M to 4.5M bytes of dynamic random-access memory, multiple sessions to various hosts that reportedly can be viewed through different windows simultaneously and a large monitor _ in this case, a full 16-in. diagonal monochrome screen. The Motorola, Inc. 68000-based NCD product also features a flicker-free screen and modular communications interfaces that are said to accommodate different network technologies such as thick and thin Ethernet and TCP/IP. In addition, it possesses the ability to offload communications and display processing from any host to the display station. Client applications run on the host. By Patricia Keefe, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Viteq Corp.'s Benchmark 3 Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: netviteq Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Viteq Corp.'s Benchmark 386/LAN and 15A/LAN uninterruptible power supply network interface capabilities are now available for file servers in both Novell, Inc.'s SFT Level II and Banyan Systems Inc.'s Virtual Networking Software environments. Viteq's Benchmark UPS reportedly interfaces with the file server to notify the operating system when utility power has been interrupted. The operating system subsequently initiates an automatic, timed shutdown routine and informs remote stations of the impending shutdown. The Benchmark 386/LAN and 15A/LAN UPS are priced at $1,945 and $3,445, respectively. Interface cabling is included. Viteq, 10000 Aerospace Road, Lanham, Md. 20706. 301-731-0400. <<<>>> Title : Digital Storage Systems, Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: netdigit Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Digital Storage Systems, Inc. has expanded its line of local-area network backup subsystems for IBM Personal Computers and compatibles. The 10/ARC (Automated Recovery and Control) subsystem can reportedly write data to streaming tape without operator intervention. The product consists of a software module that continually resides in the processor, a buffered controller add-in board, and tape catalog management software that resides on a hard disk. Pricing ranges from $595 to $2,395, depending on configuration. Digital Storage Systems, 1234 Sherman Drive, Longmont, Colo. 80501. 800-225-3953. <<<>>> Title : Network General Corp. has Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: netnetwo Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Network General Corp. has announced a protocol analyzer designed for next-generation token-ring local-area networks, according to the company. The Sniffer was developed for 16-megabit IEEE 802.5 token-ring LANs and is reportedly built around Texas Instruments Inc.'s token-ring chip set. The product is targeted as a diagnostic tool for developers and will be available in multiple configurations across the vendor's three product lines. Pricing ranges from $12,500 for module versions and $15,750 to $24,000 for laptop and portable configurations. Network General, 1945A Charleston Road, Mountain View, Calif. 94043. 415-965-1800. <<<>>> Title : Micom Communications Corp Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: netmicom Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Micom Communications Corp. has announced the Pcxchange Networking Software package, designed to optimize personal computer usage on the company's Instanet networking systems. The product reportedly allows IBM Personal Computer and compatible users connected to the Instanet systems to transfer files and shared printers as well as communicate with host computers on the network. The menu-driven software is priced at $75 per copy and is scheduled for delivery this month. Quantity discounts and site licenses are available. Micom, 4100 Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley, Calif. 93063. 805-583-8600. <<<>>> Title : Baler Software Corp. has Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: netbaler Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Baler Software Corp. has added networking capabilities to Version 4.0 of the Baler Spreadsheet Compiler. The latest release will reportedly allow developers to install applications on a local-area network as well as lock out relevant data files and protect them from overwriting by other users. The product works with any spreadsheet program that writes WKS or WK1 files and is priced at $495. Baler, 2300 N. Barrington Road, Hoffman Estates, Ill. 60195. 800-327-6108. <<<>>> Title : Metaphor Computer Systems Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: netmetap Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Metaphor Computer Systems, Inc. has announced two gateway products designed to permit Metaphor Data Interpretation System users to directly access databases on Teradata Corp. DBC/1012 computers and Oracle Corp. databases on Digital Equipment Corp. VAX machines. According to the vendor, the Teradata Gateway is said to be a combination hardware and software product that includes a gateway processor, Metaphor Communications Software and Host Communications Software. It is priced from $65,000 to $205,000, depending on the number of users. The Oracle VAX/VMS Gateway includes the same hardware and software components, which are tailored for the VAX/VMS operating environment. The DEC VAX computer is connected directly to the Metaphor network via a standard Ethernet controller board and drop cable. Pricing ranges from $35,000 to $75,000. Metaphor Computer, 1965 Charleston Road, Mountain View, Calif. 94043. 415-961-3600. <<<>>> Title : Plexcom, Inc. has announc Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: netplexc Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Plexcom, Inc. has announced the availability of the 8011 Ethernet fiber-optic hub. According to the vendor, the 8011 is a four-port modular card that connects remote Ethernet segments and forms a central fiber-optic hub for connection of Ethernet segments or Plexnet concentrators. It is priced at $1,695. Plexcom, 65 Moreland Road, Simi Valley, Calif. 93065. 805-522-3333. <<<>>> Title : Cooperative processing: O Author : David Gabel Source : CW Comm FileName: linklead Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: The micro-to-host link market is not ailing, but it is already beginning to contemplate an afterlife in the form of cooperative processing. Although the heralds have already begun to announce the imminent arrival of products that offer this capability, cooperative processing is still more a matter of faith than fact, and the conflicting pitches of numerous evangelical marketers are producing considerable confusion. Right now, figuring out what a cooperative processing product actually does is not easy because many vendors use the term loosely. Some software publishers say their file transfer products provide cooperative processing, while others claim their communications software package's ability to automate the communications process constitutes cooperative processing. There are also products that allow users to develop script files, which automate the connection process. This approach is closer to the functionality of cooperative processing, but it is not the real thing either. What cooperative processing really is is a method of processing applications that has communications as an integral part of the overall process of completing the application. In cooperative processing, several processors will work on parts of the application that they are best at handling; some will do number crunching, some presentation, some data moving and lookup, some high-speed parallel operations and so forth. Each processor communicates with the others, but at the highest level _ the application level. To understand cooperative processing products, one needs to understand the layered nature of data communications systems. By now, most people are familiar with the seven-layer Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) reference model developed by the International Standards Organization (ISO). At the lower layers of the model are the link definitions that talk about the cable that signals will use, as well as protocols that shape the messages to be communicated. Higher levels handle message routing, establishing end-to-end communications and other tasks that are key for communications. The highest layers of the ISO model, the Presentation and Application Layers, are not essential for communications; therefore, they have not, in large part, been exploited until now. For example, a file transfer application can take a large data file from a mainframe and load it on a microcomputer. The user need never see the data as it transfers; the Presentation Layer is not active. Then the user can load the data into a spreadsheet for manipulation; this application is not part of the communications process. These two last layers of the communications model are not necessary for communications, but they are required for cooperative processing to take place. Communications is not the end result here, but only one aspect of the process. Cooperative processing products, then, are not, strictly speaking, micro-to-host link products; rather, they are either applications built on an underlying link foundation or tools designed to assist in the development of such applications. Examples of both types of products are beginning to appear on the market, but they are coming slowly and their capabilities vary widely. Among the most developed products are Cooperative Processing from Global Software, Inc.; Peer Services from Tangram Systems Corp., which also makes Arbiter, a micro-to-mainframe link; and Enter/3270 from Aspen Research, Inc. Cooperative Processing falls into the application implementation category, while Peer Services and Enter/3270 are considered to be cooperative processing tools. The Mead Corp. in Dayton, Ohio, is using the Cooperative Processing product, which includes both mainframe and personal computer application software as a complete system. When Cooperative Processing is running, all application data stays on the mainframe, but the resource-intensive data processing is performed on the user's local PC. This means the PC can display data and allow for interactive output, thus reducing the demand placed on the mainframe's resources while still providing the PC's ease of use to the end user. Budget benefits ``We use it for internal budgeting,'' says Doug King, financial systems coordinator at Mead. ``We presently have six divisions using the product. It gives the user the ability to manipulate data that he needs and to get that data from the mainframe.'' The budgeting application Mead uses is Global's first cooperative processing product, and it runs in conjunction with the vendor's mainframe budgeting package. The goal was to give the users who really do the budgeting _ the field budget officers _ access to that package. Before Mead began to use Cooperative Processing, the divisions had a number of methods for completing their budget projections. ``They'd be using Lotus and all sorts of things,'' King says. Not only did this diversity mean massive rekeying, but it also meant that field budget managers were working without direct access to historical data on the mainframe system. Use of Cooperative Processing eliminates both of those problems, while still allowing users the comfort of their familiar tools. Based on user input, King says, Global redesigned Cooperative Processing so that users could pass data to Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 for presentation. The budgeting implementation is only a beginning, according to King. The company is interested in extending its use of Cooperative Processing into other areas, and it plans to hook the tools into other mainframe application software offerings. Aetna Life and Casualty Co. in Hartford, Conn., is using Peer Services in its Personal Financial Security Division. Peer Services defines an application programming interface (API) that PC-based transaction programs use to hold conversations with the remote system transaction programs. The API is a collection of subroutines that correspond with verbs defined in IBM's Advanced Program-to-Program Communications (APPC), which allows PC programmers to control the interface to a remote application. Moreover, the programmer can control the messages the PC application sends to the host application using Peer Services. According to Alan Small, Aetna's senior administrator in PC support, the division is getting ready to field an application that uses Peer Services. ``We decided to do this,'' he says, ``because we were just too limited by the parameters of 3270 communications. We were suffering with those limitations, and we needed interactive capability.'' One of the applications that will use cooperative processing techniques, Small says, involves sending about five screenfuls of data from a PC (local or remote) to a mainframe computer. When this is done using 3270 master-slave communications, each screen has to go through an edit process at the mainframe, and errors are flashed back to the PC, a time-consuming process. ``With Peer Services,'' Small explains, ``we will be able to handle all this data as one transaction and do the edits locally on the PC. The PC will handle presentation services, too.'' A healthy improvement At Great-West Life Assurance Co., a health-insurance carrier headquartered in Englewood, Colo., Enter/3270 has been used to develop Benlink, a cooperative processing system. Enter/3270 allows the development of new interactive front ends for old communications-based applications. The interactive front end can perform local data checking on user inputs and provide screen-handling functions, automatic logon to a mainframe and other services. Enter/3270 consists of a development and a runtime model. Benlink provides Great-West Life customers with remote dial-up access to the Great-West mainframe computer and allows them to obtain a history of the claims their account has experienced. ``We built an application where we can script them into TSO and get into a TSO flat file, which the application then reformats into a presentation screen,'' explains Karl Berry, assistant manager of Benlink systems support. ``We're getting pretty good feedback from the users who have this software.'' The system is still in the testing stage, but Berry says the users involved ``quickly became dependent on it.'' According to Alan Parnass, president of Aspen, the product has four target areas: applications that enhance the user interface; applications that need local data validation; applications that provide easy access to mainframe data; and applications that are extended onto the PC, as in loading data from a mainframe into existing PC programs. Many of these applications are clearly not cooperative processing, but others are, or at least are a beginning of the functionality of cooperative processing. Right now, cooperative processing products are, in many cases, interim steps to full implementation of the concept. In the IBM sphere, in which the architecture of communications has traditionally been based on hierarchical, master-slave principles, a reorientation has begun to take place. IBM has provided the groundwork for cooperative processing in its LU6.2 definition for peer-to-peer communications and in its Systems Application Architecture (SAA) definitions for APPC. But moving from this basis to fully structured cooperative processing is not easy, and some of the current generation of products, including Enter/3270, do not take advantage of the capabilities of SAA. Bernd Harzog, senior product manager at Digital Communications Associates, Inc. (DCA) in Alpharetta, Ga., points out one reason for the lag. ``APPC/PC takes 320K bytes of memory before you can write an application,'' Harzog explains. Because a PC running DOS is limited to 640K bytes of memory, it is apparent that cooperative processing using IBM's APPC/PC will need OS/2 to become really useful. That, in fact, is a primary reason for the definitions of the SAA. ``IBM's SAA is trying to get a series of application-level tools to provide cooperative processing using the level of skills available in the commercial marketplace,'' says Tom Nolle, a consultant at CIMI Corp. in Haddonfield, N.J. ``Since IBM has so many different operating systems,'' he explains, ``it is trying to unify its offerings [to provide cooperative processing] with SAA.'' For example, Management Science America, Inc. (MSA) in Atlanta has introduced Brightview, a program that runs on IBM Personal Computers and compatibles that interface with a mainframe; the product handles some or all of an application's editing and formatting chores. ``Using Brightview,'' says Brian Cohen, vice-president of technology and research for MSA, ``we replace the terminal in an application with an intelligent workstation and have it do some services like field-level editing, windows, icons and so forth. We use the intelligent workstation to interpret data.'' But Cohen concedes that this is only a step in the direction of cooperative processing. Brightview lets the PC run the user interface and handles communications for the user, but it does not use peer-to-peer communications or APPC. ``We will be trying to rebuild our entire product line from the ground up over the next couple of years,'' he says, ``to reorient it toward cooperative processing.'' However, Brightview is only now going into beta testing, so even this interim stage will not be available for a while. DCA is planning to field a cooperative processing tool this spring; Harzog says DCA's Select CS product gives APPC connectivity to a LAN Manager local-area network.``It makes APPC available, and APPC is the programming interface to which you would write a cooperative processing application.'' When Select CS is available, it will get around the DOS memory problems in an interesting way. If all the software to make APPC possible were loaded onto every PC on the network, then every PC would have much of its memory tied up with communications tools. Select CS loads LU6.2 software and physical unit (PU) 2.1 software into an OS/2 host on the network, which can address more memory than a DOS machine can. ``The DOS client only holds APPC and the application,'' Herzog says. ``You can build an APPC interface for less than 50K bytes.'' Different worlds Cooperative processing in the non-IBM world presents a different set of issues. ``What IBM is doing is giving you a very IBM-specific answer made necessary by the fact of incompatible architectures,'' says Donald Bellomy, an analyst at International Data Corp., the Framingham, Mass.-based market research firm. In the non-IBM world, ``there is a different set of questions to answer because of the different architectures.'' Some answers are emerging for that set of questions, but, for the most part, they are as partial and tentative as their counterparts on the IBM side. In the non-IBM world, it is the machine vendors, rather than third-party software vendors, bringing out the cooperative processing software that will allow such applications to run on their machines. Unix provides one way that cooperative processing can be accomplished _ through its Named Pipes facility. For example, the Unix operating system has had, from the beginning, intertask communications that allow data from one task to be shipped to another. If the tasks reside on different processors connected through a LAN, for example, cooperative processing is possible. ``Named Pipes can be extended through communications links,'' Nolle says, ``and AT&T as well as Microsoft have committed to extending Named Pipes across the network.'' Because Unix is available and because the Unix minicomputer vendors often offer more internal compatibility across their product lines, the task in the non-IBM world is quite a bit simpler. In the case of Digital Equipment Corp., the answer is Decnet/OSI, which Bob Bradley, technical staff member for distributed system strategic planning, says is really Phase III of the company's strategy for networking. Decnet is the term DEC uses for its networking products. Decnet/OSI supports both DEC-specific protocols and a set of protocols defined by the ISO. Under Decnet/OSI, Bradley says, DEC ``can provide cooperative processing using distributed processing logic and distributed data across the network.'' Decnet/OSI is not currently a full set of product implementations, but some of its components are already here, such as Decnet System Services (DSS). According to Bradley, a user in Massachusetts can use DSS to write a program to run on his local machine that will read a file on a machine located in England. Decnet/OSI is one part of the firm's Digital Networking Architecture strategy, and it happens to be the portion that supports cooperative processing. It provides the services that programmers can use to develop cooperative processing applications and the services that future cooperative processing products will use as their underlying foundation. Data General Corp. refers to cooperative processing as client/server computing. In client/server relationships, the two entities are equals from the communications sense, but each one has its own job to do. ``We provide software that responds to the client/server approach,'' says Chris Stone, manager of office systems and software for Data General. ``We use a PC as a client and an MV [minicomputer] as the server. We run components of the application where they are best suited. For example, we will run graphical applications on the workstation and number crunching on the server and return the result to the client.'' These applications do not sound like cooperative processing, and indeed, it would be stretching the point to say they are. Stone explains, ``I don't want to sound like I'm saying, `Hey, we're here.' This isn't simple. It will be three to five years before half the market is developing products in this area, but it will do it. In the next year to 18 months, there will be more products.'' By David Gabel; Gabel is a free-lance writer based in Northport, N.Y. <<<>>> Title : The days of Prohibition m Author : Dana Stern Source : CW Comm FileName: utahside Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: The days of Prohibition may be long gone, but that has not stopped Utah's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control from keeping a handle on statewide liquor sales. In Utah, one of 19 states that controls the sale of alcoholic beverages, the department buys the liquor wholesale and then sells it at fixed prices to 36 state-operated stores and 96 state-contracted package outlets. This arrangement has been in place for more than 50 years, but, until the recent