Date: Wed, 15 Feb 95 21:59:45 PST From: olcay@libtech.com (olcay cirit) To: cn@libtech.com Subject: Computer News: Volume II, Issue 7 ______ __ __ / ____/\ / \ / /\ / /\___\/ / /\ \ / / / / /_/__ / / /\ \/ / / /______/\ /_/ / \__/ / \\\\\\\\/ \\\/ \\\/ COMPUTER NEWS "Your eye to the computer industry"(tm) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, February 15th 1995 Vol. II, Issue 07 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Happy Valentines Day!!! THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS: ------------------------- The NullBytes News Service Rob Slade Quick Overview __________________________________________ NEWS: 1. Microsoft Anti-trust settlement voided! 2. ASCII Group challenges MS-NET 3. New advanced P6 architecture 4. General Magic: Auspicious Beginning 5. Disks that know when the end is near ARTICLES: 1. Book Reviews (4) ETC: 1. Classifieds 2. Lighter Side __________________________________________ __ __ / \ /\_\ / /\ \/\/ / /_/\/\ \/ / \_\/ \__/ EWS: Microsoft Anti-trust settlement voided! --------------------------------------- On Tuesday, Federal Judge Stanley Sporkin caught everyone in the computer industry by surprise. He rejected the Justice Department's Anti-trust settlement with Microsoft, saying that it was "too little, too late", and that it was not in the public interest. Although Judge Sporkin can't act against Microsoft himself, it is quite possible that the Justice Department might come down harder on Microsoft because of his decision. However, whether this is true has yet to be ascertained. There is also question as to whether the Justice Department will place limits on the Intuit buyout, thereby placing bounds on what Microsoft can do with Intuit and its Quicken software. Another hearing has been scheduled for March 16th. ASCII Group challenges MS-NET ----------------------------- Microsoft's proposed On-line network has some computer dealers suspicious that their sales will be hurt by the service. ASCII Group Inc, a group of 1,075 computer dealers nationwide, met with Justice Department officials to discuss how it would hurt their sales. ASCII is concerned that Windows 95 (With which the network will be bundled) will give Microsoft a competitive advantage. They are upset because Microsoft will use the network to sell software and hardware through, and since computer dealers are expected to sell Windows 95, it would cripple their future sales of _both_ hardware and software. Microsoft will collect royalties from companies who wish to sell information or products on-line. New advanced P6 architecture ---------------------------- A new P6 architecture is going to be outlined this week by Intel. The chip will probably run at 133Mhz and have a SpecINT92 rating of 200. Much of the increase in speed will come from a carefully designed architecture in which the execution order of instructions will be chosen based on their readiness for execution. That is, ready to execute if all their data is there. To achieve this, the chip will employ out-of-order execution, register renaming, pipelining, and something new. That something is probably one of the _most_ advanced branch prediction/speculative execution facilities yet. The P6 will be able to guess past five to seven branches at a time, if it guesses correctly, it will get a speed boost, if it guesses wrong, it slows down a bit. General Magic: Auspicious Beginning ----------------------------------- General Magic, a developer of wireless communications software, performed a bit of real magic soon after they went public: Their stock nearly doubled on their first day, growing 90% from an initial public offering of $14. According to analysts, this is very high risk stock, and you shouldn't put money in for the long term. Apparently, people really like what General Magic software can do. The company expects substantial losses until 1997, according to their prospectus. Disks that know when the end is near ------------------------------------ Compaq Computer Corp., along with three disk-drive companies has come up with a way to warn users when their hard-disks are about to fail. Seagate, Quantum, and Conner are readying drives that implement the specification, which they hope will become industry-standard. Compaq adopted disk-arraying software to warn users of impending doom, and scaled it down to desktop size. The drives with this specification check up on error-correction rates, seek times and motor spin times, among other features. ____ /___/\ / /\ \/\ / /\/\ \/\ /_/\/__\ \/\ RTICLES: \_\/ \_\/ Book Reviews ------------ By Rob Slade Books ------------------------------------------ 1. "PC Mom: The Mother of All PC Books" 2. "Data Link Protocols" 3. "X User Tools" 4. "The Z-Mail Handbook" ------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "PC Mom: The Mother of All PC Books", Leonhard/Simon, 1995, 0-201-40952-6 Authors: Woody Leonhard, Barry Simon Pub: Addison-Wesley,1 Jacob Way, Reading, MA 01867-9984 Pages: 720 Date: 1995 Price: U$49.95/C$64.95 Orders: 800-822-6339 617-944-3700 Fax: (617) 944-7273 This is definitely a cut above the usual introductory PC books. As far as works like the "MS-DOS Bible" (BKMSDOSB.RVW) ... well, it's maybe a cut sideways. Let's take it backwards. The book comes with two CD-ROMs which include games, fonts, games, Shakespeare, games, game demos, games, a directory of "800" numbers, games, utilities, games, sound and video clips, games, references, games, literature, and more games. Part four is a review of lots of computer games. Part three is an overview of many things (besides operating systems) that you can get