Dec 95 Features

by: Fred Davis, Chief Analyst

The motto for today's PC might well be, "There's no place like home." Just look at the profile of typical buyers of cutting-edge technology: Home users--not their corporate counterparts--are first in line for Windows 95. You'll also find a higher percentage of Pentium-class machines on the home front than in business offices.

One of the major forces driving home users to high-end technology is a fascination with digital communications. Online services are adding hundreds of thousands of new members each month. America Online and CompuServe each claim to have passed the 3.5-million-member mark, and with its fast-growing ranks of several million, the Internet is expanding too quickly to measure with any accuracy.

Until recently, connecting to the Internet from Windows was a dicey proposition at best, but several features in Windows 95 aim to improve the situation. Win95's new communications technologies span every facet of online communications, from the Internet and online services to advanced integration of fax and telephony features. Initially introduced in Windows for Workgroups, the telephony features have improved dramatically from their earlier, primordial forms. For example, with Exchange, Windows 95's global mailbox, you can now send a fax just as easily as you can send an e-mail message through Microsoft Mail, the Internet (via the Microsoft Network or another Internet connection), or CompuServe.

In this article we'll take a closer look at Windows 95's built-in communications features, including Exchange and TAPI, the new telephony standard that lets you place phone calls from your computer. We'll also examine Win95's Internet features.

Later, we'll move on to the nitty-gritty of the actual wires. You can use your regular telephone line, but if you plan to do any heavy-duty communicating, you might want to consider ISDN, which is the digital counterpart to your standard analog telephone line. Or you could go all the way and wire up a local area network (LAN) in your house.

Windows 95 was built, from the ground up, for well-connected computers. Most of the communications software you had to buy from a third party for Windows 3.x is now included as standard fare in Windows 95, though you might still want a third-party app for more complex communications needs. The technical enhancements range from vastly improved communications drivers to built-in local area networking, e-mail and fax capabilities. Windows 95 was built for connectivity, and these features can be combined with almost any application from word processing to games.

Exchange, one of Windows 95's hot new features, functions as a universal inbox that allows you to view all of your messages and communications--e-mail, fax, Internet and MSN--in a single place. Not only is Microsoft at last providing native fax and e-mail support by including Exchange in Windows 95, it is also trying to centralize and simplify the various forms of communications.

Exchange does a good job of centralizing things, but it's still a little rough around the edges when it comes to ease of use--not to mention that its somewhat slipshod security can trick an unwitting user into believing his mail is safe when it's not. Users who convert old Microsoft Mail files to the new Exchange format will notice their mail is no longer password-protected. This means that anyone who starts up that machine can access messages unless Exchange was specifically set to password-protect mail--which is not, inexplicably, the default setting.

All in all, however, Exchange is a breakthrough for Windows users because it provides an easy way for all applications to access mail functions--making it a snap, for example, to e-mail a letter from your word processor or fax a drawn plan to a co-worker on the other coast, all from the same program, using the same interface.

Exchange also lets you send and receive faxes. There are a number of advantages to using your computer as a fax machine. Faxes generated from computer documents look better on the receiving end than pages that have to be scanned by a traditional fax machine. That's because the computer generates a "perfect" image of the document at the fax's exact resolution. Faxes that you receive through your computer don't have to be printed out, thus saving paper. If you do need a hard copy, you can use your laser printer instead of dealing with those curly sheets of thermal paper. The downside? You must leave your computer on all the time, and you need a scanner to input material that doesn't originate on the PC.

Exchange is compatible with a variety of e-mail types. The LAN-based e-mail included with Exchange is most useful if you and your fellow users would rather send mail than talk to each other.

Exchange's handiest e-mail support for home users is Internet mail, which allows you to exchange mail not only with Internet users but also with members of other major online services. CompuServe provides software that will allow you to access CIS mail directly through Exchange.

Windows 95 includes many new features that help you connect to the Internet. The most important addition is built-in TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) support. TCP/IP is the most common communications standard used on the Internet.

With Windows 3.x, getting TCP/IP up and running was a chore. You had to track down two pieces of software: a TCP/IP driver that supported the standard at the network level, and a stack that allowed your applications to work with TCP/IP. It was nobody's idea of fun to hunt for a stack and driver on the Internet, only to find marginally supported shareware that often raised compatibility problems. To top things off, the TCP/IP driver usually ate away at your precious 640KB of memory space in DOS.

With Windows 95, you don't have to search for the software--everything's built-in. Furthermore, what you get is fully supported by Microsoft. Win95 implements its TCP/IP driver as a VxD (virtual device driver), so it doesn't consume any conventional memory. The driver is a true 32-bit program, which provides a much more stable platform for TCP/IP.

The Windows 95 TCP/IP driver is included on the basic Windows 95 installation diskettes, but it is not installed automatically on your system. To add TCP/IP to your basic Windows installation, you need to add the TCP/IP component in the Network section of the Control Panel. Once it is installed, you'll not only get your basic TCP/IP driver, but you'll also find a cornucopia of Internet utilities built into the VxD. These include ftp, telnet, ping, route, arp, ipconfig, netstat and nbstat. Veteran Net hounds will recognize these as standard UNIX functions. Now for the bad news: Yes, they're command-line-driven.