installation of a micro-to-host network, the department, based in Salt Lake City, was limited in its ability to communicate with the outlets that are peppered around the state. The tracking of store sales and inventory data and the communication of instructions on price changes and product coding was difficult when the department had to rely on an NCR Corp. point-of-sale system, says Programmer/Analyst David Lines. That system, which consisted of Model 2140 cash registers and NCR's Adcom communications software for transfer of files to an NCR 8200 minicomputer at department headquarters, was inefficient and time-consuming, Lines adds. Once a file transfer was completed, the department's data processing staff had to go through a fairly lengthy process to convert the information and transmit it to the Hewlett-Packard Co. HP 3000 host computer. The process was particularly complicated because of odd file structures, Lines says. In addition, the NCR system was only as reliable as the memories of store personnel. ``Someone always had to be here to push the buttons to start that transfer,'' Lines says. ``We had to rely on the store managers to [remember to] run a job'' before they left for the day. ``If they didn't, we couldn't communicate with them,'' he adds. Now, Century Software, Inc.'s Term communications software package performs terminal emulation and file transfer between IBM-compatible personal computers recently installed in 35 of the stores and an HP RS16 personal computer in the department's data processing section. Lines says he chose Term because it is compatible with the DP division's HP 3000 and can transmit information directly to the 3000. In addition, Term's script files also work under Unix, an option that is important because Lines says his division is currently considering switching to Unix. One of the major benefits of the new configuration is that it allows the Beverage Control Department to collect information from stores during off-hours with the help of Automate, an automatic scheduler, initiator and printer released in December 1988 by Complementary Solutions, Inc. Automate runs on any IBM-compatible microcomputer with a fixed disk. With Automate, data can be automatically sent to and from the stores' microcomputers and the DP department as long as it has been preprogrammed. The information, which ranges from band codes to prices to inventory, is then uploaded to the host HP 3000 using Reflection, a communications software program from Walker, Richer and Quinn, Inc. Reflection performs terminal emulation and file transfer. Automatic start-up With Automate, Lines says he can incorporate a job into a schedule that is initiated automatically at a predetermined time each day. Any job that is normally performed at the DOS prompt can be scheduled to execute on a daily or monthly basis. ``We are guaranteed that the machine is shut down and waiting for communications because Automate controls the machine,'' Lines says. ``If [a transmission] is messed up, it's because of Automate. We can't blame the [store] managers.'' With the new program, Lines says he now communicates with the stores four times a week. Because of the unreliability of the old system, he was previously receiving transmissions once a week at the most and sometimes only once a month. Communicating with the stores automatically at night also frees up the stores' and the DP department's PCs during the day. By Dana Stern; Stern is a free-lancer based in Sunland, Calif. <<<>>> Title : Virtual disk: Let use dec Author : Michael Hurwicz Source : CW Comm FileName: hurside Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Micro-to-mainframe virtual disk software works with standard mainframe connectivity hardware for personal computers; it allows PCs to use portions of mainframe direct-access storage devices (DASD) to store files. Typically, a file on the mainframe appears to the PC like a local microcomputer disk or a group of disks. Separate data elements within that file look like files to the PC. There are not many products on the market that offer a virtual disk capability as their main function. However, a wide variety of products, from database managers to communications programs, include a virtual disk feature. The criteria for evaluating a virtual disk's suitability depend chiefly on its intended use. Companies generally implement virtual disks on a mainframe for one of three reasons. First, virtual disks facilitate data sharing. Second, they provide administrative advantages in areas such as data security and backup. Finally, a virtual disk may be used as the basis for multiuser file service. However, some criteria, such as the user interface, apply equally to all uses. Products may have menu-based interfaces, command interfaces, script languages and programming interfaces. Another criterion that applies to all uses of a virtual disk is the type of communications hardware that is supported. Users who already have mainframe links need to make sure that their virtual disk vendor supports those links. Most vendors support popular micro-to-mainframe standards such as Digital Communications Associates, Inc.'s Irma, but support for less dominant brands is not assured. A third consideration is the load the virtual disk software puts on the mainframe. Generally, a package that runs under VTAM will put less strain on the mainframe than one that runs under TSO or CICS. File transfer and terminal emulation capabilities leave a lot to be desired for micro-to-mainframe data sharing, but virtual disks can overcome many of these limitations. Terminal emulation allows PCs to access data and applications on mainframes, and file transfer can be used to pass data between mainframes and PCs. However, with terminal emulation, files on the mainframe can only be accessed by applications running on that mainframe. Thus, PC users have to learn how to use mainframe programs to get at mainframe data. Using file transfer to copy the files to PC disks allows mainframe data to be used with PC applications. But file transfer is time-consuming and requires disk storage on the PC. Furthermore, once the files are on the PC, they are inaccessible to mainframe users. A micro-to-mainframe virtual disk can eliminate these difficulties. It allows PC applications to access data on the mainframe without copying the files to the PC and without making the files inaccessible to mainframe users. But mainframe applications typically cannot directly access the data on virtual disks. Instead, the file has to be copied to a different part of the mainframe's disk and its format changed in the process. Weighing ease, transparency When using virtual disks for data sharing, transparency and convenience are the primary considerations. All of the major vendors provide virtual disks that do most of the things real PC disks do. For instance, almost all the relevant DOS commands work for the virtual disk just as they do for a local disk. There are a few comands, such as FORMAT, that cannot be applied to the virtual disk but, for the most part, those commands are unnecessary. All the major virtual disk products also provide the necessary translations when copying a file between the virtual disk and another part of the mainframe disk or between the virtual disk and the PC. However, products may support different PC application formats such as the WKS format for Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3, Ashton-Tate Corp.'s Dbase DBF format or the Data Interchange Format. A good PC programming interface can add to the convenience of using a virtual disk for those firms that have in-house PC programmers able to take advantage of it. A PC programmer should be able to invoke a mainframe program to manipulate information, move data from place to place on the mainframe disk and also return information to the micro program. It is also convenient to be able to manipulate data from the mainframe side. Most virtual disk products allow a user at an IBM 3278 terminal to copy information from a virtual disk, manipulate it and write it back to the virtual disk. They usually also provide application programming interfaces that allow programmers to integrate virtual disk access into mainframe database programs. Some allow any file on the virtual disk to be accessed from the PC. Therefore, no copying is required. Mainframe shops have established procedures for monitoring access and archiving data. By storing data on mainframes, PCs can take advantage of the mainframe shop's prowess in these areas. However, in order to do this effectively, the virtual disk product must integrate smoothly with the mainframe administrative systems. For example, mainframe security should be applicable to the virtual disk. Users should be able to protect virtual disks using their security system of choice., such as IBM's ACF2 and RACF and Computer Associates International, Inc.'s CA-Top Secret. Most virtual disk systems allow for this, although the facility that makes this flexibility possible may be listed as a separate item. Most virtual disk systems also provide some kind of facility for monitoring users on the mainframe. There are wide variations in what can be monitored from the host side, though. For example, a host administrator may be able to find out which DASD a user is on but not which virtual disk is being used. That information may only be obtainable from a PC. With other products, the host administrator may be able to tell which ``library'' of disks each user is accessing. At least one product, Arbiter from Tangram Systems Corp., shows each user and the virtual disk that user is accessing. Arbiter also reports on the type of communications link and on the PC's configuration, such as what version of DOS it is running and what type of mainframe board it has. Usage accounting for chargeback and capacity planning should integrate with existing systems. Generally, this means that the virtual disk software should create system management facility records, which can then be processed by the usage accounting system. All the major vendors can provide this capability. File service A virtual disk product can provide a basis for a virtual local-area network server. For instance, Tempus-Share from Micro Tempus, Inc. implements a Microsoft Corp. MS-Net server on an IBM mainframe. Similarly, PSAM/LAN from Phaser Systems, Inc. emulates a Novell, Inc. Netware server. The same questions that arise with virtual disks arise with file servers. How transparently does the server integrate with the LAN? Do all LAN functions work with the file server? From the mainframe side, does the server integrate smoothly with existing mainframe facilities? One advantage of file service over the simple disk is that, while most virtual disks are limited by DOS to a 32M-byte maximum disk size, file servers can go much higher. For instance, Tempus-Link, which is just a virtual disk, can only support a 30M-byte disk. Tempus-Share, which provides file service, can support disks up to 40G bytes. However, with DOS 4.0, multigigabyte storage will be available through DOS, even without file server capabilities. By Michael Hurwicz; Hurwicz is president of the MTI Group, a data communications consulting firm in Nashville. <<<>>> Title : Steel firm forges data li Author : Leonard Hindus Source : CW Comm FileName: hindsd Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Pressure turned Atlantic Steel Co., a steel reprocessor in Atlanta, into an innovator in the use of micro-to-mainframe technology. ``We were driven to innovation by the crippling market pressure in the steel industry,'' Jerry Ward, the director of MIS, explains. ``We had to find the most cost-effective way to give our end users the computing power they needed while maintaining the integrity of our data.'' Atlantic Steel uses Dyl-Vlink, a micro-to-mainframe link product from the Dylacor Division of Sterling Software in Chatsworth, Calif., to allow its IBM 4341 mainframe to function as a file server. The mainframe is used to gather and organize data for statistical process control, traffic control, freight rate equalization and other analytical chores, but much of the number crunching is performed by the linked microcomputers. Also, the company has realized significant cost savings by using a Compaq Computer Corp. multiuser system based on an Intel Corp. 80386 processor to support a number of terminals. Each terminal has access to the IBM mainframe through the 386, which is connected via Dyl-Vlink. Ward says that, taken in total, he considers the eight Dyl-Vlink connections to be a true data network with the mainframe as the hub. Any number of microcomputers can access the same virtual diskette simultaneously, he explains. Information is transferred from the mainframe to virtual diskettes and back, using the DYL-280 data management and extraction tool. Simultaneous updates are locked out to maintain data integrity, he says, and the virtual diskette acts like any hard disk on a micro except that users can also share documents on the network. The initial impetus for the micro-to-mainframe connection was finding an alternative to costly, inflexible mainframe statistical process control software. However, other advantages soon became apparent, and the scheme was extended. ``Microcomputers are especially useful for ad hoc requests and analyses, which do not require the time and expertise of our professional development staff,'' Ward says. ``The end user can get into the data and do some things on his own without having to wait for me.'' Another plus, says Charles Monroe, the end-user computing coordinator, is that, because the data is stored on the mainframe in the form of virtual diskettes that look like additional floppy drives, microcomputer users do not have to learn mainframe jargon or job control language. Monroe also stresses the simplicity of connecting all the end users in this way. ``We have avoided the cost and confusion of multiple microcomputer networks,'' he explains. ``We have one network, which is transparent to the users and meets all our needs. The Dyl-Vlink network is so easy to use that the microcomputer users may not be aware that they are using virtual diskettes on the mainframe.'' This method, he says, has united a company that is spread out across 30 acres in the heart of Atlanta as well as a plant that is 70 miles away. ``Our end users get the best of both worlds: the independence and responsiveness of a micro environment and the power and cohesiveness of a mainframe,'' Monroe claims. There are also advantages for the MIS department, chiefly peace of mind about the security of corporate data. ``Not only can we physically protect the data during our nightly backup,'' Ward says, ``but we can also control access on a user-by-user basis. Marketing, personnel and production are on different virtual diskettes with different sets of security. In addition, no micro users have direct access to our mainframe databases.'' The success of the program to move computing off the mainframe created a tremendous demand for micros throughout Atlantic Steel and led directly to its second creative leap in end-user computing. Rather than equip all users with stand-alone micros, the company chose to experiment with 386-based micros running PC-MOS/386, a multiuser, multitasking operating system from Software Link, Inc. in Norcross, Ga. Double hit ``Our micro-to-mainframe network was a big hit,'' Ward says. ``But that also meant we were getting hit for $5,000 to $6,000 every time we added a user. We had to to be able to afford to add more users. That's how we discovered that we could use a 386 machine like a minicomputer. By that I mean that one 386 system can support a number of users on `dumb' terminals.'' The initial investment required for each multiuser 386 system is around $12,000. After that, Ward says, the incremental cost is $450 per user, the cost of a Wyse Technology 60 terminal. This is possible, in part, because the data and programs are stored in virtual diskettes on the mainframe and accessed through the network. ``Multiuser 386 systems would not be feasible without our micro-to-mainframe technology,'' Ward adds. ``A user at a dumb terminal attached to a 386 has the same ability to retrieve, process and store data as if he had a stand-alone system.'' Five for now The company currently supports as many as five simultaneous users on one 386 system. The users are connected to the 386 system via intelligent eight-port, RS-232-C-compatible serial boards, manufactured by Maxpeed Corp. in Foster City, Calif. At least in theory, three Maxpeed boards can be installed on each 386 host for a total of 25 users per host. ``Based on our results,'' Ward reports, ``we anticipate no difficulty in expanding to 10 users. A 10-user 386 system costs less than $20,000. That's $40,000 less than 10 PC AT-class machines. Yet our users report that response times are about the same as stand-alone AT-class machines and much faster than the PC XT-class machines many of them have been using.'' Eventually, Ward says, this outgrowth of Atlantic Steel's initial decision to employ micro-to-mainframe link technology could save the company as much as ``hundreds of thousands of dollars.'' <<<>>> Title : A guide to micro-to-host Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: linkterm Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Advanced Program-to-Program Communications (APPC): A set of protocols designed by IBM that enables application programs to interact directly with each other on a peer-to-peer basis, even when the programs are on separate and remote processors. Distributed Data Management (DDM): An IBM application that supports remote file access across a Systems Network Architecture (SNA) network. Extended Binary-Coded Decimal Interchange Code (EBCDIC): An 8-bit data transmission code developed by IBM and used primarily for synchronous communications in IBM mainframe and compatible systems. File transfer: Movement of a complete set of data from one computer to another, usually accomplished by dividing a file into a series of screens that are then reassembled at the receiving end. Gateway: A device that uses protocol conversion to connect dissimilar communications systems. The gateway provides the translation from one set of protocols to another. High-Level Data Link Control (HDLC): A data communications protocol developed by the International Standards Organization (ISO) and later incorporated into the link layer of its Open Systems Interconnect model. Link: A circuit or transmission path, including all equipment between a sender and a receiver on a network. Link layer: Layer 2 of the ISO Reference Model for OSI. At Layer 2, ISO has established standards and protocols for managing the physical transfer of data between nodes. Logical Unit (LU): The port, or network-addressable entity, through which users gain access to SNA and communicate with one another. LU6.2: An IBM protocol for the peer-to-peer communication of devices on an SNA network. Micro-mainframe link: A package specifically designed to accomplish file transfer or application integration between a PC and a mainframe computer. Physical Unit 2.1 (PU2.1): An IBM protocol that facilitates cooperative processing by supporting multiple ``conversations'' within a single session. Protocol conversion: The process of translating protocols from one computer system to another so that the two different systems can communicate. Session: A series of conversations or interactions that take place between two application programs. Synchronous transmission: A transmission scheme whereby data is sent as blocks of characters with controls at the beginning and end of each block that ensure constant timing or synchronization. Synchronous Data Link Control (SDLC): An IBM synchronous communications protocol that operates with SNA. SNA: A proprietary plan, developed by IBM, for the design of a wide-area network and supported by almost every computer vendor. SNA is a de facto standard that includes APPC. Terminal emulation: A method of data transfer whereby a PC, via use of an IBM 3270 emulator board in the PC or by protocol conversion, imitates the characteristics of a dumb terminal so that it can receive data from the mainframe. Virtual disk: A disk that appears to belong to one user but in fact is shared or available to all users on a network. <<<>>> Title : IBM repository on its way Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: taskerid Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: It's no big secret that IBM is working on a repository product to replace its aging data dictionary offering. While conjecture as to its release date varies, what is clear is that it will be of primary use to medium-size and large MIS installations that are having difficulty managing the thousands of hardware and software components of their complex information systems. A big problem today in almost all large data processing installations, and in many smaller ones, is that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. The level of communication and coordination between development groups, or between development groups and operations, is anything but satisfactory. Thus, the principal benefit of the repository product will be as a basis for integrated solutions, or tools, used in the efficient development and operation of information systems. And while the product is not yet available _ nor even officially announced _ there is a great deal of groundwork that MIS can lay today. These efforts will enable a shop both to migrate to this new environment more quickly and to achieve significant benefits along the way. There are five fundamental steps MIS can take to achieve a repository-based integrated tool set that will provide automated support for managing, developing and operating information systems. Step 1. Understand the management and personnel problems that might somehow inhibit effective implementation. Step 2. Establish an overall plan at organizational, functional and data levels. Step 3. Gather data requirements. Step 4. Design integrated solutions. Step 5. Implement integrated data and tools. Of these five steps, only the very last is fully dependent on the actual availability of a functioning repository product. Examination of each of these steps in turn can show how an MIS organization can begin today to prepare for an integrated repository product. Understand the problems It is not enough that one person, or even one group within an installation, recognize and understand the need for and benefits of a repository. The entire MIS department must realize that an integrated tool set is one that captures data once and uses it many times. Otherwise, the group will not