For an OS/2 environment. Cyranex ((613) 738-3864; fax (613) 738-3871), formerly Pro Engineering, offers two software RAID packages for OS/2: EZRAID Pro for $795 or EZRAID Lite for $195. You can use EZRAID Pro with OS/2 version 2 or higher; it will

work with SCSI, IDE, ESDI, and other types of hard drives and host adapters, although Cyranex recommends using SCSI devices. You can mix different drive types and host adapters within the same array. A minimum of two hard drives is required. EZRAID Pro supports RAID 0,1,4, or 5, supports hot sparing, and has a

Software from Corel, Cyranex, and Veritas offers an inexpensive RAID alternative.

remote failure notification utility and performance monitor. EZRAID Lite is designed to be used with OS/2 desktop systems only and supports RAID 0 and 1. It also supports hot sparing and comes with a performance monitor utility.

For a Unix environment: Veritas Software ((415) 335-8000; fax (415) 335-8050) offers VxVM (Veritas Volume Manager) 2.0, which supports RAID 0, 1, and 5 with hot spare drives. VxVM 2.0 has a GUI for such on-line disk administration tasks as monitoring disk usage and fine-tuning to handle I/O bottlenecks. VxVM costs $1500 for desktop systems and starts at $3500 for desktop servers.

256 BYTE/NSTL EAB REPORT SEPTEMBER 1995

With p c ?

Lightning does strike twice!

Combine DPT's PCI SCSI performance with the power of your Pentium, and watch your system sizzle. Of course you can install your DPT PCI SCSI adapters with confidence because they are fully compatible with the latest version of the PCI specification, and we have tested compatibility with thousands of products and operating systems.

For even faster performance, you can easily add hardware caching and RAID support with optional plug-on modules.

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HDPT

Distributed Processing Technology

140 Candace Drive, Maitland, FL 32751

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Jur storage devices can endure long hours, natural disasters, and other forms of abuse.

I /\of unfifee a day at the office. I

The DS500'" is an external rack mount that houses nine half-height bays, \ allows users . to integrate any SCSI peripheral combination, and includes up to two 300-ivatt power supplies.

.

> ,; f:i:i:tH

An ideal storage * chassis for workstations, network servers, and PCs, the DS100 provides jlexihility W^ ]or users to mix and

match up to four SCSI peripherals.

When it comes to protecting valuable data, only Kingston's rugged storage devices have shown they can brave the elements. Though they were designed to perform in the most demanding commercial environments, they're also tough enough to survive in army bunkers, submarines, and even in spacecraft. Our Data Silo® enclosures and Data Express'" removables are constructed of rugged steel with a carefully designed and tested

ventilation system for cooling today's high-performance drives. Used in computer rooms, workstations, and network servers, they support more SCSI connections and have more options than any other storage subsystem on the market. If that doesn't impress you, our unbeatable five-year warranty will. So call Kingston or your nearest dealer for more information. Because in the world of storage systems, only the strong survive.

Kingston

Am.TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION

Call (800) 435-0670 or find us at hi tp://\vw\v.kingston.com

Kingston Technology Corporation, 17600 Ncwhope Street, Founmin Viitley. CA 92708 USA, (714) 438-1850, Fax (714) 418-1847.

© l l )^5 Kingston Technology Corporation. Kingston Technology is a rcfjisiiTcd trademark ol Kingston Technology Corporation. All rights romvd.

Circle 72 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 73).

HONORABLE MENTIONS

ArteCOII's line of Lynx products offers what it calls "100 Percent Investment Protection." You can start with a single-drive storage unit, move up to a stacked, multidisk configuration by interlocking individual storage units, and then graduate to a RAID tower by keeping the existing drive storage units and adding a RAID controller subsystem.

Raca-Lert for WindOWS is an optional monitoring utility for the Storage Solutions Raca-Ray CM2+. Its graphical design makes it easy to detect a drive failure and begin the reconstruction procedure. With a modem connected to the Raca-Ray's second serial port, Raca-Lert can dial an emergency number to a tone pager, or it can dial a fax machine if a fax modem is attached.

MicroNet Technology offers a unique service to all its new RAID customers: the name and number of a technician who will walk you through the installation of your subsystem. No fumbling around with a user's manual or searching for the technical-support number.

The Clariion C1300 and the StorageTek Nordique

Open Storage Facility offered the highest level of protection against data loss— both include redundant drives, two power supplies, two fans, a second controller, and even a mirrored writeback cache. A copy of disk writes in cache is maintained on both controllers.

I

I

More on the RAID Front

We weren't able to test the following products, but they are worth mentioning: Ciprico's 6900 Series of disk arrays are the first such products to use the UltraSCSI interface, which can transfer data at a maximum rate of 40 MBps. The 6900 Series was designed with film, video, and medical imaging applications in mind. The 6900 Series will be available in June. A nine-drive, 16-GB disk array costs $39,575.

To better compete with lower-priced, single-controller RAID subsystems, Clariion began shipping its C150 single-controller product in July. The C150 costs $10,995, which includes three 2-GB drives, 8 MB of cache memory, redundant power supplies and fans, and an interface kit for Sun, DEC Alpha, IBM, or Intel-based PC servers.

Hewlett-Packard is developing an adaptive RAID product called AutoRAID.The exact form AutoRAID will take is still under investigation. AutoRAID will dynamically adapt its algorithms to best suit the host system's data-use patterns. For example, newly written data that will probably have the most activity is stored using RAID 1 for better performance; as this data ages, it automatically migrates using RAID 5 for cost-effectiveness.

The Optima HST RAID Solution from Optima Technology is a RAID subsystem for NetWare and Unix applications. The Optima HST supports RAID 0, 1, and 5, up to 32 MB of cache, redundant hot-swap-pable drives and power supplies, a hot spare drive, and a SCSI-2 Fast/Wide host interface. It is available in configurations ranging from 6 to 115 GB. Prices start at $9995 for the 6-GB Optima HST 6000.

Xyratex, a former division of IBM located in the U.K., will begin shipping its R9000 subsystem in September. The Xyratex R9000 is a RAID subsystem for PC-compatible platforms running under a DOS, Windows, or NetWare environment. The enclosure has two integrated power supplies and fan units and supports up to seven drives. To expand it, you can add another tower for a total of 14 drives (56 GB). The R9000 supports RAID levels 0, 1, 3, and 5, and up to 64 MB of write cache. The R9000 is priced at £17,080.

Ciprico, Inc.

Plymouth, MN (800) 727-4669 (612) 551-4000 fax: (612) 551-4002

Clariion

Westboro, MA (508) 898-7600 fax: (508) 898-7501

Hewlett-Packard Co.

Santa Clara, CA (800) 752-0900 fax: (800) 333-1917

Optima Technology Corp.

Irvine, CA (714) 476-0515 fax: (714) 476-0613

Xyratex

Havant

Hampshire, U.K. +44 1705 498851 fax: +44 1705 498853

On the

RAID 0: Data is striped across drives; no data redundancy is provided.

RAID 1: Data redundancy is obtained by storing exact copies on mirrored pairs of drives. RAID 2: Data is striped at the bit level; multiple error-correcting disks provide redundancy; not a commercially implemented RAID level.

RAID 3: Data is striped at the byte

level, and one drive is set aside for

parity information.

RAID 4: Data is striped in blocks,

and one drive is set aside for parity

information.

RAID 5: Data is striped in blocks,

and parity information is rotated

among all drives on the array.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Remember to back up regularly. The RAID 5 configurations used here won't protect you in the unlikely event of more than one drive failing.

• If you do invest in a RAID subsystem, you should go through a "dry run" of a single-drive failure before bringing the subsystem on-line. That way, you'll know ahead of time how to handle this situation. Make sure rebuild instructions and your vendor's technical-support numbers are posted near the array.

• Consider configuring your array with drives from several different manufacturers to reduce the risk of multiple drive failures. (One reason the drive makers quote overly optimistic MTBF [mean time between failure] rates in a RAID environment is that the drives in an array are likely to be from the same assembly-line batch; thus, when one drive fails, the others, being of the same age and manufacture, are likely to fail at or near the same time).

• The cable and terminator pins in the SCSI-2 Fast/Wide interface

bend easily. Take care when connecting and disconnecting these devices.

• Finally, don't forget to have a spare drive on hand.

SEPTEMBER 1995 BYTE/NSTL LAB REPORT 259

ROLL CALL OF DISK ARRAYS TESTED

y& = BYTE Best.

• = yes; O = no; N/A = not applicable.

Price includes five drives with 2 GB each for a total capacity of 10 GB or approximately 8 GB with parity. Price includes a sixth drive for a hot spare.

Maximum performance is based on the number of transactions completed per time unit. Higher numbers indicate better performance. 4 Total tested storage capacity excludes space for parity.

260 BYTE/NSTL LAB REPORT SEPTEMBER 1995

Components . D = drive P = power supply F = fan C = controller

Types of alarms: V = visual A = audible R = remote

ypes of security: D = drives N = none E = enclosure

TOLL-FREE PHONE

PHONE

(800) 872-2783

800) 672-7729 ;800) 724-3511 ;800) 543-6098 ;800) 786-7967

;800} 322-4378 £00) 966-6442 ;800) 404-6342 ;800) 800-3475

800) 395-3748

;800) 447-8226

;800) 800-8600

N/A

[800) 745-5508

;800) 325-3700

Warranty: P = parts L = labor

F = freight to repair center Ft = return to customer

(619)931-5500

(508) 898-6775 (407)263-3500 (303) 442-4747 (508)841-7000

(407) 830-5522 ■ (508)681-8400

ON-LINE ADDRESS

service@artecon.com

http://www.dg.com

raid.support@conner.com

N/A

N/A

INQUIRY NUMBER

1396

1397 1398 1399 1400

http://www.dpt.com 1401

N/A 1402

SEPTEMBER 1995 BYTE/NSTL LAB REPORT 261

'B

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CPU Wars:

Should you moie frmaCtSCtoRISC?

Intel pushes the 80*86 envelope __

CPUs

CORE TECHNOLOGIES

Endian Issues

By supporting two memory-addressing modes,

the PowerPC can run any OS or application

WILLIAM STALLINGS

One of the annoying but important differences among processors is the way they store data in memory. Most processors use one of two data-organization strategies, known as big-endian and little-endian, which are described in detail below. (The term endian is derived from a passage in Jonathan Swift's Gullivers Travels) Some machines, such as VAXes and systems based on the Intel x86 or the Pentium, are little-endian machines; others, such as the IBM System 370, machines based on the Motorola 680x0, and most RISC machines, are big-endian.

The differences between these strategies are relatively minor in terms of performance and efficiency. However, programmers and users alike need to be aware of endian-ness, because data ordered in one format isn't compatible with data ordered in the other. This isn't a problem when dissimilar platforms operate autonomously. But in a networked environment that encourages program portability and data interchange across platforms, this can create problems.

Byte-Ordering

Endianness has to do with the byte-ordering of multibyte scalar values. The concept arises when it becomes necessary to treat a multiple-byte entity as a single data item with a single address, even though it's composed of smaller, addressable units. When a programmer assumes a specific endian format and attempts to manipulate the individual bytes or bits within a range of multibyte scalar values, problems can occur.

The following description of endian byte-ordering illustrates such a dilemma. Suppose you have the 32-bit hexadecimal value 12345678 stored as a 32-bit word in byte-addressable memory at byte location 184. The value consists of 4 bytes, with the least significant byte containing the value 78 and the most significant byte containing the value 12. There are two ways to store this value: Start with value 12 in location 184, or start with value 78 in location 184.

The first mapping stores the most significant byte in the lowest numeric byte address; this is known as big-endian format. The second mapping stores the least significant byte in the lowest numeric byte address; this is called little-endian format. For a given multibyte scalar value, big- and little-endian formats are byte-reversed mappings of each other. In any machine, data aggregates such as files, structures, and arrays are composed of mul-

Three Memory Orders of Structure K

tiple data units, each with endianness. Thus, the conversion of a memory block from one style of endianness to the other requires knowledge of the data structure.

The figure "Three Memory Orders of Structure K" illustrates how endianness determines addressing and byte order. The structure in the listing "A Multibyte C Data Structure" on page 264 contains several data types. The memory layout in part (a) of the figure results from compilation of that structure for a big-endian machine; part (b) shows the results from compilation for a little-endian machine. In each case, memory is treated as a series of 64-bit blocks.

Several observations about this data structure can be made:

• Each data item has the same address in both big- and little-endian schemes. For example, the address of the doubleword that has the hexadecimal value 545512134748BEBFis08.

• Within any given multibyte scalar value, the ordering of bytes in the little-endian structure is the reverse of that for the big-endian structure.

• Endianness does not affect the ordering of data items within a structure. Thus, the four-character word x3 in the listing exhibits byte reversal, but the seven-character byte array x4 does not. Hence, the address of each individual element of x4 is the same in both structures.

PowerPC Addressing Modes

The PowerPC is a bi-endian processor; that is, it supports both big- and little-endian addressing modes. This bi-endian architecture enables software developers to choose either mode when migrating OSes and applications from other machines. The OS establishes the endian mode in

(a)

<b)

(c)

(a) Big-endian ordering of data.

(b) Little-endian ordering as seen by a PowerPC processor (true little-endian ordering), (c) Little-endian ordering as found in PowerPC storage to minimize data swapping during memory accesses.

SEPTEMBER 1995 BYTK 263

CORE TECHNOLOGIES

CPUs

which processes execute; the default mode is big-endian. Once a mode is selected, all subsequent memory loads and stores are determined by the memory-addressing model of that mode.

To support this hardware feature, 2 bits in the MSR (machine state register) are maintained by the OS as part of the process state. One bit (ILE) specifies the endian mode in which the kernel runs when processing an interrupt; the other (LE) specifies the processor's current operating mode. Thus, the mode can be changed on a per-process basis, which is critically important for foreign OS emulation.

When an interrupt occurs, the processor saves the current MSR and loads an MSR for the interrupt-processing routine. The value of the ILE bit in the old MSR is copied into the LE bit in the new MSR. When execution resumes in the interrupted process, its MSR is reloaded with its LE and ILE bits intact.

location 1A. When a transfer occurs, the system must do an address unmunging and a byte transfer to convert data to the form expected by the processor. The processor generates effective addresses of 1C and 1D for the 2 bytes. These addresses are munged (XOR with 1 10) to 1A and IB. The data bytes are retrieved, swapped, and presented as if they were found in the unmunged addresses ID and 1C.

