
VAPORWARE by Murphy Sewall

These are rumors folks; we reserve the right to be dead wrong!

Apple's Consumer Products.

Apple CEO John Sculley has announced Apple's intention to enter the
consumer market with CD-ROM Macintosh products in time for the
Christmas selling season (wasnt Apple in the consumer market once upon
a time?  For example, ChopLifter on an Apple ][+).  Apparently, the
CPUs will be based on redesigns of the Macintosh IIsi and Quadra 700.
They may ship with digital signal processors but without AppleTalk,
NuBus slots, or even SCSI ports.  Next year, Apple and third party
partners (read Sony and General Magic) will begin introducing hand-held
devices such as executive organizers and wireless communicators.  - 
InfoWorld and MacWeek 13 January

New Macs.

Last month's rumor was that the Macintosh LC/30 wouldn't ship until the
second half of the year.  This month's rumor is that Apple will
introduce the new LC at the CeBIT show in Hanover, Germany in March.
Apple also plans to announce DOS Exchange (MS DOS mounting software) as
a System extension at the same time.  The faster IIsi (with built-in
Ethernet), Color Classic II (under $2,000), and Apple's first color
printer will be introduced later in the year.  Motorola won't ramp up
volume production of the 33 MHz 68040 for the Quadra 950 until April.
The new chip will not only be faster than the 25 MHz version, but will
have a 128K write-through write through cache.  The design is the same
as the 68030 cache making it easier for software developers to maintain
compatibility.  - InfoWorld 23 December and MacWeek 6 and 13 January

More Than Just Windows.

Windows 3.1 is scheduled for introduction at April's Comdex/Windows
World in Chicago.  Within a year, Microsoft plans to deliver a version,
currently known as "Sparta", with built-in peer to peer networking.
Also in the works is Windows NT, of course, and WIN32s, a 32-bit 
application interface, to let applications run under both Windows 3.1 
and NT.  Developers also have had a peek at a version codenamed "Cairo"
which implements "information at your fingertips", an object-oriented
user interface and query language.  Based on past performance, most 
observers expect it to be at least two years before a retail version of 
Cairo's technology ships.  - PC Week 23 December

An Early Review.

According to PC Week columnist Frederic Davis, Windows NT will require 
8 MBytes of RAM, consume more room on a hard disk than any other PC 
operating system (with the possible exception of A/UX, see below), and 
make your 80386 machine run like an XT).  - PC Week 6 January

8 MBytes of RAM is Too Few.

Apple's A/UX 3.0, which contains a Finder 7.0 shell, and is Macintosh
Quadra compatible, currently requires a 160 Mbyte hard disk, up from 80
Mbyte in the previous version.  Although an absolute minimal
installation will fit within 8 MBytes of RAM, such useful components as
the man pages, compilers and libraries, or the network device drivers
aren't included. In other words, the minimal installation is too
minimal to be of much use.  - found in my electronic mailbox

PS/Notes.

IBM will soon announce as many as six new notebook computers.  The
first will appear later this month and will be modeled after the
PS/55Note introduced in Japan last April.  The new notebooks will be
able to connect to a MCA bus docking station.  Later in the year IBM 
will introduce a notebook with a color display.  One interesting rumor 
is an optional 160 MByte hard drive.  Not only that, the same form 
factor is alleged to be potentially expandable to 960 MBytes!  - 
InfoWorld 23 December and 13 January

QuickTime PC.

PC owners will soon have an opportunity to find out what all the fuss 
is about Apple's Quicktime system level multimedia standard.  Apple has
announced a Windows version of the movie player and a $79 QuickTime 
Movie exchange kit to be released this quarter.  Apple may develop 
players for other environments (DOS, UNIX) as well.  - InfoWorld 13 
January

It's VITAL.

Apple's guidelines for connecting larger systems to Macintoshes (and
IBM PowerPCs?) running the next generation operating system, Pink, are 
referred to as the Virtually Integrated Technical Architecture 
Lifecycle, that is, VITAL.  How many analysts do you suppose it took to 
come up with that one?  VITAL is described as a bridge (intermediate 
step) between current environments and a fully developed, 
object-oriented architecture.  - PC Week 23 December

Reach Out and See Someone.

AT&T plans to market a full motion, color video phone in May that works 
over regular telephone lines.   At ten frames per second, its 
appearance is similar to QuickTime on a Macintosh.  The price for each 
AT&T VideoPhone 2500 is about $1,500.  You'll have to have affluent
friends because the only calls which will display video are those 
between similar video phones (or a Mac, see below). AT&T does plan to 
license the technology to other vendors and the price should decline as 
production volume expands.  - Associated Press and CNN 6 January

MacPhone.

The AT&T VideoPhone technology was codeveloped with Compression Labs 
Inc. (CLI) which will be releasing the Cameo Personal Video System 
Model 2001 for the Macintosh ($2,095) this spring.  The Cameo equipped 
Mac will be capable of delivering video at 15 frames per second 
(QuickTime) and have the capability of simultaneously transmitting 
display screens and data.  The hardware will consist of a video 
processor which connects through a IIci, IIfx, or Quadra serial port 
and a camera module.  The Mac also must have a digitizing video card 
compatible with the RasterOps 364 or 24STV and Apple's ISDN Card
($1,099).  The MacPhone will require an ISDN circuit, but in addition 
to being able to communicate with the AT&T VideoPhone, the CLI unit 
will be compatible with the (much more expensive) Rembrandt II/VP 
vidioconferencing system.  CLI expects to announce MCA and ISA bus 
implementations this spring.  - InfoWorld and MacWeek 13 January

Modem Speed Limit.

