Datamation V33 N24 19871215 
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NEWS
9 Look Ahead
IBM to donate supercomputers in Europe.
l 7 Wall Street Crash Aftermath
Jeff Moad examines users' IS spending plans since Black Monday and finds that most are standing firm against cutbacks.
19 Supercomputers
Amid MIT's canceled Japanese supercomputer deal and talk of U.S. government pressure on BY U not to buy Japanese, Willie Schatz finds concern that users will ultimately be the losers.
2 4 Communications
Susan Kerr reports that while IBM keeps a slow pace for bringing X.400-based electronic mail products to market, some users and vendors are moving ahead to embrace the standard.
30 Software
Robert Poe writes that the traditional iciness of Japanese users to packaged software is melting, but limits on supply moderate the speed of the thaw.
3 4 Microcomputers
Would-be rs/2 clone makers push to develop Micro Channel-based products, but the finish line may sit at the courthouse door. Robert Francis reports.
4O Benchmarks
Honeywell Bull plans to cut 1,600 jobs in 1988.
43 Behind the Hews
The road to advance computer education in U.S. schools will probably be a local one. Theresa Barry looks at programs in four cities' schools and explores how they are proceeding.
2 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBE R 15 , 1987

5 2 Customer Clout!

DATAMATION's Directory

of User Groups
Orators have Speaker's

..

Corner, villagers have their

town meetings, but where

can the managers of IS

equipment go to give voice

to their thoughts and listen

to the experiences of oth-

ers concerning program pit-

falls, hardware headaches,

and service shenanigans?

One major forum is the

user group, a single meeting

of which may provide infor-

mation that otherwise could

take months to discern on

one's own. Herein, the vital

statistics for user groups of

DATAMATION 100 firms.

70 OS/ 2: The Big Change for Small

Systems Software

BY MARY JO FOLEY

Will microcomputer users

be exclaiming "It's a won-

derful life!" this season

now that os/2, the first major new operating sys-

tem to be introduced in the

past few years, has begun

to ship? If oos diehards and

those who have already

chosen Unix are the ones

doing the caroling, it won't

be on account of os/2's arrival, since they had al-

ready voted for operating

systems that were in exis-

tence. Early os/2 users' re-

views have been generally

positive, and os /2's promise

of opening up new applications realms is inspiring

·

experimentation.

-·

Editorial

REAL TIME

MIT's Regrettable Decision

4 Letters The chairperson of the Large Systems Special Interest Group of the Digital Equipment Computer User Society writes concerning a recent article on reported user service problems; United Airlines' MIS vp says the company is sticking with Unisys; and a request for a finetuning of our salary survey

DECEMBER 15, 1987 VOlUME 33 NUMBER 24 THIS ISSUE, 185,700 COPIES

It strikes us as more than passing strange that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology succumbed to political pressure from the U.S . government in canceling a proposed deal to lease a Japanese supercomputer. The Commerce Department's disingenuous rationale, as expressed by acting secretary Bruce Smart, that such " imported products may be subject to U.S. anti-dumping duty proceedings" seems to add up to a curious definition of the national interest.
Not only do we find it disturbing that an

statistics.

institution such as MIT could be bent to the

91 Hardware
Alliant Computer Systems

government's political will, but we find the notion of "dumping," as applied in this case, dubious at best and

Corp.'s FX/ 4 lowers the entry

self-defeating at worst. First, the MIT deal with

level price of an expandable

Honeywell NEC Supercomputers Inc. would have been

,...

64-bit minisuper.

96 Software

1987 JESSE H. NEAl AWARD

on the basis of a leasing arrangement, not a sale. Technically, that means the so-called dumping law

"

The new release of Banyan' s

doesn't apply. Second, the SX 2 supercomputer that MIT

VINES network operating system

would have received is considered by U.S. academicians

provides two TCP/ IP options.

and researchers to be first-rate technology (see "MIT

,.

98 People
Dennis Yablonsky of the Car-

negie Group may not fit the

Decision on Supercomputer Is Worrying U.S. Researchers," p. 19). How does its exclusion aid MITor any other U.S. institution of higher learning that may

...

prototype of the American

ceo, but he doesn't want to.

bow to political pressure- in producing leading edge R&D and remaining competitive internationally?

~

99 Cale nda r

The Department of Commerce is evidently well

Computer Graphics '88 sails

aware of these points, particularly the legal one, which

into San Diego in January.

strongly suggests its letter to MIT was motivated to

I-

108 Advertisers' Inde x

~

108 The Marketplace

influence trade negotiations. At a time of trade disputes with Japan, in which supercomputers have become an icon in the struggle for markets, it might be granted that

Cover Illustra tion by Jose Cruz

DOC's strategy was correct. But we feel it was the wrong way to go for several reasons.

Cutting off U.S. researchers from the best

technology is a negative over the long term. DOC's move

..

Coming in the next
issue: ASPECIAL REPORT

IBM at the Crossroads. How

Big Blue has responded

to new pressures from

was tactical and short term, but strategically could be a blow at home if R&D is affected. In addition, stopping Japanese technology from corning ashore at a time when U.S. technology is flowing offshore seems to us a hightech double whammy. Witness IBM's $40 million

customers, competitors,

supercomputer donation to European colleges and

and the bottom line. Including: An analysis of IBM 's
control of information. How IBM's internal organization affects its customers.

universities (see Look Ahead, p. 9). Instead, we'd like to see a trade policy based on
sound principles, i.e., open markets and long-term strategic advantage. At the same time, we hope that any organization that in the future may be faced with a decision such as the one MIT faced will respond with greater resolve. To us, it's in the national interest.

An in-depth analysis of

IBM's new vertical

marketing moves.

What IBM' s new prod-

ucts promise and

what they deliver.

DAVID R. BROUSELL MANAGING EDITOR / NEWS & FEATURES

DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987 3

CRTRMRTICN
Editor-in-Chief Tim Mead

Letters

.,

Senior Editor Linda llunyan

Managing Editor/ News & Features David R. Brou sell Senior Writer llalph E. Carlyle Deputy News Editor Theresa Barry New Products Editor Mary Kathleen Flynn Editorial Assistant Karen J. Scher

Managing Editor/ Production &

Hit the DEC

time in the future. The article also erro-

Special Projects Parker Hodges Copy Chief Steven Korn Production Editor Hernalee Walker Copy Editors Ilene Matthews, John Quain

"Users Report Service Problems with neously stated that Unimatic was an ofDigital's High-End System" (Oct. 1, fice automation system when in fact it is p. 17) contained much information on one of the most advanced aircraft flight

Production Assistant Suzanne P. Jones

customer perspectives on VAX 8700 ser- planning, monitoring, and crew sched-

International Editor Paul Tate

vice. The article indicated that I had been uling systems in the airline industry. We

Tokyo Bureau Manager Hobert Poe

responsible for "organizing" a meeting have converted two Unisys applications

Editorial Assistant (London) Lauren Murphy Foreign Correspondents James Etheridge, Paris; Janette Martin, Milan
Bureau Managers Boston Gary Mc Williams Dallas Hobert Francis

and that my attendance was primarily as a representative from Stevens Institute. The meeting that was held in New York was a regular, monthly meeting of the N.Y. Cluster LUG (Local User Group) of

at our San Francisco center to IBM for data access considerations, but not because of any plan to move all applications off Unisys equipment.
I might point out that United also

Los Angeles Tom McCusker

DECUS (Digital Equipment Computer Us- operates 20 large IBM mainframe sys-

New York Karen Gullo San Francisco Jelf Moad, Susan Kerr Washington Willie Schatz
Art Director Hoben L. Lascaro Assistant Art Director Doreen Austria
Contributing Editor· Joseph Kelly, Fred Lamond , Laton McCartney. Hesh Wiener Advisory Board Lowell Amdahl, Philip H. Dorn,Joseph

ers Society). I attended and spoke at the meeting but did not chair the LUG or the meeting. My participation included a suggestion that Bankers Trust share its experiences so that other 8700 sites could gain from its knowledge. The list of problems and solutions contained in your arti-

tems supporting general business applications and computerized reservation services for the airline and over 8,500 travel agencies. We intend to remain a multiple vendor environment.
DON KARMAZIN
Vice President

Ferreira, Bruce W. Hasenyager, David Hebditch,John

cle was based on the experiences that

Management Information Systems

Imlay, Irene Nesbit , Angeline Pantages, Robe rt L. Patrick, Malcolm Peltu, llussell Pipe, Carl lleynolds, F.G. Withington

were reported at the meeting and was later published in the Large Systems S IG

United Airlines Chicago

Publishing Director Donald Fagan Associate Publisher William Segallis

(Special Interest Group) section of the

DECUS US. Chapter SICS Newsletters.

More Data Please

Promotion Manager Stacy Aaron

Also, my conversation with Gary I write regarding the salary survey (Oct.

Production Manager EricJorgensen Research Manager Laraine Donisi Director of Production Hobe rt Elder Director of Art Department Barrie Stern

McWilliams, author of your article, was 1, p. 78), which took on new importance from the perspective of being the chair- for me when I recently began a job

·

person of the Large Systems S IG of search. I was interested in the statistics

Circulation Manager llube n Natal

DECUS, which is responsible for issues provided on salaries and turnover rates.

related to Digital's high-end systems. In Median income was presented against a

EDITORIAL OFFICES
Headquarters: 249 W. 17 St.. New York. NY 10011, (2 12) 6450067; telex 429073. New England: 199 Wells Ave., Newton. MA 02159. (6 17 ) 964-3730; Washington, D.C.: 44 5 1 Albemarle St. NW, Washingto n. DC 200 16. (202) 966-7100; Central: 9:no LBJ Freew<iy, Sui te 1060 . D;1ll<1s. TX 75243. (2 14) 644<~683:
Western: 12233 \V. Olympic. Los Angeles. CA 90064. (213 ) 82658 18: 2680 Bavshore Frontage Rd.. Suite 401. i\lounl<1in View. CA 94043. (4 fS) 965-8222. International: 27 P;iul St., London
EC2A 4J U. England, (44-1) 628-7030, telex 91 49 11; 3-46-lO Sekinrnchi-Kita. Nerima-ku, T okyo 177. Japan, (8 1-3) 929-3239.

this role, I represent the customer base on issues of concern to installations with large VAX systems as well as DEC system products. My comments were based on experiences described to me by members of DECUS, and were not primarily based on experiences at Stevens Insti-

number of other interesting and useful measures for rather finely defined jobs. However, by not supplying standard deviation or some other range-type information, you do your audience a disservice. Data processing professionals should know enough statistics to realize

DATAMATION ( ISSN 0011-6963) Magazine is issued twice tute . As a follow-up to the meeting and that "above the median" describes half of

mo n1hl y on the 1st and 1Sth of every month by Th e Cahners Pu blishing Company, A Division of Reed Publishing USA. 275 Wash-

McWilliams' article, l have been asked to a normally distributed population. In or-

ington St. . Newton. MA 02158-1630. Willi;im M. Platt. President: T errence M. McDermotl. Executive Vice Pres ident : FrankJ. Sib-

participate in discussions with Digital der to compare a number against a sam-

ley. Group Vice President: Je rry D. Neth, Vice Presiden t / Pub-
lishing Opcr3tions; J .j. Walsh. Fi1rnn ci:1l Vice President /
M;igaz ine Division: Thomas J. Oellmna riil. Vice Pres ident/ Pro-

Field Service management with the in- ple, one should know the median, mode, tent of improving communications with standard deviation, and range of th e

duciion ;:ind Manu facturing. Editorirtl and advertising o ffi ces. 249 W. 17 St., New York. NY 100 1l. Publi shed al Woodstock, IL.

the installed base.

sample.

Annu;i\ subscription rntes: U.S. and possessions: SSS: Canada:

LESLIE MALTZ

Despite the above omission, I found

$75; Japan. Australia. New Zealand: $ 14 5 air freiglu; Europe: $ 130 air freight. $235 air m;iil. All other countries: $130 surface,

Chairperson yo ur survey quite interesting. I look for-

$235 air mail. Reduced rate for qual ified U.S. stude nts. public and schoo l libraries: $40. Single copy: $3 in U.S. Sole ;1gcnt for al l

Large Systems SIG , DECUS ward to future editions, which I hope will

subsc riptions outside U.S. and Canada is J.B. Trat san Ltd .. 154 A

Marlboro, Mass. contain more information from which to

Green ford Rd., Harrow. Middlesex HA 13QT. England. (O l ) 4228295 or 422-2456. No subscription age ncy is authorized by us tO

draw meaningful conclusions.

solicit or take orders for subscriptions. Second-class postage paid <11 Denver. CO 80206 and at addi tional mailing office. DATAMATl ON copyrigh t 1987 by Recd Publishing USA: Saul Goldweitz, Chainn:rn: Ron;ild G. Segel. President <ind Chief Executive Officer: Robert L. l< rakoff, Executive Vice President. All rights

Unisys Loyalists
"Can Unisys Move Fast Enough to Retain 1100 User Loyalty?" (Oct. 15, p. 17)

CHHI STOPHER NELSON
Stamford, Conn.

.

reserved. DATAMATION is a registered trademark of Calrners Publishing Co. Repr int s of articles are ;wailablc; contact Frank Pruzina (312) 635-8800. Microfilm copies of DATAMATION mav be obtained from University Microfilms. A Xerox Compm1y, 30() N. Zeeb Rd.. Ann Arbor, Ml 48106. Print ed b~' Graftck Press

incorrectly stated United Airlines' intentions with respect to its use of Unisys systems.

Reprints ofall DATAMATION articles, including those printed in 1986, are available in quantities of500 or more.

ItK. All inquiries and reque sts for change of address should be accompanied by mailing labe l from latest issue of magaiine. Allow two months for change to be made. POSTMA ST EI~: send address ch;mges to DATAMATION. 44 Cook St.. DPnver. CO
80206.

United Airlines ha s two Unisys 1100/84 systems located at our Maintenance Operations Division Data Center

Details may be obtained by telephoning Frank Pruzina in the Reprints Department at (312) 635-8800, or by

at San Francisco and a Unisys 1100/93 in writing to Cahners Reprint Services,

Chicago at our Unimatic Data Center. Cahners Plaza, 1350 E. Touhy Ave.,

MP

WBPA United does not have plans to replace Des Plaines, IL 60013.

these systems with IBM equipment at any

4 DATAMATION D DECEMBER 15, 1987

Tandem technology sets the new standard for large applications in on-line transaction processing.
More transactions per second at a lower cost per transaction than any system in the world.

TI-IE CIRCUITRY'S FAST.

THE DIID. EXPRESSWAY

NO GROWING PAINS.

We designed the system in our own labornto11~ In a conYentional database. I 0 1-equests must Tb acid power,just add processors.You can grow

..

right clown to our own unique VLSI chips.The be handledsequentiallr This creates queues

from a base fow'processor S)Stem to 16.From

result is more circuitry in less space. With fewer that slow response time. In the \1.X S)Stem, there tl1ere, you can expand in whatever increments you

components than our next largest S)Stem, the VLX a1-e multiple paths to multiple disks.Oata enters choose, all the way to 255 S)Stems. You never buy

delivers twice the and leal'es the database simultaneoush: No time more than you need,and you'II never have to

performance and is \l'asted. and all disk space gets used.·

rewrite a line of applications code.

three times the

1 reliability

PROCESSORS WITH IARGE APPETITES.

The \'LX processors move u·ansactions in 32-bit

,-(

chunks. They reach into main memo1y in 6-i-bit

DIAGNOSTICS FROM ADIS'D\NCE.

chunks.Because this happens in parallel, more An integrated microprocessor allows us to monitor work gets done in less time at a lower cost per the system environment from anywhere in the

NO-FAULT INSURANCE.

transaction.

world. We can even run stress tests remotely. If a 'fanclemS)Stems achieve fault-tolerance with a

THE SERVICE IS EASY
All critical components are llelcl replaceable. When se1vice is required,its faster.You don'teven have to stop an operation to add or replace components.

failure does occur, the Vl.X has the capability to automaticallydial out to remote centers anywhe1-e in our worldwide network.
THE 5'\'STEM KNOWS THE SYMPTOMS.
E.xpert systems soliware, using fault anal)sis,cli1-ects the problemdiagnosis systematically. It also allows us to analrze it and shorten service time

unique, parallel processing architectrn-e. There are no idle back-up components. Instead, multiple components share the workload. If one goes clown, the otliers pick up tlie slack, and application processing is unintem1pted.
HERE TODAY HERE TOMORROW
Tlie VLX is compatible with any'fanclem S)Stem

mid with all majorcommunications standarcls-

·

SNA,X.25,MAP and O.S.l.And byacting as a gateway to other vendors' systems, the Vl.X can

link tliem and enhance their value as well.

\VE HAVE EXCELLENT REFERENCES.

Tandem S)Stems are at work for Fortune 500 companies in banking, telecommunications,

manufacturing, transportation , retailing and enerb')',as well as several brandies of the U.S. Government.

To find out what we can do for you, call 800-

,...

SECRETS ARE SAFE.

482-6336 or write to us. Coqiorate Headquarters: 'l~mdem Computers lncoqioratecl, 19191 Vallco

\Xeoffer softwm-e that will protect the security of !',u'k'Way, Dept. 762-M, Cupertino, CA 95014

your data wl~ther its in the VLX, in another 'fandem system or in u·ansmission.

~ TANDEMCOMPLJTERS

Circle 4 on Reader Card

youllm1s<

Hyou're looking for a good way to judge per-
sonal computers, a simple question will do: "What's in it for me?"
In the case of the IBM Personal System/2 family the simple answer is, "a great deal:'
For openers, each model offers higher performance levels thanks to a "balanced system" approach for making things work togethe1: Components were designed not just to coexist but to bring out the best in each other. So, for example, many of the programs you're using now and a wide range of other DOS
applications will run up to 150% faster on the IBM
Personal System/2 than on previous IBM PCs, depending on the model, of course.
Things that are optional on other PCs are standard on the Personal System/2-like advanced graphics, parallel and serial ports and more. And advanced IBM technology brings new levels of reliability and data protection.

80 of the Personal System/2 family. Technically it's

called parallel bus architecture. We call it Micro

Channel. But you can think of it simply as & super- .,.

highway with lots of fast lanes and bypasses. It

allows data to flow faster and more efficiently, re- ~

ducing the chance of information bottlenecks in

the system.

What's more, the Micro Channel architecture ~

not only makes it easier to speed information

throughout the system, it also makes it easier to

install peripherals and expansion cards in the

system. There are no more DIP switches to set It's

all done electronically and automatically and,

therefore, a great deal more reliably and easily.

Feature cards in your system can even trans- '

fer data directly to memory, via Micro Channel,

~

leaving the microprocessor free to do other things. ·

The design of the Micro Channel also pro-

vides a faste1; more efficient way to connect your

It'll do what you're doing now. Only better.
At the heart of many of these advances is a
unique design shared by the Models 50, 60 and

nlBMPS 2, he bus.

system to other IBM Personal Systems, local area frame. And with a future edition of OS/2, you'll be

" networks, minicomputers and mainframes.

able to share all this information with others on a

It'll do what you want to do tomorrow. Only better.

local network or over mega-distances. Vast memory and host processor resources will be more accessible. And software will do more things more easily.

Micro Channel architecture also gives the IBM

So catch the Micro Channel bus and you're on

· Personal System/2 something else that's surprisingly the fast track to higher performance, exceptional

+ rare in personal computing: the ability to improve expandability and greater reliability tomorrow, as

with age.

well as today.

One of the main reasons the architecture was

For more data about the IBM Personal

" created, after all, was to get the most out of IBM's

System/2, call your IBM Marketing Representative

new operating system, OS/2. And together they'll . ~ unleash the power of the 286 chip in the Personal

or visit an IBM Authorized Advanced Products Dealer.

System/2 Models 50 and 60 and the 386 chip in the ~ Model80.

For the dealer nearest you call 1-800-447-4700.

With IBM Operating System/2 you don't have

., to be a "power user" to run several programs at once. You can prepare a presentation while your system
· recalculates a spreadsheet and gets data from a main-
.

---------- -- - -- ==-::::. ::® -.. -~-·-

IBM 1s a registered trademark and Personal System/2, PS/2. Operating System/2. OS/2 and Micro Channel are trademarks of IBM Corporation. CJ IBM 1987.

ACCESS THE TECHNOLOGY ONLY CULLINET CAN PROVIDE.
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Throughout the past year, Cullinet has told the stories of companies LhaL have found total solutions to their business problems within this threetiered offering of information management software and productivity tools. Cullinet's broad product line includes IBM®compatible software as well as software for Digital VAXTM systems and other departmental platforms. And our database products, productivity tools and fourth-generation business applications feature embeddable artificial intelligence and have been designed to allow the utilization of voice-response technology.
Integration is the bottom line. And Cullinet has consistently improved the bottom line for companies that have purchased our applications for manufacturing, project management, distribution management, finance, banking and human resources. By reducing implementation costs, increasing productivity and ensuring that the right information gets to the right people at the right time, Cullinet has enabled its customers to run their businesses as single integrated enterprises.
Find out more about the one software company that can link solutions and deliver critical applications to every level of your organization. Call toll -free 1-800-551-4555. Or write to Cullinet Software, Inc., 400 Blue Hill Drive, Westwood, MA 02090-2198.
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.,
· .-
..
t--
..
., -

IBM is a registered nademark of Internationa l Business MaLhmn VAX 1~ a trademark of D 1g 1tal Equiprm:nt Corporauon The Cu!lmet logo 0 LS a reg1stt:1ed trademark of Cullinet Sohwarc, Inc Copy rig ht Culhnet Softwitlt', Inc 1987

Look Ahead

THE IRONY OF IT ALL
,.
CONFIRMING THE KNOWN

SMUGGLER DUE

·

FOR TRIAL

,.

IN BRITAIN

..

PARIS -- While university officials in the U.S. are still smarting from MIT 's decision to eliminate NEC Supercomputers as a potential supplier--after being pressured by the U.S. Department of Commerce--European academic officials are celebrating IBM's plans to donate $4 0 million worth of supercomputers to European universities and institutes over the next two years. A minimum of five supercomputer centers will be established--in France, West Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy--comprising 3090 600E machines with vector processing facilities. In addition, there will be another 25 vector facilities donated to other European institutions. IBM says the move is to help stimulate European supercomputer research.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. -- IBM officials won't comment, but sources in attendance at a recent IBM telecommunications background session for consultants here say that IBM director and communications honcho Donald Heile, in a Q&A session, said IBM now considers the PU 4 and PU 5 host portions of its SNA model closed to outside vendors. That shouldn't come as a great shock since IBM recently restricted public distribution of PU 4 and PU 5 protocol information. But some consultants were surprised to hear Heile admit IBM's new position. Meanwhile, consultants at the same meeting were told by other IBM telecom big cheeses to expect a new front-end communications controller to replace the 37 25 sometime early next year. The new model was described as highly configurable with a better price/ performance point. Some observers expect the longawai ted new release of IBM's Network Control Program at the same time.
LONDON -- Amid an upsurge of high-tech smuggling cases on both sides of the Atlantic, one convicted embargobuster and fugitive from a U.S. arrest warrant is fighting back. Brian Butcher, a British dealer in used chip-making equipment, has persuaded a U. K. court that the government must explain why it doesn't stop U.S. officials from interfering in the business of British traders like himself. Earlier, Britain had stated its opposition to U.S. East-West trade embargo laws being imposed on U. K. companies. The government was expected to prov ide an affidavit of reply earlier this month, after which the judicial hearing will be listed for January 1988. If the judge finds in Butcher's favor, British cooperation with the U.S. Department of Commerce's denial order blacklist could be ruled illegal.
DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15 , 1987 9

Look Ahead

ALCATEL PONDERS ITS FUTURE

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM -- The latest megamerger in the

telecom business--Alcatel--is undergoing a strategic

rethinking of its operations in preparation for major

corporate announcements early next year. A fusion of

ITT and the old French GCE telecom firm, Al ca tel is

aiming for significant growth in its business cornrnu-

.,

nications systems. Its plan covers the development of

a digital PBX designed for the U.S. market and based on products developed by the French-based Telic subsid-

.

iary. Also under way is a restructuring of its IS-re-

lated product line.

