Cupertino, Calif. - NuTek U.S.A. Corp., bankrolled by U.S. and Taiwanese venture capital and advised by a prominent intellectual-property attorney, this week will introduce what it calls the first legal Mac-compatible computer that doesn't require Apple ROMs.
NuTek will unveil both a Mac-compatible logic board and a separate hybrid system that it said is compatible with both the Mac and the IBM PC standard. Both products include a 33-MHz 68030 and come with system software that can run most Mac applications, according to NuTek.
The company claims to have developed its own Mac-compatible ROM for use in both systems, using "clean-room" techniques and public documents such as Apple's "Inside Macintosh." To sidestep a potential showdown with Apple over user-interface copyrights, the systems use the OSF (Open Software Foundation) Motif interface instead of the Mac graphical user interface.
But it is uncertain whether the small start-up will make personal computer history for its technical achievement or become just another footnote in Apple's litigious history.
> Logic board. The board is available now for $899 to value-added resellers and dealers, who can build it into their own private-label systems.
Most Mac peripherals and major software applications, except Microsoft Excel and Works, will run on the board, according to NuTek. In three to six months, NuTek said, it will ship a free upgrade of the system that makes it compatible with both Microsoft programs.
The 15-person company already has shipped units to more than 20 U.S. and European dealers but declined to name them for fear of legal reprisals from Apple, a company spokesman said.
> Duet. NuTek will market the second product, a computer called the Duet, under its own name. The system combines the 33-MHz '030 with an Intel 486DX running at the same clock speed.
NuTek said the Duet is compatible with most major hardware and software designed for IBM PCs and clones, as well as with Mac peripherals and applications. NuTek President Benjamin Chou said the Duet will run Mac software at about the speed of a Mac IIvx.
Priced at $2,996, the system comes with a keyboard, color monitor, 4 Mbytes of RAM and an 80-Mbyte hard disk shared between the Mac and IBM PC system, two NuBus slots for Mac cards, two ISA slots for PC cards, a SCSI port, and a 3.5-inch drive capable of formatting and reading floppies in both platforms' formats.
In addition to Motif for Mac software, the Duet runs Windows, MS-DOS, OS/2 and Unix on the 486.
The machine is available now in limited quantity directly from NuTek, and the company is finalizing distribution agreements with U.S. and European resellers, Chou said.
Andrew Seybold, a Boulder Creek, Calif.-based analyst briefed by NuTek, said the Duet will be a welcome addition in cross-platform environments.
But volume buyers are taking a more cautious approach. "With PowerPC on the horizon, I'm hesitant to buy a Duet," said a federal user. "The board sounds interesting, but the [Mac] LC III is a better buy for the price."
Although Roger Heinen, former senior vice president and general manager of Apple's Macintosh Software Architecture division, has seen the Mac-
compatible board, he didn't give any indication whether Apple thinks the technology infringes any Apple copyrights, Chou said.
"I don't know if Apple will sue," Chou said. "But we're ready to fight legally, and we have high confidence in our technology."
And apparently deep pockets. Sources said NuTek has a legal "war chest" of several million dollars. In addition, the company has worked closely since it was founded in 1989 with G. Gervaise Davis III, an intellectual-property attorney at Davis & Schroeder in Monterey, Calif., to ensure it hasn't violated Apple patents and copyrights.
Chou said NuTek purposely did not hire former Apple employees and required its engineers to sign a document prohibiting them from talking to Apple.
An Apple spokesman said the company does not think it is possible to produce a clone of the Mac without violating Apple copyrights. He said Apple will "continue to defend aggressively our intellectual property."
"We would have to see the technology before we make a decision," he said.
Industry observers are split on what legal action - if any - Apple may take. "Apple will not go after them unless they sell a tremendous number of products," Seybold said. "But I don't think [NuTek] will sell enough units of [the board] to be more than a mosquito to Apple."
Added a software developer: "If anything affects the market value of their crown jewels, Apple sues."
NuTek U.S.A. Corp. is at P.O. Box 160505, 1601 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, Suite 250, Cupertino, Calif. 95016. Phone (408) 973-8799; fax (408) 973-
8557.
MacWEEK 03.15.93
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(c) Copyright 1993 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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News: Apple readies slate-size Newtons
Second wave to offer larger screens in fall
By Andrew Gore
Cupertino, Calif. - While there will be much ado about Newtons and phones this month, Apple's second batch of Newtons will be slates of the art, sources said.