Byte Storage

The PowerPC architecture specification does not dictate how a processor should implement little-endian mode. It specifies only the view of memory that a processor has when operating in little-endian mode. When converting a data structure from big- to little-endian, the processor can either implement a true byte-swapping mechanism or use some sort of an address-modification mechanism. Current PowerPC processors are all big-endian by default and use address modification to treat data as little-endian.

Part (c) of the figure "Three Memory Orders of Structure K" shows how memory is laid out when data is stored in little-endian form for current PowerPCs. This is not a true little-endian organization as it is usually defined. Rather, it is designed to minimize the data manipulation required to convert from one endian format to another.

Note that 64-bit scalars are stored in the same formats on the PowerPC. To accommodate smaller scalars, a technique known as address munging is used. When the PowerPC is in little-endian mode, it transforms the 3 low-order bits of an effective address during a memory access. These 3 bits are XORed with a value that depends on the transfer size: 0x100 for 4-byte transfers, 0x110 for 2-byte transfers, and 0x111 for 1-byte transfers. The table "PowerPC Address Munging" below lists the possible combinations.

For example, the 2-byte value 0619 is stored at location 1C in big-endian mode. In little-endian mode, it's viewed by the processor as still being stored in location 1C, but in little-endian mode. In fact, the value is still stored in big-endian mode, but at

Unaligned Data

This address-munging technique does not work cleanly with data that is not aligned on its natural boundary (e.g., a 4-byte value is aligned if its address is divisible by 4). When a value is unaligned, its storage in little-endian mode might result in the value being split into two noncontiguous parts. When an unaligned access is attempted in little-endian mode, an alignment interrupt occurs. This causes the processor to transfer to the system-alignment error handler, which handles the interrupt by a series of load-and-store operations that emulate the memory access.

Because of the exception processing, accessing unaligned little-endian data can seriously degrade a processor's performance. The simplest fix is to properly align little-endian data. But this might not be possible for certain processes, such as an x86 emulator, which accesses variable-length x86 instructions in memory.

But another solution is in the works. New versions of the PowerPC 603 and 604 will handle misaligned little-endian accesses in hardware, and thus handle an alignment interrupt the same way as in big-endian mode. They will be able to operate in little-endian mode without incurring a performance penalty.

Implications

The PowerPC architecture is organized for big-endian storage

and processing. It also provides a transparent method for dealing

with little-endian programs and data. This enables a PowerPC processor to run a program written for

little-endian memory organization simply by recompiling the application on the PowerPC, which reduces the program-porting work required. When the recompiled program is run on the PowerPC with the LE bit set, the processor's address-mapping facility makes all data structures appear identical to the layout that the program saw on a little-endian machine. This ability to handle bi-endian address modes makes the PowerPC processor ideal for hosting different OSes, such as on the CHRP (Common Hardware Reference Platform). ■

William Stallings is an independent consultant. This article is based on material from his most recent book, Computer Organization and Architecture: Designing for Performance, Fourth Edition (Prentice-Hall, 1995). You can reach him on the Internet at stallings@acm.org or on BIX c/o "editors. "

264 BYXE SEPTEMBER 1995

Imagine the First 3.5" System Independent SCSI RAID That Supports

Dual Host Connectivity

We Did!

Introducing

STACA-RAY

4 TO 60 GB Capacity

S'

/

£3X

Includes RACA-LERT"

the Disk Array Monitoring/Alert Software

Actual Size: 14 l/2 "(H) x 10 *• (D) x 6 5/8 "(W)

Data Availability and Reliability

for Your Network or Desktop Computer...

Has Never Been So Affordable!

SSI's STACA-RAY delivers the next generation of high performance RAID technology that provides dual host connectivity with a standby 'hot spare' drive at an affordable price. With 8 MB of cache memory which expands to 32 MB, and an optional Fast/Wide SCSI-2 interface, STACA-RAY provides the highest performance in it's class.

With the 3.5" form factor, open systems SCSI-to-SCSI RAID controller module, stackable 'hot swap' redundant components like disk drives, power supplies, power cords and fans... STACA-RAY provides all of the advantages of an expensive RAID subsystem at a low, entry-level price.

Call STORAGE SOLUTIONS for More Information on Truly Affordable RAID! 1-800-745-5508

© 1995 Storage Solutions, Inc.

STORAGE SOLUTIONS, INC. 550 West Avenue, Stamford, CT 06902

Circle 346 on Inquiry Card.

Be

lb

A

Buying computer products is a major commitment. A commitment of time and money. So before you jump in with both feet, make sure the relationship is going to work. Look for the NSTL Seal.

National Software Testing Laboratories puts hardware and software through the most rigorous testing in the industry. Our exclusive compatibility tests, using real world equipment like yours, ensure that components will talk to each other, work together, get along great — or they can't carry the Seal. And that's true for everything from drivers and servers, to applications, adapters and printers.

For more information about the NSTL Seal or a list of manufacturers who have earned it, call 800-220-NSTL or 610-941-9600. Before you walk down the aisle.

BS !

Plymouth Corporate Center • 625 Ridge Pike • Conshohocken. PA 19428 • Fax: 610-941-9952 • NSTL is a division of McGraw-Hill, Inc.

Circle 78 on Inquiry Card.

ftni

Programmii

The Joy Of J

One line of J can do the same work as

hundreds of lines of Pascal or BASIC

DICK POUNTAIN

If you are involved in mathematical programming then you need to know about the J programming language. Even if you perform less abstract tasks like analyzing financial data from a corporate RDBMS (relational database management system), you will find J interesting.

J is the modern successor to APL, a language that developed a cult following among some corporate IBM mainframe users in the 1960s as a rapid and powerful (but cryptic) data processing tool. APL suffered from its use of an unorthodox character set (that included Greek characters, among others), which didn't sit well on ASCII text displays and keyboards.

J is a truly new language by APL's author, Kenneth E. Iverson, and implemented by his son Eric and colleague Ronald Hui. It's available on a wide range of platforms including DOS, Windows, OS/2, Unix, and Macintosh. J is more than just an ASCII-fied APL, but it retains the same fundamental principles. Ironically, Windows and the Mac could now support APL characters, but J sticks to ASCII characters—and is the better for it.

I've been using the Windows release of J version 2.05, which can be a powerful calculating engine for Visual Basic programs. The J system provides a DDE server which you can include in your VB (Visual Basic) programs, allowing you do the math in J while writing the user-interface and file handling parts of your application in VB. J also comes with its own Windows-based development system so you can write stand-alone J programs that employ the Windows interface on their own account, including DDE, OLE, ODBC (Open Database Connec-

tivity), VBX (Visual Basic custom controls), and all the other trimmings.

J is an interpreted language, though this fact usually has little impact on J's processing speed. The language's primitive functions are written in C and are highly optimized. They will often run faster than the obvious equivalents you might write yourself.

J employs a functional style in which expressions are evaluated from right to left. It does support dyadic operators (with both left and right arguments) such as + so that arithmetic looks quite familiar. There is only one data structure in J: the array. A number like 2 is treated as an array of rank 0, and text is an array of characters. You create new named objects simply by assigning them values (this includes programs). J allocates and frees memory automatically and invisibly, and the only limit on the size of an object is available memory.

You could use J like a

k calculator to do

k statistical

cluster

analysis

Numeric Integration

A J program for performing numeric integration using Simpson's method.

NB. form: verb Simpson int

NB. verb is the monadic function -to be integrated.

NB. int has 2 or 3 elements:

NB. CO] lower bound of interval

NB. [1] upper bound of interval

NB. [2] number of subintervals (default 128)

NB. result is the integral

NB. e.g. 43.75 = A &3 Simpson 3 4

on=: 2:0

er '; 'upper' ;'int') = . 31.y.,128

. (upper-1 ower)%int x. 1ower+si ze*i.>:int

* +/val * 3%~ 1.((int-1)$4 2),1

The Language

The syntax of J is extremely simple and regular; all f unc- £Y\ tions have the same pri- f~~ ~ ority; parentheses are the only way to alter execution order. J's compo nents are named using terms taken from English grammar: Functions are called verbs, constants are called nouns, adverbs and conjunctions modify the action of verbs. In fact, J is an executable mathematical notation, and Iverson has written a series of math textbooks, up to and including vector calculus, using J as the descriptive notation.

The J language consists largely of 70 or so verbs. Although J has abandoned APL's hieroglyphics, its verbs still have cryptic two-character names like > . or #:. Here is a one-line program to compute Hellerman's distance-squared similarity measure for a matrix of any size :

simps ( ' 1 ow si ze= val = size )

dsqt-. +/"l@*:@(-"l/~)

You could be forgiven for mistaking it for line-noise. To be fair, J doesn't have to look this scary; mean=. sum % count is a perfectly good J definition. The point is, someone fluent in J could hack dsqt from the keyboard during an interactive session, using J like a calculator to do statistical cluster analysis.

Math problems that would take hundreds of lines of Pascal or BASIC take one line of J. So, J is not a

CORE TECHNOLOGIES

Programming

language for the faint of heart. Learning the syntax and semantics of all the primitives will take time, but the reward is that you can then do extraordinarily intricate array and matrix computations that would be difficult or impossible in, say, a spreadsheet.

Most of the verbs either generate arrays or perform operations on elements of arrays. You can combine primitive operations by using adverbs to form new operations. For example, i . 89 generates a list of the integers up to 89, and + is the humble sum operation. The adverb /—called "insert"—causes its left argument to be inserted between the elements of its right argument. So +/ x means sum the whole list x, and hence+/ i. 89 sums all the integers up to 89. Or again, the adverb "tie" is represented by *. Its action is to combine several verbs into one (called a gerund). The gerund + ** x - when applied to 1 2 3 4 will calculate 1+2*3-4. If you need to use such constructs more than once, you can give them a name, as in

ger=

where =. is just the assignment operator. To save names permanently, you store the text into script files, which when loaded execute as though typed from the keyboard.

Unlike APL, J supports conventional control structures like if. . . then and whi 1 e. You could define factorial as:

SI

f actori al= a=. 1

le. y. : a = . a*;

.=. y. -

a

0

whi'

do.

y.

end.

(where y. refers to the verb's right argument), though a hardened J-bird would probably prefer the cryptic definition:

f actori al

1: * (]*factorial@<: ) @.

Actually it's pointless to do either, as factorial is a built-in primitive verb, !.

Another J innovation is the concept of a "locale," or private name space, so that mydef defined in locale A is different to my -def in locale B. Locales enable you to write modular applications while avoiding name clashes.

Finally, an important (if rather unaesthetic) feature of J is the "foreign conjunction" which is the way you do system dependent, nonmathematical things. The conjunction ! : takes two numbers as left and right arguments to produce a verb which is a system call. For example, 1!: 0 is the directory call, so 1! : 0 ' *.txt' will list all the text files in the current directory. This construct compounds J's unreadability, though a diligent programmer can always write a library of meaningful synonyms.

Windows and J

You can write J programs that fully exploit the Windows graphical interface (or the Mac, or OS/2, and so forth) by using verbs called wd commands (actually, wd is a friendlier synonym for 11! : 0). For example,

wd 'mb "Dick says" "Hello!" ;'

Hl

This J demo program is displaying some of its own built-in controls and some external VBXs, like the graph and the spinbox.

pops up a Windows message-box with title "Dick says" and content "Hello." J's interpreted nature doesn't mean that windowing operations are slow. As with VB, when a window is open it's mostly Windows GDI (Graphical Device Interface) code being executed.

J's Windows driver provides 10 control classes: button, edit, listbox, combobox, scrollbar, static text, isigraph, isipicture, isi-ole, and vbx. Isigraph is a graphics box, and J contains many graphics commands (e.g., gpolygon) to draw in it, while isiole is the graphical presentation for an embedded OLE object. The vbx control class allows you to add VBX controls into J programs. J can drive other windows applications via DDE links and OLE 1 linking and embedding, but it does not yet support OLE 2.

J's vedi t verb let's you visually edit any parent window and its controls (i.e., by dragging with the mouse), and J's publishers have used it to good effect in writing a simple but effective forms editor supplied with J. The editor lets you build an application by choosing controls from a menu, like a mini-VB.

Though J's Windows interface is powerful and well thought out, it's still easier to write complicated user interfaces using VB, and J lets you do just that. Including JDDE.FRM and JDDE.BAS in your VB project gives you a DDE link to a J server, along with an attendant API. For example, the VB routine j d o (s $) executes its string argument as an expression in J, while a variety of data exchange routines will retrieve values from J and format J-style arrays in VB-style arrays. You can even make an executable version of your VB application that includes a J run-time server.

Finally, J is a powerful tool for manipulating numeric data held as tables in a corporate relational database. A ddsql verb lets you execute SQL statements directly from J code.

Strand Software, Inc.

Shorewood, MN (612) 470-7345 fax: (612) 470-9202 amfaust@aol.com

The Way of J

J is not a programming language that everyone will take to, but it will prove interesting and useful to more than just those confined to mathematics departments. Programmers working in such business sectors as insurance, banking, derivatives trading, and planning need precisely the combination of ultrasophisticated math functionality, database connectivity, and a Windows interface that J so capably provides. ■

Dick Fountain is a BYTE contributing editor based in London, U.K. You can reach him on the Internet or BIX at dickp@bix.com.

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Operating Systems

CORE TECHNOLOGIES

Springtime at Sun

SunSoft's experimental OS contains

clues to the future of Solaris

DOUG TAMASANIS

On March 21, the first day of spring, SunSoft released to the research community a "concept car" for the next generation of OSes. Called, naturally enough, Spring, it is the fruit of labor begun in the mid-1980s. The company decided to produce a new OS, unconstrained by the requirement to support legacy software, that was distributed, multithreaded, and fully object-oriented.

Although Spring will not be the next version of Solaris, many of the concepts found in Spring will eventually migrate to SunSoft's commercial OS. Technology developed for Spring is the foundation for Sun's DOE (Distributed Objects Everywhere). Pieces of Spring have also found their way into the object technology being developed by the OMG (Object Management Group).

Defining Interfaces

A Spring object is an abstraction containing a state and a set of methods to manipulate that state. SunSoft calls the description of the object and its methods an interface. This interface defines interactions between an object providing a service (i.e., a server) and an object using the service (i.e., a client).

To maintain openness and not tie developers into a single programming language, SunSoft developed an IDL (interface definition language) to define the interfaces. An IDL compiler converts IDL into three pieces of code in the chosen target implementation language: the IDL interface, client-side stub code, and server-side stub code (see the figure "Spring IDL").

The IDL interface is language-specific. In C, for example, this is a header file with method definitions, constants, and types defined in the IDL interface. Client-side stub code is dynamically linked to a client's program, allowing access to an object implemented in another address space or on another machine. Server-side stub code is linked into an object manager to translate incoming remote object invocations into the run-time environment of the object's implementation.