know how to implement it properly. One benefit of the integration that can be achieved with a repository is reduced tool development effort. Only one set of data-sourcing logic is needed, with no bridging or interfacing required. Another benefit is increased integrity of MIS data. Having a single source of update means there is no chance of multiple data sources getting out of sync. A third benefit is greatly improved management information based on a common, well-defined set of objects or entity types that are uniformly reported and understood. Additional benefits include reduced training costs and increased management control. Ironically, one of the roadblocks to establishing the integrated solutions that can come with a repository is today's application developers. These highly trained individuals have, over time, established their own ways of working their magic. These people earn their living providing automation that changes other people's lives, yet they themselves are often very set in their ways, which makes for an interesting contradiction. A second, related obstacle is that operations personnel, over time, have acquired or developed far too many individual pieces of automated support that allow them to manage their day-to-day responsibilities. One bank in Seattle identified 37 different ``systems,'' each involved in maintaining some aspect of its network. The operations staff, which has a great responsibility in terms of keeping critical production systems running, is not anxious to let go of these lifelines. It is no easy task to convince operations and development people to change their current ways and embrace concepts that they are not comfortable with, such as ``repository'' and ``integrated solutions.'' Another very real problem is that all of these people are likely to be working flat out just trying to meet their existing commitments, with little or no time to scale another learning curve. The repository concept must be sold to the company's top-level management. The bigger the installation, the more examples there are likely to be of redundant data, multiple tools supporting the same activities and so on. An MIS commitment to moving toward an integrated tool set is essential, both in providing near-term resources and long-term migration efforts. Establish an overall plan The overall objective behind a repository is to establish an integrated tool set for MIS that operates on integrated data. The repository is intended to hold data about development and operational components such as programs, files and network devices. This data, in turn, is manipulated by the tools, which were designed to support one or more of the activities performed by MIS personnel. In order to define tool requirements, an MIS installation must have a clear understanding of what activities it performs and who performs them. The chart at right illustrates the relationships among the four vital elements of any integrated tool set: people, activities, tools and data. An MIS installation must have accurate, maintainable data for each of these elements to successfully establish a repository and a comprehensive set of integrated tools. By starting with high-level models of organization, function and data, MIS can establish a plan to complete lower level details. At this stage, there is likely to be another gap in understanding by MIS staff that must be bridged. Many of those who need to be involved in both planning for and contributing to overall information-gathering exercises may not be well versed in aspects of data modeling. Organization, function and data actually represent three different perspectives of MIS. The most universally understood model is the organizational chart, which contains information about who makes up the MIS organization and defines the reporting relationships. These kinds of models are often maintained in a distributed fashion, with each subgroup looking after its own lower level reporting structure. But even with all the technology available today, it is still surprising how many enterprises do not maintain even the higher levels of available information in some form of database. Most organizational charts are updated and produced either manually or on a word processor. Accurate data about people _ for example, data on project staffing, sign-off authority, problem resolution responsibility and so on _ will eventually be necessary within the repository. Therefore, such data should be implemented in some form of maintainable database now. This organizational information will have immediate use in the MIS group's relationships and eventually can be migrated into the repository itself. Organizational models may be easy to pin down, but few companies, if any, maintain a functional model of themselves. Because organizational units tend to have meaningful names such as Customer Service, Marketing & Sales and Accounting, organizational charts provide somewhat of a functional perspective. It is not unusual, however, for multiple organizational units _ regional sales divisions, bank branches, multiple factories and so on _ to perform similar functions such as selling, servicing or manufacturing. This means that functions within an organizational model can be redundant. What is lacking, therefore, is a normalized or nonredundant set of well-defined functions that are important to operating the business. Functional modeling techniques such as decomposition and data flow diagrams have proven useful in the development of information systems. Individual functions or activities are named, defined and shown in relationship to other functions. The highest level defined for such models often begins at the point appropriate to the individual application being addressed. In reality, each of these applications is a part of the overall set of functions for an enterprise. Just as the complete organizational chart begins at the highest level, a functional model of an enterprise should start at the highest level. The first few levels then act as a framework within which individual applications can be defined. Who does what The task at hand, however, is to establish integrated MIS data and function. Even on this smaller scale, it is possible to have several groups performing similar functions. It therefore makes equal sense to establish a functional model for all of MIS. Once defined, these nonredundant functions are used for cross-referencing to the MIS organization. Establishing this link can make possible on-line access showing who does what. Creating models of the MIS organization and MIS function is an important prerequisite to later steps. It is equally important that procedures are put in place to ensure that these models are updated over time. Again, the culture of an organization guarantees that organizational charts are updated and published following any significant changes. But what of the links established to functions? Those responsible for planning any kind of reorganization should be aware of the impact such changes have on accomplishing the work. Similarly, when changes in methodologies or technologies affect what activities MIS performs, it is important that people within the organization be assigned responsibility for performing them or be informed that they can cease carrying out an obsolete activity. At Westpac Banking Corp. in Sydney, Australia _ where repository planning forms the basis of the five preparatory steps _ the individual functions performed by MIS staff are recorded as a part of the annual personnel planning/performance evaluation procedure. Originally, each individual was responsible for describing the activities in which they were expected to be effective. By defining an MIS functional model, a normalized set of these activities was established that could then be used as part of this process. Again, there is immediate benefit even prior to a repository in that more rigorous data can be provided to management. One obvious use is for controlling functional overlaps and underlaps. At the same time, it establishes a mechanism that ensures that the functional model, and its cross-reference to the organizational model, will be maintained. Once a nonredundant functional model is in place, it also provides a basis for mapping current automated support tools _ for example, compilers, test data generators, direct-access storage device management and so on _ within the organization. Again, this is useful for identifying overlaps and underlaps. This cross-reference can also be established using existing storage technologies. In addition, it represents another valuable step in bringing order out of the chaos that exists today in many large installations regarding the coordination of tool evaluation and acquisition. Gather requirements The basis for true functional integration and the tools that facilitate it is a common, shared set of data. Traditional application, or tool, development involves defining the particular data requirements and implementing them in a manner designed to support that individual need. Data-modeling techniques and the principles of normalization provide methods for designing and implementing data that is not optimized for any one function but is usable by any number of functions that might require it. This eliminates the additional effort involved in resourcing or reformatting data, which is so often necessary with today's unintegrated tools. Interestingly, those people assigned to the building of bridges between today's tools are the ones crying the loudest for an integrated repository. Each MIS activity supported by a tool within the repository will still have its own particular data requirements. These requirements, however, should be seen as views or subsets of the entities and relationships in the overall design model. What MIS must guard against is the implementation of particular data requirements without regard to the larger scope. The functional model provides a basis for establishing what data models, or views, need to be defined. No entity should appear in the overall repository model that is not based on some activity view. As activities change over time, so will their data requirements. This again emphasizes the importance of maintaining a current MIS functional model. Activity data-model views act as the cross-reference between data and function. Establishing data model requirements represents another opportunity for MIS installations to gear up for a repository. IBM's stated direction clearly indicates that its repository product will be based on an entity/relationship model. Because data modeling is a much newer discipline than either functional or organizational modeling, it is the least understood by MIS managers and staff. But there is nothing magic about data models. Like anything else, it is a matter of education and familiarity. Introducing these concepts to the MIS community will now help overcome one additional learning curve facing the utilization of the new repository. For instance, any installation that does not currently employ skilled data analysts would do well to train or acquire some. People with these skills are essential to both the requirements and design steps of the process being described here. Data modelers and data analysts are a rare commodity today. As more installations realize their importance in establishing an integrated repository tool set, they will be at a premium. The importance of gathering requirements for individual MIS activities is based on the fact that the repository product itself will not consist of a single, all-encompassing set of functionality to support all MIS activities. Its primary purpose should be to act as a storage manager for the data. The only functions the repository should be expected to perform are those that can be applied to any data stored there. The ability to query and/or report on any item stored within a repository is one example of such a data-management function. In contrast, functions such as generating IMS control blocks or Cobol I/O areas apply to very specific kinds of repository-based data, like segment definitions. The repository tool, as described by IBM, is intended to be a tool to build tools. Software products capable of generating control blocks should be thought of as tools that specifically support a database administration activity. Only installations that use IMS would be interested in this particular functionality and would require it as part of their integrated tool set. Similarly, an MIS shop that strictly uses a fourth-generation language would not require _ nor would it wish to pay for _ a tool that generated Cobol I/O copy library members. The importance of defining MIS activity-based requirements is to facilitate the selection or creation of tools that will eventually make up an installation's integrated tool set. Some of these tools will be available from IBM. The company has also made it clear that its repository will be open for third-party vendors to supply add-in tools. Indeed, a major advantage of the eventual existence of an IBM repository is that it will act as a focal-point product with which other tools can integrate. Many of the vendors of today's stand-alone tools will likely produce versions modified to integrate with the repository. When enough customers realize the benefits of integration, the market for stand-alone tools will likely be greatly reduced. Further, because of the entity/relationship nature or direction of the IBM repository, all tools will of necessity include data models as part of their specifications. By defining the particular requirements of a given installation in terms of activity data models, there will exist a common basis for evaluation of add-in tools. Design specifications The repository tool itself should function primarily as a database management system. But without the proper administrative controls, it is susceptible to the implementation of nonintegrated data and functionality (see upper portion of chart above). An important phase that follows requirements gathering is implementation-independent design. While the functional requirements go through a process that eventually produces code, the data requirements need to be merged, or integrated, into an overall design model (see lower portion of chart above). This represents the single, normalized, nonredundant set of entities and relationships. The eventual implementation of this design model within some DBMSs _ for example, the repository _ will be subject to certain performance-related compromises such as selected denormalization, controlled redundancy and so on, based on the repository product's particular strengths and weaknesses. The entity-merge step within the design phase is necessary for identifying what requirements can be satisfied by existing design entities. A person or group whose job it is to be familiar with the design model should be involved in performing the integration of these requirements. The reuse of previously established entities is the basis for integration and reusability of data. Implementation The fifth step must, of necessity, await the actual availability of a repository product. It would be feasible to implement the above tools using any currently available DBMS. The ramification of such a decision, however, is that a homegrown repository would not provide the same degree of integration with tools eventually offered by both IBM and third-party vendors. But in the short term, such a solution can offer certain functionality that is not presently available, as well as providing a much cleaner, less redundant set of data than currently exists. If the intent is to eventually migrate this data to the IBM repository, the extent of investment in throwaway code should be carefully weighed. If steps one through four have been followed in this effort, the transition should be greatly simplified because of the data that exists in normalized form. Meanwhile, MIS itself needs to be organized and managed in such a way that its reporting structure and functions are clearly defined and maintained on some DBMS. Together, these two models become the basis for a cross-reference system defining who is responsible for what. This information is probably not well-defined today and almost certainly not kept or maintained on-line. Establishing it now means that implementing integrated change-management and project-management tools will be greatly facilitated in the new repository. In addition, an inventory of tools _ linked to the activities that they support _ should exist. In the near term, this inventory can be used to eliminate redundancy _ both in cost of tools and in training in different systems that essentially accomplish the same thing. The data created and/or manipulated by these tools begins to identify sources of information that will eventually be migrated into a repository. Gathering this information will be vital when it is time to cost-justify both the repository tool itself and add-in tools. Because the new repository would not be accepted if it did not at least have tools available that matched the present level of automated support, a current inventory of tools acts as a priority list for either IBM or third-party vendors to provide integrated, repository-based versions of current products. It also clearly defines what migration plans must be developed for converting to integrated tools. Also, MIS should create a single design data model that represents the sum total of all currently defined requirements of MIS activities. The design model will ensure that, as tools are added into the tool set, there will be maximum benefits from integration. The individual activity-view data models represent requirements that can be used when evaluating commercially available tools. The same requirements, both functional and data, can also serve the option of in-house development of any particular repository-based tool. The data-modeling exercises act to sharpen the skills of data analysts while familiarizing managers and staff with both the concepts of data models and integrated repository solutions. Bear in mind that any MIS installation impatiently waiting for IBM to deliver a repository product that will magically solve all of its problems is a few bits short of a byte. The integration that such a tool will make possible will necessitate both procedural and cultural changes within any MIS organization. Preparing and educating for these changes should begin immediately. By Dan Tasker; Tasker is an independent consultant working currently with Westpac Banking Corp. in Sydney, Australia, and author of the forthcoming book Fourth Generation Data from Prentice Hall. <<<>>> Title : Planning the worst Author : Sally Brecht Source : CW Comm FileName: brecht1 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: When I assumed responsibility for the Educational Testing Service Information Systems & Technology (IS&T) division's disaster and application recovery planning, I was not particularly concerned about the effort required by the task. After all, disaster and application recovery planning are nothing new. Surely there was plenty of information on what a plan should address, right? Wrong. So began my search for information critical to disaster and applications recovery. The following are some of the topics that managers should address in their plans. Remember, though, that organizational needs and culture drive recovery plans. Just as no two organizations are alike, no two plans are identical. Happily, my predecessor addressed several major aspects of disaster recovery planning. A backup processing site was under contract and a rudimentary disaster recovery plan in place. A secure off-site storage vendor was under contract, and critical operating systems, programs and application-specific data were regularly rotated off-site. My goal was a plan of minimal size and complexity that promoted IS&T's ability to move into a hot site within 24 hours of a disaster declaration. The plan is organized by the personnel who could be active partici- pants in the disaster recovery effort. It incorporates a variety of administrative details, including a definition of ``disaster'' and potential threats and objectives for recovery. It assumes that the computer center is damaged and unusable for 72 hours or more. Depending on the conditions and the information available, the need to declare a disaster may not be obvious. A good plan defines the action to be taken by the individual who first notices the potential disaster. The names and phone numbers of managers who must be notified immediately are defined to speed communication among decision makers. Damage assessment is vital to a disaster declaration decision. Members of a damage assessment team are predetermined and _ as with other teams _names, phone numbers and alternates are included in the plan. If the threat is serious enough to consider a declaration, the cognizant corporate officer gathers the team to estimate the potential and time frame for reconstruction. Questions to be considered include the following: Is the data center completely unusable? Is the damage limited to a particular area? If so, what is the anticipated demand for this area? What surrounding areas experienced secondary effects such as smoke or water damage? The impact on production processing is evaluated and, if a disaster is declared, a temporary headquarters is selected from several predetermined sites. Responsibility for the disaster declaration, subsequent communication and definition of processing priorities at the backup site is assigned. There are procedures to establish and processing priorities to decide on until normal schedules are restored. A petty cash fund to cover out-of-pocket expenses during the first two weeks of the disaster is provided, as is clerical staff to support the recovery effort and systems staff at the backup site. Transportation, delivery services and distribution of output printed at the backup site are also planned. Procedures to retrieve documentation and backup tapes from remote locations are included. The plan pre-identifies software requiring temporary licenses to run at the hot site. Restoration of data library and data security procedures are laid out. Vendors for the emergency replacement of critical forms or laser printer form flashes, bursting and decollating are identified. The addresses of the remote printers available for users are specified. Furnishings for staff at the backup site should be ``guesstimated'' in advance, and the eventual return of personnel, processing and materials to the restored facility is planned. The plan should look at the backup site's ability to support the work load and the possible need to add processing