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Modular OptionsBayaccepts 24XMAX'Variable CD-ROM, 3.5" FloppyDrive (both included) or optional 2ndLithium-lon Battery PCI Bus with 128-Bit Graphics Accelerator 3D Stereo SurroundSoundwith YamahaSoftware WaveTable Smart Lithium-lon Battery Under 7Pounds" Microsoft Windows95/30DaysFree Support Microsoft Oflice 97 Small Business Edition

ExtendableOneYear Limited Warranty"

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DELLDRRENSIONXPS D266

32GB Ulva ATAHard Drive

Modular OptionsBayaccepts 24XMAX' Variable CD-ROM, 3.5" Floppy Drive (both included) or optional 2ndLithium-lon Battery PCI Bus with 128-Bit Graphics Accelerator 3D Stereo SurroundSoundwith YamahaSoftware WaveTable Smart Lithium-lon Battery Under 7 Pounds Microsoft Windows95/30DaysFree Support Microsoft Office 97 Small Business Edition

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Mini Tower Model 32MB SDRAM Memory 512KB Integrated L2Cache 4.3GB HardDrive 15" 800LS Monitor (13.7" v.i.s.) STBnVidia 4MB AGP Video Card 32X MAX' Variable CO-ROM Drive Microsoft Windows95/30 DaysFree Support Microsoft Office 97 Small Business Ediuon w/Bookshelf M'Afee Viruscan3.1 3 Year Limited Warranty'

* Addi fecund Lidrtum-len Bittety fer 9349 + AddmrAdvancedPortRepiicytnrEsrSIN

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The 6S771 redefinessleek. The newGS771is ViewSonic's smallest 17" (16.0" viewable) monitor. In fact, its compact footprint takes up

less desktopspacethan a conventional 14" monitor. But when it comes toperformance, it's a lot bigger

than it looks.Thekeyis SuperClear™ViewSonic's innovative screentechnology that achieves the sharp text available in high contrast CRTswith the bright, vivid colors found

in aperture grille monitors.

A~bi idea. For the bustling business, the homeuser or

anyonewith limited space,the GS771 "short depth" monitor is idealfor color intensedesktop applications,businessgraphics, webpage design andspreadsheets. Both PCandMac' compatible, the GS771meets

TCO '95andNUTEKstandards which reduce heat emissions,lowerpowerconsumption and mandatetheuseof recyclable parjs. And,it' s backed byalimited three-yearwarranty—one of the best in thebusiness.

No smallfeat. The spacesaving GS771"short depth" monitor is the latest

example ofViewSonic's leadership in the 17" (variousviewable) market. Only our engineerscould design a performer this big with a footprint this small. Grab a tape measure andseefor yourself.

CallVmSonk' at (800) 888-8589, (905) 709-9774 for the deakr pdearest you, or visit our I ehsite at: Nrlrlr.c4nusonk.cmn. (905)709-9774• Fax:(905) 709-0685• Internet:wwwv.iewsonic,corn SpecIcabons subject tochangewithout notice • Copyright ©1998,Viewsonic Corporation• All rightsreserved Corporate namesandtrademarks arethe propertyoftheir respectivecompanies.

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DELLoDRRENSION' XPS R060

DELLDIMENSION XPS R600

NEW! 350MHzPENTIUMe UPROCESSOR

NEWI 408MHzPENTIUM RPROCESSOR

Mini TowerModel 64MB SDRAMIffemort with ECC 512KBIntegrated l2 Cache 8.4GBUltra ATAHard Drive 1$" 1280HSMositor (17.$ v.i.L) DiamondPennidis28MB ABPVideo Canl 32X MAX'Variable CD-RO M Drive Integat redYamahaW aveTableSound Altec LansingACS-90Speakers Microsoft' Windnwse95/30 DaysFree Support Microsoft Office 97SmsffBusiness Editionw/Boekshelf M'Afed Viruscan 3.1 3 Year Limited Warranty" •

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OConsnmerleasing also available, call for details.

41999' DELLDIMENSION XPS DEQ 233MHzPENTIUM IIPROCESSOR

42999'

42500'

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DELL DIMENSIONXPSD266

Mini TowerModel 64MB SDRAMMemory 512KBIntegrated L2Cache 6.488 Ultra ATAHardDrive 17 10081XTrfnitron' Monitor (I53" v.i.s.) DiamondPennidia28MB ABP Video Card 32XMAX'Vari ableCD-ROM Drive IntegartedYamahaW aveTableSound Altec LansingACS-90 Speakers Microsoft Windows95/30 DaysFreeSupport Microsoff Office97Small BusinessEdition w/Bookshelf M'Afee Viruscan3.1 3 Year LimitedWarranty'

Mini TowerModel 64MB SDRAM Memory 512KBIntegrated L2Cache 4.3GBUltra ATAHardDrive 17" 16NLSMonitor (15.9" vLs.) STBnyi dia4M BAGPVideoCard 32XMAX'VariableCD-ROM Dove Yamaha32WaveTable Sound Altec LansingACS-295Speakersw/Subwoofer 56KCapable"US Roboticsx2W inM odem Microsoft Windows95/30 DaysFreeSupport MicrosoRHomeEssentials 98 M'Afee Viruscao 3.1 3 Year Limited Warranty*

4.3GBHardDrive 15 M8LS Monitor(13.7 v.i.s.) STBnVidia4MBAGPVideoCard 32X MAX'VariableCD-RO MDrive Microsoft Windows95/30 DaysFree Support Microsoft Office 97Small BusinessEditinn w/Bookshelf M'Afee Viruscan 3.1 3 Year LimitedWarranty" * Upgrade to04M B SDRAM Memory add 8140 * Add Yamebs32Wave TableSoundasdAf fscLansingAGS-M Speakers for 8120

43090' DELLPOWEREDGEo2200 SERVER

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333MHzPENTIUNIHPROCESSOR (Expandable toDualProcessor)

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IntelPro/1006PCIEthernetAdapter HP OqeoviewNetworkNodeManager SEv3.0 3 Years ofNBDOnefffe'Service 7x24 DedicatedServer HardwareTechnical TelephoneSupport

333MHzPENTIUM IIPROCESSOR

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GREATER TORONTO EDITION + MAY '98

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28 Not quite ready for prime time

36 Affordable 15-inch monitors

42 1 5-inch monitor survey

D e sktop video who's who

61 Basic concepts in video and video editing

44 Low on storage space?Not for long

QuickTime 3.0 learns new tricks

F rom boat anchor to video editing suite .

H a rd Drive survey

67 Hollywood tastes on indie budget Upgrading your PC for video editing and production

N EW S

18 CeBit breaksattendanre figures—again

R E V i EW S 120 Power Macintosh G3/266 a speed demon

21 Canadian computer usageclimbing 24 Viruses spontaneouslymutating, expert says 54

123 PDA central home for handheld apps

C anadians receptive to wireless telecoms

124 Canadian sky simulator wins award 102 Versatile Versas Cruising with NEC's latest 6200 series

103 Connecting to the future: USB and Firewire

125 An accessible guide to Macbeth 130 A whole in one A comprehensive history of golf

104 Palm's charm intact with third generation 105 Wacomimproves entry-level tablet

126 Multimedia enriches music lessons

'l06 WebShare: three surfers, one modem 108 Inkjet paper confidential Using Brand A's paper in l3rand l3's printer

128 Frank Garcia's top 10 science fiction sites

112 AirLink big screen computing

132 Weaving your own Web site: Part XXXII u

114 Browser accelerators: Do they really work?

134 Office 97 Web tips and tricks

KZE9 73 A ccounting software for Mlindows 73 H P launches E50 server

135 Web Design Black Book 136 HotWired veteran shares design philosophy

73 S ymantec"snew general manager 92

F eds declare war on Y2K bug

D i gital disaster planning

C o ntact management meets the Net

E mail management gaining priority

148 Simple simulations in complex real life

100 Understanding bank financing dynamics

Z ONING

U P l % G R E A TER T O R O NTO E D I T I O N

IuNa 1998

jutv 1998

Mut>iteculilpiitliig • Hlgll-('ilrl Sl'sti'ills

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6 It/IAY 1998 THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www tcp.ca

x$akv,FROM THE EDITOR Best before a brand new car can do. A 10-yearold stereo The mast fre- system will play the latest CD. You don't have quent/ a s k ed to buy a new TV set to take advantage of extra question we field cable channels. But have you tried to run the in, the editorial latest operating system or use the latest muld epartment i s timedia encyclopedia an a 10-year-old persome variation of sonal computer'? "Should I buy a caai1pii'ter naw, of

Hdaw ldaw ceht//raga9Ql

should I wait for prices to drop some more?" 'We usually answer with same variation of "It all depends;you have to look at your own needs, wants, and budget to dedde when's best for you." While you can construct countlessscenarios by playing with needs,wants and budget, potential buyers really fall inta one of just two camps. There are the early adopters, who buy the latest computer technology, regardlessof the price, and then there"severybody else. Most of us areeverybody else. Wewant or

The general manager of a leading PC manufacturer tald me recentlythat there'6 a correction in the personal computer market every several years, and that we are now in one of those correction phases. If you read the technology news, you' ll find reports that companies are holding lots of unsold inventory, «nd

times just can't afford it. So we play a strate-

and PC designs hit the retail shelves. Whether you take an optimistic or pessimistic view, the fact is that some significant

that prices will continue to fall.

If you are an optimist, you might condude that now is a great time to buy, prices

out that their processors have the additional

benefit of using the non-proprietary Slot 7 design. IBM and Compaq are two leading computer manufacturers that are using AMD and Cyrix processors in some of their personal computer models. I recentiiy saw IBM

advertising its Ambra Ispirati 300 series, based on the Cyrix Z00 MHz MediaGX chip, for $999. Oecdahtehtihg

But even $1,000 is a lot of money for many consumers, a fact recognized by Acer, the largest computer maker in Taiwan. Acer has announced the X Computer or XC„which is a PC-like computing appliance that will be limited in function or expandability compared to a personal computer, but also much less expensive than a PC. Prices for these will beginataround $300,and we may seeexamples of them some time this year, according

being so low. If you are a pessimist, you might conclude that now is not a good time to buy, because manufacturers are merely to Acer. Acer's chief executive officer, Stan Shih, dumping technology that will be obsolete the need a more powerful system, but we some- moment the next generations of processors predicts that within 10 years, XC devices will gicgame, trying to pick the sweetest time to buy — not to soon, because the price will be toa high; but not too late, because we' ll be stuck with technology that's too ancient. As an item of mass consumption, the

computer occupies an unusual niche. Looking at its physical characteristics, it is

easy to throw the computer in with TV sets, stereos and other consumer electronics devices, or hard goods in general. However, if we consider the useful life span of a typical computer system, we' re talking about a duration more characteristic of perishable goods.

When readers ask if now is the right time to buy, what they' re really trying to figure out is

appliances envisioned by Acer include the KC {Kids Computer), GC (Game Computer), EC visions of what the personal computer will (Education Computer) and INC (Internet look like by the end of the year, Computer). In March, Intel announced its roadmap to To come full circle, The Computer Paper computing's future. Intel is splitting the PC will probably still get a lot of people asking into t h r e e pe r formance s t reams: when's the best time to buy a computer, and Enthusiast/Professional PCs, Performance the editors will continue to give fuzzy PCs, and Basic PCs, answers. Soine manufacturers are now guessThe Pentium line of processors will soon ing that low prices can be tied to reduced feabe put out to pasture, and so later this year, tures and functions, a practice knovvn as even the Basic PC will be powered by a varia- decontenting in the car industry. Up to this tion of the Pentium II processor. Intel even point, PC affordability has been realized by has a naine for it — the Celeron. The Celeron buying behind the technology curve — the players have already sketched out their

the PCsystem'sbest-beforedate code.

will be the processer to carry Intel's version of the often-talked about $1,000 PC to the mass how quickly the industry has progressed, sug- market. What effect this will have on other PC gesting that if the auto industry had Computer evangelistF often remark at

advanced as rapidly, a luxury car would go as fast as an airplane, be as fuel ef'ficierlt as a bicycle and cost $1.95. What they conveniently forget is that a person with a 10-yearold car can do everything that a person with

be selling at 10 times the volume of traditional PCs. Variations of the XC information

further behind, the better the price. A new

set of rules is being proposed; we are being asked whether we will be willing to pay less,

not for older technology, but for less techCPU makersremains to be seen. AMD and nology. Cyrix, for example, have been promoting their AMD K6 and Cyrix 6x86MX CPUs as Interesting times ahead. cast-effective sixth-generation alternatives to the Pentium IL The companies both point David Tanaka, Editor

VOIIIme11, HO. 5, jtjay1998 FNMEIHR/ EEENrNEHN44 J. Dav id Ritter,dri ter@Islam.com HNN DavidTennis, davidOcp.ca

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Ooh't forget cest of prlhter cdahaggahahies I always enjoy reading your TCP Test Labs

very important when figuring the cost of

review of various and new products that are out. I especially looked forward to April's arti-

you didn't give any hard numbers on the cost per page to print with each printer The cost

printing on any printer.

From these numbers, and the fact that both the PP 10v and the 4508 take standard

I also noted that when you discussed the SIMMs,and have good expandability, I'd say articles as it helps me to get a quick grasp and cost of consumables for printers in general, you were correct in your choice of the Fujttsu

cle by Steve Halinda on laser printers under af a printer really comes in the cost of the $1000 since I' ve had my eye on a couple for consumables; for instance, even though the my own office. Generally, it was a very good Okipage 4W is very cheap to purchase, it' s article. twice as expensive per page to operate than I would like to comment that often in the the Fujitsu PP10v. written part of the article many details on the I' ve broken down the cost per page asbest individual printers are left out; for as I can calculate from estimated retail prices the page life af some drums were mentioned on consumables: but not for others (this specificatian wasn' t included in the chart). This just makes it that Prlntar CastIII Coaaamablea, much harder to make accurate evaluations 44414 liat PaNB when some info is left out. OkidataOkipage4w 4.36

exam ple,

You said that drum life isn't really a con-

HP Lasetlet 8L

3.55

cem since most of the printers reviewed in this article had the toner and drum in one

LBxmarkOptraE+ Brother HL-1060

3.28

unit. However, this is only true for two out of

Olddata Okipage64 Xerox DocuPdint 4508 Fuiltsu PrlntPattner 10v

the seven printers reviewed; the other five use separate toner and drum cartridges. This is

3.17 2.56 2.30 2.03

PP 10v and the Xerox 4508. The Gptra E+ is

very good quality (and cheaper to buy), but is also more expensive to operate and is limited in its upgradability. I read an article once where a printer company executive was quoted as saying that the printer business is like the razor blade business in that they really made the money on the consumables, not the printers. Maybe next time you do a Test Labs piece on printers you might try to put an estimate on the cost of operating them since that is the real price that is paid in the long run. Kevin Tangeman IijiggreWeb tools — for free Linda Richards' article on "Essential Web Creation Tools" in the April edition was interesting, if not complete. She mentions the Continued an page8

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SUISCRlleflBN Tnhave12issuesol Itic Corqoutrr Aper maileddiredlI to Yrnahome(mCmada), sendacheguelor829,95toSuite drgg-99Attantic Ave.. Truants, Dnlario M6K3/8. Ameri cansubscdpgonspleasesend875inUSFunds.Dverseaspleasesend8135 CanadiaIg nrstclass). Thecorn/riderPAoetis tubttshedmontblybr canadacomputerPaperInc.Agrigtas reserved. Retnodtsatoninwholeorinpart vdthout lhetrerngsskmol gmgnblishrnis strkdty prohgrged. The oginmns exgressed in aigctes are not necessai'IYthoseol theOutdistrer. Informationpresented here is conviled fram sources haloed tobeaccurate, however,thepublisheiassumesnoresponsibility ler The publisherreserves lhe rigid to retuseadsol a srnssdor viotenl nature, madswhichrnaYbedeemltogrngetuatesexualor cadetstrueotItres.sacrJfimttr. ads referring to Adult solhae or X-ratedsottvnne wil berefuel. Thepublisher ieseivrm therighttobethefinaljudgeelartsdiscansidraedayaroariale.Foracopyel our tuttpolicynleasecontactYoresalesrearenentagvrs

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8 M AY 1998 THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATER TORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca

gg) LETTERS Continued froin page6 existence of W3C, and the fart that HTMI. verification engines exist. However, she missed out the fact that W3C has "products" out there which are very helpful with Web design. The "old" experimental Web browser "arena" and the newer browser "amaya" are both available on a vari-

ety of platforms (and as source code), and they both do a fair job of judging the legality/compliance of any existing Web document. Not bad for something that is free. Gordon Haverland Content rules! Wendy Boulding's article "Writing for the Web" in the April edition is the most intelligent story

you have ever run. Content — that is, the comfortable couch. When a Web site has no text thoughts expressed in the text — is the only rea- I move on, because there are millions that do. son that would make me interested in a Web site. Bert Staddon Your series "Weaving your own Web site" and most of the other stories you run, pre- DT replies: I wouhl «rgue tluit good contentand sume — fatuously — that pictures and clever good design are preferable to either «lone. Howr~n; I tricks can make a Web site worth visiting. think I .see your point that ojteii, flashy design is used If I wanted to admire graphics and special to substitirtefor a lack of substance. Thi s is true of effects I would buy a television set and a more «ll mass media', notjiist what we see on the Wi'b.

Ask not for whom the customer calls

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Certainly, small business operators can not

CHAMBEROF COMMERCE Og

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Concerning your article "Small Business Basic Resources Checklist" in the March issue, the suggestion that an answering machine will improve your ability to maintain contact is a double-edged sword. So many businessesuse this device to screen calls and as an excuse to not be "in the office" that it can turn off business. When I get an answering machine instead of a human voice my first instinct is to call another company that answers the telephone. A receptionist is expensive and does not necessarily improve the situation when the people she jor he] is covering for are not around. God bless the receptionists and the office administrators because they are the backbone of 'most business communications systems. Digital Equipment was labeled in a computer magazine as having an unacceptable response-to-customer-call time in a customer support test. They dismantled a very expensive voice mail system and installed an even more expensive system operated by new employees. The result was a dramatic increase in sales simply because they were able to offer better service.

MI 'o AWARO

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afford this solution however, a mobile telephone is worth considering. If your customers get a busy signal at least they know you are at the telephone and they will think about calling you back in a few minutes. At our small company we use mobile telephones. We do no t h ave an answering machine because our business plan states "When a customer calls we will answer...". If you are unable to handle the calls, encourage your clients to use your Web site and email to off-set the load, Another item in your article talks about advancedcontact management and communications utilities. These products are marvelous if you have the time to learn how to use them. Anyone who thinks they can put these programs to productive use right out of the box is fooling themselves. Definitely get them and definitely work at developing your user skills but don't forget to allow for the time required to learn them. They are one of the perseverance tests sent by a greater being to find out early in the game if you have "the r'ight stuff." I see publications such as The (:r>wpvter Paperbecoming, amongst other things, a life saving source of advice as the road ahead challenges our perseverance and ingenuity. Thank you for the use of your soap box, Robert Pollock »

Coir ection '„'Due to errors in communication, two : 'prices:listed in the April Iab Test, "A laser

A DiÃerent Kind of Iwternet Company

4lb 233-7'150 http: //wvnv.iciirect.corn

- printer of your very own," were incorrect. The correct ' price for the Fuiitsu

«-'PrintPartner 10V is $830.

TIte correct suggested retail price for the Xerox DocuPrint 4$08 is:$999. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.,

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M AY 1998 THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATER TORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca

Sense of humor award to Seanla • Given the hard-nosed business image that has become all-too-common in PC advertising, we got a laugh from Seanix Technology's recent billboard campaign running in Ottawa. Seanix chose the billboard message "Even Preston Manning can't criticize our I'Cs" as a

lighthearted way to convey its message that Seanix PCs are so reliable, they are beyond criticism. The Richmond, B.C.-based company employs 230, and has ISO 9001 and ISO 9002-certified manufacturing pl ants.f)T

I r

HP Sojourn sets the pace for thin, light notebogbks • You can never be too thin or have too much power. That, apparently is the motto of Hewlett-Packard's design team, which has introduced the Sojourn, a new portable successor to the aging OmniBook 800CI'. The Sojourn is an amazing 19 mm (0.71 in.) thick, and weighs just 1.4 kg (3.1 lb.), but still manages to include a 233 MHz processor (an Intel RTillamook" Pentium model with MMX), a 2 GB drive and a whopping 64MB of RAM. The Sojurn's extreme thinness necessitates a keyboard with less key-travel than we like, but it was relatively easy to type on. We didn' t like the cursor key layout, though. For some reason, HP has declined to use the standard "inverted T" layout, and instead laid out its cursor keys in a diamond shape, with nchiclet"-style keys. The active-matrix screen permits a maximum 800x600 resolution, and the unit provides audio playback through a single tiny speaker. The multimedia base adds better audio playback via two pop-out speakers, At a price more than double that of larger notebooks of comparable power (its estimated

Ieheif-

price is $8,000), the Sojourn is clearly a

• Savewith Internet phone csl/g to fstniiy snd friendst~

Boxter accessory" for the status-seeking executive, but it is the most sophisticated notebook we' ve seen yet in terms of oohs and ahhs per pound. We want one.— Ci) Contact: HP Canada,Tel:800-387-3867 http:jiwww.hp. corn

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NEC notebook takes a bombing and

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Calif. (NB) — Joseph Songin, facilities manager at the Rochester, New York Army National Guard reported his NEC Versa notebook stolen. About 24 hours later the same notebook was blown-up by the local bomb squad, but still functioned sufficiently to display stored data on a desktop monitor. "Not too long after he reported his notebook missing, Songin learned the local bomb squad was alerted to a suspicious, unattended box,n said Morgan Khalili, a spokesperson of NEC. After sending a robot to X-ray the contents, the bomb squad determined the box contained a device with cables and wires. In such cases, devices are exploded with enough force to detonate any potential bomb, but, hopefully, not enough to destroy the contents, reported NEC. Instead of a bomb, the squad found what remained of Songin's Versa notebook and some peripherals. The speakers, CD-ROM drive, and battery pack were damaged, as were the top panel and screen of the notebook. Returned to Songin, the main body of the notebook was connected to a desktop monitor where the machine accurately booted and allowed him to send an email to NEC's customer service division. nyou make one rugged machine," he wrote. "I did not see much harm in troubleshooting the Versa, so I hooked up a VGA monitor to the undamaged monitor port and flipped the power switch. I expected it to start smoking and had a fire extinguisher ready, but i nstead the password screen appeared. A quick check showed that all the tiles and software were undamaged and fully operational." The theft is still under investigation at this time, but Songin, courtesy of NEC, now works with a new Versa 2700 notebook. "We have

THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca MAY 1998 1 ]

•

the phone than they did two years ago The personal computer is the numberone tool for administrators and small business owners. SO percent of respondents have email, but only two-thirds of them think it has a postive effect on productivity.

pay-once concept for photo images • Photo Collective lnc. in Fast Selkirk, Man., has released a nine-volume set of photographic images on CD-ROM. According to Merc Gallant, director of Photo Collective, this is as much a labor of love as it is a commercial venture. A professional photojournalist by trade,

never heard of a notebook surviving a bomb blast and we are proud of the Versa's durabiltiy, but we certainly don't recommend this as a way for people to test their notebooks," said Khalili.

j ComnetaexIIiNs'benelt NII the INowlel:

8:1 user to lirre ratio

feet • Okay, so 1,200 square feet isn't exactly warehouse size, but it's all MegaDepot needs to sel! its inventory of 100,000 items. You see, MegaDepot is an Internet superstore, and the 1,200 square feet hold a typical small office with administrative, sales and marketing people. 'I'he actual products are housed in 40 dis-

' 5 K Dial-up access 3 NIB personal homepage

J L E-mail:address included

tribution centres in Canada and the United «T. ', sr': o: stTL! 8 ~/si, 's! ~tr~

Coirtiuat.'tt ott page 14

! I

Superstore occupies a whopping 1,200

w"v !!L

Gallant collaborated with 100 colleagues, many based in Canada, to produce the volumes. Perhapsbecause the images were taken by photojournalists, they have a spontaneous quality to them. Gallant says the images are

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Q Nosetupfee

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•

States, ready to be whisked to customers by courier in one to three days after the order is placed. MegaDepot sells primarily computer products, although through its affiliates program, it provides vfrtual shelf space for small businesses selling a variety of goods, such as kitchenware, specialty CD-ltOMs and pet food. 'I'heVancouver-based company employs .12 people, and says sales will hit $1 million this year. MegaDepot representatives also claim that their Web site gets more than one million hits a month.— DT Contact: MegaDepot, http: //www.megadepot.corn frustration rules the workplace: Avery Dennison study • A Decima Research survey conducted for Avery Dennison Canada has found that IIII percent of those surveyed say they are frustrated at work. This is despite the fact that 74 percent also say that better equipment has improved the quality of work, and 68 percentsay technological advances have made them more productive. The frustration partly stems from not knowing how to use the tools available to them. The survey found that only half of those surveyed said they could fix an equipment jam or failure themselves. A quarter said they never do. Other findings: • 42 percent said they spend more time on

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and has a print speed of 6 ppm (pages per minute). A fax component includes 2 MB of memory, which the company claims will store up to 150 fax pages. The fax portion also supports up to 175 speed dial numbers and 25 group lists. The scanner portion supports only grey scale scanning, but comes with optical character recognition software.— DT Contact: HP Canada,Tel: 800-387-3867 http: //www.hp.col Xerox gets personal with P12, XC86$ •

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office supply and computer retail outlets. With a suggested retail price of $1,199, the P12 is more expensive than other personal printers, but Xerox points out that it uses a much faster print engine, rated at 12 ppm; includes a three-year warranty; and can be upgraded to a network printer with an option-

Xerox Canada Ltd. has introduced what it calls its first personal laser printer, along with a low-priced small/home office copier. The DocuPrint V12 printer is aimed at individuals or small offices, and will be available at major

al network interface card. The DocuPrint uses a printing architecture from Adobe called VrintGear, along with a custom 60 MHz PrintGear image processor. Unlike a bitmap image processing system, which sends information about each dot making up the image, PrintGear can use display

list descriptions that define objects such as lines, geometric shapes, and patterns in a more economical way. This means less data has to be processed, resulting in faster printing and lower printer memory requirements. The printer comes standard with 2 MB of memory and a 250-sheet paper tray. Memory can be upgraded to 18 MB, and an optional 500-sheet paper tray is available. The company has also announced what it claims is the industry's lowest-priced personal copier, the XC865. This model is rated at 8 ppm, hasa 20-page document feeder,and has a zoom range of 70-140 percent. It has a suggested retail price of $1,299, and comes with a three-year warranty.— DT Contact: Xerox Canada,TEI: 800-832-6979 http: //www.teamxrx.corn Kodak int r o d uce s und e r - $ 1,000 megaplxel camera • Ko dak Canada has broken the $1,000 barrier for a megapixel camera. Its DC 200 has a suggested retail price of $899. It has a 1,152x864 pixel image sensor and is roughly based on Kodak's DC210 camera. However while the DC 210 features a

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Nortel Introduces Internet via powerlines to Europe • HA N OVER, Germany (NB) — The latest version of Digital I'owerLine technologyhasbeen launched in Hanover by Nortel (Northern Telecom) and Norweb. The system gives electricity users high speed access to Internet, linking their computers to the world over existing electricity mains. Connection speeds of at l east I Mb/sec. are said to be at least ten times faster than ISDN. The new technology, branded the DVL 1000, will make installation of Digital PowerLine capability in the home faster and easier, Nortel says, and will provide a simple interface to a whole range of devices. Nortel spokeswoman Michelle Murray says DPL 1000 is the "next generation" of an installation i n troduced last October in England. The upgraded DPL 1000 version is based on a stand-alone unit connected to the power supply by standard coaxial cable and then linked to the data world via standard Ethernet cables. Murray said that the digital powerline system has attracted considerable attention around the world for its potential to accelerate the availability of fast, more cost-effective Internet services, especially in regions where power mains are common but telephone lines are not, or in areas where all telephone calls are metered, with the user paying for both time and distance. DPL 1000 has the added advantage of providing advanced telecommunications network management by the electricity company for monitoring and maintenance as well as providing additional services. The new system also unleashes the potential fo r h o me Conti>inert onpage lib

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CeBIT breaks attendance figures again Industry mood positive at German computer show HANOVER, Germany (NB) — CeBIT Computer

(CIM) and Automated Data Capture (ADC)

Faire, Germany's annual seven-day computer came in fourth position with four football staand technology show, has always seemed dium-sized halls and 864 exhibitors — up from mind-blowingly massive, but now it's offlcial — CeBIT is bigger than most attendees imagined. In total, more than 670,000 people attended the show, t he organi z er s, D eu t s c h e M esse (DM), reported. At t he 1998 s h o w, there were an a stonishi n g 7,250 vendors

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g o ods

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811 last year. The next CeBIT is scheduled to take place March 18 to 24, 1999. Contact: CeBIT, http: //www.ce(nt.de

fields, CATA said that in the short term the

and German. It's estimated price is US$99.

only answer will be recruiting people from Contact Linluxland, http: //www.linuxland.de other countries, The team made prem.ntations at CeBIT and is employing a World Wide Web

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site called TechnoSkill to match job-seekers to DV9+IN drive technologydemo'd opportunities in Canada, officials said. Contact: CATA,http://www.cata.ca

Hewlett-Packard, Mitsubishi, Philips, Ricoh, Sony, and Yamaha demonstratedread and write capabilities of a p r o totype DVDC-Phone unveils analog/ISBN Rewritable (DVD+RW) drive, at the Hanover Intel shows off INerced vldeoconferendng 1V system show. The drive system builds on the early Intel was showing off its new Merced technol- C-Phone Corporation, a U.S. company, technology successes of DVD (digital versatile ogy, and talking about plans for new chips in unveiled a US$999 videoconferencing unit disk), but extends the technology into the the coming year. Merced is a new 64-bit tech- that plugs into a standard TV and supports read/write arena for the first time. In the nology that will allow intel to move on up to dialup modem and ISDN (integrated service demos, officials from the six companies the upcoming 0.18 micron technology, digital network) connections. The unit sup- showed digital bitmap files being written to expected at the end of this year, and a great ports all the major videoconferencing stan- disk in real time, and then read back into the advance on the 0.25 micron technology that dards, including the H.324 analog system, PC's memory for display. arrived last fall. The switch to 64-bit architec- which has been enhanced for use over ISDN as Like DVD in 1997, however, DVD+RW ture will be amajor one — far more significant well, and the H.320 ISDN system. C-Phone technology is still in its development stages, than any of the earlier chip architecture claims that the DS-324 is one of the first and early prototype machines are not expectupgrades, analysts say. Incredibly, when 64-bit videocon units of its type, and offers a level of ed to reach the Japanese and U.S. markets 0.18 micron technology enters the main- quality and flexibility never before available. until this fall, with volume shipments worldstream at the end of this year, Intel will be If an ISDN line is used, video frame rates wide expected in the first quarter of 1999. already working on 0,13 micro technology, approach 30 per second, yet slower frame rates A ccording to o f f icials with HP, t h e ready for introduction this side of the year are available for PSTN dialup links. Using a DVD+RW drives will provide users with three 2000. Intel officials say they can push the standard TV set, the unit connects to all exist- gigabytes (GB) of removable data storage technology as high as 400 MHz in a Pentium ing videoconferencing room and PC systems, c apacity. Each DVD+RW drive will u se II, although the 0.18 micron technology will as well as all of the new and anticipated H.324 MultiRead technology to read CD-ROM, CDpush that to 450 MHz, Merced, however, will devices reaching the market, C-Phone says. R, and CD-RW media, as well as supporting see Intel, in conjunction with its technology Contact :C-Phone,httpi/www.cphone.corn existing CD technologies. The technologypartner, Hewlett-Packard, "push the envejointly developed by HP, Philips, and Sony — is lope" to 600 MHz or faster.— Sieve Gold Office suite for Llnux launcheel based on the "Phase Change ReWritable" Contact: Intel, http: //www.intel.corn Caldera has teamed up with StarDivision and (PCRW) format specifications that have Linuxland to unveil StarOffice 4.0 for Linux, a recently been adopted by the announcing CATA recruits European workers package it claims is the only full-featured companies.—Sylvia Dennis The C a nadian A d v anced T echnology office productivity application suite for LinuxAssociation (CATA) sent a team to CeBIT to try based systems. The s oftware i ncludes: MlcroZlP driven by PCINCIA card to lure skilled technical workers from Europe StarWriter, a word processor; StarCalc, a Microtech International has unveiled an to Canada. CATA officials estimate Canadian spreadsheet; Starlmpress, a graphics and pre- lomega Zip drive unit with a difference — a high-tech firms will need to recruit about sentationpackage;StarBase, a database mod- PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card 11,000 skilled workers next year, and Canada ule; StarMail, StarDiscussion and StarChannel, International Association) card driven version is not producing enough people with the right a trio of I nternet connectivity apps; and known as the MicroZip. Launching the 100 background. While promoting plans to edu- StarDesktop, a graphical desktop interface. MB disk system, Microtech said the MicroZIP cate more Canadians in high-technology StarOffice 4.0 for Linux is available in English Continuni on page IOii

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www.tcp.ca

NEWS

Viruses spontaneously mutating, expert says BY JEFF EVANS

ccordingto one of the world's most v i r us infections currently being reported unknown flaws in the most commonly used knowledgeable c o m puter vi r u s a r e n't even the result of deliberate human office software suite. e xperts, a majority of the computer a c t i on. T hey ar e b e ing g enerated b y . After taking a tour of the Symantec AntiVirus Research Centre (SARC) in Santa Monica, Calif., TCP had an opportunity to talk with Carey Nachenberg, the principal software executive and chief researcher for antivirus products at Symantec Corp. Simple computer viruses are not all that difficult to write, Nachenberg says. Many of the 20,000 or so known computer viruses are minor variations on a few classic originals. Most of these variants are easy to spot and fix, using anti-virus software from Symantec, McAfee, or Dr. Solomon's — the market leaders in the antivirus software field. However, an increasing number of viruses are examples of the new class of so-called "macro viruses," malicious code written in the macro languages for the widely used Microsoft IVord or M i crosoft Excel programs (macros are sets of user-definable formatting instructions attached to word processing or spreadsheet documents). Macro viruses are even easier to write than the traditional boot sector or polymorphous viruses, according to Nachenberg.

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to have been spontaneously generated, or 'mutated' from originally harmless macros, rather than being the deliberate product of nasty virus-writing

humans The SARC lab receives hundreds of comp uter v i r u s r e p orts p e r w e e k , a n d Nachenberg says that although macro viruses only account for 10 to IS percent of the different computer virus types known to exist, they currently account for over 80 percent of reported computer virus incidents. In other words, macro viruses are more infectious than m or e t r aditional viruses. The reason for the easy spread of macro Co/Iti/II/ed o/I page 26

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MAY 1998 THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATER TORONTO EDITION

www.tcp.ca

NEWS in ordinary macro instructions being corrupted or altered in an apparently random

Viruses spontaneously mutating Contirmed from page24

way. To use a biological analogy, the vast

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viruses is.due to the enormous volume of MS Word and M S Excel documents exchanged over corporate networks or the Internet every day. Once a Word macro virus, for example, is introduced onto a network as part of an infected document, it can copy itself rapidly to large numbers of documents on computers of users all over the network who read the infected file, if no virus checking software is operating. However, Nachenberg claims that what is even more interesting (or alarming) is that 70 percent of macro viruses being sent by computer end users to SARC for study appearto have been spontaneously generated, or "mutated" from originally harmless macros, rather than being the deliberate product of nasty virus-writing humans. According to Nachenberg, some unknown feature or flaw in Microsoft Office 95 results

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majority of these macro "mutations" are "non-viable": the resulting, changed file is either spoiled and unusable, or the minor change is unnoticeable. However, out of the many millions of Word documents containing macros that are created each day, a tiny number of "viable," infectious macro viruses are being spontaneously, randomly generated. It's a little like the old saying ttht if you had a

that have been spontaneously changed, rather than deliberately reprogrammed by humans. He claims the problem doesn' t appear to exist on documents created within MS Office 97, although macro viruses in Office 95 documents survive conversion into Office 97 format. Short of Microsoft recognizing and fixing it, the problem may

only go away as computer users all around

the world move away from MS Office 95 to the Office 97 version. We asked Microsoft Canada about this, and Anne McKeon, product manager for huge number of monkeys typing endlessly desktop applications responded: "From away on keyboards, by the laws of chance, what I' ve been able to garner from our technicians, two legitimate macros can combine eventually one of them would write the in a Word document, causing it to break, works of Shakespeare. The global scale of MS Word macro cre- and causing a virus to occur. It is very, very unlikely to occur, almost never... more typation allows for a lot of random experimenting. Nachenberg claims that although ically the resulting macro would break, and be inactive." Microsoft denies any flaw in Office 95 is Another source close t o M i c rosoft associated with t h i s p h enomenon, the SARC lab has many examples of macros explained it to us in th e following way: "Say theuser has a set a macros from PC Docs with AutoClose macros. Now they become infected with the CAP virus, which includes a macro called AutoClose. They now have a set of macros that will exhibit virus like behaviors, but is neither the CAP virus in t otal, nor t h e o riginal, benign macros. This does not occur in Microsoft Office 97 because there is a fail on the copy if there is already a macro by that name. Viruses have been seen combining with the same mechanism, mostly because they share macro names of ' a u to ' m a cros, FileClose, etc. Those would have a different signature so would be a 'mutant.'...A better biological analogy is cross-breeding, rather than mutation. The code itself never gets mutated. In sum, where viruses are comprised of sets of more than one macro, they may be combined on macro copy with existing macros [either viruses or benign

macros], replacing ones of the same name."

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In addition to the mysterious propensity of Office 95 macros to mutate, Nachenberg has also uncovered examples of two infected macros "mating," randomly combining their virus code to form a third, different virus. This "mating" behavior takes place when a macro virus attempts to copy itself onto the macro file of a document that has already been infected by another macro virus. The infecting computer virus inserts a copy of its code into the other macro, sometimes creating a new macro with elements of both viruses. Again, as with the spontaneous mutant viruses described above, the new combination of instructions caused by virus "mating" may be non-viable, but in a few cases, the combined macro virus is capable of replicating itself. These examples of unintended conseq uences of technology, if t h ey can b e proven to have actually occurred, are worth considering with some care. If computer code shows the ability, out of trillions of examples, to spontaneously create even a few new, functioning programs without direct human intervention, what does this say aboutthe possible consequences of biotechnology, where we are creating billions of new genetic combinations through automated gene splicing processes, some involving "trans-genic" combinations of human, plant, bacterial and animal genetic code? Cl

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M A Y 1998 THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATER TORONTO EDITION

. DESKTOP VIDEO EDITING

Not quite ready for prime-,:tin:

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~ell r ~t S ]uSt . " amaZ~ng that a bear is danc-

ing at all. Until recently, it's been much the same for

digital video on computers. The quality of digital video, jerky postage stamp-sized little snippets

of QuickTime or .AVI anima-

tions, was generally poor, but it was a

big surprise to see it working at all on the

lowly PC.

to 'have beeri'.taking:lessons: even average@video (DV) tapjj o rinat. offers a high,.; Pentium PCS-'and I'ov eiMacs have acquired q uality video recording m'ediurn to seri-"

.. the sh'eer processing muscle:to play ba'ck video @:. ous vldge':enthusiasts and; commercial -,. decent qua)ity; B+n more remarkably;with some::producers, at a reasonable price (under

' '.- fairly sunpie a4Mri hardware and software, at)... 5'3,000fora DVcamcorderwitha FireWire " ordihar'y 1'Ccatt do a verycr'edible iob'of creating' connection). fhe importance of this can' t and editing consumer quality digityl:v)deo. At a be overestimated; before 6 mm DV, wouldcertairt-.level'mfa'dditional'cost.and'complexity, a be video creatoss either had to put up with PC,or'a Mac can be configured to produce corn"-" progrestive loss of video quality at each stage

p ln the next few years, advances in-computer

mercial, salable quality video.

of the production and editing process, or else spend upwards of $60,000 on a digital Betacam

and telecom technology will make digital video camera, and additional thousands of dollars on as mui)( a part of computing as word processing compatible video editing decks. with 6 mm Dv, or CD quality audio is today. At the same time, the move to netv, 'alf-digita) video formats will

however, it's possible to shoot and edit video at a

very high level of quality, with minimum loss of

bring a much higher quality of sound and image data during the editing process. to video in the home.

The other big innovation is the FireWlre standard for a computer interface with video equipment. With FireWire, cameras, editing decks and other video equipment can be easily linked to computers, allowing high speed transfer of video data and editing commands in both directions. The combination of 6 rnm DV tape and FireWire, when added to the general progress in the power of the PC, finally allows the mainstream PC user to effectively create all-digital, high quaffty video at an affordable cost.

For video con-

sumers who also have personal computers, today's simplest digi-

tal video options include software that plays back various formats of digital video (such as AVI, Quick l'irne, and MPEG, CD-ROM and DVD drives, as well as low cost video capture cards (such as the ATl All ln Wonder Pro or Matrox Mystique Rainbow Runner series), that allow video to be captured digitally from an analog tape, or camcorder or other source. Entry-level beings. desktop video editing software, such as MGI's Yet, most TV viewers are unaware of how Video Wave, can be used to edit digitized poor and unprogressive the television technolosequences together and add titles and effects. The PC vs. the black bott gy of the mass market is compared to what it Professional video editing has traditionaBy been The resulting digital home videos can be viewed could be. The average broadcast or cable TV signal, or done with the aid of specialized electronic equip- on a computer, saved to disk, sent (slowly) over VHS tape, offers only a tiny, low quality fraction ment: "black boxes" that only do a limited range the World Wide Web, or re-recorded onto analog of the original image and sound information that of tasks, such as generating letters for titles, or videotape. At the more serious video hobbyist/prosumer was produced on "broadcast quality" video edit- storing a still frame of captured video, or reading ing equipment. The video we see at the consumer time code, or doing switching and effects level, higher quality video equipment (SVHS or level is a degraded shadow of the original high- between multip)e video sources. Video editing HI-8 camcorders, VCRs with editing options, black boxes are expensive, but they are also reli- state of the art PCs with pro-level editing softresolution video. ware such as Adobe Premiere) allow for more Consumer video today is an analog medium, able and efficient. A PC-based editing system is called a "desktop sophisticated analog and digital video creation. consisting of low quality wave form signals, which must be viewed in a linear way, as a tape video" system because it is based on a generic The consumer market is huge, providing a temptunreels while the viewer watches. Interactivity in desktop PC, with all the PC's low price and flexi- ing opportunity for developers of low cost deskanalog video is limited to a viewer rewinding or bility features, but also all of the PC's notorious top video editing products. However, individual fast forwarding through a tape, or clicking vices (a tendency to crash, corruptible hard dri- consumers have limited budgets and limited between the available channels on cable TV, hop- ves, non-standardization, high maintenance patience for complex, hard-to-use technology. requirements). In spite of the PC's limitations„all 1'his means that entry-level desktop video soluing to find something more interesting. Any basic improvement in the image and levels of video production are now heading tions must employ chea p,easy to use, commodisound quality of video (we are not talking about towards a PC-centric model, relegating the black ty components. the intellectual, social or artistic quality, alas) and box to an ever smaller role,. The corporate/industrial the ability of the user to quickly interact with video rnartet and control video depends on moving from The video food chain 19SOsanalog video technology to a 21st century It's useful to look at the video market as a pyra- At a higher level of cost and quality is the main digital video standard. Today's PC users, if they mid divided into three segments„according to area of commercial video production, one which wish, can get involved in this sea change in user needs and affordable technology. One can is almost invisible to most mainstream video then look at computerized digital video creation consumers. This is sometimes called the corpovideo, for both fun and profit. rate or industrial video market, It involves comoptions in each of those segments. At the base of the video pyramid is the con- mercial video production, which is most often Living ln a digital world sumer market, with very large numbers of people never broadcast or distributed on cable or ef 6 nsrn OY tape ansi BreWlre A few critical, major advances in the technolog'y who are simple viewers of analog video, as well as through video stores. Examples are corporate sales and training allowing computers and video to happily coexist, video hobbyists with camcorders, and "prohave taken place just in the last year and a half. sumers" (people interested in creating and edit- video, educational and technical video, "event First, on the video side, a 6 mm digital video tape ing video of nearly commercial quality, for edu- videogrqphy," (such as wedding video), scientific,

The television planet

1'elevision is generally admitted to be the most powerful communications medium on the planet. While the World Wide Web is a phenomenon that may overtake and merge with TV, it so far only involves a couple hundred million users. Television is watched daily by billions of human

standard was adopted by a consortium of the cational, artistic or recreational purposes) with security, real estate, insurance, and industrial main video equipment producers, induding camcorders and videocassette recorders with edit- video. Corporate video creators have largerbuding capabilities. Contirnred orr pnge32 Sony.

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MA Y 1998 T HE COMPUTER PAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca

DESKTOP VIDEO EDITINC Not quiteready for prime time Conti mred f age 28

What you need toget started

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gets, and are more likely to have professional training and experience than consumer video users. Ordinary PC users should know what digital video solutions are available at the corporate level, for two reasons: 1. Corporate video is the great breeding ground for new startup video enterprises. If you want to make money or start a business using digital video technology, at some point you' ll have to move up from consumer level equipment to corporate video level. 2. In a few years, corporate video technol-

At the consumer level, a basic desktop video editing system would be a Pentium-based PC (at least Pentium 166 MHz with MMX, 32 MB RAM, a 2 GB hard drive, a video capture board, 16-bit sound card, and 15-inch monitor), plus a video source (an S-VHS or Hi-8 camcorder or SVHS tape deck), a recording videocassette deck, and a TV monitor, plus necessary cables. A second video source tape deck, a preview monitor and some sort of removable mass storage device (such as a Zip or]az drive), would be useful additions for a more flexible setup.