These three pieces of code enable objects in a particular language to treat IDL-def ined objects as if they were native-language objects. Thus, if your client object were in C++, you would use an IDL-to-C++ compiler to produce C++-compatible header files and stub-code objects. If a server object's implementation is in C, you would have to use an IDL-to-C compiler to generate the server-side stub code to transform incoming calls into corresponding C procedure invocations on the C objects cor-

responding to the IDL objects. Spring's IDL forms the basis of the IDL adopted by the OMG.

Invoking Objects

All Spring interfaces are defined in IDL, yet IDL doesn't define anything about how to implement operations on an object or how to convey operation requests to an object. To use an object, you merely invoke operations defined in its interface. The clientand server object don't need to know if the object on the other side of the interface is in the same address space, in another address space on the same machine, or on another machine. The IDL-generated stubs use Spring's subcontract mechanism to communicate. Subcontracts provide a flexible way to control the implementation of object invocations, the transmission of object references between address spaces, therelease of object references, and similar object run-time operations. Other uses include the implementation of a number of object run-time mechanisms.

Server-based objects typically use the Spring doors mechanism to communicate between client and server (see the figure "Spring Doors" on page 272). Most subcontracts optimize the case when the client and the server are in the same address space by performing a local call rather than calling through the kernel.

Spring also supports serverless objects, where the entire state of the object is always in the client's address space. When Spring passes a serverless object between address ^fl I Spring IDL spaces, it copies the object's state to the new address space. Passing a serverless object is akin to passing a \ struct, while passing a server-based object is similar to passing a pointer to its remote state.

Spring Kernel JE5

Spring's microkernel v *^B design has two components 1 that run in the kernel mode. The VMM (virtual memory manager) provides the code facilities for paging virtual memory. The microkernel proper called the nucleus.

The nucleus supports three abstractions: domains, threads, and doors. Domains are analogous to processes in Unix. Threads execute within domains. Typically, each Spring domain is multithreaded, with separate threads performing different parts of an application. Doors support object-oriented calls between domains. A door describes a particular entry point to a domain, represented by both a program counter and a unique value that is chosen by the

SEPTEMBER 1995 BYXK 271.

CORE TECHNOLOGIES

Operating Systems

Spring Doors

domain. The object server typically uses this value to identify the state of the object.

Each domain has an associated table of doors to which it has access. Multiple door identifiers in different domains may reference a single door. Possession of a valid door gives the processor the right to send an invocation request to that door. In the target domain, all invocations on a given door are equivalent, specifying only that the invokerhas somehow acquired a suitable door identifier. There is no knowledge of who the invoker is or which door identifier it used.

Spring uses network proxies to extend the nucleus invocation mechanism and transparently connect the nuclei of different machines. These proxies are normal user-mode server domains and receive no special support from the nucleus. One Spring machine can include several proxy domains that speak different network protocols.

Proxies transparently forward door invocations between domains of different machines. When a client on machine B invokes door Y, machine B forwards the call over the network to proxy A. Proxy A does the door invocation, and the door invocation arrives in the server domain. Neither the client nor the server need be aware that proxies exist. The client just performs a normal door invocation, and the server just sees a normal incoming door invocation.

Spring maps door identifiers into network handles for transmission over the network and remaps back to the door when the door identifiers arrive from the network. A network handle contains a network address for the creating proxy and a set of bits to identify a particular door that is exported by this proxy.

Spring implements an extensible, demand-paged virtual memory system that separates caching pages from the tasks of storing and retrieving pages. A per-machine VMM handles mapping, sharing, protecting, transferring, and caching of local memory.

Most clients of the virtual memory system deal only with address space and memory objects. An address-space object represents the virtual address space of a domain. A memory object is a memory abstraction mapped into address spaces, such as a file object. The VMM implements address-space objects.

A memory object has operations to set and query the length, and to bind to an object. Binding ensures that two equivalent mapped memory objects will share the data cached by the VMM. There are no page-in/page-out or read/write operations on memory objects. The Spring file interface provides file read/write operations but not page-in/page-out operations. By separating the memory abstraction from the interface providing the paging operations, the memory-object server and the pager-object server can be in different machines.

The VMM obtains data by invoking a pager object implemented by an external pager. An external pager performs coherency actions by invoking a cache object implemented by a VMM. When a pager asks a VMM to map a memory object into an address space, the VMM must be able to obtain a pager object to let it manipulate the object's data. Association between the pager and a cache object is necessary to ensure coherency. Typically, there are multiple pager-cache object channels between a given pager and a VMM. The external pager implementing the

memory object maintains data coherency between different

VMMs that are caching a memory object.

Coherently caching data using more than one VMM requires

a two-way connection between the VMM and an external pager

or file server. The VMM needs a connection to the external pager to let the VMM obtain and write out data, and the external pager needs a connection to the VMM to let the provider perform coherency actions. Spring employs pager and cache objects to represent these connections.

What's in a Name?

Most OSes have several name services tailored for specific kinds of objects (e.g., files, users, and printers). Spring provides a uniform naming service allowing any object to p ^fejV be bound to any name. Use of a common name service /0vs?.' eliminates construction of name spaces by all object im-ify,> plementations. But remember that Spring is completely object-oriented, so it can support multiple name servers. Spring allows association of objects with a name that is in a context or name binding. Contexts are themselves objects, containing name-to-object associations that clients use toper-form naming operations. Objects can be concurrently bound to different names in different contexts or not bound to any name. By binding contexts in other contexts, Spring creates a naming graph. This is a directed graph with nodes and labeled edges, where the nodes with outgoing edges are contexts.

Unlike naming in traditional systems, Spring contexts and name spaces are first-class objects. That is, you can directly access and manipulate them. Also, Spring objects derive persistence through naming. Generally, applications will acquire their objects from the name service. If the region of the name space where the object is found is persistent, the object will also be persistent.

Spring Research Distribution

University/public researchers: $75 Commercial researchers: $750 (800) 786-7638

Spring Is Not Unix

Spring is not Unix, but it does provide binary compatibility for a number of Solaris programs by using a Unix-emulation subsystem. The emulation runs as user-level code and employs no Unix code. The implementation consists of twocomponents: a shared library dynamically linked with each Solaris binary and a set of Unix-specific services exported via Spring objects implemented by a Unix process server in a separate domain.

The Unix process server implements functions that are not part of the base Spring system and which cannot reside in the shared library due to security reasons. The system provides enough Unix emulation to support standard utilities, such as make, vi, csh, X Window System, and various Solaris programming tools used by the Spring developers.

Running Unix in emulation would clearly be unacceptable in production environments, which is why SunSoft wants it known that it does not intend to make Spring the next version of Solaris. The company has learned its lesson from the porting effort that got it to Solaris. However, Spring demonstrates just what you can do if given the chance to build a sparkling-new OS with modern software engineering methods, without worrying about legacy systems. ■

Doug Tamasanis is a BYTE senior technical editor. He holds an MS. in physics and systems engineering and is a senior member of the IEEE. You can reach him on the Internet or BIX at editors @ bix.com.

272 BYXE SEPTEMBER 1995

Networks

CORE TECHNOLOGIES

Tuning In to ISDft

Wireless transmission methods help speed

ISDN deployment

JEFFREY FRITZ

Dick Tracy's famous wrist radio was way ahead of its time as a portable communications device. It allowed Tracy to be anywhere in the city and still stay in ■ m contact with the people and resources he needed to do his job. By contrast, digital telecommunications services are anything but portable. Most are lashed by twisted pair to wall-mounted faceplates. The lack of portability reduces flexibility and restricts access. It also creates dependency on 1 outside agencies, like the telephone carriers, to provide service to the faceplate.

As with most digital services, ISDN has been a tethered service requiring physical connections to the fiber- and copper-based telephone network. Considering the wide range of voice, video, and data applications it supports, ISDN's lack of mobility has been extremely constraining. Fortunately, a new form of ISDN, called ISDN Radio, is breaking the copper umbilical cord and offering users unheralded communications freedom.

ISDN Radio comes in two flavors: satellite and radio (see the figure "ISDN Radio/Satellite Configurations" below). Satellite ISDN is based on VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) technology. VSAT uses transportable satellite link equipment and relatively small uplink/downlink dishes. Connections are made using leased or call-based satellite channels. Radio ISDN uses specialized modems called spread-spec- ^ trum modems which distribute the sig- Mw' nal over a wide bandwidth, &^

reducing interference and improving security. While satellite ISDN can span continents, radio ISDN's range is limited. It is broadcast primarily via transmitters operating on 1 W or less. The low power restricts the range, depending on antenna height and terrain, to a maximum radius of 30 miles.

take days or even weeks to process, ISDN Radio equipment can be set up quickly. It's not unusual to have service in place within 24 hours. This makes ISDN Radio especially valuable when unexpected events take place, such as a network outage, an urgent site coming on-line, a network demonstration that was scheduled without advance notice, or a last-minute video conference.

It's also possible to have ISDN Radio service in locations where terrestrial ISDN is not available. Where there is no terrestrial ISDN, ISDN Radio can step in as an extension service. ISDN Radio's transportability can bring ISDN to a non-ISDN location. It can also extend ISDN past the infamous "last mile," which occurs when ISDN is available locally, but the remote site exceeds the 18,000-foot distance from the central office.

That's where ISDN service delivered over a satellite link can help. "Satellites can seamlessly extend ISDN from any ISDN public network to remote locations that do not have access to ISDN terrestrially," says Thomas von Deak of NASA's Lewis Research Center. "This is important because ISDN will form the basis for the first implementation of the Nil [National Information Infrastructure] and the Gil [Global Information Infrastructure]."

Reaping Other Benefits

ISDN Radio adds more than basic network connectivity. By nature, ISDN Radio is redundant. Connections are not made over the terrestrial telephone network, but through radio or satellite. The local telephone company is either out of the loop entirely, or ancillary to the connection. This makes terrestrial outages of far less consequence. Network administrators who are challenged to keep their networks alive no matter what the situation will find

Quickness Counts

Among ISDN's biggest drawbacks are long installation time, distance limitations, and a lack of ubiquity. ISDN Radio can help resolve each of these flaws. While terrestrial ISDN orders

Desktop

conferencing

system

Videoconferencing system

Remote PC or /remote CAN

Radio and satellite-based ISDN will make the service more readily available.

CORE TECHNOLOGIES

Networks

ISDN Radio particularly attractive. Should a disaster such as earthquake, fire, flood or tornado disrupt terrestrial-based WAN connections, the network manager can call on an ISDN Radio provider to quickly restore services. The company may also choose to have ISDN Radio in hot standby, or even in active service. When the terrestrial connections go down, the ISDN radio links can be pressed into service.

• Broadcasters realize that ISDN can provide enhanced audio quality without the need for multiple analog lines or audio frequency shifting equipment. A single BRI (Basic Rate Interface) line without compression can provide 7.5-kHz bandwidth audio. For comparison purposes, 7.5 kHz is equivalent in quality to a decent AM station. Increasing audio bandwidth to 15 kHz, comparable to FM quality, or adding stereo can be achieved with multiple ISDN lines or compression. This makes ISDN ideal for remote broadcasts that sound as if they originated in the studio.

Points to Ponder

ISDN Radio is not without its disadvantages. It requires extra equipment, some of which is fairly expensive. It takes special know-how to set up, operate, and maintain the service. Satellite time can be expensive, and satellite channels require access to a satellite provider. ISDN Radio is subject to the same limitations as any radio service. Interference and poor signal quality can cause problems. Most importantly, satellite delays adversely affect the quality of ISDN Radio's service.

Satellite links introduce a fair amount of delay (see "When Timing's Critical" above). If severe enough, delays can garble voice transmissions, scramble video, and collapse WAN connections. For example, a terrestrial ISDN BRI (Basic Rate Interface) delays the signal about 10 milliseconds. An international terrestrial circuit experiences delays of 140 ms. A single satellite hop has a marginal range one-way delay of 260 ms. Bidirec-tionally, satellite delays can be well over 500 ms. This puts satellite delays in the unacceptable range for some applications.

Delays can cause problems for isochronous applications that require audio and video synchronization, or are intolerant of disruptions in information flow. Delays can also cause problems for network applications. If the delay is long enough, the network protocol may assume that the communications link has been lost and time out the session. Even a less drastic network response to delays can cause unnecessary retransmissions, collisions and, in severe cases, broadcast storms. Users considering ISDN Radio for network or time-sensitive applications should take steps to make sure that the technology will work for them.

What the Future Holds

One of the more interesting demonstrations of ISDN Radio technology is NASA's ACTS (Advanced Communications Technology Satellite), which the Space Shuttle Discovery launched on September 12, 1993. The NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, manages the satellite; it is a test of digital communications that span the spectrum when it comes to ISDN satellite applications. ACTS provides single hop mesh ISDN that attempts to integrate seamlessly with terrestrial networks. No attempt is being made to use specially modified equipment for the tests. Off-the-shelf ISDN equipment is currently being tested over the ACTS and used in demonstrations to the public. Interestingly, NASA has cross connected ACTS and terrestrial ISDN circuits through a traffic terminal in Cleveland. This allows access to the ACTS system from anywhere an ISDN connection is available. The large number of companies, universities, and research

organizations that use ACTS includes Comsat, the U.S. Army Research Labs, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). There are several interesting technology examples being tested on ACTS. In one experiment, Corporate Computer Systems, JPL (Jet Propulsion Labs), and CBS Radio are demonstrating ISDN high-quality audio transmissions. The North American ISDN Users' Forum has been testing a PC-based multimedia teleconferencing system over a VSAT-transportable link back to the Lewis Research Center, the JPL, and other sites.

One particularly interesting application is a disaster-recovery and communications-augmentation experiment. Ohio University conducted tests to help Huntington Bank recover from a simulated disaster that created a total loss of communications. ACTS was used to transmit financial data such as deposits, account balances, and transfers of funds. The experiment measured the ability to switch over to a backup communications system within an acceptable period of time as well as the economical advantages of using ISDN satellite as a backup system.

Bellcore is conducting experimentation with satellite-based PCS (Personal Communications Services). The goal of this research effort is to demonstrate a satellites' capabilities for enhancing ground-based personal communications voice and data services. The experiment will determine the ways in which local exchange network providers can interface to wireless service providers and the kinds of services that should be offered.

Finally NIST has connected the ACTS ISDN system to the government's FTS2000 digital communications infrastructure and is investigating interoperability issues between the terrestrial and satellite systems.