capacity during an extended stay at that site. Equipment salvageability is also addressed. Members of a salvage team are predetermined, and an inventory is stored off-site and will serve as the basis for the paperwork required to reorder equipment. The need for cleaning services for facilities, equipment and magnetic media is anticipated. Providing staff with accurate information on the status of the disaster recovery effort minimizes the stress and the probability of losing key staff members. The plan uses the local media and telephone lists to keep staff informed. Even when participants in a disaster recovery effort are familiarized with the plan and the company's ability to restore operating systems and telecommunications is tested regularly, there remains the need to plan for the recovery of individual production applications. Applications recovery plan A data center disaster degrades service and makes hard choices necessary. Restoration of operating systems and telecommunications at a remote site is useless unless applications can be recovered. Ideally, recovery plans are a corporate priority, addressed at the time of system development and major modifications. The initial section of the application recovery plan deals with administrative detail such as procedures to authorize activation of the plan. The process used to assign processing priorities and communicate the status of the recovery to affected individuals are included as are the details to reestablish processing to minimize loss and restore service to customers as quickly as possible. Methods to keep impacted users and customers informed of the recovery effort and provide the media with timely and accurate information are provided. Each predefined application recovery team includes representatives from each group necessary to the finished product. Identification of critical products, services and data files and evaluation of the documentation constitutes a joint effort between the systems group and users and is best done before the disaster. Disaster and application recovery planning are not exciting pursuits. They require painful attention to detail when, in fact, plans may never be used. To be effective, they must be maintained and tested on a regular basis. In spite of what may be wasted effort, they are necessary. The inability to restore major applications in the event of a disaster can easily mean the end of your company. By Sally Brecht; Brecht is assistant director of the Educational Testing Service Office of Corporate Quality Assurance in Princeton, N.J. <<<>>> Title : Hands-on IS president mai Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: caron Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: When J. Raymond Caron steps out from behind his desk to shake hands with visitors, he does it with the same casual ease he might have stepping onto a green at his favorite golf course. Caron, president of Cigna Systems, a division of Cigna Corp., is a people person. He has earned high grades from his co-workers because he has climbed the Cigna ranks from programmer/analyst 18 years ago to president today. Further, he has won their friendship because his interest in them is genuine, they say. When one of his employees was dealing with an ill parent, Caron asked on a daily basis how things were going, says Kathy Taylor, vice-president of financial strategic planning and corporate support services. ``He is very personable,'' she says. ``We both get in early at about 7:15 a.m. He'll pop in for a social chat to say, `How was your evening?' or `How was your weekend?' He tends to do that with most people.'' At Philadelphia-based Cigna Systems, Caron, 44, runs the arm of the $17 billion (reflecting 1987 revenue) insurance company Cigna, which is responsible for all systems development, data processing and telecommunications for the corporation worldwide. Caron's promotion nearly a year ago followed a hectic two-year staff cutback period during which the staff size was reduced from 4,000 to 3,100 through attrition and some layoffs. Now the company wants the employees to look forward, and Caron's interpersonal skills are perfect for the task. ``Ray is good at getting people to focus on the value they can bring to Cigna, rather than how awful it was when we did the downturn,'' says Jim Valenteen, senior vice-president of human resources at Cigna Systems. ``He's one of them, and they recognize that when they see him.'' Swinging door In his 20th-floor office overlooking center-city Philadelphia, New England native Caron's open-door policy allows the influx of information he needs. ``He can draw out of people ideas, suggestions and complaints,'' Valenteen says. ``They know that he is not going to turn back a suggestion or complaint as not being well-thought-out. He lets them say their piece, and then he responds.'' Caron's duties include overseeing 3,100 employees, a $340 million annual budget and the computing operations of Cigna's four groups _ Property and Casualty, Employee Life and Health Benefits, Employee Retirement and Savings Benefits and Individual Financial Services _ as well as 16 divisions within those groups. Caron is responsible for creating the link between the business strategies and the technology and ensuring that the systems that are developed are being used to achieve maximum benefit. He admits that because he has held many of the positions that are now filled by people who report to him, ``there has been a propensity on my part to have a hands-on type approach.'' Caron talks fondly of his time spent working on the team that developed the Electronic Insurance System for Cigna, an on-line, integrated policy accounting and writing claims-receivable application that is still the backbone of the company's property and casualty operation. Go, team, go Caron still enjoys the team feeling today. During a recent tour of Cigna's data center training facilities in Hartford, Conn., Caron introduced himself to an entry-level employee who was working on a flowchart. When she asked if he would like to help, Caron pulled up a chair and worked with her for 30 minutes, Valenteen recalls. Sometimes Caron's hands-on approach may work to his disadvantage, though, Valenteen says. ``He's got to get up beyond the day-to-day problem solving, but he reverts to his old haunts because that is where he built his reputation,'' he says. However, Caron says that he is evolving to the point at which he relies on his direct staff, try- ing to limit his hands-on work for strategic planning and staff skills. Caron places a good deal of importance on relationships, according to Mike Natan, senior vice-president of the information technology service division. Once he knows and trusts his workers, ``that enhances the relationship and amount of autonomy that he allows,'' Natan says. Caron and Natan have worked together at Cigna for 16 years. ``He's got good instincts in general, but certainly in this business, he is able to get to the core of an issue very quickly,'' Natan says. Most of the hardware at Cigna Sys- tems is IBM mainframe-based, and the employees work on 22,000 terminals and 6,000 personal computers, Caron says. The core applications were developed at the division level and include backbone systems such as a health care and a property and casualty application. Caron says that over the years, Cigna Systems has typically gone with the traditional software tools such as Cobol, IBM's IMS and CICS. ``But there is a need to get ready for the next decade,'' he says. ``We need to be better at integrating office automation and workstation strategies into our backbone platforms.'' Caron said he is somewhat concerned about systems compatibility, and he will be looking carefully at the data plans for each division. ``Where we have data that is critical across lines,'' we tend to ensure that our data plans will allow for compatibility, he said. Still, he admits that there is much work to be done in that area. While some other companies are hiring more information systems workers from management backgrounds rather than those with technical skills, Caron still believes a solid knowledge of systems is the way to go. He should know: He earned his knowledge on the job. During his teenage years, Caron was like most people his age: He was rather uncertain about the career path he would choose. He was enrolled in the University of Connecticut, but as he ended his sophomore year, his father had a stroke, and Caron's college funding was no longer a priority. Living in Hartford at the time, Caron made his way into the personnel office of Travelers Insurance Co. After an aptitude test, he was hired to work in the company's data processing area as a computer operator. Next, he moved to programming at another insurance company and eventually joined a small consulting firm before moving to Philadelphia and Cigna in 1971. On the links, Caron is just a so-so golfer who at least enjoys the game, according to one co-worker who has shot some rounds with him. But at Cigna, Caron has a job to do and he works very hard to get it done. ``He's a very hard driver. He wants to get things accomplished _ he's not interested in just putting in his time,'' Natan said. To date, Caron says things are going well and the systems division is headed in the right direction. A staff of eight reports directly to Caron, who in turn reports to the corporation's chief financial officer James Stewart, who reports directly to Chief Executive Officer Wilson ``Bill'' Taylor. Top-down support has continued to grow within Cigna over the last five years, Caron said. ``Both Bill and Jim tend to bring to the effort a sense of the long-term role that technology can play,'' which is necessary because no project can happen overnight, he says. ``The lead times are so huge that you have to be able to have that vision of what could be, and they both have it as well as the group heads. We're blessed with that.'' By Alan J. Ryan, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Ups and downs of MIS star Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: atthetop Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Having a well-known name in the information systems field is not synonymous with respect or success, nor does it necessarily make a manager more marketable. Still, some IS managers who qualify as celebrities among their peers say there are many benefits. Being recognized as a leader in any field is an accomplishment, one manager said. The four professionals polled by Computerworld said attaining success brings about a sense of self-worth. All agreed that speaking publicly about their jobs and the success of their IS strategies is good for their companies. Proud company ``It gives my organization a sense of pride to feel that they are part of an organization that is successfully implementing information technology,'' said John W. White, vice-president of information systems and services at Texas Instruments, Inc. in Plano, Texas. How does it feel to be well-known? ``We tend to work in isolation'' in this field, said Ronald Brzezinski, vice-president of information systems at The Quaker Oats Co. in Chicago. ``The nice part is you get recognized for something that you enjoy doing. But the worst thing to do about it is to feel cocky.'' Brzezinski said that at times, being well-known can cause pressure from peers within the company. ``If someone does pop up more often in the press, it can cause some type of minor short-term alienation. That is very real,'' he said. Unlike star figures in other fields, most data processing celebrities do not set out on a planned path for fame and fortune. ``You don't want to work on that happening,'' Brzezinski said. ``If anybody worked on trying to do that, it would look artificial.'' Being successful and holding a high profile certainly means more than being everywhere and doing everything, said Dudley P. Cooke, president of Bryn Mawr, Pa.-based The Executive Insight Group, Inc., (see story page 93) and former general manager of Sun Co.'s information systems division. ``I always wanted to feel I was getting value for my company in what I was doing,'' Cooke said. ``I know people that join everything but never get their job done.'' Public speaking, one of the tickets to a high profile, involves more than just landing the engagement. To be successful at it, the speaker should also be somewhat of a ham, enjoy the recognition, enjoy making presentations, have a desire to teach others and, perhaps most important, believe in his or her views strongly enough to want to communicate them to others. Getting speaking assignments is not difficult, said Elaine Bond, senior vice-president of the corporate systems group at The Chase Manhattan Bank NA in New York. ``At first, you volunteer, and after a time, you get invited to speak,'' Bond said. Next, she said, calls start coming in from people who know others who have heard you speak. Good tickets to getting the initial assigments include memberships and offices held in professional groups and societies as well as customer advisory councils. Role model It is important to use the time allotted for outside work wisely, Bond added. Sheer size of the group or conference is not always important. Bond said she believes in devoting some of her time speaking to student groups. A benefit to speaking is being able to be a role model to others, she said, which is important in an industry that employs many women but has few in senior positions. TI's White said that the effort necessary to create a speech is time well-spent. He rarely talks on issues that are not closely aligned with his company's strategic direction, so most of the speeches can be used both internally and externally. At times, popular speakers can become overtaxed. ``The outside world will take up 100% of your time, if you allow it,'' Cooke said. Successful speakers also need to know how to say no, those interviewed said. Speakers are wise to carefully consider not only the timing of speaking engagements but the topic as well. ``You run a significant risk that while 85% of the audience may be new to the topic, you've got that 15% who is going to be bored and burned out with having heard you say that once. That is a real concern I have,'' TI's White said. Other ways that well-known IS experts have attained that status include contributing articles or columns to trade publications or speaking with the press on various issues. Cooke said he always returns every phone call he receives. ``But caution must be used there as well to avoid the feeling of `there he goes, blowing smoke again' from industry people,'' Brzezinski said. ``You have to be careful when you comment that you're not just professing something everybody else knows.'' Surprisingly, those interviewed said being highly visible was not necessarily a ticket to success, nor does it make an employee more marketable to other companies. ``Being vocal about what you do and where you work does imply satisfaction and strong feelings'' about one's company, Brzezinski said, which naturally repels the job-placement headhunters. However, Cooke believes that his visibility in the corporate world will help him in his latest career switch. ``That is one of the reasons I retired from Sun,'' he said. ``I have a reputation, and it is easier'' to build a new career from that starting point. By Alan J. Ryan, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Sun Co.'s Cooke retires, Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: onthemov Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: The former general manager of Sun Co.'s information systems division, Dudley P. Cooke, has launched a firm that will advise senior business executives on dealing with issues and opportunities related to IS management. Cooke, a frequent speaker on MIS issues and a 26-year veteran of Sun, started the firm, The Executive Insight Group, Inc., in Bryn Mawr, Pa. While at Sun, Cooke began in the company's financial organization and then moved to materials management. Later, he was promoted to head the company's marketing and manufacturing financial organization of 2,000 people. He moved into corporate administrative activities and headed up the Sun Data group, previously known as Sun Information Services. ``Most often in large corporations, you have an embedded organizational base, and you don't have the chance of the senior people saying, `Go ahead and do it,' '' Cooke said. With the Information Services group, Cooke was able to handpick his own workers and organize the operation. He stayed at that job for six years. In his new career, Cooke said his biggest challenges include marketing the business and maintaining a calendar that is neither too full nor too empty. ``I've got four good clients now, and if they all call and want me the same week, I'm in trouble,'' he said. Prior to Sun, Cooke spent seven years with Exxon Corp. in various engineering posts. He has been an active member of the board of sponsors of the Center for Information Systems Research at MIT and currently maintains a seat as a member of the executive committee of the Society for Information Management. Cooke is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island, with a degree in engineering. Other shifts throughout the MIS profession include the following: Genicom Corp. in Waynesboro, Va., named Fred Young vice-president and chief financial officer. Genicom, a computer printer manufacturer, said that Young will be responsible for all corporate financial operations and the MIS group. Young previously was vice-president of systems and CFO at Genigraphics, Inc. in Syracuse, N.Y. A graduate of Clarkson College, Young also has worked for IBM and General Electric Co. Select Magazines, Inc. in New York recently named Silvio C. Ciafardini its first vice-president of information systems. Formerly employed in management positions at several major insurance companies, Ciafardini has been at Select's systems organization since 1985, most recently as director of data processing. Univar Corp. Director of MIS Robert Cranston announced the appointment of Robert J. Riemath as director of systems support and Mark A. Spranger as director of application systems at the Seattle-based chemicals distributor. Most recently, Riemath was vice-president of network and computer services at Rainier National Bank. Spranger was formerly systems development manager at Ernst Home & Nursery. Hadron, Inc. in Fairfax, Va., announced that Philip Ashpes has been appointed vice-president and manager of its engineering and information systems division. Before joining Hadron, Ashpes served as vice-president and division manager at several professional services companies, including Network Solutions, Inc. By Alan J. Ryan, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Treating IS as a valued a Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: berg2 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Corporations should work toward treating the entire information systems infrastructure as an asset rather than an expense, independent consultant Paul Berger told attendees at the first Frost & Sullivan, Inc. CIO Institute conference in New York last month. Berger, who heads Paul Berger Consulting, Inc. in Lawrenceville, N.J., said that balance-sheet assets should include internally developed systems _ data, databases and software _ and not just hardware. Such procedures, Berger said, would remove current inadequate measurement processes and place a proper perspective between business and IS measurements. ``Most businesses have an asset that never shows up on the books,'' he said. Turning information into a corporate asset would cause a series of corporate changes. It would alter both the measurement of business performance and ensure that the MIS group, which has completed a large chunk of the work, does not become this year's expense but rather gets treated like anything with capital, Berger said. ``The first thing that happens is that the corporation begins to look differently at some of the MIS work and some of the business performance,'' he said. Berger, currently president of the Society for Information Management, gave the example of a products firm already committed to recasting all of its information systems. The chief executive officer, Berger said, was concerned that the company would suffer a drop in profits in the current year, although he was aware that the systems would carry the organization for the next five to 10 years. By capitalizing the systems, he said, the business measurement would begin to align with MIS performance measurements. To realign such measurements, Berger said that corporations cannot simply place initial systems costs on the books as assets. The strategy requires an evaluation of either replacement costs that can be adjusted over time, leveraged business value or some combination of the two. For example, although a corporation may spend $250,000 building a system and a database, that expenditure can be leveraged into millions of dollars in revenue by creating and supporting new business opportunities. Berger conceded that attributing the appropriate value to the asset would be tricky but proposed that the corporation could devise an initial value and reevaluate every few years. Berger also noted that every internally developed system that draws on the infrastructure of hardware, operating systems and third-party database management systems should also bear some of the expense of that infrastructure. However, he added that a corporation can treat its systems as overhead and amortize their costs a year at a time, which helps position the systems as components intrinsic to the company's success. ``Amortizing the system and all the work that draws from it implies that the company has made an investment that is being used throughout the organization,'' Berger said. ``If the system sits [on the books] at its original value, that implies that the corporation has made a mistake in building a system that has no use.'' Berger also noted that corporations can look to experience to find the appropriate time to amortize their systems. Most systems, he said, outlast two or three hardware upgrades and have a life span of 12 to 20 years. Accordingly, between two and three times the length of the hardware life should be the amortization period, Berger said. By Robert Moran, CW staff <<<>>> Title : National Casecon searchin Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: mgtshort Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: The National Computer-Aided Software Conference, or National Casecon, is calling for speakers, panel members and moderators for its June 20-22 conference in New York. Industry experts, end users or vendors that want to share computer-aided software engineering (CASE) accomplishments should contact National Casecon, P.O. Box 1807, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. 