The first Newton, a handheld notepad-size device, won't ship in quantity until this fall, according to the latest estimates. But Apple already is preparing a notebook-size version of the device and expects to ship it about the same time as the small first model, sources said.
The Newton notebook reportedly will come in a square case, measuring 8 by 10 by 1 inch, with rounded edges and sides. It will have a landscape-
mode screen with a resolution of 640 by 480 pixels, sources said; the note pad, in contrast, has a small portrait-mode screen. Four buttons running along the top of the notebook screen will control contrast, brightness and power.
The first Newton slate doesn't have much over its smaller sibling except a bit more screen real estate. Both models will come with a pen for input, including handwriting recognition. Both will have one PCMCIA slot, a point-to-point infrared transceiver and one LocalTalk-enabled serial port. Even the prices are expected to be roughly comparable - less than $700 on the street - because the slate-size model, while larger, will be easier to manufacture.
In the first quarter of next year, sources said, Apple expects to ship two follow-up Newton notebooks with a lot more to offer.
For about $1,000, users will be able to get a Newton slate with an eight-bit gray-scale screen, a video-out port and diffuse infrared capabilities, in addition to a point-to-point transceiver. The diffuse infrared module will have a radius of about 15 feet and will be able to reflect off walls or ceilings to get access to an infrared receiver that will connect the unit to a LocalTalk network.
With diffuse infrared, users will be able to connect to printers or servers on the network. They also will be able to access other Newtons in the room and share calendars or work together on documents.
The midrange Newton notebook will have slots for two cards in the smaller variants of the PCMCIA standard (Type I or Type II) or one in the larger Type III format, sources said. The device also will feature a ROM slot for upgrading the Newton operating system. In addition, users will have the option of adding an internal fax-data modem to the slate; the small note pad can access a modem only through its serial port or PCMCIA slot.
The third, top-of-the-line model in the slate series will feature a backlit screen, a faster version of the ARM3 RISC processor used by the Newton note pad and a modem. It is expected to list for about $1,500. Apple may offer an optional wireless radio transceiver for this model.
MacWEEK 03.15.93
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News: PCMCIA slotted for Newton
PowerBook version not in cards for '93
By Nathalie Welch
Cupertino, Calif. - Apple will deliver its first PCMCIA slot this summer in its Newton personal digital assistant, but it may take a few more shuffles of the minicard standard before the company deals PowerBook users into the game.
The specification, developed by Personal Computer Memory Card International Association of Santa Clara, Calif., defines a standard interface for credit-card-size add-ons. Many Intel-based notebooks already include PCMCIA slots, and scores of developers offer card-based memory, modems, network adapters, 2.5-inch hard disks and ROM-based applications.
The Newton note-taker PDA will include one slot that can accept PCMCIA cards. The slot also implements the TrimBus, an Apple-developed superset of the industry standard. While the current PCMCIA specification, Version 2.0, defines a 16-bit path between card and host system, TrimBus is a 32-bit design; while PCMCIA 2.0 cards are limited to 64 Mbytes of memory, TrimBus can address up to 256 Mbytes of memory.
Apple reportedly has submitted a TrimBus-based spec to the PCMCIA as a future version of the standard. Sources said, however, that the document is stalled in committee, as the IBM PC-compatible system and peripherals makers that dominate the group focus on getting their cards compatible with the current PC Card 2.0 standard out to market.
"The PCMCIA currently is working on a 32-bit specification," said Tony Wutka, advising engineer at IBM Corp. and PCMCIA technical chairman, "but it will not be completed for at least a year."
Meanwhile, Apple reportedly has put the brakes on plans to add a PCMCIA slot to upcoming PowerBook models. "At this past Comdex, Apple's [PowerBook] group saw for the first time the real uses of PCMCIA, and they were not that impressed," said an Apple spokeswoman. "There are no immediate plans for PCMCIA in the PowerBook, at least not in 1993."
John Armstrong, vice president of engineering at Applied Engineering of Dallas, said: "If Apple is dissatisfied with the current PCMCIA standard, and I've heard that it is, it has reason to be. The 2.0 standard as it stands today is somewhat hostile to anybody developing for the Apple platform."
Armstrong ought to know: His company is about to release the first PCMCIA implementation for the PowerBooks, as part of a cellular modem system called the AErport. But Applied Engineering is using the slot only as a floppy drive connector, since AErport installs its modem where the internal floppy drive ordinarily goes. At least for now, users won't be able to install other PCMCIA cards, although the company hopes to make that possible with a software upgrade later this year.