We assembled and tested an entry-level

system consisting of a minitower with a ogy will move down to the consumer Pentium 200 MHz processor with MMX, 32 MB of RAM, an ATI All In Wonder Pro capprice range and become available to all PC users. ture card, VideoWave software, a VHS camcorder and VHS VCR. Examples of current corporate level digiThe minitower was fast, and had just tal video systems would include a high per- enough RAM and hard drive capacity for our formance tower PC configured for heavy needs. With RAM prices at an historic low, duty use (ample internal power supply, two adding an extra 32 to 96 MB of RAM (for an or more high powered internal fans, hard $120 to $360) would be a good choice. drive array, and a mid-range video capture As far as consumer level video capture board such as Pinnacle/Miro or Truevision), cards go, you can't do much better in terms 6 mm digital video camcorders and tape o f price/performance than an ATI All I n decks, and professional time code-based Wonder Pro. For under $300, it provides editing software. good quality video capture, as well as analog video output, and many other video feaThe broadcast production tures. MGI's VideoWave is an excellent and post production market entry-level program that is easy to learn, At the top of the video pyramid is the high- flexible, and capable of creating great transiest quality segment, and also the smallest: tions, titles, animations and effects. the broadcast quality production and postThe 200 MHz-based system was from production industry. Would-be consumer IPC, although other comparable machines and corporate digital video creators should (the price was under $3,000 for all the comunderstand the technology of b roadcast puter hardware and software) would give quality video, for two reasons: s imilar performance. It took only a f ew 1. Whatever the final form a video produc- hours to add the ATI card and the software, tion is distributed in (VHS tape, or MPEG connect the computer to the video equipCD-ROM or DVD-ROM, or QulckTime ment, and learn the basics of the VideoWave movie clip on the Web) that final result program, before we were recording video will look best if the original production sequences to tape, editing them and saving has been done as close as possible to pro- them to disk in QuickTime or .AVI format. fessional broadcast standards. As an entry-level digital video learning sys2. Broadcast quality video production has tem, and for home video fun, this sort of essentially already gone all-digital, and solution is an excellent choice. provides the model for'lower cost video However, if you want to do professionalproducers to follow. level video, there are major limitations '

TIIIIIE R O

camera captures video to DV tape, it performs a 5 : 1 d at a c o mpression, which can't handle time code (consumer VHS tapes involves some data loss. Nevertheless, the don't have a time code "stripe," and even if quality can be quite close to broadcast qualthey did, the ATI card has no hardware facility video. ity for reading time code). Therefore, it is In many cases, mid-range desktop video incapable of the precision needed for corpo- editing systems will be set up to do 'offline' rate or broadcast production. editing, producing a detailed preview of the Also, the quality of source video from finished job on the user's PC, and generatVHS video equipment is low, so the image ing an edit 'decision list for use in creating quality of the final edited video output was the finished product in a rented post-prosimilarly limited. As well, the effects, anima- duction edit suite. In other cases, as long as tions and titles created with the VideoWave your system can handle time code, you can software took anywhere from several seconds push a mid-range system to produce comto several minutes to render with the IPC's mercial quality final product either on SVHS 200 MHz MMX Pentium chip. And the PC's or DV tape, or recorded to a CD-R (a recordhard drive quickly filled up with digital able compact disc) or a cartridge. video sequences.The video sequences that Two big limitations of mid-range syswere created with the IPC system were very tems are that they typically can't do digital well suited for display on the Web, for inclu- transitions and effects in real time, and sion in multimedia presentations or interac- they don't i n c l ude a d i g i tal B etacam tive CD-ROMs, but they weren't broadcast recorder, the standard for a p rofessional quality. quality master tape.

Iwid-range desktop video editing Above the consumer desktop video segment

is a higher quality, higher expense area of video, where the quality of the final product has to be "good enough" to charge money for, though less high quality than network broadcast video production. Many corporations, government agencies, event video producers and schools will have a mid-range desktop video facility in-house, renting time on outside high-end edit suites only if needed. Typically, a mid-range desktop video editing system will cost between $6,000 to$25,000, depending on choice of third-party computer hardware and video equipment. In this price range, you can get a higher end video capture card, such as a Pinnacle or Fast Video product, which start around $1,000; and hardware to control video decks via a FireWire connection. As well, you can go "all-digital" with the addition of a 6 mm DV palmcorder with a FireWire attachment, starting at under $3,000. One note: DV recorders are not completely "lossless," in terms of preserving original image data quality. When a DV

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At the no-compromise broadcast production and post-production level, there are several especially demanding requirements that push the price tag for a studio and edit suite from over $100,000 into the multimillion dollar range. First, where live network broadcasts are involved, the "black boxes," or UNIX workstationsare demanded, because an ordinary PC is too likely to crash on-air — an unacceptable risk. As well, high-end commercial productions demand "real time" rendering of digital effects whenever possible, and there is a strong pressure to have access to the latest in special effects, image compositing, titling, chroma keying, and 3D animation, features which usually appear first at the high-end of the market. As well digital Betacam video cameras ($50,000 each, o r m o r e), an d d i g ital Betacam tapedecks are required. Any desktop video producer should be aware of the standards of video production set by the broadcast industry, and take that as a guide

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+ DUAL INTEL PENTIUM4I 333MHZ M M X + ASUS 440LX 512k Cache Dual Pll Main Board + 256MB 10nsSDRAM, 1A4k PanasonicFloppy + Adaptec 2940 U/W Dual Channel SCSI Cntft. e 9GB Seagate Cheetah Ultra/Wide SCSI-3 e 7.5ms 10,000 RPM 512Kb Cache 40MB/sec. e Full-Tower ATX Case 300Watt Power Supply + DynamicPictures Oxygen 3D 202 10MB + OpenGL, 24-bit Z-buffer, Gouraud Shading + 21' Viewsonic P815 0.25mm dot pitch Monitor e 1800X1440 SuperContrast Low Radiation PnP e EnsoniqAudioPCI 3D Mukimedia Sound Card e Aitec Lansing ACS90 Stereo Speakers + Toshiba32X SCSI CD-ROM 4,800 Kb/sec + 104K Keytronic Keyboard 8 Logitech Mouse

e INTEL PENTIUM4I333MHZ M M X e ASUS 440LX 512k Cache Dual Pll Main Board e 128MB 10ns SDRAM, 1A4k Panasonic Floppy + Adaptec 2940 U/W Dual Channel SCSI Cntrl. + 4.5GB Seagate Cheetah Ultra/Wide SCSI-3 e 7.5ms 10,000 RPM 512Kb Cache 40MB/sec. e Midi-Tower ATX Case 250Watt Power Supply + DynamicPictures Oxygen 3D 102 8MB e OpenGL, 24-bit Z-butfer, Gouraud Shading e 19" Sony 400PS 0.25mm dot pitch Monitor e 1600X1280 at 75Hz Low Radiation PnP TCO + Ensoniq AudioPCI 3D Multimedia Sound Card e Altec LansingACS90 Stereo Speakers e Toshiba 32X SCSI CD-ROM 4,800 Kb/sec

'UpgradetcDynamic PicturesOxygen 40232MB $999

e ASUS P2L97 440LX Pentium4l Main Board + Ultra-DMA 33MB/sec E-IDE PCI Controller + 9.1GB Seagate Medalist Pro U-ATA Hard Drive + 9.5ms 7,200 RPM 33MB/sec PIO MODE 5 + Mid-Tower ATX Case 250Watt Power Supply e 84MB SDRAM 10ns, 1A4k Panasonic Floppy + Matrox Productiva 8MB AGP Video Card e CREATIVE 3D BLASTER Vooooo2 0MB 3DFX e 19" Sony 400PS 0.25mm dot pitch Monitor e 1600X1200 at 75Hz Low Radiagon PnP TCO e Creative Sound Blaster AWE-64 GOLD Edition e AdvancedWave Table Synthesis,3D Sound + Altec Lansing ACS48 Speakers w/Subwoofer + Creative Labs DVD-ROM ENCORE Dxr2 Ktt e Logit ech 104K Cordless Keyboard and Mouse

e ASUS P2L07440LX Pentlum4I Main Board e Ultra-DMA 33MB/sec E-IDE PCI Controller e 6.5GB Seagate Medalist Pro U-ATAHardDrive e 9.5ms 7,200 RPM 33MB/sec PIO MODE 5 e Mid-Tower ATX Case 250Watt Power Supply e 64MB SDRAM 10ns, 1.44k Panasonic Floppy rhDIAMOND VIPER V430 4MB AGP 120blt + Riva-128 3D Video D3D, OpenGL Accelerator e 17"Viewsonic GT-775 .25mm 1600X1280 + PnP N.l. SVGA TCO MRP-II LowRad Monitor + Creative Sound Blaster AWE-64, Microphone e AdvancedWave TableSynthesis,3D Sound e Altec Lansing ACS45 Speakers w/Subwoofer + Toshiba 32X E-IDE CD-ROM 4,800 Kb/sec e 104KKeytmnic Keyboard8 MicrosoR J-Mouse

' Upgrade to Dynamic Pictures Oxygen 202 19MB $995

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IIIRI Digsal Semlconduclor makesthe Pnxwssorfor busdingthe fastest NT plslhrms. That pmcessor isSreAlpha2IIS4. And it's fealured InSmartMachine's robusl Oxygen3DSludlo Pro snd Shdio Bile Workslsgons. Soma of Inc world's mosl advanced visual compuhng sogwam oppgmdons such as ProlENGINEER, 3D StudioMsx-2, Auiooad, ughfWave 3D snd Sdsmage 3D as mnnsgvewilh SmAlpha pnmsssor.Ths Alpha211SCpmcuuwx is nol onlythe fsslesl processx avagsble for PmlE usem. It ogers sperlormance Indexlhsl is measurably supmlor Iothe second-feslssl solugon svagsble. Llghlwsve 3Dand sol5mage 3D userssay gmlrunning sl s33MHxvNha full 2MS of level ThreessRAM cache, lhs Alpha-basedoxygen Pm sls5on users slgnigcsrnbrfssler rendsringSmesthan s dual pnxessor Pensume PmsolugonAt smart Machinewe undsrslandourcuslomemhave various needs and uefsrsnomwhenil comeslo choosinge pmcsssor for nmnlngtheir demandingengineeringsnd/or anlmagonapplicallons. That's whywebegan hnplemengngDlghal's Alpha4msedprocessor infoour workslagonSnethis year. Andludglng bythe response fiomourcuslomersil wss ewleu dsdsion. Our sales rspmsenla5ves canadviseyou concemlngwhhh cordiguragonh rlghlfor yourneeds. TheDlgihdAlpha~ workshrson Is gaining nmmenlumwshSsmlsnssss dock speed advancesanda gmwlngselecgonof supporhd solbvare. If yourscuimsmmost powerful plagonn svaihble, corwkhr hashe a OxyGen 3D Shdh Pm fmmSmerl Machine.

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AccelECLIPSE w/15MB 3DRAM+16MB CDRAM+1MB VGA $3,595 AccelECLIPSE w/15MB 3DRAM+4MB CDRAM+tMB VGA $3,295 AccelSTAR PRO MX 8MB VRAM+16MB DRAM 24bit Z-Bulfer $2,295 AccelSTAR II PCI and AGP 3D Labs Pennsdia-II OpenGL 8MB $395 Diamond FireGL 4000 Mitahibushi 3DPro/2mp 15MB+16MB $4,395 Diamond FireGL 4000 Mitshibushi 3DPm/2mp 15MB+4MB $3,695 Dynamic Plctupss OXYGEN 402 4XProcss. 32MB BDRAM $2W8 Dynamic PicturesOXYGEN 202 2XProces. 16MB SDRAM $1,205 Dynamic Plctums OXYGEN 102 1XProces. 8MB SDRAM $540 ELSA Gloria-XL Glint MX PCI 16 VRAM 24 EDO 24bit Z-Buf. $2,505 ELSA Gloria-UMX Glint MX PCI 8 VRAM+16 EDO 24bit Z-Buf. $1,995 ELBA Glori a Synergy 8MB PCI 3D Labs Permedia-0 OpenGL $495 ELSA WINNER 2000/OIce PCI 8MB 3D Permedia-0 SGRAM $450 SYMMETRIC Glyder MP40 2XGLINT TX 40MB 24bit Z-Buffer $2,095 SYMMETRIC Giyder MX16 GLINT 500MX 16MB 24bit Z-Buffer $2,095 SYMMETRIC GLyder Max-2 AGP 3D Labs 64bit BMB SDRAM $395

ViewSonic 21" P815 Nl LR PnP TCO .25dp $1,695 ViewSonic 21 PT813 NI LR PnP TCO.28dp $1,729 ViewSonic 21" P810 Nl LR PnP TCO .25dp $1,509 ViewSonic 21' G810 Nl LR PnP TCO .25dp $1,399 ViewSonic19"G790 NI LR PnP TCO .26dp $1,095 VfewSonic17"PT775 Nl LR PnP TCO .25dp$899 ViewSonic17"GT775 NlLR PnP TOO .25dp$799 ViewSonic tT G773 Nl LR PnP TCO .26dp $629 ViewSonic 15 G653 Nl LR PnP TCO ..27dp $369

Hitachi 21"SuperScan Supreme 803 .22dp $2,575 Hitachi 21' SuperScan Bite 802 22mm $2,275 Hiiachi 21' SuperScan Pro 800 .22mm dp $1,195 Hitachi 19" SuperScan Elite 751 .22mm dp $1,450

SONY 24" MulgscanW900 Trinitron .25dp $4,495 SONY 21 Muitiscan 600PS Triniken .25dp $2050 SONY 20" Multiscsn 300SFT Trinitron .30dp $1676 + • • • u u • • SONY 20" Multiscan SE2T Trinitlon .25dp $1,850 ANTEX StudioCardA/V Pro Mull'pchsnnel Digital Audio Card $1,850 SONY 19 Multiscan 400PS Trinitron .25dp $1,350 EVENT ELECTRONICS lAYLA Pro Digital Multi-track Recording $Cag SONY 17 Multiscan 200PS Trinitron .25dp $1,050 EVENT ELECTRONICS DARLA Pro 20-bit Mulg-trsck Recording $Call SONY 17" Muoscan 200GS Trinitron .25dp $885 EVENT ELECTRONICS GINAPro Digital Multi-track Recording $Cag SONY 17" Multiscan 200ES Trinitron .25dp $759 TURTLE BEACH Pinacle Project Studio MIDI/DigitalI/O S/PDIF $799 SONY 15" Mulgscan 100ES Tdnitron .25dp $405 TURTLE BEACH Multi Sound Pinsde with Digital I/O 8/PDIF $729 TURTLE BEACH Multi Sound Fiji 20-bit with Digital I/O S/PDIF $529 TURTLE BEACH DaytonaPCI PnP WAVE Table Sound Card $196 TURTLE BEACH Montego A3D PCI Audio 18bit Sound Card $195 DIAMOND MONSTER-II 12MB 3DFX VooDoo2 $449 DIAMOND MONSTER-II8MB 3DFX VooDoo2 $359 • • e > • DIAMOND FireGL 1000 Pro 8MB PCI/AGP 3D $285 NEW! DPS Perception RT Real Time Dual Stream Edit NLE $CALL DIAMOND VIPER V330 4MB PCI 3D 128bit $215 DPS Perception Video Recorder PVR-2500 PCI Digital Edit $2375 DIAMOND STEALTH-II 220 4MB SGRAM PCI $139 DPS Percepfion Live Video Capture Digital Daughter Card $1,150 DIAMOND STEALTH 40004MB SGRAM AGP $119 DPS SPARK Plus Didital Video Fire-Wire Captum Board w/SCSI $995 MATROX MILLENNIUM-2 4MB AGP WRAM $199 MIRO Video DC50 Professional Video EdiTing Iqt w/Component $Csll MATROX MILLENNIUM-2 8MB AGP WRAM $289 MIRO Video DC30 Plus Professional Digital Video Editing Kit $1,250 MATROX PRODUCTIVA G100 4MB AGP 3D $119 MIRO Video DC20 Plus Amateur Digital Home Video Editing Kit $850 MATROX PRODUCTIVA G100 8MB AGP 3D $149 MIRO Video DV300 Professional Fire-Wire Digital Capture Kit $950 MATROX RAINBOW RUNNER FOR MILL-II $269 MIRO Video DIRECTOR STUDIO-200 Home Video Edigng I0t $850 REAL 3D Stargghter AGP 8MB i740 Intel Set $295 Truevision Targe 1000 RSSITime wigl Full Adobe Premiere 4.2 $2,895 CreativeLabs 3D BiASTER VooDoo2 12MB $449 Truevision Targa 1000 Pro Digital Component Video I/O w/Soft $2,895 Creative Labs 3D BLASTER VooDoo2 8MB $359

CREATIVE LABS SOUND BLASTER AWED GOLD $185 MS OFFICE 97PRO WIN95 JC $295 CREATIVE LABS SOUND BLASTER AWE-64 OEM $89 MS OFFICE 97STD WIN95 JC $250 CREATIVE LABS SOUND BLASTER 16 VALUE PNP $59 MS OFFICE 97PRO UPGRADE $425 DIAMOND MONSTER SOUND MX-2003D PCI PNP $219 MS OFFICE 97STD UPGRADE $350 DIAMOND MONSTER SOUND PCI 3DAUDIO PNP $190 MS OFFICE 97 SMALL B.E. JC $229 DIAMOND MONSTER SOUND M80 3DAUDIO PCI $129 MS FRONTPAGE 98 RETAIL $175 ENSONIQ AUDIO-PCI3D SOUND Up-to 8MB CARD $129 MS PROJECT 98 RETAILBOX $325 YAMAHA XW60XG PRO MIDIISA SOUND BOARD $250 MS ENCARTA 90 ON CD JC $45 MEDIA-TRIXSOUND-TRIX 3DXG w/Y~ 6 0 X G $329 MS AUTOMAP TRIP PLANNER $39 ORCHID NUNOUND 3D WAVE TABLESOUND CARD $79 MS SUPER BUNDLE 5 TITLES $95 MS SUPER BUNDLE 8 TITLES $175 MS KIDS BUNDLE 3 TITLES $45 MS WINDOWS NT 4.0 W RETAL $365 ALTEC LANSING ACS-500 DOULBY-PRO LOGIC $370 MS WINDOWS NT 4.0 OEM $175 ALTEC LANSING AC~25 PRO-LOGIC WITH SUB. $239 MS WIN-NT 4.0SERVER 5LIC. $750 ALTEC LANSING ACS-55SURROUND SOUND BLK $239 MS VISUAL BASIC 5PRO BOX $250 ALTEC LANSING ACS-49 POWER CUBE WITH SUB. $195 MS VISUAL C++ 5 PRO BOX $250 ALTEC LANSING ACS-45 POWER CUBE WITH SUB. $119 MS VISUAL FOX PRO 5 BOX $235 ALTEC LANSING AHS-10 HEADSET SOUND w/ADP.$59 ALTEC LANSING ACS-160 SUBWOFFER 40WATT $149 NORTON PC ANYWHERE 8.0 $175 NORTON ANTIVIRUS 4.0 BOX $69 CAMBRIDGE SOUNDWORKS with33 WATT SUB. $229 NORTON ANTIVIRUS 4.0 OEM $59 CAMBRIDGE SOUNDWORKS with42 WATT SUB. $349 NORTON UTILITIES 3.0 WIN95 $95 CAMBRIDGE PCWORKS SPEAKERS with SUB. $159 MCAFEE VIRUS SCAN v3.14 $49 IBM ANTIVIRUS v2.52 RET. BOX $39 CREATIVE ENCORE DXR-2 PC-DVD RETAIL INT KIT $389 COREL WORD PERFECT 8 AE $79 DIAMOND MAXIMUM DVD-ROM INTER.RETAIL KIT @49 COREL PHOTO PAINT 8 BOX $399 TOSHIBA 32XSCSI CD-ROM 4,800KB/SEC. INTER. $159 COREL DRAW 8 UPGRADE $299

TOSHIBA 32XSCSI CD-ROM 4,800KB/SEC. EXTER. $279 OSHIBA 32XEIDE CD-ROM 4,800KB/SEC. INTER. $109 PANASONIC 24X IDE CD-ROM 3,600KB/SEC. INTER. $85 PIONEER 24X SCSICD-ROM 3,600KB/SEC INTER. $150 PLEXTOR 32X ULTRA-PLEX SCSI 512K CACHE INT $319 PLEXTOR PLEX-WRITER CDR 4X/12X SCSI INTER. $719 YAMAHA CDR-W 4280 SCSI4X/6X/2X INTERNAL $650 YAMAHA CDR-W 4260 SCSI4X/6X/2X EXTERNAL $750 YAMAHA CDR-W 4260 SCSI 4X/6X/2X INTER. KIT $859 YAMAHA CD-R 200 SCSI2X/8X INTERNAL KIT $549

SYMANTEC ACT3.0 FULL BOX $175 CLARIS FILEMAKER PRO 4.0 $259 ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 4.0 BOX $495 ADOBE PAGEMAKER 6.5 BOX $395 ABOBE ILLUSTRATOR 7 BOX $350

IBM VIA VOICE 4 DICTATION $79 IBM VIA VOICE 4 GOLD ED. $79 COMPTONS 98 ENCYCLOPEDIA $39 CANADIAN 98 ENCYCLOPEDIA $49

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+ ASUS P2L97 440LX Penttum4l IIain Board + Ultra-DMA 33MB/sec E-IDE PCI Controller + 6.568 SeagateMedalist Pro U-ATA Hard Drive a 9.5ms 7,200 RPM 512Kb Cache 33MB/sec + 64MB SDRAM 10ns, 1.44 Panasonic Floppy + Matrox Productive 6100 AGP 3D Video SWl8 a 17" Viewsonic 6-773 .26mm 1280X1024 a PnP N.l. SVGA TCO MRP-II LowRad Monitor a Sound Blsster AW E-64,64-Voice Polyphony a Advanced Wave TableSynthesis,3D Sound + Toshiba32X E-IDE CD-ROM 4,600Kb/sec a Altec Lansing ACS-90 Stereo Speakers a 104K Win95 Keyboard &Microsoft J-Mouse

a GIGA-BYTE 440LX Pentium-II Main Board + Ultra-DMA 33MB/sec E-IDE PCI Controller a 4.5GB Seagate Medalist Pro U-ATA Hard Drive + 9.6ms 7,200 RPM 612Kb Cache 33MB/sec + 32MB SDRAM 10ns, 1.44 Panasonic Floppy + Matrox Productive 6100 AGP 3D Video 4MB a 15" Sony 100ES 0.25mm dot pitch Flat Monitor a 1280X1 024 N.I. U-SVGA MRP-II Low Radiation + Sound Blaster AWED PnP 3D Sound 512k a Advanced Wave TableSynthesis,3D Sound + Panasonic 24X E-IDE GD-ROM 3,600Kb/sec a 80 Watts Hi-Fi Powered Stereo Speakers a 104K Win95Keyboard and Logitech Mouse

Add Microsoft Qirica 97 Professional for Win95 $175

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QUANTUM FIREBALL SE 8.468 E-IDEU-ATA 9MS 54QO RPM $485 USROBOTICS GOURIER 56K X2 v.90 INTERNAL $319 QUANTUM FIREBALL SE6.468 E-IDE U-ATA 9MS 5400 RPM $485 USROBOTICS COURIER 56K X2 v.90 EXTERNAL $369 QUANTUM FIREBALL SE4.3GB E-IDE U-ATA 9MS 5400 RPM $3S5 USROBOTICS SPORTSTER 56K VOICEINTERNAL $175 USROBOTICS SPORTSTER 56KVOICE EXTERNAL $295 SEAGATE Medalist Prc 9.1GB E-IDE U-ATA 7200 RPM 9.5MS $595 SEAGATE Medalist Pro 6.568 E-IDE U-ATA 7200 RPM 9.5MS $439 SEAGATE Medalist Pro 4.5GB E-IDE U-ATA 7200 RPM 9.5MS $369 EPSQN STYLUS PRO 1,400 COLOR-3000 17x22 $2,5DO EPSON STYLUS CO LOR P H OTO 720DPI $599 SEAGATE ELITE2368 ULTRA WIDE SCSI 5400 RPM 13MS $2,096 EPSON STYlUS COlOR-800 1400X720 DPI $509 SEAGATE CHEETAH 9GB U-WIDE SCSI7.5MS 10,000 RPM $1,350 EPSON STYLUS COLOR-600 1400X720 DPI $359 SEAGATE GHEETAH 4.568 U-WIDE SCSI7.5MS 10,00Q RPM $850 SEAGATE BARRACUDA 968 U-WIDE SCSI 8MS 7200 RPM $785 EPSON STYLUS COLOR-400 720X720 DPI $259 LEXMARK 7200 COLOR PHOTO 1200X1200 DPI $485 SEAGATE BARRACUDA 4.568 U-WIDE SCSISMS 7200 RPM $1,125 SEAGATE BARRACUDA 9.1GB ULTRA-2SCSI 7MS 7200 RPM $1,195 HEWLETT PAGKARD LASER-JET SL6PPM 60Q DPI $529 SEAGATE HAWK-XL 4.568ULTRA WIDE SCSI 9MS 7200 RPM $499 AGFA STUDIOSTAR WITH ADOBE PHOTOSHQP 4 $950 NEWI AGFA DUGSCAN 1000X20DO DPI 36BIT $CALL MIGROTEK SCAN MAKER E6 SCSI1200X600 30BIT $395 NEW! MEDEA VIDEO RAID SYSTEMS 868 VidacRaidSSI $1,495 NEWI MEDEA VIDEO RAID SYSTEMS 1068 YidaoRaid 1061 $1,750 MIGRGTEK SCAN MAKER E3 PLUS PARALLEL $219 NEWI MEDEA VIDEO RAID SYSTEMS 1468 VidacRaid 14SI $2,195 'SCANPORT PAGE-DS-2000 300XSQODPI PARALLEL $109 NEWI MEDEA VIDEO RAID SYSTEMS 176EI VidaoRaid 17SI $2,495 SMART MACHINE VIDEQ RAID SYSTEM 1768 VidecRaid$1,495 - ',;-'I@NOIV / SMART MACHINE VIDEO RAID SYSTEM 18GB PRQ RAID $1,795

Maowaaa W E A R E E X P A N D I N Ci

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READ THIS Smart Machine is on the Move. We are expanding our facility and moving to the new bigger and easy to access location. Starting May 3rd. 1998 Smart Machine will be operated at 1027 Finch Ave. West North-York, Ontario, M3J-2C7 Finch 8 Dufferin Intersection. Telephone and Fax Numbers will be changed and posted in next issues of Toronto Computes and Computer Paper. For Up-to Date Information

please Visit us on the internet at smart-machine.corn We would like to thank all of our customers for all the Support and Trust in our company.

.5.'.;--"'-

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ASUS P2L97 440LX PENTIUM-II PCI/AGP MAIN BOARD PNP $199 ASUS P2L97-S 44DLX PENTIUM-IIPCI/AGP MAIN BOARD PNP $375

ASUS P2L97-DS440LX PENTIUM-I' IPC I/AGP MAIN BOARD PNP $676 ASUS TRITON TX-97L PENTIUM MAIN BOARD w/512 GACHE $175

ABIT LXS PENTIUM-Il PGI/AGP MAIN BOARD PNP SOFT MENU $199 ABIT TRITON TX5 PENTIUM MMX Main Board w/512k CACHE $145 INTEL DK440LX PENTIUM-II PCI/AGP DUAL CPU MAIN BOARD $795 INTEL AL440LX PENTIUM-II PCI/AGP MAIN BOARD PNP $249 GIGA-BYTE LX PENTIUM-II PGI/AGP AT MAIN BOARD PNP $195

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LX MAIN BOARD + PENTIUM-II233MHZ + FAN $585 LX MAIN BOARD + PENTIUM-II266MHZ + FAN $750 LXMAIN BOARD + PENTIUM-Il300MHZ + FAN $950 LXMAIN BOARD + PENTIUM-II333MHZ + FAN $1050

UPGRADE YOUR EXISTINGSYSTEM TO PENTIUM-II233MHZ $596

M EM O R Y 16MB 72 Pins 60ns EDO $39

32MB 72 Pins 60ns EDO $66

32MB SDRAM 10ns w/aprcm $65 64MB SDRAM 10us w/aprcm $165

128MB SDRAM 10ns w/ eprcm $319

C P U INTEL PENTIUM-II 400MHZ $1,249 INTEL PENTIUM-II350MHZ $929 INTEL PENTIUM-II333MHZ $829

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INTEL PENTIUM-II300MHZ $729 INTEL PENTIUM-II266MHZ $529 INTEL PENTIUM-II 233MHZ $379

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caused by the intense heat of the electron extra $400 towards a nice family vacation. beam. Nobody's going to argue that a larger 17-inch So how do you know which is right for B Y STEVE HA L I N D A monitor is easier on the eyes and a pleasure to you? Well, the truth is that each technology work with. But when you look at some of the has its own desirable characteristics. For f you' ve been paying attention to the vari- 15-inch gems we review this month, you' ll example, an aperture grille can display ous advertisements from the many com- certainly have some tough choices to make brighter images with richer, more saturated puter vendors, you' ll have noticed that the about whether to go for something larger, or colors. For this reason, aperture grille displays new entry-level size for a computer monitor is stick with something that not only costs less are popular with folks working in the desktop 15 inches. Slowly but surely, the old 14-inch but will do the job more than adequately. publishing industry. models are fading from the scene — something The advantage of shadow mask displays is that should've happened ages ago. Choosing the right tube that they offer greater precision when creating But as the saying goes, better late than Shopping for a monitor doesn't have to be a the images you see on the screen. They use a never, right? Well, yes and no. You see, now difficult task, but neither should it be regard- flat-square design that makes what you see on that 15-inch monitors are the norm, some ed as "just another purchase." There's much the screen look more realistic. manufacturers we' ve tried to get monitors more to choosing a monitor than its screen Monitors that employ shadow mask techfrom for this month's survey asked us: "are size and price, The first thing you should nology are popular with CAD/CAM engineers you sure vou want to review 1S-inch models?" decide on is what type of CRT technology you because of their flatter display screens, not to After convincing them that we did, most want to invest in. The acronym CRT is short mention the fact that they don't have the two decided to send us an evaluation unit, albeit for cathode ray tube, which is basically a vac- damper wires characteristic of aperture grille hesitantly. They were more interested in hav- uum tube in a glass casing with all the air designs. To a CAD professional who works at ing us look at their 17-inch line (which we sucked out. It is this tube that is used to dis- high resolutions, a faint line running across will in the August issue). play the images that you see, so picking the the screen can be incredibly annoying since it The folks who manufacture monitors right one should be a top priority. There are can make it difficult to distinguish between assume that people who are currently in the two main types of CRT technology, known as the drawing on the screen and the wires market for a new monitor are looking to aperture grille and shadow mask. themselves. replace an aging 14-inch unit. Considering An aperture grille is made up of many But generally speaking, if you just want a how prices have dropped drastically over the wires running up and down on the inside of decent monitor, either of these technologies past couple of years on larger displays, the the glass tube. This "grille" is used to channel will do just fine. The type of CRT technology manufacturers are also assuming t h at the electron beams inside the monitor so that is really more of a personal preference than upgraders will be looking at 17-inch units. the appropriate phosphors are hit. To ensure anything else. You can get a fairly decent 17-inch model for that these wires stay put, two wires running just over $500, while a more advanced model horizontally, known as damper wires, are Sonsbersied by death says? would run you roughly $750. Even the top of used. A common misconception in the world of the line 17-inch'ers are hovering around the In aperture grille monitors, these two monitors is that they give off harmful radia$1,000 mark, so it's hard for some monitor wires are visible as two faint gray lines near tion, and as a result, many people are uncommakers to understand why anyone would the top and bottom thirds of the screen. fortable working at computer terminals for want to upgrade from a 14- to a 15-inch dis- Aperture grille technologies are available from extended periods of time. The fact is that a play. Sony (known as Trinitron), from Mitsubishi monitor manufactured in the last couple of The obvious reason is cost. While it's true (DiamondTron), an d fr o m Vi e wSonic years is so well shielded internally, that you' re that the prices of larger screen displays have (Sonic Tron). more likely to get higher doses of radiation dropped significantly over the past couple of The other type of tube is known as shad- from a 100-Watt light bulb. That's not to say years, so too, have the 15-inch models. They ow mask. A shadow mask is a metal or ceram- that anything made a few years ago is harmcan now be found for as low as $27S for a ic plate with many holes used to direct the ful, but rather, that today, even tighter meabasic unit, or just under $500 for the creme de electron beam to the proper location on the sures have been taken to ensure that monitors la creme. screen. Monitor manufacturers often use the are as safe as possible. Not everyone wants a I?-inch monitor sit- term "Invar shadow mask." A shadow mask Two of the strictest standards that regulate ting on their desks taking up space. They' d made from lnvar is considered a higher quali- the electromagnetic emissions of monitors rather spend $350 on a decent 15-inch moni- ty product. Invar is basically a special ceramic come from Sweden,and are known as the tor rather then $750 for something that many alloy that can better withstand deformations Contbrued on page 38

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http: //www.pathcom.corn • e-mail: info@pathcom.corn• 1 Yonge Street, Suite 2205, Toronto, Ontario It/I5E 1E5 •

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•

THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca MAY 1998

,+~'TCP TESTLABS Choice award in February of this year for top 2D performance, making it the ideal candidate Da e woo 5118 to help us evaluate monitors. For more infor- From: DaewooElectronics mation on the Millennium ll, visit: http: //www. Tel: 905-415-7290 http: //www.daewoo.ca matrox,corn/mgaweb/products/products.htm.

not properly sized. You' ll more than likely have black borders around the edges where they don't belong. Ideally, you want your image stretched to the edges of the screen to get the most from your display, and to do so, you' ll need a monitor that allows you to manipulate what you see. All of the models we tested support the basics such as horizontal and vertical. sizing and shifting as well as pincushion and trapezoid patterns. Some even allow you to rotate the image either clockwise or counter-clockwise, as well as choose different color temperatures. Obviously, the more versatile the controls, the better your chances are of getting the monitor to display the ideal image.

Ihe ceeteellers

• maximum refresh rate of 85 Hz at 1,024x768 • very good overall image quality allows selection of color temperatures

Note: we also requested a monitor from Sony, but it had not arrived when we went to press.

•

Discrepancies in the numbers Consumers often get frustrated with all the techno-babble thrown at them from the computer industry. This is especially true when the numbers manufacturers give you don't always fit the facts. In the world of hard drives, for example, there is the ongoing debate as to whether 1 MB should equal 1,000,000 bytes, or the actual binary equivalent of 1,048,576 bytes. Similarly in the monitor industry, there are two measurements given to us by the engineers. When measuring monitor size, the manufacturer will list two different measurements on the data sheet for a single monitor, although both refer to a diagonal measurement from somewhere on the top left corner to somewhere on the bottom right corner. The first, and most common, is the general size descriptor for the monitor. In our survey this month, we tested 1S-inch monitors. The second measurement is the actual screen size, also known as the viewable area. This always turns out to be slightly less than the descriptive size. For example, what we call a 15-inch monitor will have an actual viewable area of 14 inches or less. You can measure this distance yourself with a tape measure by going from the very top left corner to the bottom right corner of the glass. This is the number you should be most concerned with, since it is this number that will actually determine how much of your 15-inch monitor is truly usable.

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Our tests We used DisplayMate by Sonera Technologies to run a series of test and color patterns on each monitor. DisplayMate is an excellent diagnostic tool designed to aid users in easily determining if their monitors and video cards are performing as they should. For further information, contact: Sonera Technologies Tel: 800-932-6323 or 908-747-6886

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Monitors were judged by the quality of test patterns produced and overall price/performance/features were also taken into consideration. We asked vendors to send us what they considered their current "top-of-the-line" 15inch monitor. We got a nice mix ranging from the very basic to ones with built-in speakers for instant multimedia without desktop clutter. Although the speakers found inside monitors won't please any true audiophile, they are, nonetheless very convenient for every-day use or multimedia presentations. We would like to thank Matrox Graphics for supplying us with the Millennium 11 video cards that were used for this month's monitor tests. The Millennium ll won our Editor' s

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•

M A Y 1998 THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATER TORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca

,© TCP TEST LABS •excelent l beam convergence • no image rotation Analysis T he 5) 11) from Daewoo is on e o f t h e lower-prices models in this survey, but its performance places it in the same league as some of its more expensive counterparts.

IVIAG lnnovision DXSOOT From: MAG Innovisiori Tel: 905-890-9465 http: //www.maginnovision.corn

• excellent image quality in all resolutions • excellent focus maintained even at 1,280x1,024 •excell entbeam convergence • refresh rate of 85 Hz at 1,024x768 • super-fine dot pitch of 0.26 mm • priced near the top of the class

Highlights • refresh rate up to 85 Hz at 1,024x768 • super-fine dot pitch of 0.25, best in entire roundup • excellent image quality • very good focus maintained up to 1,28ox1,D24 • no image rotation • higher price than most in the survey

Highlights • very good image quality • refresh rate up to 75 Hz at 1,D24x768 • relatively inexpensive • high power consumption at 110 W (max.) • corner focus degrades considerably at 1,280x1,024 • no on-screen display (OSD)

ADDTRONIC

S PEC I A L • Intel Pentium II 233 ,'

-. • 32MB SD RamMemory • 4.3GB Hard Drive U-DMA ~d+ I • 32X CD-Rom AGER

-'- ,• AGP 4 Mei Video Card • 16 Bit Sound Biaster Compatible w1.44M FloppyDrive Panasonic • ATX Pentium II Motherboard • ATX Pentium II Mid-Tower Case • Keyboard, Mouse & MousePad • SP88 Multimedia Speaker • First Month Free INTERN ETDIRECT

All pricesarealready3% cashdfsceeeted

2 Year sParts4labourNarrauti

•

NEC monitors have a reputation for performing extremely well, although they don' t come cheap. The MultisyncESOO upholds

Narkham Store 170 Esna Park Drive, Suite ¹9 TeL 905-513-0146 • Fax: 905-513-9532

330 Steeles Avenue West, Unit B4 TeL 905-764-1011 • Fax: 905-764-7421 •

Analysis

COMPUTER INC.

Thornhill Store

•

From:NEC Technologies Tel: 800-632-4636 http: //www.nec.corn

The new DXSOOT from MAG Innovision has everything you could ask for in a high-quality monitor. Although priced higher than most of its competitors, it is without a doubt an excellent monitor.

Mitsuhishi DiamondScan 1$VX Daytek's popular 1S31D doesn't have all the From: Mitsubishi Electric Canada bells and whistles of its competitors, but it does Tel: 905-475-7728 offer great image quality and costs only $275. http: //www.mitsubishi.corn

•

NEC MultiSync E$00

Analysis

MarkhamGrandOpening

At roughly $300, this Magitronic unit provides decent overall performance, although it has limited image manipulation capabilities, not to mention no on-screen display. lts reasonably low price will appeal to anyone looking to upgrade an aging 14-inch unit.

Magitronlc C-SV1$00PS From: Liuski International Tel: 800-665-5487 http: //www.magitronic.corn

Highlights

• very good imagequality in both high-resolution settings • low power consumption • supports only trapezoid and pincushion settings, no color tempurature • low price

Analysis

• excellent image quality even at 1,280x1,024 • excellent corner focus at 1,024x768 • supports color temperature settings • no image rotation or parallelogram settings Analysis Mitsubishi monitors are known for their excellent picture quality and ability to maintain image focus even at extreme resolutions. Although the Diamondscan 15VX is priced higher than most of its competitors, its overall performance will not disappoint you.

Daytek DT-1$31D From: Daytek Canada Tel: 800-329-8351 http: //www.daytek.corn

Highlig hts

Highlights

•

Paoosonic1.44M...., WD 3.1G U-DMA ...... WD 4.3G U-DMA ...... WD 6.4G U-DMA...... Quantum3.2GST(DMA) Quantum4.3GST(DMA) Quantum6AGST(DMA) Quantum 8.4G....... Seagato 2.1G........

$28.00 $225.00 $249.00 $350.00 $235.00 $260.00 $330.00 $450.00 $189.00

SONY 200ES17" 12800.25 .... $790.00 SONY 200PS17" 12800.25 .... $1030.00 Viewsooic15" G653........... $379.00 Viewsonic17" GT775......... $ 950.00 •

•

USR56KInt w/ Voice(OEM.).... $145.00 Acer 33.6K with Voice......... $ 65.00 Acer 56K Iot. with Voice......., $ 05.60 impression 33.6F/MN(Iot)...... $59.00 •

EthernetCardPCISurecom 5PortlOB-THUB...... 8PortlOB-THUB...... 16 Port 1DB- THUB.....

$30.00 $55.00 $60.00 $ t05.00

•

Daytek14" 1024.28......... Doytek 15".28............. Daytek 17".28/.26......... Acor 15" 1280.28 56C....... Shamrock 14"/15" .28 ....... S hammck 17" .26......... . . Shamrock 17" 160031200.26/.25 Acer 17" 76E0.28/.......... 781E 0.26.......... SAMSUN G15" (E)........... SONY 100ES15" 0.25........

$180.00 $260.00 $400/490 $275.00 $195/269 $505.00 $640/689 $445.00 $540.00 $315.00 $435.00

•

Desk Top,250WLED.......... $ 42.00 MiniTower,250W LED.........$30.00 Mid-Tower, 25DWLED/AlX...... $42/105 Full-Tower, 250W1AlX........ $125.00 •

•

Pent. M.B.Intel 1X with 512K P/L (MMX) with Audio. $115.00 GigabytePent M.B.TX2512K... $159.00 AsusP2L97(ATX)............ $205.00 AsusP2L97(S)(ATX).......... $335.00 AsusTX-97w/512K.MMX...... $185.00 Aristo 440IXPMT0ATXM.B,... $155.00 •

•

Carina NaturalStyle... Carina Bilingual104... Koytronic104Keys/95.. Mitsumi 104 K.B......

.. .. .. ..

$30.0D $17.00 $28.00 $77ll0

•

CreativeLabDVDEncore DXR2... $390.00 Toshiba 32X........... . . ... $105.00 Panasoni24X.............. c $ 85.0D Acer 32X/36X........... . ... $ 89/115 Acer (6206)6W 2R......,..... $465.00 •

•

SB-16 PnP .......... . . . . ... $ 49.00 SB-AWE 64(OEM)............. $ 95.00 Acer AW E32 .......... . . . .., $ 35.DO Aiogic 1816 SoundCard....... $ 21.00

HP Deskjo692C............. t $318.00 HP Los er)otDP/6MP ..........$975/12DD HP Scanje5100C............ t $379.00 HP 722C.......... . . . . . . . .. $ 425.00 HP Laserjet 6L .............. $520.00 HP 670C............... . ... $ 280.00 HP 1000CXI 600DPI........... $520.00 Brot herLaser730DX/760DXPlus .$430/540 BrotherMFC7000 Multi-Function Centre........... $840.00 Canon 4300................ $ 240.00 Canon BIC-250........... ... $ 185.00 Canon B)C-4200 SE.......... $255.00 Epson Stylus 400(720 x720)... $255.00 EpsonStylus600(1440)....... $342.00 Epson Stylus 800(1440)....... $400.00 Scanmaker (Microtek) 600dpiE6. $300.00 Scenmaker (Microtek) 30DdpiE3. $225.0D

AB Systemsare 2 years Parts a Labour Depot Warranty We Service all IBM Compatible Systems, Upgrade & Repair Monitors and ketworking Support soma pndudsnotslaw lllusbitsd o while qwnlil|sslast. m seveIhsrim n llmll qusa5ws.AdNneh compuler nc. dimlalmsawpmpdelao inlsest n tradsmals I tram nameeaept it' swn. prius aadsyecwcaoons aresubjcd nchines ei ilhoutnebceBK wo bawl wowNonlbtlm. mwm aIwwn ww disaeteo|ayre low n paynsnlwilla cawdiscamlsl prissplusI%.On wotcnw clwrL msalasareowl.

Acor Scanner610S600dpi FB... $225.00 Acer Scanner310S300dpi FB... $169.00 Acer Scanner310P300dpi FB... $145AIO Acor Scanner 610P600dpi FB... $22550 •

•

ATI AII-in-Wonder Pro4MB(4GP). $319.00 ATI TV Tuner ISA/NTSC /AMC... $105.00 ATI3D Expression4MBw/MPEG..$95.00 ATI 3D+PC2TV4MB.......... $125.00 ATI3D ProTubro4MB/DMB .....$165/225 ATI Xport@P(ay4MB(AGP) (OME). $218.00 ATI Xpert I Work4MB(AGP) (OME). $105.00 DiamondStealth Viper V330 with 4MB (AGP),....,... $215.00 DiamondMonster4MB(OEM)... $215.00 Diamond Viper4ire 1000Pro(RED $255.00 S3 Trio 641MBPCI 1-2MB ..... $30.00 S3 Verge 24MB............. $ 45.00 MatrmMilennium64M/DMB(OEM). $215/315 ZIP Drive100MBint. (IDE)...... $ 120.00 SyquestSparQ1.6GBInt/Ext ... $265.0D Seagote3.2GBInt w/ Tope/Ext .. $239/290 HPColoradoT30801.6GBIntw/rape $ 255.00 LS-120 Folppy Drive............ $145.0D TIIOIINHILLSTORE MAINNAM STORE

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4'I

THE COMPUTERPAPER CREATERTORONTO EDITION www tcp.ca MAY 1998

,+ TCP TEST LABS that reputation and would satisfy even the most demanding user, but performance like thisdoesn'tcome cheap.