Given encouraging results from ACTS and early user successes, ISDN Radio appears worthy of consideration as a vehicle to provide redundant network backup, remote WAN connections, broadcast remotes, or world-wide videoconferencing. If your local service provider gives you a blank stare when you ask for ISDN connections, ISDN Radio could be your answer.

Clearly, ISDN is getting more interesting by the moment. No longer tethered by copper umbilical cords, the freedom to have digital voice, data, and video services at any time and any place is truly exciting. Dick Tracy would have been very much at home with ISDN Radio. ■

Jeffrey Fritz is a telecommunications engineer responsible for the design and management of data communications for West Virginia University, including its ISDN applications lab. He is the chair of the North American ISDN Users' Forum Enterprise Network Data Inter connectivity Family. Mr. Fritz also chairs the National Information Infrastructure Working Group. He is the author of Sensible ISDN Data Networks (WVU Press, 1992). You can contact him on the Internet at jfritz@wvnvm.wvnet.edu or on BIX at editors@bix.com.

274 BYTE SEPTEMBER 1995

POURNELLE

JERRY POURNELLE

Of COM Ports and Digital Frogs

I

t has been a busy month. First off, I was the keynote speaker at the Association for Media and Technology in Education in Canada, which met this year at the University of Guelph. The city of Guelph is about an hour from Toronto, just far enough that it hasn't lost the feel of a university town in a rural setting; it reminded me of Iowa City in the 1950s. AMTEC is one of the older organizations promoting technology in education.

A major issue in education technology is distance learning. Studies by the Danish Ministry of Education conclude that the critical cost factor is how to make low-paid people—such as students—do the work formerly done by high-paid people. Danish and other studies also indicate that the general result of applying high technology to education is to increase educational quality, but at increased costs; it's rare when high-tech education saves money. That's a big disappointment in this era of falling education budgets.

Guelph is the major center of Canadian veterinary education. Lifelearn V., a private company in a joint venture with the university, has developed one way to both increase education quality and save money. They've got the first really practical applications for CD-I (CD Interactive) I've seen.

Lifelearn uses CD-I for multiple reasons. First, it's easy to use, and it requires no computer experience. Second, they can give away the CD-I box, which outputs NTSC video into a TV set, as part of the course. Finally, since many parts of the course materials feature real-time demonstrations, they want interactive full-motion video, which CD-I supplies nicely.

Continuing education is important in many professions. Sometimes it does some good, but, alas, all too often continuing education workshops degenerate into a series of Mickey Mouse sessions at which you get your ticket punched while vacationing on Maui or a Phoenix golf course. Some of those refresher workshops may be valuable, but Lifelearn offers an alternative. For less money, you can get the Interactive Multimedia Self-Study Modules prepared by vet-

ILLUSTRATIONS: EMILY THOMPSON © 1995

erinary experts accredited in both Canada and the U.S. Because it's on CD-I and audiotape, everyone in the clinic can take the machine home and go through the course materials. Course content varies from canine dental surgery through cardiology to dairy farm health management.

The Lifelearn CD-I system impressed me a lot. I'm certain that soon enough this kind of thing will be available—from one source or another—for dozens of professions. Meanwhile, if you're a veterinarian, you should know about the Interactive Multimedia Self-Study Modules.

Of course, there's an awful lot of pure hype about educational software. One (very badly produced) video I have spends half an hour telling about its problem-solving approach to education. Principals wax eloquent on how this launches high school students into lifetime learning. Other teachers tell us that the kids just love this stuff because it's not a boring book. Then we're informed that "problem solving is a very unique process." You can re-create electronically just what the student did to solve the problem. What they're selling is authoring materials.

Jerry attends an education conference and then learns a thing or two about communications software in Windows 95

continued

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The value of the course will depend entirely on the teacher choosing the right problems to solve. While this may be valuable, it's hardly new.

This is all of a piece with the new education fad that says it's not important what kids learn. "We teach them how to think, not what to think." That sounds wonderful until you ask the next question: What is it they are to think about? And must they discard 2000 years of history—largely a history of problem solving?

Long years ago when I was a student, there was an education fad called general semantics. By studying the science of meaning, we were going to solve all human problems. Like all education fads, this one contained some valuable (if not always original) insights. One of these was that humans are time binders: they don't have to learn by making the same mistakes their ancestors did. We don't have to discover all facts for ourselves

It's clear that learning facts without understanding isn't much of an education, and students are highly motivated to play games rather than study facts. But the weakness of the problem-solving approach to education is that it's no use solving problems unless they are related to the real world; and while the ability to think things through is valuable, sometimes what you need is to be told how someone else did it.

We tend to learn to do what we've already done. Every sports coach understands this. Left to themselves, students generally won't stumble onto proper technique. Take fencing as an example. Hand a class of beginners weapons and protective equipment, and in a week, they'll have "problem-solved" their way to so many bad habits they may never be any good.

I've recently seen essays criticizing the hypertext concept as undeliverable hype. Now it's true that despite a decade of work and some financing from Autodesk, Ted Nelson and his associates didn't finish Xanadu; but that's not the main problem with hypertext.

The big problem is the hypertext concept itself. For example, there's Nelson's book, which you can start reading anywhere you like and read the chapters in any order. That's only a book, of course. His ultimate vision was Xanadu, computers connected on-line to give you all knowledge as hypertext, so that you could read everything in the world in any order you liked: the universe of knowledge with-

Circle 106 on Inquiry Card.

276 BYTE SEPTEMBER 1995

out any imposed structure.

It's attractive. We've all had the experience of going to an encyclopedia to look for one thing and emerging hours later. We often learn something that way, too; but I suspect the ones who learn the most are those who came to the encyclopedia with an intellectual framework into which they could put their new knowledge. Unorganized facts aren't science, they're merely anecdotes; it takes structured theory to turn anecdotes into data.

We don't have Xanadu yet, but we do have hypertext CD-ROMs. Most have little or no structure. You can peel off facts in any order you like. These may be useful to experts well grounded in the subject matter, but in the hands of beginners, they're more likely to be tools for amusement rather than for learning. The same is true of unstructured problem-solving education. It may generate enthusiasm, but all too often, it's the enthusiasm of the beginning fencer handed weapons and a mask.

Lifelearn's educational approach is successful because they're building on a solid foundation. They don't teach the basics of veterinary medicine, nor are they concerned with a general education in problem solving. What they do is show already competent people new developments in their field, along with practical techniques they can use.

Lif elearn has a large staff and a big budget.

Digital Frog International has neither.

I don't know how many frogs have been slaughtered to provide subjects for dissection in high school labs, but Digital Frog's "frog-friendly software" may help to change that. The Digital Frog is a CD-ROM developed by students on a shoestring; their entire capital investment, including a Power Mac, was under $10,000.

They used a high-quality 35mm macro camera to take pictures of each stage of the dissection of a frog by an expert. Shots were made from many angles, and the whole thing was synchronized with a lecture. The pictures were digitized by turning the rolls into Photo CDs. They used an inexpensive JVC camcorder to capture images for QuickTime movies of frog activities, such as a frog catching a fly.

Then they added QuickTime animations, drawings, and diagrams, with excellent narration. The result is far more instructive—at least to me—than dissecting a frog, and there's no formaldehyde smell. The Digital Frog won the "best of show" award at AMTEC, and rightly so.

continued

^:.:A;:S-v

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If you teach high school biology, you'll definitely want the Digital Frog. It's an excellent example of what new technology and ingenuity can do for education.

My latest trip was to Microsoft for another dog and pony show about Windows 95. I've been using W95 on my main system for about three months now, going through a dozen "builds" as Microsoft fixes reported bugs. I have to say I like it; in particular, I like the user interface better than those of either Windows or OS/2. More important, though, it works.

There are some anomalies. I'll get to one of them in a moment; but the important thing is that I've had far less trouble getting used to W95 than I did Windows itself. Longtime readers will remember many columns in which I was screaming in frustration. That hasn't happened with W95.

One anomaly involves QEMM. W95 installs from a setup program, and it doesn't seem to matter whether you're installing over DOS, Windows, or an earlier W95. In each case, you get a warning that you're running QEMM, and you should disable it until the installation is finished, or else W95 may not identify all your hardware correctly. I suspect that mostly means thatQEMM loads some device drivers into high memory and W95 isn't sure it will find them all; in any event, I have ignored that message in the past with no ill effects.

This last time, though, I decided to heed the message. I canceled the installation, removed all references to QEMM from my CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files, and put in DOS HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE. Then, just for good measure, I exited W95 with the option to boot up in DOS and ran the DOS MEMMAK-ER.EXE program, answering "yes" to the question about running programs that need expanded memory.

The result wasn't good. Not only did I end up with DOS windows that were about 100 KB smaller—far too small to run most games—but my expanded memory had vanished as well. I rebooted. That automatically brings the machine back up in W95. When I ran the setup program again to finish my upgrade, I was told that I'd interrupted it last time and was warned there might be trouble; but there wasn't any difficulty, except that I got messages that EMM386 couldn't load, and my DOS windows remained tiny. I put up with that for about 5 minutes before I overwrote the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files with my older versions containing QEMM. When I rebooted and let QEMM do its thing, I had no problems. My DOS

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windows are 590 KB, and expanded memory works again.

I've been using Franklin Quest's Ascend PIM

(personal information manager) for several years now. Telemagic is a far better contact manager, but it's designed for a much larger operation than mine. While there are many good things about Arabesque's Ecco, Ascend is good enough.

I've just installed version 5.0, and the upgrade illuminates a problem with W95 communications.

Despite the improvements in Procomm Plus for Windows, I unrepentantly use Procomm 2. I'm used to it. It runs on my Gateway HandBook (a 286) and does fine in a DOS window; but it has quirks. After I switched to W95,1 had an annoying glitch. At first, Procomm couldn't find the modem. When I hit Escape and dialed again, lo!, all was well.

Naturally I blamed that on W95. Then I found that Ascend 4.0 worked just fine in Windows 3.11 and W95, but version 5.0 wouldn't dial in W95. Instead, I got a Windows message that some other device had the COM port. Franklin Quest had no advice—surprisingly, they have never tested

Ascend with W95—but they told me that Ascend 4.0 had its own dialer, while version 5.0 uses the Microsoft Dialer built into Windows.

You access the controls for the Microsoft Dialer through the Telephony button on the control panel. For reasons having to do with cable connections, I've used COM1 for the mouse and COM2 for the modem since DOS days. I had no problems with SideKick, Desqview, or any version of Windows; but with W95, no matter that I told Telephony to use COM2, Ascend 5.0 would report that the communications device was in use by another program. Finally, in exasperation, I shut down the machine, plugged the mouse into COM2, and connected the modem to COM I. Then I told both Procomm 2 and Telephony what I'd done. That fixed it. Ascend 5.0 dials just fine now.

Now I have discovered that if you give Procomm 2 an initialization string, it must have Control-M at the end, else it waits for a Return. I lost the Control-M while installing W95 (my fault I'm sure); it was never a problem with W95 itself. My apologies to Microsoft: they've been trying to fix that bug since I reported it.

Although that fixed the problem—Ascend 5.0 dials just fine now—alas, it has not fixed the "must access it twice" problem with Procomm 2, which remains as an annoyance. So it goes.

OS/2 Warp Connect is nifty, and it really is an improvement over standard Warp. In theory, it's still only Warp 3.0 with connectivity; in practice, they've incorporated some bug fixes and made installation simpler by adding more device drivers.

OS/2 is still harder to install than it ought to be. Every time I say that, I get letters from readers who bought one or another flavor of Warp and had absolutely no problems with the installation, and others who think it was easier to install than Windows ever was, so your mileage may vary. Once installed, OS/2 Warp Connect is pretty solid. Unlike W95, which still contains some 16-bit code, OS/2 is all 32-bit. With only a few windows open, there's little difference in speed between OS/2 Warp Connect and the test versions of W95; but if you keep a lot of windows open and do a lot of multitasking, the difference can be dramatic.

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I've managed to get three simultaneous communications programs—two using 9600-bps modems, and one using a serial port—as well as a print job to run in OS/2. The printing was pretty slow, but the communications tasks worked without losing data. I haven't tried that with

you can choose to shut down individual applications or the entire system. Warp doesn't do that. If you press Ctrl-Alt-Del, the system will reboot without further ceremony. Alas, that means that if you run a particularly badly behaved application, you may find yourself unable

W95, but I don't need to. Just xN > keeping a number of windows open (and doing nothing) will f noticeably slow down W95. £

The big new feature of .5 OS/2 Warp Connect is > built-in peer-to-peer net- ^Wv/y© working capability. OS/2 Warp Connect supports IBM LAN Server 2, 3, and 4, and the LAN Server on AIX and AS/400. You can connect to Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT Server, W95, and the Microsoft LAN Manager, as well as all versions of Novell NetWare. The feature set is comparable to W4WG, with cut and paste across the network. I mildly prefer the W95 user interface, but the Warp interface is good enough.

OS/2 Warp Connect works just fine, with one exception. In Windows and W95, if you do Ctrl-Alt-Del, you get a dialog box that gets you back to the OS, where

f &rmat s ftv £^* rg * g.

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to get back to OS/2. That happens more often with bad Windows applications in Warp, but I've had it happen with a DOS program as well, and it's a terribly frustrating experience.

One reason Microsoft held rk latest dog and pony show was to impress journalists with just how many software developers are writing applications for W95; it worked. About a hundred companies, hardware and software, had booths in a miniature trade show. The booths were small, not flashy, and the emphasis was on technical demonstrations. It reminded me of the early days of the West Coast Computer Faire.

Naturally, the Microsoft Applications Group was showing the most products, including new versions of Microsoft Office; but there were many others. Traveling

Software was there with new versions of LapLink for Windows. You'll really like what they can do with W95. Philippe Kahn, still chairman of Borland but no longer running that company, was there demonstrating Starfish Software's Side-Kick for Windows.

Symantec was there, with a new version of Norton Utilities for W95.1 use that, and I'd hate to live without it. They also have a new Norton Navigator (a desktop replacement) for W95. I've got it, but I don't really feel the need; I rather like the W95 interface. But if you get W95, be sure to get the appropriate Norton Utilities.