Part of the problem is that Version 2.0 of the standard includes provisions for DOS drivers on cards but not for Mac-compatible drivers. Vendors offering cards for the Mac will have to find a way to install their drivers - a particular problem with devices that lack floppy drives.
Some observers say Apple can afford to wait because PowerBooks already offer many of the features that PCMCIA cards give PC notebook users, such as networking, memory expansion and communications capabilities.
"The functionality of the current PCMCIA standard would have to be expanded before it would present a benefit to the Macintosh platform," said Neil Selvin, who until last week was director of marketing for Apple's portable-products group.
Nevertheless, several third-party Mac developers, in addition to Applied Engineering, are weighing plans to offer PCMCIA products for the PowerBook, sources said. Overland Park, Kan.-based Digital Ocean expects to release a PCMCIA-card version of its wireless Grouper radio transceiver in 1994, which it said could fit into future PowerBooks with PCMCIA slots.
Asante Technologies Inc. of San Jose, Calif., reportedly is developing a PCMCIA Ethernet adapter and an adapter kit enabling users to add PCMCIA slots to PowerBooks. Sources said the card is slated to ship by the end of the year for less than $400.
One vendor - Motorola Inc.'s Paging & Wireless Data Group, based in Boynton Beach, Fla. - has already announced a PCMCIA card for the Newton: the NewsCard, a wireless communications device that will let users receive electronic mail, data files or paging messages. Motorola said it was working with Apple's Newton group, among other manufacturers of PCMCIA-equipped devices, on the card.
Other third-party Mac developers said they are taking a wait-and-see attitude about PCMCIA.
"We will be watching it closely," said Kathleen Bower, director of marketing communications at Global Village Communication Inc. of Mountain View, Calif. "If it looks like something important to our customers, we will take it a step further."
MacWEEK 03.15.93
News Page 1
(c) Copyright 1993 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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News: Siemens to put Newton on phone
PDAs to plug into NotePhone station
By Andrew Gore
Munich, Germany - Imagine you're in the conference room when that important call from Germany rings in your office two floors away. But you don't miss the call - the Newton on which you're taking notes notifies you and puts the call on hold until you can get back to your cubicle.
According to Peter Pribilla, president and CEO of both Siemens Private Communications Systems Group, a division of Siemens AG based here, and ROLM, a Siemens company in Santa Clara, Calif., this could be just one of many benefits of the NotePhone station the company is developing for Apple's Newton.
Siemens and Apple made a joint announcement last week that the German telecommunications company will become Apple's first OEM partner for Newton. Pribilla said his company will work closely with Apple to combine Siemens' and ROLM's PBX technologies with Newton to produce a family of products, including analog and digital, wired and wireless Newton communications stations for the home and office.
Pribilla said his company and Apple will stage a joint technology demonstration at the CeBIT '93 trade show in Hanover, Germany, next week. They will show a prototype of the NotePhone, their first joint product, which Pribilla said is a desktop station with a telephone handset, a standard numeric key pad and a drop-in slot for a Newton.
When the Newton is docked, the station will add to Apple's personal digital assistant (PDA) the ability for users to simply tap an icon on the Newton's screen to control many of the phone's more complex and esoteric functions, such as setting up conference calls, enabling and disabling call waiting, and programming voice mail.
The station also will provide send-and-receive fax capabilities and may even incorporate a thermal printer to output faxes.
Different NotePhone stations will support three phone systems: standard analog; ROLM 9750 PBXes; and HICOM, Siemens' PBX standard for Europe. The analog NotePhone will offer access functions that users can currently control only by typing in obscure codes.
The PBX version of the NotePhone will use icons on a docked Newton's screen to replace the "soft key" control buttons familiar to users of digital phone systems.
According to Pribilla, the phone-control functions will be in the Siemens stations, which will communicate them to the Newton when it is docked. As a result, the same Newton could offer different options, depending on the type of station it is plugged into.
Users will be able to dock their own Newtons, with their personal phone list and notes, in any NotePhone. Users with an analog NotePhone station at home and a PBX station at work could carry their Newton between home and office, accessing the same contact information in both places.
The first-generation NotePhone will require a hard-wired connection, but the next step, according to Pribilla, will be the addition of local radio connections. The RF NotePhone will communicate with a Newton anywhere in an office campus, he said.
After that, Pribilla said, his company plans to add analog and eventually digital cellular technology to the NotePhone line. Ultimately, Newton users will be able to be in contact with their company's ROLM-enabled stations around the world.
"[Then] you even could use your Newton wherever you are and make wireless connections without being at your docking station," Pribilla said.