Panasonlc PanaSync Pro P$0 From: Panasonic Tel: 905-824-501 0 http: //www.panasonic.corn

Highlights

Analysis

• maximum refresh rate of 85 Hz at 1,280x1,024 • superb image quality in ail resolutions excell entbeam convergence • built-in speakers • built-in earphone andmicrophone jacks • supports color temperature settings and image rotation • focus at 1,280x1,024 degradesslightly around corners

Analysis A good mix of features and competitive price makes this I'hilips monitor a great candidate for anyone looking at upgrading to a good ISinch model with a few extras to boot.

Samsung SyncMaster $00b From: SamsungElectronics Tel: 800-882-4955 httpy/www.samsung.corn

Highlights

Highlights • impressive image quality and focus refresh rate of 85 Hz at 1,024x768 • very competitive price • excellent five year parts and labor warranty

$535

CQMPUTER

. -

This monitor has ik ' "„, ~

' ail. It was the only .'=,,::.'j "excellent",,:ratings . ."):,.— :fob every category thinks to its 0;26 dot pitch an'd impressiv'e overaR design. Although It's not cheap the premium you ~iy for this monitdr is worth'every periny. :

: :

„: ,

'With a maximum refresh rate of 85 Hz at ::,-:.1,024x768,,and 65:Hz at lgSOxi,024; this '

'monitor offers not- only exceiient Image

' quality but an impressive assortment .of -;.,;image manipulation controls as we11 as a:, "five-year parts and labor warranty.' if you '. wint a bit of everything for next to noth',-.-'ing, this is. the one you' ve been waiting for. 'Oval'all: Panasonk PanaSyncPro P$0„:,.. It seRs for just over'$4IID, has very go@i pic.

Highlights • very good overall image quality • uses a 0.27 inm dot pitch • impressive maximum refresh of87 Hzat 1,024x768 • full range of image manipulation including color temperature and picture tilt • competitive price on a well-known brand

$505

PENTIUMMULTIMEDIA INTELP20D MMX, 32M EDO

ture quality and a wide variety of ways to manipulate your screen image. With it' s 0.27 dot pitch and:maximum refresh rate,

of up to 180 Hz, the PanaSync ProPSOgives you the performance you require without "<aking you to the ileanets. Q' -

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$12$5

PENTIUM II MULTIMEDIA INTELPll233,32MB SDRAM 440LX, 3.2GB, ATI 30 XPRR4M

Floppy Odive:1.44MB,Keyboard:1D4WIN 95,Mouse 24XCD-ROM, 33.6k Modern 32XCD-ROM,56k Modem Sound Card: 16Bit PluggPlay,Speaker: 60W

ATI 3D, PC-TV 4M..... $115 Epson 400/600C ..... $245/335 MAIN BOARDS HP DJ 670/722C..... $265/395 A-TREND ATC-5130.... ,$88 $OUI4D CARDS ATC-5000 430TX,.... $108 3 D,PnP..... , . . . .$17 ATC6130 PII440LX .... $158 Yamaha719, 3D.... .$19 Panasonic 15 ........... $350 ASUS TXP4512K...... $143 S3, PCI, 3D. 328it .. .$44 Sony .25 15 ...,.. . . . . . , $459 ASUS TX97E512K..... $175 Sound Blastr16,... ,$45 Viewsonic 15/1 7...... $328/598 ASUSPlll97 51 2K..... $208 SB,AWE 64...... .$88 VIDEO CARD$ FAX INODEM$ HARD DRiVE$ TRIDENT 96801M........ , $29 33.6K Int./Ext......, . $50/1 20 2.1GB Samsung ... $175 9685 3DPCI2M/4M ....$45/65 5 6k Int./Ext....... . . . $75/155 2 .1 Maxtor..... . . $185 9685 30 2M PC-TV........ $68 33.6 USR,lnt......, .. ,. $115 2.5GB WD........ $203 X-Wbrk AGP 4M/8M... $169/248 5 6k, USR, Int...... . . . .. $145 3.2GBQuan/WD...... $239/228 X-Play AGP 4M/8M.... $210/270 PRINTERB 4.3GBQuan/WD...... $268/265 ATI3D XPR 2M/4M...... $85/99 Cannon 250/4300 ..., $178/245 6.4GBQuantum.......... $349 MONIYOR$ SVGA14/15/1 7... $1 69/229/429 Daytek14/15/17 .. $199/249/489 Acer 14/15/17..., $199/255/460 KDS 14/15/17.... $1 99/269/539

,Prke/Performance:

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Sceptre Technologies Dragon Eye D$4 From: Sceptre Technologies Tel: 800-788-2878 http: //www.sceptre.corn

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1'he PanaSync Pro line of monitors by I'anasonic is known for its superior image quality, flexible control settings and good price/performance ratio. With a 0.27 mm dot pitch and 14-inch viewable screen, the PSO Highlights leaves little to be desired. • refresh rates up to 160 Hzpossible • excellent rate of 85 Hz at 1,024x768 • excellent picture quality and focus weil maintained Phllips 10$$ • no image rofation support From: Philips Canada • price could be somewhatmore competitive Tel: 800-387-0564 http://www.philips.corn Analysis 1'he new SyncMaster 500b from Samsung is a great overall performer with some impressive technical specifications. However, at just over $400, it may place it out of reach for those on a tight budget.

Aidan

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Analysis When it comes to making top quality monitors at very competitive prices, Sceptre has all the angles covered. The DS4 offers excellent performance, an incredible five-year parts and labor warranty and sells for unde~ $300. What more could you want?

• good dot pitch of 0.27 mm • maximum refresh rate up to 180Hzat lower resolutions • refresh of 75 Hz at 1,024x768 • low power consumption at 85W • supports wide variety of image manipulation settings • not cheap, but reasonably priced considering its great performance

Markham, ON LSR 5V6 Tel: (905) 415-9079 Fax: (905) 415-9081

The P655 is part of ViewSonic's IS-inch Professional Series of monitors, and boasts a very solid picture quality thanks to its 87 Hz refresh rate at 1,024x768. If you should need to use it for brief periods at 1,280x1,024, the picture quality is still great, and can be viewed at a better-than-average 66 Hz refresh. The P655 allows you to customize practically every aspect of the screen image, and has four preset color temperatures as well as giving the user the option of producing their own. An excel, lent choice if you' re looking for great quality from a name you can trust.

8.4GB Maxtor...,. . . . . . . $465 CD-ROM 4 FD 24X/32X..... . . . . . . . $85/105 16X/24X (SCSI)....... $1 35/1 55 1.44MB FD...... . . . . . . . . $27

CASES ATX Mid Tower ...... . . . . . $75

Super Mini....... . . , . . . . $39 Mid Tower......... . . . . . . $49 ACCE$$ORIE$ 104-ky Win95...... . . . . . . $18 Logitech Mouse...... . . . . . $13

EDO Ram8M/16M ......$20/32 SDRAM 32M/64M ..... $64/179

MA Y 1998 T HE COMPUTER PAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcl3.ca

Viewable screen size inches Dot pitch mm Screen coating Horizontal freq. range KHz )

Saewoo

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NAG

5118

DT-1531D

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85 60 85

Vary good Good Excellent

Yes Ves

Yes Yes No No No No 48.7x46.1x44.7 12.6 800-329-8351 www.daytek.corn 3P, 3L $275

Yes No 37.4x39.9x38 905-415-7290

www.daewoo;ca 3P, 3L $295

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800-665-5487 www.magitronic.corn 3P, 3L $315

www.ma innovision,com

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THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca MAY 1998

NEG Nulti&ync ESQQ 13.8 0.25 AS 31-69 55-120

, Pauasenic - E;-:-,L.at Phil!ps PauaSync PrePSQ, 1QSB 14,0

13.8 0.28 AG,AS 30-70 50-120 85 60 100 Excellent Very good Excellent Good Yes Excellent

AG,AS 30-70 50-180

Ve ood Ve good

Excellent

Very goad Very good Very good Yes Very good

Excellent

Yes Yes Yes No Yes No 37.2x41.2x40.2 15.1 800-632-4636 www.nec.corn 3P, 3L $459

Yes Yes

Ve oad

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Yes Yes No 37.2x41.2x37.6 905-824-5010

www.panasonic.ca 3P, 3L $425

Samsung Syncllaster 5QQb

Sceptre Dragon Eye 054

ViewSenic

0.28 AS,AR 30-69

0.28

0.27 AS,AG:"'„.:I 'w':.

30-70 50-120 85 60 65 ' ~r r i~ .@%4~r"' *: .g 100 95 Excelient Excellent Very good '-'-;-W":-'.-"."".:.'."' ';: Excellent Excellent

50-160

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$1 ,149 Multimedia

$1,439 P-H 266 $1,$79 $1,849 P-II 333 $1,N9

• TX Chipset (LX for P-IIj Mainboard w/512K cache • Intel Processor+ Cooling Fan • 32 MB 16$-pin SDRAM Memory • 3/ 2o 1.44M Floppy Drive • 3.2 GB Ultra DMA EIDE Hard Drive • 2 MB PCI Video Card

• Mid (ATX for P-II) Tower Case w/230W CSA Power • 104-key Win95 Keyboard, 3-Button Mouse + Pad • 24X CD-ROM + Sound Slaster 16 Sound Card • 100 W PMPO Stereo Speakers • 15" .28mm SVGA Non-Int. Color Monitor • 56K Internal Fax/Modem w/Voice (2-Year Parts 4 Labor %arranty)

for quotation pleaseE-mail:pcvill ®idirect.corn 603 St. Glair Avenue W.

684 Yonge Street

Toronto (St.Clair/Bathurst) Tel: (416) 653-9326 Fax: 653-5641

Toronto (Yonge/Bloor) Tel:(416) 975-9268 Fax:(416)975-0291

Ve dod.::..:-~: '

www.iiewsonic.corn 3P, 3L

PC VILLAGE CO. LTD. P-200 MMX $1,tt99 233MMX

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Yes No 36x38.2x36.8 12.7 -' '"' '"'-"' ':. ' ' 800-788-2878 www.samson .corn www.sceptre.corn 3P,3L 5P, 5L $405 "-.':: .~-:-".::.'."-::: '-: ~ $285 '

P655

lp~

fax/Modems

24X CD-ROM Drive + 16-Bit 33.6K Int. w/voice $59 S ound card+ Speakers $ 9 9 56K Int. w/voice $$5 32X CD-ROM Drive+ 16-Bit USR 33.6K Int.voice (oem) $125 Sound Card + Speakers $109 USR 56K Int voice (oem) $155 3-in-1speakers,m ic,headset $25 Altec Lansing ACS45 spks $119

Printers

Monitors

Accessories

15" KTX.2&dp 12&0 $239 15" Sony 100ES .25 1280 $429 17" Daytek .2&dp 1280 $479 17" Optiquest V773.26dp $599

Mustek 30-bit color scanner $139 V ideo Conf, camera kit $129 HP 7200i CD-RW Kit $549

canon ore 250

$179 Canon BJC-4300 color Video Cards $239 Canon BJC-4550 wide ATI 3D Rage 2/4 Mb $ 6 9 / $9 $439 A TI XL Rage Pro 4MB $ 1 1 5 Espon Stylus 600/800 $349/469 HP670C/692C Color $279/299 ATI Xpert ®play 4MB $ 2 19 ATI Xpert®play &mb agp $289 Brother HL-730 DX+ $399 $449 ATI all-in-wonder pro 4 mb$295 Brother HL-760 DX HP6L/6P Laser Millenium I 4/&M $519/979 $215/315

Blank CD-Rs

(10+) ea $1.99

(Ar Woes sre Cosh Discounted end suhjeet to chentte withoutnotte)

155 East Beaver Creek Road, 015 Richnond Hill (Hwy 7/Lesile) Tel: (905) 889-5488 Fax:(905) 889-0663

! New Store! 3226 Hwy 7 E. Unit Imt6

Markham (Hwy7AVoodbine) Opewiwg Soota /

www.tcp.ca

MAY 1998 THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION

,+ TCP TEST LABS I

)-'

22A Strathearn Avenue. Unit 1A, Brampton, Ont.

(99$) Tl%-S1l 1 Home Paje: http: //web.idirect.corn/-brampton

@ AWE 64 SOUND CARDS

i ~-.-'$99":.""'"''I

Pentium

motherboard $65

1$xca-Ilau$79

;,: a4wcaeau$95,

INOTHKIIOARIS

'$50 — $79

'"' ' "~ HARI IllVES 3.26S ...... . . . , . . .$239 2.1 GS,.... . , . . . . . . $220 1.086$ .... . . . ."-'.::,. $139

850MS ..„..... . . . , .$109 550 IjjIS,'.-'..... . . . , .,$89 420 IS ... . . . . . . . . . . $75 250NSII280 INS ,...,. $55 105ijjiS .... , . . . . . . . . $35

CWs P155INIIX ...$159 P155IIN ...$159 585-133®;....$59

ConjS sire x

85-120,,...,$30

4 IEG 30 IIiII ..."'.-... . .$21 4 IjjlEG 72IIIII EDQ ...... $10

OIIi(;~~ 8g ti31(8$ ~r) @BBIIgtt

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P-21SMMX IN/8 ANII CP'll WIN CIOLINIFAN

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our imaginations, let alone readily available for under $500.

S TEVE HAI I N D A

t's been a year since our last hard drive survey, and there haven't been as many Ho w m u ch do you really neetl7 changes during the last 12 months as there As each day passes, games and applications were in the year before that. When we set out ho g more and more of your precious hard to test hard drives last year, manufacturers sent drive space. It's not at all uncommon today for us drives ranging in size from 3 GB (gigabytes) computer games to require more than 200 MB to 6.4 GB. At the time, a 3 GB hard drive was fora "typical" install, or 450MB for a complete the norm, and the beasts with 6.4 GB capaci- installation. The same holds true for some of ties were the latest craze. Although we haven't t h e most popular applications. The latest vergone much beyond the 6.4 GB sizes of yester- sion of CorelDraw, for example, requires over year, there are a new batch of drives out there 250 MB, and that's not even a full installation. that once again push the limits of today's Then we have Microsoft Office 97 Professional, which craves a total of 207 MB if you choose to BIOSes with storage totaling 8.4 GB. But size isn't the only thing that has i n stallalltheoptions. Remember the good ol d d ays when changed. As can be expected in the computer industry, we' ve see exciting developments being WordPerfect 5.1 took up a whopping 2.7 MB? made intheunderlyingtechnologyofthesedri- O r h o w Wing Commander II "hogged" an ves. For instance, Seagate has recently started entire 35 MB? Well forget the good old days, shipping its new line of high performance Ultra- and start planning for the not-too-distant ATA drives with spindle rates of 7,200 RPM future where your average application will using fluid dynamic bearing motors. Up until require 1 or 2 GB if you want decent perfornow, hard drives have used ball bearings. The mance. Oh yes, it' ll happen folks — it's just a new fluid bearing design allows the drive to m a t ter of time. Thisofcourse is all good news operatemorequietly, more reliablyandallowsit to the drive manufacturers because the ever growing demand for to be much more resistant to shock. According to Seagate, the new drives have storage space is been successfully tested at 1,200 Gs (that' s 1,200 times the force of gravity), whereas traditional ball bearing drives could only take puni'shment as high as 150 Gs. They' re quieter because there's no metal-tometal contact, which, Seagate says, theoretically gives the f l ui d b earing -'4-' motors an infinite lifespan. The new spindle rate of 7,200 RPM combined with its low 9.5 ms (milliseconds) average seek time translates into performance never what keeps them in before seen in the world of IDE drives. business, after all. The other major manufacturers are all + But getting back to how much space busy updating their technology as well. Quantum, Maxtor and Western Digital all yo u want to invest in, depending on the type have 5,400 RPM drives with access times o f d atastoredonyourharddrive,your needs under 10 ms. Maxtor has raised the storage may be considerably more than you think, or ante with its new DiamondMax 2880 drive, they may require a fairly simple upgrade. If which has a total capacityof11.5 GB. If space you find yourself working with digital audio is a major concern for you, and 6.4 GB drives or video files, you' ll quickly realize that just a just doesn't cut it, there's hope for you thanks few minutes of data could easily take up a couple hundred megabytes. On the other to Maxtor Corporation. Prices have also dropped considerably hand, if you' re using your PC mainly for '

-'NQNITQRS NM14" NGA High EIIIj ....$199

iGA........$99

We Ship Across Canada. "' Fax us your order at 905.793.5?38

from last year, and are continuing to fall regu- everyday office work, you may not even have

e u

New 8L UsedComputer Equiylmnt

larly. For instance, 6.4 GB drives cost more

to worry anytime soon.

A good simple rule to follow is this: take a than $600 when they first appeared a year ago. Today, the same drive can be found for lookatyour current hard drive, and add up the around $365. Even the new generation of 8.4 total number of megabytes occupied by your GB models are selling for just $480. Sure it's d ata. Now take this number and multiply it by not chicken feed, but hey, a couple of years 2.5 or 3. So let's say you found that you' re ago, these capacities weren't even around in Corrturued ou page47

S AMSUN G' S e S E R I ES M O N I T O R S D E I O PTION A L Q UAl l T Y A T A N E X T R A O R D I N A R Y P R I C k

E E.

$]5oo

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Samsung's e series monitors strike the perfect balance between affordability, premium quolity and the advanced features your customers expect.

0> C

Supported by a full 3year warraniy, the affordable e series features On-screen display, Plug and Ploy capability, a,28 dot pitch and INVAR shadow mask. Already the world leader in monitor sales and monitor performance, Samsung's e series demonstrates our commitment to value leadership

at the entry level. The e series. Simply exceptional value. Simply Samsung.

Oll

www. sa msungca nada. corn

w'CHECKONE: 0 Seasang SeiKNAS227L($1$ rehata) CISarnsung Sh.CKS SQ7L (SIS rebate) 0 Srnnsung le 6(87227L ($2$ rahate) (PIRASR PRHII KKRARLV) Home:

To chim yewminie, mhe riifwm ouupbsuduhmgwgheuupyof towpwf sfpmies, dwurirqtiwmwhf eunde te:eSwim Rebate,PO . Rox12440SointJube, Hsw russwickE2LSE7.lhh rebutsiswdbfonlyontechm mefSamsungeSwissmsuilwsbsm ecomputorubetee wnApril 11, 1998audJune30,1998.Jgsuhmisriuusmust bepmlmakedbeforeJuly10, 1998. itis rebateis enulufds furGaodtmmridsutsuniy.1hisnduriucannothousedwithanyole pm msgon.Allrsbstssarein Camdbmfunds.Phmeallow 68 weoks fwtuocesriug. Forcompletecebote i~, mhs owl rsgulagoxs, phmocontort tbeOannputers storenearestyou. Tel: Awribrbfe excfwely at;

www.cam putmspba.ca

Rraeplam RurlhsRtan Hurnltan 332MainSt.Norih 3443 Fainri ew St. 1400UpperJmnosSt. 8~ , ON16VJP8 ~, O NJ7H2R4 Hamiltan,ONL981K3 TeL90545N234 T eL905-333.1109 TeL905.3188666

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H89 Faiway Rd.

109FanshawePorcR d.E. 640 EglintanAue.W. 1440 MommloRd. 1 1-1550 KbqfslnnRd.

INissfnsauga

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Kildemr, ON N2( ly4 Tel. 519895.2586

London,ONN5X3W1 Mmissauga, OH15R3V2 Ottawa, OHK2E5Pl Picksring, ONLly 1C3

Tel.5196614222 T eL905-507-1866 T el.613.721-3856 T eL9054209830

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~"" low on storage space? -,'-"~ t.ontinnecff'rota pagj 44 " .' ~

using about 1.8 GB of data at the moment. You

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drive in the range of 4 to 5 GB. This will allow !Ua( you to accommodate your current data, as well , as give you room for future expansion. g@P An d don't worry, it won't take nearly as ~,.'" long as you think to double your current used space. Besides, with prices on hard drives =. these days, it would be silly to invest in something like a 3.2 GB model which costs $245 - when you can have a 6.4GB monster for only :, $120 more. With hard drives, it's simply a :,.'; matter of realizing that the more you buy, the i'jk: more value you get for your dollar. A 6.4 GB ~'-"; drive that costs $365 for example, means that -~ 'you' re only paying 5.7 cents per megabyte.

drive seems like a turtle. The reason is that your processor does all of its operations in nanoseconds, whereas hard drives are much slower, working in milliseconds. Although to us mortals a millisecond is a blink of an eye, mathematically speaking, a millisecond is 1,000,000 times slower than a nanosecond. The physical characteristics of processors and hard drives reveals to us why one is so incredibly fast in doing its job, while the other

is the complete opposite. You see, inside a CPU, there are millions of tiny transistors (a transistor is an electronic switch that either allows or prevents the flow of electrical current). These transistors function so incredibly quickly that the components that make up hard drives pale in comparison. Hard drives are made of much bigger, bulkier parts such as motors, mechanical arms and spinning platters. The laws of physics pre-

vent these parts from functioning anywhere close to the speed they would have to in order to match the operations of a CPU. You can have the fastest CPU in the world, but if the work you' re doing depends more on data being read to and from your hard drive, the CPU will just be idling by waiting .for your hard drive to try and catch up. Anytime you start an application, before Conti nned on page49

, : ,

P~-Will It ever be fast enough? ~~r" If you ask someone their opinion on the best way to build a really fast PC, they' ll more than likely tell you to add a fast processor running at several hundred MHz. Although the processor speed certainly plays an important role in any system, one should never underestimate ~; t h e importance of other components, especially the hard drive. We' ll talk about what makes one drive perform better than another, but first it's worth mentioning that no matter how fast your drive may be, it will never be fast enough. Why? Because to your processor, your hard

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One of the common data security measures on networks is the RAID array, where data is written simultaneously to two or more hard drives. In the event thai one drive fails, the critical data is still available on the mirrored drive or drives. RAiD, which stands for Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Drives, has almost always been based on a SCSI interface, and as you may know, SCSI drives are usually much more expensive that IDF. or FID1:. drives. However, now that IDE drives (specifically the FIDI'. and UDMA variations) are becoming bigger and faster — and still cheaper than SCSI drives —RAIDs based on these drives becomes realistic. Arco Computer I'roducts Inc., based in Hollywood, Fla., recently announced the DupliDisk-I'CI, an IDl:. drive controller that allows a RAID I array lo be created using IDE drives. The US$225 DupliDisk doesn' t require drivers, occupies one PCI slot, and connects to the primary IDE controller, The DupliDisk controller will support up to two pairs of mirrored drives, and will work with Windows (3.x, 95 and NT), OS/2, DOS, UNIX and NetWare. The companysays when one drive fails, the controller automatically shifts operations to the remainin'g drive, and sounds an . alarm to alert the user that a drive has failed. Arco includes a software utility to 'restore data to the replacement drive. j The company alsomakes a version that works in an ISA slot, called the I')upliDisk-

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For benchmark figures where numbers are measured in ms, the lower numbers represent better scores. Figures where numbers are measured in KB or MB/sec, the higher numbers represent better scores. AII prices shown are street prices or estimated street prices in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated. Lovv on storage space7 Cnnti>N>edfrn>>I page47

but memory modules, we' ll have to live with the fact that our hard drives act as a major bottieneck in overall system performance. (In

your Cl'U can begin processing the instructions, it must first have the appropriate data delivered to it from the hard drive. The hard drive has to find the information, which it then sends off into RAM before the CPU can begin doing its work. If you happen to be loading a really big application, you may find yourself waiting a couple of minutes before you can even do anything useful. So unless they start making hard drives out of nothing

case you were wondering, these drives made There are a number of factors involved in makup of RAM already exist, and are known as solid state drives, but they cost several thousand dollars for a fraction of the size of today' s desktop h ar d d i s ks. M a xtor r e cently announced a I GB solid state drive with a US$39,000 price tag.) In the meantime, you might as well try to find the fastest hard drive you can afford, because your shiny new 333 MHz Pentium II

What makes a 4Irlve fast7 ing a fast drive, but there are basically two things you should look for when shopping for a fast hard drive: low access time, and high spin rate. These two properties combine to deliver a fast data transfer rate, which is what you want. Okay, now let's explain using plain English what these terms mean. First we have the drive's access time, commonly known as the average access time, measured in milliseconds.

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The average access time of a hard drive is the sum of its average seek time and latency. Latency is defined as the average time it takes for a sector on the hard drive to become available after the heads have reached a track. This is usually one half of the time it would take for the disk to completely rotate once. So if you' re drive has a spin rate of 5,400 RPM, a full rotation would take 11.11 ms. To determine this, we first have to take revolutions per minute and convert them to revolutions per second. So we take 5,400 and divide Cn»ti>n>e{f{>Npage $0

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,+'TCP TEST LABS it by 60, which gives is 90 revolutions per second. To get a single revolution, we invert this number (I over 90) and get 11.11 ms. Now we divide 11.11 in half and get a latency of 5.56 ms. Most manufacturers will list the average access time on their data sheets. When it comes to data transfer rates, don' t be confused by what you see on the spec. sheets for the drives. There are two types of data transfer rates. One is known as the disk

transfer rate, the other is called the host trans- at 5,400 RPM, other factors being equal. fer rate. The disk transfer rate is the rate at The host transfer rate tells us how quickly which data is moved to and from the hard the CPU can get the needed information from drive. Most benchmarking programs will- the drive's controller. This number is more the. report this number because it's an actual mea- oretical than practical, but it goes like this. Your surement ofhow much data can be moved drive will operate in one of several available across the drive in a period of time. As we said "modes." These are commonly referred to as earlier, the transfer rate is directly proportional PIO (Programmed Input/Output) Modes 0 to the drive's spindle rate, so a drive spinning through 4. It's safe to say that all hard drives at 7,200 RPM will outperform a drive that spins manufactured in the past two years will run at

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the fastest setting, Mode 4. PIO Mode 3 has a maximum theoretical transfer rate of 11.1 megabytes per second (MB/sec.), whereas PIO Mode 4 goes up to 16.6.MB/sec. The latest generation of d r ives — which we tested this month — also support what is known as MultiWord DMA transfers, which take the theoretical transfer rates one step further do 33.3 MB/sec.. Here's the bottom line: get a drive with a low average seek time, preferably 12 ms or under. All of the drives we looked at this month have seek times of 10 ms or less. As for spindle rate, don't settle for anything less than 5,400 RPM. All of the major drive manufacturers have adopted the new 5,400 RPM standard for IDE drives, which was only available in SCSI drives not too long ago. If you combine a low access time with a.high spindle rate, your new hard drive will not only provide you with adequate storage space for all your precious data, but will also help your system's overall performance.

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Once you have purchased your new drive and taken it home, the first thing you' ll have to do after installing it is to decide how you' re going to partition it. Partitioning involves creating one or more "virtual drives" inside your hard drive. This means that you' ll have a D: and perhaps an E: drive in addition to the usual C: drive. If you' re currently running either DOS or the original Windows 95, the maximum size of one partition is 2.1 GB. This is a limitation of the file system used by these two operating systems known as the FAT (file allocation table) file system. The newer version of Windows 95 known as OSR2 removes this limitation with its proprietary FAT32 file system, which allows for partition sizes much larger than 2.1 GB. The only drawback is that only the OSR2 version of Windows 95 can read these partitions. DOS, the original Windows 95, Windows NT, OS/2 and UNIX won't be able to. The upcoming Windows NT 5.0 will have support for FAT32, but that's still a few months away. The only other operatingsystemout there that recently added FAT32 support was Linux, a freeware version of UNIX. But if you' re in the majority, you most likely aren't familiar with Linux, nor would you want to be. If, on the other hand, you' re running Windows NT at home, you won't have to worry about this limitation because NT can support partition sizes of up to 16 petabytes using its own NTFSfile system. If that sounds like an insanely large number, it is. A petabyte is equal to one million gigabytes, and is written as 1,000,000,000,000,000. OS/2 uses its own file system as well, known as HPFS and can support partition sizes up to 2 terabytes, equal to 2,000 GB. Regardless of what file system your operating system relies on, they must all follow certain rules when it comes to handling files. Each file system organizes data into segments known as clusters, With the FAT file system, the maximum size of a cluster cannot exceed 32 KB, or 32,768 bytes. Also, the total number of clusters cannot exceed 65,536. By multiplying these two numbers together, we get 2,147,483,648 or 2.1 GB. With the FAT system, your duster size is determined by the size of the partition, so to find out how big your clusters will be, you divide your partition size by the maximum number of clusters (65,536). We' ll explain why all this is relevant Continued on pnge$2

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Edge Personal Computers are built in Canadaby the Edge PC Team using only top quality components. CUSTONER SATfSFACTfoN is our first priority! All Edge PC systems are backed by a full 2 year parts and labour warranty! Extend to an industry first6 Yearfull

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$239 $299 $499

Mystique 220PCI 2MB/4MB $ 1 2 9/$149 Millcnium 11 PCI 4MB/SMB $ 1 9 9/$289 Millcnium ll AGP 4MB/SMB $249/$299 Productiva AGP SMB $139

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14"410V 1024x768 .28dp 15" SIOV 1280x1024 .28dp 17" ZIOV 1280 x1024 .2&dp

a few lines down. Let's assume for a moment that your partition size is 1 GB. To determine your individual cluster size, you take 1 GB and divide by 65,536 (1 GB= 1,073,741,824 bytes, divided by 65,536), which gives you a cluster size of 16,384 bytes or roughiy16 KB. Now here's why all of this matters. Every file on your hard drive must occupy at least one cluster, no matter how small it may be. Catching on? This means even tiny Mes such as your autoexec.bat or config.sys files will use a full cluster — even though they probably aren' t more than 400 bytes each, they'ii each take up 16,384 bytes! If you have a file that is larger than the cluster size, it will be divided evenly into as many clusters as required. So if you have a file that's 130 KB, it will take up eight full clusters with an additional 2,048 bytes left over, and guess what? Those 2,048 left over bytes have to go somewhere, and they' re going right into the next available 16 KB cluster. If your partition size is 2.1 GB, your cluster size will be 32,768 bytes (32 KB). Those same 400 byte files now all of a sudden take up 32,768 bytes — more than 80 times their actual size. If you"re using the FAT system and you have thousands of little files scattered across your drive, can you image the amount of space you' re wasting that you' re not even aware of? This is why we now have alternatives to this outdated FAT system. The most appealing system of all is the NTFS file system used by Windows NT because it allows for cluster sizes ranging from 512 bytes to a maximum of 4 KB. The amount of wasted space as a result of

through inefhcient cluster size is not a concern, use whatever size you like. Generally speaking, partitioning your hard drive into smaller partitions will save you a few MB of space, but exactly how much will depend on the various file sizes stored on your drive, Just be aware of

what's happening behind thescenes. S erst

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When factsdon't tellthe whole truth Hard drive manufacturers almost always refer to I MB as being one million bytes. If you buy a 6.4 GB hard drive, the drive manufacturer says you are getting 6,400,000,000 bytes total capacity. The problem is that your software may not agree with these numbers. You see, we humans invented the simple Base-10 numbering system in order to count

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numbers, which gives us digits ranging from

sets.es Qev.s>

0 to 9. When computers count, they have to do so using the binary system, or Base-2, which has only two digits, namely 0 and 1. To a computer, I GB is known as 1,073,741,824 bytes, whereas a drive manufacturer will teil you it's only 1,000,000,000 bytes. So when some software tells you that your 6.4 GB drive is actually 5.9 GB, don't panic. You have in

Slee.et Qse.st stsvrrt Qse.st sstv.nt sstrtst ssttsn

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your possession exactly what you paid ior, although the computer's numbering syst m may not agree with you. The tests We usedseveralwell-known benchmark po-

THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION

www.tcp.ca MAY 1998 5 3

,©'TCP TEST LABS grams to measure the performance of hard drives. Each program, as can be expected, gave d ifferent results fo r t h e various tests. Measurements were made on various methods of data transfer, such as sequential and random. Each benchmark program provides a report on some form of access time measurement, although they don't always match the numbers specified by the manufacturer. All in all, they each tell a tale of just how quickly a particular drive can perform a given function. Just to make things interesting, we decided to do a little test of our own —something quite simple, but also very useful because it goes beyond the benchmarks and provides you with an everyday scenario. The test consisted of two parts. First, we generated a 31,9 MB file and copied it from one directory on the drive to another and timed the process from start to finish. This is a real-world test of a sequential read because the file we were copying was contiguous. Our second test consisted of copying two directories from one part of the drive to another. These two directories were filled with 308 files and 17 subdirectories, totaling 31.9 MB. We chose this as the total size to demonstrate how copying the same number of megabytes using two very different scenarios can turn out so differently. This test is an example of a random read/write task. A full defragmentation of each drive was performed prior to these tests to give each drive exactly the same testing conditions. No thirdparty caching programs were used. We used partition sizes of 1 GB throughout the entire testing process. All of the tests were were performed under DOS 6.22 with a clean boot (no config.sys or autoexec.bat files loaded). All tests

were conducted on a Pentium II 300 MHz machine with 128 MB of SDRAM. Each hard drive was configured for Master mode and all tests were executed three times, with the final average being shown in the comparison chart.

The contenders

Maxtor's DiamondMax line has just gotten bigger with the addition of several drives, one of which is this 8.4 GB monster. With a spindle rate of 5,400 RPM and the lowest reported access time of 9 ms among its competitors, this drive would be a great addition to your system for both storage space and performance.

Fu)ltsu 6.4 4 B From: Fujitsu of Canada Tel: 800-263-8716 http: //www.iujitsu.ca

Quantum Fireball SE 8.4 CB From: Quantum Corporation Tel: 800-624-5545 http: //www.quantum.corn

Highlights: • spindle rate of 5,400 RPM • good size buffer of 256KB • performed very well on our tests • rated at 500,000 MTBF (mean time between failure) • at 37 dBA, it was one of the loudest drives tested.

Highlights • great for storage needs thanks to its 8.4 GB capacity • good overall performance • at 32 dBA, one of the quieter drives tested •good accesstimeof9.5 ms • buffer size of 128KB is smallest in survey

Analysis: With this new 6.4 GB Ultra-DMA model, Fujitsu has designed a great successor to last year's award-winning 5.2 GB drive. It has a good average seek time of 10 ms and is one of the lowest priced drives in its category.

Analysis

INaxtor DlamondlNax 8.4 CB From: Maxtor Corporation Tel: 800-262-9867 http: //www.maxtor.corn

Highlights • excellent storage capacity at 8.4 GB • Iow access time of only 9 ms wasbest in survey • achieved good performance • fairly loud at 36 dBA

Asus LX W/AGP Mainboard

32 MB EDO Ram

32 MB SDRam

2.1 GB UDMA HDD 2 MB Video Card

80W Atnph5ed Speakers 33.6 Fax Voice Modem 3.5" Floppy Disk Drive

4.3 GB UDMA HDD ATI 3D XPRES. 4 MB VideoCard 32X CD Rom Sound Blaster 64 Bit SoundCard SOW Atnplifie Speakers 56 Fax Voice Modem 3.5" Floppy Disk Drive

Keyboard - Mouse-Pad

Keyboard - Mouse -PIMI

Midtower Case250W

ATX Midtower Case

PEN. 166MMX....$829 PEN. 200MMX....$859 PEN. 233MII/IX....$919 AIND K6 200........$829 AMD K6 233........$$69 CYRIX M2 200.. $779 CYRIX M2 233....$829

PII 233............$1439 PH 266............$1569 PII 300............$1819 PH 333............$1939 PII 350............$2069

lie e

Highlights • an unheard of spindle rate of 7,200 for IDE drive • huge buffer of 512KB for maximum performance • uses fluid-bearing motor technology • low access time of 9.5 ms • at 29 dBA, it's the quietest drive around • more expensive than other 6.4 GB drives but well worth the cost

Analysis Unbelievable specs on this new screamer from Seagate! With its 7,200 spindle rate, low access time and large buffer, this drive could easily be mistaken for an Ultra-SCSI model but it's the very latest IDE technology Seagate has to offer. Get this baby if you want the best IDE drive money can buy!

From: Samsung Electronics Tel: 905-542-3535 http: //www.samsung.corn

Western Digital Caviar 6.4 CB

From:We stern Digital

Highlights • latest in the Samsung hard drive line

•

Networking

Toshiba 32.............99 14" SVGA ..........179 Panasonic 24..........85 15" SVGA .........239 Acer 24..................85 15" SONY .........A45 Sound Blasiir 16....49 17" ACEL.........A70 Sound Blaster 64....95 17" Viewsonic ....640

3COM 10/100 NIC....95 HP 592C.............319

Hard Disk

Modem

Intel 10/100 NIC .......85 HP $90CXL.......615

DLink 10/100 NIC.....75 HP 1000CXL.....669 Dl.ink ISA NIC.........29 Canon 4300........259 Acer IOBT NIC.........33 Epson 400..........265 Opti 16Bit .............25 19" Viewsonic...1250 Intel 100 12 Hub........Call Epson 600...........345 I SOW Speakers.....39 21" Viewsonic ..1560 3Com 100 12 Hub......Call Epson 800...........475 DLInk 100 8 Hub.......call HP 6L Laser........529 80W Spakers .......19 Motherboard OKIDATA 4W....299 Asus P2L97........199

Asus TX97........175 USR 33.6 Int.........109

Samsung 2.6........189 Aristo TX...........105 Satnstmg 32.......229 Gigabyte TX.......139 Fujitsu 2.6 ..........219 Fujitsu 3.2 .........229

Storage

u0 u t n

12A D

n C

Printer

Multimedia lwonitor

Samsung2.1........175

0 C R

Seagate MedalistPro 6.5 GB From: SeagateTechnology Tel: 408-438-6550 http: //www.seagate.corn

USR 56K Int........159 USR 56k Ext........229

Acer 33.6 In@........65 Acer 56k Int..........95 Jaton 33.6 Int........60

Quantum 3.2 ......249 Iomelt Int Zip ....115 Quanttnn 4.3 ......269 Iomega Int Jaz ....385 Scanner Quantum 6A ......339 Iomelt Ext Jaz....510 Quantum $.4 ......A99 Iomega Ditto ......175 HP 5100C..............375 PII 400............$2499 WD 3.2..............245 LS 120 Drive......125 Acerscan 310P......135 "' prices aa ailabllitr subject ucbanaewahSeagate 2.1 ........195 HP Tape Baehtp 225 Scantak.................130 olt prtor nallcL

I C

Samsung missed our hard drive survey last year becausethe company's largest drive at that time would not meet our criteria. Things sure havechanged thisyear!Samsung's new 6.4 GB Ultra-DMA model boasts high spindle rates, low access times and a huge buffer of 512KB. Thanks to that combination, it did really well on our benchmark tests.

Samsung 6.4 CB

Intel TX %/512 I Mainboard

Analysis

Quantum Corporation has just given the rest of the large-capacity drive makers a run for their money with t hi s new Fireball SE. Although it uses a smaller buffer than any of its competitors, it still managed to finish our tests with some admirable scores. Great if you need lots ofstorage space and you want to go with a good name.

Mid-range Systems Highland Systems

24X CD Rom 16 Bit Sound Card

• great performance overall • large 512KB buffer matched only by Seagate

Analysis

Video Card Trident ................35 83 Trio 1 MB.......35

S3 Virie 2MB......55

ATI x®Play........205 ATI2MB ...........75 ATI 4 MB............95

Millenium 4MB.209 Mystique 4MB....139 Viper V330 4MB...229 Stealth II 4MB.......139

C REATIVE DVD W/KIT 3 9 9 VIDEO CONFERENCE KIT 255 SONY 2xs IDE CD-R 475 GD BAGKUP 1 5

www.tcp.ca

M A Y 1998 THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATER TORONTO EDITION

,©~' TCP TESTLABS Tel: 905-566-4702 http: //www.wdc.corn

Canadians receptive

Editor's Choices

Highlights

Performance:

• good overall performance • buffer size of 256 KB helps performance • low access time of 9.5 ms • excellent packaging with accessories and superb documentation

Seagate MedalistPro 6530A There's no doubt which::~ E~~@ of these drives deserves our performance award. Sporting the very latest cutting edge technology, Seagate has created a true masterpiece with its new Medalist Pro 6530A.

Analysis The very latest addition to the Caviar series is this 6.4 GB AC36400. It offers a faster spindle rate of S,400 RPM when compared to last year's 4 GB model we tested, plus it has a lower access time and good overall performance. The retail box is top-notch, c ontaining everything yo u n ee d f r o m mounting screws, an IDE cable and an excellent user's manual. You' ll have to pay a bit more than for the OEM bare drive version, but if you' re a novice it's more than worth the extra cost.

Overall: Fujltsu 6.4 GB Picking up where it left off with last year' s award winner, this new 6.4 GB model from Fujftsu has it all. On our tests it did admirably well, it has a great 'design and costs only $360. You can't go wrong:with this little gem. iJ =.'e":: - '%Ã-'=

• •

•

• • •

1I • •

•

to wireless telecoms

ORONTO (NB) — A survey conducted - The study was held Feb. 4-10. Results of a among 1,500 Canadians shows a signif- survey this size are said to be accurate to withicant number are receptive to innova- in plus or minus 2.5 percent, 19 times out of tive telecommunications applications, espe- 20. The margin of error is known to be larger cially when it comes to wireless Internet within specific regions and for other subgroups of the population. access. Other results show that almost four in ten The study, sponsored by Toronto-based professional services providers Ernst 6r Young (37 percent) Canadians use wireless services and conducted by the Angus Reid Group indi- for either business or personal use. More than cates that 30 percent of Canadians are very six in ten (62 percent) do not use wireless telelikely to switch to wireless phone service and p h one services. Those who use wireless ser25 percent are somewhat likely as an alterna- vices only for personal purposes outnumber tive to their existing landline service, if the those who use it for solely business purposes price is the same. Conversely, 24 percent are (14 percent versus 6 percent), with 17 percent "not very likely" to replace their existing land- indicating they use wireless telephones for line service with wireless service, and 19 per- both business and personal use. I nterestingly, when asked about t h e cent are "not at all likely." Peter Garand, an Ernst 6t Young principal entrance of a new telephone service provider who heads upthe firm's wireless industryini- to the landline market who offered rates either identical or within t iatives, said h e is , 10 percent of their current "Absolutely quite fascift jS dqcll' that provider's, 34 percent of nated with the outcome said they are of the survey. It really is Cclgcldjckng hclV© cl resPondents likely to switch to the new proof that consumers are company Younger Canprepared fo r w i r eless Vpfy fZlgp Zppptjtp a dians are t h e m o s t applications." t nchne ' o swr'ch w r Wirele~s I n t e rnet f pl l l l l l p V g t l V e 43 percent answering in access scored very high the affirmative. among respondents, a pffpljgpg jQ thy Garand says the figfull 51 percent of whom ures i nd i cat e t ha t indicated they w o uld ~jl'q]gag gplVjcqg Canadians are generally likely purchase the serreceptive to new services vice it were available to mglkpt ® j i g ) p~g and technology and send them. the message to Industry Garand called the ]pq~] S©lVj~~ 3+d that there is a need for findings good news for applications that satisfy a wireless service carriers ~jl©]pgg I'~tqlnpt significant latent demand. who will be happy to see A further break-down the tremendous amount shows there is very little of latent demand by condifference in acceptance between Canadians when challenge for carriers is comparing education and t o come up w it h t h e income. However, age is a right service at the right factor. Canadians 18-34 price." — Peter Gararzd, Errzsf k Yorrrlg ye ars are much more willIn terms of demoing to use wireless (36 pergraphics, Ca n a dians cent were "very likely" (if the price were the from Quebec are most receptive to switching to wireless services if the price is the same (36 same) compared to only 22 percent aged 55 percent said "very likely" ) and Manitoba/ y e ars and older. Garand says the study underscores conSaskatchewan residents are least receptive sumer interest in wireless telephone service with only 23 percent saying "very likely." Males were more likely to purchase a wire- and the willingness of Canadians to accept less service, 37 percent saying "very likely," the new t echnology. "It i s c l ear t h at Canadians have a very large appetite for innocompared to 24 percent for females. The survey was conducted through 1,S00 vative offerings in the wireless services martelephone interviews based on a random rep ket." He concludes, "Wireless local service and resentative cross-section of Canadian adults wireless Internet access have strong latent demand today." 0 aged 18 or older.

today.

Agfa ePhoto 780 The newAgfa ePhoto 780digital camera can capture images at resolutions up tO 1024X 768 1trifh Virtually nO Waiting betWeen phOtOS.JuSt pOint thiS

corrrpact camera at your subject and at the pressofa button you've captured a 24-bit colour image ready for use virith a multitude of computer applications. Features built-inflash, 1.8" colour LCD screen,a 2MB memory card, and Agfa's photoWise soflf/arefor Jj/lac and Windows. I r4AOy,

~~at&u@-

www.henrys.corn

George Washington papers published NB — The Library of Congress National Digital Library Program and the Manuscript

Division have announced the online publication of the George Washington Papers at the •

•

• t • • lt •

•

I I

letterbooks, commonplace books, diaries, journals, financial account books, military

• •

•

Library of Congress on the American Memory Collections home page. This first release includes 41 letterbooks, about 8,000 pages, from among 65,000 items to be published online within the next two years. Included in the collection as a whole are correspondence,

•

records, reports, and notes, accumulated by Washington from 1741 through 1799. http: //Icweb2.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/gwhome.html

• I

•

• • •

•

ome Internet service providers seem to thinl< that providing a plain-vanilla connection is service enough. At Interlog, 0

that's only part of the story. We are committed to providingproducts and services that can expand your view ofwhat the Internet can be. With Interlog, you not only get reliable service atthe fastest speeds, but also outstandingtechnical support, competitive 0

business package s,superb design services and comprehensive training,

Don't be strung along by your ISP.