ON THE LIST OF IBM'S GUESTS

TOKYO - - It looks like a U-turn, it sounds like a Uturn, but it's "no big deal, " according to IBM. In late October, the company began offering a software option that lets Fujitsu software run on IBM hardware. The product was announced in an internal letter sent t o salespeople, but no announcement was made because "we didn't think it was that big a deal," says an Asia/Pacific Group spokesman in Tokyo. The new software, called VM/ MP II, lets Fujitsu's OSIV/ F4 MSP E20 opera ting system be run as a guest OS on IBM 4 3 8 l s . It's priced at ¥495,000 ($3,600) a month, and shipment is expected to begin in early 1988. Distribution will be limited to Japan and Australia, which are the only large markets for Fujitsu software.

PLEXUS EYES PARTNERSHIPS
LOOPHOLES IN CALIFORNIA

SAN JOSE -- Multiuser Uni x systems company Plexus Com-

puters Inc. is looking hard for partners in the U. S .

and Europe to help it expand sales of its XDP hardware

and development environment. It is now in negotia-

tions with two "major international systems integra-

tor companies based in the U.S.," reveals a Plexus man-

ager / and it expects to announce the first partnersh ip deal around the end of the year.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The California computer crime law is

" -

scheduled to change on the first of the year, and some

users may not be so happy when they understand some of

the new law's provisions. Al though the law overall

would expand the scope of prohibited activity, it in-

cludes a couple of new loopholes. For one thing, em-

ployees engaged in designated labor union activity

would be exempt from criminal liability under the law.

For another thing, all employees would be exempt un-

less the employer could prove the alleged misuse of

computer equipment has cost it more than $100. Some

California legal officials already are lobbying to

hav e the new law changed.

(continued on p .12)

10 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987

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Look Ahead

WOULD BRANDEIS USE ONE?

WASHINGTON, D. c. -- A request for proposals is out on

the street to buy upwards of $120 million worth of per-

sonal computers to revamp the U.S. federal court sys-

tem. Participants anticipate that the reward will be

made before September 19 8 8 . On an ominous note, how-

ever, one federal court assistant warns that even af-

ter requests for proposals are accepted, the budget-

conscious government is not obligated to purchase the

systems.

...

A SURE BET FOR GEISCO

ZURICH -- Watch for the Association of International

Bond Dealers (AIBD) to set up its own network for pre-

settlement confirmation for the growing Eurobond market. Sources close to the AIBD say that the front-run-

··

ner in the deal is GE Information Services ( GEISCO).

At present, Eurobonds are cleared by two organiza-

tions--Euro-Clear Clearance Systems in Belgium,

which is owned by U. S. bank Morgan Guaranty, and Cedel

..

in Luxembourg, which is owned by a consortium of

French banks. Both of these organizations already use GEISCO.

.. ..

BT CALLS IN THE CALVARY
NEXT ON THE AGENDA

LONDON -- Going commercial has opened up a few weak

spots in the armory of telecom giant British Telecom,

and the U. K. company is looking across the Atlantic

for help. Faced with the prospect of delays, disrup-

tions, and an IS debacle, the new privately owned cor-

poration has called in New York's Nynex to help it in-

tegrate its internal IS operations. The consultancy deal is worth a reported $4 million.

. .

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. -- Lotus intends to listen to its users in the upcoming months while it decides what the next version of Agenda will look like. Lotus founder Mitch Kapor insists, "User feedback will provide the selection mechanism to choose from the myriad." After redesigning the personal information management program as a pop-up to run in conjunction with other software, the company will consider enhancing the product with a graphical user interface to make it appealing to Apple users.

RUMORS AND RAW RANDOM DATA

TSX-32, the 12-year-old operating system for DEC PDP-lls from S&H Computer Systems, Nashville, will be made available for the VAX environment next September .... Sometime next year, Microcom, Norwood, Mass., will bring out a 9. 6Kbps synchronous, full-duplex modem compliant with the CCITT V. 32 standard. Microcom's Dick Sterry, vp for product marketing, expects the new modem to cost about $2, 000.

12 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987

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News in Perspective

WALL STREET CRASH AFTERMATH

.. IS Budgets Holding Fast

over 1987 levels. That follows a two-year cost containment program, by which an-

After Stock Market Debacle

nual IS spend ing increases were kept below 6%.
"We're working to de-

Postcrash studies reveal only slight dips in commercial IS spending, with most large shops resisting cutbacks.

centralize functions to our field stores," says Wendy's Information Systems vice

The federal market may be a different matter though.

president Hari Notowidigdo. Despite the recent economic

uncertainty, Wendy's will still

go ahead with that plan, which

calls for a network of PS/2-

based systems tying together

Wendy's 1,200 convenience

food outlets.

Of course, that could all

change if economic condi-

tions continue to deteriorate.

"We'll be looking at the bud-

get every quarter in 1988 and

.

it could be adjusted," says Notowidigdo . "The IS budget

is, by its nature, a very visible

part of the overall budget, and

we tend to be affected by eco-

nomic changes."

For now, nongovern-

ment users-particularly

those planning new PC-based

and distributed systems-

don't expect to see spending

for those programs cut. A

mid-November follow-up to

the 1987-88 DATAMATION/

AT&T'S ROTHMAN: He doesn't see buying habits changing.

Cowen & Co. mini/micro

user survey shows that al-

BY JEFF MOAD

Conn.-have even lowered IS

Dan Cavanagh, senior vp though 17.5% of those sur-

spending somewhat. For the at Metropolitan Life Insur- veyed say they had seen

When gloom and doom hit the most part, however, large us- ance Co., New York, feels that some change in equipment

world's stock exchanges on ers have resisted panic and "all of us have taken another purchase plans as a result of

Oct. 19 and many financial ex- are sticking lo their precrash look at our [IS spending] plans "fears raised regarding the

perts began to predict that a spending plans. Only in the in light of what's been hap- economy," most users re-

recession was just around the federal government, where pening. But we haven't imple- porting changes had actually

corner, IS executives could the stock market crash has mented any changes yet."

seen increases in their pc and

have responded by hitting the been taken as a sign that it's

Met Life, which was fi- minicomputer purchase bud-

panic button and slashing finally time to get serious nalizing it 1988 budget when gets. Overall, 4.6% of respon-

spending plans. The 22.6% about cutting the budget defi- the stock market went south, dents say they have increased

.

one-day tumble in stock mar- cit, do significant IS spending still plans to increase its IS spending for minicomputers,

ket prices and the dire eco- cuts seem likely.

spending by between 5% and while 7% say they had in-

nomic predictions came just

That's good news for in- 7% next year, an amount that creased spending for pcs.

as many large companies formation systems vendors. is about equal to its 1987 IS Only 1.7% had cut minicom-

were putting the final touches Prior Lo the Wall Street spending increase.

puter spending plans, and

on their 1988 IS budgets.

slump, they had been encour-

Many quickly formulat- aged by a modest but steady Some Are Boosting Spending

1.1% cul pc spending. A less upbeat Gartner

c3 ed backup plans for 1988, call- improvement in IS spending in

So far, Met Life and oth- Group postcrash study shows

~ ing for cuts in IS operations 1987. There's a good chance ers are sticking with plans to that about 40% of Fortune

~ and capital spending. Some that trend will continue in accelerate IS spending. At 500 users are anticipating
i companies-about 10%, ac- 1988, if IS executives slick to Wendy's International Inc. in some cuts. The vast majority

~ cording to a survey by the their precrash spending Dublin, Ohio, 1988 IS spend- of those, however, predict

~ Gartner Group, Stamford, plans, as they appear to be.

ing is slated to rise 11.9% budget cuts of less than 5%,

~ '--~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~-'

DATAMATION L..; DECEMBER 15 , 1987 17

News in Perspective

WENDY'SINTERNATIONAL INC.'SNOTOWIDIGDO: Economic changes tend to affect us.

and most of that was expected in new projects such as implementation of CASE tools and other new applications development environments.
Like many users, Jeffrey A. Alperin, Aetna assistant vice president for corporate technology planning, says that "we're trying to get the most out of our dollars by focusing on distributed processing, getting processing power close to the end user where it does the most good."
Aetna hasn't changed its plans to increase 1988 IS spending by about 4%, even though, as one of the largest portfolio managers in the stock market, the company figures to have been a big loser in the crash. "Overall," says Alperin, "there could be corporatewide spending concern if losses deepen. But I can see nothing that will focus just on IS."
A spokesman for Ford Motor Co. says the automaker currently plans no IS spending cuts, even though car sales showed a steep decline in October.
While most large compa-

nies haven't seen cutbacks in IS spending and don't expect to, users within the federal government have already been put on notice by Congress that 1988 budgets will be cut, and IS spending won't be spared. In just one corner of the federal budget-the Navy-Congress already has targeted a total of $113 million to be cut from the 1988 fund for purchasing new computers, beginning new systems, and operations and maintenance. The 1987 budget was $2.16 billion.
IS Cutson Wall Street
Some stock brokerage firms that lost heavily in the market have already announced plans to cut back on IS spending. One major New York brokerage house has decided to hold 1988 spending for new systems flat, even though current internal forecasts predict capacity growth next year of around 30%, according to a high-level executive there who declined to be identified. IS planners at that brokerage house are responding by asking end users

which systems could be cut back. "Certainly," the executive says, "given the predicted downturn in the industry, people are taking a real hard look at cutting costs. We in the securities industry probably are about six months ahead of other industries [in holding down spending] ."
Such cuts are not universal on Wall Street. At Security Industries Automation Corp., which is responsible for automating trading on the New York and American Stock Exchanges, IS spending is being accelerated in 1988, according to advanced systems planning vp Jim Squires.
September Shipments Are Up
Vendors hope that such planning will be enough to sustain what had been a promising late 1987 computer industry upturn. For the month of September, computer shipments as measured by the U.S. Department of Commerce were up 4. 7% compared with last September, and new computer orders were up 6.4% for the same month. IBM chairman John F.

Akers recently told analysts

that he is counting on a strong

fourth quarter to produce a

1987 increase in IBM's mid-

range system shipments and

slight mainframe growth, as

well as improved gross profit

margins.

Many of the factors that

historically have produced

strong industrywide fourth-

quarter sales are still in place.

One factor is attractive late-

year lease rates. Leasing

companies tend to offer bet-

ter deals later in the year be-

cause new leases on their

books in December improve

their yearly tax status. Add to

that the lower postcrash in-

terest rates, and leasing exec-

utive Irving H. Rothman,

chief financial officer of AT&T

Credit Corp., is led to report,

"We don't see companies

changing their buying habits

because of the market."

The real test, however,

will come early next year

when users begin to put their

1988 IS spending plans into

practice. Moreover, vendors

are not assuming that current

IS budgets for 1988 won't

change. IBM's Akers recently

told analysts that the compa-

ny is expecting growth next

year "despite what happened

in October," although he add-

ed that it is prepared to cut

overhead further if that

growth does not materialize.

Similarly, NCR chairman

and president Charles E. Ex-

ley recently said, "Up to now

we've seen no sign of any

such downturn. The major

economic statistics from the

U.S. Department of Com-

merce are really quite encour-

aging. The natural concern is

that the stock market is a lead-

ing indi cator of future eco- 0. 0
nomic development, and the 0

message it seems to be put-

ting out is that we're heading

for a contraction of general

economic activity in both the e U.S. and other countries. If ~

that were to happen, it would

~
0.

0

have a severe impact on IS °0'

spending."

· ~

-. r
.. ...
...
..
...
..
., ....

18 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987

SUPERCOMPUTERS

y ..

"

MIT Decision on Supercomputer tions with HNSX on the technical aspects only," Smoot says. "We wanted a research

Is Worrying U.S. Researchers

relationship with the vendor and HNSX wasn't going to produce what we hoped for so we

Brigham Young University also reports political pressure on a recent deal. Meanwhile, many wonder

went another way." Even though BYU appar-
ently found a supplier for its

whether the MIT affair will end up punishing users.

needs, one immediate effect of the MIT event has been the

. ..

BY WILLIE SCHATZ

ing criteria, there had been puter. But politics had noth- decision by HNSX to drop out

political pressure on BYU.

ing to do with our decision. It of the university market.

.

The decision by the Massachusetts Institute of Technol-

"There was definitely political pressure on the high-

never had a chance to influence it. We made the decision

ALean Period Ahead

ogy (MIT) to cance l a pro- er levels of the university," at the engineering level."

"We're not dead in the

posed deal to lease a Japanese says Ed Redd, BYU's informa-

L. Douglas Smoot, dean water," HNSX president Jim

supercomputer after being tion systems officer and an as- of BYU's College of Engineer- Berrett tells DATAMATION.

pressured by the U.S. gov- sociate professor of mechani- ing and Technology, through "But I think we're going to

ernment is already causing cal engineering. "But it never a university spokesperson, have a lean period for a year to

fallout in the academic com- reached down to engineering. denies that political pressure 18 months. It's going to take

munity and among market We were fully aware of the had been exerted on the uni- at least that long before some

..

suppliers. At the same time, political ramifications of versity. "We made the deci- semblance of order comes out DATAMATION has learned that buying a Japanese supercom- sion to discontinue negotia- of the trade dispute. The

Brigham Young University,

Provo, Utah, apparently also

felt political pressure during

its recent supercomputer

procurement.

These and other devel-

opments, which are occurring

during a time of politically

charged trade disputes with

Japan, have generated much

discussion abo ut MIT's deci-

sion, the government's role in

that decision, and the possible

chilling effect on the super-

computer market and on re-

search at American universi-

··

ties. Some academicians, as well as researchers, contend

that the MIT decision may

have harmful reverberations

over time.

Brigham Young Univer-

sity (BYU) had been talking to

' ..

both Cray Research Inc. and Honeywell NEC Supercom-

puters Inc. (HNSX), the com-

pany that lost out with MIT,

about acquiring a supercom-

puter for its linguistics pro-

grams. In mid-October, BYU

,.. eliminated both contenders 0 because it was interested ~ only in Evans & Sutherland, a

] Salt Lake City-based finn best ~ known for its vector graphics

o~ .
~ o

processors. A BYU official says that although the decision was based on engineer-

U. OF CALIF.'SSUGAR: Foreign competition spurs U.S. supercomputer manufacturers.

DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987 19

News in Perspective

trade issue is a lightn ing rod for other iss ues, and supercomputers have gotten caught up in it. We can go two years without a sale if we have to.
"The MIT deal was a straight-up one. We have nothing to apologize for. It wasn't going to be lucrative for us, but it was a hell of a long way from dumping. Now we're going to concentrate on software applications for the commercial market. So, we won't pursue the university market."
That essentially shrinks the supply pool to Cray, IBM, and ETA, the Contro l Data subsidiary. Amdahl will continue to push Fujitsu's machine, but it hasn't yet gotten one over the U.S. border; the company was a bidder at MIT, but dropped out after the U.S. Commerce Department sent a letter expressing its reservations to MIT about HNSX . And National Advanced Systems has yet to advance Hitachi's supercomputer into the U.S. Two years ago, HNSX leased a Japanese-made sx 2 to the Houston Area Research Consortium, a group of four Texas universities. This touched off a storm of protest by U.S. s upercomputer s uppliers. Anti-dumping law, however, does not apply in leasing situations.
Berrett says H sx and MIT had been communicating openly since last May and had taken great pains to avoid any action that remotely smacked of impropriety. But even those stringent precautions went for naught.
H SX and MIT were very close to a deal that would have put 1-INSX's sx 2 into MIT for five years at a lease price of $9.5 million (see "Supercomputer Dumping Alleged at U.S. Universities," Sept. 15, p. 17). But just as the pair was about to consummate the marriage, then Acting Secretary of Commerce Bruce Smart told MIT president Paul

Gray he didn't think it was such a terrific idea.
"I am writing to inform you that we have no objection to the acquisition of a foreignproduced supercomputer," Smart said in his letter. "However, you should be aware that imported products may be subject to U.S. antidumping duty proceedings."
That was all that HNSX and Amdahl, which was bidding Fujitsu's VP-200, needed to hear. They dropped out of the competition faster than bodies hitting the bottom of the East River.
MIT's Alternate Plan
Now, says MIT provost John Deutch, MIT will pursue more supercomputer firms to seek support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a linked supercomputer center that Deutch says will ensure access to a "frontier-class machine" based on U.S. technology.
"The government was not a bully, and we weren't a wimp," Deutch contends. "There was no improper pressure or threats. The government officials expressed their views legitimately and correctly. We reached the conclu sion that we weren't going to buy a Japanese mach in e on our own. Bruce Smart's letter came subsequent to that. Then the two vendors withdrew.
"I think the clumping suggestion was disingenuous at best. So this shouldn't have a chilling effect on other universities."
But the emotions surrounding the trade issue show no signs of abating. In the same week that MIT decided it didn't want the deal to go clown, a 13-company Department of Commerce supercomputer and minisupercomputer trade mission was in Japan to assess the impact of la st August's supercomputer agreement. That's the one that provided for more

transparent procurement by Japanese government agencies and universities.
"We wanted to make sure the agreement's not a paper tiger," says Deputy Assistant for Trade Development]oan McEntee.
"As far as I can tell," McEntee continues, "the MIT event and our mission are unrelated."
What may not be unrelated are the opinions being voiced about the effects of the MIT decision. "If they can stop MIT, no one else is going to try," says Larry Smarr, director of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois. As one of the five N F national supercomputer centers, NCSA would be one big feather in HNS's cap. The company has offered Smarr at least two deals similar to the one it offered MIT, but so far there's no wedding date.
'Tm surprised MIT was that gutless," Smarr says. "They caved.
"The chilling effect is going to be very bad for the country," Smarr contends. "The MIT action affects everybody's decision for several years. It could put the U.S. an entire generation behind the rest of the world.
"People are going to play it safe and not fairly consider Japanese machines," Smarr continu es. "That's really too bad, because the sx 2 is a very good machine. And that's not how you win. We live in a global economy, and to win you need the best technical tools in the hands of the best minds. The MIT activities will make it much harder for that to happen. And HNSX is dead in the water."
Bad Precedent Seen
Adds Bob Sugar, a physics professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a remote user of the NSF's San Diego Supercomputer Center, "I think the

government has established a

very bad principle in the MIT

case. I don't think the govern-

ment's doing the U.S. super-

computer industry any good

by trying to shield it from for-

eign competition. Foreign

competition spurs U.S. super-

computer manufacturers to

do better.

"That makes it better for

scientists because we're get-

ting the maximum return on

our dollar. But anytime you

reduce people's options, they

do less well."

So now we've got super-

computer demand skyrocket-

ing and supply plummeting.

University users can kiss

HNSX goodbye, even though

the sx 2 is generally acknowl-

edged as the fastest single-

processor machine in the cos-

mos. And if Amdahl and NAS

couldn't cut it before, they

might as well fold their tents

and go home.

The effects on research

may not be felt for a while, but

when they come, chances are

they won't be pleasant.

"Any kind of govern-

ment restraints don't punish

the competition, they punish

the user," says Peter Patton,

executive director of the Con-

sortium for Supercomputing

Research in Minneapolis.

"HNSX isn't the victim of the

ooc's action. The students

and faculty at MIT ;ire.

"Why should it matter to

the government where MIT

gets a supercomputer?" asks

Patton. "The DOC isn't seeing

the whole picture. It's at-

tempting to reprovincialize

what's becoming an interna-

tional m;irket. The supercom-

puter race is going to be won

by the side that gets the scien-

tists and engineers the best

access at the least cost. It's

the technology that's impor-

tant, not the sale of one or two

more machines."

"This is just the J;itest

example of America shooting

itself in the foot," NCSA's

Smarr says. "We don't have

too many toes left."

·

20 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15 , 1987

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GTE Service Corporation

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Until very recently, the above headlinewas

· the MIS equivalent of "Man Bites Dog'.'

Because specifying Macintosh'"personal

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But now, if the behavior of data processing

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But then, our other merits revealed them-

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Another revelation is the wide array of

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News in Perspective

COMMUNICATIONS

1.400 E-Mail Standard Picks Up Steam in the U.S.

said, IBM has proprietary but

popular mail system delivery vehicles such as s ADS (SNA Distribution Services), now

..

part of the Systems Applica-

tion Architecture (SAA), sig-

While IBM takes its time bringing X.400 products to

naling its importance in the

market, other vendors and some users are forging ahead

IBM lineup. Is IBM protecting its product line at the expense

with products and implementations.

of international standards? Well, yes and no. And even if

no, probably not for very long.

IBM has announced X.400

programs for transmitting

messages from its two major

office systems, DISOSS and

Profs, to other X.400-based message handling systems.

.. .

Neither will be available until

the third quarter of 1988,

however, and then only in Eu-

rope, the Middle East, and Af-

rica. IBM eventually will

broaden its geographic sup-

· 1

port for X.400 to the U.S., but

it gives no clues as to when.

Protecting Customer Base

"Most large corpora-

tions such as Pacific Bell have

various e-mail or messaging

systems internally and most

also have Profs," says Jeanne

Bracken, that company's San

Francisco-based director for

message handling systems.

FOREST SERVICE'S WERNER: There'smore work to do on X.400.

"They would be interested in

interconnection." She would

BY SUSAN KE RR

ed in the Open Systems Inter- X.400, he'd prefer to wait for like to see an IBM X.400 prod-

connection (OSI) model.

better conformance tests be- uct, but suspects that "IBM is

It's no secret that "stan-

The promise of X.400 is fore unveiling products.

looking to protect its base,

dards" has become the com- a universal electronic mail · Thereareotherreasons. which it can do since it's

munications industry's favor- system that will encompass ''I've talked to quite a few cus- stronger here [in the U.S.)

ite battle cry, and even IBM services currently delivered tamers in the United States to than in Europe."

isn't immune to its allure. by public electronic mailbox understand when IBM should

Also not very receptive

Some users, however, are organizations as well as those introduce [X.400 products]," to Big Blue's X.400 posturing

discovering that while their offered by computer vendors, commented Ellen Hancock, is Ray Pardo, information ser-

choice vendors may acknowl- such as Profs and DISOSS from president of IBM's Communi- vices manager at Bechtel

edge the attractiveness of IBM, Comprehensive Elec- cations Products Div., at a re- Eastern Power Corp., Gaith-

emerging standards, it can be tronic Office (CEO) from Data cent public gathering. "We're ersburg, Md. "I was a little

a little tough to actually find, General, and All-in-1 from still determining when to roll mystified by IBM's [X.400)

not to mention implement, Digital Equipment Corp.

that out. It's clear that our Eu- comments," he says. "It did

products that are based on

Speaking out against ropean customers had a more not seem to be in the same

these standards.

X.400 would be almost as bad critical need." She went on to proactive vein I've seen [IBM

The latest case in point as slamming motherhood and say that the need is not seen take lately in communica-

is the X.400 series of recom- apple pie. Yet, some vendors clearly now in North America. tions]. We use Profs and we

mendations published by that support the idea of X.400

X.400 is in the early days use a couple of other [mail .o

CCITT to define the mecha- appear unsure as to when to of implementation, so prod- systems) and we'd like to ~

nisms for interworking commit to product delivery ucts boasting X.400 confor- bridge them."