As wireless NotePhone stations come out, users will be able to upgrade without having to replace their PDAs, he said.
Another possible future use of the NotePhone would be to download directory information from PBXes.
Although pricing on the first NotePhone has not been set, Pribilla said it will be in line with other Newton products. Apple has said the first Newton will retail for well under $1,000.
The NotePhones probably will ship first in Germany, Siemens' telecommunications stronghold, according to Pribilla. He said Apple will supply the company with Siemens-labeled Newtons, while his company will build the NotePhone stations.
Barry Schiffman, senior director of OEM sales and licensing for Apple's Personal Interactive Electronics division, said the agreement with Siemens is only the first of many licensing and OEM pacts through which Apple expects to make Newton technologies "a market standard in a broad range of consumer and professional products."
MacWEEK 03.15.93
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(c) Copyright 1993 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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News: Apple's Bogart server to search, retrieve text
By Carolyn Said
San Francisco - Promising Mac users a tool to dip into massive quantities of data, Apple this month is expected to announce an information server that simplifies and accelerates text search and retrieval, sources said.
The software-only product, code-named Bogart, will use agent technology to let users perform English-language queries with Boolean operators and proximity searches of text stored on a central server or on CD-ROMs. It will deliver "smart relevance" search results, ranked by pertinence to the user's query. Searches can occur on demand or at user-specified time intervals.
Apple reportedly will offer both Macintosh and Windows clients for the server, which is expected to ship later this year.
When users store word processing documents on the information server, it will open them using the Translation Manager technology in Macintosh Easy Open and automatically scan them to create an index of all words ranked by frequency of occurrence.
The system will be able to receive queries and send search results via AOCE (Apple Open Collaboration Environment).
Sources said Apple will offer an application programming interface to the technology, allowing developers to build the natural-language search capabilities into their applications. The company reportedly is evangelizing content developers to create CD-ROMs preindexed in its format.
Apple has demonstrated aspects of the technology, which makes possible such concepts as creation of a daily personalized newspaper assembled from wire services and on-line databases. At the Technology, Entertainment and Design conference in Monterey, Calif., last year, Apple CEO John Sculley showed Reporter, a software agent that automated searches based on questions typed into a dialog box (see MacWEEK, March 2, 1992).
"There are dozens of companies that offer natural-language topic-type retrieval," said Craig Cline, associate editor of the Seybold Reports in Malibu, Calif. "But there's been a real dearth of decent full-text retrieval on the Mac."
Donald Wyner, vice president of Credit Lyonnaise in New York, said a Mac solution for full-text searching would definitely be of interest to his company. The bank currently performs text searches of real-time news wire and market data feeds with applications running on a DEC VAX; data is delivered to Mac clients via Digital Equipment Corp.'s ALL-IN-1 Mail. "If I could run the whole operation on a Mac, it would become what I call a toaster: I wouldn't have to think about it as much," he said. "And creating searches in the Mac graphical interface that everyone's accustomed to would be a lot easier."
Dave Coursey, editor of P.C. Letter in San Mateo, Calif., said: "Full-
text searching in documents created by a variety of sources is a tool a lot of companies can use. There are hard drives filled with gigabytes of word processing documents and no one knows what they contain."
Mac text-search options currently include low-cost utilities such as ON Technology Inc.'s On Location, Claris Corp.'s Retrieve It! and Microlytics Inc.'s Gofer; Virginia Systems Inc.'s Sonar series; systems that work only with ASCII text, such as Personal Library Software Inc.'s PL/MAC; and complex systems that cost tens of thousands of dollars, such as Verity Inc.'s Topic Document Retrieval System. Document-imaging systems from several vendors also include text-retrieval capabilities.
The information server is Apple's first implementation of the media server that its executives have been discussing, sources said. Eventually, the server will be able to handle multiple types of media, such as graphics and QuickTime movies.
MacWEEK 03.15.93
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Gateways: Microsystems puts Mac on CaLANdar
Macs share schedules with Windows, DOS
By Leonard Heymann
Framingham, Mass. - Microsystems Software Inc. next month will ship a Mac version of a DOS and Windows group scheduler that distributes calendars across platforms and wide-area networks.
CaLANdar for Windows and DOS can run using its own server configuration, or it can be tightly coupled with a variety of electronic-mail packages to allow clients to use a single user directory for scheduling and mail.