Switch to IllI'&Flog.

(ei e) @co-cess www.interlog.corn

www.tcp.ca

M A Y 1998 THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATER TORONTO EDITION

. DESKTOP VIDEO EDITING

•

Desktop video who's who

•

HP PhotoSmart Camera

• dt

•-

A digital camera thatfet(ttures 640x 4SO pixels, expandablememory, filt threads for (tdded accessories and autofocus fiom 2.2" to infinity. Indudes Pict ureIt* software package,

4 •t tl

video production very i n expensive and

BY JEFF EVANS

~299' 9

cheap. Second hand Amigas are still widely avail-'

ere is a brief guide to some of the important historical influences in

able, as well as a range of peripherals such as

desktop video technology, plus many video capture cards and 2D animation and

of the most significant current product ven-

video effects software. The famous NewTek Video Toaster, an add-in desktop video editing card with software, is still available to enable Amigas to be used for high-quality titling, switching, special effects and 3D animation (see NewTek, below). An Ontario company, Randomize, still

dors: C eoree Lsscas assd the EdltDrold

HP PhotoSmart Scanner

The grand daddy of desktop video editing was a device film)naker George Lucas had built after the success of the first Star Wars movie, The EditDroid was an attempt to make film editing simpler and more automated by creating a low-resolution copy of every frame of a film and putting it on a enon-linearn editing system, along with the frame number of the original film segment. This would allow an editor to quickly splice together and view film sequences, trying out different editing versions, and generating a list of which pieces of film had to be physically spliced together, including transitionssuch aswipes and fades tha twould have to be created on an optical effects camera systern. The basic concept of EditDroid was inspiration for PCediting systems, using videotape instead of fi]m, and desktop computers instead of a custom-made electronic editing station.

Get your favourite pictures, slides or negativesinto yourPC with thiseasy-to-usescanner.Features 300 dpi for prints and 2400 dpi for slideslnegatives

s599

pg rtn w cnrr

HP PhotoSmart Printer Who needs a photol(tb when you con print your favourite photos in your home at sizes up to8.5" X I I"! With continuous tone qualit yyou'reassured a greatimage eveyytime. Includes "Picture It" software.

~59999

Dy,

• Ln

•

has made no announcements regarding the revival of this well liked but unlucky desktop video platform. ln practical terms, the Amiga is a good, cheap learning system, but as it becomes more obsolete, it is less and less viable for seri-

ous production, except in the hands of experienced Amiga veterans.

Apple Next to the Amiga, the Apple Mac was the other pioneer in desktop video.

A lthough Apple d i d invent the QutckTime digital video and animation standard, and produced some nAVumodels of the Mac that had built-in video digitizing and output capability, digital video editing on the Mac is accomplished with third-party hardware and software. A company called Avid created one of the first computer-based editing systems on the Mac, opening the door to professional-level Coutiiluett nn pageSI

•

bought the Amiga technology in 1997, but

A l t h o ug h C om m o d o r e Business Machines is now defunct, the Amiga computer is still encountered in large numbers in the low- to mid-range desktop video market. The Amiga

()uanslmlim seed.Pricesscod$1khy$0,Isla ks'esmckearnstm ly m

accelerator boards and other video upgrade products.The Gateway 2000 PC company

Commodore Amlga

wee.henrys.corn 0

supports the Amiga in Canada and provides

•

•'•l I

was unique among personal computers in

that its graphics ran at television's NTSC video frequency {1S.7S KHz), and it had a custom multimedia chipset that lnade animation and

• 9

s I

•

Unistar riel'o Technology Ine. 44 East Beetrer Creek Rd. (fnr'I ¹33 a,s" ))III o irma 'is's

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- ~ « . . ~ m„ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ .I ~ i » cash I scmntsd HcwrsafwannlonsaempetNam-st30pm, Tel: (905) 731-3105 FuX: (90$) 731-916d I pdsanlrdsy tomnam4 )npm (sauna()pllam ale stra Altlllshle. As tkntnuks sre nmpropanim nf their towttets.

Anus TXP4 Asus TXP4-X (ATX) Asus TX97

Asu» TX97-E Asus TX97-X (ATX)

St41 $149 $166 5164

S I71

Asus TX97-XAIATX n/indict $ 14

AsusKN97 Pent II $230 Asus KN97-X Pent. 8 (ATX) $238 Asus P2197 Pent 11 $196 Asus P21 975 Pent 8 (Scsil $326 Shuttle 569 TX $12$ HustonTX 597 Gipabne TX 5143 Lucky Star TX 5I on hlrcro-Star I"X SISS

M icro-Star TX ATX

5ta u t

Micro-Star LX ATX Pent II SI $3 Micro-StarLX ATX IAGPI $227

ECS PSSD-8 (AGP)

$12$

ECS PSSD-A ATX(AGP) 5135 ECS STILBpro 512K 5135 ECS P6LX-A+ 440LX $ .05 Pmnium 166 (OEht)

$I33

Penlium166MMX (OEM) $140 Pmnium 200MMX (OEM) $172 Pmmum233MMX (OE

$ 242

Poatium PH 233(OEM) Pentium PH 233 (BOX) Pentium PH 266(OEM) Pentium Pll 266 (BOX)

Pemium PH300(OEh() Pentium Pll 300 (BOX) Pmnium PH 333(OEhd) Pentium PH 333(BOX) Pentium PH350(OEM) Pentium PH 350 (BOX) *MD K< 166 (OEhl) Ah(DK-6 200(OEM) AhlD K-6 233 (OEM) IBhl hi2 — 166(OEM) IBht hts - "00 (OEhl) IBM hu — ~t) IOEhl)

$352 $407 $495 $535 $737 $756 $SSI $S75 $96$

Senti Scull $144 $191 $97 $144

shIB )OPin Sh(B 72Pin SMB 72Pin EDO 16MB 72Pin

lohta 72Pin EDO 3 'MB 72Pin 32hlB 72PinEDO

SIS

$21 $21 $35 $31 565 $59 $60

32htB 16SPin 64MB 16SPin st44 32MB 16SPin w/EPROM $60 64MB 16SPin w/EPROM $144 12SMB lllpin w/EPROM $303

Trx 17'

AT! 3D Xpression+ 4MB

$$3

SD Xpre ssion ' 2h(B PC2TV$102 3D Xpmssions 4MB PC2TV $123 XpertC ntPlay 4hlB PC2TV $214 Xpert@Play SMB PC2TY $276 $1$0 Xpen(rSWork 4MB Ss76 Xpen XL EDO 4h(8 $115 Xpertte Play4htB (AGP) $231 XperttLSPlay hh18 (AGPI $293 4hIBI AGPI $1 9$ XpertttWork ( Xpettrrthyork SMB IAGPI 5260

Xpen(rrWorkSh18

Xpen XL EDO4SIB t stGPI 512tt AII-In-Wondr Pro -IXIH 5' mt A ll-In-Wondr Pro SMB $3 6 4

All-ln-Wndr Pro 4MB (AGP) $327 AII-In-Wndr Pro SMB (AGP) $391 AT( TV Tuner $106

Sttifrthr Millenium I I -IM 8 hHrllenium II Shia

Stsn

$3IS

Othe' VGA Cards Cinus Lolls 5446

$30

S3 Verle 4MB $50 Trident9605wi2MB PC2TV $46

Pnnasonic 24X CD-ROM $&0 Pammunie 32X CD-ROM $101

Quamum 2.168 Quantum 3 2GB

Toshiba 24X CD-ROM S c all T oshiha 32X CD-Koht $ 104 Sanyo 32X CD-ROM $$4

Quantunt 4.368

Toshiha DVD ATAPlilDE $159

S ony CDR 2sW/4sK $51 5 huttsumi CDK 2xW/Ssx IDE $44$ HP CDR 2sW/698 IDE $ 640 Pansonic 2sW/SsR SCSI $561

Creative Lah 16 (OEh()

$ 43

Creatise Lah Io 3D (DEMI $4$

C reatiue Lah 64(OEM)

SSS

C reatrse Lsh ot lltetatl) $l sI 168it Vamalm Sound Card Sin l uBit Opti ttound Card SI S

Eastrn ProLollc Home Tlreatrszuo Aitec Lansing 45 w/suh-tsthr $116 100 W S ker $15 9

L ISR 56K V/F/ht (OEM) $ 1 s t Dilicnrn 33 6K V/FlM (Oust $71

56K Y/F!M (Bosl $1 13 His(corn Supra 56K In> V/F/M (OEM)$1 07

Supra 56K V/F/M (Bns) SCall Motorulla 56K lnt. V/F/M 51 27 Motorolla 56K Eat VIFIM $154

Quantum 6.468 Fujitsu 2 668 Fujitsu 3.2GB Fujitsu 4.368 Fujitsu 5.3GB Fujitsu 6.2GB WD 2.568 'IV D 3.268 W.D 4.368

$205 $250 $26') $355 $217

SCell $255 $312 $347 $19ct $239

$279 $325 $304 Inmena Zr Drs Int w/Media $127

W.D 51GB )V D 6.468

Daytek I5" Analog Daytck 15" Dilital

Daytek17" Digital

SCall SCall

seal(

KDS 14" Analog 1024a76S $192 KDS I '5" Diuital 12$0sl024 $275 KDS 17' Dinital 12$091024 $53 •

Procims 14" Diaital

$(75

Proview 15" Digital Sony 15' 100ES TTX 14"

$231 $444 $191 $2$$

Trx 15"

View Sonic 21 GS00 Panasonic $15 IS" Panasonic $70 17" Panasonic $21 21"

$561 $1550 $34S

$630 $1455

1.44 PanasunicFDD $24 104 Win95 Keyhoard $15 Mitsumi 2 Button Mouse $7 Lopkech 2 ButtonMouse $15 Lopitech 3 BunonMouse $19 L nlitcch First Mouse+ $35 Mustek 600 Flatbed Scnnr 24 5 I I l Mustek 600 Flatbed Scnnr 30 5t49 hlustek 1200 Hathd Senor 36 5"SS Adaptcc 2910 PCI SCSI Cntl 5 I 59 Adaptcc 940L' PCI SCSI 5 12 Ad ptm «)tOLIW PCI SCSI Sys PCI Compathle Etlternet Crd$35 3Cum 3CMSXL 10/I00 PCI $95

) ntel PC) IOOBase-T

$10 5

Special PCI ttfN 56K Fle.r i)todeiff

$8%00

emhmm ZS3)tt)Hz $)999

emhmsm 26(IMHz $2142

Includes: Asua Intel

etbtnntSWi512K PBC, 17'

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. DESKTOP VIDEO EDITING e

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Desktop video who's who

greater rendering and playback speed in

Continued from page$6

MMXwptimized digital video products. As well, Intel has a two-pronged chip development strategy that w i l l r a p idly advance the power of the PC in desktop video. The existing 32-bit Intel platform will get a new, faster generation oi chips, )ggs F gt 6 c od e -named Katmai, which will allow for highspeed MPEG encoding and decoding by 1999. By the end of 1999, the 64-bit Merced IA64 architecture chip will reach the market, beginning an era of of multi-gigahertz personal computing, and a new wave of 64-bit hardware and software development. By the year 2000, Merced and other more advanced 64-bit processors will be the standard tools for creat; ing high-quality desktop video with unprecedented ease.

ooffline o editing on a personal computer. The Mac is still an excellent choice for desktop video, though the company's slide in market share and profitability has affected the confidence of many critical third-party developers,

and starved Apple's research budget, reducing the level of innovation by a company that has traditionally been the pacesetter in personal computing. 's

Avid

Originally, the Avid system was an "off line"n desktop video edit system. Users could digitize low-resoluu n tion uthumbnailso of video frames, and store and display them on a Mac, along with full time code information. The Avid system would then generate an edit decision list file that allowed automation of t h e editing process on a traditional post-production edit suite. Eventually, as PC-level technology became more powerful, Avid developed a spectrum of solutions that included full post-production systems, which directly edit final broadcastquality video or even edited film. With an Avid MCXpress digital video editing package installed, a current model PowerMac can be turned into an "offline" desktop video edit system for around $28,000. A full-resolution PowerMac-based Avid digital video edit and post-production system can be configured for around $60,000 to $100,000,

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INC I/Discrete Loiiic Toronto-based MGI Inc. was formed by a consortium of veteran Canadian computer industry professionals, from companies such as ATI, AST and Delrina. Its mandate was to develop the best graphics and video software on the personal computer market. MGI's first desktop video product was VideoWave, a brilliantly designed, $1'00 desktop video editing and effects program. VideoWave offers a very vi s u al ,t r uly '. ,j <],i, :,:,.:."j,'':a intuitive user . i nt e r f a c e , and a big bag of transitions ' . s=, and effects, that can be u sed w i t h virtually any video capture card, on any compatible Pentium PC. Vide'oWave is not intended as a commercial desktop video editing product (it has no support for time code, for example). However, it is a key tool to bringing desktop video editing (video publishing, in MGI's terminology) to the mass market, according to MGI founder Anthony da Christofaro. Montreal-based Discrete Logic, a maker of high-end UNIX and NT video and graphics software (including the Flame compositing and effects program) just paid $153 million to buy MGI. Discrete's interest in the company was sparked by a common view of the future of digital video. They both expect explosive growth in the creation, publishing and consumption of digital video, via DVD, the Internet, satellite, cable and b roadcast. Discrete hopes to merge its high-end, professional video and film technology with MGI's mass market distribution channels and expertise in making powerful software easy to use. The medium for this marriage of the two extremes of the video spectrum will be the new, exceptionally powerful PC technology of

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One of the leaders in remov a ble mass storg age w i t h its Jaz and Zip cartridge drives, lomega has entered the digital video market with Buz, a bundle of hardware and software that allows users to convert a PC into a very capable entry-level desktop video editing system. Buz multimedia producer, with a street price of about $300, consists of a video capture device, an Ultra SCSI controller with data transmission speeds up to 20 MB/sec., and a Buz Box multimedia connection, for attaching external devices to the PC. Buz comes with a bundle of software, including MGI VideoWave SE Plus for video publishing, PictureWorks' H otShots a n d lo m ega's Recordlt software. We saw the Buz multimedia producer in action during last summer's PC Expo in New York, but were unable to get a review unit in to the lab in time for this issue. The final bundle has started shipping in the U.S., and may be shipping in Canada by the time you read this, lomega's interest in digital video is quite logical: the ravenous demands for mass storage that video presents is an ideal opportunity to sell more Jaz or Zip drives and cartridges. The Buz can produce and edit up to 720x480 resolution, 30 frame per second (fps), 24-bit color digital video, and output it either as NTSC (television) analog video, or save it as a the next few years. digital video fiie. ~~ ~g

Intel According to Intel Canada spokesperson Doug Cooper, video is a central concern to Intel's computer microprocessor strategy. The MMX technology introduced to the Pentium processor family two years ago allows for much

Fest iwultimedla Inc. Based in Germany, this digital video vendor makes powerful mid-range desktop video editing products, and has been a pioneer creating professional-level 6 mm DV editing systems. Fast's DV Master was the first system with

THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca

MAY 1998 5Q

. DESKTOP VIDEO EOITINC built-in Sony camera compatibility and a FireWire connection. Other I'ast products include the AV Master, an older analog video capture card, and the Video Machine, a modular desktop video editing system, Digital Renaissance 1'his Toronto-based company has developed T.A.G., an interactive video software tool technology designed to allow digital video content to be accessed easily and flexibly over the Internet. Microsoft has invested in Digital Renaissance, believing T.A,G. could be a keycomponentin the delivery of interactive "rich content" on the Web. Digital Processing Systems Another Toronto-based digital video innovator, DPS began as a low-volume designer and maker of specialized video editing cornponents such as rack mounted time base correctors. When the NewTek Video Toaster was

nearing release, DPS built a time base corrector card to fit in a slot on the Amiga. To its surprise, it sold thousands of these TBCs to rabid Amigoids, and funneled the proceeds into the development of an apparently end-

ware, and I'remiere is a very powerful, flexible, but slightly tricky to master editing package. The Mac version features a Waveform Monitor and Vector Scope display that allows users to verify the quality of the video being captured from a video digitizer to disk. Premiere also has a I'ime Base Corrector (TBC) feature that ensures accurate frame Digital lava, inc. This company has created the Video Visor, a rates on incoming or outgoing video. Premiere has many features to help autovideo productivity software tool that allows a PC user to play back, convert, and "encap- mate record keeping and batch processing, sulate" digital video modules for easy inte- is compatible with time code, and can gengration of video with other data types such erate an edit decision list for use in control'I'he Video ling a final edit. It can also be used to edit as URl.s, documents and i Visor is intended to allow digital video con- video or animations for interactive multitent to be published over internal networks media on CD-ROMs. Premiere has powerful preview, titling and animation features, or the internet. stylesheets, and can optimize frame rates and color palettes for video intended for the Pinnacle/mire Pinnacle systems recently acquired the miro Internet. Adobe has another video software packline of digital video capture and editing products to add to its own line of desktop age, AfterFffects, that is a dedicated special video products, including a real-time editing effects/compositing program, widely used system (named ReelTime), the high-end for corporate, broadcast and even feature Aladdin 3f) post-production effects system, film effects. After Fffects is a high end product, fairly difficult to learn, and comes with and the Deko character generator. an included training tutorial videotape. Adobe TrueVlsion • 'W Once the standard for I'C video graphics on Adobe Prem(i.re ~ the MS DOS/Windows platform, 1'rueVision's With its Premiere editing program, Adobe Targa desktop video card line has attempted intended to achieve the same dominance in to stage a comeback with new products such desktop video as it did in I'C imaging with as the Targa2000 ltTX (real time effects, a I'hotoshop. A version of I'remiere is often two-board set that promises broadcast qualibundled with mid-range digital video hard- ty video output and real time video processless stream of excellent digital video hardware. C urrent DPS p roducts i n clude t h e Perception PVR (Personal Video Recorder) and its VideoAction editing software, the DPS I'ireWire Spark capture board, and the DPS I'.ditBay desktop video editing system.

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New Tek The creator of the Video Toaster for the Amiga, NewTek still sells quantities of Toasters in foreign markets such as Latin America, and also produced a non-linear digital editing system for the Amiga called the Video Flyer. The company's main area of success since the collapse of Commodore has been with its Lightwave 3D software, which was widely used in the production of the film Titanic (running on Digital Alpha NT workstations), and is popular throughout the 3D animation industry;

Play Founded by a band of dissidents who split from NewTek, plus some other talented Amiga video and graphics engineers from other Amiga third-party developers, Play developed an excellent and very popular video digitizer called Snappy. I'lay poured the proceeds from Snappy into an ambitious desktop video editing and effects system called 'I'rinity, a sort of Wintel Video Toaster. The 'Irinity product, in spite of impressive advance demonstrations, has been very slow to come into commercial production. Some desktop video dealers have demo units, but there is real concern that the product has lingered in development past its window oi' opportunity to equal on the PC the Video'I'oaster's success on the old Arniga. 3

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THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca MAY 1998

IN N DESKTOP VIDEO EDITING

Basic concepts in video and video editing n order to understand what desktop video editing is, it's useful to define a few basic terms:

Real time: Commonly refers to the ability of digital video editing- system to "render" edits, titles and effects almost instantly, or in "real Desktop video: Video production with the time," at the speed that the final video will be aid of standard desktop computers, usually watched. Slower, older desktop video editing modified with the addition of third-party systems may take anywhere from several secvideo hardware (such as video capture cards) onds to many minutes, to hours to digitally and software (such as video editing programs). render a particularly complicated editing effect. The most powerful and expensive "black box" editing and effects devices and high-powDigital video: Video based on digital data streams, rather than analog waveforms. ered PC workstations claim to produce final Examples of digital videotape formats are 6 mm edited digital video sequences in "real time," Digital Video tape o r D i gital Betacam. with no waiting. In reality, however, most proQuickrime, Ml'EG and .AVI are examples of fessionals will admit that even high-end digital computer-based digital video formats. VHS and editing systems, if overloaded with too many Videodisk are examples of analog video formats. simultaneous demands (mixing many video sources, creating very fancy transitions, titles Video editing: The combination of video and special effects) will bog down and no imagery from two or more video sources longer truly produce video in real time. Video industry professionals ruefully admit (such as video feeds from two video tape decks, or a camcorder and a tape deck) into a that as digital editing tools have become more new version that contains elements of sound powerful, video producers demand more fancy and image from all the original source videos effects, further driving up the computing combined together, typically to tell a story. requirements of video production. Editing is essential to make a coherent story from snippets of video taken at different Online/offllne: An offline video editing times. A variety of transitions (such as fades system is one that allows a video editor to and wipes), titles or special effects may be plan and preview the creation of an edited used to help tell the story more effectively, video sequence, and to record all the editing decisions in an edit decision list. Then, once quickly, or dramatically. all the choices have been made on the offline Time code: Broadcast quality videotapes con- system, the final edit can be done on a more tain a "stripe" of digital information that iden- powerful editing system. The reason for doing initial edit planning tifies every frame of video on a tape by its preon an offline system is mainly to save money. cise location on the tape, to the exact hour, minute and frame (video has approximately 30 Renting time in a full-fledged edit suite is very frames and 60 fields per second). Time code is costly, while an off line facility requires a fracread by professional-level editing equipment, tion of the hourly expense. Efficient video proand pro-level desktop video systems. It allows ducers will do as much preliminary work for precise synchronization of sound and offline as possible, and try to move into the image to be maintained, and for "frame-accu- final edit stage only when they have a very rate" control of editing. Any desktop video sys- good idea of what they want as a final product. For example, an offline version of the Avid tem that doesn't support time code is generally considered sub-professional, and is much more desktop video editing system, which allows difficult to use for precise editing of videotape. small scale preview of video, and the creation of a detailed edit decision list, costs about $28,000. Edit decision iist: Time code allows a video A full scale Avid production editing suite that editor to compile a list of the tape segments can create the final, broadcast quality version of that are to be edited together into a final a video can cost over $100,000. Small video provideo sequence. Each segment is identified by ducers (as in a corporate communications or its time code location on a tape. An edit deci- training department) often own an offline editsion list (EDI.) is a record of the location and ing system for preparatory work, and rent time length of the snippets of video that are to be in a final edit suite only as needed. edited together. — feff Evn»s

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uickTime 3.0 learns new QuickTime tricks party player, such as the excellent MacAmp or WinAmp for Mac or Windows, respectively, to listen to'MP3 audio files. For video, Apple uickTime 3.0 for the Macintosh and worked with a company called Sorenson to 32-bit Windows PCs is now available come up with the Apple-Sorenson Codec, a in freely downloadable and US$29.95 successor to the venerable Cinepak codec. At "Pro" rmats from Apple's QuickTime Web the QuickTime 3.0 i n troduction, Apple site (http: //www.quicktime.apple.corn). It brings showed a full-screen movie playing excellent feature parity and the authoring APIs of quality images and sound, requiring only Apple's multimedia environment to the PC 60KB/sec. of bandwidth. (Note, however, that for the first time. The Pro version for sale the freeware version of QT3 is incapable of from Apple's Web site provides an easy to use full-screen mode.) Apple says QuickTime 3.0's (i.e., limited) video editor and additional advanced compression capabilities will be the authoring and playback features (described at basis of a forthcoming compression standard http: //www.apple.corn/quicktime/upgrade/), includ- dubbed MPEG-4. In addition, Apple licensed Qualcomm's ing several that were previously part of the freeware version such as looping and full- PureVoice — a high quality codec optimized screen playback. for voice, which is also built into many PCS Mac downloaders may miss additional digital phones. QT3 also supports the popular videoconferencing standard H.263. Best of all, options the previous Windows versions of QuickTime never had, such as the now "Pro- QuickTirne streams without requiring a speonly"Save Movie feature. Indeed, as a grow- cial proprietary server (another poke at ing number of Mac Web sites are complain- RealNetworks). A QT file runs off any HTTP ing, Apple has basically crippled its freeware server anytime you want to stream it. Other notable QuickTime 3.0 Pro features version of MoviePlayer and is making you pay for functionality that the old version provid- are the new translators that are provided to ed for free (and still does, if you saved a copy). import AVI files and save movies in DVC (digFortunately, there are some very cool fea- ital video camera) format. A full description of its capabilities is at tures in the new release that will help the complainers to get over the snags — weil, http: //www.quicktime.apple.corn/qt30/whitepaper/. In addition to AVI import, QuickTime 3.0 maybe. Read on.... QuickTime 3.0 i n troduces streaming supports the playback of AVI movies (this is (including streaming support for audio, video particularly useful on the Mac, which does and VR panoramas). Indeed, at his Macworld not otherwise have this capability without Expo keynote in January 1998, Apple chief third-party translators), however many AVls executive officer, Steve Jobs, characterized (typically, those created using recent Indeo RealNetworks' RealVideo/RealAudio stream- codecs) display a white screen with the vering technologies as QuickTime's major com- s ion o f M o v i ePlayer t hat s h ip s w i t h QuickTime 3.0. petitor. The solution i s t o i n stall M i crosoft Internet Explorer 4.0. With it, you get two New and improved codecs QuickTime 3.0 provides both Macs and extensions, Indeo Video v. 3.22.24.09, and Intel Raw Video v. 1.10.20.02. With these Windows systems with direct support for digital video format files — the data that extensions active, AVIs play wonderfully! comes out of a FireWire jack. (QuickTime also provides support for the not-especially Extensible architecture useful MacPaint format and gives Windows QuickTime's architecture is extensible, as users access to the originally Mac-only PICT Apple showed a few years ago when it transp arently added PhotoCD support to t h e format.) MacOS via a little QuickTime magic. Astarte Because digital audio and — especiallyvideo files can be very large (3.5 MB/sec. for MPEG exporter is a third-party extension to the digital video format), Apple has licensed Apple's Q uickTime a r c h itecture f o r some new and improved codecs to better han- Macintosh that adds MPEG export to any dle high-quality movies and sound. For audio program that uses QuickTime's standard playback, Apple licensed music technology export function, such as the Pro version of from QDesign and Roland's Sound Canvas MoviePlayer. A demo version for PPC Macs is synthesizer sound library and General MIDI currently downloadable for free at www.macextensions for QuickTime 3.0. However, we shop.corn. Apple's Windows implementation of compared Apple's software wavetable synthesis with that of Roland's Virtual Sound Canvas Resource forks is a l ittle peculiar. When VSC-55 for Windows.,and Yamaha's SYGZO QuickTime makes a preview of, say, a JPEG SoftSvnth, and Apple's was by far the worst file, it creates a ¹RES file wherever the original sounding of the three. But it's better than no file happened to be. Thus, your PC soon becomes littered with these files and gives soft synth at all. Unfortunately, you' ll still need a third- Windows users twice as many opportunities B Y GRAEM E

BENN ETT

T HE COMPUTER PAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca MAY 1998 6 3

DESKTOP VIDEO EDITING Users of the free (or Vro) release can use Apple's free MakeEffectMovie utility (go to

to break file links. Windows 95/NT with Internet Explorer 4.0, or Windows 98, by comparison, transparently make previews of jPEG, GIF, HTML, DOC and other file types in any window you choose without leaving droppings all over the place. Like version 2.5 on the Mac, the new QuickTime release can import a text file and turn it into a movie, with smooth anti-aliased text. However, if the Windows version can do this, we couldn't figure out how. ('I'he infor-

Itp://ftp.apple.corn/Quicktime/developers/makeellect movie.zip for Windows, or Itp://Itp.apple.corn /Quicktime/developers/makeelfectmovie.sea.hqx for

Mac) to create some cool effects, such as realistic fire, clouds, and animated displacement maps. The animated fire effect, in particular, looks great. But keep a copy of your old MoviePlayer or be prepared to pay US$30 to see what this mation posted at http: //www.apple.corn/quick upgrade can really do. (The $30 buys you a time/authors/texttrak.html doesn't work with the serial number to enter into the QuickTime 3.0 Windows version.) It barfed with a "Not a control panel's registration dialog.) Apple's Movie file" error message when we fed it a text W eb site h a s f u l l d o c umentation f o r file. An Apple conspiracy to get Windows MoviePlayer 3.0 that reveals which features are missing from the freeware release. users more fond of Macs? Like the version 2.5 supplied with Mac We had better luck importing a MIDI file (but the cool feature that allows you to import OS 8, QuickTime 3.0 supports MPEG-I (this text as Karaoke lyrics isn't enabled in the free- feature is not supported on 6 8K-based Macs), allowing QuickTime enabled comware version); Nor would 3.0 allow us to change our MIDI file's instrumentation — yet puters to play back video CDs and downanother feature that was previously possible in loaded MVFG-1 movies. Ironically, this is version 2.5 and is now missing entirely from the first version that brings feature parity to the Windows version, but Mac users benefit the freeware version of 3.0. more from the ability to finally import AVI, WAV, TIFI', Targa and BMP files into stanOnly for paying customers Perhaps the coolest new feature freeware dard QuickTime apps. Flic files are also supusers will never see, though, is found in the ported. Our initial tests of QuickTime 3.0 on a Pro version's MovieVlayer Save dialog. Here, you can apply animated filter effects such as Mac revealed no compatibility problems film grain (complete with animated dust and with leading applications such as Adobe scratches, although the scratches are annoy- Vremiere or After Effects, but further exploingly fake looking), emboss, edge detection ration revealed that Premiere 4.2 could not a nd many o t h e r e f fects. ( Check o u t exploit its AVI import feature. This was easihttp: //www.adrenal! ne.ca /www/chartsseandqt3.html ly fixed, however. We simply opened the AVI in an old version of Apple's MoviePlayer and for more information.)

saved the file in MOV format to work around Windows 9$ glitch this issue. On one of our Windows 95 test machines, Things weren't as smooth when we tested we were unable to run the Setup program Premiere for Windows. Disturbingly, neither from the Desktop directory (it complained, decompress%s - notenough TEMP space I 'remiere 4.2 nor b etas x21 o r x 3 1 o f 'can't on dri ve...'— a bogus message, considering Premiere 5.0 worked with QuickTime 3.0 (and our most recent beta of Premiere 5.0 the hundreds of megabytes of free disk didn't work with QuickTime 2.12, either!) space we had on our system). We worked While we' re sure one or both of these issues a round this m i nor bug by moving t h e will be fixed by the time Premiere 5.0 ships executable to our C drive's root directory, later this year, it seems a bit odd that QT3 where the installer worked as expected. doesn't work with the current 4.2 version of Under Windows 98, the installer worked normally from any directory we tried. Premiere. (Adobe says it p l ans to s h ip Performance of MoviePlayer and the Premiere 5.0 with QT3.) In further tests on o u r W e b b r o wsers our Windows system, we discovered that loading speed o f Ulead's MediaStudio Pro 5.0, too, was unable declined after installing QT3, however. After installing, IE 4.01 and Communicator to import QuickTime movies with QT3 installed, complaining that QuickTime could 4.04 started loading very slowly, presumably due to the new QuickTime plug-ins not be initialized correctly, And is it worth mentioning that Premiere 4.2, running the provided. Back on the Mac, we also noted that old 2.12 version of QuickTime, couldn' t import a QT3 movie either or that, inexplic- Premiere could not load certain movies, such ably, the PICT file included with QT3 can' t as the "Get QuickTime Pro" advertisement be opened by computers running older ver- that ships with QT3. Additionally, MacFixit sions of QT? Worse, we couidn't even open reports that some Photoshop users have sufthese I'ICT files on a computer running fered frequent crashes after upgrading. The most obnoxious feature of QT3, Photoshop 4.01 and QT3 to convert them to a format our QuickTime 2.5-using cohorts however, is the fact that one of Apple's licensing options allows developers to avoid could read. Yikes. In further tests on our Windows system, a hefty $1 per copy licensing fee by includwe discovered that Ulead's MediaStudio Pro ing what Ric Ford of www.macintouch.corn 5.0 was also unable to import QuickTime calls "a virus-like, continual recreation of an movies with QT3 installed, complaining that unwanted file on every user's desktop." Nice. We'd urge caution' with this upgrade, QT could not be initialized correctly. And is it especially if you use a program that may worth mentioning that Premiere 4.2, running the old 2.12 version of QuickTime, couldn' t h ave problems w it h t h i s v e r sion o f QutckT!me.Q import a Q'I 3 movie either? Yikes.

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DESKTOP VIDEO EDITINC Hot quite ready for prime time Continued frowpage32

The biggest, most challenging bottleneck is bandwidth for video distribution across networks. This is a problem that is out of for pursuing quality on even an inexpensive computer technology's control, in that the distribution networks — telecommunications PC system. and cablecompanies— have to spend many billions of dollars over the next five to ten The future There are several remaining bottlenecks to years to replace the existing network infradoing really good digital video editing and structure. On the positive side, improved compresdistributing the resulting video via an inexsion technology will allow better quality pensive personal computer. It's still hard to do "real time" process- video to be pushed down even the narrowest pipes. At the recent MacWorld show, an ing of transitions and effects even with a fairly expensive custom video effects card, upstart company named Sorenson demonsuch as a Pinnacle, DPS or Fast Video prod- strated highly compressed„15 fps (frames uct. More powerful graphics chipsets on per second), full screen audio and video video cards will bring better price/perfor- transmitting at speeds as slow as 11 Kbps. The final obstacle to delivering high mance in this area. The power of the basic Intel CPUs in PCs will continue to double quality video created on a PC to the mass audience will be the need to replace current every 18 months or sooner, which will bring "real time" rendering, encoding and VCRs and TVs with new products that can decoding of digital video to any PC in a few show either high resolution digital video, or traditional NTSC analog video. TV makers years. Mass storage is also becoming cheap have two main options: upgrade cathode enough to allow any PC the hard drive and ray tube (CRT) technology to show nonbackup capacity to store several hours of interlaced, high frequency digital video sigMPEG2 video. A FireWire compatible inter- nals, or begin to make flat panel displays for face will begin to appear on Intel mother- t he c onsumer T V s e t m a r ket. B o t h boards within a year, according to Intel, approaches are likely to be seen in the next making it much easier to attach digital video few years. Intel, Microsoft and many of the moniequipment to a PC than currently. Direct, s tandardized support for v i deo i n W e b tor makers are betting that there will be a browsers and operating systems will make it market for the big screen family room Web much easier to access and share video. DVD TV, which combines Web browsing with TV drives will be standard in PCs, allowing and DVD viewing. Other manufacturers video to be published and distributed to such as Samsung believe there will be a market for personal monitors, from-14-inch to most computer users on DVD media.

21-inch units, which will serve both computer and TV viewing needs.

port if you have bought most of your system from a mail order house. The downside of affordable products such as the ATI All in Wonder Pro or the Iomega Buz Doing it is that a high-end video system integraThe temptation for anyone looking at gettor can't afford to offer much support on ting into desktop video is to go the cheapest route possible, just upgrading an ordinary a $300 product. PC with a capture board and some software, 3. When it comes to selecting a PC for use as a desktop video editing system, bigger along the lines of the IPC/All ln Wonder Pro system we tried, or system based on a simiand higher capacity is better. Many desktop video beginners start out by stuffing lar quality of video capture card, such as a the lomega Buz. This is fine for the home a minitower clone PC with extra hard drives, removable storage devices, extra video enthusiast, but not enough on which to base a business. RAM, networking cards, video cards and According to many desktop video specables, and then wonder why system percialists we talked to, there are several basic formance starts to degrade, drives start skipping, and components begin to fail. pitfalls you should avoid if you want to sucIt's known as overheating and insufficeed as a professional or semi-professional cient electrical power supply. desktop video editor: A more suitable desktop video editing PC 1. Remember, it's still video, even if comis based on a large, rugged, full-tower puters are involved. There is both techchassis, with an oversized power supply nique and art in knowing how to use and multiple fans for cooling. Ideally, lighting and sound recording equiponly half of the drive bays should be ment, and how to handle and operate actually occupied with drives. The empty video equipment. Th e o l d s a y ing, "garbage in, garbage out" is especially spaces allow ventilation t o c i rculate applicable to desktop video. Take video freely around all the components. training from a local community college 4. The ideal desktop video system is an allor art school, or use instructional tapes digital one, since the amount of image and books to guide your learning of good quality loss at each stage of editing is severe with analog tape, especially lower video technique. 2. Cheap is not always good. Buying a quality formats such as VHS, or S-VHS. Even if you can't afford an all digital sysbrand name product with local service tem at first, try to plan to eventually and support and a good warranty will integrating time code compatibility and save money and time in the long run. It 6 mm DV input and output into your is very difficult to get a specialist desktop video vendor to provide you with supbusiness plan. 0

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THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO FDITION www.tcp.ca MAY 1998

o , DESKTOP VIDEO EDITING +

From boat anchor to video editing suite A video professional's tale of transformation B Y HOP L AN D

SET O

hen I first began considering PCbased video editing, I o wned a humble 286 VC with WordPerfect 4.2 word processing software, It had a 40 MB hard driveand 640 KB of RAM. Running on DOS, my 286 didn't have or require a mouse. How did I upgrade this into a full-blown nonlinear editor of professional quality video? Here is my story. I bought my iirst copy of Adobe Premiere (version 4.0 for Windows 3.xx) when I was a student and able to purchase a fully featured version at an educational price (proof of fulltime attendance at a recognized educational institution is required) at the campus bookstore for about 50 percent off the regular price. The systems requirements on the Premiere box stated that a 256-color video adapter (video card or graphics card) and a VGA monitor were the bare minimum needed to display video images. Having only a CGA monitor, I replaced it with a VGA monitor. I later discovered a cheaper upgrade option would have been an I'.GA monitor. While borrowing my brother's EGA unit, I learned that FGA monitors only display 16 shades of gray that fill in for color, but they do display video imagessomething a CGA monitor will not do.

I also discovered that my 286 VC just didn't have the muscle to deliver movies in Video for Windows (AVI) or Quicktime — the most common file formats used to store video images and sounds. For this, I needed to upgrade both the motherboard and the CVU. I went through three upgrades along the path to full-motion video capability. First I asked my local computer value-added retailer to upgrade the 286 motherboard to a 386. As the RAM on the 286 hoard wouldn't fit a 38(i motherboard, an upgrade to 30-pin SIMMs was also needed, With four I MB SIMMS in place, my 386 machine (actually I borrowed my brother' s again) could run Premiere 4.0 on Windows 3,1 if I got my hands on a 256-colour VGA video card. Premiere simply refused to run on any video adapter with less than 256-color VGA. Unfortunately, neither my 286 computer nor my brother's 386 rnachine had a such a card. So we upgraded to a I MB video card. We did get video on our humble 386 VC using sample digital video files (AVI) from the Adobe I'remiere 4.0, but I could hear the hard drive grinding away, even with 8 MB of RAM. In terms of practical application, the 386 VC was way too limited by its slow processing time and small hard drive. My 386 system was able to crank out multimedia-quality video

suitable for small windows on a VGA monitor, but any output onto VHS or better quality videotape was out of the question. I then tried a 486 board and got much faster results. However, with the MI919 motherboard and AMD 486-DX120 CI'U, I needed 72-pin ItAM modules, so I could not use the 30-pin SIMMs from the 386. A RAM upgrade gives the biggest bang for the buck, and 32 MB is a working minimum foi video editing on a Windows 95 platform. Bearing in mind that I eventually wanted to Inax out to the 128 MB my motherboard would support, and since the 486 had four memory slots, I initially bought two 32 MB SIMMs, I was told that my 486 could have worked with a single SIMM, but I was thinking of future upgrades, which included a Pentium MMX motherboard. I now had a 486 DX120 with 64 MB of RAM. It was at this point that I purchased a miro DC 30 video capture board. It worked fairly well with the 486 VC but once too often I got the daunting blue screen with an error message informing me of a system error. It turned out there was some incompatibility with early implementations of VCI and the DC30 capture board. My retailer recommended a new motherboard, so I replaced the 486 board with an

Acer APST motherboard. It had four PCI slots and could take either the now-common EDO RAM or the newer SDRAM. Running with a 133 MHz Pentium CVU, I' ve had flawless performance in video editing ever since, The Pentium upgrade happened about a year after I purchased the 486 upgrade. During this period, the price RAM dropped by more than 50 percent — from about $750 to' $350 for 64 MB of RAM — so I bought another 64 MB to max out my Pentium. Other upgrades included a Stealth 3D-3000 video card, large hard drives and and a true video monitor. I chose the Stealth 3000 with 4 MB because its predecessors are often seen in configurations for video and 3D graphics workstations. It is also relatively inexpensive. I eventually installed both a 4 GB Western Digital and a 6.4 GB Quantum, The cost of the EIDF. drives totaling more than 10 GB of storage was about equal to a 4 GB SCSI A/V hard drive. EIDE drives are also adequate for 5-video quality. Because the color system of a computer monitor is different from that of a monitor specifically designed for video presentation, we invested in a Sony Trinitron video monitor as our goal was to create S-video quality video. (For those creating multimedia movies for viewing on a computer monitor, there would be no need for a video monitor.) 0

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g.Accordfrig to. Microsoft,: pint 'work'has - already 'begtrn with;the devetoymeitt of P,': ).advance(1 platfoip», Irtcivdtrtg;support-.of g * @f'entluiri: ra crop'r'(Kessors.'"'~~""::~>" '=-" -":~+ ,"„: Both caritpanies,braid, they,' are currently ~ > workirtg with well--known;-Ntartufa~rers 5 :.".''Iii th8:,Iftttoaiotpre' Ii(Ch~:" t@t-'tietaIIs + „', were itot specified.,However/d - "

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2000'8 Technology (3T) Inc.

(:ontinnei/ fmin page r6 automation by enabling remote operation of appliances such as the video recorder or the oven. Contact: Noitel. http: //www.nortei.corn

ment, the Ult m ouse has scroll-up and scroll-down buttons, plus back and forward buttons for navigating. It also has 24 customizable buttons that let you create templates for Web, TV, radio and PC modes.

Lucent developing plastic transistors • DALI. AS (NB) — Polyester may be out in the clothing department these days, but it could have a future as a substrate for transistors. Circuits printed on substrates of polyester or similar materials, using a variety of plastics and conductive inks, could be more durable than today's products and even flexible enough to be rolled up, scientists at Lucent Technologies Inc.'s Bell Labs believe. A team of Bell Labs researchers produced the first fully printed transistor last year, and they presented their findings recently at the national meeting of t h e A m erican Chemical Society. The researchers have come up with a process of spraying liquids onto a plastic substrate to produce a transistor. Not only does this produce a more durable result, bu t t h e m a n ufacturing process is less costly than that used for semiconductors and flat-panel displays today. Plastic transistors cannot be made as dense as the conventional silicon varietyat least not yet. Currently, the Bell Labs t eam is working w it h d i stances of 7 5 microns, about three quarters of the thickness of a human hair. That is small, but the distances involved in silicon transistors are much smaller — a quarter of a micron is typical in today's commercial products. Reddy Raju, a chemical engineer at Bell l.abs, says the materials the team is using could probably allow for channel widths of one or two microns eventually, and new materials might be found that would reduce the figure further. However, he said, the best strategy may be to focus on applications where miniaturization is not too important, and capitalize instead on the lower manufacturing costs of the plastic process. Among the possible applications of this technique are smart cards, which do not need to be smaller than they are now but could be made more durable using plastictransistor technology, and flat-panel displays, which might be more shock-resistant if made with flexible substrate materials. Raju said it will probably be five to 10 years before plastic transistors are ready for commercial use.