To access Windows 95's Internet utilities, use the Run command on the Start menu and type the name of the utility you want to run. For example, if you type ftp, you'll open up the ftp session window shown on this page.

If you're already using the Internet and have settled on a Web browser such as Netscape Navigator, all you really need is the built-in TCP/IP support in Windows 95. To connect to the Internet, you need to know your various Net specifics, such as your IP address, the IP address of your gateway, and the name and IP address of your Domain Name Server. Once you've installed the TCP/IP driver using the Network Control Panel described earlier, you can modify its properties to specify the IP addresses and other information you'll need to connect to the Internet.

If you are just getting started with the Internet, Microsoft Plus offers a simple route to cyberspace. This package includes the Internet Jumpstart Kit, which consists of the Internet Setup Wizard, the Internet Explorer and software extensions. Setup Wizard is an automated script that helps you connect to the Internet using any service provider. It helps step you through the process of configuring your IP addresses. The software extensions provide better integration between Windows 95 and the Internet through the use of OLE (object linking and embedding).

Internet Explorer is Microsoft's graphical browser for the World Wide Web. This feature is based on Advanced Mosaic, which doesn't support all the features of Netscape Navigator, the leading Web browser. And unlike Netscape, Internet Explorer also doesn't support Usenet mail, HTML 3.0 or forms. However, its 2.0 version, in beta at presstime, supports these features.

Despite these gaps, Internet Explorer still has a few clever tricks up its sleeve. For example, you can click on any graphic image and drag it from Internet Explorer onto the desktop, where it is converted into a graphics file. Similarly, dragging any hyperlinked text from a Web page to the desktop creates an OLE scrap that contains the same URL (universal resource locator) as the hyperlinked text.

Windows 95 includes built-in LAN capabilities in every package. With Windows 3.x, setting up and running a LAN was pretty much the domain of business users. Windows for Workgroups changed that situation dramatically. With Win95, Microsoft has given us a whole new paradigm shift, making networking an off-the-shelf consumer product.

Win95's built-in networking is of the peer-to-peer flavor. This means you don't need to dedicate a special machine as a server--everyone on the network can share everyone else's system. As a result, you can gain access to any hard disk connected to the network, which allows family members with smaller hard disks to take advantage of the storage on other systems. It also means that you can share peripherals such as printers and modems, saving the expense of buying one of each for everyone.

If you want to get up and running with a home LAN, you have the luxury of keeping life simple. The best trade-off in terms of price compared with performance and ease of use is Ethernet, which has emerged as the leading network standard. You can buy an ISA Ethernet add-in card for less than $50. Many businesses choose to run Ethernet over unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) wires similar to the type of wire on your telephone. These wires take advantage of a wiring standard called 10BaseT. Twisted-pair setups with more than two network stations require some type of central hardware hub. Once you move to three or more machines, you need a hub to manage the electrical signals from each of the systems.

If you have just a few machines, you can avoid the cost of a full-fledged hub (around $125 for an eight-port unit) by using coaxial cable for Ethernet. A different cabling standard, called either ThinNet or 10Base2, specifies coaxial cable that is similar to your cable TV wire, but slightly thinner. It lets you daisy-chain machines to one another on a single stretch of wire without the need for a hub.

Lengths of ThinNet cable come pre-assembled with their BNC twist-together connectors. You will need one length of cable for the first two machines you connect to your LAN, and another length of cable for each additional machine you connect, along with a BNC T-connector for each machine. The T-connector joins the end of a cable to each networked PC. You need an additional piece of hardware called a terminator for either end of the daisy chain. The terminators (about $3 each), available from companies that sell network cards and cabling, make sure that the electrical signals propagate properly over the cable.

Once you're wired up, it's time to choose an Ethernet card. The card I recommend is the 3Com EtherLink III card for 10Base2, which has excellent performance and compatibility. However, it's one of the more expensive cards on the market at $199. For most systems, you can save some money by finding your best deal on an NE2000 compatible LAN card, which is available for as little as $35.

If you think the whole world is morphing from analog to digital, you're right. The latest technology to come under the digital spotlight is the world's primary form of communication--the telephone. Today's telephone lines work on an analog system, in which electrical signals that represent actual sounds are transmitted over the wires. To use your computer over a standard analog phone line, you need a modem, which converts the digital signals from your computer into analog signals--such as those used for voice transmission--that are carried over the phone line. But all that's about to change, thanks to ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network).

ISDN runs over the same wires as your current phone line, but instead of carrying analog audio signals, ISDN transports the zeros and ones of the digital domain. The bottom-line advantage: speed. Whereas analog phone lines are tapped out with a 28.8Kb per second modem, ISDN delivers more than four times that speed, running at a zippy 128Kbps. Surfing the Net with ISDN makes going back to a conventional modem painful.

ISDN has been around for years, but the technology never really took off because of incompatible hardware standards and astronomical prices charged by telephone companies. Both of those situations have changed dramatically. Different types of ISDN hardware from various vendors can talk to each other, thanks largely to Ascend Communications, whose Pipeline ISDN hardware has emerged as the Hayes modem of ISDN.