However, the first version of CaLANdar for Mac will not include E-mail support. About two months after initial shipments, Microsystems said, it plans to roll out E-mail hooks for the Mac client. Lotus Development Corp.'s cc:Mail, Microsoft Mail, Banyan Systems Inc.'s Vines Mail and Novell Inc.'s Message Handling Service (MHS) will be supported.
Users of the Mac version of CE Software Inc.'s QuickMail initially will have to depend on MHS gateways for E-mail services. Microsystems said it would like to provide native support for QuickMail. CE currently bundles a calendaring program, ON Technology Inc.'s Meeting Maker, with QuickMail. A cross-platform version, Meeting Maker XP, is due in April.
CaLANdar for Mac will include scheduling, address-card files and message-management functions. CaLANdar's distributed-database architecture can support up to 128,000 users, the company said. People and resource scheduling features include:
> Appointments. A group appointment graph shows a week of combined activity to let users select meeting time slots. CaLANdar also searches for available meeting times across multiple schedules.
> Resources. Identical meeting facilities and resources, such as conference rooms and slide projectors, can be placed in pools. When these resources are selected, CaLANdar automatically assigns the next available room or projector to the meeting.
> Accessories. CALoDEX offers extended information on users and resources. It also can store name, address and phone numbers of other contacts.
CALaWAY is a message-management system for forwarding appointment information to roaming users.
CaLANdar for Mac with support for a wide-area network will cost $695 for 10 users, $1,195 for 20 users and $2,495 for 50 users. A single-server version, which works on a LAN, is priced at $595 for a 10-pack, $995 for 20 users and $1,995 for 50 users.
Microsystems Software Inc. is at 600 Worcester Road, Framingham, Mass. 01701. Phone (508) 879-9000; fax (508) 626-8515.
MacWEEK 03.15.93
Gateways Page 18
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GA: Microsoft sets sights on Mac type
Type pack matches Windows collections
By Kirsten L. Parkinson
Redmond, Wash. - Software giant Microsoft Corp. this week will release its first TrueType font package for the Mac.
The $99.95 Microsoft TrueType Master Set for Macintosh comprises 102 text, headline, decorative and symbol typefaces licensed from major type foundries, including Monotype Typography Inc., Linotype-Hell Co. and URW.
Like Apple's $99 Font Pack of 43 typefaces, Microsoft's font offerings for the Mac are aimed primarily at new users in the home and business markets, Microsoft said.
According to industry observers, Microsoft's presence in the font market may rejuvenate TrueType on the Mac.
"I think this package will enhance the position of TrueType," said Chuck Bigelow, president of Bigelow & Holmes Inc., a type foundry in Menlo Park, Calif. "There are several fonts [in the package] that are not otherwise available in a mass-market distribution for the Macintosh.
"To have a major vendor marketing fonts also supports TrueType," Bigelow said. "It signals that the heavy lifters are involved in TrueType on the Mac."
The Microsoft package's biggest draw, however, could be its cross-
platform compatibility, some observers said. Microsoft said it has sold hundreds of thousands of its two TrueType font packages for the Windows platform. The Mac product includes the same collection of fonts, such as the Lucida family, Century Schoolbook and Wingdings.
"The cross-platform goal - to make a promise that your documents are going to be more transferable - could be a really good selling point for Microsoft," said Stefan Wennik, product marketing manager for font vendor Bitstream Inc. of Cambridge, Mass. "I actually see this product introduction as more of a strategic goal in promoting cross-platform [work] instead of a plan to get heavily involved in the type business."
Others thought Microsoft could create some stiff competition for higher-
priced, higher-end font foundries.
"I see [Microsoft's product] hurting vendors that charge too much for their products," said Jerry Saperstein, president of FontBank Inc., a font vendor based in Evanston, Ill. "Adobe [Systems Inc.], for example, has been selling fonts on the Windows side for a buck or two each, but it hasn't been reducing them on the Mac side. Microsoft is creating a market for the smaller vendors that sell fonts at reasonable prices."
Microsoft Corp. is at 1 Microsoft Way, Redmond, Wash. 98052-6399. Phone (206) 882-8080; fax (206) 936-7329.
MacWEEK 03.15.93
GA Page 28
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BusinessWatch: WordStar buys T/Maker's WriteNow
Roizen plans focus on content, clip art
By Lisa Picarille
Novato, Calif. - WordStar International Inc. is continuing to use its checkbook to gain a foothold in the Mac market.
Last week the software company, based here, acquired the marketing, development and distribution rights to T/Maker Co.'s WriteNow Mac word processor for an undisclosed amount of cash and royalties.