.Q

among different electronic dates. For example, while a mance typically lack some of

Nevertheless, IBM is not ~

message handling systems. Wang Laboratories executive the rich features found in pro- without its defenders. Eric ~

The X.400 standard is includ- believes it's "crucial" to have prietary mail systems. That Arnum, an analyst at Inter- 5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~

·
.. I
-·
"

24 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15. 1987

News in Perspective

Forest Service Is DG Beta Site national Resource Develop- net's Telemail 400 public
ment Inc., orwalk, Conn., messaging service as well as

has seen no backlash from developing X.400 hooks into

IBM's delay in bringing X.400 DEC's All-in-1. The U.S. For- The U.S. Forest Service, Washington, D.C., which boasts an

across the Atlantic. "I really est Service, in Was hington , internal e-mail network of 30,000 people and uses 850 DG

think 1988 is just the right D.C., is a beta site for the DG/ computers, is beta testing the Data General/Telenet mes-

time to come out with X.400," Telenet link (see "Forest Ser- saging link. Steve Werner, chief of telecommunications at

he remarks. "IBM sees an ab- vice Is DG Beta Site.")

the Forest Service, is happy with the test so far, but admits

solute need [for X.400 prod-

Like the Reston, Va.- there's more work to do.

ucts] in Europe because if it based Telenet, other public

Werner says that chief among the needed develop-

wants to win bids, it's going to service providers are revving ments for all X.400 suppliers is an agreement on standards

have to supply X.400. But it's up beta tests and agreements for interchanging binary files, such as spreadsheets, rather

no t at the point in the U.S. with foreign countries' public than leaving it to the discretion of individual e-mail provid-

where customers say, 'Don't providers, which are vital for ers. While standards exist for ASCII text, recommendations

call us without it.' "

many multinational users. should evolve next year for other character types. In addi-

In fact, one major U.S.- AT&T offers X.400 gateways tion, Werner says that improvements are needed with the

based multinational compa- for its AT&T Mail service in initial addressing scheme. Nonetheless, comments Werner,

ny's communications execu- the U.S. and Canada and "I'm very positive about X.400."

tive, in an interview with hopes soon to close deals in

Before becoming a beta site, the Forest Service al-

DATAMATION, had never even Europe. "One of the things ready used Telemail to talk to other government agencies.

...

heard of X.400. The company that'll stimulate more activi- Previously, though, a user needed a Telemail mailbox and

uses DISOSS. Judging by that, ty," says AT&T Mail group also a separate mailbox within the DG CEO system. Now,

IBM's proprietary electronic product manager Ross Staley, rather than requiring separate processes to access Telemail

mail so lution s s how good "is [the completion of] negoti- and CEO, e-mail is sent and received via CEO.

signs of continued life. Yet, ations with other countries."

with an estimated base of ap- One connectivity issue still to nounce an X.400-based inter- statement of U.S. direction in

proximately 1.2 million IBM be figured out is how all the face for Profs. AT&T won't; 1988. If it doesn't, he be-

electronic mail customers (of American public service pro- it'll continue to support Profs lieves, IBM could be faced

which three quarters are viders will interconnect with via a proprietary interface un- with a less than sympathetic

Profs users), at issue is what each other.

til an IBM product comes out. crowd.

effect IBM's X.400 marketing

That's not the only is-

DEC, however, isn't one to

Nevertheless, IBM can't

will have on this standards sue: how to incorporate IBM dawdle. In November, it an- be accused of being lazy. Ar-

movement and on its users. users into the fold in the inter- nounced the MAILbus set of num points to a number of en-

im is another.

software to link All-in-1 users, hancements to the company's

PacBell May Market Software

Non-X.400 solutions do SNADS and DISOSS users, and own suite of products. Big

' '"f

Some users, such as Pa- exist, of course. For example, X.400 users. DEC's first X.400 Blue has added a Communica-

cific Bell, are moving ahead DG offers CEO-to-DISOSS and gateway became available last tions Interface to its SAA Com-

with or without IBM. The tele- CEO-to-Profs interchanges. In year, and since then the com- mon Programming Interface,

phone company has 16,000 some point-to-point s itu a- pany has sold at least 50 li- which will, in IBM lingo, pro-

electronic mail users and just tions, those products may be censes in the U.S. and at least vide "a consistent application

about every major e-mail sys- more appealing than X.400. that many overseas, accord- programming interface for

tem. It has undertaken a joint But X.400 will be preferable ing to DEC product planning writing applications that re-

development project with "if customers have a mixed manager Dennis Cannon.

quire a program-to-program

DEC to link as much as possi- bag of supp li ers," says

Sure, this gives DEC an connection ." The Communi-

ble via X.400, and may even Shearer.

edge over IBM, according to cations Interface will define

market that software.

Pacific Bell's Bracken DEC officials. "Digital offers the communications services

Likewise, some IBM agrees. The company had de- OSI worldwide; IBM offers it of IBM's LU 6.2 protocol. "If

competitors are proceeding veloped its own software only in Europe," comments you have an SNA network, you

apace . Data General has sold interfaces to intercon nect David Korf, DEC's wide area need LU 6.2 before X.400,"

approximately 25 licenses so systems, but the effort in- networks and systems mar- saysArnum.

far, according to Jock Shear- volved to keep those patches keting manager. "[ButJ I

An IBM spokesman says

er, a DG product planning current with the latest of the don't think you can say we the goal of the new interface

manager. He believes these vendo r releases makes it picked OSI to back IBM into a is that applications written for

sales counter the argument of undesirable.

corner. It is an advantage to one SAA-supported host sys-

lack of North American concern. While early awareness AT&T To Stay Proprietary

allow the customer to connect tem such as VM /S P can be

any system."

more easily moved to anoth-

·~
.,-

of X.400 came from Europe,

Not everyone wants to

Telenet's Kozak says e- er, such as OS/2 Extended

he says "without exception, wait for IBM. Richard Kozak, mail will "take several years" Edition. As to what effect the all our early sales were in the vp and general manager of to explode, and adds, "This is new interface has on the life

' 'I"

U.S."

messaging at Telenet, says not an overnight process." of IBM's current crop of prod-

DG is now testing the pos- that in the first quarter of Overnight, no. But analyst Ar- ucts, which incbdes electron-

sibility of linking into Tele- 1988 the company will an- num expects IBM to make a ic mail, he can't say.

·

26 DATAMATION LJ DECEMBER 15 , 1987

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News in Perspective

SOFTWARE

The Era of Packaged

only hardware for which a significant number of third-party

,.

packages is availab le, al-

Software Dawns in Japan

though minicomputers have recently become more popular target machines for inde-

Japanese users, once open only to customized software, pendent developers. Mean-

while, mainframe program-

are becoming less reluctant to use ready-made

mers have been duplicating

programs, but supply is still a problem.

one another's efforts in countless Japanese IS shops.

The usefulness of the all-

custom approach is reaching

its limits, however. "There

absolutely has been a change"

in users' attitudes toward

packaged software, declares

Stephanie Johnson, interna-

tional executive director of

the Yankee Group in Boston.

The change appears to be

substantial.

"I estimate the market size for third-party software

·

is increasing 35% per year,"

states Koichi Onodera, assis-

tant director of software sales

for CLC Corp., a Tokyo com-

puter and software sales and

leasing company.

..

Packaged Software Shortage

"In our industry, there is

a change to preferring pack-

aged software," says Kunio

f "f

Hiraike, general manager of

AOL'S SAKEMI: Pcs have improved the status of packages.

the computer systems division of Kyowa Bank. But,

..

BY RO BERT POE

the early days of the industry, geru Shiinoki, a Price Water- says Hiraike, there is a short-

according to Mathias, domes- house director in Tokyo. age of manpower and pack-

Using packaged software is tic computer makers, feeling Whatever the case, using cus- ages. Kyowa was looking for

like wearing someone else's at a technological disadvan- tom-made applications soft- an asset liability management

underwear, according to a tage vis-a-vis IBM, were "giv- ware has long been an almost program and couldn't find

popular Japanese IS saying. ing a lot of free and highly dis- inviolable mandate in the Jap- one, so "we gave up, and are

Traditionally, Japanese IS de- counted software help" to anese JS world. The large soft- developing one ourselves,"

partments would much rather customers in order to get ware houses, such as Tokyo's Hiraike says. Kyowa is also

develop tailor-made applica- them to buy their hardware. CSK Corp., have been almost selling some of its internally

tions with the help of vendors Emphasizing turnkey sys- exclusively body shops, for- developed packages to other

and third-party body shops terns sales, they would "send warding programmers to cli- banks near Tokyo.

than settle for packaged soft- in 50 software engineers to ents on a time or project ba-

To date, most of the ac-

ware. Due to the burdensome write the code," says Mathi- sis. Users have maintained tion has been in systems con-

..

cost of writing custom soft- as, and, as a result, "they got large in-house staffs to <level- trol and database/ data-han-

ware, however, such atti- the market but killed the soft- op and maintain their custom dling software, of which "the

tudes may soon become as ware industry."

applications, while vendors Japanese have always been ~

outdated as last year's design-

Whether it was more a have been generous when it enamored," says John Sinis- ~

i er shorts.

case of vendors' catering to comes to offei;ing program- cal, vice president of Asian/ :

The root of the problem their customers' natural incli- ming assistance.

Pacific sales for McCormack

is the way the big hardware nations or of users' prefer-

As a result, a healthy in- & Dodge Corp., Natick, Mass. ~

vendors began in Japan, says ences being shaped by the dependent industry providing The applications market, on ..u

Denis Mathias, Price Water- strategies of the manufactur- packaged software for large the other hand, is "almost en- £

house Consultants' represen- ers is "a chicken and egg machines never had a chance tirely unexploited," says ~

L__ta_t_iv_e_d_ir_e_c_to_r_in_T_o_k_y_o_._I_n__q_u_e_st_io_n_,_"_a_c_c_o_rd_i_n_g_t_o_S_h1_·-__to_d_e_v_el_o_p_._P_c_s_r_·e_n_1_ai_n_th_e__P_r_ic_e_W_a_t_er_h_o_u_s_e_'s_M_a_th_i_as_.__J j

30 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987

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News in Perspective

...

One reason for the im- increased job hopping.

See Competition as Chief Price Waterhouse.

proving status of packages is

The developer shortage Benefit of Arbitration Rul-

One of the more recent

Japan's office µc revolution. is exacerbated by hardware ing," Nov. 1, p. 17).

tactics of mainframe vendors

1'

"Most users became familiar with packaged software

manufacturers' increased hiring of programmers, Johnson

Business Sense Needed

is spinning off dozens of small software subsidiaries, which,

through pcs," says Arthur D. says: "Japanese mainframers

Even a large increase in they hope, will emulate the

·

Little (Japan) analyst Hir- have started developing more mainframers' efforts to come creativity of venture capital

oyuki Sakemi. The strongest software themselves, for the up with new software prod- startups. This strategy

push towa r d packages may same reason IBM did more ucts isn't likely to satisfy de- doesn't get high marks either.

come from fin ancia l pre s- than 10 years ago-the way mand. That's because even Johnson of the Yankee Group

sures; in an era uf low growth to sell hardware is to have though they are trying to cre- fee ls it won't be s uccessful

and a highly valued yen, ex- good software."

ate packages, the res ults still because sma ll subsidiaries

travagances such as custom

The pcms began to wake look alm ost custom-made. are subject to the same pres-

software receive more than a up when they experienced in- According to McCormack & sures as large companies.

second glance.

creased uncertainty about the Dodge 's Siniscal, " Fujitsu,

Foreign, third-party soft-

Software developers are effective ne ss of their com- Hitachi, and NEC already have ware houses may be able to

getting more expensive, patibility strategy. In the past, packages, but they have very satisfy the demand for pack-

mainly due to the program- says Johnson , compan ies limited functionality."

aged software. A number of

mer shortage, which, the Min- such as Fujitsu and Hitachi

To create packages with such vendors have been fairly

istry of International Trade could run on the basis of being a wider appea l will require a successful in Japan, including

and Industry estimates, will IBM-compatible because they "common sense of business. Software AG. In applications,

reach 600,000 by the 1990s. could take advantage of the They will try but won't be suc- the overseas vendors are just

The shortage drives up sala- large base of IBM applications. cessful, because they don't getting started.

ries, although they are still "But the disputes with IBM have experience in develop-

Akira Urano, assistant

...

much lower than in the U.S., have clearly frightened ing cross-industr y app li ca- general manager of the infor-

and, says Sakemi, it leads to them," he says (see "Users tions," maintains Shiinoki of mation and telecommunica-

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32 DATAMATION DECEMBER 15. 1987

CIRCLE 15 ON READER CARD

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News in Perspective

., .

MICROCOMPUTERS

Clone Makers Treading Softly tions systems division oftrad-
ing company C. Itoh & Co.

.,.

Lld., believes that foreign

On PS/2 Micro Channel Turf packages won't do because of
differences in management structures and mind-sets.

·

Cullinet's Experience Cited PC-compatible makers are racing to develop Micro

Setting up a wholly Channel-based products, but in the push to market, the

owned subsidiary is considered by many to be a neces-

winner could end up being the biggest loser.

sary, if expensive, move. Ob-

servers point to Cullinet as an

example of what not to do.

Working through distribu-

tors, the Westwood, Mass.-

based company is estimated

to have sold fewer than 30

sels of its IDMS / R database

product in Japan since 1976.

A Cullinet spokesman in

Westwood notes, however,

that the company has recently

taken steps to bo lster its

presence in the Far East. Ear-

lier this year, Cullinet established a supporl center in Ja-

...

pan to aid its distributor, Century Research Corp. In

..

addition, Cullinet last Novem-

ber added a regional head-

quarters operation in Singa-

pore to handle the Pacific Ba-

sin, including Japan.

Mosl agree that condi-

tions are right for an explo-

sion of packaged software use FUTURE INTERNATIONAL'S JACKSON: Legal questions loom larger than technical ones.

in Japan. "In Japanese compa-

nies," says Mathias of Price Waterhouse, "there's a huge

BY RO BERT FR ANCIS

able until late 1988, vendors programs in some stage of say that current buying deci- development.

~

visible backlog-maybe two It's a race that no one wants to sions are not based on wheth-

Micro Channel has taken

to three years' worth-in ap- finish first. As microcomputer er or not a machine has Micro center stage in the technical

·

plications development. At companies begin to decipher Channel. That could change, controversy over PS/2, even the same time, software de- the intricacies of IBM's Micro though, and everybody who's though its full benefits appar-

....

velopment costs are going up, Channel Architecture, the anybody in the PC-compatible ently won't be realized until

hardware costs are coming $64,000 question has evolved business seems ready to jump os/2 is fully developed. Sim-

~

down."

from "Who will be the first?" on what could become a Mi- ply put, Micro Channel is a

McCormack & Dodge's to "Who will be the first in cro Channel development pathway that moves data

..

Siniscal feels that "all the court?"

bandwagon.

from the PS/2's central en-

same forces that were work-

Several companies have

At least two com pa- gine to other parts of the ma-

ing in the U.S. 10 to 15 years stated publicly, or at least nies-Western Digital Corp., chine-such as the screen

...

ago are coming into play in Ja- hinted broadly, that they are Irvine, Calif., and Chips & and disk drives-and allows

. pan now."

working on a version of Micro Technologies Inc., Milpitas, data to move along a network

Whether that explosion Channel, just in case the de- Calif.-confirm that they are of personal computers much

of packages occurs soon will

mand for PS/2s begins to cut

developing the technology

faster than the architecture of

v 0:

'""(

depend, to a certain extent, on into sales of their existing (see Look Ahead, Nov. 15, p. the original IBM PC did. Ac- :";'; ,-

the efforts of the software IBM-compatible systems. 10). Some of the crop of clone cording to Tim Mannix, IBM's ]

vendors who have the prod- However, because os/2 Ex- makers, such as Tandy Corp., director of plans and controls ucls Lo offer. In Lhe end, how- tended Edition-the operat- Fort Worth, and Compaq at the Entry Systems Div., ,-0,, ' f

ever, the role of packaged ing system that IBM says will Computer Corp., Houston, Boca Raton, Fla., Micro Chan- _>o-

software in Japan will be de-

take full advantage of Micro

acknowledge that they have

nel pushes personal comput-

"-
0

O>

termined by the users.

·

Channel-will not be avail- Micro Channel technology ers into a faster-paced arena.

0
0

if

34 DATAMATION D DECEMBER 15, 1987

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News in Perspective

that legal PS/2 clones eventu-

ally will come out, but added

that the effort on the part of

clone makers will take some

degree of expertise.

PS/2 with Micro Channel

hit just as Tandy Corp. was

making inroads with its strat-

egy to broaden its base in the

business market. Now, Tandy

officials admit, without Micro

A. -

Channel its new strategy

could be handicapped. Conse-

quently, Tandy has initiated a

development program for Mi-

cro Channel, but, like Future

International, it doesn't plan

to be the first on the block

with such a product.

Tandy officials see the

PS/2 and its accompanying ar-

chitecture as being far more

WYSE'S KRYZAN: We understand Micro Channel today.

important to corporate or

high-end users than to Tan-

·

dy's traditional customer in

the home and education mar-

" With Micro Channel, ify at what stage. "I can only cerning lawsuits and the PS/2 kets, who generally buy

the system will manage sev- say that we understand Micro looked particularly fierce. through retail channels.

era! functions at once," Man- Channel today," says Chris Two companies ran afoul of nix says. In comparing Micro Kryzan, Wyse marketing Big Blue earlier this year by Back to Conventional Markets

Channel with the original PC manager.

using variations of the PS/2

Some IBM observers see

bus architecture, he uses the analogy of a highway and a legal Question looms large

moniker. In an out-of-court the PS/2 in the same way-a settlement reached in No- move by IBM away from the

country road. On a highway,

Wyse officials, like oth- vember, AST Research Inc., mass market and back toward

he says, "If you've got a lot of ers investigating Micro Chan- Irvine, Calif., agreed to dis- its conventional markets in

traffic you need more lanes, nel, say the big question is a continue an advertisement business, government, and

and you need to manage the legal one, not a technical one. using the headline "PS/ 2 education. If that is the case, flow of that traffic into the At the moment, IBM seems Memory: Our Name Says It says Future International's

. ,..

main artery. That's what Mi- unwilling to discuss utility Ii- All." IBM agreed to drop the Jackson, a two-tier operating

cro Channel does." The old censing of Micro Channel, al- suit, while AST agreed to re- system (DOS and OS/2) will

architecture, he says, is "like though Kryzan says that IBM spect IBM's "Personal Sys- exist for some time, depend-

a country road. If there were is "more willing to talk to ven- tem/2" trademark. IBM also ing on the users.

more demands than the sys- dors" now than it was in the agreed to drop its objection to

Bill Gates, chairman of

tern could handle, it just shuts past. Still, IBM's reaction to a AST's product names Ram- Microsoft, Redmond, Wash.,

down."

true PS/2 clone will only be page/2 and Advantage/2.

whose company is writing

When OS/2 and related known when one is brought to

A similar suit between os/2, shares Jackson's opin-

products become available, market. "This is a case where IBM and Orchid Technology ion: "I originally thought we'd

the new software running via you don't want to be first, you Inc., Freemont, Calif., was see some slowdown in pc

Micro Channel will be more want to be second," says Bri- settled with Orchid agreeing sales when the PS/2 was an-

efficient, Mannix says.

an Jackson, managing direc- that advertisements for its nounced, but it has not hap-

Most PC-compatible tor of IBM-compatible manu- add-on products for the PS/2 pened to the degree I thought

manufacturers see little de- facturer Future International would not be used in any way it would. The pc market has

mand for Micro Channel tech- Ltd. in Surrey, England.

to suggest that IBM endorsed continued to grow or, if any-

nology for another year or

Jackson, whose back- them. Although the two suits thing, grow faster since April

two. That is when they antici- ground is in engineering, says have been settled, the cases 2 than before."

pate the advantages of PS/2 the technical hurdles could be sent legal shivers down the

os/2 will run on the cur-

and os/2 will begin to take fo- cleared with relative ease, but backs of many clone makers. rent crop of pcs, but its full :g

.. -

cus. Terminal and PC-compat- the legal questions loom

Despite the legal battles, power will only be unleashed -~

ible manufacturer Wyse much larger, and are infinitely IBM may have backed off a bit on the PS/2 machines, Gates ;;

Technologies, San Jose, has a more costly to any company of late, although it won't come says. "A key point," he con- £

Micro Channel program in the willing to joust with IBM.

out and say so. Recently, tinues, "is that os/2 runs on ~

~w_o_r_k_s_,a_l_th_o_L_1g_l_11_·t_w_o_n_'_t_sp_e_c_-_ _ _IB_M_'s_in_it_i_al_s_t_r_at_e_g_y_c_o_n_-__c_o_m_p_a_n_y_o_ff_ic_i_al_s_d_id_a_d_m_i_t__o_ld_e_r_p_c_s_a_n_d_i_t_r_u_n_s_o_n_t_h_e_, j

36 DATAMATION 0 DE C EMBER 15, 1987

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News in Perspective

Staying on top of your network is a big challenge. How do you ransfer different file types between MYS and YSE? Or VM and C? How do you coordinate production activities among data enters? What if they're using different security systems? Or unning at different release levels?
Network DataMover ( NDM) meets all these challenges while rnking the technology transparent to users. There are standard ata transfer and production management tools at all NDM odes. And all nodes operate as peers.
So give us a call if you need to get your data transfer opera·ons off the ground. Network DataMover offers a single solution ·om top to bottom. No matter how your network stacks up.

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lntl·rnational Bu!linc~'.-1 \lachincs Corp

CirclP. ?1 nn RP."rf"r C:"rrf

PS/2. The PS/2, however, is

designed knowing that os/2

is an open system capable of

running many things at one

time. The rs/2 does that bet-

ter because it was designed

with that in mind."

When the PS/2 was an-

nounced in April, many ana-

lysts expected to see clones

by the end of the year. Now,

most analysts don't expect to

see clones until mid-1988, if

then.

If mid-1988 is an accu-

rate estimate of the arrival of

the PS/2 clone, that would

mean IBM would have had

slightly more than a year to

establish its position in the

market, which has been one

of Big Blue's goals for the

new machines.

"When we developed

the PS/2 and Micro Channel

we knew there were some

smart people out there," com-

ments IBM's Mannix. "The

question was how long would

it take [them] to reengineer

the thing. We figured about

nine-to-15 months before

someone would come up with

something similar, so we're

probably right on target with

that. It's been a lot tougher

than most people [clone mak-

ers] thought it would be."

With the first generation

of PCs, the clone market was

wide open because IBM used

off-the-shelf hardware. For its

new generation of PCs, IBM

has been less open about its

hardware, saying it is willing

to license, under certain cir-

cumstances, Micro Channel

utility patents, but not basic

patents for PS/2. Neverthe-

less, IBM has acknowledged

that legal clones are inevita-

ble. Still, the computer giant

hopes to maintain its techno-

logical lead. "We plan to take

what we've got and make it

better over time," says Man-

nix. "Others will try to catch

us and even try to leapfrog

us. If we become nerds then

someday they may catch up,

but I don't think that's going

to happen."

·

I :J4: t3: f(,f·1i):f ·
Honeywell Bull Layoffs
Honeywell Bull Inc. plans to cut approximately 1,600 jobs in 1988. The company, which was formed earlier this year and is owned by Honeywell Inc., Groupe Bull of France, and Japan's NEC Corp., had employed more than 20,000 people worldwide prior to the announcement. Also, Honeywell Bull intends to transfer mainframe manufacturing operations to Lawrence, Mass., from Phoenix as part of the overhaul.

Apple in Italy
Apple's Rome unit has announced a joint leasing venture with the successful Florentine clothing manufacturer, Benetton. Apple and Benetton will have equal shares in the new company, called Servizi Finanziari SpA (Safa). Safa is the first leasing venture for Apple. It will provide services for buyers and distributors of Apple products, including leasing, financing,factoring, and venture capital. In addition, Apple has acquired 24.9% of List SpA, which is a software house based in Pisa. List specia li zes in Unix research and the integration of the Macintosh into multivenclor environments.