Shannon's Limit is a basic concept of communications technology which
indicates the maximum amount of data that can be delivered by a given 
connection.  For an ordinary dial-up telephone line, that limit is 
about 20,000 bps.  Modem developers are working on a standard (working 
title V.FAST which probably will be V-some-number when finally approved 
by the CCITT) which will result in modems operating at nearly that 
limit (19.2K bps) by late 1993.  Data compression will yield a nominal 
speed on the order of 56 or 64 kilobits per second.  V.FAST represents 
the "end of the line" for current modem technology.  The next
generation will be digital, requiring ISDN (Integrated Services Digital 
Network) phone service.  - InfoWorld 13 January

Mini FAX Modem.

If you need a small portable modem right away, Mass Microsystems plans 
to ship a 2400 baud data, 9600 baud fax send, 4800 baud fax receive 
mini-modem weighing less than one pound by the end of the month.  The 
modem draws its power (135 milliwatts) directly from the serial port.  
The initial release will be targeted toward owners of the new Macintosh 
PowerBooks.  - MacWeek 13 January

Big Blue Clones.

IBM's European sales unit is considering marketing and servicing
inexpensive clones made by one or more major Far East manufacturers.
The machines won't carry IBM's label, and while there are no plans for
IBM U.S. to do likewise, a spokesman is quoted as saying that the
company "continues to look at ways to gain greater access to
customers".  - PC Week 23 December

Inexpensive PostScript Level 2 Under.

PrintersPlus, a Washington D.C. distributor plans to offer a 22 pound,
four page per minute PostScript Level 2 printer for under $1,000 in
April (unless this rumor is an early April fooly).  - PC Week 23 
December

SCUM?

If the proposed price schedule isn't changed, current SUM owners will
have to pay nearly retail price to upgrade to the new Norton Utilities, 
which combines features of NUM and SUM. The internal name, "Symantec
Combined Utilities for the Macintosh," may indeed seem like  SCUM, if
the upgrade price ends up exceeding what mail order houses charge new 
users for the package.  - found in my electronic mailbox

WordPerfect Works.

After five years, WordPerfect has a major upgrade to its DOS-based 
integrated software package in beta test.  If all goes well, 
WordPerfect Works will debut this month.  The LetterPerfect word 
processor is compatible with WordPerfect 5.1, and the Works also 
include the PlanPerfect spreadsheet, DrawPerfect, a communications 
module and a clipboard for transferring data between modules.  
Apparently, the renewed interest in integrated software for Macintoshes 
motivated this upgrade.  - PC Week 23 December

Excel 4.0.

The next version of Microsoft's spreadsheet is in beta test with a
prospective release date of March or April.  Excel 4.0 will have an 
enhanced user interface and new cross-tabulation and consolidation 
capabilities along with a customizable toolbar, drag and drop editing, 
and autofill.  Beta testers indicate that the features closely resemble 
those recently added to Lotus and Borland products.  - PC Week 23 
December and InfoWorld 30 December

The Merger is Off.

Lotus has thought better of the plan to merge versions 2.3 and 3.1 of 
the 1-2-3 spreadsheet (see last month's column).  Revisions of both
versions are now planned for later in the year.  - InfoWorld 23
December

Omega Testing.

IBM plans to ship major components of OS/2 2.0 without beta testing.  A
limited availability version of OS/2 was transmitted to field
representatives on December 31 (meeting the promised "by the end of
1991" deadline).  That release (6.177h) supports Object Linking and
Embedding between Windows applications and has an XGA display driver.  
The "seamless" support for Windows and 32-bit graphic engine scheduled
for introduction by the end of March will not be beta tested (An "omega
tester" is a user who buys the shipped product and files bug reports).
- PC Week 6 January

NetWare Lite.

Novell's new peer to peer LAN has encountered a full range of problems,
slow performance, crashes, and incompatibilities with Windows 3.0.
Either a new release, or a bug fix should be on the market before the 
crocus bloom.  - InfoWorld 23 December

The Real Better Windows Than Windows.

GeoWorks 2.0 should appear in early April.  Among other improvements, 
the program will allow DOS and Windows applications to run 
simultaneously in resizable windows.  - InfoWorld 30 December

New Mac Chooser for Networks.

The A.G. Group, of Walnut Creek, California supported by Apple 
engineers has written a hierarchical Chooser currently codenamed Silver 
Cloud.  The interface draws both upon the existing Chooser, and System 
7.0's Finder. "Shell" zones appear as folders, real zones can be
grouped within them.  The data is stored in a single Chooser configure 
file, which a network administrator can prepare and distribute to all
the clients on his network.  If all goes well, the new Chooser will be 
distributed this month.  - found in my electronic mailbox

How's That Again Dave?

According to the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, the the H.A.L. 9000 was
scheduled to go online January 12, 1992 at the H.A.L. plant in 
Urbana-Champaign.  Long-time readers of this column will not be 
surprised to find that the schedule has slipped to the novel's 1997
date.  - noted by Charles Y. Choi <cyj9h@csissun12.ee.Virginia.EDU>

From the February 1992 APPLE PULP
H.U.G.E. Apple Club (E. Hartford) News Letter
$24/year P.O. Box 18027 East Hartford, CT 06118
Call the Bit Bucket (203) 257-9588
Permission granted to redistribute with the above citation