WriteNow joins WordStar's Mac line of writing tools, which were acquired from LifeTree Software Inc. in 1991. To date, WordStar - most famous in the early 1980s for its successful DOS word processor by the same name - has had virtually no presence in the Mac arena. WriteNow immediately changes that with an installed base of 200,000.
"With a lot of manufacturers rushing to Windows, there is a hole on the Mac," said WordStar CEO Ron Posner. "We have been reluctant to do so in the past. But now Apple is doing well overseas and Performas are selling well. Now is a great time to be on the Mac."
The six-person WriteNow team, including the product manager and developers, also will join WordStar. However, those developers will remain at T/Maker's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, and T/Maker will assume an "advisory" role in WriteNow's continued development, according to both companies.
In the meantime, WriteNow's packaging will be redesigned to look more like WordStar's line of Mac writing tools. No decision has been made on whether the word processor will carry the WordStar label.
WordStar also is looking to round out its current suite of Mac applications by purchasing a calendar and scheduling package and a fax program, Posner said.
"Our focus and concern is building a whole range of Mac-compatible products, which we will acquire," Posner said. "We're looking for a variety of Mac applications to tie in with word processing and writing tools for small-business users."
WordStar hopes to boost its Mac product revenues to 25 percent to 30 percent of its total revenues, which were $42 million for its fiscal 1992 year.
T/Maker CEO Heidi Roizen said the decision to sell WriteNow, which accounted for half of T/Maker's $12 million in 1992 revenues, was the result of the company's decision to focus on content and clip art.
Roizen said T/Maker expects its ClickArt line, which accounted for the other half of its revenues, to surpass $10 million this year.
Over the past year, T/Maker has sunk $1 million into developing ClickArt titles. By July, the company is expects to add several more titles aimed at a variety of markets and at various price points.
ClickArt so far has garnered 45 percent of the Mac content market, according to the Software Publishers Association in Washington, D.C.
MacWEEK 03.15.93
BusinessWatch Page 38
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Review: SoftPC with Windows 3.0
Lacks documentation for Windows, DOS
By Steve Michel
Insignia Solutions Inc. recently released Version 3.0 of its SoftPC family of products. Two of the products in the group - the entry-level Universal SoftPC and the midrange SoftPC Professional - are based on earlier revisions of SoftPC. The new offering, SoftPC with Windows, is the first version of SoftPC to support Microsoft Windows. It is this product that we evaluated.
Overall, SoftPC 3.0 offers greater performance and improved compatibility than previous versions, and SoftPC with Windows comes with Microsoft Windows 3.1. The question for potential buyers is whether the performance of SoftPC justifies its $499 price.
SoftPC with Windows emulates an Intel 286 processor, and for performance reasons Insignia recommends it be run only on 68040-equipped Macs. However, the software does no checking to see if the Mac is so equipped, so it can be run on a 68030 Mac. We tested it using a 33-MHz Radius Inc. Rocket in a Mac IIx as well as with a Quadra 950.
SoftPC with Windows includes DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1. When you install it, this software uses about 13 Mbytes of hard disk space, mandating that you create a minimum 15-Mbyte hard disk file to accommodate the software. Of course, if you want to load Windows software, a much larger disk file is required.
It's only RAM. By adjusting the RAM partition of the SoftPC application, you can increase the amount of memory available to the DOS environment. A minimal partition of 4.8 Mbytes gives DOS 640 Kbytes of RAM but no extended memory. Windows requires extended memory, and for each 1,152 Kbytes you add to the SoftPC memory allocation, 1,024 Kbytes are allocated to extended memory. Beyond that, additional memory must be added to support various amounts of color and various sizes of the Windows desktop.
You can run a minimal Windows installation with 6.1 Mbytes of RAM, which gives you 1 Mbyte of extended memory and a 16-color, 640-by-480-pixel desktop, but this doesn't allow you to run many applications. Since SoftPC with Windows emulates a 16-bit 286 instead of a 32-bit 386, virtual memory is not available. A more "reasonable" installation uses 12 Mbytes of RAM to give you 6 Mbytes of extended memory and 256 colors on the Windows desktop. This configuration is how we ran the program most of the time. SoftPC does not support extended memory sizes larger than 6 Mbytes, nor does it support more than 256 colors for the Windows desktop.
Support for peripherals. SoftPC lets Windows and DOS programs work with peripherals connected to the Macintosh. Using a LaserWriter was no problem, especially since Windows supports PostScript for printing. You simply specify that the LaserWriter is connected to the printer port (LPT1) of the virtual Windows machine.