07632 with an abstract of a proposed CASE paper by Feb. 17. Presentations should consist of 55 to 60 minutes of formal presentation with a 15- to 20-minute allowance for questions and audience interaction. ``Interfaces: Systems and People Working Together'' is the theme of the 28th Annual Technical Symposium of the Washington, D.C., Chapter of the Association of Computing Machinery to be held Aug. 24 in Gaithersburg, Md. The symposium will explore the theoretical and practical issues associated with interfacing systems and enabling people to use them effectively. Authors should send five copies of any papers related to the theme by March 2 to Milton Hess, American Management Systems, Inc., 1525 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va. 22209. Authors of accepted papers will be notified by April 13. For more information, call Charles Youman at 703-883-6349. The National Communications Forum has announced its 1989 Comforum Awards Competition. The objectives of the awards are to give recognition to organizations and individuals for excellence and success in the development and commercialization of telecommunications and computer products and to highlight technological advances in telecommunications and computer products. The awards will be presented during the Oct. 2 NCF '89 Communications Industry Banquet in Chicago. Entry deadline is April 15. For more information, call the program director at 312-938-3500. The Southern California Regional Users Group (SCRUG) has announced that it will award a $1,500 scholarship to a deserving student who plans to pursue a career in a computer-related field. The 1989 Scholarship Award Program requires that applicants or parents or legal guardians must be residents of Southern California, located within zip codes 90000 to 93599. The student must have entered or completed his senior year of high school, and each applicant must either be a current Interex member or be sponsored by an Interex member. The award will be based on academic excellence, the group announced. The award may be used for tuition, fees or other expenses in any institution of higher learning, including trade schools, community colleges, four-year colleges or for graduate or post-graduate schooling. For an application form, write to SCRUG, P.O. Box 84219, Los Angeles, Calif. 90073. The application deadline is June 1. Structural Dynamics Research Corp. is seeking submissions in response to a call for papers for the 1989 I-DEAS/ CAEDS User's Conference. Technical papers are being sought for the purpose of sharing knowledge and accomplishments in the use of either the I-DEAS and/or CAEDS software systems. The conference will be held Oct. 3-5 in Cincinnati, and the deadline for submitting an abstract is April 1. For additional details, contact Mary Ward, SDRC, 200 Eastman Dr., Milford, Ohio 45150. <<<>>> Title : Amdahl buys firm for Unix Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: amdahl2 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: SUNNYVALE, Calif. _ In an unusual move, Amdahl Corp. is acquiring outside technological assistance. The company announced last week that it will buy Key Computer Laboratories, Inc. for its Unix and scalar mainframe expertise. Amdahl, which usually develops technology in-house, has agreed to trade $30 million of its stock for the Fremont, Calif.-based company with 60 employees. ``Perhaps Key has an architectural approach that bridges the interactive Unix system designed for minicomputers to the production job approach of scalar mainframes,'' said Peter Labe, an analyst at New York's Drexel Burnham Lambert, Inc. With the prospect of a single Unix standard evolving for the 1990s, Amdahl is assigning ``a ton'' of its employees to Unix research, according to Labe. Amdahl offers its version of AT&T's Unix System V, UTS, on mainframes. Personnel from Key will reportedly be merged into Amdahl's research and development area, according to Bonnie Digrius, an analyst at Santa Clara, Calif.-based Infocorp. Amdahl mainframes can also run IBM's version of Unix, AIX, under the VM operating system, but with a performance penality of 20%, according to Labe. Officials from Key would not comment on the acquisition by Amdahl. <<<>>> Title : Show focus: Better LAN co Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: lanalyze Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: WASHINGTON, D.C. _ Product introductions at this week's Communication Networks '89 conference aim to satisfy users' increasing demand for more reliable and controllable local-area networks. ``The network diagnostics market is growing very, very quickly,'' said Doug Gold, manager of the communications industry research program at International Data Corp. in Framingham, Mass. ``We are seeing interest in almost every sector of the user community in the ability to manage LANs as they grow faster and become more prolific in business.'' All major network vendors will shortly offer network diagnostic tools with ease-of-use features for the nontechnical user, Gold predicted. Protocol analyzers capture and analyze network packets to pinpoint the source of network bottlenecks, collisions and errors and to determine whether messages sent by a given node comply with a particular network protocol. Comnet '89 announcements in this category include the following: Hewlett-Packard Co. will be announcing the 4974S MAP 3.0 Protocol Analyzer, which reportedly addresses all seven layers of the MAP Open Systems Interconnect protocol stack and decodes format bits and bytes into higher level messages for easier understanding. It will be available on an HP Vectra or on a card to be installed on an IBM Personal Computer AT or compatible. HP will also announce plans for an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) protocol analyzer that will initially support the ISDN Basic Rate Interface and, eventually, the Primary Rate Interface, an HP spokeswoman said. HP will also be demonstrating protocol analyzers from its recent acquisition, Eon Systems, Inc. Eon's analyzers enable users to monitor different LAN segments on a system of networks that are interconnected over bridges or gateways, the HP spokeswoman said. The KAT1000 Protocol Analyzer/Emulator from Kamputech, Inc. is also said to diagnose ISDN protocols. The KAT1000 can grab and display network traffic to pinpoint network trouble spots and traffic jams, according to the Edison, N.J., start-up's executive vice-president, Abroo Shah. It can also emulate a network node or the network itself, sending or receiving protocols to check whether a system is sending packets correctly, Shah said. The system supports LAPB of the ANSI X.25 specification as well as Q.931, which specifies how to set up routing and communications sessions over an ISDN link. The system is also said to support bisynchronous, Synchronous Data Link Control and High-Level Data Link Control protocols and will support IBM's Systems Network Architecture as well as Signaling System 7 by the second quarter, Shah said. Also in the second quarter, Kamputech plans to introduce a LAN version of the product, which will support Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). Prices range from $3,800 to $10,000. Network General Corp. in Mountain View, Calif., will be showing a new Secure Sniffer series, a line of network diagnostic models with the ability to send output to a removable hard disk. This function makes it possible to store the disk in a secured facility and destroy it once its contents are obsolete. The Series 500RD Sniffer has a 40M-byte hard disk on a card based on Plus Hardcard from Plus Development Corp. The PA-500RD includes a Compaq Computer Corp. Portable 386 with a Sniffer add-on interface module and analysis software. It costs $29,000. Last week, Network General announced an agreement with Micro Technology, Inc. to reverse-engineer Digital Equipment Corp.'s Local-Area Vaxcluster and Local-Area System Transport protocols. The result will be a Sniffer that will support those DEC protocols, different versions of which will be offered by both companies. Until now, the only DEC protocol supported by Sniffer was DEC's Local-Area Transport protocol, said Network General spokeswoman Carol D'Esopo. ``We have struggled to reverse-engineer the DEC protocols without a lot of help from DEC,'' she added. Micro Technology, a Placentia, Calif., firm, will incorporate Sniffer into its Lanager, an Ethernet-based protocol analyzer that will support DEC's Decnet, Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s Network File System, TCP/IP and Apple Computer, Inc.'s Appletalk protocols, the company said. Available this month, Lanager will be priced from $21,000 to $25,000. By Elisabeth Horwitt, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Nickels & Dimes Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: nickels Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Computer Sciences Corp. announced revenue for the third quarter ended Dec. 30 of $345.4 million, compared with $287.3 million the year before. Profits were $12 million, or 75 cents per share, compared with $10.3 million, or 65 cents per share, a year ago. Duquesne Systems, Inc. announced revenue for the first quarter ended Dec. 30 of $15.3 million, compared with $12 million in the previous year. Profits were $3.6 million, or 33 cents per share, compared with $2.7 million, or 27 cents per share, in the like period a year ago. Hogan Systems, Inc. reported net income of $2.1 million, or 16 cents per share, on revenue of $11.1 million for its third quarter ended Dec. 31. This compares with net income of $1.9 million, or 13 cents per share, on revenue of $12.1 million reported last year. Boole & Babbage, Inc. announced revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 of $17.1 million, compared with $12.3 million in the previous year. Profits were $1 million, or 28 cents per share, compared with $686,000, or 21 cents per share, in the like period a year ago. Borland International announced net income of $874,000, or 14 cents per share, on revenue of $23.6 million for the third quarter ended Dec. 31. This compares with net income of $933,000, or 15 cents per share, on revenue of $21.7 million reported in the corresponding period a year ago. Priam Corp. announced revenue for the second quarter ended Dec. 31 of $32 million, compared with $34.7 million a year ago. The company reported a net loss of $4.8 million, or 19 cents per share, compared with net income of $0.4 million, or 2 cents per share, for the like period a year ago. Interleaf, Inc. reported earnings of $82,000, or 1 cent per share, for the third quarter ended Dec. 31. This is compared with $1.6 million, or 14 cents per share, in the previous year. Revenue for the quarter was $21.3 million, compared with $17 million for last year's period. Diebold, Inc. announced net income for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 of $9.2 million, or 70 cents per share, compared with $11.9 million, or 91 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue was $117.2 million, compared with $119.3 million in the previous year. Net income for the year was $35.8 million, or $2.72 per share, compared with $35.8 million, or $2.72 per share, a year ago. Revenue was $450.6 million, compared with $439.1 million in the previous year. The Reynolds and Reynolds Co. announced revenue for the first quarter ended Dec. 31 of $143.6 million, compared with $138.4 million last year. Profits were $7.1 million, or 66 cents per share, compared with $2.8 million, or 26 cents per share, in the like period a year ago. Dataproducts Corp. reported revenue of $94.5 million and net income of $1.6 million, or 8 cents per share, for the third quarter ended Dec. 24. This compares with revenue of $91.2 million and net income of $1.1 million, or 5 cents per share, reported for the same period a year ago. Businessland, Inc. announced revenue for the second quarter ended Dec. 31 of $301.3 million, compared with $258.3 million last year. Profits were $9.5 million, or 32 cents per share, compared with $5.3 million, or 19 cents per share, in the previous year. Pyramid Technology Corp. reported revenue for the first quarter ended Dec. 30 of $24.5 million, compared with $17.5 million a year ago. Profits were $2.4 million, or 28 cents per share, compared with $1.8 million, or 22 cents per share, in the like period a year ago. Iomega Corp. announced revenue for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 of $26.5 million, compared with $29.2 million from the previous year. Profits were $1 million, or 6 cents per share, compared with $2.4 million, or 15 cents per share, in the previous year. Quantum Corp. announced revenue for the third quarter ended Jan. 1 of $51.6 million, compared with $56.7 million last year. Profits were $3.3 million, or 36 cents per share, compared with $4.7 million, or 51 cents per share, a year ago. Computer Power Group Ltd. reported revenue for the year ended Sept. 30 of $221 million. Net operating profits before taxes and interest for fiscal year 1988 rose to $16.6 million. Net profits for fiscal year 1988 were $9.4 million. Because of a changeover from a June 30 to a Sept. 30 fiscal year's end, all revenue figures for fiscal year 1988 are for a 15-month period. Computer Power Group America, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Computer Power Group Ltd., generated $58.7 million in revenue for fiscal year 1988, 26.6% of the parent company's worldwide total. Net profits before taxes and interest from the subsidiary totaled $6.2 million. Microcom, Inc. announced revenue for the third quarter ended Dec. 31 of $14.8 million, a 67% increase over the $8.9 million reported a year ago. Profits were $2 million, or 50 cents per share, up 72% from the 29 cents before extraordinary credit reported one year ago. ELXSI Corp. reported estimated fourth-quarter computer sales and service revenue of $5.3 million and an estimated 1988 fourth-quarter net loss of $3.7 million. The fourth-quarter revenue represents an 18% increase over the previous quarter and compares with 1987 fourth-quarter computer sales and service revenue of $5.5 million and a net profit of $207,000. The estimated loss per share of 4 cents for the fourth quarter of 1988 compares with break-even per-share results for the fourth quarter of 1987. Computer sales and service revenue for 1988 was estimated at $20.4 million, compared with revenue of $25.2 million for the corresponding period in 1987. The estimated 1988 net loss of $9.8 million, or 11 cents per share, compared with net income of $850,000, or 1 cent per share, in 1987. Estimated results for 1988 include nonrecurring gains of $2.1 million, compared with nonrecurring gains during 1987 of $5.5 million. Concurrent Computer Corp. reported record sales of $90.7 million for its second quarter ended Dec. 31. The company was formed Sept. 27 by the combination of the Tinton Falls, N.J.-based firm of the same name with Massachusetts Computer Corp. in Westford, Mass. The name Concurrent Computer was chosen for the combined companies. The $90.7 million sales are compared with $19 million for the second quarter of the previous year, which does not include those of the former Concurrent. Second-quarter sales on a pro forma combined basis represented an increase of 7.1% from $84.7 million sales a year earlier. Despite record sales, the company reported a second-quarter loss of $14.8 million, or 83 cents per share, vs. a profit of $0.9 million, or 6 cents per share, in the prior year. Results of operations of the former Concurrent are not included in the prior year. The company attributed the loss to noncash charges that were related to the allocation of the purchase price to the acquired assets of the former Concurrent. These noncash charges reduced net income by approximately $15.5 million, or 87 cents per share. <<<>>> Title : Song remains the same Author : Charles Varga Source : CW Comm FileName: 26varga Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: With the passing of the shortest days and the longest nights of the year _ the winter solstice _ the entire computer world awaits new words of wisdom from industry forecasters, analysts and soothsayers all claiming to have the answers to why things did or didn't happen in 1988 and accurate predictions for what 1989 has in store. Words, words, words! Are the words we are hearing today manna from heaven, gospel or just exercises in elocution? I don't know about you, but even after attending several conferences recently, I'm confused. The words are all sounding much the same as they did several years ago. Only the background color of the slides has changed. The first rounds are usually fired by industry leaders: ``The President of XYZ Software Corp. said that due to a delay in completion and shipment caused by cracks in our Alabaster Software Version 3.40, revenue and earnings forecasts for the fourth and first quarters will be substantially reduced.'' And a principal of ABC Corp. said that ``increased software development costs and write-downs of goodwill for acquisitions will have a dramatic impact on previously disclosed earnings estimates.'' Now for the good news. A high flier in our industry has noted ``unexpected after-tax gains of several hundred millions of dollars on the sale of LMNOP division.'' As a result, ``1988 earnings per share will not be materially affected and are generally expected to be in line with Wall Street forecasts.'' Now emerge the Punxsutawney Phils of the computer industry, signaling the arrival of springtime in technoland with a new series of estimates, forecasts and justifications for why things changed from what they said before. ``Product acceptance in the marketplace was slower than anticipated,'' they say. ``Although the fundamentals of our industry are sound, uncertainty reinforces our emphasis on selectivity.'' I have learned skepticism the hard way, watching and wincing at the wise and wondrous forecasts and estimates of markets and market share, earnings and per share. If an industry has between 5,000 and 6,000 vendor participants, the analyst-forecaster might take the top 200, rank them by revenue amount and then interview a portion of the top 50 to ascertain from them what they think the market for their goods and services will be in the current year and also in the year following. Hopefully, the forecaster has the previous year's estimates; three points will give him a better estimating curve than just two. (Although I do know of some cases where, forsaking other data, the two-point estimating curve has been indiscriminately foist upon unsuspecting, trusting victims.) This new round of words is then flashed to the industry. Some vendors and analysts genuflect and bow; some gag and choke. And the numbers appear in business plans, justifying new investments in venture development opportunities that promised unsurpassed earnings, growth and wealth for all. Throughout this process, however, one group is rarely, if ever, mentioned _the users, buyers and clients. If the forecasters, analysts and soothsayers took the time and trouble to sample 1,000 or even 500 qualified buyers of these products and services, then they might quickly come to the conclusion that the market is not growing at 24.8% but at, say, 12.4%. This, of course, would cause a mid-year grinding of teeth and knocking of heads within the vendor community _ to the detriment of the investors/ shareholders who believed those pundits in the first place. Yet still the pronouncements come. Perhaps it's time to reevaluate the research methods the forecasters use, to put less emphasis on the wishful thinking of the products' creators and more on the reactions of the users _ the clients _ who, after all, must bear the ultimate cost. By Charles Varga; Varga, a 20-year computer industry veteran based in Frenchtown, N.J., is publisher of ``The Cerberus Report,'' a study of industry mergers and acquisitions. <<<>>> Title : Merging in leaps and boun Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: broad Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Megadeals and multinational zeal catapulted the dollar value of information services and software industry mergers and acquisitions beyond the $8 billion mark in 1988, close to double the 1987 value, according to a recently issued Broadview/ ADAPSO Report. In addition, according to Broadview Associates, what we are seeing is still the upward slope of a trend that shows no signs of tapering off. The report, compiled annually by Broadview, a Fort Lee, N.J.