CCA on the Block

Computer Corp. of America

(CCA), developer of the Model

204 DBMS, is among several

businesses targeted for sale

by Crownx foe., a Canadian fi-

nancial services and health

care concern. Crownx, which

acquired CCA in 1984, also

plans to divest itself of lnclisy,

(formerly Prod-Net) a

networking software devel-

oper, and Data Crown, a com-

puter timesharing venture,

both based in Toronto.

Crownx promises to fund CCA

operations through calendar

'88, a spokeswoman says.

The Cambridge, Mass.-basecl

firm had revenues of $42 mil-

lion in 1986.

·

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Behind the News

(

MICROCOMPUTERS

'

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...

.... .

Pcs in Education: Reading,

....
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Writing, and Algorithms

ministrators reveal that it's not the federal or even the state governments that will spearhead the movement toward computer literacy in America's schools. The Computer Education Assistance Act of 1987, which held much promise for com-

Despite socioeconomic differences and scarce funding, school programs are pressing ahead to

puting in all U.S. schools, may, in its final form, offer very little in the way of federal assistance. It's the local school officials

. .I ,,..

provide students with computer skills .

BY THERESA BARRY

garten and are likely to have access to a well-equipped computer lab at school. In

and farsighted political leaders-whom New York City schools' chief information officer, Irwin Kaufman, characterizes as "visionaries"-who are paving the way

Today, students being graduated from inner-city or rural school districts, there in high-tech education.

America's schools are entering a job mar- is a greater chance that by the time a stu-

Statistics provided by the U.S. De-

ket that increasingly requires computer dent is graduated from high school and partment of Education's Center for Edu-

skills. But are some students being left enters the job market, he or she will not cation Statistics (compiled in October

behind because their schools do not pro- have had the same exposure to comput- 1986) reveal that the percentage of U.S.

vide computer training, either for eco- ers. That's not to say that all rural areas public schools using microcomputers in

nomic or other reasons?

are in the dark ages of computer usage. the classroom rose to 92.2 % in the fall of

An examination of the kindergarten On the contrary, the paucity of financial 1985 from 18.2% in the fall of 1981. The

0 .D

through twelfth grade educational sys-

resources in some of these areas is forc-

statistics show that the size of the

N

~ terns in various municipalities through- ing school administrators to develop in- schools makes a difference: 81.5% of

£ out the country reveals that, in general, novative and cost-effective ways to bring schools with fewer than 200 students had

J9 schoolchildren in affluent areas are being computers to their students.

microcomputers, while 97.9 % of schools

exposed to computers as early as kinder-

Interviews with various school ad- with more than 1,000 students did.

DATAMATION D DECEMBER 15 , 1987 43

Behind the News
.. ..

JEFFERSON HIGH'S REUTER: She believes her school "now has a direction for using computers and software in education."

In addition, In structional Uses of School Computers, a report issued in August 1986 by the Center for Social Organization of Schools at]ohns Hopkins University, states that the schoo!s most likely to have at least one computer are those in relatively high socioeconomic metropolitan areas, and those offering classes up to grade six in smaller metropolitan areas. Least likely to have at least one computer were schools in which most students come from farm families, those offering kindergarten through grade eight in metropolitan areas that are primarily white and non-Hispanic, but in which children typically come from a low socioeconomic background, and elementary schools that have "racially mixed or predominantly minority" students. However, three quarters of the schools in the low socioeconomic grouping had microcomputers.
In school districts with poor and/ or minority populations, the struggle to acquire computers is part of a larger move-

ment to better educational quality. In Kansas City, Mo., for example, a lengthy court case ended in June 1985 with a ruling that, since 1969, the state had discriminated against schools with largely black and Hispanic enrollment when allotting assistance. As a result, says Theodore M. Shaw, codirector of the Western region of the NAACP's Legal Defense and Education Fund, the state is now required to provide funds to improve the quality of education in Kansas City schools-75.1 % of the students in Kansas City are from minority groups. And, says Shaw, the provision of computer equipment for computer assisted instruction and improved computer literacy, as well as for operating the schools, is a large part of this funding. "Those students [in the inner-city schools] need computer training as much as anywhere else," he says.
Arthur Benson, a Kansas City attorney who worked with the NAACP on the case, says that up until the ruling, the

Kansas City schools "were as [computer] illiterate as any major school district could be in the U.S." Just at the time when surrounding suburban schools began to consider acquiring computers (around 1969), Kansas City schools were losing their art, music, and physical education teachers. They "bottomed out" by the late '70s, Benson says. They are now in the midst of a transformation, purchasing computer equipment and implementing programs at a rapid pace.
Magnet School for Computers To Open
Schools that provide a specialized curriculum, often concentrated on a specific subject area-known as magnet schools-are being developed. Central High School Computers Unlimited is one such magnet school. It's situated in the heart of the inner city, says Benson, and is scheduled to open next September with a curriculum devoted to computers. The equipment budget will be $500,000 in the first year, $250,000 in the second year, and will level off at $100,000 per year within five years. While he's enthusiastic about the current state of affairs in the school system, Benson says it's too early to predict the results. He adds that, up to this point, students who are graduated from Kansas City schools have received no computer training.
Kansas City's students, as well as students from educational districts across the country, are entering a national job market that increasingly demands people with knowledge of computers. The Robert Half employment agency, which places workers in computer and financial service firms, reports that one of the questions most often asked by clients is, "Can this person use a personal computer?" Kelly Services Inc., a national temporary help service organization based in Detroit, reports that five years ago, training applicants to perform word processing and other computer functions was a mainstay of its business. Now, says senior vice president Carolyn Fryar, more time is spent testing them because most people who apply at Kelly already have some experience with computers. This experience is gained either
. in school or from previous jobs. 0 In the New York City school sys- O>
tem, nearly every school has some com- u: puter equipment, says the Board of Edu- -:2 cation's Kaufman. "Before a st udent J; graduates from a [New York City] high school, he or she will have had access to the use of a computer in school," he says.

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44 DATAMATION DECEMBER 15 , 1987

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In addition, Kaufman claims that 25% to

30% of the students in certain city

schools have computers at home. For

tho e who can't afford them, he says,

New York recently implemented a pro-

gram under which individual schools will

loan computers to some students for use

at home for a period of two to three

months. Kaufman attributes the success-

ful implementation of New York City's

computer program to the city's Board of

Education, whose members, he says,

have been tremendously supportive.

Still, there are some schools in New York

City that do not have adequate computer

facilities because of overcrowded condi-

tions, Kaufman admits.

There are many types of computer

programs in place in kindergarten

through grade 12 in New York City's

school system. For example, Kaufman

says there are 60 sites in the Writing to

Read program, which uses computers

and teaches children how to type, and NEW YORK CITY SCHOOLS' KAUFMAN: "You can't put computers into schools without bucks."

s uch staff development programs as

How To Use the Computer in Arts, Kaufman, that the administrators are says, 500 new computer labs have been

which is geared toward teacher training. turning people away. "The interest on built in 125 schools throughout the five

The teachers in New York City's the part of teachers is not an issue," boroughs of New York City. The labs

public schools are being offered courses Kaufman adds . "They are [interested], contain IBM, Tandy, Apple, and Commo-

on computers during the s ummer in an and we know it's making a difference" in dore hardware. Kaufman says that the

"open university" setting. There is so the classroom.

labs are state· of the art. Approximately

much interest in these courses, claims

Over the last three years, Kaufman 125 to 150 more labs are planned per

The Bill: Watered Down, But Still Afloat

year, until all of the 1, 100 schools in the system have three to four labs each. The expenditure on computer hardware and

The Computer Education Assistance Act of 1987, which was originally introduced by Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Sen. Timothy Wirth CD-Colo.) in 1983, held a great deal of promise for computer education in elementary and secondary

software over the last two years in New York City is about $30 million, not including instruction costs.

schools in the U.S. In October, however, the funding proposed in the bill was

reduced and sent to the Senate as part of a larger bill.

Joy Silver. a legislative as istant to Sen. Lautenberg in Washington, D.C.,

says the reduced version of the act maintains the main features of the original, but

funding for hardware, software, and instruction has been reduced to $10 million

from $150 millior.. To make matters worse, the $10 million is to be shared with

three other educational programs. Silver expects the overall bill to pass this year.

One provision of the original bill that carried over, and which Silver thinks is

quite significant, is the Eligibility for Grants requirements. Under these rules, indi-

vidual states must follow stringent guidelines and document their planning activi-

ties for proposed computer installations. This, she says, will force states to have a

clear direction for such programs in place, at least on paper.

A second important feature of the bill that remained intact is the Teacher

Training Program. Called Title II of the original bill, this section stales that the

National Science Foundation shall arrange through grants and cuntracts with pro-

fessional, scientific, or engineering organizations to improve the qualifications of

~"-

individuals who train the teachers who in turn are responsible for using computers for educational programs in elementary and secondary schools.

"0 '
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0

All of the school administrators interviewed for this article felt that funding of teacher training was one of the most, if not the most, important aspects of comput-

>-
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er literacy among schoolchildren.Just how important Title II was is revealed in a

Q

°'0 study published by the U.S. Department of Education in June 1986, which showed

0
£

a direct relation between teacher training in computers and district wealth.

Computer Literacy is Not the Goal
New York's program, which began in the high schools, has been filtering down to the junior high and elementary schools. The main focus in the use of computer has not been on computer literacy. "Jn a system with 950,000 kids you don't focus on computer literacy per se," says Kaufman. "We're concerned with how computers will enhance learning in various subject areas."
An example of a school system that is using computers to attract students to magnet schools in the inner city is in Worcester, Mass. John Burke, the assi tant superintendent of schools, says magnet schools in Worcester are given special treatment compared with nonmagnet schools when it comes to allocating equipment and staff to help with "minority de-isolation" and attracting students from nonmagnet districts.
The 1,500 teachers working in the

DATAMATION DECEMBER 15, 1987 45

Behind the News

Worcester public school system are into enthusiasm for computers in the discipline was the first to get computers.

trained at individual school and district classroom.

With federal aid cutbacks, Monahan

...

levels. Says Burke, "We made a decision

Monahan sees school districts in says it doesn't seem likely that a cohe-

not to ask for volunteers" among teach- New Hampshire, as well as those across sive national effort will rectify these

ers to train on computers. "All class- the country, becoming more and more in- problems.

rooms are required to go into the computer room. We worked in reverse." Burke

terested in purchasing computers. In a tour of comp uter facilities in U.S.

An Apple Network to the Rescue

adds that most teachers have taken to schools, she found that some schools had

An example of an innovative ap-

computers "quite well."

computer labs, but very little software. proach to providing computers in

Each of the 41 elementary schools One school she visited had "a few com- schools can be found in Salem, Ore.

in the Worcester school system has a 32- puters in its library" and the librarian, There, the challenge for local high school

station computer network, comprised of who never used a computer, was put in administrators was to share scarce rehard-disk-based Tandy microcomputers. charge of them. Monahan found that, sources, a characteristic of many rural

....,.

Software curriculum packages are imple- generally, there was a question of which communities that are geographically iso-

mented on the systems. The school sys-
tem also has a telecommunications pro- Vendor Offerings in Education
gram so that schools can communicate

and exchange ideas with other schools inside and outside of the district. Burke has seen the most direct effect of the chil-

Here is what the four top vendors in the kindergarten through grade 12 education markets offer in grants and discounts to educational institutions and teachers:

dren's use of computers in their writing Apple Computer Inc.

skills. He believes this is because the stu-

Apple's Corporate Grants department has a program called Equal Time,

dents are taught to use the computers as which targets disadvantaged students who traditionally have had limited access to

word processors, which allow them to correct their writing mistakes easily.

computers in classrooms. Grants consist of up to 20 pcs, peripherals, software, and support. Apple's approach to the education market is known as the Apple

" It's harder to pinpoint the effects in other curricula," adds Burke. "Did the com-

Unified School System. On the sales side, Apple offers the Education Purchase Program (EPP), which offers special pricing to qualified schools. Another program

puter teach a student to add better, or was it the math teacher?" he asks

under EPP allows full-time teaching professionals affiliated with schools to purchase a single Apple computer directly from Apple from a special price list. The

rhetorically.

Apple Repair Coupon Service Program offers service and repairs to elementary

Until this past year, funding for Worcester's computer faci lities came from state and federal sources. Massachusetts's property taxes were capped in 1983 at 2.5 %, spelling disaster for Worcester's schools, which cut 400 teachers. The city's budget picture has improved dramatically since, and Burke says city officials have been backing,

and secondary schools at a discount. The Apple Education Upgrades program offers schools with Apple computers discounts on selected upgrade equipment.
Commodore Commodore's education division ceased operation two years ago when the
company was experiencing financial woes. Recently, the group was reformed and is revving up. The company does not now have a grants program in place. Discounts are available to both schools and teachers through local Commodore dealers.

··
.. r
... (

among other things, computer education

fundin g.

IBM

··

The Situation at the Rural level

IBM offers no educational grants. Three special marketing programs for kin-

While the outlook for computing at New York City and Worcester schools looks pretty bright, some rural school districts are struggling. Marilyn Monahan of the New Hampshire branch of the National Education Association says, "The ratio of students to computers is still high. There is a great disparity in access to computers between kids of rich and poor communities."

dergarten through grade 12 are offered. A special price offering is available for tl1e PS/2 Model 25 when ordered by institutions that are offering classes in kindergarten through grade 12, that qualify for the education allowance, and that have a Volume Procurement Amendment or special bid contract in effect with IBM. IBM's Certified Education Specialist program for elementary and secondary schools allows a school, at the same time as it orders products, to select an IBM Certified Education Specialist from the IBM dealer network to supply assistance services at no extra charge. The IBM Faculty and Staff Purchase offering provides faculty and staff members with prices that are below list on selected IBM products for pe rsonal use.

Monahan says that because the level of interest in computers varies among districts, the benefits of computer education will also vary. She says the state is addressing this problem by providing computers to teachers to do their paperwork. By doing o, says Monahan, they will be spurring the interest among the teachers, which, it is hoped, will translate

Radio Shack's Education Div. The Tandy Educational Grants Program awards grants to qualified education-
al institutions. Two marketing programs are also offered. The Educational Purchase Discount program, in general, provides a 20% discount on Tandy/ Radio Shack computer hardware and software to public schools and eligible accredited, nonprofit, private educational institutions. The Teacher Opportunity Program provides discounts to qualified educators who purchase Tandy MS/DOS computers for their own use at home.

46 DATA M AT ION DEC EMB ER 15, 1987

Behind the News

lated. A consortium of four rural high schools and a community college in the Salem area implemented a low-cost network of Apple computers, which is allowing one "master teacher" to instruct students in four schools-separated by as much as 25 miles-simultaneously. Says Patrick Schwab, who provided the technical support for the project from Chemeketa Community College in Salem, the program has been "a delightful exercise in cooperation ... among schools with a natural rivalry between them."
The four schools-Jefferson, Cascade, Regis, and Staten-while rivals on the football field, are electronic classmates in the advanced writing and English composition class. The ma s ter teacher is putting assignments into the network using the Let's Talk software program (provided by Rust Systems, Santa Clara). Students are getting their assignments using one of the four or five Apple Il e micros at each school, loading their completed work back into the computers, which are networked via mo-

dems, and sending them to the teacher's mailbox. The teacher corrects the papers on-line and returns them electronically to the students, who then correct them and return them once more to the teacher. Communication between teacher and student through the network is supplemented by field trips, which physically bring the students and teacher together. The master teacher did not know how to use a computer before she began the course. She was trained at a local college, which helped her develop the curricula for use on the computer network. The teacher then spent about a day training the students on how to move around with the program on the computers.
Bulletin Board Used by Four Schools
The hardware was acquired through a grant program from Apple. ChemekeLa College initially provided the technical support and network management requirements of the program, as well as a joint bulletin board for all four schools. Schwab, the program director,

has since turned over the monitoring of the bulletin board to Karen Reuter of]efferson High School. Reuter, a media specialist in the school's library, had only basic computer skills when the program was implemented, she says.
Now, she boasts that taking over the operation of the bulletin boards has "caused me to be more skilled in the repair and maintenance of computers," as well as more knowledgeable about their general operation. Reuter also believes the program changed the whole tone of the school's curricula. "We now have a direction [for the use of] computers and software in education."
While disparities exist among affluent schools and schools in the inner-city and rural areas, in regard to computers and their uses in education, there are some encouraging signs that the socioeconomic barriers are not insurmountable. At least in the short run, the burden of interest in, and implementation of, computers in the classroom may rest with those at the grass roots level. ·

Introducing a 4.5 MB/sec PACE for IBM cl1annel emulation.

48 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987

For years designers have been using our Peripheral Automatic Channel Emulator (PACE) to develop and test IBM 370-compatible peripherals quickly and inexpensively without tying up the mainframe.
Introducing the new turbo PACE. An advanced version with a blazing 4.5 MB/sec data streaming transfer rate.
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--aata/Y!Jll!,-NC 4204 Sor rento Valley Blv d ., San D iego, CA 92 12 1 (6 19) 45 3-7 660 ·TWX: (9 10) 33 5-2066 · FA X: (619) 453 -2 794
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
CIRCLE 25 ON READER CARD

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., There's a new player in town.

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So cut the DEC:M

Sorbus~M the nations leading independent computer service company, has

, ..

spent the past 12 months putting together the manpower, the parts, and the systems to maintain your DEC equipment.

We've never been more ready. And neither have you.

We can take care of everything-from your PDP-llXX, to your VAX

11/7.XX, to your MicroVAX I or II. And most any peripheral you can name,

whether it's attached to a DEC host or not.

You'll get guaranteed 4-hour response time. Diagnostics. Assured

parts availability through the companies of Bell Atlantic Customer Services,

Inc. An 11-hour service day. And Field Engineers trained on your entire

system, not just on bits and pieces.

In other words, you'll get what you'd pay DEC a premium for-and

more-at our standard service rate.

Because, frankly, we don't even have a premium service rate.

Just premium service.

Just Sorbus service. The kind thats earned us the Number One slot

in Datamation and Computer Decisions reader surveys for eight and eleven

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years runrung. We're ready. So cut the DEC. call 1-800-FOR-INFO.

SorbusSM

A Bell Atla nticMCompany

Sorbus is a service mark of Sorbus lnc. DEC is a trademark of Digital Equipment Corporation.

Circle 5 on Reader Card

50 E. Swedesford Road Frazer, PA 19355

Telephones and Key Systems
PABX Systems

+ ·
-· ·
,.
r-

Computer Maintenance
··

Microcomputer Business Systems

..

Mailing and

IBM-Compatible

., ,

Shipping Systems

Displays

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··

Computer Peripherals

.·· .
. .
·
.....

CORTELCO* Second Largest U.S. Manufacturer of Telephones
and Key Systems

COURIER INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Leading Supplier of IBMCompatible Display Systems

FRIDEN ALCATEL Innovative Supplier of Postage Meters, Mailing and
Shipping Systems

PABX SYSTEMS CORP.** Supplier of Advanced Small and Medium Size PABX and
Key Systems

ATELM BUSINESS
.,..

.....

That's why we're called Alcatel Business Systems. Because our name

and key systems for small-to-mediumsize businesses, postal and shipping

reflects our focused commitment to

systems, and computer service and

improve the efficiency and productivity maintenance.

ofAmerican business.

As a group, these Alcatel companies

Which, in turn, will make American

work together to create a symmetry of

businesses more profitable.

systems and services, offering a com-

Alcatel Business Systems is a group

prehensive range of communications

of seven distinct companies joined by

and information processing solution~

a common vision-to provide you with for your business.

the best integrated communications,

And because each of these com-

business information systems and

panies is an integral part of Alcatel n.v. ,

services.

a multinational corporation with over

··

By themselves, these Alcatel companies are respected industry

$13 billion in sales, you can be sure that the Alcatel companies you work with

leaders in their fields, including single

today will be there when you need

··

and multiuser business computers, computer terminals, local area

them tomorrow. It's what we call our keystone

network products, letter-quality

commitment-and it's a fundamental

printers, office publishing systems,

part of the way we do business.

single and multiline telephones, PABXs

And we do mean business.

....

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For more information on Alcatel and the Alcatel Business Systems companies,

call l -800-556-1234 (ext. 247) or in California 1-800-441-2345 (ext. 247);

or write Alcatel Business Systems, 1623 Buckeye Drive, Milpitas, CA 95035.

...

T
QUME CORPORATION
Leading Manufacturer of Computer Peripherals

T

SERVCOM
Computer Maintenance and Support Services

XTRA BUSINESS SYSTEMS
Complete Line of High Performance Microprocessor-
Based Computers

Circle 26 on Reader Card

·formerly Apparatus Division of ITT Telecommuni cat ions.
**Formerly ITT Bu siness Communico · lions Corporation and Thomson CSF Operations.

....

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CUSTOMER CLOUT!
DATAMATION'S
Directory of User Groups
...

A DATAMATION REPORT

· advance notice (or at least good hints) of forthcoming enhancements to soft-

While user groups may not

Users of the world do, in fact, unite. They ware, hardware, and support;

be the answer to every IS problem, they do offer

have nothing to lose, and a lot to gain. · lists of vendors that can provide add-on Whether they're customers of the big hardware, special software, and training;

·

information pros an easy

boys-IBM and Digital Equipment Corp. , · gripe sessions that give users a chance

route to increased influence

for instance-or at the fringes of the to educate a vendor;

with vendors. Other bonus-

multiM!PSworkstation market-like Sun · stature with the vendor, which will

es of membership include

folk or lntergraphites-users need more typically view an involved user as a more

access to fellow users

than vendors can provide. While vendors important customer;

willing to talk about what

are happy to give users the ostensible · access to special services such as on-

they've learned from run-

specifications of their products and lots line help bulletin boards;

ning their own systems and

of support material based on their inten- · contact with other users involved in

advance information on

tions, the day-to-day operation of com- similar vertical applications;

new hardware and soft-

puter shops can demand a lot more. · publications that the user can refer to

ware releases. We polled

Users need advice about the pitfalls of when confronted with an unexpected

the world's largest IS ven-

programs, the headaches that hardware challenge others have already met; and

dors, the companies on the

is prone to create, and the hot skinny · the increased stature both within the

DATAMATION 100, for in-

on service. That is where camaraderie computing community and the user's

formation on their user

comes m.

company that comes with membership in

groups. Herewith, every-

User groups provide IS profession- a professional organization.

thing you need to know to

als with a forum. By sharing their experi-

The cost of membership is usually

increase your clout with your vendor.

ences, expectations, and complaints, peanuts compared with the price of the group members can gain information hardware involved, so the only real tax

...

during the course of a meeting or two on the user and his or her company is the

that they otherwise might not glean from time involved in participation.