You'll also need the Windows 95 Resource Kit from Microsoft Press. It has over 1300 pages and goes into great detail on stuff you'll want to know. There's a good section on using long filenames and what happens if you transfer those files to systems that don't support long filenames. Reading that will lead you to look into long file extensions—you're no longer limited to three characters after the dot—and how those can be used to tell W95 things about a file. That will lead you to read the section on the Registry, a W95

trick to cut down on the sizes of INI files.

continued

URGENT-YOUR INPUT NEEDED

Platform Issues in Applications Development

Dear Reader:

To improve BYTE's coverage of technology in the State of the Art section, we'd like to get your feedback about what specific topics, areas, and products we should be considering, and in what ways. Specifically, we're planning later this year to take a look at the development of software for new (as well as for multiple) platforms. We want to explore the issues involved in developing applications to run on brand new OSes or those in a state of flux (as with Windows 95 in its beta days); at cross-platform development tools, problems, and capabilities; and at what the advent of (at least partially) object-oriented OSes means for applications developers.

These are complex questions and to do them justice we'd like to hear your views—what you're interested in, what you'd like to see us report on and analyze. We want to hear your ideas and find out about concerns that we may not fully appreciate or be aware of. Also, we'd like your help in knowing who are the people we should be talking to—users, vendors, researchers— you tell us.

To let us know what you think, please use the following as a template to send us, via E-mail, an ASCII text file with your comments. Please be sure to include the <FIELDNAMES> with their angle brackets, followed by your information and comments. And thanks very much for your help.

Please E-mail the completed form to: surveys@bix.com

<T0PIC>

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<FIRSTNAME> Teddy

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This is where your comments go. Be as brief or as long as you want. Tell us what you think, what you need, what you want to know more about. Tell us what you're doing. Tell us who we should be talking to.

282 BYTE SEPTEMBER 1995

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Entries must be received by mail or fax on or before November 15, 1995, or submitted in person at BYTE's Booth at Comdex/Fall, Las Vegas, from November 13 to November 15. The finalist will be determined in a random drawing to take place at BYTE's Comdex Booth #2654 at 3:00 PM on November 16, 1995. The winner will be contacted by telephone following the drawing and announced in the Januaiy 1996 issue of BYTE. Personal contact with the individual specified on the entry card must be made for the finalist to be declared the winner. If the winner cannot be contacted within 15 days of the drawing, then the unclaimed prize will be awarded to an alternate winner selected at random.

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One prize to be awarded: a 1996 Mitsubishi Galant LS (approximate value: $23,088), plus various mobile computing tools described above; total prize value: $36,052. Vehicle specifications, including color, will be determined by Mitsubishi Motors. Standard manufacturer's vehicle warranty will be provided. Vehicle will be delivered to Mitsubishi dealer closest to winner's locale. Winner is responsible for registering, licensing, and insuring the vehicle. The prize is not redeemable for cash, nor is substitution of the prize by the winner allowed. The winner is responsible for any and all taxes associated with the acceptance of the prize. BYTE reserves the right to substitute a comparable prize upon unavailability. For the name of the winner, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope after November 16, 1995 to Marketing Dept., Mobile Office of the '90s Winners, BYTE Magazine, One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458.

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Bottom-line question for Windows users:

Should you change OSes? In my judgment, yes you should. W95, Windows NT, and OS/2 Warp Connect are all significant improvements over Windows and W4WG. You'll be better off with one of those.

Deciding which one isn't so easy. If you're operating in a large corporate environment, you should probably be considering Windows NT versus OS/2 Warp Connect plus OS/2 LAN Server. You'll certainly want to consider Lotus Notes, and now that IBM is buying Lotus, you'll want to watch developments there.

For home users, the choice is a bit simpler. The less you like fooling around with your machine, the more you're going to appreciate W95. You're far more likely to have a painless upgrade going from Windows to W95 than you will when switching to Warp.

One big attraction of OS/2 has been that it is a better DOS than Windows and, for that matter, a better DOS than DOS. That remains true, but it's not a better DOS than W95—and it's certainly not a better Windows than W95. The more you run Windows (not W95, just Windows) applications, the more you'll appreciate W95. And, of course, we don't even know what IBM plans for handling applications written for W95 itself. We do know there will be far more applications written for W95 than for OS/2.

I'm keeping both. We'll continue to run OS/2 Warp Connect, but I have to say my prime machine is already running W95. That could change. Stay tuned.

It's silly, but I'm still taking two laptops on trips. The Gateway Liberty 2000 remains my favorite for working on airplanes and in meetings, but the Zenith Z-Notef lex gets set up in my hotel room and is used for heavy-duty work there.

In Ascend 5.0 ($149.95), some changes are for the better, and I expect overall it's a genuine improvement. Contact Franklin Quest Co., Salt Lake City, UT, (800) 877-1814 or (801) 975-9992; on CompuServe, go franklin. Circle 1274 on Inquiry Card.

The Digital Frog (US$170) is an excellent example of what new technology and ingenuity can do for education. Contact Digital Frog International, Puslinch, Ontario, Canada, (519) 766-1097; dfi@sentex.net. Circle 1275.

The Interactive Multimedia Self-Study Modules (per module, US$299) for veterinary medicine impressed me a

Part of that is Zenith's reliability. The Gateway Liberty is reliable enough, but the catch that holds the battery is next to the one that secures the removable hard drive, and I have now twice managed to unlatch that drive. The result is that the drive comes slightly loose, and you have to reboot. I've never lost any data this way, but it worries me. Of course, I can fix the problem forever with duct tape. I'm not really worried about the Liberty.

The otherpart is the keyboard. The Z-Notef lex's keyboard is just better for typing when I'm trying to bang out text. It's not that the Liberty's keyboard is bad, just that the other one is better. And the Z-Note-flex has a built-in floppy drive, while the Liberty's floppy drive is an ex- V ternal attachment. This makes the Z-Noteflex heavy enough that I don't really want to put it into a briefcase.

The upshot is that I've got one of those wheeled carry-on flight bags, and when I stuff it with two computers, their power supplies, a couple of manuals, and my Ascend notebook, the thing is heavy enough to leave ruts in the tarmac. But I've never had any problem stuffing it into an overhead rack, and I need the exercise.

The Z-Notef lex has a Data Race Redi-Card RC-1496 data/fax modem. It works fine at 9600 bps. But it needs a special cable that plugs into the PCMCIA card on one end and connects to a phone line on the other; more than once when I've been online, something jarred the cable connector enough to make the system hang up.

By contrast, the Liberty has a Megahertz 14.4-Kbps PCMCIA data/fax modem with XJack. That also works just fine at 9600 bps, and the XJack connector lets you plug a normal phone cord into it. I've never had that shake loose. I've tested both modems for months now, and while I have

lot. Contact Ufeleam V., Inc., Guelph, Ontario, Canada, (800) 375-7994 or (519) 767-5043; rnigol@ovcnet.uoguelph.ca. Circle 1276.

The big new feature of OS/2 Warp Connect (fullpack edition with Win-OS/2 code, $299) is built-in peer-to-peer networking capability. IBM Corp., Austin, TX, (800) 342-6672 or call your local IBM dealer; http://www .ibm.com. Circle 1277.

The PCMCIA data/fax modem with XJack

($249) works just fine at 9600 bps, and the XJack connector lets you plug a normal phone cord into it. Contact Megahertz Corp., Salt Lake City, UT (800) 527-8677 or (801) 320-7000; http://www.xmission.com/~mhz. Circle 1278.

no preference on performance, the XJack's convenience is a deciding factor. I recommend the Megahertz PCMCIA data/fax modem card.

It's easy to forget that the first A in NASA

stands for aeronautics; but in fact NASA Ames does some great work. One such is a software simulation of a Boeing 737. As its developer Steve Casner put it, there's something uncanny about carrying around the brains of a big modern airplane under your arm. The simulation runs on a Mac PowerBook. If you're interested in finding out more, you can E-mail him at casner@eos .arc.-nasa.gov, or write to Stephen Casner, NASA Ames, Mail Stop 262-4, Moffett Field, CA 94035. The book of the month is Crime, edited by James Q. Wilson and Joan Petersilia (ICS Press, 1995). This will tell you more than you want to know about crime in this country. Essays are presented from nearly every rational point of view. It's not fun reading, but perhaps it's time citizens gave some heavy thought to the problem.

Two computer books of the month. The first one is Jeannette Lawrence's Introduction to Neural Networks (California Scientific Software, 1993). This isn't easy reading, but no book on neural networks is; but it is comprehensible when it talks about back propagation and the like. Neural networks are becoming increasingly important as computers get more powerful.

The second computer book of the month is by Ronny Richardson, The Ultimate Batch File Book (Tab/McGraw-Hill, 1995). It certainly lives up to its title. There are batch files for MS-DOS, PC-DOS, Novell DOS 7, OS/2 Warp, and Windows; and it comes with a CD-ROM of batch and help files. Studying well-written applications is the best way I know of to learn how to write them.

Next month: more on connectivity, and a whole mess of small applications. ■

Jerry Pournelle holds a doctorate in psychology and is a science fiction writer who also earns a comfortable living writing about computers present and future. Jerry welcomes readers' comments and opinions. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Jerry Pournelle, c/o BYTE, One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458. Please put your address on the letter as well as on the envelope. Due to the high volume of letters, Jerry cannot guarantee a personal reply. You can also contact him on the Internet or BIX atjertyp@ bix.com.

284 BYXE SEPTEMBER 1995

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WHAT'S NEW

Hardware

PREVIEW

PC NOTEBOOKS

Impressive Battery Life in a Laptop Pentium PC

Dell's Latitude line of laptops has been a remarkable resurgence for a company so thoroughly out of the laptop business a few years ago. The new Latitude XPi combines 75-and 90-MHz Pentium power with Dell's renowned battery life. We tested the XPi P90T, which uses Intel's new low-voltage 90-MHz Pentium. The P90T has an active-matrix TFT screen, and our test unit came with 16 MB of RAM and an 810-MB hard drive.

The XPi P90T is smart and aggressive about stretching its battery life— so much so that it confounded our Thumper 2 battery tester. On a recent trip from Manchester, New Hampshire, to San Francisco, we used the XPi for at least 3 hours' worth of editing, and there was battery life to spare when we arrived in California.

The low-voltage Pentium is designed specifically for mobile applications and runs at 3.3 V externally but at just 2.9 V internally. As a result, it runs cooler than previous 90-MHz Pentiums and consumes less power. Combined with high-power lithium-ion batteries, this gives the P90T remarkable battery life. These low-voltage Pentiums will soon show up in everyone's laptops, but Dell's Latitude XPi P90T is one of

the first to have them.

The XPi is not perfect. It lacks some features that we've come to expect in high-end laptops, such as built-in sound support. And it was disappointing that the screen supports only 640- by 480-pixel resolution. But for people who need to do serious work during long plane rides, the XPi is just about perfect. —Rex Baldazo

Latitude XPi P90T

(90-MHz Pentium, active-matrix TFT screen) As tested, with 16 MB of RAM and an 810-MB hard drive, $5398; base configuration, with 8 MB of RAM and a 340-MB hard drive, $4699.

Dell Computer

Austin, TX

(800) 289-3355

(512) 338-4400

http://www.dell.com/

Circle 976 on Inquiry Card.

Performance

Integer index Floating-Point index (A 90-MHz Dell Pentium =

.99 1.12

1)

A SPARCSTATION 5 COMPATIBLE

The PowerLite 110 integrates a 110-MHz MicroSparc II microprocessor, up to 2.4 GB of internal hard disk storage, TGX graphics acceleration, an internal floppy drive, a fax modem, and a 10.4-inch, 1024- by 768-pixel, flat-panel color display, all in a compact 8^-pound package (from $12,995). Configurable options include four memory configurations (32, 64, 96, and 128 MB); your choice of two displays, the flat-panel color dis-

play or a Colorplus 640- by 480-pixel active-matrix LCD; and storage configurations from 810 MB to 6.4 GB, with an optional PowerLite Peripheral Expansion Unit. Other features include a lOBase-T AUI for Ethernet connection, a 10-MBps SCSI-2 port, two RS-232 ports, a Centronics port, an 8-bit audio connection (with internal speaker and microphone), a connector for an external monitor, and SBus expansion slots for use with the optional PXU.

Contact: RDI Computer, Carlsbad, CA, (800) 734-5483 or (619) 929-0992; http://www.rdi.com.

Circle 980 on Inquiry Card.

MULTIPROTOCOL NETWORK CD-ROM SERVER

Now users running Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95, or Windows NT, as well as those in an OS/2 or Unix environment, can simultaneously share networked CD-ROM information. The Axis 851/951 Network CD-ROM Server supports Ethernet and Token Ring, respectively, and lets you attach up to six external CD-ROM drives or jukeboxes in a series. With a built-in Etrax RISC processor and file cache, the 851/951 Network CD-ROM Server (Axis 851 for Ethernet, $899; Axis 951 for Token Ring, $1099) can achieve throughputs of up to 600 KBps. Contact: Axis Communications, Woburn, MA, (800) 444-2947 or (617) 938-1188; http://www.axis.se/.

Circle 983 on Inquiry Card.

2-GB MINICARTRIDGE DRIVE

The Panther Mini 2000, a 3/2-inch SCSI-2 tape drive, comes with a 2-GB Sony QIC-Wide data cartridge, Arcada Backup for DOS/Windows software with data compression, and cables. Available in internal and exter-nal configurations ($549 and $659, respectively), the Panther Mini 2000 drive automatically formats the data cartridge and verifies data as it records. You can backup 36 MB of data per minute, or approximately 1 GB in 55 minutes. The Panther Mini 2000 also features automatic load and eject and a protective door that closes behind the cartridge. Contact: Tandberg Data, Simi

Valley, CA, (800) 826-3237 or (805) 579-1000.

Circle 982 on Inquiry Card.

POWER MANAGEMENT FOR PRINTERS

Nightware ($109.95) turns off your printer during periods of inactivity and automatically restores power to it when needed. When Nightware restores power to the printer upon receipt of data, its momentary poll-and-store feature prevents an application time-out while the printer warms up. When the printer is ready, Nightware reconnects it to the host to resume printing. Contact: Micro Energetics, Fairfax Station, VA, (800) 948-2099 or (703) 250-3000.

Circle 979 on Inquiry Card.

15-HOUR ZINC-AIR BATTERY t

The AER Energy PowerPro ($399) can power Toshiba Satellite T1900 series systems, Satellite Pro T2400 series systems, and T4700C, T4800CT, and T4850CT portable computers for up to 15 continuous hours between charges. The PowerPro battery fits under your computer, attaching via the battery socket. The Toshiba AC adapter recharges the PowerPro. When you attach the battery to your PC, you still have access to all your com-

puter's drives and ports. Contact: AER Energy Resources, Smyrna, GA, (800) 769-3720 or (404) 433-2127; 75321,3445@ CompuServe, com.

Circle 981 on Inquiry Card.