-based investment banking and mergers and acquisitions consulting firm for ADAPSO, the computer services and software industry association, showed an industry sector marked by increasing awareness of the importance of information and the clout inherent in the combination. In addition to the 70% surge in dollar value over 1987's $4.9 billion bottom line, the number of transactions was up 21% to 434 deals. Fourteen of them topped $100 million, compared with nine such megadeals in 1987 and a mere five in 1986. The steep rise in amounts spent, said Broadview partner Edward Metz, underscores ``the mounting strategic importance of information software and services in our economy.'' Good deals The deals going down, Metz said, ``are not just large but are very rich deals.'' One of the reasons that companies are paying such rarely heard of premiums as three to four times the revenue for information companies is because information companies _and who knows better the value of information? _ are starting to show up more frequently on the buyer side, he said. Three such transactions, in fact, showed up in Broadview's Top 10: Dun & Bradstreet Corp.'s $1.6 billion purchase of IMS International, which ranked as No. 1; TRW, Inc.'s purchase of Borg-Warner Corp.'s Chilton Credit Division for $360 million; and Knight-Ridder, Inc.'s $353 acquisition of Lockheed Corp.'s Dialog division. For the most part, 1988 emerged as a year in which earlier noted trends in the software and services sectors continued and escalated. Activity continued apace on two levels: The 10 largest transactions, said Broadview partner Gilbert Mintz, represented 2% of the number of deals but ac- counted for 50% of the total dollar volume. The remaining 98% had a median value of less than $4 million. Microcomputer software firms were the hottest commodity but far from the most expensive: They accounted for 25% of the total number of deals but less than 5% of the total dollar value. About 20% of the deals made were for service firms. Favored by exchange rates and fueled by a perceived need to play in the North American market (see story this page), foreign buyers of U.S. companies loomed larger than ever in the 1988 survey: there were 37 such deals, up from 25 last year, and 19 the year before. Are U.S. firms shopping abroad to the same extent? ``No,'' Metz said, ``and mostly because the countries involved aren't allowing us to. The approval process in many European countries is really outrageous.'' One 1988 event likely to seed a new trend, Metz said, is the ``first real merger of equals'' in the software and services sector: last fall's wedding of Duquesne Systems, Inc. and Morino Associates. The resultant, yet-to-be-named systems integration firm ``actually combines strengths rather than balances weaknesses,'' he said. ``It should become a role model for companies looking for a way to build a stronger, tighter industry sector.'' Moreover, Metz added, by today's standards, Duquesne's and Morino's capitalization at approximately four times its combined revenue prices the company beyond the reach of corporate raiders. By Nell Margolis, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Chip pilfering steady des Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: theft Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: A semiconductor company employee easing a few little chips into a pocket may seem like a small crime, but last year in California's Silicon Valley, these thefts were likely worth more than $3 million. And while the price of the most desirable chips is declining, law enforcement officials said they do not expect to see an associated decline in thefts. ``We did see an upsurge in chip thefts'' associated with the high price and shortage of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips, said Ken Rosenblatt, a Santa Clara County district attorney. ``The suspicion is that we won't see a marked decrease, in some part because there is still the perception they are valuable.'' Recent incidents indicating the extent of the problem in California include the following: Late last month, $1.1 million worth of Sun Microsystems, Inc. DRAM chips were recovered in a receiving-area storage locker in Milpitas. The chips are mounted on modules the size of a candy bar, a Sun spokeswoman said. Late last year, chips valued at six figures were reported stolen from Qume Corp. in Milpitas and Televideo Systems, Inc. in Sunnyvale. Micron Technology, Inc. in Boise, Idaho, had reports that up to 17.5 million of their DRAM chips were for sale in Hong Kong and Singapore. However, a spokesman for the company said that the existence of the chips, which were offered for sale under the Micron name, could not be substantiated. ``We seriously doubt there are many Micron chips there; it sounds like a scam,'' he said. Unlike companies based in Silicon Valley, which law enforcement officials said has well-entrenched black-market distribution channels, Micron has no evidence of chip thefts from the company. ``It's extremely difficult to move parts in Idaho. They'd have to be sent to California,'' the spokesman said. In Northern California, ``Chips are stolen with a high degree of frequency,'' said Dennis Holmes, a Milpitas Police Department detective. In the last two months, he said, there was a total of nine reports of stolen chips. They are mostly in the pocket-full category _ 30 and 50 at a time, unlike the Sun cache. Chip stealers do not go after their prey with loaded weapons at convenience stores. Usually, their main challenge is eluding the omnipresent security cameras. ``Size alone makes it so simple. You can put 60 DRAMs in your pocket and no one would know the difference,'' said Steven Petrakovitz, a Milpitas police detective. While police and prosecutors see the matter as straightforward burglary, the lack of physical force against others, or even forceful entry into storage areas, makes standard prosecution a bit thorny. ``Judges treat them like white-collar criminals,'' Rosen blatt complained. Prosecution is also complicated because chips have little, if any, identification. In the occasions he has been able to get convictions _ twice last year, with four cases pending _ Rosenblatt said that either unique chips were involved, or the amounts of chips the thieves tried to sell matched the amounts of chips stolen. ``They're difficult to label; the labeling is just paint on plastic,'' said Dean McCarron, an analyst at In-Stat, Inc. in Scottsdale, Ariz. ``If you're less than ethical, you just get rid of the paint on the package and relabel it.'' Companies will not go to the trouble of labeling individual chips because it is too expensive, and ``companies don't want to do anything that raises the cost of packaging,'' McCarron said. Buyers can do several things to make sure they are not receiving stolen property. McCarron suggests that they can run tests on sample quantities or use an oscilloscope to establish a particular company's ``fingerprint.'' ``The biggest thing is buying directly from the manufacturer. Victims are generally those who deal with distributors in small quantities,'' he said. By J.A. Savage, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Market Vision hands out r Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: marketvi Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: NEW YORK _ Nowhere is the concept of information for competitive advantage more tangible than on the desk of a Wall Street securities trader. For the people who author Tom Wolfe called ``Masters of the Universe,'' real-time data means better kill-or-be-killed decisions in the high-stakes brokerage industry. So Market Vision Corp. has a straightforward mission _ supplying software for traders via high-powered workstations to help them make better decisions faster. Market Vision's Unix-based products give traders both real-time and historical financial data stored on Market Vision's Digital Equipment Corp. VAXs and accessed by the customer through Ethernet. To graph this data, Market Vision offers software tools such as the Athena graphics package and the Market Data Spreadsheet. We're here The 6-year-old company has found itself at the heart of Wall Street's information technology revolution. Workstations from Sun Microsystems, Inc., Apollo Computer, Inc., DEC and IBM have conquered the trading desks [CW, Aug. 24, 1987]. Market Vision, after a slow start in the mid-1980s, now says it believes its time has come. ``When we first started, we were considered costly, complex, closed and large _ the system off in the corner,'' said William F. Adiletta, Market Vision's president and chief operating officer. ``The feeling among traders was, `Why would I ever want an engineering workstation on my desk?' Now, we have some of the best traders on Wall Street as customers.'' Market Vision endured many of the growing pains of a start-up. It failed to meet the early revenue goals established by its venture capital backers, and its founder, former Wall Street trader Keith Schneider, departed. Adiletta, a former on-line systems and database consultant, was promoted from Market Vision's vice-president of engineering to president in 1987. The company now employs 35 people and has 160 customer accounts, up from just 30 in 1986. Based in the heart of New York's financial district, the firm currently does annual business of about $5 million. The 1987 stock market crash actually helped Market Vision business, according to Adiletta. ``When markets have a lean peri- od, brokerage firms are looking for better, more productive ways to do things,'' he said. ``The growth of workstations [for financial applications] that we expected by 1990 has already happened.'' Accompanying Wall Street's workstation technology revolution is a major change in market dynamics, as brokerage industry MIS departments attempt to gain control of end-user _ in this case, trader _ technology. This change represents both a challenge and an opportunity for Market Vision. ``The most strategic organizations are forming partnerships with their traders, and it's in the traders' best interest to find a strong ally in MIS,'' Adiletta said. ``In some accounts, we still sell directly to the traders. In others, we act as a go-between. It all depends on a lot of factors, including the seniority of the trader, the firm's management of information services and politics.'' Market Vision has had to change its strategy to be more flexible _ allowing customers to port their own market data to a Market Vision system, for example, Adiletta said. That helps a brokerage firm's MIS department customize systems for its traders, according to Fred Edelstein, corporate vice-president of the information systems division at Drexel Burnham Lambert, Inc. ``Whether we provide our own solution or someone else's doesn't really matter _ the important thing is to support the traders,'' Edelstein said. The firm's products ``are modular, so people in our development organizations can work out deals in buying those products.'' Market Vision competes with subsidiaries of two information services giants: Automatic Data Processing, Inc.'s Comtrend division and Knight-Ridder, Inc.'s Trade Center unit. Market Vision is the smallest in its niche, but the only independent, Adiletta said. The firm also boasts joint marketing pacts with DEC, Sun and Apollo and claims the only VAX-based database sold to the financial industry. The firm's philosophy is closeness to the customer. Adiletta even opened his own trading account to run his company's packages under game-day conditions. ``I learned firsthand about losing money when you're not paying attention,'' he said. By Clinton Wilder, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Winning an American prize Author : Nell Margolis Source : CW Comm FileName: brits Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Last fall, British computer company IMP bought its way into the U.S. market. According to cofounder Mark I'Anson, his company had to climb over two other UK companies to do it. In I'Anson's opinion, IMP walked away with a prize indeed: Parallel Computers, Inc., a Santa Cruz, Calif.-based venture-backed 1982 start-up, whose technology _ parallel processing computers and a line of Unix-based fault-tolerant machines _ outdistanced its management/ marketing mix. When Parallel went on the block, four bidders instantly emerged: one domestic company and three British entrants. ``One of the major U.S. companies becoming heavily involved in Unix should have picked up Parallel right off,'' I'Anson said. ``I don't understand why one didn't.'' Now, as chief executive officer of IMP's first American subsidiary, renamed Integrated Micro Products, Inc. and about to introduce its first product line at Uniforum later this month, I'anson is just as happy to be baffled. ``I know exactly which companies ought to have bid on Parallel,'' he said. ``Theirs will be the first doors we will knock on to sell them our products.'' Are American companies mere spectators at the scene of what I'Anson called ``a new British invasion''? Often, I'Anson said. The reasons, he speculates, originate on both sides of the Atlantic and are more psychological than financial or legal. ``Without a doubt, the exchange rate makes it easier for us to buy in the U.S. than the other way around,'' he said. ``But that's just one part of the picture.'' More significant, he believes, is a newly aggressive, highly entrepreneurial business spirit that is sweeping across the UK, just as the challenges of maturity are beginning to take at least a temporary toll in the U.S. ``This is just my observation,'' the York shireman from California was quick to add. ``But the U.S. computer industry seems to have lost some of its guts, its taste for risk,'' he said. In England, on the other hand, ``after a long period of feeling that we simply couldn't compete in technology at the same level as the U.S., there's a genuine feeling of, `We're as good as they are _ let's bloody go show them!' '' Along with mounting confidence, I'Anson said, there is also a distinct sensation within the British computer industry that ``if you're not playing in the U.S. market, you're not really a player.'' And the best _ sometimes the only _way to break into that quintessential market, he added, is through a U.S. subsidiary. A case in point is IMP, I'Anson said. ``I've spent four years knocking at doors in the U.S., and every one has been shut in my face,'' he said. ``Now, here I am, offering the same products but with a return address in California _and I'm beating customers away.'' NELL MARGOLIS <<<>>> Title : Executive corner Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: execs1 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: J. Phillip Cooper has been named president and chief executive officer of Applied Expert Systems, Inc. in Cambridge, Mass. He was most recently an executive vice-president at McGraw-Hill, Inc., heading that firm's New York-based securities information services and its Lexington, Mass.-based data resources organizations. Pansophic Systems, Inc. named G. Gordon M. Large as vice-president and chief financial officer, effective immediately. Large has 25 years' experience in finance, administration and planning and has held executive-level positions at international technology companies such as Martin Marietta Corp. He joins Pansophic from Palladian Software, Inc., where he served as senior vice-president and chief financial officer. Pansophic also announced the election of Kenneth N. Pontikes to its board of directors, effective December 12, 1988. Pontikes is president and chairman of Comdisco, Inc. Computer Solutions, Inc. announced that David A. Litwack, 41, has joined the company as senior vice-president of research and development. Litwack will be responsible for all product development and technical services at Computer Solutions. Formerly executive vice-president of product development at Cullinet Software, Inc. in Westwood, Mass., Litwack was responsible for all the company's products, including applications, databases and tools. Britton Lee, Inc. announced that Robert W. Taylor has been promoted to the post of executive vice-president of research and development and chief technical officer. Taylor, who joined Britton Lee from IBM in 1984, previously held the position of senior vice-president of strategic partnering and was responsible for future product direction and the forming of strategic alliances. Prior to that, Taylor served as senior vice-president of engineering and directed all current and future hardware and software development. Voicemail International, Inc. has appointed Roy Schiele as its president and chief operating officer. Since joining the company as COO in May 1988, Schiele has been responsible for the company's administration, engineering and operation functions. Megascan Technology, Inc., manufacturer of high-resolution computer graphics displays, named Vahram V. Erdekian president and CEO. Erdekian joins Megascan from Data General Corp., where he was responsible for all North American manufacturing operations. Erdekian is responsible for all operations at Megascan. He replaces former President and cofounder Brian Rosen, who will retain his position as chairman of the board. Xylogics, Inc. announced the promotion of Peter P. Savage to president and the newly created post of COO. He reports to Bruce J. Bergman, formerly president and CEO, who continues as chairman and chief executive officer. Replacing Savage in his former role as vice-president of engineering is Thomas M. Dennis, who reports to Savage. Dennis joins Xylogics from AT&T Bell Laboratories, where he spent 15 years in various engineering development and management positions. RAXCO, Inc., a developer and supplier of utility and system software, has named Richard Lefebvre president and CEO. Lefebvre was most recently the COO at Sage Software and formerly president of Multimate International. Delphax Systems, Inc. announced that Alex Cimochowski has been named the company's president and CEO. Cimochowski is a founder and the immediate past president of Edge Computer Corp., a computer company specializing in superminicomputers that are compatible with the Motorola, Inc. 68000 instruction set. Storage Technology Corp. announced the appointment of L. Thomas Gooch to the position of executive vice-president of operations. Corporate vice-president of manufacturing since June 1987, Gooch also served as vice-president of the Americas/Pacific operations, federal systems operations and worldwide field engineering. Before joining Storage Tek in 1972, he spent five years in various positions at IBM's field engineering group. Datapoint Corp. announced the appointment of James R. Barnes as vice-president of technical operations. Barnes will be responsible for worldwide marketing, product development and manufacturing at the computer manufacturer, according to Robert J. Potter, Datapoint president and CEO. Immediately prior to joining Datapoint, Barnes was vice-president and general manager of volume products at Data General. Businessland, Inc. cofounder and Vice-Chairman Enzo N. Torresi has accepted the position of president and CEO of Netframe Systems, Inc. (formerly Clustrix Corp.) in Sunnyvale, Calif. Torresi will continue to serve as a member of the Businessland board of directors. Aion Corp. announced the appointment of Larry Cohn to the position of president and newly created post of COO. He has also been appointed to Aion's board of directors. Cohn is a cofounder of Aion and has been the senior vice-president of development. Former President Harry Reinstein, also a company cofounder, retains the posts of chairman and CEO. Bruce H. Rampe has been named president and CEO of BBN Software Products Corp. Rampe has been at BBN since 1985, most recently as vice-president of worldwide sales. QED Information Sciences, Inc. announced the appointment of Stewart L. Stokes Jr. to the post of senior vice-president. Stokes joined the company in May 1988 and was responsible for client activities in management education, interpersonal skills training and associated consulting services. In his new post, Stokes will play an expanded role in forging the company's direction and strategies. Prior to joining QED, Stokes was associate director of the American Institute of Banking in Boston and a member and associate dean of Babson College's School of Continuing Management Education. <<<>>> Title : Javelin ends career with Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: javelin Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: WALTHAM, Mass. _ A near four-year journey has ended for Javelin Software Corp., a 1985 personal computer start-up that began boldly but ended with a whimper. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company was part of the Gang of Three, a group of high-profile 1985 software start-ups that also included Ansa Software, which was acquired by Borland International, and Symantec Corp., which is growing and still planning to go public. Javelin was acquired last week by Information Resources, Inc. Javelin had what the industry considered to be an innovative and well-crafted product, one that garnered software awards the way hunters collect trophies. But Javelin made a classic mistake. It positioned itself squarely against an entrenched industry leader. The start-up sent out strong signals that it planned to replace Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 spreadsheet with its own multidimensional database system. And like so many others with the same strategy, it failed. Once it hit the 1-2-3 brick wall, Javelin attempted to reposition the product to appeal to users who had run out of steam with their spreadsheets. But here, conventional database management systems, statistical software, accounting packages and custom offerings were already filling the void. ``Javelin was saddled with an earlier image as a head-on competitor with 1-2-3. Once the die is cast, people think of you that way,'' said Jeffrey P. Stamen, president of Information Resource's Decision Support Software division. In 1986, Javelin tried another classic software manuever. It cut prices radically. This boosted sales but was not enough to provide the high growth a start-up needs. At the same time, the firm laid off domestic sales representatives. Getting acquired began to look like the best alternative. Throughout last year, Javelin was pursued by a number of suitors, according to founder and Chief Executive Officer Robert L. Firmin. Information Resources just happened to win out. Information Resources will dramatically reposition Javelin in an attempt to merge it with the firm's Express family. Javelin will provide an easier-to-use interface and an entry-level avenue into the Express series. Javelin, now $395, may also get a repositioned _ and higher _ price, Stamen hinted. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. By Douglas Barney, CW staff <<<>>> Title : DG to stockholders: Hold Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: dg Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: With his company awash in red ink and falling revenue, Data General Corp. Chief Executive Officer Edson de Castro asked stockholders to take a leap of faith last week _ and those who attended DG's annual meeting appeared willing to do so. ``Frankly, I wouldn't expect anyone to rate our earnings potential as anything but fairly dismal in recent years,'' de Castro said. ``We haven't done very well.'' What is more, he added, ``the outlook for the immediate coming quarters . . . must be characterized as uncertain.'' Nevertheless, de Castro urged stockholders to ride out the hard times and wait for the second incarnation of the company. While reassuring users of its proprietary systems that their product lines would not be cut adrift, de Castro made it clear that DG is staking its future on what analysts have characterized as a bold but chancy move into the reduced instruction set computing-based, Unix-driven world of standards and open architecture. Do or die In three weeks, DG is slated to preview the product line on which its do-or-die strategy ultimately rides: its Motorola, Inc. 88000-based open systems computers. According to de Castro, the machines are still on schedule for a spring introduction. Analysts have noted that no matter how solid the technology, the Motorola line will go nowhere without software applications. Echoing their observations and conceding that as a proprietary systems vendor ``we've always had a hard time when we've knocked on the door of software developers,'' de Castro said that DG has met the problem head-on: In two weeks, the company will introduce what he called ``an impressive group'' of software developers that have signed on to port applications to the upcoming DG/Motorola platform. By Nell Margolis, CW staff <<<>>> Title : U.S. presses Korea to ope Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: wire1 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: SEOUL, South Korea _ The Bush administration has reportedly targeted South Korea for trade retaliation and is expected to increase trade pressures against that nation, thereby escalating a war of nerves between Seoul and Washington, D.C. According to sources, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) had already marked Korea as a country that persists in unfair trade practices with the U.S., especially after the closure of its telecommunications and value-added services market. According to an investigation by the USTR, the 1988 Korean telecommunications market was estimated at $1.3 billion, based on the 1985 value of the dollar. However, the USTR complained that Korea did not import any telecommunications products from the U.S. last year. It is generally expected that the Bush administration will put Korea at the top of the list of countries claimed to be engaged in unfair trade with the U.S. As a result, Seoul has been asked to negotiate with the U.S. government to solve the issue within the year. If Korea fails to reach an agreement with the U.S. over the trade imbalance within a year, the U.S. is expected to take retaliatory steps through an omnibus trade bill. The South Korean government plans to hold talks with the U.S. to lower its trade barriers and open the domestic market wider to imports of U.S. telecommunications products. According to Korean Trade and Industry Ministry sources, the trade talks with the U.S. will be held in Washington, D.C., early next month. Sources also said Korea is prepared to make some concessions. Meanwhile, the U.S. has threatened trade sanctions in the form of 100% tariffs on the import of some Korean products unless Seoul opens its domestic telecommunications market. Many local business experts are worried that Korea might be one of the first targets of the U.S.' strong protectionist omnibus trade bill. They have advised the government to cut the trade surplus with the U.S. by some $2 billion this year from the $8.5 billion posted last year. <<<>>> Title : Atari zaps Nintendo with Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: fill Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: It may have fast action, constant maneuvering and colorful figures trying to vaporize each other, but the latest from video entertainment masters Atari Corp. and Nintendo Co. isn't fun and games. Last week, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Atari fired off a $250 million lawsuit alleging antitrust violations, racketeering and unfair business practices against the Japanese-based Nintendo and its U.S. subsidiary, Nintendo of America, Inc. According to Atari's complaint, Nintendo _ recently in the news as one of the hottest Christmas-list entries _ is playing monopoly. The Japanese company, Atari contended, is barring creators of games licensed to run on Nintendo systems from selling their wares for use on other companies' video game systems. ``Developers are faced with the choice between selling games only to Nintendo customers or not selling,'' the complaint said. Atari's suit is meritless and ``simply a sour grapes response by a company that has failed to capitalize on its past position as the market leader,'' said Nintendo Senior Vice-President Howard Lincoln. Baseless or not, Nintendo said that it will mount a vigorous defense to Atari's claims. <<<>>> Title : And now they are called B Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: bull Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: BOSTON _ What's in a name? Plenty, according to Roland D. Pampel, who went to bed last Monday night as chief executive officer of Honeywell Bull, Inc. and woke up as CEO of Bull H. N. Information Systems, Inc. The Billerica, Mass.-based company's name change has been in the works since Groupe Bull became a 65% owner of the Bull/Honeywell, Inc./NEC Corp. joint venture late last month. No mere cosmetic stroke, the new name is significant, Pampel said, primarily because ``it recognizes that a single partner, Groupe Bull, will provide the leadership for this partnership from now on.'' The H for Honeywell and N for NEC _ not to mention the other 22 letters _ appear to be largely ceremonial. ``The company,'' according to its printed announcement, ``will commonly refer to itself in its advertising, marketing material, signage and logotype simply as Bull.'' Honeywell's status as a major Bull customer and, through its federal systems group, as the channel through which Bull markets to the U.S. government will continue undisturbed, according to a Bull spokesman. Bull and European sister company Bull SA will operate as technology partners. <<<>>> Title : In brief Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: 26week Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: AT&T shifters Come April, Charles Marshall, currently one of three AT&T vice-chairmen, will retire from his executive job and also from his seat on the communications giant's board _ a move that will trigger some senior-level shifts at the company. Most likely to succeed the departing vice-chairman is 41-year-old AT&T Senior Vice-President John Zeglis, who has reportedly already been named to take over Marshall's responsibility for government and regulatory affairs. Play it again Apollo Computer, Inc. cofounder and chief technical officer David Nelson resigned earlier this month to reembark on the entrepreneurial route. Nelson's embryonic new venture, Envision Systems, Inc., will target an amalgam of computer and video technology. Nelson is not the first Apollo cofounder to decide to do it one more time; William Poduska, who spearheaded the Chelmsford, Mass.-based workstation pioneer along with Nelson, left three years ago to found supercomputer workstation maker Stellar Computer, Inc. Pandora division It only contributes about 3% of total revenue, but Unisys Corp.'s Surveillance and Fire Control Division has been responsible for a higher percentage of overall embarrassment to the $9.9 billion company. Under internal investigation since 1987 and now the subject of a federal probe as well, the Alexandria, Va.-based former Sperry Corp. division has already generated senior management changes, including the retirement of its former chief. Last week, Unisys issued a public statement of ``deep dismay and indignation'' at the latest findings from its Alexandria digs _ illegal political contribution activities on the part of a former company employee and a former Unisys consultant. <<<>>> Title : EDI is starting to take o Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: career06 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Employment opportunities in electronic data interchange, or EDI, are proliferating as fast as the technology. First introduced more than a decade ago by the trucking industry, EDI _ the electronic exchange of commonly formatted documents such as orders and invoices _ is rapidly becoming a standard way of doing business across the industrial spectrum. The growth of the field is evident in the business of third-party EDI providers, whose revenues were $60 million last year and should be $90 million in 1990, says Mark Winther, vice-president of electronic communications services at Link Resources Corp., a New York-based market research firm. He estimates that approximately 6,000 organizations now use EDI and as many as 18,000 will use EDI by 1992. Since EDI is still in an embryonic stage at most companies, the field is rife with opportunities and the promise of rapid advancement, according to people already in the industry. And while information systems professionals concur that salaries are no higher in EDI than in other areas, working with the technology offers higher visibility than more traditional realms. In some ways, EDI is a paradox. ``EDI is specialized,'' says Sam S. Valanju, director of information systems at Rockwell International's auto operations in Troy, Mich. ``But at the same time, it broadens your perspective because you're dealing with more people, more applications, and you get to see more of the industry.'' EDI can open doors Lee Foote, EDI manager at Du Pont Co. in Wilmington, Del., says an IS person can enter the management ranks through EDI. ``The activity is growing from the ground floor and will eventually require a team leader,'' he says. Foote says these opportunities tend to be in larger companies in various industries, including transportation and the manufacture of automobiles, textiles, chemicals and metals. The federal government is also using EDI to exchange information with its contractors and suppliers, a move that will affect nearly every sector of the economy. Job openings can also be found with an increasing number of third-party suppliers of EDI services. ``Third-party networks, such as GE Information Services and McDonnell Douglas, are becoming more important,'' says Steve Marschall, a consultant at Computer Task Group, Inc. in Buffalo, N.Y. Although there are many more user organizations than third-party vendors, Marschall says that the employment opportunities probably are split evenly between the two areas because individual third-party vendors employ more EDI workers than individual user companies. One way people get started in EDI _ the best way, according to Marschall _ is through involvement with the applications that lend themselves to the technology, such as ordering, invoice and warehouse systems. ``The applications are the mainstay of the operation because the EDI software is basically easy to learn,'' Marschall says. To grasp the information needed for EDI transactions, IS employees must understand not only the business of their company but also the suppliers and customers with whom they are sharing information. Working in EDI puts IS employees in close touch with the company's customers, suppliers and in-house users. ``There's lots of contact, so EDI employees have to communicate and represent the company well,'' says Carol King, vice-president and product manager of EDI at the First National Bank in Chicago. Knowledge of standards Along with understanding the applications and the information needed for the transactions, EDI employees need to learn the standards of their particular industry, which dictate how the information will be formatted. ``The Department of Defense uses one standard and the grocery industry uses another,'' Marschall says. Knowledge of personal computers is also essential, since many EDI systems are at least partially based on them. EDI incorporates telecommunications, but this aspect is likely to be handled by specialists, at least at companies large enough to have a telecommunications department, Foote says. Three-tiered personnel At Rockwell International, Valanju oversees a staff of EDI employees in three typical categories. ``It's the job of the project manager to understand the business of the applications,'' he says, ``and to put the controls in place to ensure that the system is running smoothly.'' At the next level are programmers and programmer analysts. Like the project manager, these people have to understand the business of the suppliers and customers, according to Valanju. Initially, they developed the system, and now they add new customers and suppliers to it. Rockwell International's EDI system also has a production coordinator whose job is to resolve problems. ``This person monitors the progress of the system, handles customer calls and interfaces with telecommunications,'' Valanju says. Rockwell's initial EDI applications are order entry and advanced shipping notification. In the future, Valanju expects to see more complex EDI applications and functions, including the transmission of computer-generated images. By Janet Mason, Special to CW; Mason is a Philadelphia-based free-lance journalist. <<<>>> Title : Custom software savoir fa Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: market06 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Not long ago, the thought of a programmer developing custom software for microcomputers seemed as ludicrous as Ansel Adams shooting landscapes with an Instamatic. Mainframes are a natural environment for custom software. A large company's capital investment in the machines amounts to millions of dollars, so creating just the right application for a six-figure fee does not seem out of line. With microcomputers, however, many users can go to the local computer store and get a lot of productivity from an investment of a few hundred dollars. Although custom software for a personal computer does not bear the six-figure price tag of its mainframe relation, it can cost more than the microcomputer hardware. The custom software's price certainly exceeds that of an off-the-shelf package. Users whose needs are not addressed by off-the-shelf software might opt for a middle course _ arranging for a packaged program to be customized. But this approach will not meet the needs of all users, says Larry Chory, vice-president of C.N.L. Computer Services, Inc. in Watchung, N.J. Complex rules such as the prevailing wage requirements in some government construction contracts can test the survival of any off-the-shelf package, Chory says. No matter how friendly the interface on a generic package is, it may not replicate the user's present way of doing business as closely as a custom program, Chory adds. Custom pricing At Municipal Data Systems, Inc., a software developer in Skowhegan, Maine, the price of custom software is determined by the complexity of the task and the number of users a system will serve, owner Darrell Moody says. He typically charges $100 per hour to design a system, including collection of specifications, documentation, testing and debugging. Coding alone usually costs $75 per hour. The price can be drastically reduced by sharing the software with other organizations; one police department paid only half the $50,000 cost of a custom program because the software served as a model for other customers, Moody says. If you have decided to create a custom program, one key to choosing among developers is to check out their previous work. In addition to generating references, this procedure might reveal that a previously developed program could be adapted to your needs, Moody says. To help ensure custom software will be delivered on time, Jeffrey Tarter, editor of Softletter, a Cambridge, Mass., newsletter, recommends three steps: ``The first thing you have to do is know exactly what you want,'' Tarter says. A major source of delay is customers redesigning software that is under development _ ``and then they complain that it was late. It's a lot cheaper to do the thinking and prototyping up front.'' The second rule is to be cautious about incorporating leading edge technology into the software. Buyers also should provide financial incentives for the developer to finish on time _ and penalties for delivering the product late. ``You've got a classic carrot-and-stick situation,'' Tarter says. But do not pinch pennies, he warns. If the developer is making less money on your order than others, it will go to the bottom of the pile when things get busy. Additionally, to ensure the software functions according to specifications, the buyer and developer should agree on benchmarks and write them into the contract, says Tarter. The developer's role does not end when he delivers the software, Moody says. Regardless of the programmer's expertise or the software's suitability, buyers should expect the need for modifications as users gain experience. Get the copyright Therefore, they should understand how the software will be maintained. The best thing to do is obtain the copyright and the source code, says John Noerr, president of Data Securities International, Inc. in San Francisco, which provides an escrow service to protect software assets. Recent changes in federal law provide a contract developer with the copyright to software unless he explicitly transfers it to another party, Noerr notes. If securing the copyright or source code is not possible or is prohibitively expensive, buyers can agree with the developer on how he will maintain the software _ charging hourly rates or an annual fee, for example. But they also should acquire the tools and other materials necessary to maintain the software, have those materials placed in escrow or agree that if the developer no longer can maintain the software, he will provide the materials or place them in escrow, Noerr says. At the least, buyers need a document spelling out the maintenance materials they need and where to get them, he says. CW senior writer David Ludlum contributed to this article. By Barbara Sehr, Special to CW; Sehr is a free-lance writer based in Hayward, Calif. <<<>>> Title : Take time for student eva Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: train06 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Most trainers do not screen enrolled students before a class begins. Even fewer follow up with students after the class to determine if they understood the material and used it to address business needs. Both screening and follow-up are useful techniques for maximizing training effectiveness. But their importance goes further. Training groups are often the first target in cutbacks, layoffs and budget tightening. Groups that do not do any screening or follow-up may lack the information they need when management challenges them to justify their existence. Screening lets the trainer gauge the makeup of a class before it begins. Without screening, students might attend the wrong class or attend the right class at the wrong time. In the first case, students hold a class back or divert the instructor's attention from other students and legitimate problems. In the second case, students may do fine in class, but in the absence of an immediate need for the material presented, they tend to quickly forget what they have learned. They may need to take the class again when the business need is at hand, doubling the training effort. They also may call on the information center for extended assistance or lose time in relearning the skills on their own. Training as a reward A third situation also has arisen in many organizations: Employees who do not need the training are enrolled by their managers to meet career objectives or as a reward for a job well done. All too often, when an instructor polls a group of students at the start of a class to learn why they are there, one or two admit that they do not know why they are there _ their manager directed them to attend. Some trainers deliberately avoid screening because they think it will be too time-consuming _ and it will be if it involves extensive questioning or paperwork. But the process can be kept as simple as a one-minute phone call to each student to ask why they are enrolled and what they hope to gain. With this information, the instructor can redirect a student if necessary or discourage attendance altogether. Most training departments lack the clout to reject students, but if screening reveals that too many students are enrolling without a clear business need, the instructor is in a position to gain management support to change the enrollment process. Simply knowing the class makeup in advance is also a benefit of screening. It gives the instructor the opportunity to orient class material to the specific needs of participants and to personalize the class through the use of information gathered during these brief interviews. Feedback from trainers indicates they fail to follow up for two reasons. Some trainers simply lack the time _ a familiar situation that all instructors can relate to. But others feel that follow-up is not their job. Their function, as they view it, is to provide the training; what users do with it is their own choice. These training groups will be hard-pressed to justify their existence when management asks for evidence of benefits. Management may not be impressed by a training group that knows how many users it has trained but not how _ or even whether _ the users are applying the training to business needs. Like screening, follow-up need not be a complex process bogged down by paperwork and extensive analysis. If time is a constraint, follow-up can consist of brief phone calls to a random selection of students 30 to 60 days after completion of a class. Worker benefits The trainer needs to find out if students have used the material, how they have done so and the resulting benefits _ or, if students have not used the material, why not. When time permits, one-on-one meetings with a small number of users are valuable in gathering more detailed information about applications developed, benefits gained and problems avoided. The information gleaned from these interviews is useful to the training group in planning future courses. Any benefit that a user reports _ or better, demonstrates _ that is tied to recent course material is information the training group can use in promoting the value of its instruction. On the other hand, if follow-up reveals that the training has not been put to use, that information also is important and the instructor needs to learn why it has not been used. It may be that the user attended the wrong class or attended at the wrong time. It may be that the user was eager to begin using the material learned but was prevented by other business priorities. It may be that user management did not appreciate the importance of putting the training to work immediately. Or it may be that the class itself was not well-presented. Whatever the reasons, trainers who identify the factors that detract from effectiveness can take steps to rectify the situation. Screening and follow-up improve the probability that instructors will provide training that will be put to use. In the process, it helps demonstrate the value of training to the organization. For trainers, it can provide a big benefit for a small effort. By Naomi Karten, Special to CW; Karten is president of Karten Associates in Randolph, Mass. <<<>>> Title : Kind hearts Author : Nell Margolis Source : CW Comm FileName: 26stock Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Valentine's Day broke early in the technology market last week _ in Maynard, Mass., for instance, where continuing kudos for Digital Equipment Corp.'s unfolding assault on the workstation world drove DEC's already-skyrocketing stock up an added 6 points to a Thursday close at 121 . Hearts and arrows also set the theme for Microsoft Corp. Investors are impressed with the company's ability to gain the clear lead in the microcomputer software market _ and in advance of the debut of some of its most promising entries. Microsoft closed on Thursday at 60 , up 5 points. Buoyed by increasing acceptance of the recently released Dbase IV, Microsoft competitor Ashton-Tate Corp. also got valentines from the investment community: Its stock climbed 2 points to close at 23. Novell, Inc., amid rumors of an upcoming local-area network deal with microcomputer market leader Compaq Computer Corp., saw its stock spurt 2 points to a 33 Thursday close. The feel-good mood in the communications area also extended to 3Com Corp.: Its stock closed at 26 , a 2 -point upswing. IBM closed the week up 1 points to 128 . NELL MARGOLIS <<<>>> Title : Windows open on X termina Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: nwindows Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: If proponents of X Window System have their way, fewer and fewer networked users will be saying, ``I don't do Windows.'' Windowing is seen as the next phase in computer networking. There are at least three X Window standard-based boxes on the market whose primary benefits tend to include very high-resolution bit-mapped graphics, concurrent access to heterogeneous network resources and a measurable cost reduction over full-blown Unix workstations. Suppliers of ``X terminals'' include Visual Technology, Inc. in Lowell, Mass., Network Computing Devices, Inc. in Mountain View, Calif. (see story page 65), and Acer Counterpoint, Inc. In addition, Maynard, Mass.