1

months of personal experience. More

User groups are either nursed along

important, because user groups help us- with the help of vendors or sponsored by

ers-participants exchange not only tips them. Vendors feel that these organiza-

but actual programs and other valuable tions improve relations between seller

material-those active in a vendor-relat- and buyer. No two vendors are alike in

ed organization can get practical value this regard, and it behooves the user in-

from the pool of know-how that the orga- terested in joining a group to give the ap-

nizations create.

propriate organization the benefit of the

Specific benefits generally provided doubt; at worst, the user can always drop

by user groups include the following:

out. Critics of the user groups, who were

· face-to-face contact with vendor per- willing to spout off on condition that they

J 2

sonnel who might otherwise be phone remain anonymous, say that the organi-

L__________________s_h_y_;_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _z_a_t_io_n_s_t_h_a_t_w_e_r_e_s_u_p_p_o_s_e_d_t_o_h_e_lp_th_e__m _ _ _~

52 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987

·.;
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User Grou ps

save time actually wasted it, and that the meetings were just a way for members to get some time out of the office. By contrast, many user group members interviewed in the course of assembling DATAMATION'S directory say that their organizations have consistently provided valuable help to them as they have tried to get the most out of their machines, programs, personnel, and budgets. Between the extremes lies just about every kind of reaction-and every grade of quality-one might expect.
This directory itself shows the differences among groups, not onl:,· in terms of membership size, dues, and so forth, but also in terms of responsiveness. DATAMATION sent letters to every company in its roster of the world's 100 top vendors, and expected an overwhelming response from the firms that should have such groups. The response was indeed heartening, but, to our regret, incomplete. Some of the DATAMATION 100 vendors simply don't have groups, and, in the cases of companies such as C. Itoh and Bell Atlantic, there's probably no reason for them to. But others that seem like they ought to have such organizations (and that may indeed have them) simply ignored the requests for information. This may say something about the vendors, or at least their attitude toward customer relations.
Vendor: Amdahl Corp. Group: Amdahl Users Group Acronym : AUG Address: 1250 East Arques Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94088 Phone: (408) 746-8510 Annual fee: $0 Individual members: 400 Corporate members: 300 Systems/products: All Amdahl products Next meeting: June 12-15, Vancouver Top officer: George Frickle, Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Co. Relation to vendor: Partially subsidized Purpose: To provide a forum for members' education on management and technical issues in a conference setting. To research, gather, exchange, and

spread facts and ideas relating to Amdahl products and services. To collectively provide statements of concern and direction to Amdahl. To furnish an opportunity for Amdahl to communicate statements of direction and plans to AUG members. Services provided: Two national meetings per year.
Vendor: AT&T Unix Europe Ltd. Group: European Unix System User Group Acronym: EUUG Address: Owles Hall
Buntingford SG99PL, England Phone: 44-763-73039 Annual fee: NIA Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 2,680 Systems/ products: Unix Next meeting: April 11-14, London Top officer: Teus Hagen Relation to vendor: Independent Purpose: To promote the use of Unix and related services through the exchange of information and the cooperative efforts of its members. Servicesprovided: Two national meetings per year. Periodic workshops and tutorials. Quarterly newsletters.
Vendor: Bull SA Group: European Federation of Bull & Honeywell Users Associations Acronym: EFOBHUA Address: 43 Rue de la Chaussee d'Antin
75009 Paris, France Phone: 48-74-94-17 Annual fee: Expenses shared equally by members; this year, £10. Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 500 Systems/ products: DPS7 and associated products Next meeting: April 1988, London Top officer: Roland de Conihout, Methodes et Informatique Relation tovendor: Independent Purpose: To establish a privileged contact with the developers and manufacturers of DPS 7 products. To coordinate the activity of technical groups set up to handle a specific problem. To work in close cooperation at the international level toward a joint definition of systems application and new hardware specifications. To establish an opening toward the external market, taking advantage of the status of the European Association. Servicesprovided: One international meeting per year. Special interest group sem-

inars. Channels by which a user can request information of the vendor.
G c~~
Comdisco Disaster Recovery Services, Inc.
Vendor: Comdisco Inc. Group: Comdisco Disaster Recovery Services User Group Acronym: CDRSUG Address: 6400 Shafer Court
Rosemont, IL60018 Phone: (312) 698-3000 Annual fee: $0 Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 800 Systems/products: All Next meeting: Feb. 3-5, Naples, Fla. Top officer: Raymond Hipp, CDRS Relation to vendor: Wholly subsidized Purpose: The CDRS User Group is fully sponsored by CDRS for the purpose of providing a forum for disaster recovery information exchange and education. Services provided: One national meeting per year. Customer advisory board. Quarterly newsletters. Periodic special reports.
Vendor: Computer Associates International Inc. Group name: TOPIC Executive Committee Address: 711 Stewart Ave.
Garden City, NY 11530 Phone: (516) 227-3300 Annual fee: $500 Individual members: 500 Corporate members: 0 Systems / products: CA-Top Secret Next meeting:June 6-10, New Orleans Top officer: Glenda Cummings, First Republic Bank Relation to vendor: Independent Purpose: To further the education of CATop Secret users. To further the awareness of security issues in general. To develop communication among users and between users and vendors. Servicesprovided: One national meeting per year. Periodic newsletters. Local user groups. User database. Enhancement tape.

54 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15 , 1987

t
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Vendor: Concurrent Computer Corp. Group name: Interchange Inc.

ference proceedings. Additional periodic NORTH AMERICAN

publications.

DATA GENERAL

Addre$s: 197 Hance Ave. Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Phone: (201) 758-7575

Vendor: Control Data Corp. Group name: European Control Data

USERS GROUP

Annual fee: $125

Users

Individual members: 1,500

Acronym: ECODU

Acronym: NADGUG

Corporate members: 0

Address: 8100 34th Ave. S.

Address: 4400 Computer Dr.

Systems/products: Concurrent, Interdata ,

Minneapolis, MN 55440

Westboro, MA 01580

Perkin-Elmer products

Phone: (612) 853-6311

Phone: (617) 366-8911

Next meeting: October 1988, Parsippany, Annual fee: SFr300

Annual fee: $30

· 'I'

N.J.

.....

Top officer: Bill Atkins Relation to vendor: Independent

Individual members: N/A Corporate members: N/A Systems/products: Cyber 180, ETA Sys-

Individual members: 3,032 Corporate members: 0 Systems/products: All Data General

Purpose: To establish and maintain ave- tems supercomputers

products

hicle to effectively facilitate exchange of Next meeting: April 18-22, Nice, France

Next meeting: NI A

information among the membership. To Top officer: Johan Rivertz, Norwegian

Top officer: Calvin Durden, Tractor &

provide guidance and support for special Contractors

Equipment Co.

interest groups and local Interchange

Relation to vendor: Partially subsidized

Relation to vendor: Partially s ubsidized

...

chapters. To provide the membership Purpose: To communicate with CDC by with the means to collectively communi- presenting the opinions, recommenda-

Purpose: To advance the effective use of products or services marketed by Data

cate to Concurrent Computer Corp. on tions, and requests of ECODU members General or its affiliates by promoting the

present and future product development regarding CDC hardware, software, and free interchange of information.

and support.

related CDC services. To serve as a medi- Services provided: One national confer-

Services provided: One national meeting um to exchange information between

ence per year. Regional and special in-

per year. Special interest group meet- ECODU members.

terest group network. Monthly

ings. Local chapter meetings and local Services provided: Two national meetings magazine. Membership directory. Ac-

interest groups. Quarterly meetings be- per year. Quarterly newsletters. Pub-

cess to Data General publications. On-

tween the Interchange executive com- lished conference proceedings. Addi-

line bulletin boards. User contacts.

mittee and representatives of Con-

tional periodic publications.

Participation in surveys and other op-

current Computer Corp. Periodic news-

portunities to provide feedback to Data

letters. User program libraries. Elec-

General.

...,
,

tronic bulletin board. Vendor: Control Data Corp.

Vendor: Cray Research Inc. Group name: Cray User Group Inc. Acronym: CUG Address: 608 Second Ave. S.

Group name: VIM Inc.

Minneapolis, MN 55402

Address: 8100 34th Ave. S.

Phone: (612) 333-5889

Minneapolis, MN 55440

Annual fee: $1,200

Phone: (612) 853-6311

Individual members: 0

Annual fee: $100

,..

Individual members: 0 Corporate members: NI A

Corporate members: 102 Systems/products: All Cray products Next meeting: September 1988, Bologna,

Data General users at their 1986 meeting.

Systems/products: Cyber 180, ETA Sys-

Italy

tems supercomputers

Top officer: Helene E. Kulsrud, IDA/CRD Vendor: Digital Equipment Corp.

Next meeting: May 2-5, Irvine, Calif.

Relation to vendor: Independent

Group name: Digital Equipment Comput-

Top officer: Ray Argo, University of

Purpose: To provide an open forum to

er User Society

Georgia

promote the free interchange of infor-

Acronym: DECUS

Relation to vendor: Partially subsidized

mation and ideas that are of mutual inter- Address: 219 Boston Post Rd.

Purpose: To advance the art of computer est and value to users of Cray comput-

Marlboro, MA 01752

usage through mutual education and to ers, and to provide a formal communica- Phone: (617) 480-3290

share ideas and information. To provide tions channel between members of the Annual fee: $0

channels to facilitate the exchange of

corporation and Cray Research Inc.

Individual members: 100,000

ideas and applications on a user-to-user Services provided: Periodic meetings and Corporate members: 0

basis. To provide CDC with the opportu- discussion groups. Publication of the re- Systems/products: All DEC products

nity to present its plans and ideas to VIM sults of research. Work to establish and Next meeting: May 16-20, Cincinnati

members. To provide a unified approach improve standards for communicating

Top officer: Charles Ham, E.I. Du Pont de

to CDC on modifications and enhance-

computer science research results.

Nemours

ments on hardware and associated CDC-

Relation to vendor: Partially subsidized

supplied software.

Purpose: To promote the exchange of in-

Services provided: Two national meetings Vendor: Data General Corp.

formation processing-related informa-

and two interim meetings per year.

Group name: North American Data Gen- tion among users of Digital Equipment

Quarterly newsletters. Published con- eral Users Group

Corp. products.

DATAMATION 0 DE CEMBER 15, 1987 55

User Groups
+

Services provided: Two national meetings topics. Quarterly newsletters. Status re- Top officer: Ron Kirkpatrick, RCA Service

per year. Local users groups. Special in- port on information processing systems Co.

terest groups. Periodic newsletters.

of all group members. List of software

Relation to vendor: Wholly subsidized

Publish session notes. Program library. packages for distribution.

Purpose: To promote free exchange of in-

formation and ideas pertaining to the use

of Gould computers and software. In-

Vendor: Diebold Inc.

Vendor: Fujitsu Ltd.

form Gould cso users of new products

Group name: The Advisory Group

Group name: FACOM Family Kai

and current developments in existing

Acronym: TAG

Address: 6-1 Marunouchi 1-chome

products.

Address: 5995 Mayfair Rd.

Tokyo 100,Japan

Services provided: Two national meetings

N. Canton, OH 01752

Phone: 03-216-23211

per year. Periodic newsletters. Access

Phone: (216) 497-5018

Annual fee: ¥24,000

to user-oriented surveys. Software

Annual fee: $230

Individual members: 0

donations.

Individual members: 275

Corporate members: 3,750

Corporate members: 0

Systems/products:All Fujitsu computers

Systems/ products: Diebold electronic

Next meeting: May 1988, Tokyo

Vendor: Harris Corp.

transaction products (ATMs)

Top officer: Mizuho Satou, Taisei Fire & Group name: Dialogue

Next meeting: Sept. 18-21, Chicago Top officer: Robert Cullinan, Shawmut

Marine Insurance Co. Relation to vendor: Partially subsidized

Address: 1700 Chantilly Dr. NE Atlanta, GA 30324

·-

BankNA

Purpose: To research and discuss the ef- Phone: (404) 329-8000

Relation to vendor: Independent

fective use and improvement of FACOM Annual fee: $40

Purpose: To provide members with a pro- computers.

Individual members: NIA

··

fe ssionally organized means of commu- Services provided: One national meeting

Corporate members: NIA

nicating issues related to electronic

per year. Periodic newsletters and other Systems/products: All Lanier Business

transaction products and services to

publications.

products

Diebold and sharing that information

Next meeting: NIA

with other members. The group also provides input to the vendor on product Vendor: Fujitsu Ltd .

Top officer: Marsha Camp, Camp Executive Secretarial Services

·"

enhancements and developments.

Group name: Fujitsu Scientific System

Relation to vendor: Independent

Services provided: One national meeting

Users Association

Purpose: Establish communications

per year. Regional meetings. Quarterly Acronym: SS-ken

among Lanier users on a local, regional,

newsletters. Member reference digest. Address: 6-1Marunouchi1-chome

and national basis. Increase effective use

Education class and accessory product

Tokyo 100,Japan

of Lanier systems. Provide a formal

discounts. Telephone hotline.

Phone: 03-216-23211 Annual fee: ¥20,000

communications channel between Dialogue members and Lanier. Reduce re-

,,

Vendor: Fujitsu Ltd .

Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 55

dundant developmental effort for applications.

·

Group name: Fujitsu Large Systems Us- Systems/ products: Large-scale FACOM

Services provided: One national meeting

"r

ers Group

computers

per year. Local user groups. Periodic

Acronym: LS-ken Address: 17-25 Shin-Kamata 1-chome

Next meeting: April 1988, Tokyo Top officer: Teruo Fukumura, Nagoya

newsletters.

·

Oto-ku

University

Tokyo 144,Japan

Relation to vendor: Partially subsidized

Vendor: Hewlett-Packard Co.

Phone: 03-735-1111

Purpose: To exchange technical informa- Group name: Intertex Inc.

Annual fee: ¥30,000

tion needed by FACOM mainframe users Address: 680 Almanor Ave.

Individual members: 0

in scientific and technical fields. To con-

Sunnyvale, CA 94086

Corporate members: 231

duct discussions to respond to users

Phone: (408) 738-4848

Systems/ products: Fujitsu systems larger needs and to solve problems. To work Annual fee: $300 Corp ., $70 lndiv.

than M-360 or M-760/ 8

for the mutual benefit of users.

Individual members: 7,320

Next meeting:June 17, Tokyo

Services provided: Hold meetings on spe- Corporate members: 8, 700

Top officer: Takahiro Miura, Nippon Oil

cific subjects. Periodic newsletters.

Systems/products: All HP products

Information Syste ms Co. Ltd.

Next meeting: February 1988, Anaheim,

Relation to vendor: Partially subsidized

Calif.

Purpose: To provide the opportunity for Vendor: Gould Inc.

Top officer: Robert Grenoble, Intertex

group members to mutually exchange

Group name: Gould cs o User Group

Inc.

information and solve system-related

Address: 6901 W. Sunrise Blvd.

Relation to vendor: Independent

problems. To research uses of advanced

Plantation, FL 33310

technology and future system trends. To Phone: (305) 797-5717

Purpose: To promote common business

interests, encourage professional coop-

......

propose to Fujitsu as a group recommendations concerning Fujitsu hard-

Annual fee: $0 Individual members: 2,500

eration, foster the education and professional growth, stimulate the interchange

...,

ware and software.

Corporate members: 0

and exchange of information, and advo-

Services provided: One national meeting

Systems/products: All Gould products

cate the needs of the users of Hewlett-

per year. System exhibition seminar.

Next meeting: Oct. 19-21, Fort Lauder-

Packard computer products and related

Twenty-one research groups on various dale, Fla.

software, hardware, peripheral devices,

56 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987

Aelectronic stock market. An international network of computers through which shares are electronically traded with incredible speed.
The market is NASDAQ, and the network was built with Unisys
··
equipment. The National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation

was founded in 1971. By 1978, daily volume was 11 million shares.
Now; in 1987, an average of 155 million shares a day are traded on a network of 3,000 terminals over a 6 million square mile trading floor. Uptime for the central Unisys computer is 99.92%.
"You can't leave network growth like that to chance. Build too fast and you waste money. Too slowly and

you compromise service," says Sam Vail. His Unisys team is responsible for helping NASDAQ plan and manage the network growth. "We've been through three generations of equipment without once stopping for software conversions," Sam proudly points out. "Unisys systems grow right alongside the customer. I guess that's what the power of 2 means." Unisys and NASDAQ. The power of 2·

"We kept

NASDAQ running

..

nonstop through

·

three major

upgrades:'

Sam Vail, AccountExecutive, Unisys.

UNI·SYS The powerof 2 Circle 28 on Reader Card

User Groups

and other related products within the Hewlett-Packard community, and to provide direct services to the membership. Services provided: Periodic conferences and seminars. Magazine and periodic newsletters. Software library. Interface between users and HP.
Vendor: Hitachi Ltd. Group name: HITAC Users Association Address: 6-27-18 Minami-Oi Shinagawa- ku Toyko 140,Japan Phone: 03-763-2411 Annual fee: ¥24,000 Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 1,500 Systems/ products: Hitachi -S, -M, -L, -E, -G, and -T 2050 / 2020 Next meeting:June 1988, Tokyo Top officer: NI A Relation to vendor: Partially subsidized Purpose: To conduct studies and exchange ideas regarding the effective use of Hitachi computer systems to increase business efficiency. To provide a venue for promoting friendship among its members. Services provided: One national meeting per year. Chapter-level meetings, training sessions, and field trips. User group magazine and periodic publication of research papers.
Vendor: Honeywell Bull Inc. Group name: HLSUA (U.S.) Acronym: HLSUA Address: 4000 Town Center
Southfield, Ml 48075 Phone: (313) 353-4760 Annual fee: $325 Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 450 Systems/ products: All Honeywell Bull products (predominantly large systems) Next meeting: April 1988, Dallas Top officer: Stanley G. Louck, Current Inc. Relation to vendor: Independent Purpose: To provide a forum for users to exchange and disseminate information. To promote the use of products and related vendor systems. Services provided: Two national meetings per year. Member-donated software library. Work with standards organizations.
Vendor: Honeywell Bull Inc. Group name: North American Honeywell Users Association

Acronym: NAHU Address: P.O. Box 2037
Willingboro, NJ 08046 Phone: (609) 871-1531 Annual fee: $75 Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 536 Systems/ products: DPS 4, 6, 7/7000, Level 6,Level62/64 Next meeting: March 6-10, Norfolk, Va. Top officer: Shirley Eick, Metropolitan Life Inc. Relation to vendor: Independent Purpose: To promote the free exchange of information between member units and vendors, and to facilitate and stimulate the timely interchange of information among member units. Services provided: Two national meetings per year. Quarterly regional group meetings. Educational seminars at reduced cost.

HLSUA

r.

u

R

0

p

E

Vendor: Honeywell Bull Inc. Group name: HLSUA (Europe) Address: 121 Avenue de Malakoff
F-75116 Paris, France Phone: 45-02-90-90 Annual fee: FF3,900 Individual members: 30 Corporate members: 330 Systems/products: DPS/66, 8, 88, and 90;
GCOS3,8
Next meeting: May 18-20, West Berlin Top officer: Franco Fiorina, Interbanca Relation to vendor: Independent Purpose: Establish a privileged contact with the developers and manufacturers of Honeywell Bull products. Coordinate the activity of technical groups set up to handle a specific problem. Be present at the meetings organized by each organization. Work in close cooperation at an international level toward a joint definition of systems application and new hardware specifications. Establish an opening toward the external market, taking advantage of the status of the European Association. Services provided: Periodic meetings by region. Specific task groups. Productspecific seminars and systems engineers meetings. Facilitate requests to vendor for system changes. Advanced information to the Associations.

UNITED STATES
IGUG
Vendor: Intergraph Corp. Group name: United States Intergra ph Graphics Users Group Acronym: USIGUG Address: One Madison Industrial Park
Huntsville, AL 35801 Phone: (205) 772-2292 Annual fee: $0 Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 3,000 Systems/products: All Intergraph products Next meeting: May 15-19, Huntsville, Ala. Top officer: Avrind K. Shah, Samborn, Stekette, Otis & Evans Inc. Relation to vendor: Independent Purpose: To provide a forum for the exchange of information that will lead to the more efficient utilization of graphic computer systems by its members and other interested users. To promote the free exchange of user-related information by maintaining up-to-date membership information and periodically communicating details of user activities. To provide a means by which suggestions and/ or requirements for changes and improvements to graphic computer systems can be submitted to Intergraph Corp., as representing overall user opinion. To invest in real.estate, mortgages, stocks, bonds, promissory notes, or any other type of investment. To own or lease real or personal property necessary or appropriate in the conduct of its business. Services provided: One national meeting per year. Special interest groups, local user groups. Periodic newsletters.
Ameeting of the IGUG Board of Diredors.

60 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987

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Sales offices in more t han 40cou ntriesworldwide. In Europecall 32-2-6608980, inCanada416-793-5700, in the Far East 852-5-666706 (in)apan8!-3-5848101), in theA mericas617-364-2000.

User Groups

Vendor: IBM Corp. Group name: Guidance for Users of Integrated Data Equipment Inc. Acronym: GUIDE Inc. Address: 111 East Wacker Dr.
Chicago, IL60601 Phone: (312) 644-6610 Annual fee: $400 Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 2,950 Systems/ products: 4300 or 308X minimum Next meeting: Nov. 1-6, Atlanta Top officer:John Nack, Caterpillar Inc. Relation to vendor: Independent Purpose: To identify areas of productivity improvements in IS functions and provide the tools to make them a reality. Develop techniques for effective management of resources and to help meet quality, cost, and schedule objectives. Enable members to reach their goals by maximizing efficiency and effectiveness of their data processing systems. Provide user information on the proliferation of hardware and software in today's market and develop projections for future developments and trends. Work closely with IBM to make data processing systems as reliable and dependable as users require. Services provided: One national meeting per year. Special interest groups. Periodic symposia. Newsletters and other publications.
--
- -::SHAREE:
Vendor: IBM Corp. Group name: SHARE Inc. Address: 111 East Wacker Dr.
Chicago, IL60601 Phone: (312) 822-0932 Annual fee: $250 initial fee Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 2,546 Systems/products: High-end 370 architecture, MYS, VM and associated products Next meeting: Feb. 28, Anaheim, Calif. Top officer: Mike Armstrong, Ryder System Inc. Relation to vendor: Independent Purpose: To foster research and development of information processing technologies and to improve the effectiveness of SHARE members' information

services by promoting mutual support and influencing the development of information processing products and services. Services provided: One national meeting per year. Periodic discussion groups, forums, panels, lectures, and other similar programs. Publication of the results of research. Establishing and improving standards for communicating computer science results and programming information to interested members of the public.
SHARE officers Susan O'Connor, Michael Armstrong, John Chapman, and Cecilia Cowles.
Vendor: !CL Group name: !CL Computer Users Association Acronym: ICLCUA Address: P.O. Box 42
Bracknell RG 122LQ, England Phone: 03-44-482933 Annual fee: NIA Individual members: 4,000 Corporate members: 2,500 Systems/products:All ICL products from Series 39 to DRS Distributed Systems Next meeting: May 4-6, Birmingham, U.K. Top officer: Bryan Carlett, British Broadcasting Co. Relation to vendor: Independent Purpose: To coordinate action to achieve the most effective use of ICL products and to assist !CL to meet the present and future needs of users. Services provided: Periodic management and technical seminars, conferences, and exhibitions. Collective representation to ICL and government standards organizations. User magazine. Discounts on supplies. Viewdata service.
Vendor: Lockheed/CADAM Inc. Group name: CADAM Users Exchange Acronym: CUE Address: P.O. Box 3684
Torrence, CA 90510 Phone: (213) 212-5297 Annual fee: $400 Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 427

NORTH AMERICA
Systems/products: All CADAM software Next meeting: March 14-17, New Orleans Top officer: Rosemary Russo, Grumman Aerospace Corp. Relation to vendor: Independent Purpose: To further the communication between users and the vendor. To promote the use of products and related vendor systems. Services provided: Two national meetings per year.
Vendor: Lockheed/Metier Management Systems Group name: Artemis Users Association Acronym: AUA Address: 2900 N. Loop West
Houston, TX 77092 Phone: (713) 956-7511 Annual fee: $0 Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 300 Systems/products: All Artemis products Next meeting: Nov. 8-10, Houston. Top officer: Dale Winge, McDonnell Douglas Relation to vendor: Independent Purpose: To provide a forum for users to share the benefits of their combined experience with Artemis, and to collectively interface with Metier Management Systems Inc. Services provided: One national meeting per year. Periodic chapter meetings. User exchanges and roundtables. Quarterly newsletters. Education on new products. Enhancement request prioritization.
Vendor: MAI Basic Four Inc. Group name: Key Accounts Program Acronym: KAP Address: 14101 Myford Rd.
Tustin, CA 92680 Phone: (714) 730-2698 Annual fee: $0 Individual members: 700 Corporate members: 380 Systems/products: All MAI Basic Four products Next meeting: March 3, Palm Springs, Calif. Top officer: Bernard Jubb, MAI Basic Four Relation to vendor: Wholly subsidized

62 DATAMATION 0 DECEMB ER 15, 1987

·> -
·
-
._
.....
..-.
...,

Purpose: To serve the special needs of MAI Basic Four's largest customers through a single point of contact, repre-

Relation to vendor: Independent Purpose: To provide an independent forum for information interchange for

(li~ll!ft)

··

senting those customers at MAI Basic

members of the Microdata community

Four corporate offices.

and the McDonnell Douglas Computer

FEDERATION OF NCR USER GROUPS

Services provided: One national meeting Systems Company.

per year. Quarterly newsletters. Key ac- Services provided: One national meeting

Top officer: Rodney McComas , Walls In-

counts representative who has access to per year. Special interest groups. Peri- dustries Inc.

other large customers.

odic newsletters. Recommendation pro- Relation to vendor: Independent

gram. Opinion surveys and other

Purpose: To promote and further the in-

methods of feedback. Software dis-

terests of NCR user groups. To consoli-

Vendor: Martin Marietta Corp.

counts. Staff help desk.

date the voices of member groups to

_..