We were also able to use a modem connected to the Mac's modem port by mapping that to Windows' COM1 port. A very nice feature is support for DOS-format CD-ROMs in a Macintosh CD-ROM drive (which is available in all SoftPC configurations). This offers some real utility to the program: Mac users can access CD-ROM software, such as databases, that are available only for the DOS platform.
When running DOS applications, SoftPC supports Macintosh sound hardware to mimic the PC speaker. SoftPC includes no support for the Macintosh sound hardware from within Windows, however, so we had to bear the disappointment of silent Windows.
Copying and pasting. An obvious use for SoftPC is to facilitate movement of data between the two environments. Support for the Mac Clipboard, however, is virtually nonexistent for any data other than straight text.
Pasting text into a Windows text editor from the Macintosh Clipboard is handled simply: The text appears in the Windows program as if it were entered from the keyboard. However, we had numerous problems when doing this: Garbage characters were often inserted into the Windows program. This was especially noticeable when pasting special characters such as curly quotes and em dashes, but we also saw glitches with other characters. Carriage returns are also not handled correctly, since Windows uses a return-line feed combination to indicate the end of a line.
A Smart Clipboard utility is installed automatically in the Windows environment; this utility translates text on the Windows clipboard to the Mac Clipboard when you switch from SoftPC to the Macintosh, and it worked fine for us, without the problems we had going the other way.
GUI without graphics. Copying and pasting graphics doesn't work at all. While you can capture bit-map images from the Windows screen, this works only if the bit map fits entirely on the screen. SoftPC with Windows provides no support for pasting Mac graphics into Windows programs. We realize this cannot be handled by the trick of mimicking keyboard input, but we are very disappointed that Insignia didn't provide this capability. This would have greatly improved our overall impression of the product.
Beyond these complaints, SoftPC can access specified folders on the Mac hard disk. This lets applications with translators read and save documents for the other platform. While this is useful, it is a capability already provided by other applications coupled with simple PC hardware such as Farallon Computing Inc.'s PhoneNET PC.
Missing documentation. The documentation is another disappointment. While SoftPC with Windows includes both DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1 software, the documentation consists of a 139-page manual. Neither DOS nor Windows manuals are included. Within the manual, DOS is given 13 pages of coverage, and Windows gets a measly 10. Perhaps Insignia feels that the target market already has DOS and Windows documentation, but this is unsatisfactory.
Our calls to Insignia support were answered by eager but inexperienced support personnel; perhaps as the product matures Insignia's support staff will as well.
Performance. Performance is a big issue. Using ZD Labs' WinBench benchmark application, we compared the speed of our test configurations with a 386 PC running at 16 MHz, and SoftPC's performance was in no case anywhere comparable. Considering that DOS boxes of this class can be purchased for about $1,000, this doesn't make SoftPC with Windows much of a bargain for those who want to use Windows on a regular basis.
We tested SoftPC with Windows with a suite of programs for both DOS and Windows, including Claris Corp.'s FileMaker Pro for Windows, Microsoft PowerPoint, WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS and various shareware programs; with most applications, the only problem we experienced was the poor speed. However, Apple's QuickTime for Windows would not run, telling us that a 386 processor was required.
Some of SoftPC with Windows' performance problems might come from its 286 emulation. Few if any savvy users would install Windows on a 286 machine, and Microsoft recommends using a 386-based PC as a minimum platform for running Windows 3.1.
Conclusions. Insignia has shown tenacity and technical expertise in developing software to let the Mac run the MS-DOS operating system, and this expertise has been extended to Microsoft Windows 3.1. Unfortunately, while SoftPC with Windows works, the mere capability to run Windows will not be enough for many users.
The program ran nearly all the Windows and DOS software we tested. However, poor performance and resource constraints - RAM, CPU and disk space - make running most applications a chore.
Insignia has made it clear that SoftPC with Windows is oriented toward the occasional Windows user, but even under those conditions the product suffers. If you can live without Windows support, the $325 SoftPC Professional is a better buy with less-intense performance issues.
Users looking to run Windows on the Macintosh more often and at more acceptable speeds, however, will have to wait for PowerPC or should look at dedicated coprocessor cards such as Orange Micro Inc.'s OrangePC.
Insignia Solutions Inc. is at 526 Clyde Ave., Mountain View, Calif. 94043. Phone (415) 694-7600; fax (415) 964-5434.
Score Card: SoftPC with Windows
Insignia Solutions Inc.