-based Digital Equipment Corp. is expected to jump in shortly with an X Windows box of its own. ``Until these terminals came along, the only way to run [applications like ours] was on fairly expensive technical workstations costing up to $10,000,'' said John Hime, vice-president of marketing at Frame Technology Corp. Frame's desktop publishing package is purported to be one of the biggest selling applications on Sun Microsystems, Inc. workstations. X Window Version 11, a de facto windowing environment developed at MIT for networks, opened the curtain on network graphics display stations. The windowing capability is divided into two parts: user interaction, or display server, and applications execution, or host computation. It is the display server portion that is fueling this niche. These Motorola, Inc. 68000-based boxes reportedly enable users to output text and graphics inexpensively from a medley of remote processors into separate windows on a large screen. Traffic load over the network is lightened because processing and storage activities are located on the host CPU. The attraction for users is as clear as day: low cost and sparkling resolution up to 1,024 by 1,024 pixels. ``It provides you with what most people require in a workstation, except for the computing power. For users who don't necessarily need that, what's different here is the lower cost,'' said William King, a graphics specialist at the Minnesota Supercomputing Center. The center is affiliated with the University of Minnesota. For networked users who do not need a full-blown workstation, X terminals reportedly can be had for as little as a fifth of the cost of a Sun or Apollo Computer, Inc. workstation. A bottom-of-the-line workstation costs about $5,000, vs. $2,500 for a Network Computing Devices NCD16 or $1,900 for Visual's 640 XDS. Lower performance The trade-off, said George Colony, president of Forrester Research, Inc., a market analysis firm in Cambridge, Mass., is that X terminals also provide one-fifteenth the performance of their more powerful cousins. But if the user is running an application that needs the power of a big computer, then performance is not an issue, according to Bruce Borden, a vice-president at Ardent Computer Corp., because the X terminal will do its processing on an Ardent or Tandem Computers, Inc. host or one in the DEC VAX class. ``It's the complete opposite of the downsizing trend,'' Borden said. Industry observers are giving X terminal builders a roughly two- to three-year window to make their mark before the major minicomputer makers and system houses lower the shade on third parties. ``The key is not the technology; it's price, distribution and manufacturing,'' Colony said. Ardent manufactures computers in the $100,000 range and expects ``quite a few'' customers to purchase the devices as a natural addition to their host-class systems, he said. This kind of high-end interest means that the survival of smaller X terminal makers will likely rely on their ability to cut the best OEM deals. ``It's probably true,'' said Brian Chapin, a vice-president at Visual Technology. Visual has already cut several OEM deals, the most lucrative with Kubota Computers, a Japanese manufacturer that also builds Mips Computer Systems, Inc. and Ardent boxes. By Patricia Keefe, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Ford possible Prime white Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: ford Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: NATICK, Mass. _ Reports that Ford Motor Co. is about to ride to the rescue of embattled takeover target Prime Computer, Inc. swirled through the industry last week, only hours after hostile bidder MAI Basic Four, Inc. extended its offer and announced a new financial backer. Prime would neither confirm nor deny the scuttlebutt. However, one analyst said that whether true or false, the rumor has bounced what was beginning to look like a hard ball back into MAI's court. ``Prime's stock is now trading at slightly over $20 per share,'' said Stephen Dube, an analyst at Shearson Lehman Hutton, Inc. If the stock's price rises higher than the $20 per share offered by MAI, Dube said, then ``the Ford rumor has effectively done what a Ford offer would do: It's forced MAI into a different position.'' The Tustin, Calif., aggressor, he said, ``will have to raise the price of its offer or watch it die.'' Earlier last week, MAI appeared to be making quantum gains in its attempt to swallow Prime. The would-be acquisitor extended its $20-per-share offer through the 15th of this month, claimed that approximately 73% of Prime's stock has already been tendered and announced that Merrill Lynch & Co. has come on board with financial backing for the deal. Out in the open ``Now MAI's argument about how many shares have been tendered becomes a moot point,'' Dube said. ``The stockholders can do better on the open market.'' Ford or no Ford, he said, ``I think we're going to see an end to this battle very soon.'' MAI and Prime each has declined to comment on the rumors. However, a source within Prime said, ``It's unlikely that any white knight would announce itself before it had to, and right now, it doesn't have to. The poison pills are still in place. The injunction is still in place.'' Shining armor MAI recently petitioned the Delaware Chancery Court to reconsider striking down the antitakeover, or poison-pill, provisions enacted by Prime's board several months ago. MAI's motion to lift a temporary injunction against its tender offer is pending before the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts and is slated for a hearing this week. ``If the injunction is lifted, that might be the occasion on which a white knight would come forward,'' the Prime source said. ``Right now, time is on our side.'' Not everyone agreed. ``The Ford rumor has been around forever, and they haven't come forward yet,'' said an analyst who asked not to be identified. ``Yes, they're Prime's biggest customer, but I don't think they want to buy the company. I think the MAI acquisition is going to happen.'' By Nell Margolis, CW staff <<<>>> Title : New Wave crests with mode Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: iris Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: SAN FRANCISCO _ Hewlett-Packard Co. took the wraps off an object-oriented database management system research project last week that the firm has had under development at its software laboratories for several years. At the Database '89 conference held here, HP demonstrated a prototype version of Iris, an object-oriented database that builds on technology similar to that used in HP's current New Wave software operating environment. ``It's really an extension of what you see in New Wave,'' said Katie Rotzell, a software development engineer leading the technical project at HP's Data & Languages division. ``We're really looking at blowing up New Wave out of the office environment.'' Three environments HP's New Wave _ which along with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows was the target of an Apple Computer, Inc. copyright infringement lawsuit filed in March 1988 _ currently operates only under the Microsoft MS-DOS operating system. However, HP said it intends to offer the operating environment under both the OS/2 and Unix operating systems. The Apple lawsuit alleged that New Wave and Windows violated Apple's Macintosh visual displays. The Iris prototype, using SQL commands, can extract data from SQL-based relational DBMSs, while using its own form of object-oriented data to make the use of such databases much easier. Prototype demo HP demonstrated the prototype on an HP 9000 system running HP-UX, which is HP's version of the Unix operating system. The Iris database was able to query HP's existing relational database management system Allbase, which is currently offered on the company's proprietary MPE- and Unix-based system, while using an SQL-like query method that HP calls object SQL, or OSQL. Although would not say when it might bring such a product to market, the Iris database prototype and its underlying object-oriented technology was characterized by the company as a ``tremendous opportunity for the 1990s.'' Susan Bockus, product line manager of Information Management Products in HP's Commercial Systems division, said the company has no definite plans for introducing the Iris prototype as a product at the present time. However, she said that HP currently has the Iris database prototype in testing under strict nondisclosure agreements at several universities and commercial businesses. A handful of smaller companies have already marketed object-oriented DBMSs such as Servio Logic Development Corp.'s Gemstone object-oriented database and Ontologic, Inc.'s V-Base. As to whether the Iris prototype could replace today's relational DBMS products, HP said it sees an eventual Iris-type database being more practical for applications _ particularly in engineering environments that require manipulation of extremely complex data sets. ``I believe there will never be a replacement for the relational database, which serves a very large market with a lot of applications,'' Rotzell said. ``They'll need to coexist.'' Catch the wave The Iris database builds on HP's New Wave technology, which uses objects and the Microsoft Windows graphical interface to make processing of data easier for the user. Rotzell said that an object-oriented database such as Iris most likely would be used in applications with complex data structures, such as computer-aided design, computer-aided software engineering, computer-aided engineering and computer-aided manufacturing, in addition to traditional office environments. ``With objects, I as a user can deal easier with real-world tasks, like making prints,'' she said. ``We think objects are going to make life much easier for users. Virtually any real-world situation can be modeled using objects. We think it also can make things easier for [software] application developers.'' By Patrick Waurzyniak, CW staff <<<>>> Title : Systems integration Author : Laura O'Connell Source : CW Comm FileName: 26trends Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Systems integration is on the mind of every MIS manager, and deciding how to handle it is no easy task. A recent report from The Ledgeway Group, Inc. in Lexington, Mass., examined the use of outside professional services, including systems integration. The research firm conducted surveys of 178 Fortune 1,000 information systems managers. Notably, about half of the respondents said they do not use outside firms for systems integration and thus have no experience in contracting such services. Among those managers who do seek outside integration help, however, the primary impetus is a lack of staff expertise, which Ledgeway defined as either a lack of specialized skills among in-house staff or the complete lack of an in-house staff. Cost did not appear to be a driving factor because none of the users chose that answer from the multiple-choice list provided in the survey. These findings supported Ledgeway's contention that companies turn to outside providers largely for one-time projects of a critical nature, upon the completion of which full-time employees will no longer be needed. Further, Ledgeway said customers have reported hesitancy in accepting the financial burden of full-time staff in an uncertain economy. One-time expenditures ease operating budgets. As for the types of vendors that users pick for systems integration, the choices were predictable: systems integrators and consulting firms. Communications firms scored low, and the divested Bell operating companies included on the list did not score at all. It is thought that these firms, which have only recently entered the professional services fray, have yet to build up sufficient credibility with users. In terms of who is responsible for choosing service providers, IS managers generally make technical recommendations, while upper management has the final say on the purchase. Chief information officers, however, seem to be involved in both roles. The systems integration market was worth about $1.6 billion last year and should reap $3.8 billion by 1992, growing at a compound annual rate of 26%, according to Ledgeway's figures. LAURA O'CONNELL <<<>>> Title : Inside lines Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: liner206 Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: Card-carrying member. Compaq is developing a 32-bit EISA LAN bus-mastering card to be included in its yet-to-be-built EISA machines. A source close to the firm said the machines will be out in the second half of this year. Compaq is also negotiating a deal with Novell to bundle its forthcoming version of Netware 386, expected to be released this summer, with the Compaq server. The deal calls for Compaq to distribute its configured server with the Novell network operating system, sources said. Novell confirmed it is working with the EISA specifications to develop a driver for EISA systems. It expects to ship the driver when the EISA machines are available, Novell Vice-President Craig Burton said. The firm would not release any EISA machines without cards that exploit the bus, according to a Compaq spokesman. Let's get fractional. Fractionalized T1 _ the ability to purchase and route bundles of 64K bit/sec. channels as a single link _ should become a reality next week as AT&T and several former Bell operating companies announce tariffs for the service. This will save big bucks for users with too much traffic for one or two 64K bit/sec. links but not enough to justify full T1, sources said. RISC-y approach to fault tolerance. Trying to capture federal business that demands Unix, Tandem is expected to introduce a low-end RISC system at the end of the year. The RISC architecture, expected to be supplied by Mips Computer Systems, should achieve fault tolerance through multiple processors. Tandem has been offering an Altos Unix system with little success. Oh! An internal audit of transaction processing benchmarks at DEC was conducted by ``a very skilled panel of technical people'' from DEC during the summer, according to Jack Murray at Peat Marwick, the auditor now carrying out the benchmark tests. Peat Marwick, however, was not contacted to perform any tests until September, probably too late to perform an audit before the announced publication date of the benchmark methodology in October. Peter Kastner, now a consultant at the Aberdeen Group in Boston, was the contact person at DEC for Peat Marwick, but after he left DEC in the fall, the benchmark audit effort was left to languish. Buddy, can you spare $5 million? Software Publishing, which has been on a major roll after some tough times, doesn't really need the cash. But that apparently has not stopped the firm from pitching its Harvard Total Project Manager to other software houses for $5 million, our source says. Of course, you can get an individual copy for less. Maybe we'll send the pre-press. Expect Telenet Communications to announce a ``pre-ISDN'' high-speed service at Communication Networks '89 in Washington, D.C., this week. Telenet is just one of a flock of carriers that are racing to meet burgeoning demand for wideband (read: anything from 45M to 100M bit/sec.) digital services, Telenet said. However, no ISDN standard exists yet for such services _ hence the ``pre'' aspect to the announcement. Hold on to that check. The 14-MIPS performance and $11,900 price tag of DEC's Decstation 3100 is already beginning to shake things up in the workstation world. At Apollo Computer's recent rollout of the Series 10000 Visualization System, Vice-President of Marketing Michael Gallup said his firm should be announcing a workstation in the $15,000 range within the next quarter or two. We can't wait to be clarified at Comnet '89, when keynoter Ellen Hancock, an IBM vice-president and general manager of the Communication Products Division, will hold a press briefing after her speech to ``clear up'' what IBM believes are some misconceptions. According to an industry analyst, IBM's pending sale of the bulk of its Rolm assets to Siemens seems to have garnered an unacceptably negative view in the trade press and is about to undergo spin control. Rolm users can keep the world informed by calling the hot line, 800-343-6474 or 508-879-0700, and passing Siemens stories on to News Editor Pete Bartolik. <<<>>> Title : Chip hoarding pares Apple Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: badapp Date : Feb 13, 1989 Text: CUPERTINO, Calif. _ There are some mistakes that you just can't run from. That must be how executives at Apple Computer, Inc. are feeling this month after its widely criticized price hike last summer has come back to haunt it. An ill-timed decision to stockpile costly memory components last summer has dealt Apple a significant financial setback. Company officials said Apple's revenue for the second quarter ending March 30 is projected between 35 cents and 45 cents per share, a drop from 61 cents per share for the corresponding quarter last year. That places revenue between $45.5 million and $58.5 million in the second quarter, compared with $79.7 million for the same quarter in 1988. Before this quarter, Apple had experienced 12 consecutive quarters of explosive growth. Apple officials said earnings will recover to ``customer levels'' in the third and fourth quarters. It is possible _ but not likely _ that other personal computer vendors will find themselves in the same predicament. Apple's price increase came significantly later than those of other PC vendors. Some vendors, such as Compaq Computer Corp., tried to hold the line. Compaq raised the prices of add-in memory kits in July but did not increase its PC prices. Last summer, Apple stockpiled 1M-byte dynamic random-access memory at premium prices during the worst of the chip shortage. To compensate for the cost of memory components, Apple subsequently raised prices on its memory-intensive Macintosh computers by anywhere from $400 to $1,100. At about the same time, memory prices began to drop, leaving Apple with a surplus of chips purchased at higher prices. Last summer, Apple paid $38 per memory chip, the spokesman said. The going price for a memory chip now is about $23. To alter customer buying patterns, Apple reduced prices last month. By Julie Pitta, CW staff <<<>>> Title : 120,000 stocks, mutual fu Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: jmicdowj Date : Feb 20, 1989 Text: 120,000 stocks, mutual funds, debt issues and market indexes. The material is reportedly drawn from several Dow Jones News and Retrieval databases. Market Analyzer 2.0 costs $349 and runs on IBM Personal Computers, Personal System/2s and compatible systems. Dow Jones, P.O. Box 300, Princeton, N.J. 08543. 609-520-4642. <<<>>> Title : Ask the vendor Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: ask2 Date : Feb 20, 1989 Text: We are running Allen Systems' Prealert under MVS/XA. Is it possible to monitor a single task from Cullinet's IDMS as it is actually executing each instruction? If not, are there any plans for this capability? Jerry Earles Database Administrator Bassett Furniture Industries Basset, Va. ALLEN SYSTEMS GROUP, INC.: At this time, it is not possible to monitor tasks, instruction by instruction, within IDMS. Prealert software resides in its own address space and uses cross-memory services to view data contained in IDMS control blocks within the IDMS address space. To monitor tasks as they are executed, Prealert would have to reside within the IDMS address space. <<<>>> Title : Correction Author : CW Staff Source : CW Comm FileName: play1 Date : Feb 20, 1989 Text: ``Stripping down IS'' [CW, Dec. 26/Jan. 2] contained several errors as a result of statements made to Computerworld reporters that were not properly verified. The article, which profiled an MIS director at Playboy Enterprises, Inc. in Boulder, Colo., neglected to mention the role of a second director of MIS, John A. Ullrick, who is in Playboy's Chicago office. Playboy's central processing is set to shift from Boulder to IBM System/38 and Application System/400 computers in Chicago beginning in March. Playboy's MIS budget is not being reduced but will increase in the next fiscal year, Ullrick said. Only one Playboy application is scheduled to be moved to a service bureau, not several applications as the story stated. However, several applications have been moved to service bureaus in recent years. Playboy's IBM System/38 is not used primarily for batch work, as the article stated. Ullrick said Playboy has more than 60 on-line users and runs batch work mostly at night. The story also incorrectly stated that there will be minimal applications development in-house. Playboy plans to develop financial systems, office automation and document and image processing internally. Finally, Los Angeles is not a pilot site for Playboy's System/38 applications. Users will be brought on-line simultaneously there and in Chicago.