Group name: MAS User Group Address: 6801 Rockledge Rd.

more effectively communicate with NCR. To promote and further the educational

Bethesda, MD 20817

Vendor: McDonnell Douglas Corp.

interests of all NCR users.

Phone: (301) 897-6000

Group name:!HS Users Group

Services provided: One national meeting

Annual fee: $50

Acronym: IHSUG

per year. Various advisory committees.

Individual members: 0

Address: 600 McDonnell Blvd.

Quarterly newsletters.

Corporate members: 22

Hazelwood, MO 63042

Systems/products: All MAS Software

Phone: (314) 233-4743

....

Next meeting: November, Orlando, Fla. Top officer: Larry Cram, Star Technol-

Annual fee: $100 Individual members: 0

ogies Inc.

Corporate members: 26

Relation to vendor: Heavily subsidized

Systems/products: Integrated Hospital

Purpose: To provide a channel for com- System

munications between users and the com- Next meeting: Feb. 8-10, Clearwater, Fla.

pany. To give direction to the company Top officer: Carl Weber, Swedish Medical

for software development.

Center

Services provided: Two national meetings Relation to vendor: Independent

per year. Periodic newsletters.

Purpose: To serve as a forum for the ex-

Vendor: McDonnell Douglas Computer

change of information about the McDonnell Douglas !HS; to provide continuing education relating to hospital informa-

Ronnie Anderson and Bob Richter, conference directors of NUCON:88 and NUCON:87.

Systems

tion systems for members of the user

Group name: MICRUInternational

group through organized programs pre-

Address: 4000 MacArthur Blvd.

sented by users, McDonnell Douglas, or Vendor: NEC Corp.

Newport Beach, CA 92660

other allied personnel; to recommend to Group name: All NEAC Users Association

Phone: (714) 250-1000

McDonnell Douglas priorities for ongo- Acronym: NUA

Annual fee: $175

ing modifications or additions to McDon- Address: Mita 1-4-28 Minato-ku

Individual members: 650 Corporate members: 0

nell Douglas !HS and its interfaces; to recommend to McDonnell Douglas im-

Tokyo 108,Japan Phone: 03-456-5111

......

Systems/products: Microdata 6000, 9000, provements in software, hardware, and Annual fee: ¥24,000

18; Series 7000

client services support; and to establish lndi'lidual members: 0

Next meeting: May 1988, Clearwater, Fla. and maintain a mechanism to coordinate Corporate members: 2,000

Top officer: Larry Johansen, Signature

the activities of the user group with the Systems/products: All NEC products

Verification Systems

St. Louis office of McDonnell Douglas. Next meeting: March 11, Nagoya,Japan

Services provided: Two national meetings Top officer: Akira Kadoi, Odakyu Electric

per year. Published conference proceed- Railway Co. Ltd.

ings. Channels for users to request infor- Relation to vendor: Partially subsidized

mation of the vendor.

Purpose: To give users of NEC computers

the chance to meet each other and

exchange their knowledge and experi-

Vendor: NCR Corp.

ences. To foster cooperation between

Group name: Federation of NCRUser

NUA and the vendor.

Groups

Services provided: One national meeting

Acronym: FNUG

per year. Special interest groups. Peri-

Address: Mail Station USG2

odic symposia. Internal newsletter.

Dayton, OH 45479

Overseas training.

Phone: (513) 445-3131

......

Annual fee:$250 Corp., $25 Indiv.

Individual members: 3,000

Vendor: Norsk Data SA

Corporate members: 0

Group name: Norsk Computer Users

Microdata users eavesdropping.

Systems/ products: All NCR products Next meeting: April 24-27, Nashville

Society Acronym: NOCUS

DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987 63

User Groups

Address: P.O. Box 25 Bogerid Oslo, Norway N-0621
Phone: 47-2-62-60-00 Annual fee:SKr1000 Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 650 Systems/products: All Norsk Data products Next meeting: November 1988, Montreux, Switzerland Top officer: Chris Leslie, University of Reading Relation tovendor: Partially subsidized Purpose: To assist users in making the best possible use of their equipment. To establish contact between users. To attend to the common interests of its users. Services provided: Periodic conferences. Special interest group meetings. Newsletters. Software catalogue.
NPUG
Vendor: Prime Computer Inc. Group name: National Prime User Group Acronym: NPUG Address: P.O. Box 697
Laurel, MD 20707 Phone: (301) 490-2056 Annual fee: $25 Individual members: 1,600 Corporate members: 0 Systems/ products: All Prime products Next meeting: May 28, New Orleans Top officer:John Steffen, John Steffen & Associates Relation to vendor: Independent Purpose: To provide an organized means of communication among Prime computer users and between the users and Prime Computer Inc. To provide an established forum for sharing ideas with Prime. Servicesprovided: One national meeting per year. Local and regional groups. Special interest groups. Quarterly newsletters. Software library.
Aproduct booth at a recent NPUG gathering.

COOPERATIVE USERS OF RECOGNITION EQUIPMENT
Vendor: Recognition Equipment Inc. Group: Cooperative Users of Recognition Equipment Acronym: CURE Address: 2701 E. Grauwyler
Irving, TX 75061 Phone: (214) 579-6137 Annual fee: $275 for conf. Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 5,620 Systems/products: All REI equipment Next meeting: May 2-4, Dallas Top officer: Suzanne Martin, Houston Lighting and Power Relation to vendor: Partially subsidized Purpose: To collectively learn about new technologies, productivity improvements, innovative applications, and coming enhancements. To exchange information and ideas with other users of REI systems. To meet with REI top management to discuss issues and concerns, resulting in solutions to meet the user's needs. Services provided: One national meeting per year. Quarterly newsletters. Electronic bulletin board network.
Looking at REI gear at a CURE meeting.
Vendor: SAS Institute Inc. Group:SAS User Group Acronym: SUGI Address: 1 SAS Circle
Cary, NC 27572 Phone: (919) 467-8000 Annual fee: $0 Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 0 Systems/ products:SAS System, System 2000, Data Management System, C products

The SAS product demo area at SUGI 12.
Next meeting: March 27-30, Orlando, Fla. Top officer: Gerry Hobbs, West Virginia University Relation to vendor: Independent Purpose: To give SAS software users the opportunity to discuss their software applications, learn techniques from other users, and hear about research and development at SAS Institute. Services provided: One national meeting per year. Published proceedings. Consultants directory.
Vendor: Shared Medical Systems Corp. Group: SMS National User Group Acronym: SNUG Address: 51 Valley Stream Pkwy.
Malvern, PA 19355 Phone: (215) 296-6300 Annual fee: $0 Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 120 Systems/ products: Independence software Next meeting: April 13-15, Nashville Top officer: Dennis Dasanko, University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics Relation to vendor: Independent Purpose: To promote the professional development and recognition of the membership of SNUG. To provide mutual assistance and liaison between SNUG and SMS. To provide a medium for the exchange of ideas, information, innovations, and solutions among members. To promote resource sharing. To facilitate the establishment of priorities for enhancements and new developments. Servicesprovided: Two national meetings per year. Periodic newsletters.

64 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987

. _
t1 I
., '
, .
1

+r

DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR,

ORACLE®WORKS MORE EFFICIENTLY ON HARRIS COMPUTERS.

It's a wonder. The wizardry of Harris

Di;Wrn BENCHMARK

computers makes ORACLE DBMS software work harder for less money. Less money than
6---=- IBM and DEC. In fact, the Harris HCX-9 con-
= currently supports greater than 100 users at
--== significantly less cost per user. -- And Harris is the only name offering a --== - complete range of hardware, from super-micros
== - to super-minis, that supports ORACLE in a
-== - UNIX®environment. We also offer other lead-
- ing software products for office automation,
I---== -- - CAD/ CAM/ CAE and project management.
- And our extensive networking capability

PRI CF. I P ERFORMANCE
7 - 6.67

5-

4-

3.70

3-

21.38

H ARR IS

IBM

DEC

.... - such as NFS, Ethernet, DDN and SNA provide

HCX-9 4381-2 8600

for flexibility and a complete growth path. Harris has a strong commitment to
ORACLE. We were the first ORACLE OEM and the first to deliver distributed database capabilities.
When you decide it's time for ORACLE to go to work for you, make sure you team it with the harder-working system.
To see how fast ORACLE works on Harris computers, write Ron Baker, Harris Computer Systems Division, 2101 W Cypress Creek Road, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309.
Or call 1-800-4-HARRlS, ext. 4052. At Harris, wonders never cease.

HIGH P ERFO RMANCE C OMPUTER SYSTEMS F OR Tu E WOR LffS M OST D EMA NDING USERS.
;!) HARRIS
Circle 32 on Reader Card

User Groups

tangent

Vendor: Toshiba Corp. Group: TOSBAC Research Association

Address: 1-1-1 Shibaura Minato-ku

Tokyo 105, Japan

Vendor: Tandy Corp.

Phone: 03-457-2758

Group: Tangent Address: P.O. Box 17580

Annual fee: ¥20,000 Individual members: 0

.. ..

Fort Worth, TX 76102

Corporate members: 1,000

Phone: (817) 390-3700

Systems/ products: All Toshiba computers

Annual fee: $100

Next meeting: October 1988, Hiroshima,

Vendor: Sun Microsystems Inc.

Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 250

Japan Top officer: NIA

Group name: Sun Microsystems User Group Inc.

Systems/products:All Tandy computers Next meeting: April 18-20, Fort Worth

Relation to vendor: Independent Purpose: To provide members with infor-

.,. _

Acronym : SUG

Top officer: James Foy, Foy Inc.

mation on developments on Toshiba

Address: 2550 Garcia Ave.

Relation to vendor: Independent

computers and associated products.

Mountain View, CA 94043

Purpose: To provide members with a fo- Services provided: One national meeting

Phone: (415) 691-4343

rum for the exchange of ideas and to act per year. Symposia and subcommittee

Annual fee: $30 Individual members: 3,300

as a liaison with Tandy Corp. Services provided: One national meeting

meetings. Monthly newsletters.

Corporate members: 924

per year. Periodic newsletters. Elec-

Systems/products: All Sun products

tronic bulletin board.

Next meeting: NIA

Top officer: Sanford Meltzer, SUG

Relation to vendor: Partially subsidized

Purpose: To encourage the collection and Vendor: Texas Instruments Inc. dissemination of techniques, software, Group: Texas Instruments Mini/Micro-

··

procedures, documentation, and related computer Information Exchange

information of interest to Sun users . To Acronym: TIM IX

encourage the exchange of information between Sun users and Sun Microsys-

Address: P.O. Box 201897 Austin, TX 78720

Vendor: Unisys Corp. Group: CUBE Inc., A Unisys Users

·

tems Inc. as well as between Sun users Phone: (512) 250-7151

Association

and vendors of products of interest to

Annual fee: $40

Address: P.O. Box 33053

Sun users. Services provided: One national meeting

Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 6,000

Detroit, MI 48232 Phone: (313) 972-8698

··

per year. International and domestic

Systems/products: All Texas Instruments Annual fee: $0

chapters. Member committees. Special products

Individual members: 2,900

event meetings. Quarterly newsletters. Next meeting: June 19-22, San Jose

Corporate members: 1,500

Donated software distribution library.

Top officer: Allan Butler, AccuLase Inc.

Systems/products: All Unisys products

Relation to vendor: Independent

Next meeting: November 1988, New

Purpose: To promote the exchange of in- Orleans

Vendor: Tandem Computers Inc.

formation among users of Texas Instru- Top officer: Terry Moser, Public School

Group name: International Tandem Users ments computer equipment.

Employees Retirement System

Group

Services provided: One national meeting

Relation to vendor: Independent

Acronym: !TUG

per year. Local chapters. Monthly news- Purpose: To engage in the interchange of

Address: 111 E. Wacker Drive

letters. Software and supplier directo-

ideas, techniques, and information. To

Chicago, IL60610

ries. Insurance of $5,000 for accidental hold meetings, seminars, and work-

Phone: (312) 644-6610

death and dismemberment.

shops. To study, formulate, and propose

Annual fee: $300

modifications, changes, and additions to

Individual members: 2,000 Corporate members: 0

Unisys equipment and systems.

1

Services provided: Two national meetings

Systems/products: All Tandem products

per year. Special interest groups. Pub-

Next meeting: May 9-11, Amsterdam, the

lished conference proceedings.

Netherlands

Top officer:Jim Holman, Domtar Inc.

Relation to vendor: Independent

Purpose: To advance the effective utiliza-

Vendor: Unisys Corp. International

tion of Tandem computers by promoting

Group: Unisys Users Association/SUAE

the free exchange of information con-

Acronym: UUA /SUAE

cerning the use of such machines.

Address: Bakers Court Bakers Rd.

Services provided: Periodic national meetings. Various publications. Discounts on user group activities. Software library.

In June 1987, Texos Instrumentsshowed off new hardware at ameeting in Orlando, Fla.

Uxbridge UB81RJ, England Phone: 0895-37137 Annual fee: £250

66 DATAMATION C DECEMBER 15, 1987

''A computer-------

link to the

·

factory floor? It would cut

days off the

inventory cycle."

-....
''Higher

~

production,

lower costs ...

OK, do it!"

..
·
-·

"There's just one small problem..."

Find solutions. Discover new ideas. Get the infor-

I -

I

YES, I want to find strategic solutions

Join them and find your solutions.

_,
,.

mation, products and strategies you need to succeed at The World

at The WCCI D Send me information on attending D Send me information on exhibiting

I

March 28- 31, 1988

McCormick Place

. ..

Congress on Computing.

Name

Chicago, Dlinois

Title
The first and only world-

class exposition and

Company

.....

conference for MIS/DP

Address

w~ ee SM

··
--

professionals, The WOO will attract thousands of your colleagues from

City

State _ _ Zip

Return to: Mr. Irwin Stern The World Congress on Computing

I

WORLD CONGRESS on COMPUTING

computer-reliant organi-

300 First Avenue · Needham, MA 02194

zations around the world.

Produced by

I

Strategic Solutions

L IEI THE INTERFACE GROUP, Inc.· World's Lea.ding Independent. Producer of Conreren=d Exposltlons

_J

t o Real-World Challenges

Circle 30 on Reader Card

User Grou ps

_,.. -

Individual members: 0

other things as in the opinion of the asso- Phone: (213) 373-3633

Corporate members: 750

ciation shall be conducive to the attain-

Annual fee: $200

Systems/ products: Mapper OS/3 Series

ment of the above goals.

Individual members: 0

1100 Unix

Servicesprovided:Two national meetings Corporate members: 700

Next meeting: November 1988, Nice,

per year. Eight newsletters per year.

Systems/ products: Xerox printing

France

Formal dialogue with Unisys on behalf of systems

Top officer: D.B. Bachmann, Union Bank members.

Next meeting: November 1988, Los

of Switzerland

Angeles

Relation to vendor: Independent

Top officer:James Shand, RHM Computing

Purpose: To provide a forum whereby us-

Ltd.

ers may freely exchange ideas and infor-

Relation to vendor: Independent

mation concerning all aspects of Unisys

Purpose: To provide forums for the de-

products and services; review and com-

velopment and exchange of information

ment on all aspects of Unisys products,

and support among users of advanced

services, and policies; present require-

electronic printing systems. To act as a

ments for policy change and product de-

liaison among the users and suppliers of

velopment to Unisys; influence Unisys'

such systems and other suppliers of per-

future products and services; generally

tinent products and services.

influence computer industry standards

Services provided: One national meeting

and practices. To provide a platform

Vendor: Wang Laboratories Inc.

per year. Joint technology councils. Re-

from which Unisys may respond to re-

Group: International Society of Wang

gional and special interest groups. Bi-

quests from UUA /SUAE; present new

Users

products and services; inform UUA /SUAE Acronym: rswu

monthly newsletter, published conference proceedings. Font catalo-

of Unisys policies that affect members of Address: 1 Industrial Ave.

gues and discounts. Hotline information

UUA / SUAE.

Lowell, MA 01851

service. Product enhancement surveys.

Services provided: Two conferences per

Phone: (617) 459-5000

year. Annual meetings of executives

Annual fee: $80

with Unisys top management. Periodic Individual members: 7,000

Vendor: Xerox Corp.

newsletters. Published conference

Corporate members: 0

Group name: Ethernet Decision Makers

notes and proceedings. Periodic special Systems/ products: All Wang products

Group Exchange

reports. Submission of product recommendations to Unisys.

Next meeting: November 1988, Boston Top officer: Bill Sturgen, Solar Turbine

Acronym: EDGE Address: 6632 South 191 Pl.

·

Inc.

Kent, WA 98032

Relation to vendor: Independent

Phone: (206) 251-6010

Vendor: Unisys Corp.

Purpose: To advance for the benefit of

Annual fee: $300

Group: Unisys Users Association/ ABCU Wang users the effective utilization of Individual members: 226

Acronym: UUA / ABCU

computers, systems, and software mar- Corporate members: 200

Address: Woodside, Over Lane Baslow DE41RT, England

keted and/ or approved by Wang Labora- Systems/products: All Xerox systems

tories Inc. by promoting the interchange Next meeting: October 1988, Dallas

t-

Phone: 24688-3241

of information and education concerning Top officer: Gordon Sollars, Merrill Lynch

Annual fee: £20 to £100

their use. To provide channels to faci li- Relation to vendor: Independent

Individual members: 0 Corporate members: 1,250

tate the exchange of computer programs Purpose: To increase the use'fulness of

among rswu members. To reduce the

the Ethernet and its devices.

Systems/ products: A, V, BlOOO, B20 se-

duplication of development efforts.

Services provided: Two national meetings

ries, CMS, Linc/Mapper

Services provided: One international meet- per year. Periodic publications. Provide

Next meeting: April 1988, Gothenburg,

ing per year. Regular technical publica- liaison between Xerox Corp. and users.

Sweden

tions. Software library service. Wang

Top officer: Frank Oschwald, UUA/ABCU product update information.

Relation tovendor: Independent

Purpose: To provide an organization for

collecting and representing the views of

installation users and to act as a liaison between such users and Unisys on mat-

..

ters of common interest. To stimulate cooperation between Unisys and users for the general good of users. To act as a medium for the exchange of information and opinions between members, and to render assistance to members by providing advice and information, and by such other means as the association shall deem appropriate, with a view to promoting the most effective use of

International
Vendor: Xerox Corp. Group name: XPLOR International Address: P.O. Box 1501

Reprints ofall DA TAMA T!ON articles, including those printed in 1986, are available in quantities of500 or more. Details may be obtained by telephoning Frank Pruzina in the Reprints Department at (312) 635-8800, or by wn.ting to Cahners Reprint Services, Cahners Plaza, 1350 E. Touhy Ave., Des Plaines, IL 60013.

members' installations. To do all such

Palos Verdes Estates, CA 90274

68 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987

··

_.,. The Hall-Mark solution:

The UDS FaSialk 2400

,. .

With Universal Data Systems · Fasralk 2400 modem . getting your message from

one place to the next has never been easier

- and faster.

The Fasralk 2400 is an ultra slim

modem. no bigger th an the base of a

standard telephone, yet it's ultra fast and

ultra powerful. The Fasralk 2400 transfers

information at a fast 2400 bps. and with its

unique Talk/Data switch. you can switch

from voice to data and back to voice again

in the same phone call .

Fully Hayes®compatible. the UDS

FaSTalk 2400 utilizes the AT command set

-·

allowing it to function with a variety of th e most popular software. With the Fasralk 2400 and Mirror II software. UDS offers one

of the most sophisticated. powerful and

,....
,.

easy-to-use communica tion packages on the market.
Call Hall -Mark today for more informa-

tion or a demonstration of the UDS Fasralk

2400 modem . Hall-Mark ca n help you with

data transfer problems and all your

computer systems and peripherals needs.

.. ,.