Users can also employ ten of the buttons as a telephone touchpad, for dialing. ADS says the mouse — which will be distributed i n r e tail o u tlets across North America by the end of April — has an estimated street price of US$60. Contact: ADS Technologies. http: //www.adstech.corn

Washington State gets anti-spam law

• SEATI'LE, Wash. (NB) — Spammers beware! Washington State Governor Locke has signed the State's first law directed specifically at unsolicited commercial email, also known as spam. The law, which goes into effect in mid-June 11, forbids spam from being sent f r om, o r t o , c o m puters in Washington state. Violations of the l aw allow fo r a c t io n b y I n t e rnet s ervice p roviders (ISPs), individuals, and t h e Attorney General's office. Individuals can go after a spammer for $500 per message, ISPs for $1,000 per message. According t o A s sistant A t torney General Paula Selis, most individual actions can be filed in t h e v ictim's local small claims court, even though the spammer may live in another state The law applies only to spam messages that do not show the true origin of the message (such as falsified addresses in the From field) when knowingly sent to Washington PC, TV, CD, radio, phone functions State residents. "Knowingly" is defined in converge in UR Mouse • BE VERLY the law as ISPs offering to verify customer HILLS, Calif. (NB) — Convergence is not just residency upon request to any potential for PCs, TV and telephone companies. ADS spa mmer. Technologies has announced a Universal Contact: Text of the bill can be found at: RemoteMouse (UR Mouse) that it says con- http: //www.eskimo.corn/-brucem/tugsplaw.htm. trols all aspects of convergence PCs, right What's New is coinpifer/ by David Tasakrr, from the rodent. 'I'he UR Mouse looks like a TV remote GraemeBennett aiuf Megua /o/huston. control, but uses a small touch-sensitive

touchpad to control fine cursor movements. It has separate buttons for TV, CD, radio, telephone and Web, so users can instantly switch between these various modes without lifting a hand from the mouse or hunt-

ing among applications. A user can push the Web button to surf the Web, then press the TV button to surf TV channels, then the radio button to tune in radio, according to

Tel: (416) 502-2055 Toll - tree: 1-800-520-0066 ADS Technologies. Fax: (416) 502-0285 email: sales O2000tech.cofn For working in the I100A www.2000tecll.corn 250 ConsulTlersRoad,II (Hwy. 401 x404)

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• Slot 1, Pentium II ready for support up to 400Mhz*. • Intel 440LX chipset, Ultra DMA/33 with 2 channels, ATX form factor, 6 layer PCB • Accelerated Graphics Ports (AGP) ready, supports 2x AGP, lxAGP, 4xPCI and 3xISA expansion • Four 168pin DIMM sockets available, System memory up to 1Gb EDO and 512Mb SDRAM • RAIDBUS for upgrade to RAID, supporting levels • Slot 1, Pentium 11 ready for support up to 400Mhz~ '" '. • Adaptec Ultra Wide SCSI, which is equivalent to Adaptec AHA 2940UW o Intel 440LX chipset, Ultra DMA/33 with 2 channels, ATX form factor • Accelerated Graphics Ports (AGP) ready, supports 2x AGP • .Four 168pin DIMM sockets available, System memory up to 1Gb EDO and 512Mb SDRAM • lxAGP, 4xPCI and 3xlSA for expansion slots • RAIDBUS for upgrade to RAID, supporting levels • Socket 7, Pentium ready, supports AMD, Intel & Cyrix, Adaptec Ultra Wide SCSI, which is equivalent to Adaptec AHA 2940UW • Intel 430TX chipset, Ultra DMA/33 with 2 channels, ATX form factor (similar avail in AT form) 6 Layer PCB • 4xSIMM and 3xDIMM memory sockets available, memory up to 256Mb, support EDO, SDRAM, 4xPCI and 3xISA for expansion slots • 512K L2 cache and 2MB Flash ROM BIOS • RAIDBUS foru a d e to RAID su o rtin l evels 1 0 0/1 5. • Ali Aladdin 5 chip, supports 100Mhz as well as 83/75/66 Mhz bus speed • Supports Pentium MMX, AMD K6/K6 3D, Cyrix M2 processors on Socket 7 platform • Unique One jumper setting for CPU &equency selection up to 400Mhz e AGP port supported • AGP x 1, PCI x 4, ISA x 3, 3 x 168-pin DIMM, System memory up to 768MB • Support faster PC100 compliance synchronous DRAM • Maximum 512MB memory size • Faster 512 512K L2 cache • Supports Ultra DMA 33 with 2 IDE channels

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Hollywood tastes on an indle budget Continued (roar page6S to its traditional sales of audio equipment to the music production community. Many software developers offer free seminars in order to build up interest and make a sales pitch to videomakers and other visual artists. Adobe Systems, the maker of the ubiquitous Premiere software for editing video and film, offers the Digital Video seminar series for video production on the PC and Mac. Hardware m a n ufacturers s uc h as Truevision, perhaps the largest maker of video capture boards, may also offer free seminars and demonstrations. Even though some of their products may cost more than you want to spend, the seminars are still worth attending since they can give you an idea of the configurations that work in a desktop video system. Video editing software The video capture board and the video editing software are the two most critical components in a PC-based video production system. The video capture board gets the video into your computer from your camcorder or video cassette deck (and back out again, if the board supports that function). Once the video is stored on th e computer's hard drive(s), the video editing software can be used to cut and paste or otherwise modify the raw video footage into a movie, TV commercial, multimedia presentation or a format suitable for the Internet. The minimum system requirements of your video editor should guide you in what is the best PC configuration. But what video editing software should you buy? The most frequently mentioned brand name in video editing is Adobe System's Premiere. Adobe products are well-respected in the publishing and printing world. It produces both Adobe Photoshop (image editing) and PageMaker (desktop publishing) software, which are widely used by amateurs and professionals in a variety of organizations from university research centres to professional graphic design studios. Invariably, magazine reviews have given Premiere top scores. Interviews with or articles by professionals in magazines like Digital V i deo ro u t i n ely a c k n owledge Premiere as a professional-featured video editor. Yes, there are far superior video editing applications than Premiere, but come close to its widespread use and affordability. For about $750 for Adobe Premiere, the amateur videomaker can be assured he or she is using the same software that has been used by professionals to produce TV commercials and components of major feature films. MCXpress and Media Composer by Avid are the Mercedes and Cadillac of video editors and are the editors of choice for professional video editors, if they have the budget. The less expensive of the two is MCXpress, priced at a paltry $6,999 — and this is just for the software alone. (I have seen this price tag drop to about $3,500 during special sales). Choosing between the Avid systems and Adobe's Premiere is a no-brainer if you are on a tight budget. However, if you have the money, you' ll want the Avid product. It is

the one the pros choose: approximately

one-quarter of prime time TV shows are edited on Avid Composer. Ulead's Media Studio Pro has also been getting good reviews, especially its most recent version 5.0. But it has yet to become as popular as Premiere and has yet to score higher than Premiere in any of the reviews I' ve read. A more reasonable middle ground might be In-sync's Speed Razor video editing application. Priced at under $2,000, it can be a good alternative to the Adobe or Ulead products. It is more efficient than Premiere in that Premiere requires an extra block of hard drive space in order to make the final movie.

Video capture boards You should hold off on buying video editing software until after you' ve bought a video capture card. The reason is that video capture cards are often bundled with a popular video editing software. In my opinion, the miro DC30 video capture card bundled with Adobe Premiere software is currently the best combination in the prosumer video/PC market. Recently, the miro DC30 was superseded by the miro DC30 Plus. It has the best specifications I have seen in th e $1,000 to $1,300 price range. It can deliver 7 MB/sec. sustained transfer data rate. This allows the DC30 to capture and record in very highresolution (704x480). In practice, sustained data rates of slightly over 5 MB have been obtained on my regular DC30 card, without loss of frames. Nonetheless, this rate is at the entry-level standard of some broadcast quality systems. The miro DC 30 has audio-sync to the video. Lack of lip-sync audio is often a problem with video capture cards that do not have their own onboard audio input/output. Ultimately, I went with the miro DC30 because it can input and output S-quality video, that is, a professional format suitable for creating corporate/training videos. FAST Electronics AV Master is a close contender, bu t i t h a s o n l y a d equate 640x480 resolution. Reviews in video

and/or computer magazines have regularly scored the miro boards very high in comparison to other capture cards. Now, what is the recommended configuration for t h e D C 30? Pinnacle (which recently p u r chased M i r o Co m p u ters Systems), and FAST Electronics, both have very comprehensive Web sites that contain detailed information on the configurations that have proven to work with their products. The miro people recommend the following configuration: • 133 MHz or faster Pentium processor • at least 32 MB RAM • at least 1 GB free hard drive space • a video adapter card listed at the miro Web site (not all v ideo adapters will work with the DC30) I eventually chose the Stealth 3000 with 4 MB as my video adapter because its prede-

cessors are often seen in configurations for video and 3D graphics workstations, It is relatively inexpensive.

The hard drivebottlenecks Full-motion video requires huge hard drive space to store video information. A rule of

thumb is that five minutes of good S-video

THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca

Ic e. DESKTOP VIDEO EDITING requires I GB of hard drive storage or 200 MB hard drive space for each minute of video. In addition to having large amounts of storage capacity, hard drives optimized for high quality video must be very fast. Until recently, there has been a raging debate on whether or not EIDE hard drives can be used for video storage in place of faster SCSI drives. There was a time when SCSI drives had the clear edge in speed over the EIDE drives. However, there have been huge improvements in the EIDE technology. Western Digital's Caviar series of large EIDE drives appears to be quite suited for professional quality videos. I have used a 4 GB

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nology to boost video and animation production efficiency and speed. As a matter of fact, Adobe Systems now has software patches to take advantage of MMX technology in Premiere 4.2. Although raw CPU speed and MMX enhancements may not be an absolute necessity if the goal is solely to produce quality video (for example, by a video artist who is not creating to a deadline), the corporate videomaker might need the added five to SO percent improvement in productivity. Over a few years, starting with a 286 computer, I b orrowed/upgraded compoCaviar to capture S-video quality video over nents and slowly built a system on which I five minutes with no dropped frames. Buying and installing the upgrades could do video editing. Today, if you have The Ultra ATA flavor of the newer EIDE Once you: have a clear idea of the video a n older system, upgrade directly to a or ATA drives hitting the market over the quality you want and the appropriate PC Pentium if you plan to do serious video propast year are especially suited for digital platform you need for. the video software duction on your PC. It will save plenty of video production. These new Ultra ATA dri- and capture card you chose, it will then be a headaches. Many retailers will upgrade an ves require a motherboard with the TX matter of purchasing the upgrade compo- older system to something like a 166 MHz chipset in order to fully realize their poten- nents. Pentium with MMX for around about $350. tial. An example of the Ultra ATA drive is the In my own experience, it was necessary If the rest of your components are up to Quantum ST. I have tested a 6.4 GB Ultra to buy one piece at a time since my brother scratch (e.g., if you have a decent video card ATA Quantum ST, capturing video at about 5 and I were working within a budget. and a roomy hard drive), this will be enough MB/sec. The resulting video is almost as As we considered each upgrade compo- to get started on creating video on your good as the video played directly from a nent, w e k e p t i n mi n d s u b sequent home PC. camcorder onto a video monitor. upgrades that would need to be made. For The key to my success in upgrading my A/V hard drives from Micropolis and example, when we were upgrading our PC own PC into a video editing system was my Seagate have been the most popular drives system to a Pentium, MMX technology local v a l ue-added c o m puter r e t a iler. used for professional quality video. These was just gaining ground. An ordinary Fortunately for me, I found very competent can achieve rotational speeds up to 7,200 Pentium motherboard might have been and knowledgeable people at a small comRPM. Broadcast-quality editing requires sus- suitable for our purposes, but we anticiputer store in Vancouver. I' ve found them tained rates of at least 5 MB/sec. and these pated there would be f u ture i mprove- invaluable in providing crucial pieces of drives certainly can fit the bill. ments in editing software that would be information about the PC that elude the soThe Barracuda Cheetah and Micropolis able to take full advantage of MMX tech- called experts in digital video. 0

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B Y JOAN H O R N A L day's small business owners like Windows software because of its ease of installation and friendly user interface. You can purchase an incredible Windows accounting system, complete with general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory control, Canadian payroll and project costing for less than $250. Higher priced products included in this review have additional modules or noteworthy features in demand by established businesses. All the products offer you a choice of charts of accounts for different types of businesses. Customer invoicing, cheque writing and bank reconciliations are standard features. You can track GST on purchases and sales and PST on sales and automatically calculate your payroll taxes. You can create more than one company, protect your data with passwords, customize your invoices and cheque forms, track both cash and credit sales and calculate terms and discounts. You can print innumerable reports, including comparative profit and loss statements and balance sheets, aged accounts receivable and payable listings, sales analysis and inventory stock and reorder reports. All the products have contextsensitive help, excellent manuals and a multitude of other helpful features.

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reports or modify those provided with the :, Inventory can be standalone or linked to the : 'general ledger. You can assign each item to a program. The accounts receivable module includes : different general ledger account and define order entry, invoice processing, quotation pro- ' different units for purchasing, stocking and cessing, commission reporting and other pow- : 'selling. erful features. The payroll module offers an unlimited The purchase order nodule links with the number of user-definable earnings and deducaccounts payable module and inventory con- . tions, which can be calculated using the fortrol so when you receive inventory in the pur- mulae supplied. Payroll can be computed any chase order module the invoice is automati- number of times before you print or issue cally entered to accounts payable. if the cheques. Each earnings and deduction can be receipt is incomplete a back order is created. assigned to a different general ledger account You can define free form inventory items up . for costing purposes. I'ayroll reporting is very to 15 characters in length. A four-character : complete. category code is used for classifying inventory. Contimie<f on page 79

Accounting for Windows Cold From:Qynacom Technologies Inc. 202-1955Cote de Liesse,Si.Laurent.PO,H4N 3A& Tel: 51 4-745-5350 http: //www.dynacom.ca Price: $159 rrri • s;I"ri Dy n a co m A ccounting fo r lt!hh Windows Gold is a truly Canadian b il i n g u a l ACCL.'1 0 Nl I NC) accounting system. One of its B Y RO D L A M I R A N D s trongest f e a tures is its flexi- «hris INonnette wes appointed bility. You can Canadleee general manager of r s open se v eral Symantec Corp. In January. The periods simulta- Computer Paper"sRed lamirand neously an d recently spoke with Mr. INonnette In change the sys- Vancouver. tem date to enter transactions to another date or period. You TCP: S'yenta!tee hns tl!N!e n tlnnble .step i>! can customize the tool bar but ii is difficult to Cnntrtftc cue!i! Itj in!i/ thc>! going, in!if nnw retunisee and there is no feature to tell you what the nlg. Wl!lit ls /1tlpp!'!lllltr Nrlrll r/k' (VIJlptniy Il! r/Ic' button is for. You can click on the toolbar or (.attn!fin!! nsarket? press a function key to search for data by Symantec: About a year and a half ago account, date, sequence number, customer, S ymantec said, let's move t o a N o r t h vendor and document number. Accounting American profile because we think we can Gold for Windov s has a link to your text edi- deliver some economies of scale and a lot of tor and your backup program, it can be net- : things by doing that. At that time we had a worked with NetBios, a Novell-compatible separate organization for sales and marketing network or in a Windows workgroup. Youcan ': in Canada and another one for sales and maruse the report writer to create forms and keting in the U.S. and a lot of duplication o( ll

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general manager of Symantec Corp. effort. So by moving to that we thought it would bring us a lot, And it did in a lot of respects but one thing it probably hurt us the most on was that now we had no one that would specifically look after Canadian issues. So if it carne down to delivering French language product or things like that, we just weren't able to look after that.

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TCP: Were there any other issues? they can.purch'ase their own servers'for'$ -" ': ~ " ' h . '.-'~"o:."h~'"e'"+@ Symantec: One of our strongest, if not the -US$14 99$ t"" strongest, partners we have here in Canada, is ";,"-;- Ma'rk Skapinker, fottnder rof 'Sillso'ft,; Future Shop — a very important partner for us told Newsbytes that a combination of the," to work with and to be successful with. If we -:.Web With, .VOiCe'COmmuniC . atiOiie'' Can,:.dO in are going to be successful in Canada we must t'hings','.;;"::neither can d o o n ,',ats',ownn s b e s u ccessful wi t h I:u t u r e Sh o p . Shopping on the Web isi.bit like shonpnpinhg ., c s r Unfortunately, when you compare Future -In a world. full of.vending'machme s, aitht r Shop with, say, CompUSA in t h e U .S. ,out human contact„he said, andm ost peo- s CompUSA gets so much attention it's hard to 'pie do not want„to do that.'Onr the ytQr ( put the focus on Future Shop. „'' nn~nt:~i::-;,;:;.'.::"g! c aritll' r i'err'tor'c,r nte rn r'th't:, Continued on page 7$

THE COMPUTER PAPFR GREATER TORONTO EDIT(ON

www.tcp.ca MAY 1998

Small Business Computing Chris Rlelsnette Conti nued from page 73

TCP: Tell us about your product lines aud your strategies to move thenr.

TCP: Because Canada ls roughly the size of

Symantec: As acompany over the years we people and computers more reliable — how do havebeen focused on a number ofbusinesses, you prevent crashes, how do you recover from not necessarily aligned. We needed to make crashes, what have you, Norton Utilities,

California? Symantec:Right, I haven't done the numbers but I would venture a guess that Future Shop is a similar percentage of the Canadian market as CompUSA is in the U.S., at least in relative importance it is. So, having a focus here allows us to focus on these kind of issues. We need to be closer to our Canadian customers. The other thing that I would add is that, the largest IT [information technology) customer in Canada is the federal governm ent, and in order to be successful it is important to have someone in places like Ottawa, Toronto or Vancouver. People like to deal with local people. We will continue to be a part of jthe Americasl region and leverage the resources where appropriate for marketing, customer

sure that all the wood was behind one arrow. So we looked at all our products and which ones were part of our core strategy and we came up with two key business units.

The first is security and assistance. That business unit is focused on how you make

more productive: PCAnywhere, Act, WlnFax, are three very deep products.

Norton AntiVirus is a big piece of lsecurity and assistance} and Norton Utilities is anoth-

er major player there, But if you look at the

Norton AntiVirus, CrashGuard, products like that. The second is remote productivity solutions. How do we make people and computers

product line, what we have been really successful with is working with the power user, the computer savvy user, Where we haven' t Continued onpage 1$

a ®

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0 0

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no one that

would specifically look after Canadian issues. So if it came down to delivering French language product or things like

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that, we just weren' t able to look after that.

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— Mr>nnette on Syrnrrntec's reasons for renewing its corporate presence in Canruto service, and tech support, there is no need for us to duplicate that unless there are some specific components that are needed for some reason.

P ,

TCP: Sohow will yorrr nrw preserrce be nranifest across ttre corurtry? Synsantec: We are fairly dose to being in place already. The Toronto office ... is a pretty significant development facility with 250 plus employees. TCP: What are you doing with 250 peoplein that office? Symantec Developing WinFax, we do some customer service. TCP: You do your primary dcvclopnrent here? Symantec: Right, absolutely. The Norton group is in Santa Monica, the Delrina group is where it originally was, So we continue to do the development for WinFax here, as well, new products that are coming out of that group. There is a customer service team, tech support people, a number of resources. So, given that, it made a lot of sense to have our

Canadian sales and marketing operation headquarters in Toronto where we can take advantage of the infrastructure.

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MA Y 1998 T HE COMPUTER PAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca

Small Business Computing Chris 'Nonnette

TCP: You are, or course, aware of a stand alone WinFax, PC Anywhere, Act. These three prod- its infancy. But everyone would look down product tliat dues a similar fiuiction. ucts individually carry their market. And if the road and say, that it is probably a very big

Contimied fmm page7$

Symantec: Oil Change is the product that you overlay the products and look at the users business down the road. Right now of the Java really had a product focus is in the novice CyberMedia offers at this point. We' ve taken and the needs that they have. They all tend to development tool market we probably have user. And that is a huge market. So, as a major initiative for us, will start to deliver product solutions to that market.

it, I think, a little bit further and there is a sixmonth free subscription with Crash Guard, an

be remote users. They are involved in either

important component.

have a number of needs and I think that we We compete against Microsoft and Borland have a very good understanding of what those and a number of people. needs are. Over the next couple of years you The market will change in the coming will see from us, solutions directly targeted at years. But what we have today is a really good, those customers needs, telecommuting, respected development tool for Java developers. mobile professional, etc. However, its because of the nature of the market, we handle that as a completely separate TCP: I wnnt to ask a question aboirt WinFax. business unit. They have their own dedicated Woulrln't.you sriy WinFax luis its share of prob- sales, their own dedicated marketing people. lenis? Peuple often cumplain that WinFax is brrggy. TCP: Could you suin up the goal of Symantec Symantec: I would say that when we first Cannrla? came out with the Windows 95 version of Symantec: It all comes out of one primary WinFax, there were so many issues we had goal for us, and that is to invest in growth with that one. I think we have addressed each oppoitunity and I think we were underinvestof them as we moved forward and today ed in Canada. It absolutely represents a WinFax 8.0 is an extremely good, stable prod- growth opportunity for us and that's what uct. In fact, that's the product that, in the brings us back. beginning of '97 we looked at a plan and said, "What is WinFax going to do by way of sales TCP: Tup revernre prodrrcing product? for us?" We picked a number and said it was Symantec:NAV [Norton AntiVirusj. here, we blew that number out by so far, it was so far, absolutely way over projection. So it is TCP: Products with the most /ropes. Wlrere's the dark horse liere? a very, very good product for us today. Symantec: Gosh all kinds, I look down the TCP: Tell me about your Internet tools. road and I see all kinds of them. I think Crash Symantec: That would be the third business Guard. I think we have the biggest belief in its unit and that one we handle a little bit differ- ability to grow. I' ve seen the predictions and ent in that Internet tools — specifically Java it's a huge number. The consumer business is tools — today is a business that is very much in a big area for us. 0

Uninstall Deluxe is a very new entry into the market for us. We shipped it late in the year and already it is the number one uninstaller on the market. It will do the classic uninstall — scan my computer take off applications I don't want, clean up my registry. But one thing that it has that nomine else has:

TCP:Like Henltliy PC. Symantec: Well, Healthy PC was a product where we stepped into it a little bit, and had some issues with how we positioned that product. But I think the best example are

Norton Crash Guard Deluxe and Norton

what we will do is put your computer back solid product. Crash Guard came from a com- exactly the way it was rather than close to the

Uninstall Deluxe. Crash Guard is absolutely a

way it was!

ponent of Norton Utilities and the idea there was that the number one thing that people complained about was crashes. Crash Guard Deluxe has what we call AntiFreeze. If your product freezes it will help you unfreeze that application. It used to be you only had the o ption of "End task." Now you can hi t antifreeze and continue. Another important feature is Live Update, which will scan your computer, look at what you have in the way of hardware or software and ... then go to our Web site, see what patches are available, download them and install them. We take it one step further and actually do some quality insurance testing on those patches. So even if the patch is for WordPerfect, we go through it to make sure that, in general, the patch works and isn' t something that is going to blow up your computer.

TCP: l nnd other experienced users l know have a

prublem with utilities. And oneplace in particulnr

that we rerrlly have some cuncerns is rwirrstnllers. Becnrrse they nre low-level prograins that tiy to dn a lot of tliings, they are very invasive. Also, because of the coniplexity of coiirputers and the infinite nuniber of rnnclrine coufigurntions out tirere, the shnring of library files, etc., they seem to cause as mony problemsas they solve. So, fur the most part, tliis is a categorywe rlon't have much

confidence in. Symantec: I would encourage you to take a close look a Uninstaller Deluxe. We haven' t really done a good job of explaining the really great things this product can do. On the other side, remote productivity solutions, that is a very important business to us. If you look at products there we have

about 65 percent of the market, which is

telecommuting or are mobile users. And they doing very well, but it is a very small market.

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www.tcp.ca MAY 1998 79

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A new feature in 1998 is Internet access. Dynacom now allows you to download inform ation from your bank account at t h e National Bank of Canada to do your bank reconciliation. QuickBooks Pro is a very easy program to set This is a very powerful flexible solution for up and use, yet it has many powerful and flexsmall- and medium-sized businesses in the ible features. During set up of your company construction or distribution industries. Some it offers industry-specific advice to help you of the more advanced features were not too take advantage of these features. You can creeasy to use, so plan to commit some resources ate custom fields to track the specific informafor training. tion you require for customers, vendors, items

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English. A new accountant's review feature allows you to send your books to your accountant, continue working in the new year and then merge the adjustments from your accountant with your current records. The retention an d m a nagement of detailed history records is amazing. Purchase ordering is linked to accounts payable, job costing and inventory control for easy purchase management.You can create estimates for jobs and compare your actual costs to estimated costs to track profitability, then refer to the estimate for smarter future bidding. Time entered on employee time sheets flows to invoices, payroll records and job costing for a complete one-step time management system. Progress billing and an on-screen timer are new features this year. Firms that bill time — such as accountants, architects, engineers and construction professionals — will find this program a big bang for the buck. The MAKISOFT Accountant From: Makisoft Software Ltd. 7710HameiBoulevard W.,Sainte-Foy,PQ G2G 2J5 Tel: 888-744-0441 http: //www.makisoft.corn Price: $69

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From: DacEasyCanadaLtd. 201-307514th Ave.,Markham, ON, L3R OG9 Tel: 800-563-3314 http: //www.daceasy.ca Prices: CD-ROM$79.95 Payroll extra $259.95 DacEasy Accounting for Windows lets you focus on the people that make you successful, your customers, vendors and employees. It comes with a complete communication system that includes modem and fax software and a Rolodex. You can track projects, due dates and daily tasks with the personal assistant and send letters to your customers without leaving the program. You can choose from

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The MAKISOFT Accountant talks to you and guides you throughout each step of the installation and day-to-day entry of data to your accounting system. If you make a mistake it tells you how to correct it. You are given a choice of three installation methods. The first allows you to run from the CD-ROM drive. It takes up only 9 MB of space on your hard drive. The second method allows you to remove the CD-ROM but there is no voice guide and the third is a complete installation. I ran the program from the CD-ROM and was amazed that there was no significant decline in performance. There is a large selection of charts of accounts. You can account for up to five businesses. Furthermore, taxes are automatically calculated and extracted from the amounts you enter. The cybermoney feature shows you a picture of the transfer of money from one account to another. There is full reconciliation of bank and credit card statements. It is not mandatory to enter your opening balances before you begin to enter your transactions. The program works on a cash basis. You can enter accounts receivable and accounts payable later using the accounting entries option. It is easy to make corrections or delete entries using the consultation/correction option. Makisoft does not provide ledgers for accounts receivable, payable, inventory, payroll and job cost.

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Sznetii Business Cornjputttng IS predefined charts of accounts and use the setup check list to set up your system. The accountsreceivable,accounts payabie

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and products sections have all the features you expect in an integrated program. You can import time entries from 'I'imeslips. Features to note include recurring entries, depreciation of assets and graphs to show financial trends. MVOB and MVOB Plus From: Best Ware 201A-1425 DundasSt. E., Mississauga, ON.L4X2W4 Tel: 800-640-6962 http:l/www.bestware.ca Prices: $149 Plus $189 for Windows Plus $229 for Macintosh MYOB is very easy to set upy ou si m p l y select a chart of accounts from

information. The Wi z a rd guides you ,rkol Il l t t l r through each step of the set up process. In MYOB you can start processing your day-today entries even before you enter your opening balances. Data is date sensitive. You can have up to 26 open accounting periods. Unfortunately, once a year is closed, paid invoices, purchases and payroll details are

purged from the system. When you make a mistake it is easy to drill down to the original entry, change it or reverse it and your records are automatically updated. This feature can be turned off if you are concerned about losing the audit trail. The financial analysis and reporting section includes colorful graphs for monitoring profitability and sales. Sales and purchases sections offer recurring invoices.'I'hese provide a level of flexibility not available in other packages. You can open invoices and purchase orders, enter information and save the form without posting the information to the accounts. These forms can be recalled and reused at any time. The inventory section offers only average costing and a single price level. MYOB does, however, have a nice build feature that lets you combine single inventory stocking items into a new inventory item for sale. When you select your chart of accounts the payroll records are already linked to the accounts for you. You can add pay categories (earnings) and deductions and modify those provided by the system. You can override the expense account to which a pay category or employer's portion of a deduction is assigned. There is no time sheet entry function, you simply enter the total hours for the period, for the category, and for the job to the payroll screen and the pay and deductions can be viewed as you process the entry. If you have set up a job to track reimbursable expenses, you can link that job to a customer so that when you assign expenses to that job they can be recalled and billed with a click of the mouse. You can enter a budget amount, by account, for every detail job in the system and the job budget analysis tells you if you are making money on a project. MYOB comes with a card file system that allows you to manage information on your prospects or contacts as well as your customers, vendors and employees. There are so many Hl.;I.I' features I do not have room to list them all here. One notable feature is the CDROM online video segments, which offer help in. a friendly and informal way. For this feature, you need a PC powered by a I'entium CPU, with a CD-ROM drive, accelerated VGA graphics card, Windows 9S and a sound card. MYOB is available for the Macintosh as well as for Windows systems. MYOB Accounting I'lus with Office Link allows you to transfer accounting data into

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905-629-3233

Fax

905-629-3208 .

Web site

businessvision.corn

(http: //www.) .

905-629-3233 905-629-3208 -

' businessvision.corn

Price

$1,1.95 3-user LAN Pac$499

Support

Unlimited calls

$199 peryear

$399 peryear . : "

$395 peryear, '+', or. after first year

l'"';.'-.'.':: $35 er incident "

Payroll updates.

$169

$189

Version reviewed

Version 1.21

Version 3.4

Lan ua es

En lish

English

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$195

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Report writer

Form customizer only report writer available

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as add-on 486 DX

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+,'~';-.:-,"-',"l'".""~;,"" 486 DX

486DX 66 Windows 95/NT 3.51 16 MB RAM .,VGA monitor :CD-ROM drive

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tra ck purchase orders andback orders. • Prices canbechangedautomatically or globally byassigning apercentageor amount to agroup of inventory items. • Programswith bills of material allow you to build anewinventory item by

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$3,995

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None

Satellite Store Module $1,245,

Manufacturingadd-an$695, Contact Management$99,

Bonus PointTrackingAdd-on $495,

combining other items ln stock.• Payroll programs that use formulae for the calculation ofearningsanddeductions offer more flexible payroll options. Vacation pay and sickleave accumulatora accumulate and pay out amounts 4or vacation accruals and sick leave. . •Job costing with budgets or estimates allows comparison to budget for each

"general ledgeraccounttrackedfor ajob or project or comparison tothe quote or estimate. . •Automatic invoicing of expensesis 'accomplishedbyassigning expensesto ".: :job andcustomer at the time'the .;:::expense invoice isrecorded.These,",' -"' ',

Ease of use

or an invoice. • Some products allow you to print and

Automatic corrections & adjustments Import ex ort ca abilities

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tomers and the program will warn you if the limit is exceeded by placing an order. • You can sometimes prepare a quotation and convert the quotation to an order

Internal backup

f erent inventory price levelto'4~ s customem. • You canassign credit limits to cus-

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TORONTO EDITION M A Y 1998 THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATER

www.tcp.ca

Sinai jj Business 'Cornputtrng Simply Accounting for Windows is very easy to use. Toolbars and buttons are available to access commands. If you are not sure what a button does you click on the right niouse button to filtd the label. Wizards help sou to set up your information and guide you through some of the more complex tasks such as setting the program to ready mode. Simply can store data detail for the last fiscal year as well

Microsoft Excel, Work and Workperfect. You can ware for the first six months. The plan is also save reports in H1'lvli. (hypertext markup renewable on an annual basis for a small fee. language} forntat to be viewed on a Web site. MYOB Vrelnier, the multi-user peer-to-peer Simply Accountingfor Windows network versioli of klYOB, has all the features From: Accpac international of MYOB. Special features include record spe- 5935 Airport Rd., Mtssissaoga OnL4V 1W5 cific security, unlimited transactions and user- Tel: 800-773-5445 //www.accpac.corn specified preferences. The support plan and http: updates are included in the cost of the soft- Price: $179

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The DvRex-PII Is the first Dv software and hardware editing product tailored to give the digitalvideo. producer a complete vtdeo and audio editing soiutian. The DVRex editing sgstem combines high quoNII DV video with muttivchannet audlocreating a new dimension of dlgitoi video production. With Rex Edit software the video editor can control the DV camera or deck. botch capture video and audio. odd new audio tracks. ~ b In reoi-time cutting the amount of time needed to direct o digital production. DV editing has never been so costi and so flexible!

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as the current fiscal year. This allows you tg print comparative financial statements and compare sales information. The dates you enter must be between the conversion date or fiscal start date and th'e using date. You can easily export a}l details from Simply to Microsoft Word, Access or Excel or dynamically link your data to external programs. Custom reports can be prepared using Crystal Reports. You can email invoices, purchase orders, sales orders and quotes directly from Simply. Simply stores einail addresses and Web site information for customers and vendors. You can enter customers, vendors and inventory items on the fly. This feature speeds up data entry. You can prepare and use recurring entries in the general, purchase, sales, payroll, transfers and adjustments journals. Recurring entries save time, offer greater accuracy of data entry and enhance flexibility. You can accept credit cards as a method of payment and account for service charges automatically. You will like the feature that allows you to adjust purchase and sales invoices and payroll cheques automatically. You simply select the incorrect invoice or cheque, then enter the correct information. The program calculates any differences, then makes all the reversing and adjusting entries for you. Simply Accounting has drill-down capability to help you find invoices and cheques more quickly. You simply click on an account balance and the underlying documents are available for review. You can prepare, store and.print purchase orders. When you fill in a purchase order the program updates the quantity on order and, if all items are not received, it keeps track of the back-ordered items and quantities. You can select the option to use negative inventory quantities. You can also track inventory turnover, An inventory detail report allows you to determine which items in your inventory are selling and which are not. Simply allows you to sell services as well as items. The payroll is very simple to set up and use. You can enter payroll information after the fact or set the program to calculate the deductions automatically. You can post entries to the previous year and print T4 slips in a new calendar year. This saves making a copy of your data at year end for printing T4s. You can use graphs to help you analyze your data and keep an eye on your cash flow and profits. There are graphs for payables or receivables by aging period, for expenses and net profits as a percentage of revenue by account, sales. versus receivables, sales versus budget and current revenue versus last year' s. As its name suggests, Simply Accounting is very simple to set up and even more simple to use. Reports and forms are now easier to modify.

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Business %sion Encore From: Business Vision Management Systems Inc, Airport Square, 2600 Skymark Ave„Building 3 Mississaoga, ONL4W 5B2 Tel: 905-629-3233 http: //bustnessviston.corn Price: $1,195 (3-user LA}}i Pac$499)

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Business Vision Encore's product philosophy

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is that business processes, such as taking an order, receiving goods or creating a purchase

order, come first and that business informa-

THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION

www.tcp.ca MAY 1998

Smalll Husirmss Coznputing tion should be delivered quickly to the user, on-screen. The product certainly meets its objective. You can view graphs in the general ledger to compare last year's net change of an account with this year's net change and compare balances by fiscal period. You can quickly make inquiries from any account balance to

Airport Square, 2600 Skymark Ave., Building 3 Mississauga, ONL4W 582 Tel: 905-629-3233

Business Vision 2000 has all of the same features as Business Vision E ncore an d mo r e . Detailed sales history can be retained for 99 years. You can budget, forecast and complete comparative business

http; //www.businessvision.corn Price: $3,995 5-user LAN Pac$449 10-user LAN Pac$1990 IQ Custom Report Writer $995

plans. The autoforecast feature uses the current year-to-date performance to project

future performance using linear projection. You can consolidate multiple companies. Additional modules include job costing and purchase ordering. Inventory has been enhanced to include bills of materials, 20 price lists, serial number tracking and multiple

+.1

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see the underlying information. When you view transactions in the general ledger inquiry function you can reconstruct the entire journal entry for any transaction on-screen. An automatic posting feature can be turned on or off. When on, all information in the general ledger is displayed in real time When off, you can review and revise the journal entries before posting to the general ledger. All transactions are date sensitive and there is no period end close function to be concerned with. Business Vision allows you to locate a journal entry from any source and reverse it automatically. With this system, you can keep up to two years of sales history. Unlimited notes can be attached to customer details and supplier details. Multiple modules can be open at any one time. For example you could access both the inventory item and the supplier screen at the same time. Order entry tracks quotes arid orders and converts them to invoices. Back orders are tracked and when the goods are received the back order is converted to an invoice. The Canadian payroll module is very simple to set up. It uses a time card entry system for hourly employees and can automatically create time cards for salaried employees. The time cards can be reused for the next pay period. Supplementary time cards are available for special or extra pay runs. Encore is designed for retail, service and distribution businesses. The product has a strong point-of-sale module, which can be linked to a cash drawer, invoice printer and bar code reader. You can access information on the inventory file and the customer file from the point-of-sale screen. During entry of the part number, the system displays the description, price and tax codes on the screen. When the quantity is entered the system determines if a discount applies. When the entry is complete a payment method window appearsand the system calculateschange due, if any, and prints a receipt. Inventory control, accounts receivable and the general ledger are updated automatically for the sale. If you want to try Business Vision Encore, a demo can be downloaded from the Web site. Business Vlslon 2000 From: Business Vision Management Systems Inc.

a c~

(guara ntee compatiti8ty w> h

7 ce I f > ca aeons)

Ifyou dream of leading-edge power,buthave nightmaresabout compatibility,the latest Mycomp® systems byMynix Technology are the solutionforyou. '< Builtby an ISO-9002 manufacturer,backed with PC97 certi fications,and packed with up to 333 MHz of pentlumI raw Pentium® II processor power the M comp +~, Summit system will meet all the demands of your most ravenous multimedia and communications "

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www.tcp.ca

omputing

Srnalll Business C warehouse tracking. BV 2000 has extended browse features and unlimited networking. Integrated Office Accounting From: MTWSolutions Online Inc. 201-204 3075 14th Ave., Markham, ON,L3R OG9 Tel: 905-940-3395 http: //www.mtwsoi.corn Prices: $1,495 single-user $2.495 unlimited users $3,495 source code

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From .-.

:== =Ycwr PersonaI ;=

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$14.95

40 $13.95 -- Unlimited Based on 14:Months ~~

Integrated Office Accounting is a full featured, multi-user accounting system. It is written in Microsoft Access to work with Windows 95 and NT and to fully integrate with Microsoft Office. It is fully customizable and a source code version is available. You can use the Wizard to help you through the setup steps and later to find and correct problems. You can enter a sales invoice and receive payment at the same time. The order entry module lets you prepare quotes, orders~nd invoices using inventory items, kits and work orders. Customers can be added on the fly. Orders can be automatically included in the UPS Maxiship shipping system. The inventory module allows you to maintain inventory at different warehouse locations. You can record serial numbers when an i t e m i s o r dered, shipped or returned. Accounts payable and payroll are fully integrated with the simple purchasing, job cost, work order and estimating system. You can define the company's fixed assets and calculate depreciation but this module is not fully integrated with the rest of the program. This product is a good choice for firms looking for a mid-range system for inventory control and work order costing.

AgentWeb

517.95

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CAN Account From: Cyberlutions Inc. 201-17858 105 Ave., Edmonton, AB, T5S2H5 Tel: 403-413-61 92 http://www.canaecount.corn Prices: $995 (general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, bank management and utilities) $1,000 single-user sales order $1,000 work order $495-$995 payroll $495 5-user licence CAN Account is a fully integrated, mid-range product with strong inventory, work order and job cost features. You can purchase the base version and contract Cyberlutions to customize the software to best fit your needs. It is easy to set up and use. There are good browse and find features to locate customers and vendors and the copy feature makes it easy to enter repetitive data. The general ledger account structure with it s t wo-character department code lacks flexibility. The yearend close feature and lack of general ledger detail retention are weaknesses. The accounts receivable, accounts payable and payroll are chock full of advanced features. You can track quantities on hand, allocated, back ordered and on order. You can have unlimited price levels, warehouse and bin locations making this a very strong inventory product. You can build assemblies from individual parts and track serial numbers on sales. Commissions are based on inventory. Services can be included as part of an assembly. You can integrate purchase orders with accounts payable, inventory and work order entry. When entering work orders you can add new customers, view all details of costs from journal entries, accounts payable items, time sheets and purchase orders. There are eight user-defined fields for industry specific information. In job costing, you can track cost centres and sub-cost centres with revenue and costs tracked to user-defined GL accounts. Change orders and progress billings are available features. There are full detailed drill down capabilities. You can automatically calculate estimate to actual costing comparisons with margins and percentages. CAN Account can also track fixed assets and depreciation. This product is a good choice for mid-sized companies assembling and marketing products. 0 Joan V. Homal BSc. CGA, is principal of Joan V. Homal 8 Co. Inc., a public accounting practice serving small businesses in Vancouver by providing accounting and tax services, and consulting services in the selection and installation of micro-computer software accounting solutions. She is also managing consultant of PC Professionals, an Accpac dealer and Qualified Installer, offering accounting software systems, training and support. Email: jhornal©istar.ca.

0'-iteilly offers Webhoard free::,-:-'~-9.".">:

NB — This Web site, from the University of: NB — lt seems everyone'is offering 'a We5 Maryland Baltimore County ( UMBC) - chat ates on their Web site these days. If Laboratory for Advanced Information,,-:.",.:you have a wish to add.one, O'Reilly has Technology {LAIT), is afl about electronij::,:- announced =-'+: -WebBoaid&%.-3.0p'~ its -'-v:::-'. agents — the small applications that, ruri ' enterprise/professionaiversionoflrvechat "'on your computer, will go out and accom;--:, and forums software, with a--host of new -

plish tasks on the Internet. You can fin@:.'~:and upgraded features. The beta version of ...,:,

out more about them, chat about them,-'::.. WebBoard 3;0 is now- available. at no The complete .box~ version .Ã and also investigate various Rsearch PM--'-'=" ÃebBoard3.0isprojectedtoship-in Apri), jects going on that aim to make,:,them -'..:= --,-"for ' a suggested list price of US$699 = -::::,'„-'~--'=; more intelligent. - e; ~ =„" = -:-..-~~-':+~='::~-,-.-; :-;;::-; : > .: +:.-' ~y,,:. httii://software;oreilly.corn .-:. http: //www.cs,umbc.edu/agents/

charac'

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Yes ICCommunications Inc. I Call: 416 622 6614 Visit our Web Site: http: //www.yesic.corn E Mail us: sales®yesic.corn 16 Four Seasons Place, Unit 108 Etobicoke, Ontario M9B 6E7 'Signupfor12 months k receive 3 extra months FREE

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M AY 1998 THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATER TORONTO EDITION www.tcp,ca

Smallll BusinessComputing •

Ethernetsurge protection system released

Business bjrieII's

•

GREENLAWN, N.Y. (NB) — Telebyte Tech-

HP launches E$0 server Continuerf fmm page7$

nology Inc. has announced availability of its new 10Base-T surge protection system, which

reportedly provides individual port protection hand, an operator taking calls on a toll-free

number for a travel agency can't show the caller pictures of a resort. The ability to use the Web to show images and video complements the audio conversation, Skapinker said.

•

••s•

The system is composed of the Model 3310 Card Cage, and the Model 3311 MultiPort Protection Card, which provides 15 protected ports on a single printed circuit card that -is one of five cards in a rack mounted

Web banner service launched enclosure. BATHURST, N,B. (NB) — The newly formed The 10Base-T signals for each Ethernet Canadian Banner Service is promoting a port are applied to standard RJ-45 connectors, World Wide Web banner plan for Canadian and each signal in each port incorporates pro-

•

for up to 75 Ethernet ports.

Web sites that will allow operators to pro-

ss•

tection with response time measured in

mote their sites at no cost. Advertisers can picoseconds, says the company. The output also purchase space on t h e C a nada port is also provided in an RJ-45 connector. HyperBanner, The Model 3311 Protection Card is housed Jeff Yeomans, administrator of Canadian in the Model 3310 Card Cage, a 5.25-inch Banner Service, told Newsbytes that the ser- high housing designed for standard 19-inch vice is available to sites in Canada and sites with Canadian content. A site can partici-

pate at no cost and get free exposure on other sites at the rate of one banner appearance for every two people who visit the site and se e t he Ca n a da HyperBanner.

equipment racks, with the capacity of five Model 3311 cards. The Model 3310 Card Cage sells for $483, while the Model 3311 Protection Card sells for

$317 each.

Advertisers can purchase banner exposure at Canadian payroll module to be added the rate of $17 per 1,000 exposures, or $15 in to SmartStream large volume, TORONTO (NB) — Geac Computer Corp. Ltd, Yeomans said this is the first and so far the has announced a Canadian payroll module for only shared-banner service aimed strictly at SmartStream, its client/server financial and Canadian sites. This makes it possible for human resources system. Geac also announced advertisers to direct their messages specifically to Canadian audiences, he said. Yeomans is leasing the service from an Israeli company which is providing the tech-

that it will release a French-Canadian language translator for SmaitStream, and tax support for the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The enhancements to SmartStream will be available this summer,

nology. Yeomans administers Canada HyperBanner sales and maintains the system Geac officials said.

Bob Homer, p r oduct manager for SmartStream human resources products, said incorporates Java-enhanced banners and a the Canadian payroll product will provide feature called Janimation. Special services drill-down capabilities to let users view suminclude the use of animated banners, live maries of payroll data or get at more detail event banners, time-controlled banners, and when they need it. Able to support one or server-side campaign statistics. multiple companies, the software will also make it easy to set payroll policies without Contact: Canadian Banner Service in Canada. The service uses a full-size banner and

•

• 0

complex technical changes, so users can react quickly to changing payroll needs, such as

htip J/www.canada.hyperbanner.net Sponsor info, http://www.canadian-banner.corn NNTP TV Channelsthroughout America will see at least

some part of your commercial or program. Whether or not they will watchall of your programdepends onwhether your commercial or programinterests them! •

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M AY 1998 THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATER TORONTO EDITION

www.tcp.ca

Srrtalll Business Corrtputing

Preparing for the worst Weird weather brings disaster planning to the fore BY GEOF W H E ELWRIGHT

s your computer prepared for a natural disaster? The possibility of calamity is not as remote as you might think, Millions of Canadians in Quebec and Ontario found that out the hard way this past winter during the brutish ice storms that left some areas without power for weeks. Cleaning up from that mess not only involved putting homes and lives back together — although these were the obvious priorities — it also meant restoring data and proper operation to computer systems that suffered either physical damage or data corruption as a result of the storms. Some companies were able to restore their systems from recent backup tapes, Others without backup copies learned, the hard way, that the real value in your computer system lies not in the computer hardware and software — which can be easily replaced when you get a cheque from your i nsurance company — but in th e d ata i t holds. If you lose your data, and you don' t

have securely stored, properly made backup copies of it, no insurance company can compensate you for the time and trouble that it takes to recreate that data.

This bitter lesson i s b eing l earned throughout the world as the weather oddity called El Nino brings "weird weather" to all parts of the globe. In the eight weeks following the bitter ice storms in Fastern Canada, for example, both California and Florida suffered strong rain and wind storms that brought flooding and hurricane-force winds. California alone suffered more than US$300 million in damage, while the strong winds that battered Florida killed several dozen peopleand damaged more than 2,000 homes and businesses. While the loss of computer data is in no way comparable to death or injury, it can be traumatic if you are the one who has lost the data. This is particularly true for small businesses. A University of Texas report found that 31.6 percent of small businesses lose key data each year, and almost half go out of business immediately after such a loss. Those figures may seem a little extreme, but think about it. Suppose you run a sales operation and lose all the data you have collected about which clients ordered what. How hard would it be to reconstruct that information from paper sources (assuming they didn't disappear at the same time as your database)? Losing that data, even for a

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THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www,tcp.ca

MAY 1998 95

Small Business Computing little while, would have a huge impact on sales, invoicing and cash flow (not to men-

tion your peace of mind).

drives, which offer small businesses and mobile professionals an easy and affordable

Internet by installing virus protection software on your computer hard drive. 4. Install a power surge device to protect your computers and other electronic equipment from damaging lightning that can come through. the outlet.