Telephone companies have started to get aggressive about offering residential ISDN service at bargain-basement prices, going as low as $25 or so per month. Not every telephone company is offering residential ISDN, so you'll have to check with your local phone company to find out about pricing and availability in your area.

The benefits of ISDN extend beyond simple speed. ISDN actually combines two phone lines into one and allows you to use them both seamlessly. Each of these lines is technically referred to as a "B channel"; each B channel is capable of transmitting at speeds of up to 64Kbps. A software technology called dynamic bonding allows these two B channels to be digitally merged into what looks, to its equipment, like a single line. You can use dynamic bonding to do some fancy technical tricks. For example, using hardware such as Ascend's Pipeline 25, you can connect to ISDN with your computer and also piggyback a standard telephone onto the connection. This lets you place and receive calls even while you are surfing the Net. The speed of your Net connection simply drops to the bandwidth required for the call.

ISDN also enables videoconferencing. Although the current crop of products is aimed at the business market, several companies are working on systems that will let you hook up your home camcorder to your PC and use the Net toset up a videoconference.

In addition to the Ascend Pipeline 25, a host of other ISDN adapters is available. One of the most popular low-priced models is the Motorola BitSurfer, which sells for around $400. Unlike the Pipeline 25, however, it does not support the use of a single telephone. Both the BitSurfer and the Pipeline are external boxes. The Pipeline 25 connects to your LAN as a standalone device, but the BitSurfer attaches directly to your PC and requires the dedicated use of a high-speed serial port. Although the Pipeline 25 is more expensive at prices ranging from $895 to $1,495, it's more versatile than the BitSurfer because you don't have to hook the Pipeline directly to your PC. You can also use a standard telephone with it.

While Win95 isn't the communications equivalent of clicking your heels together three times and chanting, "There's no place like home," it does offer a wide array of possibilities: from LANs to ISDN, from the Net to e-mail. With the newly incorporated internal TCP/IP support, improved network support, and built-in mail and telephony support, Windows 95 is a natural choice for the home user who wants to keep in touch and stay connected.

Now that the courtroom furor has more or less died down, Microsoft has finally opened the doors to its new online service and Internet provider. The Microsoft Network (MSN) has been online for a very short while, and so far its notoriety far outweighs its content.

MSN is the new kid on the block, and as such, it doesn't have as large a content base as its rivals. The vast majority of content on MSN comes from Microsoft itself. The service offers online editions of titles such as Microsoft Bookshelf and Encarta. Though the network has some interesting material for consumers and home users, most other commercial services, including America Online and Prodigy, are ahead in this arena.

MSN's Internet offerings are no more or less impressive than those offered by AOL or the other major online services. Indeed, the capabilities offered are pretty standard: Internet mail, ftp, World Wide Web and usenet access.

The real benefit of joining MSN is getting access to Microsoft's own information about Windows 95 and its various other products. Microsoft plans to provide online help for many of its applications primarily through MSN. In many applications, you will be able to click on a button that will launch MSN and bring you right to the relevant online section.

Microsoft has attempted to lure other software and hardware vendors into setting up tech support on MSN. If you like or need a lot of support, joining MSN might be a good idea further down the road. For now, CompuServe has particularly good tech support areas that are supported by many software and hardware vendors. Other CompuServe members can provide excellent tech support as well, because CompuServe users seem to be the most technically knowledgeable users of any of the major online services.

For now, MSN is an online service in the making. It has not yet found its niche among online users. Other services have already snapped up segments of the market. For example, important niches have been claimed by AOL (the preferred service for most online chat mavens), Prodigy (the self-touted family service) and CompuServe (the service of choice among the technically adept). With the online market growing so rapidly, however, MSN is bound to find its stride quickly.

One of Windows 95's coolest new features is TAPI (Telephony API), a technical standard proposed by Microsoft and supported by a wide variety of networking and communications companies. The idea behind TAPI is to integrate the telephone with the PC. Although TAPI is built into every copy of Windows 95, only a handful of applications currently take advantage of it, and most of these are geared toward business users. As support increases, almost all current TAPI developers plan to create consumer products as well.

TAPI melds your phone and computer as no other product has before. For example, you will be able to connect a handset to your computer and do all of your dialing and other phone activities on your computer screen. You can look up phone numbers and dial them from your computer. If you have caller ID, the computer can identify an incoming phone number and look it up in your database, pulling up the record if it finds a match.

Many home computers already on the market, such as the Compaq Presario and IBM Aptiva lines, include built-in telephone answering machine capabilities. This feature lets you use your computer to take phone messages, and cuts down cord clutter by consolidating the phone, fax and modem into a single device.

TAPI promises to drive this integration even further. If all goes according to plan, you will be able to set up a voice-mail system on your PC with separate voice-mail boxes for each family member. You'll also be able to forward faxes, phone calls or voice mail, or create tie-ins to beepers, cellular phones and PDAs. You will even be able to call your computer from a remote phone and have it read your e-mail and faxes to you--a feature Alexander Graham Bell would have found handy when he was trying to track down Mr. Watson.