.....
. ·-

© 1987 Hall·Mark Electronics Corp.1400-4028 Hall-Mark Electronics 1s a subs1d1ary of lhe Tyler Corp
Hayes is a trademark of Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc

Alabama Huntsville (205) 837-8700
Arizona
Phoenix (602) 437-1200 Calltornla
Bay Area (408) 946·0900
~~~~~~n~(~~~~1,~2~~00

San Diego (619) 268-1201 San Fernando Valley (818) 716-3300 West LDsAngeles(213) 217-8400
Colorado Denver (303) 790-1662
Connecticut (203) 269-0100
Florida Ft U!uderdale(305) 971 -9280

Onando (305) 855·4020 Tampa Bay (813) 655·5773
Georgia Atlanta (404) 447-8000
llllnol1 Chicago(312) 860-3800
Indiana Indianapolis (317) 872-8875

Kllnus Kansas Coty (9 13) 668-4747
Maryland
Baltimore (301) 988-9800
M1nachu1etts Boston(617) 935.9777
MlnneM>te Minneapolls(612) 941 -2600

A COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE

Mlasourl St Louis (314) 291 -5350
New Jersey Fa1n1eld (201) 575·4415
NewVork
~i~~~~1i~~~1~1;~
North Carolina Raleigh (919) 672-0712

Ohio Cleveland (216) 349-4632 Southern Oh10(614} 688-3313 Oklahoma
Tulsa (800) 231 ·0253 Penneylvanl·
Philadelphia (215) 355-7300

TexH Austin (512) 258-8848 Dallas (214) 553·4300 Houston (713) 781 -6100
Utlh Sall U!ke City (801) 972-1008
Wlacon1ln M11waukee{414) 797-7844

Circle 31 on Reader Card

OS/2, the operating system designed by IBM and Microsoft, could launch a revolution in 32bit microcomputing. The software has already sent sparks flying in the DOS camp. Some bold users who've taken the 32-bit plunge have already chosen Unix or one of the new micro operating systems for the Intel 80386 chip. Many of the 32-bit breed have begun to experiment with OS/2, which promises to open up new opplication realms.

·-
t ,

The Big Change for ...
Small Systems Software

BY MARY JO FOLEY

moving on the micros as users are. It is, after all, an integral part of the company's

ig changes are in Systems Application Architecture, which

store for micro users won't be firmly fixed for another three

who want to take ad- years (see "The Printer Promise of

vantage of 32-bit pow- SAA," Nov. 1, p. 58).

er. The engine of this

Early copies of OS/2 have been

change is the os/2 op- doled out to certain users who have been

erating system, which trying it out for between three months could revolutionize and a year or more. Microsoft, which is the way pc customers based in Redmond, Wash., reports that it

·-

use and configure their systems. Talk of has sold more than 2,200 of its Software

the new system and its claimed advan- Development Kits to independent soft-

tages is already sending sparks flying be- ware vendors and Fortune 1000 compa-

tween users and vendors in the DOS nies. These Software Development Kits

camp.

include the os/2 kernel, language com-

The two vendors that designed pilers, and specifications for Microsoft's

OS/2-IBM and Microsoft-insist that LAN Manager and Presentation Manager

the operating system will be 100% up- graphical interface, which is scheduled to

wardly compatible with DOS. Neverthe- be released to oems by the end of 1988.

less, DOS diehards maintain that the In general, the perceptions of the soft-

legions of micro users who for years ware held by these early users are quite

have needed the power of machines positive.

based on the Intel 80386 chip shouldn't

Not everyone, however, is waiting

have had to wait so long for os/2. (It was for os/2 to arrive. Some pc users have

in fact written for the 80286).

already taken the 32-bit plunge and have

os/2 is the first major new operating settled on Unix or one of its derivatives.

system to be introduced for any type of Other micro mavericks have decided to

computer in the past few years. It began experiment with one of the new micro-

N

shipping earlier this month. os/2 Ex- computer operating systems and envi-

~

tended Edition release 1.0 will become ronments designed specifically for the

·

available in July 1988. Release 1.1, which 80386 chip. These include PC-MOS/386

~

will include Presentation Manager, will from The Software Link Inc. (Atlanta),

!

be available in November of next year. VM/386 from Softguard Systems (Santa

~

Big Blue may be just as impatient lo Clara), Merge 386 from Locus Comput-

j L.._~~~~~~~~-g-et~th_e~c_o_n_tr_o_v_e_r_s1_·a_l_o_p_e_r_at_in_g~s-y_s_te_m~~in_g~C_o_r_p_.~(S_a_n_t_a~M_o_n_i_ca_,~C-a_li_f._)_,_an~d~~~~~~~~~~~~~-

70 DATAMATI ON 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987

- ...
·
,·.·
DATAMATION DECEMBER 15, 1987 71

OS/ 2: Th e Big Change

as machines that can forms for United's airline reservation

serve as part of small systems package. Only one of the sys-

network systems.

tems, however, is running os/2, mostly

IBM has stated for experimentation purposes.

publicly that it has al-

At Bow Hunter Supply Inc. (BS!), an

ready shipped 1 mil- archery equipment wholesaler in Vienna,

··

lion units of the W.Va., os/2 is not a burning question or 10-model PS/ 2 line, desire. BS! is more than satisfied with its

.. -

and that there have 80386-, 80286-, and 8086-based Compaq

been an equal number hardware, which replaced a mainframe-

of low-end and high- host timesharing setup.

end systems going

One of BSl's two 80386 machines

out the door (see that run under DOS acts as a file server for

Look Ahead, Dec. 1, BSI's inventory control and receivables

p. 9). However, vari- system. The other DOS micro acts as a re-

ous research houses port driver for the same system. Break-

have reported that ing out of the timesharing mainframe

the bulk of these ship- mode "was like going from a window fan

ments have been of to an air conditioner," says BS! president

the Model 30 and Jerry Moore. "It immediately reduced

Model 80.

costs and improved our efficiency."

Fleig says that

Pharmaceutical giant Rorer Group

IBM, unlike Compaq, Inc. in Fort Washington, Pa., is another

"doesn't want its content Compaq customer. Rorer has in-

PEAT MARWICK'S CORNELL: We have nothing running on OS/ 2 yet.

Model 80s to stand stalled more than 20 Deskpro 386s in the alone . It wants them past eight months as part of its effort to

..,

Desqview 2.0 from Quarterdeck Office to be networked or hooked into its minis redesign its personnel management sys-

Systems (also in Santa Monica).

and mainframes."

tem. All the micros are running DOS ver-

Other 32-bit micro users have cho-

That may not be the systems sce- sion 3.3. The company is gradually

..4 A

sen DOS combined with Microsoft's re- nario some companies have in mind, par- adding Windows 386 to each system.

cently released Windows 386 program. ticularly those that have yet to declare

The DOS-Windows 386 combination

~ ,.

Several members of this combo club, un- any definite plans for os/ 2. "We don't "allows us lots of os/2 advantages al-

der the tutelage of Compaq Computer know when, or even if, os/ 2 will be add- ready," says Marc Kustoff, manager of Corp., Houston, have spearheaded the ed to our systems for in-house use," de- personnel information systems at Rorer.

'

opposition to OS/2. However, critics ar- clares Maureen Germano, marketing "Personally, I'd still be hesitant about go-

t~

gue that without os/ 2, 32-bit machines manager at Covia Corp., which is the ing with PS/2 and os/ 2 unless I needed are little more than high-powered, high- Rosemont, Ill.-based IS subsidiary of os/'2 Extended, primarily due to the

.,

priced ATs.

United Airlines.

[threat] of vaporware."

Despite these moves, William Lem-

Almost all of Covia's PS/2 Model

The wizards of os/2, IBM and part-

t -

pesis, an analyst with market research 50s are being used as development plat- ner Microsoft, claim they won't be leadfirm Dataquest Inc. in San Jose, believes

~

that many users will migrate to OS/2 as soon as it becomes available.
"The 80386-based computers are

"-
...

really power-user machines," he ex-

plains. "Their users are generally more

'·

knowledgeable and technical than other pc users." It follows, he says, that those

....

same knowledgeable users will demand a

.,.......

more robust operating system such as OS/2.

.

Marketing Strategies Are Polarizing
But there's more than just performance dividing the OS/2 and DOS camps. The marketing strategies of competitors IBM and Compaq are also playing a substantial part in polarizing the factions.
According to Claire Fleig, an analyst with International Technology Group (ITG), a consulting firm based in Los Al-

0
j

. ..

0

~

E 9

·~

1

gi

~~

-· i
~ ~

0:
R

~
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tos, Calif., Compaq has taken advantage

0. 0

of the head start it had on IBM by touting

O> 0

its 386 computers as standalone units or KUSTOFF OF RORER: He fears the threat of vaporware with OS/ 2.

~

72 DATAMATION DECEMBE R 15. 1987

··

ing customers down the yellow brick ous designs fo r airport terminals , ground Manager before it fully commits to os/ 2.

road, and they're adamant about fulfilling transportation, and airspace traffic pat- The firm' s business development office

their pledges.

terns. Current micro software designed continues to receive shipments of vari-

\~,.

Although the operating system was to handle these tasks "quickly runs into ous 32-bit micros. All but one of these written for both the 16-bit and 32-bit Intel the 640K [memory] barrier" imposed by systems run DOS. The one exception is

I >

80286 and not for the 32-bit 80386, it is DOS, Cornell explains.

the machine used by Lockheed's senior

still supposed to allow users to tap into

Peat Marwick has been renting time defense requirements analyst William

many of the improved features of the on mainframes to run these simulations. Cathaway, who is dabbling with OS/ 2.

new micro systems from various ven- Now, using its two PS/2s along with the

Cathaway feels that the operating

dors. Included in that bag of goodies are 30 or so Compaq machines it acquired system's multitasking capabilities could

substantially expanded memory, in- over the past fe w months, the company come in handy in marketing applications

creased processing speeds, advanced will rewrite its mainframe software for such as customer demonstrations. He

networking capabilities, and better the micros and may even develop new also feels, as other early experimenters

_...

graphics.

applications, says Cornell. He believes do, that "a few years from now, OS/ 2 will

Also, os/ 2 is supposed to let users that the interactive graphics capabilities be one of the main, if not the main,

run multiple tasks and software packages should ease both the writing and running [microcomputer] operating systems." ·

concurrently (multitasking), restrict ac- of Peat Marwick's new software.

cess to certain parts of programs via file

Lockheed Aeronautics Systems Co. Mary]o Foleyisa Washington, D.C.-

locking, and perform other functions that in Burbank, Calif. , like Peat Marwick, is based business and technologyfreelance

once were considered to be the sole do- waiting for tools such as the Presentation writer.

main of minis and mainframes.
IBM's OS/2 Extended version is slat- OS/ 2Takes Microcomputing Beyond the Mundane
ed to include support for various commu-

nications schemes and for micro, mini, and mainframe networks. Another advertised feature is built-in relational database capabilities based upon SQL.

Somewhere over the operating system rainbow lies the Emerald City of microcomputer applications- the promise held out by OS/2, the operating system that seems destined to change the pc user's universe.
The changes would be most welcome by many micro users who are anxious

Pacific Bell an Early 05/ 2 User

to see new applications avenues open up. A recent survey done by Compaq Com-

··

puter Corp. showed just how dull life at the low end is these days. Purchasers of The jump from DOS to OS/ 2, on the new micros based on the Intel 80386 chip told Compaq that they were using their

other hand, seems to be more manageable-at least in the eyes of some users.

more powerful systems for rather mundane computing chores. About 60% are using their souped-up systems to run their current productivi-

One early OS/ 2 experimenter is Pacific ty-type applications more quickly and efficiently. In that application category are

. '

Bell in San Ramone, Calif., which is using spreadsheets and project management software. The other 40% are using their the software as a base for its electronic 32-bit machines as technical workstations in areas such as computer aided design,

mail system.

networking, and software development.

Pacific Bell's PS/ 2s fun ction as file

Claire Fleig, an analyst with International Technology Group, a market re-

servers, linking various desktop sys- search firm in Los Altos, Calif., predicts that once OS/2 becomes widely avail-

tems. Electronic mail users eventually able- in the next three-to-five years- more powerful micros will be used as true

will be able to run the software across distributed data processing systems. Some of these supermicros will serve in

multiple systems, according to Bradley standalone clusters. Others, running IBM's OS/2 Extended Edition, will be tied to

Kubitz, who was an engineering analyst midrange and large-scale computers.

at Pac Bell. For Pacific Bell, multitasking and

Look for new OS/ 2 applications software that will hit the shelves next year. Some of this software will be revved-up versions of existing DOS packages. Micro-

-,. ,

advanced networking were the major soft Corp., for example, has announced an OS/2 version of its Excel spreadsheet,

,.

selling points for OS/ 2, says Kubitz, who explains that the company has decided to

which is slated to start shipping in the first quarter of next year. The new combo program will thus be able to take advantage of multitasking.

wait until OS/ 2 actually begins shipping

Aspokesperson for Ashton-Tate, Torrance, Calif., says that the company will

before setting a release date for the com- enhance DOS versions of its dBase database management product. At the same

,.

mercial version of its electronic mail pac kage .

time, it will add new features to its os/2-based dBase, which will include more fourth generation extensions, improved graphics interfaces, transparent data

,.

Progress on the os/2 front is much sharing, cross-application language facilities, and better work group solutions, the slower at the Airport Consulting Ser- spokesperson says.

vices division of Peat, Marwick, Main &

Industry watchers forecast a rash of other miraculous micro advances in the

Co. in San Mateo, Calif. "So far, we have years to come. Some of the possibilities include desktop publishing packages that

yet to get anything up and running on allow users to integrate photos into documents, word processing software with

.. .

os/2," acknowledges management con- on-line dictionaries, thesauruses, and spelling checkers, and all types of applicasultant Thomas Cornell. " We're waiting tions with interactive, computer-based instruction built in .

to see Presentation Manager."

By the turn of the decade, an operating system that can take full advantage of

The Peat Marwick division has fo ur 32-bit power should be ready to roll. But, by then, an even more powerful genera-

or fi ve OS/ 2 projects waiting in the tion of microprocessors in the Intel 80486 class will certainly be on the market.

wings. Several of these are micro-based Also by 1990, industry gurus predict, IBM's VM operating system will have migrat-

simulation models that will allow Peat ed way on down to the micro.

Marwick users to experiment with vari-

DATAMATI O N 0 DEC EM BER 15, 1987 73

The comrany with the right connections for
and

and

r----------------,

I

I

I

andi

IBM 3720 COMM UNICATION CO NTROL LER

PUBLIC SWITCHED NETWORK

IBM 9370 INFOR MATION SYSTEM

....
·-
~
-+ -
·
.._-
. ~
...
,,,_
,.
"' -
,..
and ,,_
· <
. '
. (
t-

"It s great to be 1rellco1111ected."

The striking thing about this picture isn't that IBM can make each of these

..

connections. It's that IBM can make all of them. (In fact, this picture represents just "·

a few of the connections we've helped some of our large customers make.)

..

No other company has connected so much with so much else, to serve so wide a ~ ..

spectrum of need. Nor is anyone doing as much to help you manage it all.

·~

IBM offers a broad range of powerful, and complementary, connectivity options,

including our industry-leading IBM Token-Ring Network, flexible voice/data

.. ~

networks through the new IBM 9751 CBX, plus direct connections for our family of ......

mid-range computers.

But the real news isn't just where we are, it's where we're going. Our goal is to make " any-to-any,

end-to-end" networks truly possible, and as soon as possible.

Cf\ IBM 1987. MicroVAX and VAX are trademarks of 01g1tal Equrpment CorportHton Hewlett- Pa1·kard is a trademark of Hewlett- Packard Company IDNX is a trademark of Network Equipment Technology. Inc Sun-3 15 a trademark of Sun M icrosystems. Inc

and

IBM9370 INFORMATION SYSTEM
· ~ and
_,.

IBM8232 LAN CHANNEL STATION (TCP/IP GATEWAY)

IBM PERSONAL COM PUT ER WITH 3270 EMULATION

ROLM PHONE' 240D

PERSONAL COMPUTER FAMILY

and

and

and
and

.
,..
.; and
r.-

·

"f

..

-· t

and

A. ,..

fr

and

. and

N.E.T. IDNX' T-1 RESOURCE MANAGER

IBM 9751 CBX. DEVELOPED BY
ROLM

also gives you the most help in managing them.

t'
,. We're expanding our Systems Network Arch itecture (SNA) to make it more flexible, and more

~ r useful, in more ways: for mid-range computing, for distributed processing, for both host-based and

~
,.

peer-to-peer connections. We're committed to open systems, so we're making it easier for you to include other manufac-

turers' products in IBM networks.

And we're arming you with new tools to bring your ever-growing networks under tighter

,..., control: software like our highly acclaimed IBM NetViewTM and IBM NetView/PCTMthat not only help

.., you manage your systems more completely, but with fewer people in fewer places.

··-

What matters, after all, isn't just how many devices you can hook together, but how well they

work togethe1: Nobody's installed more systems that solve more problems than IBM. And

rest assured, nobody's working harder to make future connections even better. -;- __- ®
--- --- ------·--- Some of theconnections shown above require add1t1onal equipment such as commun1cal1on controllers. modems or protocol converters

AmA.esn.can
as ...

It's true, our Consumer Information

Catalog is filled with booklets that can answer the questions American

..

consumers ask most.

To satisfy every appetite, the

Consumer Information Center puts

together this helpful Catalog

quarterly containing more than 200

federal publications you can order. It's ·

free, and so are almost half of the

booklets it lists. Subjects like

nutrition, money management,

health and federal benefits help you

"I-

make the right choices and decisions.

So get a slice of American opportunity Write today for your free Catalog:
----~- Consumer Information Center Department AP Pueblo, Colorado 81009

A publi c service o f th is pub l1 ca t1 o n a nd the

Consum er Info rm ati o n Cent er o f the
Us Genera l Se rvi ces Adm i ni strati o n

....

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Call 800-562-7100 to save on these SQL/DS power tools. Now for a limi ted time we're offering special pricing on all VMSQL products.

APPLIED RELATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

A Division of VM Software, Inc., 1800 Alexander Bell Dr.,

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I BM ~ is a regis lf'rt'd tnu lema rk of International Bu s iness Mac hinl·s.

l-DTM-87 12 15

CIRCLE 33 ON READER CARD

76 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987

Small colleges
can help YQUmake
it big.

Just ask: Ronald Reagan, Presi-

' 1'

dent of the United States, Eureka

College, IL; Pierson Mapes,

President, NBC Television Net-

work, Norwich University, VT;

Robert Noyce, Vice Chairman of

the Board, Intel Corporation

and Microchip Inventor, Grinnell College, IA; Red Johnson,

.

President, Borg-Warner Corpo-

ration, Millikin University, IL.

A small college can help you

make it big, too. To learn more

about our small independent col-

leges, write for our free booklet.

Send your name and address to

Council of Independent Colleges,

Box 11513, Washington, D.C. 20008.

C}C: $pon90fed by

The Council of Independent Colleges

·

DRTRMRTION

Reader Vote Advertising Contest
Winners!

Congratulations to the following advertisers, the five winners of DATAMATION's Reader Vote Contest. Their ads in the August 15 issue were judged to be most informative and most helpful by DATAMATION readers:
· AST Research
In-house Agency
··
· Compaq Computer Corp.
Ogilvy & Mather, Houston

· Emulex

-·

In-house Agency

· Control Data Corp.
Campbell-Mithun, Inc., Minneapolis

· Hewlett-Packard
Leo Burnett, Chicago

,.

Over two thousand readers participated in the Reader Vote

Contest, and here on the following pages, are the ads these

Information Systems professionals chose as the winners.

Watch For the Next Reader Vote Contest, Coming Up in the January 1, 1988 Issue!

ALot OfPromises. t.,_

11111111111111111111IllII IIl lllIIIIIIIIllllllIl llllIIII II Iu111111111

··

Take a close look at these two AST Premium/286. Built into

software. As long as it's AT®-

machines. At 10 MHz, operating every system is AST's Enhanced compatible, it will run on the

at one wait state, you might

Expanded Memory (EEMS),

AST Premium/286.

·-

believe IBM's®Personal System/2TM allowing EEMS software such as

What can the competition

Model 50 is one of the fastest WindowsTM2.0 and DESQviewTMto offer you today? Promises for the

80286 computers available. Fact multitask existing applications ... future. We can't wait that long.

is, an InfoWorld benchmark test today.

And neither should you.

ranks the AST Premium/286'sTM

So, hold on to any of your

If you want more than

... _

CPU performance number one. existing off-the-shelf application promises, make a commitment

You might also think IBM's

system is the first to take advantage of powerful multi-

Benchmark Test Results For Selected Performance Computers

tasking operating system soft-

CPU measures main processor performance relative to the 6-M Hz (Model 099) IBM PC AT.

ware. And you'd be wrong again . Hard disk performance is tested for sequential and random data access.

... ..

When we introduced the AST

SYSTEM (80286-BASED PCS)

CPU

Hard Disk

Hard Disk

Premium/286 a year ago with

(Clock speed in MHz/No. of wait states)

(sequential)

(random)

advanced FASTslotTMarchitec-

AST Premium/286 (1010)

2.25

1.41

2.12

ture, we designed a home for

IBM PC AT (6/1)

1.00

1.00

1.00

Microsoft's®MS OS/2:M In fact, it

IBM PC XT-TM286 (6/0)

1.32

1.33

1.03

delivers all zero wait-state mem-

IBM PC AT (8/1)

1.37

1.1 7

140

ory for MS OS/2.

IBM PS/2 Model 50 (IO/I)

1.71

1.70'

1.1 9'

Of course, MS OS/2 may

IBM PS/2 Model 60 (IO/ I)

1.72

2.02

1.67

not be available for a while. Which is okay, if you have an

'With RAM cache: seq. 1.92, ran. 1.03 Source: lnfoWorld Hardware Benchmark System, as published in lnfoWorld May 11, 1987

A Lot Of Performance.
l ~ ,..

· ,,.

w ·

.I· 'I
I I .·......I ;--;;;;;;,,.

I· 1I L...J r - l I· .II

h'I n!ffiM ~I~

to the company that has already delivered proven performance. As PC Magazine

enhancement boards, peripherals and connectivity solutions. Now, in addition to making PCs more powerful, we're making more powerful PCs. And

,--- - -- - ,

I Yes, I want to learn more about the AST I

I Premium/286.

I

0 Please send me more information,
I including copies of what the critics had I

to say about the AST Premium /286.
I I 0 Please have an AST Representative

said when we

EDITOR'S received the

CHOICE

Editor's Choice award,"The

Premium/286 is

without a doubt the best-looking

and best-performing system

before any AST product is shipped, it must first meet our own strict guidelines for industry compatibility
We could make promises about the future too. But, as you can see, and will continue to

call me.

I ~-

I

I Title

I

Co mpany_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

I Address

l

I City/State/Zip

I

Ph on e ~<-~--------
1To help us better serve you, please list ~ I

I : 1 with a 10 MHz rating. Its quality see in the coming months, we'd

makes its price a bargain'.'

rather deliver. Call us today

the magazine and issue date in which ~ this ad appeared.

How did we come up with such a great

(714) 863-0181 to investigate the Premium/286's

ii I AST Research, Inc. 2121 Alton Avenue, ""
_!J ~rvine, ~27 14-4992 ~TT~M~

machine? You might

finer details. Or fill

say we've been work·~· ing on the inside for
the past six years, enhancing more than

out the coupon to receive copies of AST Premium/286 editorial reviews.

ASTm;irkers products worldwide-in Eumpe ilnd the Middle E.ast c,al/: 44-1-568-4350; in the hr E.ast call: 851-0-499-9113; in Canada call: 416-R26-?514.
ASTm11/ AST logo f'l',l!,l~it'n:d w 1d AST fln: m11111ii286, MSl!lot tr,uk11111rk' AST RnnlYch inc /HM. mu/ H·rsmwf Comp1da 11Trt.'/!,Hfcrrd 1111d f\·~mwl Sy~tcm2 1111d f'C XT tmdem11rkl IBM Corp M1rmw(l n;lf.1Stard wul M.\ OS 2 11nd \\'111dm1'{ tnulcm1irk~ M1011{ojl Corp Vf.SQnrn- trademark Q/ffirit"rdak O//lff sr~tmH Cov1·n,1!,l1t t 1987 AST llc.tl'fm Ir hie All 17,lf.hl\ n \1 m ·d

2 million PCs with our complete line of

AST Premium/286. The closer you look,

AS[

reliable, high-quality

the better we perform.

RESEARCH INC.

Introducing the two: on earth:

The new COMPAQ DESKPRO 386/20'M

The world now has two new benchmarks from the leader in high-performance personal computing. The new 20-MHz COMPAQ DESKPRO 386/20 and the 20-lb., 20-MHz COMPAQ PORTABLE 386 deliver system performance that can rival minicomputers'. Plus they introduce advanced capabilities without sacrificing compatibility with the software and hardware you already own.

Both employ an industrystandard 80386 microprocessor and sophisticated 32-bit architecture. Our newest portable is up to 25% faster and our desktop is actually up to 50% faster than 16-MHz 386 PC's. But we did much more than simply increase the clock speed.
For instance, the COMPAQ DESKPRO 386/20 uses a cache memory controller. It complements the speed of the micropro-

cessor, providing an increase in

system performance up to 25%

over other 20-MHz 386 PC's. It's

also the first PC to offer an op-

tional WeitekT"' Coprocessor Board,

which can give it the performance

of a dedicated engineering work-

station at a fraction of the cost.

They both provide the most

storage and memory within their

classes. Up to 300 MB of storage

11 ,

in our latest desktop and up to

., t

100 MB in our new portable.

It simply works better.

;most powerful PC's and off.
. .....
.
·
··

and the new 20-MHz COMPAQ PORTABLE 386,.M

--

Both use disk caching to inject more speed into disk-intensive applications.
As for memory, get up to 16 MB of high-speed 32-bit RAM with the COMPAQ DESKPRO 386/20 and up to 10 MB with the COMPAQ PORTABLE 386. Both computers feature the COMPAQ"' Expanded Memory Manager, which supports the Lotus"'/Intel"'/MicrosoW Expanded Memory Specification to break the 640-Kbyte barrier.