Version tested: 3.0
List price: $499*
Overall value 2
SoftPC with Windows is an impressive technical achievement, but its performance is barely adequate for running Microsoft Windows. It requires a 68040-based Mac and lots of RAM and hard disk space to be useful, and it should not be considered in lieu of a dedicated PC for those who rely on Windows for their day-to-day work. In addition, although it ships with Windows 3.1 and DOS 5.0, Insignia fails to include the documentation for either product, which is lamentable. For occasional use of key DOS or Windows programs, SoftPC with Windows can be a cost-effective alternative to buying a full machine. If you can live without the Windows support, the midrange SoftPC Professional is a better buy.
Performance 1
Features 2
Ease of use 4
Documentation/support 1
* Upgrade from SoftAT 2.5, $129; upgrade from Universal SoftPC 2.5, $249.
System 7 Compatibility: SoftPC with Windows 3.0
Balloon help Yes
TrueType Yes*
Publish and subscribe n/a
Apple events n/a
32-bit addressing** Yes
*Windows format.
**According to vendor.
MacWEEK 03.15.93
Review Page 45
(c) Copyright 1993 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
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Mac the Knife: Business 1, fat-cat politician 0
In this business, one of the first things they teach you after you get out of Typing 101 is the truism that all news is local. That lesson has never had more resonance than it has lately, especially for the residents of New York, Waco and Pensacola. There the fanatics seem to have taken over, although the Knife was surprised about Pensacola.
All in all, it's enough to make those of us who live in California thankful that we live in a place that's so, well, normal. Aside from a gentle propensity to sue each other at the drop of a copyright, that is. And now here's Apple still showing a profit during what we here on the West Coast call "Depression II, the Movie" and throwing its weight around like the multibillion-dollar outfit it is.
As evidence, the Knife points to a Herb Caen (San Francisco columnist since Depression I and spiritual godfather to all rumormongers), who reports that California State Assembly Speaker Willie Brown is suing the San Francisco Hilton Hotel for a cool $1 million. Willie claims that the hotel bumped his annual fund-raiser after Apple made the hotel a better offer. Locals were startled to realize that Apple has more money than even the state's most visible fat-cat.
My software company. Over at Claris campus there must be a lot of pressure to match parent Apple's success. Observers say it's not too hard to be optimistic about future prospects now that the new version of ClarisWorks, its premier cash cow, and a new version of MacWrite are ready to roll.
Over on the Windows side of the balance sheet there's cause for guarded optimism, although the Windows market is proving to be a tougher nut than some had expected. The Knife hears that Windows version of FileMaker Pro is beginning at last to perform respectably in the marketplace, but so far no records are in danger of being broken. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Hollywood, the Windows presentation package that Claris picked up from IBM. And the Windows version of MacDraw Pro remains a bit of an enigma. Sources claim that development of that product was based originally on the Hollywood engine, but performance was so abysmal that those plans were dropped.
Development for a Windows draw program is now taking place in-house. This time around, the engine is being designed both for performance and modularity. If all goes according to plan, this same engine will be used in future Claris products, including a probable replacement for Hollywood. Meanwhile, the Windows MacDraw product is scheduled to ship this summer.
Quick, the mail, Madge. The Knife reports this week that QuickMail 2.6, which features a noticeably faster server, is on schedule for release later this month. So while Roseanne and Tom Arnold are exploring the Iowa market for haute diner cuisine, CE Software won't be content just making the world safe for faster E-mail servers.
CE has a few marketing surprises up its sleeve, too. It plans to give away five-packs, which should be as popular with the E-mail crowd as six-packs are with the Joe-Bob crowd.
Another bit in the bucket. Those who are tired of chewing on the 32-bit enabler/System 7.1 compatibility issue might want to try this one on: Last week Apple's own technical-support personnel owned up to an annoying bug that a subset of Quadra 900 and Quadra 950 owners are experiencing. The bug rears its ugly head when users install a RAM disk on Quadras with 256 Mbytes of RAM. These same technical-support types are promising a formal announcement will appear shortly at an AppleLink service near you.
If you know nothing, don't be calling around here for a MacWEEK mug, but to sample the Daddy Mac experience, make a connection at (415) 243-3544, fax (415) 243-3650, MCI (MactheKnife), Internet (mac_the_knife@macweek.ziff.com), AppleLink (MacWEEK) or CompuServe/ZiffNet/Mac.
MacWEEK 03.15.93
Mac the Knife Page 126
(c) Copyright 1993 Coastal Associates, L.P. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