Ilitatltr lllafillifi Threat Means of protection Hard drive failure

Humanerror Theft Water damage Lightning strike Surge/brownout Viruses

couldn't have predicted the ice storms that hit

so many residents of Eastern Canada and the Some users may be thanking Iomega for United States. setting up this awareness/marketing scheme, One interesting addition to the campaign as the first tour it h eld to p romote the came in the beginning of this year when DisasterProof Your Business idea included TrippLite Power Protection (makers of the "severe winter weather" cities such as Isobar line of surge suppressors) and Minneapolis/St.Paul, Chicago, D etroit, Symantec Corp. joined the tour, providing Boston, and New York, information on protection against power threat and viruses. While there was obvious self-interest for all three companies to band together, they do represent a credible packagin a protected area like a safe deposit box. ing of tools that could help small businesses, 3. Guard against infected software programs in particular, safeguarding data. or possible virus downloads off the In Quebec's ice storm, for example, some

backup solution. Storage manufacturer Iomega recently Ingallinera says there are five majortips launched a campaign called "DisasterProof (some of which admittedly involve buying Your Business" that is designed to eliminate product from lomega or one of its competimost of the major holes that users typically tors) to achieve the goal of "disaster-proofing" have in their disaster prevention systems (and your business. They are: sell a truckload of Iomega's Ditto tape backup 1. Save your entire system~perating syssystems while doitrg so). tem, files and applications — on a tape car"Unfortunately, most users don't realize tridge each day. the value of their data until they experience 2. Safeguard a second set of cartridges off-site a loss," says Albert Ingallinera, Ditto product manager. "Moreover, small businesses that lose key data are likely to go out of business. Given the need to create awareness for small businesses to protect themselves against the threats of data loss, lomega officially kicked off its DisasterProof Your Business PRcampaign in December 1997." lomega is focusing the campaign on its Ditto family of tape

5. Keep a fire extinguisher in the office.

Complete hard drive backup on tape cartridge Complete hard drive backup on tape cartridge Complete hard drive backup on tape cartridge, and having a duplicate copy off-site Complete hard drive backup on tape cartridge, and having a duplicate copy off-site Surge protector Surge protector Maintaining the latest version of an anti-virussoflware package.

A University of Texas report found that 31.6 per cent of small businesses lose key data each year, and almost half go out of business immediately after such a loss.

computer users reported that it was not the initial power outage that trashed their hard disks but rather the "on-again, off-again" surges of power during the period when power was

being restored that really caused problems. Iomega's contribution to the solution is its Ditto tape drives. The Ditto Max Pro tape dri-

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when covering a specified sales area. Typically, one salesperson would be assigned aII the clients in one region and would be handed a card box or set of files containing details of all the customers and leads generated in that area. When you map that model onto an electronic system of contact management and lead tracking, you need to make sure salespeople {who often compete with one another in a department to meet target quotas) do not end up trying to service the same ciients. For this reason, Pivotal suggests that if a salesperson has been asked to «ver a different areaand thus needs to have access to a different section of the corporate contact management database — the system administrator only has to create new record filters to make that happen, Once these filters are created, net changes to the mobile user's existing database are sent out through the regular synchronization process,

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A Pivotal relationship Consider, for example, the recent success of North Vancouver-based Pivotal Software Inc. Pivotal's fl a gship pro d u ct, Pivotal Relationship, is based on the premise that the outbound sales force within a company should have remote access to the corporate database of information about clients. It suggests that if salespeople are able to remotely update that database with contact reports and revised customer information, there are huge benefits to the company. So far, the idea appears to have been very appealing to corporate clients. Demand for the product has led Pivotal to grow in less than 18 months from a modest 40-person operation to a 140-person team that has just had to move into expanded office space. One of the keys to this success has been to provide access to this data via a Web browser that could either be run on notebook computers and, more recently, on handheld computers. This meant that all the power of intranet management and search tools could be applied against the corporate customer database. Salespeople dialing into the system only needed a fairly standard and modest browser to make use of that information. It also meant that a wide choice of tools was available to customize the interface to the data.

In November, Pivotal announced upgrades to two of the products in the Relationship line that will allow for enhanced synchronization of data held on the mobile computers and the server at the corporate head office, along with im proved security filters. Synchronization is vital because many mobile users not only dial in to get data from the corporate database, but also create data of their own after customer visits. They need to be able to get the latest data from their office, while also uploading whatever changes they have to the database. One of the key recent product demands has been for "record filters" that allow Pivotal Relationship to restrict data access to the mobile data store. Pivotal says this will enable companies to quickly implement changes to the mobile client security settings resulting in reduced synchronization time. It is a variation on the oid paper-based card boxes that salespeople would typically be given

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StrnRII Busllncss CQrnputtng eliminating the need to send an entirely new database and reducing synchronization time. Btllldlng a Web base of clients S A seasoned veteran of the contact management applications wars, meanwhile, has opted to use the enticement of free Web space and promotion as a key integration strategy with its products. Last year, Vancouver-based Maximizer Technologies Inc. announced the development of a service that is free to all users of the company's Maximizer 97is contact management system for Windows 9S. Known as Maximizer MARKETbuilder, it is both a Web site creation tool and a Web page hosting service that is free to all registered users of the company's product. The resulting site is hosted and promoted through the com-

porate network) contact management databases, yet do not require users to lug around bulky laptop computers.

Contact management,the Internet and handheld compnters

In fact, it is quickly becoming evident that integration with PDAs could be just as important as providing email and internet integration within contact management products. Certainly it is a big push for many producers of contact management applications, many of whom have put considerable energy into strategies for integration with PDAs. As mentioned earlier Pivotal, for example, announced in October that its Relationship Web Client would support Windows CF. 2.0, Relationship Web Client provides Internet pany's BusinessNet (http: //biznet.maximizer.corn), and intranet access to Pivotal's Relationship which acts as a online business page directory client/server application through the built-in of its customers. Pocket Internet Explorer Web browser that A visit to the site recently, however, sug- comes with Windows CF. 2.0 systems. gested Maximizer still has some way to go in Pivotal says corporations equipped with getting participation of its users, only 244 of ltelationship Web Client for Windows CE 2.0 whom were actually using the site to host can let their remote sales people, field markettheir Web pages. A brief tour through the site ing and support representatives access and also suggested that many were small or home- update customer and prospect information, as based businesses who were hosting pages well as run queries and reports via the Internet. there because it was the most inexpensive way The company pledgesthat changes made to establish some sort of Web presence. to t h e en t e rprise d a tabase through For corporate users, the cost of actually Relationship Web Client will be instantly availhosting the site — and the requirement that able to I.AN-based (local area network-based) the site have a "proper domain name" (as users and automatically sent to mobile users. opposed to being hosted on someone else' s site) — would dwarf any savings that might be Where is it going7 achieved from being hosted on ItusinessNet. These two trends — Web/Internet integration Yet Maximizer remains a strong seller in and PDA synchronization — suggest contact the corporate market, largely because it has management software is changing forever. been quick to spot the opportunities for inte- Any corporation that is serious about using grating with sales force automation tools. this technology will no ionger be able to get These include Microsoft's Outlook 97 infor- by on old versions of ACT!, Sidekick or mation management/communications suite, GoldMine if they really want to get the most the 3Com Palm Pilot personal digital assistant out of the tools that are available to them. (PDA) and, most recently, PDAs based on Web and intranet integration makes a lot Microsoft's Windows CE 2.0 operating system. of sense - and tying that in with use of PDA Integration with these handheld systems versions of the contact management applicaallows corporations to achieve many of the tion makes even more sense. A well-equipped, same advantages of the Web-based client connected sales force would appear to have an since they provide for "hot-synchronization" immediate advantage over one that was disof data held on desktop (and sometime cor- connected and "out of touch." J

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contact management and electronic mail." A recent International Data Corporation hey call it infoglut. It is the barrage of (IDC) study of the impact of Office 97, for information you receive every day from e x ample, found this application made it easithe outside world, including newspapers, television, telephone e ee 'e • ~e% calls, the Internet and even your rc4; c 'I\ h m , h e m i'I m f c own humble email system. I(educing the email portion of this information overload may be kl'>at AKA Administrator one of the biggest problems facing businesses today. While you can I I) Mcchrrrnnnrnhcern Mnil Horn)line C<ennenn<L e choose to buy fewer newspapers, : h+Iereue h' nme nnr erne, cree make or answer fewer phone calls, e rmrm 1 r Iml here m 'h '!',I eh'" renneene watch less television or not bother en. enIne cree'".erne hwr to "surf" the I nternet, ignoring le he. m Nulre rhyme'" m leeercnemle .; cc ~re cnm, email almost seems rude. I hc ee • r! e Many companies are now facing „re . 'ne e e eh' I hc+..c'teer'eeeeee. c n ncececeenc mec en hnenn chere e» the challenge of how their employe ees manage the email system that rncreh cmcc ecch e; r neh neerm eche .r m". e the company so strongly encourared them to use. SomeI IeoPle get hundreds of email messages a day. With the er and faster for users to manage their email. volume of information coming at them, they This was because they could prioritize, filter, face great difficulty sorting the urgent mes- sort, process, and locate messages, contacts, sages (to which an immediate reply is often schedules, and schedule nto do" items withneeded) from "broadcast" electronic memos out wasting a lot of time. It says that one of sent to everyone in the company. The latter the corporations participating in the study, do not generally require a reply and can some- Bose, found its users were 20 percent more times be digested on a m o r e l e isurely productive at finding information and managing email. timetable. According to Andrew Dixon, product Microsoft is by no means the only compamanager for the Microsoft Office software ny offering this l.ind of integration. Corel suite, this problem was the major reason why offers a product called CorelCentral as part of Microsoft developed Outlook, which com- its Wordperfect B Suite. I.ike Outlook, bines email, an address book and a day timer. CorelCentral combines contact and calendar "Users said they wanted to be able to make functions with an email client. IBM's Lotus sense of all the information that comes across Development subsidiary offers connectivity their desks," says Dixon. "We did 2S,000 between its Lotus Organizer Pllvl and cc:Mail hours of research with customers and found email product, as well as integration with its that they really needed to be able to pull Lotus Notes "groupware" system. And nettogether information, share data between

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Smalll Business Coznputing

Understanding bank financing dynamics institution, you must sell the lender on the merits of your business proposal. As in all sales '4 presentations, consider the needs and expectations of the other party in this case, the loans officer. A loans officer will be interested in the following: • Your familiarity, as reflected in your business plan, with the business concept and the realities of the marketplace. I I I They cer t ainly don' t • Your ability to service and pay back the debt with sufficient surplus to cover contingenhave the mindset of a cies, including interest charges, so that you venture capitalist. To eventually repay the debt in full. This would maximize the chance of a successful outcome be demonstrated in your cash flow forecast in effort to borrow money, here is an overview and projected income statements. of the dynamics of the process. • Your ability to provide security to the bank for the loan. What the lender ls looking for Once you start negotiating with the financial • Your level of commitment, as shown by your s a business operator, you have probably required bank financing in the past, or may at some time in the future. As you know, banks tend to be conservative and risk averse by nature.

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equity in the business or cash investment in purpose of loan not explained or unacceptable. the particular asset being purchased. Another influencing factor could be an inexperi• Your secondary source of repayment, includ- enced or overly cautious loans officer with a low ing security in the event of default or other credit approval limit. This would necessitate problem, and other sources of income. other people passing judgment on your loan • Your reasons why the money is needed, application without you meeting them in most how long you need it for, and how much cases. Always try to ensure that the loans offlcer you need. you are dealing with has the final approval • Your track record and integrity, as shown authority for your loan limit needs. in your personal credit history, your business plan, and business results or past busi- Steps when your ness experience. financing ls approved • Your businesslike approach. During the If your request for financing is approved, find loan interview, remember to behave as you out everything you need to know about the would with a customer: don't be sub- conditions, terms, payment methods, interest servient, overly familiar, or too aggressive. rates, security requirements, and any other fees A lender is in business for the same reason to be paid — assuming you have not already you are — to make a profit, and to mininegotiated these factors. You normally receive mize or eliminate bad debts. a business loan commitment letter detailing • Yo ur judgment in supplying information. Be this. If not, ask for one. No decision to accept sensible with the number of documents the financing should be made until all this you provide at the outset. You do not want information is provided and understood. You to overwhelm the loans officer with materi- may wish to ask your accountant and lawyer to al. For example, if the amount request is assist you in the loan application in advance small, an introductory page and summary of and to review the bank's approval. If you are your business plan provide a good enough not completely satisfied with the loan package, basic loan submission, though you should check out the competition. Also remember have all the other documents prepared and that everything is negotiable. Look on the available in case they are requested. loan/security offer from the bank as the start• Your personal appearance. You should pre- ing point for negotiated improvements to sent yourself in a manner that projects self improve the package to your benefit. confidence and success. In summary, remember that you are trying to • Your consideration in allowing sufficient lead convince the lender of three important factors: time for approval. The lender needs a reason- • Th at your loan application is for a worthable time to assess your proposal. Also, the while purpose and the funds are sufficient loan may have to be reviewed at another to accomplish your business objectives. level within the financial institution. • Th at you have the ability, integrity, and • Your credit rating. It's a good idea to commitment t o m ake your b usiness review your credit rating periodically, as viable, and the management skills or there may be errors or blemishes to correct access to those skills to make it profin your file. Note your positive and negaitable. tive points, so you can discuss these when • Th at the loan can be repaid out of the norraised by the lender. mal operational activities of the business on a realistic cash flow basis, and the bank will not have to sell the assets that you Why business loans are turned down have pledged as security. 0 There are various factors at play if the lender turns down your loan application. Common reasons are: outside bank policy, business idea con- Douglas Gray, LLB., formerly a practicing lawyer, is a sidered too risky or unsound, insufficient collat- Vancouver-basedspeaker,consultant, 'columnist and eral or business experience in the industry. Other author of16 bestselling business books, includingThe reasons include: perceived lack of financial com- Complete Canadian Small Business Guide,published mitment, poor business plan or credit rating or by McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

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Continued f'roinpage 99 work software company, Novell, has also enjoyed success with its GroupWIse software

problem. Vancouver-based Electric Mail Company Inc. last year announced a system called AKA, which allows mail sent to general accounts (such as infoCe<ompany.corn) to be automatically redirected to the individuals

for many of the same reasons. who are supposed to reply to that mail. And it Another problem companies face in man- is apparently flexible enough to have that aging email lies in making sure it goes to the right person and is handled quickly and effectively, particularly when it is from a customer or potential customer. On a company Web site, for example, there may often be an email addressto which customers are supposed to send requests for information — something like info@company.corn. But if it is unclear who is supposed to handle the email that comes into that general account, the company may appear unresponsive to its customers.

A Canadian company has designed an "alias" service that it says should solve this

redirection order changed when somebody else takes over the job of dealing with the incoming mail. The general address acts as an "alias" for the specific email address of the person in charge of handling the mail. Electric Mail president Cathy Munn says some clients are also using the service to redirect corporate mail to mobile employees' Internet accounts. Electric Mail charges a setup fee and a $25 minimum monthly corporate subscription rate for the service (actual rates depend on how many alias names need to be set up and managed). 0

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', HARDWARE

Versatile Versas Cruising with NEC's latest 6200 series B Y ROSS. MACD O N A L D hese 6230 and 6260 series notebooks represent the new flagships in NEC's long-lived fleet of portable computers. And the reason both can be discussed together is that the only difference between the two is the brains — the former is based on an Intel Pentium 233 MHz MMX CPU with the latter taking things even further through a Pentium 266 MHz MMX CPU.

•

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Versa 6230/6260 From: Packard Bell NECinc. 1025 Tristar Or., Mississauga, ON,L5T 1VS Tel: 905-564-1122 Estimated street price: $4,949 to $6,149

The reason for the wide price range listed above is that the price rises incrementally with the various configurations of each machine. What I' ve listed represents the bottom end of the 6230 series and top end of the 6260. And I should mention that the 6230s had just enjoyed an impressive price reduction at time of writing due to the introduction of the 6260s. Most likely, the very first thing you' ll notice about these machines is the 13.3-inch active matrix color display that seems to fill the lid edge to edge. The image size almost exactly matches that of my 15-inch desktop monitor. These machines support XGA

(1,024x768 resolution) and include 2 MB FDO DRAM video memory. As I' ve used NEC portables for a considerable time, the look and feel of the 6230 I received was both familiar and comfortable, yet newcomers to the brand ought not to find anything otherwise. The keyboard has sufficient travel and feedback and there's none of that annoying "flex and give" that characterizes keyboards of other portables. I'm not overly impressed by the shrinkage of the arrow keys to half size, but they are in the standard inverted "T" configuration in the expected place (bottom right of the keyboard), and since I don't use them very often anyway, their size doesn't bother me overmuch. Moving around on the screen is achieved by means of the one of those touchpad panels — christened the VersaGlide in this casethat take some getting used to but work admirably once the initial unfamiliarity is overcome. I prefer the trackball arrangement of previous models, but I' ve noticed the touchpad is rapidly becoming the portable industry standard — likely because it suits the demands of portable computing (i.e., it's flat and has no moving parts). This, however, brings me to the first criticism I have of the Versas, and just about any other current machine employing the same device — the touchpad is awkwardly placed in front of the keyboard forcing one and all to reach unnaturally forward in order to actually t ype. Even more annoying is t hat t h e VersaGlide — at least on my machine — is sensitive to the point that even the breeze from my lightning fast typing thumbs immediately shifts the cursor to another screen location. Needless to say, that becomes intensely frustrating as I have to continually stop for quick corrections. Software utilities are provided for customizing just about every aspect of the VersaGlide except for touch sensitivity. I am assured by touchpad veterans of many brands, however, that this inconvenience eventually passes as the machine subliminally seduces the user into conforming to its postural demands. But back on the plus side, NEC seems to have thought of just about everything else

when it comes to making a portable that will truly function as a desktop substitute. All machines in both series feature PCI bus architecture, NeoMagic 128-bit graphics accelerator, 512 KB I.evel-2 pipeline burst cache, 32-bit Cardbus support plus a universal serial bus (USB) port and a front-mounted 4 Mbps, IrDAcompliant fast infrared port (FIR), along with all the other standard input/output interfaces. All models are fully PC 97-compliant, which means they' ll be able to take full advantage of any of the new features of future Microsoft operating systems like Windows 98 and NT 5.0. Facilities for multimedia include a 20x CD-ROM drive, full motion and full screen MPEG-1 video, Zoomed Video support in one of the two Type II PCMCIA slots and integrated 16-bit stereo sound with that 3D spatializer technology that still fails to reach beyond Z.SD to my ears. The tiny built-in 1.5 Watt speakers are quite obviously stressed by any amount of volume but the half-watt external sound output is excellent whether into headphones or an external speaker set. A n ice touch too i s t h e i n clusion of a n NTSC/PAL TV output jack that lets you use your TV as a monitor (NTSC is the format our North American TVs, while PAL is the overseas standard). These Versas use the newer Li-ION batteries, which are supposed to circumvent all the recharging, charge memory and deterioration of Ni-Cad and NiMH batteries, but the jury is still out on whether this is actually the case as they haven't been in popular use for very long. So far, though, I can say that the battery in my6230 chargesatthe same speed whether the computer is in use or not and I' ve been getting a full 2.S hours out of it without using the power management utilities that come bundled with the machine. Like several earlier generations of Versas, these series employ the VersaBay II slot, which allows for the insertion and removal of several devices. Unfortunately, these Versas come out of the box equipped with both the 20x CD-ROM and a 3.S-inch floppy drives, both can't be present in the VersaBay II slot at the same time. But, to somewhat assuage the pain of having to swap

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these out, you' ll also find a copy of a utility called Agate Tioman, which at least lets you do it without powering down the computer. The VersaBay II will also accommodate several optional accessories including a second battery or second hard drive, LS-120 drives and lomega Zip drives. We can only look forward to a DVD drive for that space but, so far, the're's been no word from NEC on that. Further options include three levels of docking — port replicators and docking stations — airplane and a u t omobile p ower adapters, extra batteries and chargers, extra AC adapters, a floppy disk connector kit (so you can have the floppy and the CD-IIOM drives running at the same time) and even a dedicated monitor stand for hooking up to an external display. Of course, additional RAM is offered but, as usual, at a premium price. Also, these Versa models can be purchased hot-loaded as either Windows 9S or Windows NT models. Also included are a number of programs, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, I.ANDesk C l i en t Man a ger, L a p Link, Mediamatics MPEG ARCADE Pak, McAfee VirusScan and WebScan, Mind Path ltemote Control and Presentation F/X, Official Airline Guide, Microsoft's Internet Explorer and a free sample of PRODIGY. In addition, a very useful application found here is something called CompuTrace which, once activated, will help locate your stolen computer if the ruthless recipient decides to log on to the Internet. A software recovery CD-ROM is provided so you can restore any of this stuff in the face of accidents or if you simply elect to clean some of it off your hard drive because it doesn't suit your present needs. As mentioned at the outset, the 6230 and 6260 notebooks are sold in a variety of configurations with corresponding increases in price. The bottom end is the 6230 with a 233 MHz Pentium with MMX, 32 MB RAM and 2.1 GB hard drive. At the top is the 266 MHz Pentium with MMX, 64 MB RAM, a 5 GB hard drive and an LS-120 drive substituted for the standard floppy drive. CI

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Connecting to the future: B Y ROD L A M I RAN D

urrently,two serial communication specifications have been gaining movement and are now poised to become industry-wide standards. They are universal serial bus (USB) and IEI'.E 1394 (aka Firewire). What are they) What do they dot When will they become ubiquitous?

Universal serial bus Universal serial bus was created by intel, Compaq, Microsoft, and other companies, in 199S. 1'he reasons for its creation are pretty obvious to anyone who has spent time with a )'C. One problem is the current serial and parallel ports and their painfully tedious interrupts, and other arcane settings. Having to ttrm off the computer, plug in a new peripheral and then hoping that you cars configure

madd ening.

With the variety of peripherals now available, it is easy for acomputer userto run out of places, and interrupts, to attach peripherals. Add a palmtop cradle to your current printer, scanner and modem setup and there is suddenly nowhere to put that external backup, Snappy, or any other serial or parallel device. For these and other reasons the USB was created to be a faster, more flexible, and easier way to connect things like your keyboard, mouse or speakers. Here is how it works. The USB system has three parts. The USB host is a controller that lives inside your computer and connects to a USB cable. The host communicates with the operating system by reporting events and other USR system information, which may or may not be passed on to the client software. 'Ihe second component of USB is the Interconnect. The interconnect deals with the connections between USB devices and the host. The Interconnect deals with bus topology, data f)ow and scheduling among other things. 1'he third part of the system are the USB devices themselves. These are things like a monitor or scanner — or any other peripheral device you might find today that operates through a serial or parallel port connection. However, USB is too slow to be used for very high-speed devices such as an external hard drive or digital video camera. USB is really a mini, serial, network for yourcomputerand its peripherals. Like a hub network,each data packet has a header which members of the USR system ignore if not addressed to them. USB is attractive because it

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'has similar length limitations — 4.5 rn {14.7S ft.) — to USB. Like USB, IEEE1%4 can also hot swap devices and, like both USB and SCSI, devices can be daisy-chained. For 1394, the maximum number of connected devices is 62. W here 1394 and USB are very diff' erent is d ata speed. USB has an upper limit o f 12Mb/sec., whereas IEEE 1394 currently supports 100-200 Mb/sec. and it looks like 400 Mb/sec. or moie will soon be possible. Why do we need IEEE 1394? Right now, you' ll find it implemented with digital video. Presently high-end digital video capture cards and digital video cameras support Firewire. However, supporters of the standard would like it used to connect everything from video cameras and TVs to DVD players, computers and even external hard drives. Some companies are even developing controllers that would allow Firewire to act as a peer-to-peer network. 3

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IEKE 1394 Once again the WinTel world has plucked a gem out of the hands of Apple. This time it is a high-speed, serial bus called IEEF. 1394. Some people call it Firewire, because that is what Apple cailed it when it came up with the idea. IEEE l394 is much like USB, in that, it uses copper wires in a six-wire configuration. It also carries power and data along the cable and it

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or mouse. The maxirnurn number of devices that be connected to one USB host (computer) is 127, Each segment of the USR cable may not be longer than S rn ()6.4 ft.). USB has been suffering from the chicken and egg syndrome: no-one will gel it without products to use; manufacturers won't make products if no-one Itas it. Finally, however, this is about to change. Almost everycomputer naade in the last year has built in USB support. The first trickle of USB products are out now, suchas monitors and sheet-fed scanners. With USR support embedded in Windows 98, this summer should see USB finally become the simple, easy and universal way to connect peripherals to your computer.

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is hot-swappable, daisy-chainable and cheap. It can even deal with time sensitive data, such as voice recording, at the same time as intermittent data, such as that from a graphics tablet or joystick. The system can run at up to 12 Mb/sec. USB devices may or may not be hubs, which means they can then support other USB devices. USB devices may be self powered, as in the case of a scanner, or draw their power (rom the USB port, as in the case of a I eyboard

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Palm's charm intact with third generation what to add or subtract in the product that was to follow the PalmPilot and the PalmPilot t's a hard act to foBow. The 3Com/US Professional. T he result i s s omething called t h e Robotics Palmpilot has enjoyed huge success in the personal digital assistant (PDA) PalmPilot III. It's an "evolved" version of the market and almost single-handedly (if you' ll existing Pilot design that provides a sleeker pardon the pun) created a market for pen- design, more memory, better connectivity and based, keyboardless, handheld computers. greater flexibility than before. The real quesOne testament to this success is that more tion is whether all these features will be than one million units have shipped so far enough to compete with the Microsoft-backed and a vast library of third-party add-ons and Palm PC announced inNovember and due to software is now available. So you can be sure start shipping by this summer. It puts the t hat th e h a rdware designers at P a l m Windows CE 2.0 operating system in someComputing had to think long and hard about thing the size of a PalmPilot that comes with color-display support, voice-recording capability, a cut4own Web browser and most of the Palm III kinds of applications that have proved popuFrom: 3ComCanadainc. lar in the Pilot. 1100 Burloak Or., 5th Fir., Buriington. ON, L7L 682 In addition to all the goodies that users http: //www.3com.corn have come to expect in a PalmPilot (notably Suggested retail price: $549 the "one-button" desktop data synchroniza-

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tion feature), the Palm III offers infrared (IR) beaming capabilities, increased memory, a new operating system (Palm OS 3.0) and a price of $549. One of these featuresinfrared support — is being i mplemented in a w a y that has been done by other handheld computer manufacturers for years. (I have yet to see it

implemented by anyone in a way that i s h u g ely effective.) 3Com boasts that with its IR capability,

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that you can u p load operating system changes into it without having to change physical memory chips or replace the memory card. The new design also adds some other network-based synchronization options including the ability to use the "HotSync" data function over either the Internet or a corporate intranet. Perhaps aware that its existing applications may look insufficient compared to the ones Microsoft has promised for the Palm PC-

Palm III-equipped friends and business colleaguescan share records and applications wirelessly by simply "beaming" information into one another's Palm III organizer "at the touch of a button." Sharp and Psion have variously promoted the same idea, including the idea of wirelessly transferring business cards, on different occasions with l i mited success. But maybe this time it will be different. 3Com has a much broader base of users in North America than either of the other two companies. So perhaps this huge, enthusiastic population of PalmPilot users will have enough power to make the dream of casual infrared point-to-point data transfer dream a reality. One new feature of the Palm III that is, without a doubt, a huge bonus is the 2 MB of RAM. Having this vast amount of memory meant I was able to easily move the 674 messages from the Outlook 97 Inbox on my desktop PC to the Palm III and still have quite enough memory left over to use the

bundling a "Bonus Pack" of applications f rom MacMillan D i gital P ublishing. I t includes a financial calculator, world clock, Web channel manager, drawing application, conduits to a number of desktop personal information managers (PIMs) including Symantec ACT! and Microsoft Outlook 97, and a bunch of games. For me, all of the above are fun and amusing "goodies," but the real power of the Palm III lies in its ability to handle email, address book and diary planning functions extremely

tions. Another useful feature of the design, although not one that you will likely use for a while, is the flash memory upgradability of the operating system, meaning

replies to email messages while travelling during the day — and then sending them by pressing the HotSync button on the Palm III cradle — is still a convenience that no other handheld can match. 9

based system, 3Com has taken the step of

address book and run all the other applica- well. Being able, for

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Wacom improves entry-level tablet the eraser function. Wacom's latest addition to its product raphics tablets are a good idea. As lineup is the PenPartner, which measures a someone who has been compulsively diminutive 18x18 cm (7x7 in.) — smaller than drawing and writing since childhood, I your average mousepad — and has an active believe this very strongly; anything that feels area of 11x13 cm (4x5 in.). Wacom considers more like a pen or pencil is a good thing. the PenPartner a consumer-level tablet, compared to its close relative, the professionallevel ArtPad II. While the PenPartner's packaging and included software (Corel Print and Photo House, 150 TrueType fonts, and thousands of included graphics) reflect this, almost everything about the PenPartner is superior to its older cousin. One noticeable d ifference: unlike t h e A r tPad I I , t h e PenPartner does not require an external power adapter, a fact my over-burdened power bar appreciates. Another improvement: users now have the option of connecting the PenPartner to a PenPartner serial port, bus port, or keyboard port. This is From: WacomTechnology Corporation wonderfully convenient for two reasons: first, 1311 SECardinal Crt., Vancouver, WA,98683 you can plug the Penl'artner into whichever TSI: 360-896-9833 port is best for you; second, it makes it easier http: //www.wacom.col to have a mouse connected at the same time For: Windows 95/NT as the graphics tablet. As with previous modEstimated street price: $140 els, the PenPartner can be used as a mouse substitute; unlike previous models, it can be connected at the same time as a mouse with I first realized this as a young adolescent, n o confl icts. w hen I unwrapped my new KoalaPad forthe T h e last two enhancements are minor: the Commodore 64. Although crude by today's PenPartner is thinner by a barely perceptible standards, it made me acutely aware that 2 . 5 mm , and has a thin plastic overlay that mice, trackballs, and joysticks are not the way does double duty by protecting the tablet surto go for computer artistry. (If you' re one of f ace wh ile holding any images for tracing. t he few who can draw well with a mouse, I Astonishingly enough, all of this comes at salute you. I don't have a reduced price: the the talent or patience.) P enPartner sells f o r Since then, we' ve about $50 less than the seen the advent of presArtPad II. sure-sensitive t ablets At this point, skepand cordless styluses, t ies m i gh t w o n d er OUt what the catch i sboth of w h ich c o nt ribute greatly t o a after all, there must be more natural feel when something wrong with using tablets. A prest he thing i f i t d o e s sure-sensitive t a b l et more and costs less. detects how hard the After searching high stylus is being pressed and Iow, I managed to jtS down, an d r e acts find two minor flaws. accordingly. This usualThe PenPartner's Ultral y m e an s m a k i ng Pen is a tiny bit fatter ••• drawn l ines t h icker than that of the ArtPad and/or darker as the II, and therefore less pressure increases. As the name implies, a c o m fortable for me, but that's a matter of cordless stylus feels more like a real pen or p e rsona I preference.' Also, the PenPartner pencil, since there's no cord trying to drag the has a resolution of 1,000 lines per inch (ipi), top of the stylus down. compared to the ArtPad's 2,540 Ipi — not Wacom's tablets have been my favorite t h a t I would have noticed if it hadn't been tablets to date, and they range in size from a w r i tten on the box. (Skeptics: These may compact Ilx13 cm (4x5 in.) drawing surface not be m ajor flaws, but they were the best I to a desk-gobbling 46x64 cm (18x25 in.). I' ve could d o.) always felt they were aesthetically an d Credit should be given where credit is ergonomically appealing, and a few years ago due: Wacorn has taken a great product and the company added a vital component to its m a de itbetter for 75 percent of the price. I s tyluses: a pressure-sensitive eraser. In this w o n d er w hat Wacom wil l d o f o r a n case, pressing down harder controls the e n c ore? 0

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degree of lightening parts of the image. This is doubly convenient since flipping the pen in some applications automatically switches to

Emru Townsend (smru@cam.org) is prSssure-sensitive but would prefer if you didn't use a stylus.

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SSTdeSIIViSe3DPCI2MMPEG SI659 Fri9m 3.2I4.$525AG $24 I29995$399 I Cueam 2.19.2GI4.395AG $20595$27$34 D iamond Mender 3DVooDoo 4M $19 9 hhaia2.93.$439AG $ 1%2 4 I2N459 Diamond Viper484MAGP $239I239 INTELPedim 200984K $124 Sea9de 1.7I4.3f6AG $1991259919ATI 3D Epessien 2MI PCZIV $7 $ 109 INTEL Pefhm 233hadx $134 SC$2219ZI4.35.49 Q 0$3I WSNINATI Beel Ray AGPIMISM $26 9935INIEL les Il4% — I re l INIEL hh' ll Sl — $1SS WD 32I4.35A5AG 79939f3%419All Bimlphy IhWBII SGRAM $2594 ATI lv TUNERA 8DEC CAPTURE $115 INIEL M' WIO — $1$N Pamnarie a F99su1A$1.2 QW4 ATI Ahh WanderPROedf4IAGP 599929 NIEL Isa Il45 — l 1le l Panasen'n LS.120120hB SappyldfBI $14I235 ATI A9 h WonderPRO Id AGP Q%415 32hNEOORAM SppmdSpeG20GBhWBd $270 MabmlNwium AGP 5 4NM $ 2 $$2N 4.3 GB HARDDRWE Spped 259 IOE idea Q99909 Mdrmhgenim II IMNM $25I289 ATI 3DEXPRESSION2M JAZ 1.0GSCSIesl $399 15'SIIGAMONITOR J AZ lameSa 2GBeimidfBI $4 951 0 Assr183IE.N ~ Gmen $2N 24X IDECDROM lamsSa 1.0GBSCWBi $399 Aeer54E I SCZS,NI,LR, PnP Q5 $ 275 SOUNDBlASTER64AWE lemaSa r5o MAXhrpeehe hded QTWZN Amr 76EITSIE 20DOhalNI,LR $4 5 5 29 SK VOICE FAXMODEM lomsSaBile 2GB8$ed $170939Oalhk 14'MonoVGA SN 104 KEY BOARD, TOWERCASE HP 5.0G hpe dimpled $5994 Oaftak 140.28GNU14N220G,NI,LR$21SI25 SesSde SGBSCSlapedrie inlled $51$8N Deyha15%1QIDAI15 $2N2799S ISA 1X1456ISspeedsaial QS ZIP PLUSSCSyedfpsrN Dayfak173UI72$VITN16 $4N53WQNS ISA 1X15550 Hispeedeedaleonbehr $25 Soofdmir PnfTSAITSS QTW Q055VLB BehanadAIDEHDIFO,2S,1P,1 Game $25 P enamPCI 512K EIDEhel IIOVX $1 0 5NEC1$'IA50$550$h500be1543%4%49510 N speed pmhr ard $5 PsnrimPCI 512K SIDEha VOTX $2 1 5 NEC17P750IE700847N $1 0 29INWN9 A SUS AS294UWSCSIDesuete $ 2 70 AssrP.SAPS T-lX $130 MAG D J530.29500T QN44 ASUSSC.20$SC475PCICenbahr SNIN Assr P.S24PSL $235MAGDJTNDX700TIDJ717 $7%759515 AdadmISA152$1512 $0$279 ASUS7XP4TX512K $155 Prhesha EO400IEO50IEOTO $2599%58S Adsplee520PCI KIT QN A SUS TKST-E512NIX 07-XE $1N 1 N SonyIF 100ES 549 Arh0dm NISSC8-2,54U SCSI $19SI50 ASUS P5PRO DualP65UPSPSD $ 5 89 Sanyir2NE$2NGSI2NPS STN91$1$9 Adsptee 204U9rnIMdd 3QODusleh $5$510 I ASUSP52 PSLSTIP2LST Dual QI$45 SanyaNP$300SFTI20SEZT $158$161$2059 ASUS PS2SCWJr2NTWP2LSTDodual $339559 OPSrpmd 555IV775A95 Ifr $ 3 4 5 9$1059 ~ 18Pn P QS O'Sabyh P4 lx Zflxa $1%1N VmmmhPSIWGTNITPS $10%1255S Samd9hd«ane04mhs9DIGdd $9$105IZIS G Dehyh 605SXPedisn ProATX $ 2 4 9Inaronh9773IPTTTIIPTTrrGTTTINNWI05I039 Seed Card 32BITPCI) Qs h8eesbr P.52NAGP $195 VideoCaphseCed 59 hhmehr P.S-lXIAlX $14$155 Deshbp Shape226W $4 CnmSm PCDVD ROM K0 $410 CSA Super P.5h842ATIP.599499SATX $2%59 hhdikla5aOeskhp,u89 amp99edspeahe $1N T oah9mOV DIDEmlemebmefeed QN SuperDUALP.52 9Q5 h06ionrr ybaystprehddShare220W Q955 NEC 0NIX CD CHANGER IDE 61oa Tym Pefhm1571 $170 Fr84ane 0hhe250WCSA 5N NEC CD.ROM 6XSCWISXEXT $ 2%2N Tym Pan5rm 15QD $279 ATXniNenm7bay $05 Aar248NXIDECihROM $%135 TyanPafim 9 81S2S $269 BdemalCaseforCD.ROM,SCSI HD,Tape $110 Panaaeie 24KI32NOEISCSICO-ROM5%11$185 5 $1 1 9 ~0 adm y,0LEO,doe,2hn,300W $199 l rhmaeZIK92XIDECD-ROM Intel INOX4.106OO ISVI 5S CSA $%4$05 Rede12XSCSICD-ROM $139 bael penSr mZK333IK35$KIN NNI05IIIIS CPUhnfgs9beehsfAhnn $1090I25 ToeMm 12W3 2XSCSI CDJIOM $14$169 baal PmSen 2JI30WKZNK25 $699t44959 Toehha 24X92XIDECD.ROM $ 1 N 119 88rBKNhQKZNCph2N $10$1S BreSm7$kh 6004H3$h600 dpi $55WITS hSeed5$0R IOECDlhNarudso9eee 6IS feel Pafasn13$166 $12$145Caen BJ2%4%4200SE $ 1 0$26$235 Panmam2aWS RSCSICO989e udsslhme N4 Intel Phpre1%2N 256k 53$4% Epeon Shhre400INWSN $20 99%44 SONY028E2NSRIDE CDNNer udSdL $409 idol P-10$2%2Qha N $15 $ 1N259 EpsonWy h Phah $519 Rhab CD-Ree9eSCSI5$2EWRe9oh $490 AMDKN6P20$P25 $15$2N HP Desh iet 87$6%72$50ed 02593WIISQ9 Amr CD-Renrher IOEBNI286R udSa9 NN HP Lasepd GISPINP 600DPI $555%125 HP CD-RenrheIDE26$255R mfSah $009 158$4 Slhyd Spin SSI20 Lesnek 2MNQNWNISN $249I2N3%19S Yamahs 42Ni SCSICDRswe6abhahNR95$64 44898159QZIQM72pn $1$2$%79209 Leanark 72N720N $4554 Yenaha ALTECLANSINGspeakes SC5L EDO 485810M92M 72ph $1$59$N Parhy 48I9818MMlfQM $%455I9$24 BTODammdhee $1894I24 USR 33. 0PCMCIA FAXMODEM $129 SDRAMI ~ I2$6 1Nph $4ITVI55915 Keyheddpoem Q793 GVC33.850KFAK840DEM 6%129 30 p'nlo 72ph Conmde $15 Wh 104h9eroaa Need $5 ACER33.6f$0Kit cab arhm SN1N Vdeo RAM 1MrSWade(2pea50Ku10) $15 hhNnaia propamKeyhaed (NEW) $4 USR 150NISDNModsm fd. %5 Molauh S9K mbehyml $14910 Irad PmSmn 10698Ndssdhmhhabosnl $255 Assr Sem31$610F $1%2N Jmlan33.8seimid. $75 IdelPes8um260haN+efianusiimard 505 Le09aehpaSe ProlSeanman Q3$1N IMseeam 56KOSIAkG aaimhl. $14 ldal Penhsn 25 hadx~imMshhwd $355 HP SeanJel 5100CI61NCColo r Q % 099 BupreQ.WNKid eShumm 55f14 AMD$452&pefhsnMmdhoed512K $305 hherehk FhSed eehr ESIES $21 $419USR33N0Spehle feanedsmidml $13$1N Cph 6XSS 984923&penSeaMdreoed $2S huudfLNReehfrouehpad Mouse $1$5IS USR56.8Spender idled $16$235 ldd Pefim 8- 266+p5 8 ihmhoard N35 98erese9J manoSaddfPSSIBm $35 USR56.6a2Ceeier V.Eus658$ SE QN345 .

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MA Y 1998THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION

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CeBIT breaks attendance record Continued fro/I/ page 78

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Saskatoon'9 Develcon promotes new image and products Develcon Electronics Ltd. o f Saskatoon unveiled three new network access products and a redesigned corporate identity at CeBIT. The new products included: Athena Access, a multimedia branch-office access device for local-area network, legacy, and voice traffic; Orbitor 5000, the latest in Develcon's line of Orbitor routers; and Orbitor 500 FRAD, a Frame Relay access device. Contact: Develcon, http: //www.develcon.corn Unwired Planet unveils ROlcrobrowser Unwired Planet showed off, for the first time, a prototype of its microbrowser technology, overlaying the wireless application protocol (WAP) system that is being developed by the company, in close conjunction with most of the industry's major cellular phone companies. Microbrowser has parallels with Java technology, since the programming code is claimed to be versatile enough to be ported between several GSM (global system for mobile communications) handset m i croprocessor environments, ranging from proprietary, through to RISC chips. Moreover, since WAP is itself an open standard, this means any GSM handset vendor worth its salt will move heaven and earth t o e n sure t ha t i t s h a r divare is Microbrowser and WAP compliant — if it doesn' t, it will be a bit like producing a PDA (personal digital assistant) without a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) card slot. The company claims several mobile phone makers and others in the wireless industry are working towards a j oint standard with which it will soon be possible to directly access the Internet via a GSM handset with a slightly larger than average screen. Contact: Unwired Planet, http: //www.uplanet.corn

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is fully Zip drive compatible and will allow users to easily and quickly increase their storage capacity for transferring or accessing files. The MicroZIP drive does not need external power, since it draws its juice from the PCMCIA card bus. Sources say the drive will sell for between US$200 and US$300 retail. Contact: MicroTech, http: //www.microtech-pc.corn .

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Single-click digital picture transfer

software demonstrated Pixology unveiled a Windows 95 application that can move a picture from a digital camera to a document with one click of a mouse. Known as Piccolo, the software enables users to view, move, print and share digital pictures whatever the format, according to its developer. (Pixology is the new trading name for NBA Quality Systems.) Piccolo solves the problem of dealing with the way different digital cameras store pictures on PCMCIA (personal computer memory card international) cards, say company officials. This flexibility is an evolution from Pixology's knowledge and experience of more than 70 different makes of digital camera and how each stores pictures on various PCMCIA cards. The company claims that any new card formats can and will be incorporated into the software and be available as plug-ins from its Web site. 0

THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION

www.tcp.ca MAY 1998 ] 07

NEWS

Intel's Grove taps successor S Y PATRICK M C K E N N A SANTA CLAIM, Calif. (NB) — Tittlemagazine's 1997 Man of the Year, Holocaust survivor and cancer fighter Andy Grove, says he will continue working full-time at Intel on broad strategic industry issues, but has handed his chief executive officer (CFO) title to Craig Barrett. On May 20, Intel's board will elect Barrett, currently president and chief operating officer, to lead Intel as the company's CEO. The announcement comes one year after another Intel executive shuffle, For many years, Intel, unlike most corporations, conducted executive matters through a triumvirate of Grove, 61, Barrett, 58, and Intel cofounder Gordon Moore, 69. Last year, Moore became chairmanemeritusand has since been less involved with day-to-day operations. In the May, 1997, shuffle, Intel also named Barrett president, and named then-President and CEO Grove as chairman of the board. After the May 20 this year, Barrett will step into the strongest, single leadership role at Intel, a major change for the world's largest chipmaker. Computer industry analyst, Tim Bajarin, says, "I'heannouncement...comes as no surprise. They jlntelj have been hinting to analysts for a couple of years that they were grooming Barrett for this role." Bajarin also said he does not expect to see Intel hire a new chief operating officer. "They may bring in

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people to support Barrett, but I do not expect to see a new executive at this time," added Bajarin. Concerning Grove, Bajarin said, "Grove will still be a very important part of the visionary role at Intel. If anyone can keep the paranoid theme going, it is Grove." Grove was a co-founder of Intel in 1968. He was named president 1979, and in 1987 he became chief executive officer. In various interviews over the years, he admitted he was not in favor of Intel's decision to fabricate microprocessors many years ago when the company's revenues came from memory chip fabrication. He became a computer industry leader and visionary as Intel shifted operations from memory to microprocessor fabrication. "Barrett is a very intelligent and bright guy," says Michael Murphy, computer industry analyst and publisher of the Ca!/for/tin Teclntoloify Stock Letter."He is totally plugged into the company and we have expected this announcement for some time. Craig has conducted most of Intel's communication to the financial community and he is very respected." Barrett, a native of San Francisco, attended Stanford University from 1957 to 1964 where he received bachelor and masters degrees in science, and a doctorate in materials science. He then joined Stanford's materials science and engineering faculty. In 1974, joined Intel and was named a vice-president

HP 7200i Int. IDE/7200eExt Parallel-New- $559/659 Plextor PlexWriter4Write/12Read SCSI $689 Soxy 92 6S SCSI 392SE IDE 2xWESx a 5399I 6 5 5 Yamnha 4001CDRW IDE 2RW/4W/6RBure Int$639 Yamaha4260CDRW SCSI Internal. Bare/Kit $639/889 Yumaha4260 CDRWSCSI External Bare/Kit $725/1009 Ricoh MP6201S joe@'rirable 2xW/6xR Bare/Kit$639/739 TDK or Mitsui / BASF CDR Media $2.29/1.89

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in 1984, chief operating officer in 1993, and president in 1997. Along with executive changes, Intel also announced plans to halt construction of a US$1,3-billion chip plant near Forth Worth, Tex. The project, which is already under con-

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f you have a new inkjet printer, you proba- Photo, which sells for about $540. This printbly bought it because it can output beauti- er is made for printing photoguality images. ful images as well as plain text. I remember The Stylus Photo is a sixxolor model and

the first time I saw photographic-quality prints at a resolution of 720x720. The includimages from an inkjet — wow! I wanted one. ed software is excellent. An DeskJet 722C arrived from HewlettYou may have also noticed that the documenPackard Canada. This unit is a great little tation for your printer tells you to use the home inkjet that is selling for $430 or so. It is printer manufacturer's "special" paper for best results. What's the real story on this? In the fast and has great paper handling abilities and never ending effort to get the information comes with a good collection of software. Like the Lexmark below, you must buy a bi-directhat The Computer Paperreaders want to know, we now try to answer the question "Can I use tional printer cable gEEK-1284). The 7200 printer from Lexmark Canada any paper in my inkjet printer?" prints at up to 1,200 dots per inch (dpi) and uses six colors. It costs about $550 and is a Supply and supply A quick tour of an office supply or computer very fast, high-resolution machine. The

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take an image, set it up the way you want it,

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you will likely encounter a few additional steps before you hit the print command. For example, printing to a 4x6 in. or 8x10 in.