286 BYXE SEPTEMBER 1995

PENTIUM MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM ▲

The Multimedia Quadstation series of multimedia systems feature Lasonic surround-sound amplified speakers, Sound Blaster 16 cards, and Teac quad-speed CD-ROM drives. Each system (486DX2-66, $1578; Pentium/ 100, $2148; 486DX4-100, $1698; Pentium/90, $1998) ships with an 850-MB hard drive, 8 MB of RAM, a 256-KB cache, a 1.44-MB floppy drive, a PCI en-hanced-IDE controller, and a 2-MB PCI local-bus graphics card with an ATI Windows accelerator. All systems also include a Sceptre 15-inch flat-screen noninterlaced digital-control SVGA monitor with 0.28-dpi, 1280-by 1024-pixel resolution. Contact: Intellicomp Technologies, El Monte, CA, (800)468-3696 or (818) 582-8096.

Circle 995 on Inquiry Card.

SPARC 5-COMPATIBLE WORKSTATION

Incorporating a 110-MHz Mi-croSparc II processor, the S WS5/ 110 comes with five 32-bit master/slave SBus slots capable of supporting double- ortriple-width SBus cards, a 64-bit AFX graphics bus, up to 256 MB of internal RAM, and 100 percent binary compatibility with the Sun Sparc-Station 5. The SWS5/110's storage options include an internal 644-MB double-speed Photo CD-ready CD-ROM, two internal hard drives, and one internal 3M-inch 1.44-MB floppy drive. A base-configured workstation with system board, chassis, keyboard, mouse, and power supply costs $3495; a complete system with

a 110-MHz Micro-Sparc II CPU, 32 MB of memory, a 1-GB hard drive, a Turbo GX graphics card, and a 17-inch color monitor costs $7495.

Contact: Integrix, Newbury Park, CA, (800) 300-

8288 or (805) 375-1055;

http://www. integrix. com.

Circle 984 on Inquiry Card.

ERASING ULTRAPEN

The Erasing UltraPen lets you erase as you would with a real eraser—the harder you press, the more it erases—and offers up to 256 levels of pressure. For software that's not eraser-aware, the $89.99 device allows you to select and delete text or cells with one stroke. Also available are the WideBody UltraPen With Pencil ($125) and the DuoSwitch UltraPen ($125), which meets multiple-mouse-button standards in Windows and Unix OSes.

Wacom's latest graphics tablets include the ArtPad II with Erasing UltraPen ($174.99), ArtZ II 6 x 8 with Erasing UltraPen ($389.99), ArtZ II 12 x 12 with Erasing UltraPen ($539.99), ArtZ II 12 x 18 with Erasing UltraPen ($869.99), and ArtZ II 18 x 25 with Erasing UltraPen ($2449.99).

Contact: Wacom Technology, Vancouver, WA, (800) 922-6613 or (360) 750-8882.

Circle 992 on Inquiry Card.

INTEGRATED AUDIO/ TELEPHONY PRODUCT

Featuring audio, fax, and modem functions, the TeleCommander 2500XL ($229) integrates a 16-bit CD-quality sound card that works with Sound Blaster Pro-compatible applications and a 14.4-Kbps Rockwell modem (V.32bis) and 14.4-Kbps fax (V. 17). The all-in-one desktop-communications solution also includes call screening, call forwarding, and remote-message access, as well as fax-forwarding, fax-on-demand, and pager-notification capabilities. The package comes with Thought Communications' FaxTalk Messenger and FaxTalk Speakerphone; Radish Communications' Voice View technology, which lets you send and receive files during a single telephone conversation without hanging up; and on-line-services software for America Online, CompuServe, Imagination Network, and Internet access. Contact: Diamond Multimedia Systems, San Jose, CA, (800) 468-5846 or (408) 325-7000; http://www.diamondmm.com.

Circle 991 on Inquiry Card.

PCMCIA MODEM WITH STATUS LIGHTS t

U.S. Robotics' Courier V.Every-thing PCMCIA PC Card with DataView ($575) has four LEDs that let you monitor power, send, receive, and on-line functions during a fax or data transfer. The card provides connectivity to industry-standard V.34 modems;

backward compatibility with proprietary standards, such as V.FastClass and V.32 terbo; and compatibility with V.32bis and slower-speed modems. Other features include flash ROM upgradability, remote configuration, link security, dial security, and Easy Install software. Also available is a 14.4-Kbps version of the device, the Courier V.32-bis PCMCIA PC Card with Data-View ($499).

Contact: U.S. Robotics, Skokie, 1L, (800) 877-2677 or (708) 982-5010.

Circle 990 on Inquiry Card.

Plug-and-Play MPEG Card

The 9FX-PlusMPEG card ($199) for PCI-based PCs lets you load and view MPEG video files without having to change your Windows settings. In addition to high-quality video, the card feeds synchronized 16-bit CD-quality audio through a mini-jack, which you can connect to stereo speakers or another external amplifier or back into your PC's 16-bit sound card for sound-mixing. To take advantage of the 9FX-Plus-MPEG card, your system needs a PCI graphics accelerator with DCI support.

Contact: Number Nine Visual Technology, Lexington, MA, (800) 438-6463 or (617) 674-0009; on CompuServe, go nine.

Circle 977 on Inquiry Card.

WHArS NEW

Software

Mainframe-Class Security for PCs and LANs

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StopLight 95 (single copy, $295) prevents unauthorized PC access, illegal and unwanted file copying, configuration changes, and other security problems on individual and networked Windows PCs. The LAN version lets you control and automate security from a central workstation. You can restrict access to individual drives, partitions, directories, and individual files; specify kinds of access, such as read, write, create, and delete, for each of these levels; and prevent users from copying program executa-bles to or from machines. The program also includes the Drive-In Antivirus utility, which scans and disinfects hard and floppy drives and network volumes for boot-track viruses before they can cause harm.

Three versions are available: StopLight 95/LAN, client and server security software for centralized control of all LAN workstations; StopLight 95/PC, which offers full security features for a single PC, with the ability to define profiles for up to 255 users; and StopLight 95/ELS, an entry-level security package without antivirus capabilities that supports two user profiles. Contact: Security Integration, Lexington, MA, (800) 888-5031 or (617) 861-8800.

Circle 996 on Inquiry Card.

32-BIT IMAGING SOFTWARE

A high-level C library with optimized commands for image processing, pattern matching, blob analysis, gauging, and OCR (with an optional module), MIL-32 is a 32-bit version of the Matrox Imaging Library that allows you to build applications using only a few lines of code. The library (US$1495) supports Windows NT, 32-bit DOS extenders, and Win32s and runs on VGA imaging boards. Contact: Matrox Electronic Systems, Dorval, Quebec, Canada, (800) 361-4903 or (514) 685-2630; imaginginfo @ matrox.com.

Circle 998 on Inquiry Card.

DEBUG, ANALYZE VISUAL BASIC APPLICATIONS ►

The VB/FailSafe ($179.95) integrated debugging and performance-analysis system for Visual Basic for Windows integrates error interception, program tracing, and performance profiling into a single software tool. The package includes FS/Interceptor, which sta-

bilizes a project and stops system crashes by intercepting and coding all errors by type, class, number, and description; FS/ Tracer, which aids in isolating event-driven and client/server bugs, as well as bugs lurking within compiled executable programs that Visual Basic's built-in step-trace is unable to find; and FS/Profiler, which uses information from FS/Tracer to produce graphs and tables showing program performance, routine by routine. Contact: Marquis Computing, Pomfret Center, CT, (800) 818-1611 or (203) 963-7065; 76120.2413@ CompuServe, com.

Circle 1000 on Inquiry Card.

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133

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INTERNET CLIENT/SERVER SOFTWARE

Operating in the Windows environment, MindWire 1.0 (eight-user license, $495) helps you to create a dynamic multimedia online service offering modem, network, and Internet connectivity options. The MindWire Client software contains messaging, file-library, E-mail, and chat features. MindWire provides support for image and sound files, spell checking for E-mail, viewing user photos, auto-viewing downloaded files, and scanning message responses. MindWire performs multiple functions simultaneously, including downloading and uploading files, chatting with other users, and reading E-mail.

The MindWire Server lets you manage and configure application features such as account information, security, file-library folders, and messaging forums. MindWire controls user privi-

leges and security. An audit trail records user transactions on the Server and generates reports to monitor your system's activity. The Client Application Manager performs automatic on-line software updates and installation of new applications. Contact: Durand Communications Network, Santa Barbara, CA, (805) 961-8700; http:// www.durand.com.

Circle 1011 on Inquiry Card.

DISTRIBUTED NETWORK-MONITORING SOFTWARE t

MasteRMON 1.0 displays the activity of a selected Ethernet or Token Ring LAN segment via RMON agents. The program transparently handles SNMP functions and takes advantage of Windows' multitasking capabilities by letting you execute several concurrent instances of MasteRMON on the same machine. MasteRMON (single license, $595) displays traffic from all stations, or nodes, present on the

monitored segment; offers several real-time display modes; provides user-configurable alarms; includes a baselining feature that automatically learns the normal traffic levels of the network and configures MasteRMON accordingly; generates snapshot reports of network activity at configurable time intervals; and offers real-time graphing capabilities.

Contact: Triticom, Eden Prairie, MN, (612) 937-0772; http://www. triticom. com.

Circle 1003 on Inquiry Card.

288 BYXE SEPTEMBER 1995

□QQQBiBB i :

LANTASTIC POWER SUITE a

An integrated product, LANtastic Power Suite (one-user software-only kit, from $199) contains the LANtastic network OS and communications software. In addition to LANtastic, the suite includes Lotus cc:Mail communications software, the Lotus Organizer networked group scheduler and PIM, Cheyenne Communications' BitWare fax and modem communications software and BitShare modem-sharing and pooling software, and Netcom NetCruiser Internet-access software. Contact: Artisoft, Tucson, AZ, (800) 233-5564 or (602) 670-7100; http://www .artisoft. com.

Circle 1013 on Inquiry Card.

EXCHANGE BINARY FILES VIA FAX t

With 3D Fax, you can send and receive editable or executable files via standard fax. In addition, 3D Fax includes compression and image-processing features that allow you to reduce fax-transmission time by at least 90 percent. You can also send color pictures and multimedia files. When you

send a file to a fax machine, it's visually uninterpretable. You scan the printed imageinto a computer, and the 3D Fax software (standard version, $99; professional version, $199) restores the file to its original content and format and opens it in the software application in which you created it. Contact: Infolmaging Technologies, Palo Alto, CA, (800) 966-1140 or (415) 960-0100; http://www.infoimaging.com.

Circle 1012 on Inquiry Card.

IMAGE EDITING FOR THE MASSES

Image'n'Bits 2.0 ($79) can convert images, regardless of their origin, to OLE objects ready for you to edit, tile, and drag and drop into other applications or convert to other file formats. The program allows you to embed or link an image file into another application for editing without having to exit that application. You can also tile and convert to thumbnails objects stored inside the Image'n'Bits albums. Image-processing functions include flip, mirror, convert to negative, false color substitution, smooth, blur, sharpen, posterize, edge detection, pixelize, and emboss. Distortion filters include pinch, spiral, fish-eye, paint, star, melt, and wavy. Contact: Bananas Software,

3D FAX PRO Read : Sender Name: D Wathor, ID: 26

file Options Help

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Paramus, NJ, (800) 653-4624 or (201) 265-9855; banana@ ios.com.

Circle 1008 on Inquiry Card.

METERING SOFTWARE FOR NETWARE LANS

LANrecord 1.0 provides metering and chargeback for software applications, suite-based products, files, and other LAN resources, such as network connections. The program helps you comply with software application licenses and provides LAN administrators with data about the computing costs incurred by users and departments. An export feature lets you export chargeback information to external applications. LANrecord 1.0 (base server, $595; additional server licenses, $395) maintains in its database information that's gathered during the metering process and offers real-time-dynamic and history-reporting features. Contact: Horizons Technology, San Diego, CA, (800) 828-3808 or (619) 292-8331; http://www.horizons.com.

Circle 997 on Inquiry Card.

KEEP YOUR VISUAL BASIC CODE IN ORDER

The Polisher ($149) formats, comments, and spell-checks your Visual Basic programs. You can automatically generate a comment block at the start of every routine and insert comment blocks at the start of modules and procedures, with variables such as developer name, company, and date. The Polisher lets you remove or insert blank lines before or after block constructs throughout the code and allows you to specify the number of spaces to auto-indent and the indent options for declarations, Select Case, and IF.. .THEN... ELSE formatting. Contact: Aardvark Software, Teaneck, NJ, (201) 833-4355; 70544.1372 @ CompuServe, com.

Circle 1015 on Inquiry Card.

Software Update

The Track 3.0 for Windows

LAN-based defect-tracking and technical-support system adds the following: integration with version-control systems, which lets you keep track of the changes you make to source, design, and documentation files; enhanced reporting and analyzing features, which let you link Track's database with multiple external databases, link a defect database to a customer or project database, and import test results generated by automated testing tools; and support for Microsoft Mail and cc:Mail. $495. Contact: Soffront Software, Milpitas, CA, (408) 263-2703; info@ soffront. com.

Circle 1024 on Inquiry Card.

Hi-Res 5.0, an SDK for Windows that provides for fractal still-image compression and decompression, offers compression ratios from 3-to-l to 250-to-l; faster decompression rates; smaller file sizes for compressed images, which lets you place more images on a CD-ROM or other storage medium; improved resolution independence, allowing an almost unlimited number of zooming levels; color mapping; and cross-platform support for Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows NT, Macs, and the PowerPC. The package is available in two versions: Hi-Res Professional 32 ($8995) and Hi-Res Standard 32 ($2995).

Contact: Iterated Systems, Nor-cross, GA, (404) 840-0310; 73443,1674 @ compuserve.com.

Circle 1023 on Inquiry Card.

RightFax for Windows NT is 32-bit multitasking and multithreaded LAN fax-server software that allows workstations on a Windows NT network to send and receive faxes. Server license for a single channel with unlimited users, $1995. Contact: RightFax, Tucson, AZ, (602) 327-1357.

Circle 1017 on Inquiry Card.

SEPTEMBER 1995 BYTE 289

* * I * , • * *

Reaching for a New Frontier

^

• * *.

Having trouble keeping up with the ever-changing world of technology? Quatech can help. We are committed to providing our customers with quality products and exceptional service and support. We manufacture a complete line of communication and data acquisition products for PC/XT, PC/AT, PS/2, and PCMCIA systems. Just tell us your application, and we'll find the solution that's right for you.