on CD-ROMs. Part two is an overview of utility and application software, and for those who either want to do, or are newly tasked with, the evaluation of software, this is an excellent start. If you haven't yet bought a computer, sit down with part two for a while. Think on the material, and then you will at least have smart questions to ask your friends. Part one, and bits of two, deal with the machine and the operating system. The coverage of IRQs (Interrupt ReQuest lines) is among the most helpful I've seen. The memory management section tends to stop just when you want it to go on, but its coverage of CONFIG.SYS options is very useful. The section on the choice of a bus is probably worth the price of the book for anyone in the market for a machine. The coverage of viral programs is good, except for an odd suggestion which they appear to think will avoid boot sector infectors (it won't), and the recommendation to use MSAV. I don't know that I could recommend it unreservedly. There are lots of areas which tend to "show off" advanced information to no real purpose. There are items at the same level which are missing. By and large, though, this book contains a lot of valuable background information for the user who wants to take the first steps towards understanding what is "under the hood". And, depending upon your tastes, it has a *ton* of games. (By the way, guys, didn't his name used to be Ighor?) Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKPCMOM.RVW 941230 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Data Link Protocols", Black, 1993, 0-13-204918-X Author: Uyless Black Pub: Prentice-Hall, 113 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Pages: 270 Date: 1993 Orders: (515) 284-6751 FAX (515) 284-2607 Much of what goes on at the physical layer level in data communications is mature technology, fixed in hardware. The network, internetwork and higher layers vary widely depending upon situation and application. The data link layer is the one most in need of study and understanding. This is the layer concerned with the actual transmission of data, and its reliable receipt. Three chapters relate to the basic concepts of the data link layer, an introduction, error detection and correction, and controls. The re- -mainder of the book concentrates on the specific protocols; BSC, HDLC, LAPB, LAPD, LAN protocols, LLC and so forth. Two chapters are of par- -ticular interest to the online community, covering asynchronous file transfer protocols (X modem and descendents, Kermit, and others) and LAPM (Link Access Protocol for Microcomputers or V.42). Frame relay and Internet protocols are touched on. This work deals with the concepts rather than implementations. The actual programming of specific protocols will require additional detail. However, for an understanding of the options at this layer in the stack, this is a good starting source. Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKDTLKPR.RVW 941229 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "X User Tools", Mui/Quercia, 1994, 1-56592-019-8 Authors: Linda Mui, Valerie Quercia Pub: O'Reilly & Associates, 103 Morris Street, Suite A, Sebastopol, CA 95472 Pages: 856 Date: 1994 Price: U.S. $49.95 Orders: 800-998-9938 707-829-0515 fax: 707-829-0104 nuts@ora.com X is the platform-independent graphical interface. It may be slightly overstating the case to say that it is the UNIX interface of choice, but X is open, available, cheap (free?) and extensible. X programmers will be familiar with the O'Reilly X programming series. Now it is time for a source for the users. The book gives some basic information about how to start, and use, X, but is primarily a collection of software -- utilities, resources, games, applications, and more. The CD-ROM included with the book contains source code plus compiled versions for Sun 3 and 4, Solaris (on Sparc), RS6000, HP/UX (700 series), OSF/1 (Alpha) and DEC stations. There are clocks, calendars, desk references, decorations, mailers, Internet clients, editors, games, xterm extensions, windows managers, graphics and colour utilities, and administration tools. The book uses short sections to describe the various tools and tips. It also uses the "hypertext in print" format to cross-reference items without having to repeat material. You could, of course, get all of this "free", off the net. It is, however, highly unlikely that your time is worth that little. Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKXUTOOL.RVW 941228 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Z-Mail Handbook", Nelson, 1991, 0-937175-76-5 Author: Hanna Nelson Pub: O'Reilly & Associates, 103 Morris Street, Suite A, Sebastopol, CA 95472 Pages: 434 Date: 1991 Orders: 800-998-9938 707-829-0515 fax: 707-829-0104 info@ora.com or nuts@ora.com This is complete documentation for the Z-mail mail user interface for UNIX. It covers the command line, full screen and X displays and commands. In addition, there are tips and shortcuts, as well as chapters on customization, scripts, and macros. The material is clear and fully explained. Tips throughout the book are identified by an icon. More technical sections of the book are written in a more technical manner. Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1995 BKZMAILH.RVW 950105 _____ / ___/\ / /\\\\/ / ___/\ / /\\\\/ /____/\ \\\\\\/ TC: Classifieds ----------- The classified ad section is free for anyone who would like to post an advertisement. There is no real length limit, and anonymous post- -ings are accepted, as well as things not related to computers. By posting, your message will get to +/- 1400 people. NOTICE: PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES DISPLAYED HERE ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE ENDORSED BY COMPUTER NEWS. ---Begin Classified Ads--- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***************************** MISCELLANEOUS ***************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted By: Computer News Server Subject: LIST OF SERVICES & FEATURES FOUND IN COMPUTER NEWS: Services: ========= Help with Windows Problems Help with DOS Problems Classified Ads Features: ========= Weekly News Reporting Weekly Book Reviews Monthly Internet Entertainment Reviews Humor Section "Lighter Side" Suggestions for any new features, services, or how we could improve any one of our features or services, can be directed to cnews@libtech.com. --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***************************** PRINTERS ********************************** ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted By: "Barbara Flythe - Develop" Subject: High-speed color laser printer WANTED Our office is currently looking into purchasing a high speed color laser printer in order to facilitate our direct mail program. Our printing requirements are in the 1,000+ letter range, 8.5 x 11 smooth and textured papers, plain and letterhead, high capacity envelope feeder capability, also to utilize it for printing invitations and envelopes with different color inks and different fonts. The printer is used by at least 4 other associates in the office with 5 other associates having the option to print on it also. I will probably be the caretaker and main user. If any of you great readers has information on various makes & models of high speed printers, please e-mail me with the name address and phone number of the vendor. Your help in my quest is greatly appreciated and I thank you in advance. : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : Barbara J. Flythe Trinity University 715 Stadium Drive, #49 San Antonio, TX 78212 bflythe@trinity.edu : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : --- ---End Classified Ads--- __ / /\ / / / / /_/_ /_____/\ \_____\/ ighter Side -------------------- WARNING...WARNING...WARNING...WARNING...WARNING...WARNING...WARNING... ***Restricted Micro$oft database!*** THIS IS REALLY ILLEGAL STUFF! IF THE FTC GOT AHOLD OF THIS, NOT EVEN SLIPPERY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS COULD SAVE US! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type: ore, uit, eneralProtectionFault ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^M Page 1... Mr. Bill Clinton President, USA Mr. William Gates III CEO, Chairman, US Government Dear Mr. Gates: YOU SET ME UP!!! YOU SAID YOUR LAWYERS WOULD !@#$in PROTECT ME!!! WHAT THE !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ IS GOING ON!!? Bill ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type: ore, uit, eneralProtectionFault ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^M Page 2... Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev President, U.S.S.R. Mr. William Gates III CEO, Chairman, Russian Government Dear Mr. Gates: YOU SET ME UP!!! YOU SAID YOUR LAWYERS WOULD !@#$in REMOVE THAT SPOT FROM MY FOREHEAD!!! WHAT THE !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@ IS GOING ON!!? Mikhail ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type: ore, uit, eneralProtectionFault ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^M Page 3... Mr. Saddam Hussein President, Iraq Mr. William Gates III CEO, Chairman, Nicaraguan Government Dear Mr. Gates: YOU SET ME UP!!! YOU SAID YOUR LAWYERS WOULD FIX THE S.C.U.D. MISSILES! WHAT !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ !#$ !@#$ !@#$ !@#$ IS GOING ON!!? Saddam ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Type: ore, uit, eneralProtectionFault ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Just then, you hear an explosion! 6 Men wearing Bill Gates masks bust in, ugly ties and all. The yell: "Bill! Take him down before he buffers more!" You see a big, burly man approach you, but... Just then, you hear another, louder explosion! 1 man with red hair busts in, ugly tie and all. He yells: "Bill! You low down dirty scum! I never signed that merger!" You gasp! it's the CEO of Intuit! The two men pounce on each other, and you watch with baited breath as the two fight, anxious to see the outcome. Just then, you hear an explosion! Sixteen purple Barneys bust in, ugly ties and all...] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL TEXT CONTAINED HEREIN IS COPYRIGHT (C) 1995 BY OLCAY F. CIRIT, EXCEPT WHERE SPECIFIED OTHERWISE. ALL TRADEMARKS/COPYRIGHTS CONTAINED HEREIN, MARKED OR UNMARKED, BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.THE TEXTS CONTAINED HEREIN MAY BE REDISTRIBUTED PROVIDED THAT THE ARTICLE REMAIN INTACT AND THAT PROPER RECOGNITION BE GIVEN TO COMPUTER NEWS. THIS ARTICLE MAY NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BE RESOLD OR REDISTRIBUTED IN ANY FORM FOR ANY COMPENSATION OF ANY KIND WITHOUT PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM MR. OLCAY F. CIRIT. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To SUBSCRIBE to Computer News, send e-mail to majordomo@libtech.com with the following in the body of the message: subscribe cn To UNSUBSCRIBE from Computer News send e-mail to majordomo@libtech.com with the following in the body of the message: unsubscribe cn ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Suggestions/Submissions/Comments may be directed to ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer News is edited by Olcay Cirit