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range from a few pennies to more than a dollar per sheet! I visited several national office

supply and computer retail chains and a number of smaller computer outlets. Generally, the prices between stores did not vary much, while the prices between products varied widely.

that makes it possible to print directly to the

printer from any video source. The good bad and ugly of bundledsoftware The first thing you will notice is that every

I was able to find inkjet paper products one of these printers comes with software to and print. This may or may not be helpful, included paper, film, transparencies, iron-ons, depending on how much experience you banners and even cloth. gn this review, we do have with graphics and layout programs. When you use a typical graphics program, not include inexpensive photocopy or laser The printers Four manufacturers each loaned me one of their inkjet printer models, along with between three and seven types of inkjet paper.

sheet of specially coated paper from your

existing program will include re-sizing the image to fit. You will also likely have to do Paper samples were also provided by Polaroid, some manipulating to get the picture cenKodak and Xerox, who market papers that are tered. This may not be a problem if you have some graphics experience, but if you just want advertised to work on all printers. Some of the companies sent inkjets that to make some nice pictures of the weekend specia!ize in printing photographic images, family gathering, this will slow your "instant" while others sent their general-purpose print- gratification. These and other pesky details are mostly er. The printers ranged in price from $279 to $550. These two factors make a direct com- dispensed with when you use one of the proparison between the printers unfair, and I'd grams that comes with the printer. That is like to clarify that this is not an inkjet printer because they are written precisely to do what you want to do, with a printer whose exact review, but a paper review. Canon sent over its BJC-4300 printer — a capabilities are known. These programs even know what paper you are expected to use. four-color model that currently sells for around $279. It comes with color cartridges This means a much better experience. The second thing you wil l n o t ice is but you need the optional photo cartridges to that each program lists the paper options get photographic-quality output. The printer can evenbecome a low-end scanner ifyou (of the same brand as the printer) that are

'I 09

THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca MAY 1998

', HARDWARE

recommended for that printer. Thus, if you buy an Epson printer you will see paper options such as: Plain I'aper, Epson Photo Paper, Epson Photo Quality Paper, Epson Photo Quality Glossy I'aper, Epson Glossy Film, and other somewhat cryptic names. The fact that you have so much choice is good. The problem is, if you buy Epson Photo Quality Paper and you are trying to print to your Hewlett-Packard printer, you will have to figure out for yourself whether the Epson paper is closest to Hl' Premium Inkjet, HP Deluxe Photo Paper, HP Premium Photo Paper or one of the many others. The only way you are going to find out if Deluxe is of higher quality than Premium (it'5 not) is by trying both and evaluating the results. With a 20sheet package of this paper selling for around $20, you don't want to waste too many sheets on this kind of experimentation. One constant area of difficulty is establishing proper border margins for a print. Because inkjets can only print so close to the margins of a piece of paper, it is sometime a problem getting a nice even margin. On 4x6 in. stock, it is especially difficult to print out an image that is centered with a thin, even margin. Even getting the picture close to the right size for a g i ve n p aper t akes practice. Obviously, printing a test page is essential. Surprisingly some of the included software returns to the Plain Paper default of after each image is printed. If you don't remember to reset the printer to higher-quality paper, you can quickly waste a lot of expensive paper. An innovative and useful product is the Epson 4x6 in. I'hoto Paper with removable edges. You simply print to the paper as usual, then fold and remove the perforated marginvoila you have a 4x6 in. with no margins just like the ones from the photofinisher. On 8.5xl1 in. stock, achieving a nice margin is much easier for all the printers, but few people are likely to want all their pictures blown up to such a large size, especially when the paper is so dear.

The papers Basically, plain paper is not white enough, nor smooth enough, for printing high-resolution images. Inkjet printers throw little drops of ink onto the page. Now that inkjet printer-manufacturers have found ways to make very small and very precise dots with three, four or even six different colors, they need two things from the paper itself. They need the paper to be white, because inkjets are additive (they add colors on top of the base white). For a bright image the

Get a

Saris jie customersPom around the world/

Relay Mail through each printer. My main test image was a color photograph, but I also tried printing a few black and white photos as well. My first overall observation — you get what you pay for. Contrary to some advertisements, none of these printers show their best on

plain paper. Fven if you are printing plain, black, text, premium inkjet paper will produce much better results. My secondoverall observation is that the photographic-quality inkjet papers are very light-sensitive. They come in sealed plastic and should be kept that way. This, combined with the nature of the inks used in these printers, means the image does not have a long life compared to a photographic print. (So/ne printer and paper /Nakers have told ns the i/nage lifeof /i/kj et prints is /neasnred in /no//ths, ctnnparedthe decadesthatcan beexpected ofphot//traphi c prints.— Eil.) Another weakness of the paper products is that they often become too wet and wrinkle ever so slightly, especially if the ink coverage is high. As well, there is great variation in both brightness and color.

Photo paper results When using what the companies generally refer to as photo paper, the overall quality of

images improves quickly, but the differences in the resulting image remains wide. It was here that I discovered the most interesting relationships between papers and printers. The Epson Stylus printer consistently produced better results with Epson Photo Paper than with anything else. The best all round papers were the Kodak Papers and the Epson Quality Glossy. In general the film-style photo paper is most similar to a regular photographic print. Very good output here also came from Polaroid's Inkjet Photo Paper. Overall, the sharpest images were produced by the thin, synthetic products like Epson Glossy Film and the Lexmark sample I received. These pictures don't feel like regularly processed photographs — they are too light and slippery. But the image is very, very good. Epson Glossy Film also produced the best result on all the printers — once you figure out which type of paper to tell the software to use.

In conclusion The inkjet papers, as opposed to the heavier photographic paper-style products, are great for text and color but not photographic quality images, In this case you really can use anybody's paper. Results will vary and you get what you pay for but there is no white must be as bright as possible. Secondly, need to use the products that your printer they need a smooth surface that does not absorb manual recommend. On the other hand, if you are trying to get too much ink. Too much absorption causes the separate dots to bleed into each other, as well as the absolute best photographic image from using up the ink rather quickly. your inkjet you will have more success if you There are three ways printer papers are do use the products made for your printer. manufactured to achieve these goals (we' ll As for the brands in general, Xerox makes use the term paper here for convenience, good general use inkjet printer products. although many of these are plastic or com- Kodak makes very good high-end inkjet posites of several materials). One way is to printer products. This is a good bet if you are coat one side of the paper with a solution going to stray from printer manufacturer's comprised partly of clay. Another is to make paper. Canon and Hewlett-Packard make the "paper" out of synthetic material, so that good print products that work well with it resembles a piece of thin, slippery plastic. their own printers. Epson printers will work Lastly, the output product can be made out of with other paper but not as well as with their a resin-coated stock that is much like regular own. This may be due to the different techphotographic paper but without the photo- nology that they use to put the ink on the sensitive chemical layer. page. With so many other inkjet printers and papers on the market, you will need to The test results experiment to see which paper or film goes I ran two or three different types of paper best with yours. Cl

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Notes ' Paper type: "Photo" style refers to a weight and finish similar to the prints you get back from a photofinisher. *'Output Results: these are subjective ratings of the imageoutput on the various paper sampbs, from 1 (poor) to 5 (excegent) Boxed numbers indicate ratings for paper and printer from the samemanufacturer

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M A Y 1998 THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATER TORONTO EDITION

www.tcp.ca

', HARDWARE

AirLink big screen computing

',mdisefc %' ggtlsl

A give and take experience I

B Y EMRU T O W N S E N D

ike many other writers who work at home, I' ve divided the house into two distinct areas: a) the office, where the computer resides, and b) everywhere else. Theoretically, all activity in the house should be broken down into two categories: a) work, which takes place in the office, and b) everything else, which takes place everywhere else. This theory would work well if it weren't for two problems: sometimes I'd rather compute from the'comfort of the sofa.

PC/TV Alrllnk From: A(Tech 47971 Fremont Blvd., Fremont, CA94536 Tel: 510-226-9246 http: //www.aitech.corn Estimated street price: $550

The simple (but expensive) solution would be to buy a laptop. AITech, however, would rather I saved a little money and bought its

PC/TV AirLink instead, which lets me use my computer from anywhere in the house. Here's how it works: the AirLink hardware includes a radio transmitter and receiver, an and the reduced screen size (to keep infrared receiver, and a wireless keyboard with from losing some of the image in the a built-in joystick mouse. The radio transmit- TV'soverscanned area,Ihad to setthe ter is plugged into the sound card and VGA vertical resolution to 440 lines — more card. The infrared receiver is connected to the on that later), there wasn't much keyboard and serial ports, and is, in turn, room left for viewing the site. Then there were the problems with plugged into the transmitter. The radio receiver is connected to any TV within 90 m (300 the nature of interlaced NTSC, North America' s ft.) or 30 m (100 ft.) if walls are in the way. television standard. First, even a 640x440 TV After installing the driver and setting the image is nowhere near as sharp as a basic screen resolution to 640x480, the computer's 640x480 VGA screen, so more extended surfing audio and video are beamed to the TV, and would have required us to increase the font size, costing us more screen real estate. Second, the everything is ready to go. After installing the hardware, Vicky (my image is interlaced, which results in a jittering fiancee) and I decided to see if computing is effect along the edges of high<ontrast areasmore fun in the living room. The answer is an sites with black text on a white background, for example. Being a longtime Amiga user, Pm used unequivocal maybe. After getting comfortable on the couch, we to interlace jitter; Vicky, like most people, found fired up Netscape for a little casual surfing-and it uncomfortable to watch after a few minutes. we were immediately reminded of why I usually have my desktop monitor set to a resolu- Text challenged,graphk$ rich tion of 800x600. Between Netscape's toolbars This was a problem common to every appli-

AtyhaComyatepSystems

cation that relied on text, which calls into question AITech's claims that the AirLink is ideal for such things as "Ivlom and Dad [reviewingj their budget from the comfort of the couch," or "parents [helping] with homework without crowding the children." The office may not be as comfortable as the living room„but it's preferable to having your eyes feel like they' re being assaulted. Graphics are a completely different story. We tested the AirLink with D reamWorks Interactive's The Neverhood and Berkeley Softworks' You Don't Know Jack, displayed some high-resolution scans along with some low-resolution digital camera snapshots, and played at

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THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp,ca

MAY 1998

] ]Q

', HARDWARE least a dozen QuickT)me movies. In a) I cases, the images were clear and looked just as good as on a computer monitor — sometimes better. Better than a monitor? It seems implausible, but there are several good reasons for this. While NTSC is lousy for sharply defined, high-contrast colors, it's fine for continuoustone images. In fact, some images that would be noticeably pixellized on a c o mputer screen come out looking smoother on a television. One reason is the NTSC signal, which causes adjacent pixels and lines to blur together — sort of like built-in anti-aliasing. The larger screen and the distance (people usually sit around 1,8 m — or 6 ft.— away from a television, compared to .6 m — or 2 ft.away from a monitor) also help considerably. A)Tech seems to have figured this out already; the "family f r iendly" software included with the Airl.ink stresses large, clear gra phic visuals. Where the AirLink excelled was in playing games. Playing a quirky game like The Neverhood is far more entertaining in the living room, and a television's sound quality is just fine. Even better was You Don't Know jack, which is designed to be a party game. The idea of a party game being played in an office or computer room always seemed odd to me; the PC/TV is much more sensible. it's hard to decide if the AirLink is useful or not; every positive point seems matched by a negative one. For instance, the AirLink setup is designed to let you use the computer directly or from the television without having to rewire anything. However, the keyboard is similar to that of a laptop, in that the layout is rearranged to fit a smaller space. While I'm willing to sacrifice some usability for the con-

venience of working in the living room, I'd rather use my regular keyboard in the office. The same app)ies to the built-in mouse. It' s easy to disconnect the PC/TV and plug in my regular mouse and keyboard, but why should I have to fiddle around the back of my computer on a regular basis'! Similarly, the VGA pass-through allows me to use either the telers monitor. vision o r the com p u ter

Unfortunately, the pass-through causes the monitor's image to be intolerably fuzzy. Most aggravating is the TV's screen cutoff. Unlike a computer monitor, television overscans — that is, the image spills past the visible edges of the screen. People who produce material for TV know to work within the "safe area" in the middle of the screen, but computer programmers don' t. A)Tech includes a utility that cuts the vertical resolution to 440 lines, but this isn't perfect; some programs (such as You Don't Know Jack) don't work at the reduced screen size, Fven if they do, there's still the horizontal overseen problem. The AirLink does have a bonus feature: the transmitter can accept any composite input for broadcast. This means it can be used to transmit images from video cameras, other televisions, or VCRs. While I have no doubt that some will f'ind this beneficial, the inability to control the input device dampens my enthusiasm. In all, the AirLink is not a bad device, and I suspect some people will find it entertaining and maybe even useful. But it's definitely not for everyone. il

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tem market growth to $10.4 billion in sales commerce market must "localize" their prod-'<this year and $17.2 billion in five years. ucts and Web sites to meet the market wher-„v The new r eport, entitled Ln ngun/te ev er it may be. Trunslntiun: World Market overview Ctirrcvrt In ter n et language translation engines areH' Devefi/pmeIIts a/Id Co/npetitive Assessment, becoming more common and available for

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OYSTERBAY, N.Y. (N)3)—Internet-based lan- momentum and active e-commerce sites try-'c guage translation software and machine to accommodate multiple language groups. translation engines are a booming market,:r An AM source said the Mprovinc)a) out-::: says a report from AII)ed Business Intelligence kek Mlong adopted by the U.S.Mis no longer;.',-"

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Accelerator theory he short answer to the question posed in the title of this article, is a qualified yes, browser accelerators work. I can' t guarantee that an accelerator will allow you to blaze along on the Internet; however, even a change from the pace of a snail to that of a tortoise is welcome. Your gain in surfing speed will depend on the speed of your CPU and modem, the amount of RAM and hard drive space you have available for caching, and your browsing habits. One of the biggest complaints about the Internet is the time it takes to download Web pages. Browser accelerators are software utilities designed not to cure, but to ease that problem by speeding things up for most people, most of the time. These useful utilities haven't been around that long, so they are called by various terms: Web, Net, Internet, or browser accelerators. The latter term is catching on, so that's what I' ll call them. It all started about two years ago. Some

bright person realized that while surfing on the Internet, the modem isn't used most of the time. This is because after downloading a page, one usually pauses to check the content of that page. The time the modem is idle is greater than the time it is used. So, why not put the modem's idle time to good use? Thus, the idea of a browser accelerator was born. What the first accelerator did, and most of them continue to do, was to download the links on the page during the time the page was being read by the Web surfer. The idea was to anticipate where the surfer wanted to visit next. Therefore, after the surfer clicked on a link, the page would immediately appear. The down-

loading of pages before viewing is referred to as pre-fetching, pre-loading, or looking-ahead. As you can see, the degree of speed you gain depends on whether you linger on a page long enough for the accelerator to pre-fetch page links. It also depends on your surfing habits. If you abruptly move from Web site to Web site with no regard to links, you won' t notice any speed gain. So far, it sounds good, doesn't it? Well, it is, for us, the users. But for Internet service providers (ISPs), it's another matter. Just imagine if everyone started using accelerators. By eliminating m odem i d l e t i m e , s ervice providers would become many times busier

than they now are. Potentially, it could cause real headaches. In fact, in the early days, some ISPs refused to allow accelerators to access their servers. However, software developers have been working with service providers to remedy the problem, not by eliminating it, but by at least reducing it. An interesting problem for Web site owners will be how to give an accurate estimate of how

many peoplesee theirads.W hy? Becausemany of the pages that are pre-fetched are never viewed. That is, your accelerator may have downloaded 10 links, but you may actually visit only one or two. Furthermore, an accelerator may download thesame page each time a banner ad changes,

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• SOFTWARE thereby producing a false number of page hits. To complicate it even further, one of the accelerators — WebEarly — will even pre-fetch pages without the ads, if you wish. The benefits to us as surfers, can become a problem for Web site owners. Computer novices may be unaware of the importance of emptying their browser cache from time to time. And if they use an accelerator, they may have two caches! Over time, they can develop large caches without realizing why their hard disk space is dwindling. Now that we have a little background information, we' re ready to take a look at the available accelerators. Tests of these products w ere conducted on a c o mputer with a Pentium 166 MHz processor with 64 MB of RAM. Finally, I need to say something about p rices. A l t hough S u r f Ex p ress a n d NetAccelerator should be readily available, most of the accelerators have to be ordered over the Internet and paid for in U.S. dollars. To be consistent, I have indicated all prices in U.S. dollars. If the product is available in Canada, the general rule is the U.S. suggested retail price is the same as the Canadian actual retail price. For example, the U.S. suggested retail price of NetAccelerator is $29.95, the same price that it generally sells for in Canada.

PeakJet v1.56 From: PeakSoit Corporation 100-3614 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA,98225 Tel: 888-377-7325 or 360-752-1100 http: //www.peak,corn/ Platform: Intel-based PCor 100percent compatible OS: Windows 95/NT (Macversion is in the works) Min. browser required: Netscape 2.0, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 Min. requirements: 486 CPU, 16 MBRAM, 14 MBhard disk space Price: US$29.95 Pros: Fast, inexpensive, free trial version available Con: May crash if used with WebTurbo or certain other utilities

settings of your browser. If you experience a crash while the accelerator is operating, you may have to manually reset your browser's proxy settings before you can access the Internet without the accelerator. It may be as simple as going to your browser's ORTIONs menu, selecting coNNEcrioN and disabling the AccEss THE INTERNETUslNG A Noxv sERvER.

Despite experiencing some crashes with PeakJet, we had no problems logging on to the Internet without its use. Apparently, PeakJet has somehow solved the problem of proxy settings. For extra safety, Peakjet is not incorporated into the browser, but sits on the desktop. You start up PeakJet and it in turn starts up your browser acting as its proxy server. When your Internet session is over, you close down Peakjet first. It then closes your browser, This is the program that started all the fuss releasing it from PeakJet's control. You are about browser accelerators. It was so aggres- now free to restart your browser and surf the sive in downloading all links related to a page Net without the use of PeakJet if you choose. Frankly, I was impressed by the perforthat modems were running continuously, which lead it being banned by some ISPs. mance and reliability of Peakjet and would PeakJet has added many improvements to recommend it. It allows you to adjust the reduce the ire of ISPs. Now, instead of indis- memory and disk cache size. I tried using criminately downloading every link it can Peakjet with WebTurbo (reviewed later), hopfind, it tempers its aggression by trying to ing to sizzle across the Web. Unfortunately, learn the habits of the user and thus pre-fetch the speed was too much to handle and after only those links most likely to be called. about 10 minutes of use, my system crashed. I Most accelerators act as proxy servers. That can't say the combination of WebTurbo and is, your browser sends its request to the accel- PeakJet will crash every system„so you may erator instead of directly to the Internet. If the want to give it a try. I had no problem using requested page is already in the accelerator's WebTurbo with the other accelerators, which cache, it is instantly opened, If not, the accel- were not as fast as PeakJet. erator retrieves it from the Web and adds it to S ince PeakJet does not c o m e w i t h its cache for future use. Because accelerators metasearching capability, what do you do if act as a proxy, they have to change the proxy you want to do metasearches? Simple. Make

PPe-leIChillI aeCeleratO PS Peak Jet NetAccelerator

Speed Surfer NetSonlc Java BOOSTER

http: //www.dogpile.corn your browser's home page and you will always be ready to search with more than a dozen search engines at once!

NetAccelerator From: IMSI 1895 Francisco Blvd. E., SanRafael, CA, 94901-5506 Tel: 800-833-8082, 415-257-3000

http: //www.!ms!soft.corn Platform: Intel-based PC or 100 percent compatible OS: Windows 95 Min. browser required: NetscapeNavigator 3.0, Internet Explorer 3.0 Min. requirements: BMBof RAM, 2MBof hard drive space Price: US$29.95 (standard), US$49.95 (deluxe) Pros: Inexpensive, offers AOLsupport, extremely safe to use, free trial version available. Comeswith metasearch and other Internet utilities Cons: Slow with no options for adjustments

NetAccelerator is sold i n t w o e d i tions: Standard and Deluxe. The difference lies in the bonus Internet utilities that accompany e ach version. Both include a ut ility f o r metasearching. The marketing departments of the various accelerator publishers like to attach a number to the gain in speed you will experience when using their product. The numbers vary wildly, from a modest 2x to an apparently red-hot 36x increase. My advice is to ignore the numbers since each company has their own way of testing. NetAccelerator has a conservative design, not packed with features, but safe to use; no worry about crashes here. However, despite

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M A Y 1998 THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATER TORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca

• SOFTWARE IMSI's claim of an 11-fold increase in speed with this product, 1 found it to be the slowest of those tested. Unlike most of the other prefetching accelerators, it has no options for adjustments. You must use its default settings. A OL su b scribers can upgr a d e NetAccelerator to be compatible. For information on this upgrade, check out this Web site:

Pentium 166 MHz processor. Your computer has a classy look and performs like a well-develmay be faster or slower, so when I say an accel- oped program, not like a beta version. 'I'he only thing 1 find quirky about its erator is "slow" or "fast," modify my comments to make them more meaningful to behavior is there is no way to turn it off. you.) NetSonic loads automatically with Windows, Speed Surfer uses "smart agent" technolo- its icon appearing in the tray of the Taskbar. gy to study your browsing habits and better After right-clicking on the icon and selecting predict where you are likely to go next. The CLose NetSonic disappears from view. But if you longer you use it, the better it knows you. So, start surfing again, lo and behold, it's back over time, you should experience a slight again. Even removing it from the StartUp menu increase in performance. You can adjust the and rebooting doesn't get rid of it. Like a disk and memory cache size as well as the stealthy ninja, it appears out of nowhere whennumber of look-aheads (pre-fetches) it will do. ever you start surfing! However, it's installation and removal is almost instantaneous, so it's not a serious problem, if a problem at all. Besides NetSonic v. Beta 754.1 the icon in the Taskbar tray, it loads an attracFrom: Web 3000 tive window that offers tips and tells you what 0-230 7525 166th Ave. NE,Redmond. WA,98052 NetSonic is doing. The window can be reduced Tel: 425-836-3000 in size, repositioned, or hidden from view. http: //www.web3000.corn You also have the choice of adjusting some Platform: Intel-based PC or100 percent compatible of the settings. The cache size can be set to OS: Windows 95/NT 4.0 small (10 MB), large (30 MB), or a custom size. Min. browser required: NetscapeNavigator 3.0, AOL You can also tell NetSonic to pre-fetch all links 3.0, CompuServe 3.02, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 on a page or just the links that you visit. Min. requirements: 8 MB of RAM(16 MB recommendFinally, you can choose between maximum ed), 486, 2.4 MB of hard drive space, direct or dial-up and standard acceleration. In maximum accelInternet access eration, it refreshes its cache (checks for Price: Free (Beta version) changes) less often than in standard acceleraPros: It's free (beta version), offers options for adjust- tion. 1 find NetSonic's speed gain to be modment, and supports AOL 3.0 and CompuServe 3.02 erate; that is, between fast and slow. Cons: Can't turn it off

http: //www.imsisoft.corn/netaccelerator/na aol.html. Speed Surfer v.3.2 From: Kiss Software Corp. 4000-5000 Birch St., W. Tower, Newport Beach, CA 92660 Tel: 888-454-7726 or 714-979-KISS http: //www.kissco.corn Platform: Intel-based PC or 100 percent compatible OS: Windows 3.1/Windows 95 Min. browser required: Netscape Navigator 2.0, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 Min. requirements: 8 MB of RAM, 5 MBhard disk space,486 CPU (Pentium 100 MHz recommended),a direct Internet connection (SLIP/PPP) Price: US$29.95 (or download for US$19.95) Pro: Supports Windows 3.1, free trial version available Although Windows 95 users can't understand why, most PC owners are still working with Windows 3.1. It must be frustrating for such users to read about the latest software in The Coorpnter Paperon ly to realize they can't use it. Well, now they need look no further, for Speed Surfer supports Windows 3.1. Although Speed Surfer is slow in pre-fetching pages, once they are loaded, one click on a link and you are instantly there, so it has its uses. (Also, as a reminder, 1'm working with a

NetSonic is the newest accelerator on the market. ln fact, it is so new it is only available in a beta version. But the good news is, it's free. This won't continue indefinitely, so you might want to download it while you have the chance. It

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Java BOOSTER From: Innovative Software GmbH Kaiserstrasse 65, 60329 Frankfurt/Main, Germany Tel: +49-69-236929 Fax: +49-69-236930 http: //www.isg.de Platform: Intel-based PC or100 percent compatible OS: Windows 95/NT 3.51 or higher Min. browser required: NetscapeNavigator 2.0, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 Min. requirements: 4 MB of RAM, 5 MB hard drive space, a PPPconnection to the Internet Price: US$29 Pros: Can run in online and off-line modes, free trial version available Cons: Need to manually set proxy settings

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Unlike the accelerators discussed so far, Java BOOSTER offers an online and off-line mode. ln other words, you can view all the pages in its cache while offline. What's more, if you forgot the exact URL of the page you wish to view, you can use Java BOOSTER's search tool to quickly find whatever part of the name you remember. Also, when pre-fetching, Java BOOSTFR will add complete Java applets to its cache, whether compressed or not, so you can view everything off-line. When surfing, it doesn't pre-fetch all the links, just the links of pages you have visited. This is the only program of those tested that doesn't change your browser's proxy setting automatically. You' ll have to do it manually. Once this is done, you won't be able to access the Web without using Java BOOSTER, unless you change the proxy setting again. Not very convenient, and for novices, perhaps a little scary,

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WebEarly v1.8 From: GOTOSoftware Chateau de la Bonnerie, 111 rue deCroix, 59510 Hem, France Tel: +33-3-20-66-55-00 http: //www.webearly.corn Platform: Intel-based PC or 100 percent compatible OS: Windows 95/NT 4.0 Min. browser required: NetscapeNavigator 2.0, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0, also works also with Mosaic 3.0, and Opera 3.0 Min. requirements: 486, 4 MBRAM, 3 MBhard drive

space Price: US$24.95 Pros: Supports Opera 3.0 and Mosaic 3.0 browsers, captures URLsand email address, can pre-fetch pages without the ads, has a complete range of user settings available, and a free trial version is available Con:Uses moreW indows system resources than other accelerators

The Opera browser is growing in popularity because of the small amount of resources it requires and its speed. Opera 3.0 users will want to note that WebEarly supports their browser of choice. Ditto for Mosaic 3.0 users. As you surf with WebEarly, it automatically captures the URLs and email addresses of every site you visit. Do you want to visit a site you' ve been to before, but you can't remember the full address? Just type any part of the address you recall into your browser, and WebEarly will load the page from its cache for you. lf more than one URL shares the same text you typed in your browser, WebEarly will take you to its database and let you choose the correct page. Click on any address in its email database and your email program is immediately launched. WebEarly offers several options. Of course, you don't have to set anything since it has default settings, but you may want to personalize it to your taste, or experiment with the sittings to see what works best for you. Settings include four push buttons to control look-ahead (pre-fetch) limits and separate toggle switches for automatic email and URL capture. You can also enable or disable pre-fetching of 11 file types, such as GIF, Jl'EG, ZIP, AV1 an MOY. If the choice isn't broad enough, you can even add your own selections, You can also elect to have ads appear or not and turn on or off prefetching of advertised links. WebEarly's speed is moderate.

Blaze Web Performance Pack 1.5.2 From: Ascent Solutions Inc. (ASi) 9009 Springboro Pike, Miamisburg, OH, 45342 Tel: 937-847-2374 http: //www.xspeed.corn/ Platform: Intel-based PC or 100 percent compatible OS:Windows 95/NT 4.0 Min, browser required: NetscapeNavigator 3.0, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 M in. requirements:66 MH z486 CPU, BMB RAM, 6.5

MB harddisk space

Web Early

Price: US$34.95 Pros: HasURLorganizer with metasearching, can update metasearchengines, and afree trial version is available

Blaze Web Performance Pack Surf Express Got It!

This high performance package is designed to

The next four accelerators reviewed offer a lot

help solve three problems facing Internet surfers:

THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca

MAY 1998 117

• SOFTWARE 1. How to travel faster on the Net? 2. How to find the information we' re looking for? 3. How to organize and store the data we' ve retrieved?

to the latest version, 1.1,1, by downloading the upgrade at the Connectix Web site. Rather than the indiscriminate pre-fetching of endless links associated with a Web page, Surf Express pre-loads, compresses, and stores in its cache only those sites that you actually visit. Blaze WPP achievesspeed by pre-fetching As you browse the Net, Surf Express works plus. The "plus" is compression and encapsula- in the background, checking to see if your tion. If a page is composed of 65 objects, instead favorite pages have changed. When it detects of connecting 65 times to pre-fetch a page, changes, it refreshes the cache. Sites that you Blaze encapsulates all, or most, of the objects frequently visit load instantly, but new sites into a single file, which it then compresses. This load at the normal rate. All the data in the method places less of a load on ISPs by reducing cache is indexed for instant recall. For the number of connections Blaze makes. instance, if you visited an interesting site Finding information is simplified by Blaze's dealing with pizza, want to return to it, but metasearching powers. It simultaneously search- haven't the foggiest idea of the name of the es the Web with the major search engines. You site, just open Surf Express' FindCache. After

can search by key word or phases. To narrow doing so, type in "pizza," and every page in your search, you can include AND, OR, NOT, and parenthetical groupings. As new search engines appear, or as changes occur to present search engines, updated interface scripts will be available for downloading from Blaze's Web site. The program's Organizer module stores all of your data. When opened, a narrow window on the left displays all of your folders in the manner that you are accustomed to seeing in Internet Explorer. You can name and rename folders and create subdirectories. When a folder is open, its contents appear in a large scrolling window in the upper right corner. The contents are the URLs found by a search. Clicking on a URL displays details about the page in a large scrolling window in the lower right. Double clicking on a URL launches the browser and opens that page. Over time you may develop an extensive database and forget which folder contains the URL you wish to visit. No problem. Just enter a key word and Blaze's powerful search tool will quickly find it for you. Possible adjustments include the amount and type of pre-fetching (read-aheads) and memory and disk cache size. You can improve the performance of Blaze further by using it with WebTurbo. I found Blaze's speed to be moderate, but its powerful features pull it ahead of others in its speed class. Moreover, when version 2.0 is released in August, its speed should rival or surpass the fastest competitor.

the cache that contains that word will appear in a list. Double-click on a URL to open it. Other than Java BOOSTER, this is the only accelerator that doesn't automatically restore the browsers proxy settings when closed. Therefore, you won't be able to access the Internet unless you start Surf Express before the browser opens. Or unless you manually change the proxy settings of the opened browser. Surf Express can be fast for pages you often visit, but slow for first-time sites, so it averages out to a moderate speed increase.

Cot Itl v. 3.0.1 From: Go AheadSoftware, Inc. 8652 154th Ave. NE,Redmond, WA,98052 Tel: 425-882-1900 http://www.goahead.corn/gotit/ Platform: Intel-based PCor 100percent compatible OS: Windows 95/NT Min. browser required; NetscapeNavigator 2.0, Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 Min. requirements: 486 with 8 MBRAM, 10 MBdisk space for caching, and extra 2 MBRAM,and 2 MB disk space is neededfor Got It!'s intelligent agent Price: US$29.95, US$19.95 for downloadedversion Pros: Speedand low price

Express, check the version number. Version 1.0 has some bugs. You can upgrade your product

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All I have tosayabout Got It! is "Get it!" Ifyou want to zip along the info highway, there' s probably no better way to travel. It may not have all the bells and whistles of some of the competition, but it focuses its attention where Surf Express v. 1.1.1. it matters. Ease of use and speed. True, it doesFrom: Connectix Corporation n't have its own metasearch utility, but you 2955Campus Or.,San Mateo,CA,94403 don't need one if you have WebTurbo. Tel: 800-950-5880 Fax: 650-571-0850 Don't be misled by its low price, Got It! is http: //www.connectix.corn packed with high technology. It reviews the Platform: intel-based PC or 100 percent compatible, or sites you visit, monitors the frequency of the PowerM acintosh visits, and checks when they were last OS: Windows 95/NT4.0, or Mac OS7.5 or higher refreshed. Armed with this data, it calculates (includes Mac OS8.0) the relative importance of each site. When Min. browser required: NetscapeNavigator 3.0, the cache grows too large, the least important Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 data is deleted. When surfing, it pre-fetches Min, Windows requirements: 486, BMB RAM(16 recpage links and refreshes the cache in the backommended), TCP/IP-based Internet connection, 12 MB ground. Thecache contains a catalogue of hard drive space pages, enabling you to browse off-line. Min. Mac requirements: 16 MBRAM, TCP/IP-based Got It! is safe to use as it automatically Internet connection, 12MBavailable hard drive space. resets the browser's proxy settings on closing. Retail price: US$49.99 Even in the event of a crash, Got It! will Pros: Mac version available, and cache indexed for restore the settings after rebooting. Totally searching and instant retrieval automated, it is easy to use yet offers ample Cons: Trial version unavailable, and doesn't restore adjustments and customization for those who proxy settings when closed want to maintain control.

If you plan to buy or have already bought Surf

adds to your browser and it i mmediately WebTurbo v.2.02 opens the WebTurbo window on the left side From: NetMetrics Corporation of the browser. The window can be adjusted 101 California St., 5th Floor, SanFrancisco, CA, 94111 and saved. In the window, a command line Tel: 415-248-2333 Fax: 41 5-263-4020 awaits your input. Type in a URL, hit Enter http: //www.webturbo.corn twice, and WebTurbo performs its magic. Platform: Intel-based PCor100 percent compatible Instead of pre-fetching pages, it displays OS: Windows 95/NT 4.0 (Mac PowerPC version to be an outline of the page including contents and available soon) links. Clicking on a link displays its contents Min. browser required: NetscapeNavigator 3.0, in outline form as well. The beauty of this is Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 that it is much faster to create outlines than it Min. requirements:BMBof RAM,800x600 screen resolution is to download pages. Use the outline to find Price: Free exactly where you wish to go, double click Pros: Metasearching, free (supported by advertising), and the page loads without the need to load can be used with other accelerators, and saves search- all the intermediary pages. es and URLoutlines. The most exciting aspect of WebTurbo is that it can be used in combination with a pre-fetching accelerator for maximum speed and conveWebTurbo takes a different approach. It does- nience. Much care has been devoted to developn't pre-fetch pages at all, but uses its own ing WebTurbo, making it extraordinarily useful. "hypersketch" outline technology. Once Instead of entering a URL in the command installed, WebTurbo becomes an integral part line, you can enter a term for metasearching. of your browser. Click on the button that it

St(lee Ip(IPO IChee WebTurbo Web OverDrltre

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• Ijjltiiijmil lia' fjjj t)I Iar<ii

118 MAY 1998 THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www tcp.ca

• SOFTWARE http: //www.lnterex.corn/

By that I mean, it will search the Web with

up to seven (your choice) of the top search OS: Windows 95 engines simultaneously. You can even refine Min. browserrequired: Internet Explorer 2.0,Netscape your search by entering multiple terms. For

example, I typed in MOVIES, pressed Enter;

Navigator 2.0 Min. requirements: Pentium 75 MHz,16MBRAM, two modems (14.4 Kbps or faster), two telephone lines, a standard ISP connection Price: US$49.95 Pro: Can be combined with browser accelerators Con: No support for AOLand CompuServeyei

typed in BOGART, pressed Tab (to indicate it is to refine the search of MOVIES), pressed Enter; typed in 1944, pressed Tab, pressed Enter twice and it searched the Web. One of the pages in the results it brought back was about the movie To Have and Have Not, which was made i n 1 9 44, and starred Web Overdrive offers another software soluHumphrey Bogart. WebTurbo can keep the t ion. It a l l ows you t o w o r k w i t h t w o results of up to ten searches or URL outlines modems simultaneously. The software

open at the same time, and they can also be needs no special hardwareor support from saved for later use. How does the program an ISP. It is compatible with existing equipsound so far? Just in case there are any ment and service providers. However, a few doubts in y our m i nd, le t m e b e c lear: providers, such as AOL and CompuServe WebTurbo is a must-have! need scripting that is not yet supported. Web Overdrive can use about 94 percent of t he combined raw b a ndwidth o f t h e

Web OverDrlve

modems, nearly doubling the speed of access to the Internet. Also, Web Overdrive

From: Intefex, Inc. 8447 E. 35th St. N., Wichita, KS 67226-1344 Tel: 800-513-9744

is compatible with browser accelerators,

which will further improve access speed.

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Tweakyour system

Conclusions

In an attempt to make this discussion on accelerators as thorough as possible, I am including a brief list of utilities that will allow

1. Trial versions of most of the software

some readers to speed up Internet access by tweaking their system. Tweaking further improves the performance of browser accelerators. But the utilities need a certain degree of

knowledge for use. To avoid creating problems, novices should not tinker with these programs. Because this information is not helpful to everyone, I am listing, without comment, the software, its cost, and location.

C om p l e t e

We all have different browsing habits and preferences. Therefore, try before

you buy! 2. If you are a Windows 3.1 user, Speed

Surfer is the program for you. 3. If you are an AOL 3.0 subscriber, choose NetAccelerator or NetSonic. I recommend

NetSonic — besides, it's free. 4. If you are a CompuServe 3.02 subscriber, use NetSonic.

MTU-Speed Pro 4.0S Price: US$10.00 http: //www.mls.u-net.corn/

5. If you are a Mosaic 3.0 user, try WebEarly.

Netscape Accelerator32-bit 4.0 Trial version

6. Opera 3.0 users can use WebEarly.

Price: (US$49.95) http: //www.accelerationsw.corn

7. PowerMacintosh users can

u s e Surf

Express.

Netllghtenlng Price: Free httpi/members.xoom.corn/mknight/

8. Netscape Navigator 2.0 users can choose from Java BOOSTER, Speed Surfer, WebEarly, and Got It! I recom-

NetSpeeder 3,0.8 Price: Free

mend Got It!

hitp y/www. geocit!es.corn/Su!conVaueyNiste/6377/net- 9. For all users of Windows 95, Internet speeder.html

Explorer 3.0, and Netscape Navigator 3.0

TweakDUN 2.00.110 Shareware

and higher I recommend Got It! 10.Before following my recommendations,

Price: US$15

http: //www.softseek.corn/Internet/Diaungand Connec tion Tools/Review 13424 index.html

carefully re-read rule «I, that is, try before you buy. 0

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THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca MAY 1998

119

K I DS

Design cool clothes for Barbie and friends B Y JEAN A L L E N - I K E SO N

g,a

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oung girls who sigh over Barbie will

want to rush to their computers to

try out Barbie Cool Looks Fashion

Designer, the latest Barbie CD-ROM from

AyloHD BIG HG I

Mattel. Mattel is a savvy toy designer and that savvy doesn't change when it switches to multimedia format.

Not only can girls play at being fash-

playground, or the mall. The young user first chooses a clothing type, such as paja-

rating supplies such as fabric paint, sequins, ribbons, and shoes, Sewing and buttons are avoided, which makes the assembly easier for children as young as six or seven. Mattel has added one more perk, When a flashing sun appears on screen, it means that there is a My Size accessory (i.e., one that the

mas or a pants suit, then decides on a

style, picks a fabric pattern, and custom colors it for each piece of clothing. Be*le Cool Looks Fashion Designer From: Mattel Tel: 888-633-4211 hitpU/www.mettelmedia.corn Plaffornz Windows 95 (Pentium recommended) Price: 659.95

•

To sorrr cons

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configuration and it was s-I-o-w. The setup for the fashion walk took around four minutes to set up and screen changes moved in slow

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This program includes more than 80 different fabric patterns and 35 colors, as well selections of custom-colored purses, hats, and shoes. It doesn't take someone with a math degree to realize that there is a wealth of pos-

IBII 6x86 200M2 i ntel P200MMX LEASE TO OWN $39lmnth

in the last year. Many incorporate creativity and activities that take place away from the

This type of software communicates that computers are design tools that relate to the real world. And most importantly, they' re seam stickers, hook and loop sets and deco- fun.

five settings, including the beach, a sports

$59.95. Girls can print out their designs on an inkjet or laser printer using the special paper-

p rintable fabric (a small package of it i s included with the software). Once printed, the creations can be completed with adhesive

being modeled in a 3D sequence in one of

•

child can wear) that can be custom-designed, printed and assembled to match the chosen Barbie accessories. For example, a backpack for Barbie includes the pattern for a coin purse that can be customized to match Barbie's bag. These features are some of the reasons why software for girls has been so successful

computer, so the program becomes more backed (the paper is removed after printing) than just moving a cursor around the screen.

ion designers for Barbie and three of her friends, but they can watch their designs

sible combinations that can be "designed" with this software. So when the program asks you to wait nearly a minute (with a Pentiumbased PC) while it puts together Barbie's fashion walk in which she models the design in a 3D environment, you can forgive the delay. This is an impressive product for a list price of

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120

www.tcp.ca

M A Y 1998 THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATER TORONTO EOITION

g MAC ARENA

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emember Jason from the movieFriday

the 13tif? The character, for those who don't remember, had an annoying habit of repeatedly resurrecting himself from the dead. Apple and Jason seem to have a lot in common. Recent events seem to indicate Apple is, once again, poised to defy the pundits' predictions of its demise.