Quatech's communication and data acquisition PCMCIA cards provide maximum flexibility for your application. Communication PC cards include single and dual channel RS-232 and RS-422/485, EPP, and synchronous adapters. Data acquisition PC cards provide 12 and 16-bit analog input, 8 channel analog output, and 24 digital I/O. Add PCMCIA capability to your desktop computer with our Internal Interface Adapters. Each adapter supports Type I, II and III PC cards, and is available in several configurations.

Communication boards for ISA and Micro Channel meet synchronous, asynchronous, serial, and parallel communication requirements with protocols such as RS-232, RS-422, RS-485, Current Loop, and IEEE-488. Intelligent and coprocessor adapters are also available. Data acquisition products add analog to digital, digital to analog conversions, and digital I/O capabilities in 8 to 16-bit resolution. Other boards provide the capabilities for digital multimeters, digital frequency synthesizers, arbitrary waveform synthesizers, and IEEE-488 GPIB interfaces.

n QUATECH

Foreign Distributor Inquiries Welcome

For more information and a free 1995 Handbook, call a Quatech sales representative today at 800-553-1170.

Quatech, Inc. 662 Wolf Ledges Parkway, Akron, OH 44311. International Distributors: Australia/lnterworld Electronics & Computer 61-3-9563-5011, Austria/ Megadata43-1-523 42 12, Belgium/Acal NV/SA 32-27-205983, Brazil (Sao Paulo)/lntercomp 55-11-8532733, Brazil (Rio de Janeiro)/Medusa Sistemas eAutomacao 55-21 -2554745, Canada(Western)/lnterworld Electronics800-663-6001 (Toronto office 800-465-0164), China/Quatech China 86-1-205-9030, Denmark/Jes Rasmussen ApS. 45-4281-6838, Finland/Lab Hi-Tech'OY 358-0-682-1255, France/Elexo 33-1-69537020, Germany/Jupiter Electronic Systems GMBH 49-61-8175041, Hong Kong/Brio Technology Ltd. 852-581-1111, India/Comsquare Network Pvt. Ltd. 91-11-224-5159, Israel/Milivision Ltd. Div. 972-9-500623, Italy(Non-PCMCIA)/ N.C.S. Computer Italia 39-331-770016, ltaly(PCMCIA Only)/Kernel Consulting S.r.l. 39-6-77207000, Japan/Nictrix Corp. (New Jersey) 201-947-2220, Korea/Sam Boo Systems 82-2-5384001, Netherlands/ACAL Auriema 31-40-502602, New Zealand/Advanced Portable Technologies 64-4-3852838, Pakistan/Rastek (PVT) Limited 92-21-4551881, Saudi Arabia/Integrated Computer Operations 966-3-895-1827, Singapore/Bliss Services Pte Ltd. 65-338-1300, South Africa/Eagle Technology 27-21-234943, Spain/Santa Barbara SA 34-3-418-81-16, Sweden/Systec 46-13-310140, Switzerland/Technosoftware 41-64-519040, Turkey/Logic Group 90-212-2747197. PC/XT, PC/AT, PS/2, and Micro Channel are registered trademarks of the IBM Corporation. All other trademarks are of their respective companies.

Circle 83 on Inquiry Card (RESELLERS: 84).

BUYER'S GUIDE

Essential Products and Services for Technology Experts

Mail Order

Top mail-order vendors offer the latest hardware and software products at the best prices.

292

Hardware/Software Showcase

Your full-color guide to in-demand hardware and software products, categorized for quick access.

309

Buyer's Mart

The BYTE classified directory of computer products and services, organized by subject so you can easily locate the right product.

COMPUTER DISCOUNT WAREHOUSE

IBM®

ThinkPad® 701C

• IntelDX4~ 75MHz CPU 1 • 8MB RAM, 24MB max.

• 540MB removeable hard drive %/ 10.4" active-matrix color display

• Local bus video with 1MB RAM

• PCMCIA: accepts 2) Type II or 1) Type III .

• 14.4K bps fax/modem • Full size expandable keyboard */ Keyboard-integrated TrackPoint 111" pointing device • Super NiCD battery

• Preloaded IBM-PC DOS™ V6.3, Windows' V3.ll and IBM OS/2 Warp V3.0 • 3 year international warranty

%/ Lightweight and compact: 4.5 lbs, 9.7" x 7.9" x 1.7"

$4599.00

CDW 51793

WHY PAY RETAIL?

CDWSeUs

for less

Price Drop!

HARDWARE, SOFTWARE & PERIPHERALS AT DISCOUNT PRICES

^Megahertz

Lrnhtig )our Wrr&b

28,800bps PCMCIA Fax Modem with XJACK

♦ Data: V.34 (28.8K bps) and V.32bis (14.4Kbps) ♦ Fax: 14.4K bps send/receive r T^

♦ Flash ROM field upgradeable ♦ Auto installation and configuration ♦ Hot swapable ♦ Includes data/fax software for Windows* ♦ Five-year warranty and unlimited free technical support from Megahertz

28.8K with XJACK $299.78 CDW 46849

14.4K with XJACK $198.89 CDW 37757

r'|--*i','M:JMIMrlJ:I.MIMH KNOVELL

Netware V4.1

Netware V3.12

5User3.5' 619.93

10 User 3.5- 1409,77

25 User 3.5- 2082.50

Call for Pricing on Novell NetWare upgrades!

3Com'

3C503 Elherlink II coax...

...159.44

3C509B Etherlink III coax 114.14

3C509B Etherlink III coax 5pk 479.65

3C509B Etherlink III 10BT 111.14

3C509B Etherlink III 10BT 5pk 442.36

3C509B Etherlink III combo 123.77

3C509B Etherlink III combo5pk 526.78

3C579 Ettierrink EISA coax 229.91

3C579 Etherlink EISA 10BT 229.91

3C1627 12 port Linkbuilder 10BT 619.44

ARTISOFT

NodeRunner 2000A. 215.58

NodeRunner 2000T 169.05

NodeRunner 2000C 169.05

NodeRunner/SI 2000A 87.13

NodeRunner/SI 2000T 73.62

LANtastic V6.0 79.50

LANtastic V6.0 5 user 329.87

LANtasticV6.0 Starter Kit 229.13

Central Station II 389.13

Simply LANtastic starter kit 163.79

T-Runner 8 port 10BT 179.99

T-Runner 12 port 10BT 199.82

=ASP

Multiprotocol piinl server 10BT HP MIO 249.93

Multiprotocol pnnl server 10BT pocket 287.30

Multiprotocol 2 printerseiver combo ...309.61

Multiprotocol 4 printer server combo 499.82

SNAP starter kit-2 computers, 1 printer 119.10

SNAP add-on transmitter. 49.50

Fax Authority Solo network fax server. 499.86

Token Ring Adapter I116/4 ISA 399.88

Token Rng Auto Adapter 16/4 ISA 257.76

IBM Toten Ring MALL 398.42

iny.

EtherExpress PRO/100Mb PCI.. EtherExpress PRO/100MbpsEISA...

EtherExpress PRO/100Mbps PCI 5pk 998.36

EtherExpress PRO/10 Rsh 10BT 108.01

EtherExpress PRO/10 Fish 10BT5pk .419.98

EtherExpress PRO/10Ftehcombo 115.07

EtherExpress PRO/10 Fish combo 5pk 472.00

EtherExpress 16 coax 99.33

EtherExpress 16 coax 5pk 454.13

EtherExpress 1610BT 99.33

EtherExpress 16 10BT 5pk 469.50

EtherExpress 1610BT 20pk 1698.38

EtherExpress MCA 10BT 166.52

EtherExpress 16 combo 116.77

EtherExpress 16 combo 5pk 549.72

EtherExpress Fish 10BT 111.88

EtherExpress Fish 10BT5pk 519.90

EtherExpress Rsh combo 129.79

EtherExpress FJsh combo 5pk 591.05

TokenExpress 16/4 328.96

NetportExpress II10BT 368,85

Eagle NE200O+ coax 76.63

Eagle NE2000T+ 10BT 69.45

Eagle NE2000+ combo _ 85.40

IRMAtrac 4/16Mpbs ISA Convertible-. 439.30

IRMAtrac 4/16MbpsISA Hardtop 289.23

i;i=u','/.i : ihi;hj ; i.hihu

SMC

ElherEZ 10BT...

ElherEZcoax

EtherEZ combo...

...94.47 ...94.47 ..107.06

Etherpower 10BT PCI 142.32

Etherpower coax PCI 155.31

Etherpowei2 10BT 252.26

Etnerpower2 combo 271.05

UHral6 Ethernet coax ..94.96

Ultra 16 coax 6pk 509.88

Ultra16 Ethernet 10BT 96.10

Ultra16 10BT6pk. 459.23

Ultra16 10BT24pk 1573.71

Ultra16 Ethernet combo. 107.71

Ultra16 comboSpk 568.15

TigerHub TP6 6 port + AUI 169.78

TigerHub TP6B 6 port + BNC 189.83

TigerHub TP12 12 port + AUI 379.79

3608 Ethernet Sport hub 10BT 296.85

3512 Ethernet 12+2 port hub 10BT 548.55

PC600WS ARCNET coax 119.93

ARCNET 8 port active hub coax.. 229.41

TokenCard Elite 16/4 229.82

A

TC5143 Elhemel 10BT 72.89

TC5143 Ethernet 10BT 6pk 399.94

TC6242 ARCNET 8-bit coax 66.86

TC6245 ARCNET coax 179.99

TC5055 Elhemet8 port hub 10BT 339.47

TC4045 Token Ring 16/4 226.54

CDW Canies the Complete Line of TCNS Products. Call for Detailsl

TERMINALS

UnkMC5 amber/green/whrte....

Unk MC80 14" color

Wyse 55 amber/green/white

Wyse 60 amber/green/white

Wyse 160 amber/green/white...

...289.77 ...419.50 ...223.21 ...279,60 ...329.88

Xircom

PE310BC pocket Ethernet coax 317.26

PE310B2 pocket Ethernet coax 277.51

PE310BT pocket Ethernet 10BT 277.51

PT316CTP pocket Token Ring III 475.83

PPX03 Parallel port multiplexor 77.80

PS-CE2 PCMCIA Ethernet 10BT 158.69

PS-CE2PCMCIAEthemetcombo 206.15

PS-CE2 PCMCIA Token Ring 409.84

MEMORTSkfSrEMS inu

Jumbo 350 internal 139.87

Jumbo 700 inlemal 199.88

Jumbo 1400 internal 309.48

Trakker 250 parallel port 268.77

Trakker 350 parallel port 284.91

Trakker 700 parallel port 337.47

T1000 800MB Travan 195.38

Powertape 2.4GB SCSI internal 937.58

Powertape 2.4GB SCSI external 1077.99

iomega

Zip drive 100MB parallel interface 199.00

Zip drive 100MB SCSI interface 199.00

Zip disks 100MB, 3pk 49.95

Ditto 420MB tape drive internal 99.00

Ditto 850MB tape drive internal 199.00

MICROSOLimONS

Backpack 3.5" 1.44MB floppy parallel 146.32

Backpack 5.25" 1.2MB floppy parallel 155.28

Backpack 250MB tape backup parallel» 259.65

■ MJ*l ; N.' l M'|.MM.',N.IF.l.l ; IL'na

CONNER

Tape'Stor 250MB internal 118.28

Tape'Stor 420MB internal 158.19

Tape'Stor 420MB parallel 309.48

Tape'Stor 800MB Travan internal. 236.83

Tape'Stor 800MB Travan parallel 392.73

Tape'Stor 850MB internal 219.87

Tape'Stor 850MB parallel 365.25

Tape'Stor 4GB inlemal IDE 539.78

i Mountain.

FS8500 305MB IDE internal 313.53

SkJeCar II305MB parallel 309.44

1200-4 4GB SCSI external 1634.49

Creative Labs

Digital School House CD 2X kit internal 219.98

Sound Blaster Discovery 16 2x kit 277.11

Multimedia Home CD 4x kit internal 448.99

SoundBlaster value edition 48.37

SoundBlaster Pro value edition 68.74

Sound Blaster 16 value edition (IDE) 99.89

SoundBlaster 16 MCD 139.25

SoundBlaster 16 SCSI-2 178.95

SoundBlaster 16 ASP MCD 174.50

SoundBlaster 16 ASP SCSI-2 188.99

SoundBlaster AWE32 value edition.. 168,98

SoundBlaster AWE32 298.99

Micmsolutions 4X CD parallel w/sound

Advent PP570 speakers 35W „

Advent PP622 spkrs/subwoofer

Diamond 4000 Quad CD kit internal

Diamond 5000 Quad CD kit internal _.

Jensen JPS35 speakers 5W „.

Jensen JPS45 speakers 10W ,

Logitech SoundMan Wave

Mioosolutions 4X CD parallel

NEC2Vi

NEC 2V Deluxe

NEC 3Xp Plus

NEC 3Xp Plus Kit.. NEC6Xi

NEC6Xe

Pioneer DRM624X 6 disc 4X changer

Pioneer DRM1804X 18 disc4X changer...

Plextor 4plex quad external

Plextor 4plex quad internal

Plextor 6X internal

Sigma Designs RealMagic Lite

Sigma Designs RealMagic MPEG .. Sigma Designs RealMagic CD Kit... Sony CDU-55S SCSI 2X internal.... Sony 4X internal w/lDE interface...

....488.15 „.245.97 ....188.64

299.71

....389.82

54.88

89.93

....119.49 ....354.88 ....139.56

265.69

....384.54 ....458.93 -.456.14 ....547.55 ....671.51 ..1879.28 ....559.85 ....419.79 ....499.87 ....258.59

366.53

Sony 4X interna) w/SCSI-2 interface

Teac SuperQuad 4X internal

Toshiba 3601 SCSI 4X internal ,.

Turtle Beach Monte Carlo _

Turtle Beach Tropez..

Turtle Beach Monterey

....167.21

229.63

315.62

....204.52

309.86

84.71

193.67

....316.94

^yCatComp

DB III 12X12 4 button

DB III 12X1216 button

DB III 12X12 pressure pen

Drawing Slate II12X12 4 button cordless..