PoweatVtacisutosh K;3 From; Apple Computer Inc. http://www.apple.corn Prices: $3,495 (266 MHzminitower), $2,895 (266 MHz desktop), $2,395 (233 MHzdesktop), (prices include Mac OS6.1) 63/266 specifications 266 MHz PowerPC750 G3 processor with integrated floating-point unit, and 64KBLevel-1 on-chip cache 512KBLevel-2 backside cache on processormodule with 133 MHz dedicated 64-bit bus 66MHzsystembus,4 MB of ROM,32 MB of RAM(3 DIMM slots support up to 192 MB or 384 MBRAM) 6 GB EIDEhard disk drive. 24x ATAPI CD-ROMdrive, high-capacity floppy drive, 100 MBZip drive, Expansion 5.25-inch SCSI bay Interfaces 3 12-inch PCI expansion slots, 2 high-speed DMAserial (RS-232/RS-422) ports, built-in 108ase-T ethernet connector, internal SCSI bus (up to 5MB/sec.), external SCSI bus (up to 5MB/sec.), Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) expansion port, communications slot for modem card, mini jacks for 16-bit stereo audio I/O, up to 44.1 KHzsampling rate, digital audio/input (DAV) connector Video capabiliMes Composite and S-video connectors for video I/O Supportfor NTSC, PAL,and SECAM Up to 320x240-pixel capture at 30 fps 640x480 pixel maximum capture size Graphics support 2 MB of SGRAMvideo memory (supports up to 6 MB) ATI 3D RAGEII+ 64-bit graphics and multimedia accelerator chip

One of the major reasons for Apple's dramatic turnaround was the November 1997 introduction of t h e G 3 series of Power Macintosh computers. The review unit I received was a G3/266 minitower, which was

THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca MAY 1998

1 21

g MAC ARENA the top-of-the-line G3 when it was introduced last fall. (Note: On March 17, 1998 Apple introduced 300 MHz G3s). The G3 line is supplemented by two desktop models running at 266 MHz and 233 MHz, and the 250 MHz Power Book 63. These are third-generation systems from Apple that bring with them innovations in microprocessor design and system architecture. These new machines offer more than twice the performance of second-generation PowerMacs using 250 MHz PowerVC 604e processors. How is this possible given that the new CPU runs at about the same clock speed as the 604e'?

these latches, grab a convenient handle, and lift to rotate the hinged assembly 90 degrees, Inside and easily accessible is the logic board with wires and ribbon cables tucked neatly out of the way. The drive bays are simply accessed by

for take-off when they' re turned on. In addition to the industry-standard expansion slots for PCI cards and SDRAM, Apple has also designed a new slot designated for what is called a Personality Card. The minitower popping the front bezel plates on the internal comes equipped with an AV Personality Card drives. Interestingly, the CPU and backside cache that comes vdth standard S-video and composrequire a heat sink with no fan because of their ite video connectors, as well as an audio port. unusually low heat dissipation. Consequently, It is capable of capturing at playing back video the G3 models don't sound like a 747 readying at 30 fps (frames per second) in a 320x240-

pixel window. The card allows you to hook up your VCR/videocam, and is suitable for hobbyists who want to familiarize themselves with digital video editing. Professionals would be better served by higher end PCI card solutions, such as the miroMotion DC30 Plus or the I ruevision Targa 2000 RTX. One of the ways Apple has been able to radically trim costs was to greatly simplify its designs,

Pl'C HO rocket Part of the answer is the utilization of a new, state-of-the-art microprocessor from IBM and Motorola called the PowerVC 750. Recently, Microprocessor Report —a respected industry publication — named the VPC 750 microprocessor of the year because of its outstanding performance, very small die size, low price, and miserly power consumption. To further enhance performance, IBM and Motorola engineers worked in concert with Apple to implement hardware features designed for optimal execution of the Mac OS. But the reason for the dramatic leap in performance goes beyond the new PPC 750 CPU alone. High performance in the G3 line also has a lot to do with how well other parts of the system supply instructions to the microprocessor. It doesn't do any good to have a fast CPU if it spends most of its time waiting for data. A solution to this problem was the implementation of a backside cache —512KB of high-speed RAM with its own dedicated bus to the PVC 750. Simply put, a cache stores recently used instructions that the CPU can no longer hold on its 64KB on-board Level-1 cache. When the time comes to reuse specific instructions (if they are still present in the cache) they are retrieved at a blistering 133 MHz instead of the usual 66 MHz from system RAM. Various benchmarks highlight the outstanding performance capabilities of t he Power Macintosh 63/266. To date, the G3s have achieved the highest BYTEMark integer scores ever recorded —over twice as high as the Pentium ll. (BYTEMark is the cross-platform standardBYTEmagazine uses to measure CPU performance) At the Seybold New York Conference in March, Appie demonstrated the speed advantage of the G3 by pitting several models (including a 400 MHz copper-based G3 prototype) against a 333 MHz Pentium II-based Compaq

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cross-platform versions of Photoshop and Director scripts that execute a series of commonly used operations in a production setting. In these tests, the Vower Macintosh 63/266 outperformed the Compaq by at least a factor of 1.4. Interestingly, the G3 retails for less than half the price of the Compaq Workstation,

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Cool ftanctlonal looks The unique and superb industrial design of the minitower case makes expansion of the G3/266 a pleasure for the end user. To access the inside, you simply turn the case on its side and push a green button to pop off the side cover. Immediately visible and accessible are the 240-watt power supply with the variablespeed fan used to cool it, and the drive bays. Off to the side are two green latches that lock

the hinged power supply and drive bays into place. To access the logic board you pop up

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g MAC ARENA performer for mainstream users, graphics professionals will prefer the Ultra Wide SCSI drives that require a PCI card for higher throughput. performance and aggressive pricing make these When the whole package is taken together, machines a compelling choice in the mid-range however, the Power Macintosh G3 series offers and high-end markets, The G3 models obliter- tremendous value. 0 ate the myth that Macs are not pricexompetitive. The only disappointment is that Apple Peter Miiburn is a consultant with Elite Systems decided to use the lower cost EIDE hard drive as Support located in Calgary, Alta. He can bereached on standard equipment. Although it is an adequate the Internet at elite.systemsoshaw.wave.ca

Bottom line

and therefore its product offerings. With the exception of its notebook line, Apple has unified its circuit board design to span the entire range of its desktop models. Additionally, the versatility of the PowerPC 750 allows it to span Apple's entire range of offerings — from notebooks to high-end desktops. The benefits are obvious: consumers have easier purchase choices and Apple is better able to control manufacturing and inventory.

It's easy to see why the G3s are some of Apple's most successfulproducts ever. Leading-edge

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Nokia unveils

teeny GSM phone, improvements to Communicator HANOVER, Germany (NB)I Nokia took the wraps off two ,' new phones at the recent I CeBIT computer and technoio' gy show, the 8810 teeny phone I and a rev i t alized 9000 I Communicatot The8810ha a ' distinctive metallic coating and weighs just 98 g — probably the smallest phone in the world. The bad news is that users will have to wait until the third quarter of 1998 to buy a unit, according to officials. According to Frank Nuovo, Nokia's chief designer, the company wanted create a phone that was advanced, and beautiful. "Even more importantly, we wanted to design a phone that would make people instinctively reach out and say, 'I like this,' a design that would communicate style

and enduring quality," he gushed. The 8810 is a fully featured mobile phone with a user interface with call profiles and caller grouping functions, Nokia says. Although small in size and weight, the 8810 still comes with a large display and comfortable keypad. The phone really starts to look interesting, when you look beyond the external view — for the tiny size, the phone offers real world standby times of 133 hours and 170-minute talk times. As if all this wasn't enough, the handset supports three codec standards: half rate, full rate and enhanced full rate. Like certain earlier Nokia GSM handsets, the 8810 is IRDA (Infra Red Data Association) compatible, and has a plethora of features, including support for 32 languages, 35 ringing tones, calculator, calendar, and three games:Snake, Logic„and Memory. Comm unicator getsfacellft The Communicator 9000 GSM clamshell, meanwhile, gets its second major facelift that sees the weight fall to 249 g, and users get their most asked-for request — a backlit screen. According to Nokia, Web browsing on the unit has been enhanced to support graphics, and there is also an optional multimedia card for extra data storage. Nokia also claims that the new 9000 has several new features, including a multiview calendar, contacts database and text file viewer that are all Windows 95 compatible.

The new Communicator,which ships

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worldwide in most GSM versions, during the third quarter of 1998, also supports digital imaging. Through an application called Digital Camera Connectivity, Nokia claims that the user can receive pictures via infrared frorh digital cameras which support the lr-

IRCLBBE BBIIRII NOUS 18N ENTCL8PHRhN $48NUN

TranP protocol. This means, Nokia claims,

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that photos can be sent over the air for further processing. Pictures can even be attached to email or fax sending, the company says.

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The Communicator's performance has also been improved to give 200 hours on standby or six hours talk time.—Sylvia Derrrris Contact: Nokia, http: //www,nokia.corn

]23

THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca MAY '1998

• TUCOWS SHAREWARE

PDAcentral home for handheld apps Revision date: April 28, 1997 Filename: TGtelnet.zip Byte size: 11,211 Home page: http: //www.isaac.cs.berkeley.edu/pilot/ Licence type: Freeware Since TopGun Telnet connects to a remote computer using a VT100 environment, it allows full telnet capabilities such as email, editing files and more. It gives you full access to remote computers that support Tel net.

BY SCOTT S W E D O RSKI

Com has announced its iatest upgrade to the PalmPilot/IBM WorkPad electronic organizer, the Palm III. This new personal digital assistant (PDA) offers infrared sharing, increased memory (now 2 MB), built-in email compatibility with Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Outlook 9 7 , L o t u s c c :mail, Microsoft Outlook Express and Qualcomm's Eudora Pro, as well as an optimized user inter- I I I face. The. Palm 111 organizer runs on Palm OS I I • I ' I II I I 3.0, the latest upgrade of Palm Computing's ' I operating system. The Palm lll is expected to I I I I I I I I have a suggested retail price of $549. At TUCOWS, we thought the Palm III EnRoaate I I I release was timely, as we' ve set up a new sister I site dedicated to software for PDAs, which ' I I' I 4 I' I' I 'I we' ve dubbed PDAcentral. In addition to MIf jW I I I I , PilotZone, w e ha v e a d d e d s e c tions I I 11 j l I Newtonville (for Newton users) and CE Version: 1.43b1 Monster (for Windows CE users), and a Psion Revision date: Mar. 12, 1998 section is under development. So no matter Filename: enroute.zip what your handheld computer, you' ll be able Byte size: 267,324 to keep connected with the best new software. Also Available Inhqxformat: enroute.hqx (364,738 bytes) Thereisalso sad news. Asyou may already Hand Web Home page: http: //www.netstrat.corn know, Apple has decided to stop producing the Licence type: Commercial Newton (also called MessagePad). We' re still j ~i l f j~ i l f ~talf j~al Cost: Free with newer Newton models planning to support third-party applications Full email features and the new Multi-POP for the Newton, as developers continue to creplug-in make EnRoute the almost ideal email Version: 1.1 ate applications. client for your Newton. Revision date: Feb. 2, 1998 Filename: handwebd.zip Byte size: 159,662 Newt's Cape Home page: http: //www.smartcodesoft.corn/ Licence type: Limited shareware Pocket Internet Explorer Cost: $59.95 HandWeb is a powerful text-based Web browser designed exclusively for PalmPilot Pro. It Version: 1.5 allows you to browse your favorite Internet Revision date: Jan. 21, 1998 sites just as you would from your home com- Filename: newtscpe.zip or newtscpe.hqx Version: 1.1 puter. With HandWeb you can store Web Byte size: 453,933 or 612,290 Revision date: Jan. 12, 1998 pages on your PalmPilot for quick reference Home page: http: //members.benatlantic.net/-sweyer/ Filename: MSPIE11E.EXE and off-line reading. It also lets you save and newton/newtscape.htm Byte size: 1,135,912 organize bookmarks (URLs) in customizable Licence type: Shareware Home page: http: //www.microsoft.corn folders and download PalmPilot program files Cost: $35 Download now: SH3 & MIPScompatible (.PRC and .PDB) from the Internet. This is a great alternative to the browser that 0/S compatibility: CE 1.0 only comes with the newer Newtons. Newt's Cape Licence type: Freeware Hand Stamp Pro Demo creates Newton books with text, graphics, Microsoft Pocket Internet Explorer is a Web hypertext links, tables and embedded forms browser similar to Internet Explorer 4.0. This verfrom HTML. kg j~j1 fj~ Jl fjj~lI sion allows you to take advantage of cookie and security technology. You will be able to browse the Web and make secure online purchases right Paperboy Version: 1.0 through your Windows CE organizer. Revision date: July 30, 1997

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Version: 1.0 Revision date: Jan. 12, 1998 Filename:TelnetCE-SH3.exe Byte size: 23,040 Home page: http://www.ruksun.corn/ Download now: SH3, MIPS 0/S compatibility: CE 1.0and higher Licence type: Commercial demo Cost: $34.95 Telnet Force allows you to connect to a remote server'and carry out various tasks or run applica-

Filename: hsprod.zip Byte size: 215,202 Home page: http: //www.smartcddesoft.corn Licence type: Limited shareware Cost: $59.95 A very well rounded email client for the PalmPilot Professional only. It allows you to access your address book to retrieve email addresses and lets you send or receive your email right from the drop down menu. The options also allow easy, straight-forward modem, pop3, and ppp setup. You can also configure up to five mairlboxes.

Top@un Telnet

Wylitf-y 'iF'.y"Wytlt'

Version: 1.5 Revision date: Jan. 15, 1998 Filename: paperboy.zip or paperboy.hqx Byte size: 108,680 or 142,638 Home page: http: //www.standalone.corn/ Licence type: Commercial demo Cost: $29.95 Paperboy isa threaded offl ine newsreader that lets you easily read and track USENET news. Just set your preferences and pick your newsgroups. Then you can retrieve your

unread news (or tell Paperboy to retrieve it at a certain time every day, so new news will already be downloaded for you when you

tions on the remotesystem. Many online services

wake up), then disconnect your Newton and

offer telnet-based resources, including email, file transfers, text-based chat forums and gaming sites. Version: 1.0

read your news wherever you take your Newton. 0

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M A Y 1998 THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATER TORONTO EDITION

Canadian sky simulator wins award rw • o • a w» o ar

B Y PETER M I L B U R N

ow you can also "boldly go where no man has gone before" — from the comfort of your own computer chair.

Starry Night Deluxe 2.0 by Sienna Software is a marvelous, photorealistic sky simulator that allows you to position yourself anywhere in the solar system within a 14,700-year time period, then view those events with extraordi-

nary accuracy. With a few well-placed points and clicks you can watch Phobos set from Mars, fly through the Cassini division in Saturn's rings or take a joy ride on Comet

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Starry Night Deluxe 2.0 From: Sienoa Software Tel: 1 800 252 541 7 http: //www.sienoasoft.corn For: Mac OS,Windows 95/NT Retail price: $118 (special pricing for resellers, educa-

tors, andusergroups) Pros: elegant user. interface, blazirig fast performance on PowerMac, breathtaking photoreaiism, accurate simulations, catalogue of 19 million celestial objects, plug-in architecture for newly discovered objects, LiveSky Internet interface, Quicktime movie recording and playback of events Cons: None

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Starry Night Deluxe is a Canadian success story, In 1997, it was awarded the prestigious HIDE (Human Interface Design Excellence) Award by Apple Computer. The award celebrates excellence in programming and only four companies worldwide are chosen for this prize each year. It took first place in the Most Elegant category and was first runner-up in the Most Innovative and Best Overall Design competitions. The program is the brainchild of astrophysicist Tom Anderson, programmer Ted Leckie,

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Hanson showed the others an astronomy program called Voyager. The trio felt etrongly that they could make a program that was better. The project almost stalled several times, but their

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comet tail grow or shrink as it approaches or recedes from the sun. The program CD-ROM

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contains more than 19 million celestial objects, including the complete Hubble Guide Star Catalogue. In addition to this, you can access the wealth of celestial information (including the Digitized Sky Survey) on the Web via the program's LiveSky interface. A sophisticated Hands-on Orbit Editor allows you to add newly discovered comets, asteroids and other orbiting objects. For those of you who have motor-driven telescopes, Starry Night has its own con-

troller plug-in support. An LX-200 telescope «8% . aaa

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controller comes bundled for free. Starry Night comes with many other features too numerous to be described in this article. If you have more than a casual interest in

astronomy, you will find the program to be one of the most engaging, entertaining diversions you' re likely to find anywhere. If you are an

educator, amateur/professional astronomer, or have a casual interest in the night sky then

Starry Night Deluxe is a must buy. 0 Peter Milburn is a consultant with Elite Systems Support located in Calgary, Alta. He can bereached on

THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca MAY 1998

=~~ CD REVIEWS

Play's the thing:

go yo

An accessible guide to Macbeth B Y ROSS M A C D O N A L D

oot mon! Between the golf history CDROM I recently reviewed and this look at Shakespeare's venerable "Scottish play," my surname has suddenly become quite reievant to recent proceedings.

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Thelmbnall Theatre INacbeth From: i Hoifman+ Associates Inc. 34 Ross St,. Toronto, ON, M5T1Z9 Tel: 416-977-6732 http: //www.h-plus-a.corn Estimated street price.' $44.95 In this case, we have a brilliant distillation of Macbethtold in a nine-minute animation

So how's traffic flowing on the Natl NB — This site is similar to several other

Internet performance Indicles but quite

aimed at teens (12 to 17 year olds according the box), but presented in a manner witty enough tobe thoroughly enjoyed by even the most literate adult. Years ago I bought a rather esoteric book called Hoyv to iteonue Ridiculously Well-Rend iu One Evening, in which dozens of standard literary works were waggishly enucleated in a few well written paragraphs or, even better, fewer stanzas of doggerel. Applying a similar sensibility here has resulted in an excellent disc that offers the nine-minute "cartoon" of Macbeth, and lots of alternate departments that elucidate the play and its historic context. The life of William Shakespeare, the origins of Scottish clans, the real lives of some of the characters portrayed in Macbethand all manner of other sprattle, are presented in more than 30 amusing vignettes. These can be approached from different angles determined by whether you want to see the whole "play," be guided through it, or look at individual aspects and topics at random. To keep things simple the main choices are appropriately called Self Guide, Watch Me and Guide Me. The only departure from the overall excellence of this disc is the unnecessary inclusion of the complete text of Macbet/Ipropersomething most people likely still have on their bookshelf as an unpleasant remnant of high school English class. But, if you' ve already shed all your old high school texts, or a re considering m o unting y o u r o w n Shakespearean festival, you have the option of printing the entire play. But be prepared with ample paper and ink because the end product will be about 80 pages long. Of course, even a presentation as delight-

ful as this one is no subsfjtute for those other delights found in Shakespeare's admixture of

psychology, moo d

•

Acses wielens reach NB — Acses is a shopping comparison service for books, It has just added data for its 25th online bookstore. Among the-

selection, you can compare prices from '

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Visitors using Acses simply select k book / ""and: the Inteinet .software robot - tberi,". "- automaticaIIy srtsits all 25 online bookr'-'4 ;; shops simultaneously to retrieve the cuir „"" : -: rent prices;for 'this book froin eachstoic'<";" ;" Avaitnbility,-.shipping costs and sh'qypIng,"fl ;-.,'-times: : are takett ittto account as weil,;-.;,,';;.„-:,;:.$. :: http,'//www.ecses;60rir

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Corps of Engineers cannot explain how the massive cut stones at Baalbek were removed from a quarry and mounted 7 m."' (23 ft.) above the ground on existing foundations. Each of the three. cut stones on the Temple of Jupiter weigh more than ' '1,0OO tons each and the one remaining in the quarry three quarters of a mile away, weighs much more. The full story from the Bible Mysteries site.

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Notwithstanding, there's nothing untoward in stripping out those aspects for the purpose of plot exposition when it's done intelligently and respectfully and purely as an adjunct to the play in question. And all three of those elements are here. When I f irst encountered Thumbnail Theatre's Macbeth I prayed it was from a complete works of Shakespeare series, which, in my opinion, would make for an excellent library of itself. Alas and alack, however, the only other comparable production offered by i Hoffman + Associates is a similar treatment of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, which I haven't yet had the pleasure of seeing but very much look forward to receiving. In the meantime, I can only hope that more such discs will appear on the market propelled by sales that ought to be rightly proportional to the quality of this concept and its execution. CI

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MA Y 1998THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION

] 26

www.tcp.ca

Pg KIDS

Multimedia enriches music lessons J EAN ALL EN - I K F SO N

each-yourself books and tapes have been around for years, but the latest variations on this genre take advantage of multimedia PC technology to make everything easy, from tuning a guitar to playing classical piano on a MIDI keyboard. Where books have pictures and text, these CD-ROMs have sound, video sequences, animated diagrams and even feedback if your instrument is attached to the computer, Here is a sampling of several products available to help you learn to play a musical instrument.

$19.95 per month

Call Nowt

Personal •

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Piano Discovery System •

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FREE SETUPI

FREE SOFTwARa FREE <OINI

From: Jump Music Tel: 800-289-5867 htlp://www.jumpmusic.co Price: $349 (with MIDI keyboard) $70 (CD-ROMonly)

INES SITE STORAOEI

•

Midlsoft Play Piano Midlsoft Family Music Center

From: Midisoft Tel: 425-391-3610 or 800-PRO-MID http: //www.midisoft.corn Price: $64.95 (Play Piano) $399 (Family Music Center)

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the back of your computer and install the disc — they require no special MIDl connection. Play Piano includes 40 songs and 400 lessons. The songs are from a variety of genres, including rock, classical and traditional. A graphical keyboard appears on-screen showing the finger placement for each song or

faxing 1 Windovrs~ faxing 4, Chinese k. Knghsh characters LPager alert XCnstom package available 4 more features coming L9iscount for multiple A/C for details: Fax (416) 49$-7915,Yoice (416Jt 49$-5477 ~ or send blank K-Mail to emailfax®acpeam.corn I

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Gultropolis From: Alfred Publishing Co http: //www.guitropolis.corn

Classic ttoch Guitar, Vol 2 From: Ubi Soft Tel: 800-UBI-SOFT hltp //www ubisoft corn

Kmedia Guitar Method (Vol 1 and 2) From: Emedia Corp..

are simple to install: plug in the keyboard to Tel: 206-329-5657

4 Receiving by fax A Sending to fax %web form

•

Miss a key? An on-screen guide picks it up from the keyboard and lets you know you are hitting the wrong key. This is not just an introduction designed as a game for kids, but a full piano course suitable for children or adults. I'iano Discovery runs on Window or Macintosh. Midisoft also offers similar software called Midisoft Play I'iano that turns your computer into a customized tutor for $64.95. You can also purchase the software as part of the Family Music Center that includes a video showing you how to set up your keyboard and Studio 4.0 software, which turns your Computer and keyboard into a recording studio. Midisoft products, like those from Jump,

F Mgg to Fgx

•

e •

•

piano course with 600 lessons and 51 songs.

http: //www.emedia.org Price: US$59.95 each

Alfred Publishing Co., long a leader in how-to music books, h a s a CD - ROM c a lled Guitropolis for nine year olds through to exercise as you play along. Play Piano works adults. Like the Piano Discovery System, this with Windows 3.1 or Windows 95. is a complete learn-to-play program. It begins with a description and sample of guitar types, and moves on to guitar tuning. This program allows you to tune your guitar with the comXttmerie Pager Alert available ttovy -

•

SLisiness •

With Jump Music's Piano Discovery System, learning to play the piano is a snap even for eight or nine year olds. Simply attach a MIDI keyboard to back of your computer (either the four-octave, 49-key model you can buy from Jump or another brand such as Midisoft or Yamaha), install the Piano Discovery CD-ROM and start learning. My nine year old mastered Orle to Joy in about 30 minutes. You learn keyboarding and reading music simultaneously in this full

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It moves into lessons on reading music, finger placement, chords, etc., and finally

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puter —something a book simply cannot do.

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ments demonstrate exactly what to play. Note reading is taught in standard notation and tablature or TAII {a graphical representation of the guitar neck, strings, and finger placement). The lessons are organized in a game format that will not let you enter move onto the more advanced steps until you have completed the basics. However, if you are an adult and find the game annoying, you can move directly into the lessons. An interesting feature is the background music options: chose either an orchestra-type or single guitar, or combination of the two to accompany you. The 47 lessons include rock, blues, jazz and country music with more than 60 songs from simple to advanced. My only complaint with this product is that following the finger placement videos is like trying to follow yourself in a mirror. This is okay if you are confident enough to look at a sequence, then look away and play it. Guitaropolis runs under Windows 3.1, Win 95 or Mac System

7.1 or higher, but a Power Mac preferred, For students who want extra techniques

" •

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THE COMPUTERPAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca MAY 1998

] 27

Pg KIDS and do not need the introductory format, Classic Rock Guitar, Vol. 2, from Ubi Soft t eaches eight songs from L ennon a n d McCartney.

student should be able to play. Separate Windows and Macintosh and Windows versions are available.

Reeerfler Adventures in Music with the Recorder From: Ubi Soft Tel: 800-UBI-SOFT

t retardee

http: //www.ubisoft.corn P r ice:$55

comes with a Yamaha recorder. Rick Order, a music fiend who loves to learn new songs from all over the world, provides assistance Last but not least, for those who have a in an animated environment in 60 interacdesire to learn to play an instrument or for tive music lessons. This program teaches parents who want to get their kids started kids how to read music and understand without m a k in g a bi g i nv e s tment, rhythm and harmony in a clear but fun Adventures in Music with t h e Recorder environment. Included are 37 songs, but may be the answer. The CD-ROM, which you may download more from the Ubi Soft runs on Windows 3.11 or Windows 95, Web site. 0

r e'

For a rank beginner, the pace is a bit daunting. But if you have a few guitar lessons behind you and are already familiar with fingering and music reading, this program is an excellent tutorial and teaches advanced fingering and features such as pick hand palmmuting, hammer-ons, hammer-on pull-offs, vibrato, hybrid picking and flat hand damp-

ing. However, you can slow down, speed up or stop the song at any time to work through difficult sections. You can also link to any lesson to review a specific technique. As with Guitropolis, Classic Rock Guitar includes an interactive tuner. Because this program lets you record your own playing into a microphone, you are able to compare it to the instructor's playing. The best features from a learning perspective are the improvement in music reading ability and the building of a comprehensive chord repertoire that you should learn from using the program. The 70 lessons are supposedly each equivalent to a one hour private lesson. Not bad for a list price of $79. Classic Rock Guitar runs on Windows 3.1 or Win 95. EMedia's Guitar Method, Volumes 1 and 2, each form a 60-lesson set covering many styles (country, blues, rock, fold and classical). You can go through the CD-ROMs lesson-bylesson, or skip to a specific technique such as Travis-style finger-picking or blues rhythms. You can learn to play a number of hits from the '60s and '70s by artists such as Grateful Dead, Steve Miller Band or Heart. Some lessons include short video clips demonstrating techniques. You can also record your guitar playing and listen to the results, A built-in chord chart is very extensive (250 in Guitar Method 1 and 1,200 in Guitar Method 2), and shows you the finger placement for each chord and sounding out each chord through the computer's multimedia speakers. Like some of the other products, eMedia Guitar Method includes a tuner, which registers the pitch of each string through the computer microphone and indicates whether the string needs to be higher or lower. The product also includes an on-screen metronome that can be set to tempos between 10 and 208 beats per minute One interesting feature of the CD-ROMs is a link to the On-Line Guitar Archive Web site

(http'J/www.olga.net). As a student progresses through the lessons, the CD-ROM will point to various other songs on the Web site that the

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Frank Garcia's top 10 science fiction sites

rank Garcia is the co-author of the book Science Fiction Teln~ision Series: Episode Guides, Histories and Casts aml Credits for 62 Prime Time Shows,1959 through 1989 (ISBN 0 -7864-0041-2) f r o m Mc F arland a n d Company Publishers. He's also a correspondent for Cinefantastique, an SF media magazine. The following is his list of the best SF resources on the internet. ,Kei th Scl rengi Ii-Roberts

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provided by the American science fiction channel, The Sci-Fi Channel. http: //www.scifi.corn/scifiwire/

S. ReBoot • What's the latest news on Dot Matrix and the rest of the gang inside the Mainframe? This Canadian-made computer-animated series continues to break new ground in the field of computer-generated special effects not just with this show but other projects such asBeast Wnrs. Learn all about the series at this official site maintained by the creators of the show. http: //www.mainframe.bc.ca/REBOOT/index. html

1. The Lurker'sGuide to Babylon S • To learn all about the best SF show on the air today, a space epic now in its fifth and final season — and a show that practically no one in Canada can see (save for the lucky few in Toronto and Montreal) — this is the

page to bookmark! This fan-created page is actually one of two of the best pages on the Net devoted to the series. Catch up with detailed episode guides, transcripts of notes from series creator J. M i chael Straczynski and anything that you can think of related to the series. http://www.midwinter.corn/lurker/lurker. html

6. TheScience Fiction Resource Page •

This links-only oriented text page situated at S. Mania! • For the rabid fans of SF films, Rutgers University is probably top of the line television and comics, Mania! has it all. for the serious SF cybernaut. Included are Here, you' ll catch news, feature-length The other is the series' official page interviews with your favoiite genre celebrilinks for bibliographies and lists, fandom, httpy/www,babylon5.corn/ ties, and the weekly "Hollywood Heroes" fiction, publishers, and role-playing games. columns by author Andy Mangels, keeping http: //sf lover.rutgers,edu/Web/SFRG/ 2.Space The Imagination Station • What's a review of the top ten SF resources you up to date on news, rumors and tidbits in the world of SF films, TV and comic- 7. The Ultimate TV List: The Science on th e I n t ernet w i thout m entioning book-based projects. Fiction List • To find out if your favorite Canada's very own SF specialty channel, SF-TV show has a presence on the Web, go http: //www.mania.corn/ Space? Here's the place to catch weekly and to this page — it should tell you all you need daily programming schedules of what' s to know in one fell swoop. A subset of the playing on the channel. It also sports a very 4. Sc!FI Wire • For the latest newsbytes in the world of SF movies and television this Ultimate TV Page, which includes comeactive chat page discussing everything that is the place to bookmark. Discover the dies, dramas and other television resources, appears on the channel. It's a good place to this page collects information on what ratings of your favorite syndicated SF mingle with other fans and it provides an show. You' ll be surprised to find out episode guides, FAQs, Web pages and ftp opportunity to vent your pet peeves about sites are available for a long list of SF which shows are starting to beat out your favorite TV series and films. shows, both old and new. Hercules and Xena! This page is a service http: //www.spacecast.corn/

to stay on the cutting edge of SF-TV news and rumors without scurrying to your Web browser, look no further than the fantastic services provided by Jay Badenhoop's SF News and Lee Whiteside's SF-TV email lists. These are the two of the most valuable online SF-TV resources you can get. Badenhoop's releases batches of files compiled by him from a vast network of agents who serve as stringers covering news and updates on a wide variety of shows from Mystery Science Theater 3000to the latest XFilesrumors. To subscribe to SF News, send a message to: Email: majordomo@bureau42.ml.org No subject Include "subscribe sf-news" in body of message. Lee Whiteside's monthly SF-TV List is an electronic text file listing the upcoming air dates, titles and satellite feed information for all the current SF-TV shows on the air. Whiteside's lists are a godsend for those of us who go batty when our favorite shows air without episode titles. To receive Lee Whiteside's SF-TV send a message to:

Email: majordomo@starbase.niehs.nih.gov No subject include "subscribe sftv" in body of the message. lt can also be found on the Webat: http: //www.goodnet.corn/-leew/sftv/sftv.html. 9. SF Made in Canada • Th ese are the sites for Earth: Final Conflict, The Outer Limits, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Stargate Sg-1. Anyone living i n C anada who loves SF-TV probably knows of these four m ade-in-Canada SF-TV series. Earth is shot in Toronto while the others are currently filmed under one roof at The Bridge Studios in Burnaby, B.C. All have been renewed for new seasons, all are bona-fide hits on both sides of the border. The official pages: http: //www.earthlinalconflict.corn/earth.htm http: //www.roddenberry,corn/earth/2ea1 01.htm

http://www.thcouterlimits.corn/ http: I/thelegacy.corn/ http: //www.sg-1.corn and fan-created pages: http://www.peak.org/-lorenr/outer htm http: //www.noord.bart.nl/-kammenga/outeri/outer lim.htm http: //legacyweb.corn/ httpi/www.sg-1.net/main. html http: //cloudcity.simplenet.corn/stargate/findex.html

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10. The X-Flies • This is it — probably the most successful SF-TV show ever. The XFiles has surpassed every Star Trekseries in ratings and awards. You can go to the official Web site for broadcast schedules and the latest news. Or you can go toThe X-Files Corner page, where you' ll find a good compilation of newspaper news items, interviews and information a bout print m aterial devoted to t h e series. http: //thex-files.corn/

http: //www.mjq.net/xfiles/ For detailed discussions on this show go to Usenet's alt.tv.x-files. 0

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A whole in one A comprehensive history of golf anecdotes and stories about the game itself told in text and historic pictures. Somewhat related is this disc's timeline seche very last golf I ever played was parttion, which divides the history of golf into nering with my chemistry teacher during Beginnings (essentially taking us from the 14th our annual high school tournament. century right up to First World War), The PostThough the 106 I'd strenuously achieved by War Era (1920s to 1958), The Palmer Era (that the 18th green was the best I'd ever done, I'd was the 1960s for those of you too young for accomplished even more in convincing Mr. the name Palmer to be self explanatory), and W Bowser to give me a passing grade if I promised The Modern Era, which takes forward from never to sign up for another chemistry class for those Woodstockian times to the present. the rest of my life. He kept his end of the barMost interesting to me as a reformedgolfer gain and I, so far, have kept mine, was the timeline's information labeled The Still, I remain the ideal candidate to look Tools of the Trade, in which text and pictures at this very good CD-ROM by virtue of being show the development of balls and clubs both Scottish born and bred and a lifelong dis3ig through separate eras, each defined by the appointment to my golf-addicted father for nature of the balls in use at any particular time. never breaking 100 — though, after reading The Featherie Era, of course, addresses the this, I dare say, he' ll finally realize why. first balls, which were constituted of a leather The Royal and Ancient Carne of Golf The Royal and Ancient Game of Golf is not skin over highly compressed feathers. Sounds From: i Hoffmen + Associates Ioc, olf garne. Instead it's actualacom puterized g romantic, but apparently it was very difficult to ly a reference work of golf's history, personali• 34 Ross St., Toronto, ON,MST1Z9 get through an entire game without splitting ties, equipment and courses presented with Tel: 416-977-6732 one and, as each ball cost about two shillings enough multimedia material to distinguish it http://www.h-plus-a.corn right through to the 19th century — likely the Estimated street price: $44.95 from the many books and magazines that annual wage of the average Scotsman — only already address the topic. And all of the inforthe very rich could afford to golf and even then mation this disc has to offer is centred around Internet links to golfy Web sites, an online not without financial complaint. a virtual tour of the clubhouse of golf's most The Gutty Era followed in which the balls library of the rules of the game and the results venerable venue, St, Andrews of Scotland. of all British Open championships along with were made of a newly discovered material It's there in the clubhouse you' ll find

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choose from:

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] 34

MA Y 1998 T HE COMPUTER PAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION

www.tcp.ca

• TRAININC

Office 97 Web tips and tricks BY GEOF W H EELWRIGHT

ffice 97 might seem a little dated these days.Many Office 97 users may be looking enviously at Apple Macintosh owners who are getting cozy with the recently released Office 98 for the Macintosh, which includes features that won't appear on the Windows 95 version for around another six months. But you can bet that the vast majority of users aren't even getting the most out of the Office suite they already own. When Microsoft was designing Office 97 — and started looking at the "wish list" of things that users said they wanted to see in the product — apparently some 90 percent of the requested features were already in the product. Users just didn't know they were there, or. found them too hard to use. To help put Office 97 and its true capabilities in perspective, we offer the following list of

tips — unashamedly compiled from the best we could find on Microsoft's Web site — on how to make the most of what you already have.

Internet smarts in Office 97 •

You cantype a Web address or the loca-

tion of an FTP (file transfer) site right into the Open dialog of any office application and it will connect to your internet access provider and open the file. To see just this works, try to open the file http: //www. tcp.ca from the open dialog in Word. • Find Fast allows you to search for anyincluding properties. You can do this right from the Open dialog, or f rom w i thin Outlook's finder. • You can click on the "Search the Web"

ton and browse to the document you desire. • Use the drop down menu of most recently created hyperlinks to easily create hyperlinks. From the Insert Hyperlink menu click on toolbar button from the open dialog to go right the drop down menu and select from one of the recently hyperlinked addresses. to your Web browser. • Use Word's AutoFormat feature when viewing H TM L s o urce c ode, G o to Word as Web tool • Instead of starting from scratch to create a View/HTML Source. When the HTML tags Web page, use the Web Page Wizard to quickly appear, click on the AutoFormat button (you' ll find it next to the pencil on the HTML and easilycreate a new Web page. The Web Page Wizard allows you to create feedback, reg- toolbar). Word will automatically format your istration and survey forms, calendars, table of document using different colors to indicate contents and home pages. HTML tags and their attributes. • Easily convert any Word document into an HTML document, simply by selecting Save Excel 97 as Web tool • as HTML from the File menu. Use Web Queries to get stock prices from • Try accessing Web pages directly from the Web into ExceL If your computer is connected to the Internet, you can use Web Queries to pull information from the Web directly into Excel 97. Go to the Get Data option on the Data menu and choose Run Web

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Additional tips for Word and Excel • Word will automatically define styles based on what you type in the document. For example, if you start a document by typing in a very large font, Word assumes that you want that to be a Title style item. • To quickly create a table, type the first row like this:

zdism rorere REFILL Why Throw the Used Cartridges Away?

Please Call for Opening Specials

want displayed.

aod Word will automatically create a table. • To avoid common typing errors, create AutoCorrect entries. In Word 97, these entries can be longer than one word. • When you' re done using a toolbar, you can dismiss it in order to maximize the view for your document. To dismiss a toolbar, rightclick it, and clear the check box in front of the name of the toolbar. • If you begin a document with Dear Someone, Word will assume that you are Query. You' ll see a dialog with available query attempting to type a letter. Try it. files. Choose "Detailed Stock Quote by PC • To put a border around a page, use the following steps: 1.0n the Format menu, click Quote, Inc." to get a stock price. • You can open a Web page directly in Borders and Shading. Z.Click the Page Border tab Microsoft Excel 97. Choose File Open and type in and select the type of border you want to use. the URL address of the Web page in the File Name • Excel 97 now has 16 levels for the Undo box. Excel will convert the page into a Worksheet. command. Toundo an action, do one of the • You can convert your Excel 97 workbooks following: 1. On the Edit menu, click Undo. 2. into Web page. Choose Save As HTML from the Click Undo on the Standard toolbar. To undo File menu to run the Internet Assistant Wizard. several actions, do the following: 1. Click the The Wizard will ask you to choose which arrow next to Undo. 2. Select more than one ranges in your sheet you want to convert. You action from the list by pointing to the list and can convert cells into HTML tables and charts dragging down. 3. To perform the undo action, into .GIF files. click the last selected item. • If you' ve brought preformatted HTML • You can personalize your Grammar text into Microsoft Excel 97, all the text will be Checker in Word 97. If you write different in one cell instead of displayed across columns types of documents — for example, technical in a table. To convert preformatted HTML text documents and more casual documentsinto a table, select the coluinn or range of text, you can adjust the grammatical style used by and then click Text To Columns on the Data the grammar checker as it automatically menu. A wizard walks you through the steps of checks your document for g rammatical breaking up the text into columns. errors. Cl

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• lf you want to create a hyperlink in your spreadsheet with a "friendly name" (i.e., a name otherthan the URl.address),you can use the hyperlink formula. Click the insert formula button on the toolbar, choose Lookup 8r Reference in the Categories window and Hyperlink in the Function Name window.

thing in any office or HTML (Web) document, bases. Simply click on the insert hyperlink but- Enter the URL of the link and the name you

-:C8 I:5

•

Word 97.To open an HTML page in Word 97, either type the URL in the File/Open dialog or type the URL into the Web toolbar. • With Word 97 you can not only create hyperlinks to other HTML pages and URLs but also to other Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentation or Access data-

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] 35

THE COMPUTER PAPER GREATERTORONTO EDITION www.tcp.ca MAY 1998

~; BooKs

No beginner's please Highly detailed Black Book for experienced Webmasters B Y KEITH S C H E N C I L I - R O B E R T S re you an experienced Web writer looking to expand your capabilities, and push your Web pages to the limit? Heard about cascading style sheets (CSS), dynamic HTML and active server pages, but can't find a decent tutorial anywhere? Perhaps its time to sit down with a good book — like authors jarol and Pena's Web Design and e Development Blnck Book, a well-written, and practical technical "cheat sheet" for the expeI rienced Webmaster. This title is from Coriolis Group Press'sBlack Book series, which is aimed at providing a solid tutorial for readers who have some experience in a particular field but are looking for ways to learn more. You know that this book ain't for beginners from page one, as it begins with an introduction to cascading style sheets. After a fairly thorough detailing of the ins and outs of CSS, it plunges into the nitty-gritty details of dynamic HTML, Ittte> Desi9+ all with extensive examples (which are all and Development BlackBook available, as are all of the code samples, on the Author: Scott Jarol and Marisa Pena Publisher: Coriolis Group Press (distributed by ITp CD-ROM that is included with the book). This book also looks at such things as Nelson, Tel:800-268-2222) advanced table and frame layout, absolute http:/twww.coriolis.corn positioning using CSS, adding database con- Price: $55.99 nectivity, and techniques for adding sophisti. ISBN: 1-57610-162-2 cated sound, animation, and video to your Sottcover 457pages 1998 Web site. All of this is presented in an easy-toread, straightforward approach with little filler. g r amming techniques, but you' ll likely need I was particularly impressed with the section a n o ther book to take you further into such devoted tolnternet Explorer'suseofmultime- a r eas as Web database publishing. Also, dia visual and transition filters, which provides although real-world examples of how some of a very good introduction to the browser's spe- these techniques are being used on a profescial capabilities in this area, and how you can sional level are good at displaying code techexploit them to your advantage. niques, the resulting pages look rather chintzy. My only complaint against this book is Desp i t e t hese minor drawbacks, this t hat it may not be thorough enough — it is a b oo k i s a v e r y g o o d i n t roduction t o great introduction to these advanced Web pro- advanced Web coding techniques. It is one

of the best books I' ve seen that purports to teach advanced Web techniques, without covering too much of the basics. It will defi-

n i t ely get an experienced Webmaster started i n s ome new areas that will help you add m o r e pizzazz to your Web pages. CI

We areentering into a mostexciting time for Network managementWindowsNT-based networksare gmwingfast andsois the need for certified people towork in the IT industry. •

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shares some of the design philosophies, techniques and stories that went into creating the many Web sites associated with Wired. This makes it a very different book from the typical guides to writing Web pages — it is not so much focused on the mechanics of making a Web site, but on the types of decisions that have to be made to make a Websiteuseable and successful.Hot Wired Style is an insightful guide to Web site design, marred only by its slim size and not-so-slim price. eyea: r

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into making the initial HotWired site, a'nd into subsequent revisions of the site. Along the way, he developed a number of Web design principles, which he shares.

As any veteran Web designer knows, good sites evolve rather than springing to life fully formed. Revisions are a part of life, a nd Veen explains how an d w h y t h e HotWired site changed over time. The initial design depended on a series of entry graphics that designated a number of differ- . ent "channels" where articles could be found. The images were all optimized for easy downloading, making for a f l ashylooking Web site t hat l o aded quickly. Problem was, while the images looked good and loaded quickly, they were obscure in meaning, leading to user confusion. As modem speeds increased, the Web site dropped the cryptic style for a more graphic-intensive but easier-to-navigate site. Together, Veen shows how technological change and the need to make things easier for users lead to decisions that created the various incarnations of HotWired. Veen also makes an effective argument for taking into consideration inherent limitations of t h e Web — slow speed, poor implementation of m u l t imedia features, and imprecise layout — and making them work to your own.advantage when designing for the Web, According to Veen, the Web should not be thought of solely in t erms of other media, such as print or CD- j R OM-based multimedia, but as it s o w n unique medium, requiring the designer to present ideas in a clear, fast and simple way. While there is a lot o f Web wisdom offered in this book, most people will balk at the $46r25 price for such a slim volume. The book includes richly colored illustrations and emulates the design-style of Wired magazine — but color printing doesn't come cheap. The ideas in the book are good, and there are plenty of sound principles to be found here, but the book also lacks depth.Some ideas are only touched upon briefly, like the section devoted to animation, but the topic is referred to only within t h e li m i t e d c o n t ex t o f th e HotWired site. Despite this, Veen's insights are truly useful and the book is worth a look. I' t won't become the last word on Web site design, but it does take a useful step away from the pure mechanics of creation and towards an understanding of the design and processes necessary in making a sustainable, interesting and effective Web site. 0

V een was present at t h e b i r t h o f HotWired, back when Netscape Navigator

Rating:

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here's always been a manipulate matter at the atomic level, raising

-:-,::=.:,i:-, ing the "tiiigthy': and costly pr6cedure",' of .-::--

the prospect of a world of nano-machines and

doing these activities in:the:real world: What:--''.'''-:-'.-

designer organisms,

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tures may cause in the rial world; In fact, the ",--=-='

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were applied to tasks as First to market

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mundane as easing the drudgery of calculating the ballistic trajectories of rockets and artillery shells, or as mysterious as breaking diplomatic or military codes.

Computers are being used to design and test the most complex machines that people can We d o n't live In VirtNaivQIe.-.'-',.";:-=',.=-'.:.-':-":-.=.' -.-:--"-:-:=.":-;.=,=,=.'build, such as jet airliners, without building A m i d st all this "progress,",::;thougI!t,--w'here Is '-";;. physical prototypes. The Boeing aircraft corn- w i sdom? Where is reality? Sometimes doing is = =-'== .

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pany claims that building a digital prototype more informative than simulating':on a'corn-,'-...-".;j;'

somehow provide a service similar to the leg-

saves at least a year and $1 billion. puter. Interestingly, its current airliner developWhen t h e Pilot handheld computer was="'.==.ment project, completely designed andproto- be i ng designed, its principal eng tneer,didn'.t:-;:,-'"...-.:~=„', typed on a computer, is about one year late, r ely on computer simulations or 3D graphics. -" - ==.='-:-,and $1 billion over budget. There must be a H e c arried around a piece of wood,: the ,-'.:'..:

endary genie of the lamp: to offer the calculating strength of thousands of mathematicians, invisibly, quietly, perfectly. Yet, computers broke down often enough, or provided

support for erroneous conclusions often enough, that the word "computer" came to have two very different meanings. On the one hand, "computer" refers to inhuman efficiency and soulless perfection. On the other hand, "computer" also implies something unworthy of our reliance. A "com-

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version of the airplane will have to fly before h i s shirt pocket. As he went about his. daIIy' .';„= < ="< anyone really knows if it has been designed activities, every time he needed to lookup.or,.":,'-:,.:-' := r ecord some useful information — a buslness -:.-; ='-'==:=-.:-correctly. ,-:.j:g Computers are now standard tools for cre- meeting date, a phone number, arr:!emari.;:,=...-,;-::= =ating forensic simulationsofcrimes and auto a d dress — he would pretend to operate !the -". a>i(,,' accidents, for use by the prosecutors and p i ece of wood as a personal digital assist :,

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designed to slip into an orbit close enough to redeveloped.; Put on a dress;-)assuming,.you -:.,':.;":,':,-.„; :

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