....299.67 ...299.97 ...389.97 ....228.98

EPSON"

ES-1200-ProPC 1295.72

WLTM HEWLETT mL'lLM PACKARD

ScanJet 3P 319.57

ScanJet 3P document feeder 209.49

ScanJet 3C W/ISA interface 936.65

ScanJet IICX document feeder 468.50

Scanjet IICX transparency adapter. 633.26

MICROTEK

Scanmaker IIG grayscale 249.29

Scanmaker II color ....396.65

Scanmaker IISP cokx „ _ „ 495.32

Scanmaker IIHR color „ 749.98

ScanMaker III color. 2409.95

Scanmaker 35T sBde scanner 698.59

Summasketch 11112 X 12 16 button 218.58

Summasketch III 18 X 12 4 button 488.33

Mag Innovision DX15F 379.88

Mag Innovision DX17F 669.78

Mag Innovision MXP17F 896.97

Mag Innovision MX21F... 1689.47

Magnavox CM2089 14' .28 237.56

Magnavox CM2099 14' 28 Nl 249.34

Magnavox CM2015 15' 1024 319.29

Magnavox CM4015 15' 1280 _ 375.84

Magnavox CM4017 17" .31 609.25

Magnavox CM4018 17" 28 664.57

Magnavox 20CM64 20* 1069.44

NEC3FGe15' 409.75

NECXV14 14" 311.63

NEC XV15 15' 433.03

NECXV17 17" 769.43

NEC XE15 15' 575.77

NECXE17 17" „ ....998.26

NECXE2121'.. _ _ 1779.24

NECXP15 15" „„ 579.68

NECXP17 17" 1095.36

NECXP21 2V 2169.43

Samsung 3 14' 233.44

Samsung 15GL 15' 372.89

Samsung 17GI.S 17" 859.82

Sony CPD-1425 14' 318.33

Sony 15SF15' 459.65

Sony 17SF1 17" 879.48

Sony 20SE1 20' 1929.28

ViewSonic 15GS 15" .427.17

ViewSonic 17GS IT -737.48

ViewSonic 21PS21' 1693.70

ADS VGA to TV Elite internal 134.89

ADS VGA to TV Elite external 198.83

ATI Graphics Xpression ISA2MB 189.36

ATI Graphics Xpression VIJ3 2MB 189.36

ATI Graphics Xpression PCI2MB 189.36

ATI Graphics ProTurbo ISA2MB 319.97

ATI Graphics Pro Turbo VIJ3 2MB 319.97

ATI Graphics Pro Turbo PCI 2MB 319.97

ATI Graphics ProTurbo PCI 4MB 449.68

Diamond SpeedStar Pro ISA 1MB „...95.69

Diamond SpeedSTar 64 ISA 2MB 199.00

Diamond Stealth 64 VLB 2MB VRAM 316.64

Diamond Stealth 64 PCI 2MB VRAM ..316.64

Hercules Dynamite Pro ISA 1MB 147.84

Hercules Dynamite Pro ISA 2MB, 189.80

Hercules Dynamite PowerVLB 1MB 144.77

Hercules Dynamite Power VIJ3 2MB 198.29

Hercules Terminator 64 PCI 2MB .315.30

Hercules Terminator 64 VIJ3 2MB 315.30

Intel Smart Video Recorder Pro 398.99

If You Find a Better Price, Call CDW® Before You Buy (800) 959-4CDW

NASDAQ

No surcharge for credit cards

BUY WITH CONFIDENCE CDW® IS A NASDAQ TRADED COMPANY

TICKER SYMBOL CDWC

D & B rated 5A1 Duns 10-762-7952

CDUP TELEPHONE HOURS

Safes 7:00 -9300 COT Morvfti ft005:OOCOTSaL

Tech Support for Customers

8:00-7:00 COT Mon-fti

MJ0h5.-00 COTSat

MOST ORDERS SHIP THE SAME DAY

CDW Computer Centers, Inc. • 1020 E. Lake Cook Road • Buffalo Grove, IL 60089

COMPUTER DISCOUNT WAREHOUSE

EPSON

Stylus Color II

High resolution color Inkjet printer

♦ Resolution: 360 x 360 dpi

♦ Maximum print speed: 2.5 ppm

♦ Fonts: 4 scaleable, 3 LQ y •

♦ Paper capacity: 100 sheets

♦ Paper types: plain paper, labels, envelopes, transparencies, Epson 360, 720 and high quality glossy ♦ Paper sizes: letter, legal, A4, B5, statement, executive ♦ Maximum print area:

8.03" x 10.34" (letter) ♦ Parallel interface

♦ 2 year warranty

> —.

wA.*

TOSHIBA

T2100 DX2/50 250MB mono 1258.33

T2100CS DX2/50 330MBdualcolor „ .1799.82

T2100CT DX2/50 330MB actcolor -2438.64

T2110CS DX4/75 350MB pas color 1999.80

T2130CS DX4/75 520MB act color 2524.52

T2130CT DX4/75 520MB pas color. .3036.59

T2150CS DX4/75 500MB pas color CD „2966.16

T2150CT DX4/75 500MB act color CD .3669.85

T2400CS 320MB dua! color 1699.00

T2400CT 250MB act color. 2529.43

T2400CT 320MB ad color .2597.87

T2450CT 320MB act color. 3108.10

T2450CT 500MB act color 3198.17

T3600CT 500MB actcolor. 3188.39

T48SOCT DX4/75 520MB act color 3268.67

PorJeqe 610CT L/90 720MB ad color 4338.05

400CS 5/75 810MB dual color 3996.15

400CDT 5/75 810MB act color CD 4819.78

T4900CT 5/75 772MB actcolor 4397.33

AST

Ascentia 910N 4/500 340MB pas color. .2459.73

Ascerrtia 910N 4/75 510MB pas color 2649.50

Ascentia 910N4/75 510MB ad color 3679.81

Ascerrtia 910N 4/75 710MB ad color 3965.22

Ascentia 950N 5/75 500MB dual color 3348.81

Ascentia 950N 5/75 800MB dual color .3636.46

Ascentia 950N 5/75 800MB ad color .4719.13

Ascentia 950N 5/75 1.2GB act color 5162.24

Advantage! 6066<J 4/66 540MB CD 1019.62

Advantage! 8075p 5/75 1GB CD 1843.13

Advantage! 8100p 5/100 1GB CD .2519.33

ThinkPad portables

360CE DX2/50 340MB act color 3099.00

360CE DX2/50 540MB act cotof 3449.00

701CS DX4/75 360MB act color 4299.00

701CS DX4/75 540MB act color 4599 00

701 CS DX4/75 540MB pas color 3849.00

755CE DX4/100 540MB ad color 5349.00

755CE DX4/100 810MB actcolor 5799.00

755CD DX4/100 540MB actcolor, CD 6349.00

755CD DX4/100 810MB ad color, CD 6799.00

755CX 5/75 540MB ad color 6549.00

755CX 5/75 810MB act color 6999.00

Aptfva

Aptiva 535 DX2/66 540MB 1349.00

PC300 Series desktops

PC300 5/75 8MB. 540MB 1612.26

PC300 5/90 16MB. 850MB 2381.26

PC3S0 5/75 8MB.540MB 1879.00

PC3S0 5/75 16MB, 850MB .2339.00

PC350 5/90 16MB, 850MB 2743.00

PC750 5/90 16MB. 540MB 2961.00

PC750 5/90 16MB. 540MB. CD 3565.00

NEC

Versa V DX2/50 250MB dualclr. .2149.87

Versa V DX2/50 250MBactclr .2296.63

Versa V DX2/50 340MB actdr 2389.81

Versa V DX2/50 540MB act dr 2678.65

Versa 2000D 4/75 4MB. 350MB dual clr .1919.84

Versa 2000C 4/75 4MB, 350MB actdr 2257.17

Versa 2000C4/758MB,350MBactdr 2489.73

Versa 2000C 4/75 8MB. 540MB act clr 2678.82

Versa M DX4/75 340MB true dr 2848.67

Versa M DX4/75 540MB hi-res clr 3337.46

Versa M DX4/100 540MB hires clr 3939.55

Versa M DX4/100 540MB true dr 3426.27

Versa M DX4/100 810MB hi-res dr .4349.06

Versa P 5/75 540MB act dr 4647.39

Versa P 5/75540MB hi-res clr. .4619.83

Versa P 5/75 810MB act dr 5029.66

Versa P 5/75 810MB 9.5" hi res clr 4998.58

Versa P 5/75 810MB 10.4* hires clr 5349.62

■J^ Texas Instruments

TM4O00 M DX4/75 455MB dual color, 2499.78

TM4O00M DX4/75 524MB ad color .2848.00

TM4OO0M DX4/100 524MB ad color 3529.84

TM5000 5/75 524MB dual color 3868.65

TM5000 5/75 810MB act color 4539.22

TMS000 5/90 1.2GBactcotor CALLI

WHY SETTLE FOR LESS?

CDW®

SERVICES YOU BETTER

iwJ.mi.iiiu;M.Mtmiay»T

MultiSpin 6X Series

• 145ms access, 900KB/sec data transfer rate • 256KB buffer for smooth audio/video playback • Internal (6Xi) or external (6Xe) form factor • Rotating anti-dust door • Front panel controls and backlit LCD status display

• Multisession PhotoCD compatible • SCSI-2 interface (host adapter sold separately)

6Xi $456.14 CDW 53460

6Xe $547 .55 CDW 53461

\*I*1X

lOEi

Canon

BJ30mono

BJC70 color

BJ100

BJ200ex _

BJ230

BJC600ecotor

BJC4000 720dpi + cotor...

....259.88 ....355.65 ....175.86 ....199.70 ...391.55 ....471.99 ....348.78

EPSON

...96.64 LQ2S50 965.08

...146.45 DFX5000 Ptus .....1528.29

FX870 303.95 Stylus 600+ .215.47

FX1170 .405.23 Stylus 1000 „..479.34

LO1070+ .409.64 Stylus Color 529.53

LQ870 454.44 ActionLaser 1100...383.62

LQ1170 689.85 ActionLaser 1400...495.53

KX-SP100 prtnter/Tax/copier 776.54

*& Texas Instruments

microLaser 600 865.10

microLaser Pro 600 PS23 1197.02

microLaser Pro E 1395.49

microLaser Power Pro 600 PS65 1599.76

...698.55 ...219.49

DeskJet 660C 489.76

DeskJet 1600C 1369.07

DeskJet 1600CM „ 1992.48

LaserJet 5P 899.77

LaserJet 4 plus 1449.96

....2999.95

LabelWriter XL WIN 139.86

LabelWriter XL Plus Win 224.89

Mototics

SPORTSTER MODEMS

V.34 28.8K internal w/lax 189.88

V.34 28.8K external w/lax 204.86

Vi28.8K internal w/tax & voice 208.70

Vi 28.8Kexlemalw/f ax & voice .225.33

14.4K internal w/lax 94.81

14.4K external w/lax 111.00

COURIER MODEMS

©Hayes

ACCURA288 V.34 external w/tax 218.8J

OPTIMA 144 external w/fax 374.30

OPTIMA 144 pocket w/fax 312.59

OPTIMA 288 V.34 internal wrtax 365.14

OPTIMA 288 V.34 external w/fax 419.44

V.34 28.8 internal w/tax ...

BOCA

Online Express 14.4 internal w/fax. 64.25

Online Express 14.4extemalw/fax 79.78

V.34 28.8 intemalw/tax 159.00

V.34 28.8 external w/tax .205.00

MICROCOM

Deskporte ES 14.4 .146.39

Deskporte Fast ES V.34 28.8 179.94

Deskporte Fast EP V.34 28.8 .239.99

msEssMBttsasMsssMsam

American Power Conversion

BackUPS 900

BackUPS1250.. SmartUPS 400... SmartUPS 600....

SmartUPS 900

SmartUPS 1250...

Surge Arrest Network .. Surge Arrest Pro...

99.53

...144.28 ....175.81 ....243.00 ...345.76 ....449.29 ....299.69 ...363.38 ...514.61 ...644.24 ....33.25

.29.45

49.98

...119.09

BC250

BC PERS 420... BC PRO 550... BC PERS 500... BC PRO 675 .. BC PRO 850...

Tripp Lite

BC PRO 1050

BC PRO 1400

SMART UPS SERIES NEW

SMART 280 LAN

SMART 450 LAN

SMART 675 LAN

SMART 850 LAN

SMART 1050 LAN

SMART 1400 LAN

Isobar 4 OUTLET

Isobar 6 OUTLET

94.97

...138.91 ....188.16 ...173.09 ...231.43 ....289.03 ...327.59 ...426.10

m'Hr.H.l.H l

...2 18.30 ....273.94 ....313.69 ...389.74 ....455.07 ....569.41

38.95

46.38

....213.38

3Com Etherlink NIB combo....

Adaptec APA1460 SCSI-2 .209.69

Hayes EZJack 14.4 w.lax 169.75

Hayes EZJack V.34 w/lax 299.87

IBM Token Ring 16/4 399.97

Linksvs Ethernet combo 167.56

Megahertz 14.4K data/lax 179.48

Megahertz XJack 14.4 data/lax 169.55

Megahertz XJack Gold 14.4 data/fax 198.89

Megahertz V.34 XJack data/tax 299.78

New Media Bus Toaster SCSI-2 host 197.92

New Media Wave Jammer sound card 229.48

New Media Multimedia Combo 439.80

Simple Tech 14.4K data/tax modem 145.51

Simple Tech 14.4K modem* voice 143.07

Simple Tech Ethernet 10BT adapter 129.16

SimpteTech SCSt adapter.. 163.68

Simple Tech 130MB hard drive 359.88

Simple Tech 170MB hard dnve 404.60

SMC

SMC Elite Ethernet combo..

Turtle Beach Audio Advantage .119.98

USR Sportster 14.4K 178.90

USR Sportster V.34 319.40

Xircom Ethernet coax 79.00

Xircom Ethernet 10BT 158.69

Xircom Ethernet combo 206.15

Xircom Ethemet+modem 10BT 319.69

SV5l

frp/e

liKMwna

AST Ascentia 910N 4MB .CALL!

ASTPowerExec 4/33SL 4MB CALL!

HP LaserJet 4P 4MB..

...CALL!

' LaserJet 4 4MB .CALL!

» LaserJet 4 8MB CALL!

IBM ThinkPad 500 4MB CALLI

IBM ThinkPad 5008MB CALLI

IBM ThinkPad 7554MB .CALLI

IBM ThinkPad 7558MB CALL!

Toshiba 1900-4600 4MB CALLI

Toshiba 1900-4600 8MB ...

Toshiba 1900-4600 16MB CALLI

Toshiba 4700/4800 32MB CALL!

NEC Versa 4MB CALL!

NEC Versa 8MB CALL!

FREE TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR CDW® CUSTOMERS.

CDW® Sells for Less and Services You Better!

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FAX (708)465-6800 ei995 CDW " ^^ Camera. Inc. BYTE 1363

Internet: info@cdw.com WWW: http://www.cdw.co

CALL FOR FREE CDW CATALOG

irele 118 on Inquiry Card-

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