With these new computers plus the original COMPAQ DESKPRO 3861' ; we now offer the broadest line of highperformance 386 solutions. They all let you run software being written to take advantage of 386 technology. And to prove it, from now until December 31,
1987, we're including Microsoft"' Windows/386 Presentation Manager free with your purchase of any COMPAQ 386-based PC.

It provides multitasking capabilities with today's DOS applications to make you considerably more productive. But that's just the beginning. For more information , call 1-800-231-0900, Operator 43 . In Canada , call 416 -733-7876 , Operator 43.
Intel, Lotu s , Microsoft , and Weitek a re tradem arks of their respective companies. © 1987 Compaq Computer Corporation . All rights reserved .
romPAa®

...

.

.......

.

the. . . .
Notenough ~.a ..... day? Emulex's Per'b!\l'm!l11'lt
100014.4Kbps teased line modem can give you more.
Replacing your 9600bps modem with a V.33-compatible model that runs 14,400bps is like installing a bigger pipe to carry 50% more data in the same number of hours ... or like having 50% more hours in the day.
Adding that much more throughput to your existing lines means you can cancel your telco order for more. It also means faster response for your users.
So why hasn't everyone already upgraded to 14.4? Because until now, 14.4Kbps modems have been very expensive- typically over $3,000 each and sometimes much more, depending on features.

··

-~---.;c______

- - . - -- ----

More Performance for the money.

An advanced design constructed around a few

key proprietary VLSI chips, the Performance 1000 is

changing the rules of the game for modems, as new technologies always do. Priced at $1795, it delivers Automatic speed adjustment both ways.

14.4 performance at a price we paid for 9600 not long The smaller package packs more benefits too,

ago. In a package about half the size of its competitors. including automatic speed adjustment. The CCITT

Given that low cost, 14.4 now will begin to replace V.33 spec calls out trellis coding for 14.4Kbps trans-

9600 as the industry standard just as 9600 dis-

mission and for its primary fallback rate of 12Kbps.

placed 4800 four or five years ago. At $1795, the

The Performance 1000 extends that to 9600bps

Performance 1000 can pay for itself in leased line -for lines that are acting like barbed wire-

savings in relatively few months, and that's what

to deliver an error rate 100X better than a V.29

it's all about. Technology may make it possible,

modem would at the same speed.

but economics is what really forces change.

The fallback can happen automatically if the

Regional offices: Chicago, II (312) 490-0050, Teaneck, NJ (201) 836-3717, Toronto, Ontario (416) 673-1211

4 -- -- ··- - - ·- ---.-·~·~~-"'-'--

~-----·-,,--F

~

·

I

· -.,.,

user chooses, and when the barbed wire starts acting like a telephone line again, the Performance 1000 can automatically speed up.
Don't leave home with it! Modems with straps to connect and internal
switches to set now will begin to look like antiques. Operating speeds and fallbacks and other parameters are set in the Performance 1000 by selecting from among English-language options displayed on its front panel.

nuSualt the remote unit also can be

hd tested through the local modem's

, without operator intervention at the far

end. This can be especially useful, considering that

no matter how many hours there are in a day, some

of them will wind up being in the middle of the night.

Want to reconfigure the remote's fallback

speed? Simply bring up the speed in the

display and

press ENTER. F-8:

12. 0K l.133

Then bring up the download command and press
ENTER a REMOTE: [:11Jl1.INLOHD
second time. Want to see it again?
9.6 ls enough? There may be applications which can't take
advantage of more speed, but could use more functions. For these, there's the Performance 1000/9.6, with almost all of the features of the Performance 1000/14.4-but for $500 less.
More to follow. Emulex is one of the U.S.' leading manufactur-
ers of high performance computer products, including disk and tape controllers, disk and tape subsystems, communications multiplexers, and others. The Performance 1000 is only one of a new series of end-user data communications products we're introducing. Watch for more. Soon.
For information, call our toll-free number.
EMULEX

Emulex Corporation 3545 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa, California 92626 (800) EMULEX-3 or (714) 662-5600 in California
~irrlo '.1.§ nn RAAliAr Card

..
-
T f -
'( I
~1
.
.. I

HP Networking. We connect offices, cities or countries. Like clockwork.
An integrated business system is only as good as its connections. Tu other departments or offices. Or branch offices. Or even international offices.
At Hewlett-Packard, we've spent ten years designing and supporting a wide variety of local-area, wide-area and office networking solutions. All connectible to SNA-based systems. All high-performance and cost-effective. All based on OSI industry standardsso they're all compatible with other vendors. And they'll grow as you grow
When you consider also that these solutions come from the company that never stops asking "What if. . , you may wish to make a connection with us . At 1 800 367-4772 , Dept. 275R
Fh9'1 HEWLETT
~ ~ PACKARD
Circle 37 on Reader Card

DATAMATION ANNOUNCES

·
··

ITS 1988

READER VOTE CONTEST.

_.,

,. ...

Enter the Datamation Reader Vote Contest and you may win a valuable

'

VHS video cassette recorder or Sony WatchmanTM TV.

It's easy to enter. Just follow these three simple steps :

1. Select the 5 ads in the JANUARY 1ST ISSUE of Datamation that you think your fellow readers will choose as being the most helpful and most informative.

2. List your selections on the entry card provided in the JANUARY 1ST

·

ISSUE.

3. Mail your entry card by February 4, 1988.
..

CONTEST RULES

processing or lelecommunicat1ons hardware, software or services

1. List your lop 5ads mrank order on the entry card provided mthe JANUARY

4. Conies! void where proh1b1ted or taxed by law Liability for any laxes on

/ST ISSUE of Oatamal10n. Indicate the name of the advertiser (company or

prizes 1s the sole respons1bil1ly of the winners.

organization) and the page number. (Ads placed by Cahners Publishing Com-

5. Entries thal most closely match the rank selected by Datamal10n readers will

pany, Dalama/10n or other Cahners publications cannot be considered 1n this

be declared winners

contest.

6. Entry cards must be postmarked before February 4. 1988.

2. No more than one entry may be submitted by any one individual Entry blank

7. In case of a tie. the earlier postmark will determine the winner Decisions of

MUST be filled mcompletely 01 ii will not be considered

the contest 1udges will be final

3. To qualify. you MUST be engaged 1n inlormat1on processing, supervising or

8. In the evenl Iha! ap11ze 1s not available. the publisher may subsli lulean

,,,

managing MIS/OP personnel. or selling standards for selection of information

allerna11ve prize of equal value without p11or notice.

CRTRMRTICN

Cahners Publishing Company A D1v1s1on of Reed Pubf1sh1ng USA

FAST THINGS

·

The ACER 900 personal speed or hard disk, and

Acer. A name synonymous

computer. Now at 12MHz, reset button are located

it's designed to race you ahead in business - faster

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So what are you

Inundated with a flood of choices, the ACER 900 is your best bet in choosing a personal computer to cope with power-hungry demands.
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One more thing no matter where you

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..

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.

the ACER 900 is designed for

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Geared to go at 12MHz

At 12MHz, the ACER 900 are, we guarantee after- sales charges through all the soft- service through our world ware written for Big Blue. At wide distribution network.

FIRST

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speed can also be switched

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down to 8MHz by way of

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Technical Specifications
ACER 9008 CPU 60286, 8/ 12MHz switchable. Socket fo r 60287 math coprocessor. 8 expansion slots. RAM 512KB, expandable to !MB !FOO, 1.2MB. Microsoft* MS-DOS* 3.2 ACER 900E As 900B plus 1 WOO, 40MB, 40ms. Microsoft MS.DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. PC-AT is a registered trademark of International Business N\achines Corporation.
Acer Technologies Corporation 401 Charcot Avenue, San Jose, CA 9513 1. Tel: (408) 9 22-0333. Fa x: (408) 922-01 76. Toll-free nos: (800) 782-11 55 (CA onl y), (800) 538-1542.

..
AceR (·
A New Word For Value

Circle 38 on Reader Card

Real Time

· ··
OFF-LINE

HARDWARE

A MULTIPLE OPERATING SYSTEM family of

departmental computers has been unveiled

by Icon International Inc., Orem, Utah, and

Sanyo Business Systems Corp., Osaka, Ja-

pan, which owns 65% of Icon. The systems,

called the MultiMicro/Mainframe family are

capable of running AT&T's Unix, Pick Sys-

tems' Pick, and Microsoft's MS/DOS operat-

ing systems simultaneously. Icon targets the

systems either toward the multiuser envi-

ronment or as connectivity systems to link

existing pcs, workstations, and peripherals.

The company's first product, the

MPS020-2, was introduced in fall '86. That

product is being reintroduced as the Icon

2000, which supports up to 16 users. The

..

original product supported Pick and MS/ DOS, but not Unix. The 2000 is priced

at $15,000. The Icon 3000 supports up to

-"

64 users and is priced at $30,000, and the

top-of-the-line Icon 4000, which supports as

many as 128 users, is priced at $55,000.

The Icon 2000, 3000, and 4000 employ a

new architecure called MultiMicro/ Main-

frame, which uses multiple 32-bit micro-

processors in parallel. Aproprietary operat-

ing system kernel, called Icon/ OS, is the

.. -

foundation for the three operating systems. The systems ' central processor, disk cache Alliant's new FX/ 4 has a peak performance of 47.2MFLOPS.

processor, and peripheral communications

processor subsystems contribute to the computers ' ability to handle operating systems concurrently, Icon says. Additional performance is provided by SMILE (Shared Memory Interconnect Local Environment), which is

Alliant Debuts Entry-level Minisupercomputer

-'

Icon's interprocessor communications system
and is comprised of proprietary boards and FX/ 4 offers lower-cost , expandable 64-bit

cables that link the disk cache in an Icon

computer to a pc connected to it. Each card in system with faster process ors.

an Icon system can support up to six SMILE

ports. SMILE, says Icon, provides four functions: virtual disk, virtual terminal, file

BY THERE SA BA RR Y

terminal, and a dot matrix printer. New packaging includes a VME bus, 32MB of

transfer, and print spooling. According to

Alliant Computer Systems Corp.'s intro- memory, and l GB of disk storage in a 43-

Icon, SMILE is not intended to replace local duction of the FX/ 4 lowers the entr y-lev- inch-high cabinet.

·

area networks, but to enhance them. Novell's NetWare, fo r example, is said to run

el price of an expandable 64-bit minisu-

The FX/ 4 supports Ethernet,

percomputer. The system incorporates TCP/ IP, DECnet, DCL, X.25, Hyperchan-

up to 30% faster on a system using SMILE. new packaging technology, software im- nel, Hasp, NFS, NeWS, NCS, and X-Win-

For Sanyo, which began investing in Icon provements, and faster interact ive dows. Languages for the system are Al-

in '84, the MultiMicro/Mainframe family

processors.

liant's FX/FORTRAN and FX / Ada compil-

marks its entry into the international com-

The FX/ 4 provides one to four ers, the standard Unix C compiler and a

puter market. Sanyo will manufacture some processors and is compatible with the new Alliant C compiler, and Pascal.

components for the Icon systems and it holds vendor's existing FX/Series systems,

Software enhancements include

the exclusive rights to market the systems in the FX/8 and FX/l. Alliant says the four- an FX / C compiler optimized for parallel

Japan. Icon will market the systems in the

processor FX/ 4 has a peak 64-bit perfor- execution and linear algebraic equation

U.S. through var and direct sales channels. mance of 47.2MFLOPS.

(which costs $15,500), and FX/Linpack

The starting price tag of the new and FX/Eispack libraries of scientific rou-

I f you 'd like additional information system, $99,900, includes one 64-bit vec- tines and subroutines ($2,000 each). The

on products covered in this issue's

tor processor and an MC 68020 inter- new packaging and faster interactive pro-

Off-line, please circle 221 on the readers' service card.

active processor expandable to four and cessors are included in upcoming versix processors, respectively. The sys- sions of Alliant's existing FX/ 1 and FX/ 8 Lem also comes with a 1/i-inch cartridge computers . ALLIANT COMPUTER SYSTEMS

tape, a V~IE 1/ 0 chassis, a console video CORP., Littleton, Mass.

CIRCLE 211

DATAMATION C DECEMBER 15, 1987 91

RealTtme

Mac Graphics Board
RasterOps' board fits into a single slot of the Mac II.

mands for particular disk interfaces, which offloads the host of protocol conversion tasks, says the vendor. The disk controller is comprised of a motherboard

system to be based on Motorola's MC 68030 microprocessor.
The 68030 features high-speed static RAM and memory cache, says the ven-

The ColorBoard 1/104 is the first prod- and a daughterboard, which combined dor. The new system uses up to four

uct in a planned series of high-resolution occupy one VME slot.

68010-based Terminal 1/ 0 Control Sub-

color graphics boards for the Apple Mac-

The 68020-based serial communica- systems, each supporting up to 64 users

intosh II from startup RasterOps Corp. tions module is also a two-board set that and available with up to 16MB of high-

occupies a single slot. Interfaces sup- speed ECC memory. Included is one or

ported are RS232C, Centronics parallel more intelligent 80186-based disk con-

1/0, and IEEE 488.

trollers with look-ahead cache memory

Standard configurations of the Uni- and support of overlapped disk seeks; a

corn B/200 include 4MB to 16MB of main high-performance disk subsystem; and a

memory, an SCSI interface, multiple hard high-performance, half-inch dual-density

disk drives with 85MB to 760MB of stor- 1600/6250 magnetic tape drive.

age, and embedded SCSI or SA-450 floppy

The 8830 system will be available

drives, two to 66 RS232C ports, a nine- next month. Prices will range from

track tape or streaming cartridge tape $215,000 to $350,000. GENERAL AUTOMA-

.

with 23MB or 60MB capacities, and TCP/ IP TION INC., Anaheim, Calif. CIRCLE 214

Ethernet. Either 5-, 12-, or 21-slot back-

The new board provides a resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels on a 24-bit color plane capable of displaying 16. 7 million

planes are available. The system will be available in the second quarter of '88 and, depending on the configuration, will be priced between $20,000 and $45,000.

High-End Scanner
Recognition Equipment offers a multifont, high-speed OCR.

colors simultaneously. The pixel fre- MICROPROJECT INTERNATIONAL !NC., Ma- The Tartan XP 80 System from Recogni-

quency is 60MHz. RasterOps says the rina de! Rey, Calif.

Cl RCLE 213 tion Equipment has been unveiled. It is

ColorBoard 1/104 and all other Color-

designed to process large volumes of

...

Boards are compatible with the Mac II 1SOMB Disk/Tape System

forms, says the company.

and other NuBus-based products. The ColorBoard 1/104 is available

Emerald Systems provides both

The new system, which is driven by a 32-bit processor, can read forms with

now and is priced at $2, 795. RAST EROPS media in one chassis.

single or multiple typefaces and pre-

CORP., Cupertino, Calif.

CIRCLE 212 The DOS 150-4000 is a combination of the pared on a variety of typewriters and

company's 150MB ESDI hard disk and printers, and with controlled alpha-

Multiuser Unix System

150MB quarter-inch cartridge tape. It op- numeric handprint (i.e., the little boxes

Microproject unveils system with

erates under the DOS operating system on printed computer forms filled in by and most DOS-based LANs, says Emerald. hand). The system can be tailored to read

f'

AT&T's 32-bit chip set.

It can also be used in conjunction with machine-printed and hand-printed char-

The Unicorn B/200 from Microproject pre-installed hard drive systems, utiliz- acters intermixed on the same line. Mi-

International, a 30MHz multiuser Unix ing Emerald's optional DiskMeld fea- crofilming and image capture features

System based on AT&T's 32-bit WE 3220X ture, which enables it to meld the two provide for audit trails.

chip set, has been introduced. Micropro- hard drives into one unit. The DOS 150-

Additional features include contex-

ject International says the system sup- 4000 provides users with a disk access tual, strip video data capture, which al-

ports 50 users and is object code and me- time of 16.5msec, with a backup speed of lows the selective capture of illegible

dia compatible with AT&T's 3B comput- 5MB per minute on the tape drive. The

ers. The Unicorn B/200 offers Unix 150-4000 is priced at $5,995.

System v/ VME, release 3.1, with new fea-

Emerald has also increased the ca-

tures such as shared executable librar- pacity of all of its quarter-inch cartridge

ies, remote file sharing, media-indepen- tape backup subsystems to 150MB from

dent networking, and Unix's streams 120MB and has increased the capacity of

communications interface.

its LifeTape tape media products to

The WE 3220X chip set on the VME 150Ml:I from 120MB. EMERALD SYSTEMS

cpu board includes a 30MHz WE 3220 CORP., San Diego, Calif.

CIRCLE 215

microprocessor, a 3.5megaWhetstones

WE 32206 math coprocessor, and a WE Multiuser Business System

32201 memory management unit/cache. The board also includes 4MB to 16MB of local memory. A 68020-based disk con-

General Automation computer supports 256 users.

characters and field video for data correction and completion. The system's software includes a Unix-based, param-

' "

troller includes a 32-bit OMA controller, General Automation has announced a eter-driven capture program and a menu-

which moves data across the system bus 256-user Zebra 8830 multiuser business driven forms generator package.

at 26. 7MBps, and 128KB of buffering. system. The company says it was de-

The Tartan XP80 is priced from

Firmware on board the 68020 translates signed for use with the Pick operating $285,000. RECOGNITION EQUIPMENT INC.,

generic disk access commands into com- system. The Zebra 8830 is the first GA Irving, Texas.

CIRCLE 220

92 DATAMATION DECEMBER 15, 1987

Other Environments

FOCUS runs in IBM's 370, PC and PS environments, on the DEC VAX, under Wang VS, and under UNIX. Learn FOCUS in any one of these environments and you can write an application in any other, and it will run in all of them.

Mos t Widely Used

Around the globe, more

than 4000 sites have FOCUS

installed, making it the

most widely used fourth-

generation language in the

world. And we've been in-

volved in training at every site.

FOCUS has a large and

independent user group. And

Information Builders backs

With some 4GLs,

FOCUS with the support you'd expect from an industry leader: local help lines in

training users can 12 regional offices, a central hotline, and a national network of technical support

be a real challenge. and training centers.

·

FOCUS Education

W ith FOCUS, users can have eal success. Fast.

Lots of Help for Users Your programmers can

Over 200 certified staff trainers Scheduled classroom education at
40 North American centers Customer-site training Courses and training materials

FOCUS is the ultimate in create extremely easy-to-

fourth-generation technol- use, window-driven applica-

ogy. It is designed to let users tions using FOCUS. Or

do useful work immediately. casual users can help them-

......

For example, there is a selves to information

window-driven point-and- through the English Query

customized to environment and application Computer-based training materials for the PC or mainframe at c urrent release levels
Self-study primers A Train -The -Trainer program

pick interface that lets

Language (EQL)-the self-

Ifyou want your users to

beginners generate a report explaining natural-language be pussycats, get more in-

or graph, make inquiries- interface to PC/FOCUS~

formation on FOCUS. Call

even create an entire appli-

For anyone who wants to 1-212-736-4433, Ext. 3700.

cation-without learning learn the FOCUS fourth-gen- Or write Information Build-

any syntax. In fact, the sys- eration language, complete, ers, Inc., Dept. B4, 1250

tem displays the syntax so professionally developed

Broadway, New York, NY

the user can learn the lan- learning resources are avail- 10001. We'll send you some-

guage while creating the

able. Just take a look at the thing meaty.

application.

box to the right.

PC/FOCUS ls a rcgislered trademark of lnfom1aUon Builders. Inc.

[lal] E!l! J:l§. Circle 39 on Reader Card

· ·

·
........
·
. ~

~
. ...
.,

~

f"

r <

i ·
,.. .

·

· >+

Toys " R" Us, the world's largest, fastest growing toy specialty retailer, wanted

to install a scanning-based sales capture and credit authorization system at 313

locations in only six months. "We do 50% of our volume in October through

December;' states Charles Lazarus, Toys "R" Us CEO, "so we wanted the system

working in our major markets well before Christmas to get our people comfortable

with it. Digital got it on-line by late August, and tailored their service solution to

meet our needs ."

"In just 6 months,

Digital gave all 313

Toys 'R' Us stores a

sales and credit

system for Christmas:'

·

Mr. Lazarus sees Digital's involvement as an integral part of the phenomenal

Toys "R" Us success story. "Even though we're four times the size of our nearest

competitor, and we stock over 18,000 different items, we move and make decisions

faster. That's why we've grown more than 30% annually for the past nine years.

DDt mI Digital, their networking, and the infonnation edge they give us, have played a vital

role in that growth. They're our kind of company. .. a winner."

To get your competitive advantage now, write:

~ ~

TM

Digital Equipment Corporation, 200 Baker Ave., West 1

1

Concord, MA 01742. Or call your local Digital sales office.

·

© D1µHJI Fqllipmc nt Corpora11 on 19H""' The Di~11al IORO I" J tradl.'m;1rl.. of D1g1ul Lqu1pnlL'n1 CorpoLHi on

RealTime

UPDATES

SOFTWARE

THE THIRD-PARTY MAINTENANCE market is

changing. Weaker organizations are either

disappearing or are being absorbed by the

stronger ones and equipment manufacturers

find themselves in a defensive position, as

the world of third-party maintenance be-

comes a more formidable contender in

what's become a buyer's market. These are

the findings of computer and communications

market research firm Input, Mountain View,

Calif. Input's recently published report is

·

based on interviews with 200 third-party

maintenance users, who revealed their

views about, and requirements of, mainte-

nance supplied by independent vendors and

support from manufacturer-supplied organi-

zations. It applies to the service of large and

small systems, micros, and peripherals.

Not surprisingly, pricing is a big issue. For

a while, data showed that pricing was not

as important as quality and performance

concerns, but the report reveals that now it's

the top concern. It's the third-party mainte-

nance suppliers that are currently in users'

Banyan's VINES Now favor, says Input. According to the report,
"Manufacturers will have to drastically improve user perceptions of either the perfor-

Supports TCP/IP mance of their service or the relative price of
support in order to effectively compete with

up-and-coming third-party operations."

Input says that the users surveyed also New release allows one network to carry traffic
expect top performance from both third-par-
ty and systems vendors. Third-party mainte- between dissimilar systems.

nance organizations are "effectively target-

ing user (and potential user) demands and tailoring performance to meet them."
Third-party maintenance vendors are reported by users to have a two-hour edge over manufacturer-supplied support in their response and repair time. The improvements

BY THERESA BARRY
Release 3.0 of Banyan's VINES network operating system was recently announced. The new version provides two TCP/ IP options, one providing server-to-

neous LU sessions are also possible. Asynchronous terminal emu lation scripting has been added. VINES' new scripting language is compatible with Microstufs Crosstalk XVI scripts. New system administration and management tools in-

in turnaround were most notable in the

server communications, the other allow- clude a group move facility, which allows

areas of small and micro systems. Vendor proximity to users' sites and the
ability to service multivendor shops are not big concerns now among users, says Input.
Because of the falling profitability of

ing a Banyan network server to act as an IP router. These options allow a single network to carry traffic between heterogeneous systems, says Banyan. The vendor will integrate the PC/ TCP program

administrators to move groups of user profiles together with their e-mail files across the network. Full MS / DOS 3.3 support is included. Banyan says there are additional enhancements lo the reliabili-

hardware support, which is caused by decreasing prices and the increasing reliability of hardware products, Input reports that

from ftp Software, of Boston, but says ty and security features.

release 3.0 will also work with other ven-

VINES release 3.0 is free to Ban-

dor's TCP/IP products. The company yan's support program customers and

third-party maintenance vendors are venturing out of their traditional hardware realm and offering a variety of extended services, such as software support and network management. However, users are not willing to entrust such services to their third-party maintenance vendors, reports Input.
//'you 'd like additional information about products covered in this issue's Updates, please circle 222 on the readers' service card.

says the round-trip time to access file records has been reduced by 66% from that of release 2.1.
Two new local area networks are supported: Western Digital's StarCard Plus and Micom Interlan's N15210. Banyan Mail, an e-mail package integrated into VINES, has been enhanced in functionality and speed, says the vendor. For connections to mainframes and minicomputers, users have the option of hot key switching between 3270 sessions and MS/ DOS applications. Up to four simulta-

also to those customers who have bought a VINES system since mid-September of this year. Further pricing is available from the company. BANYAN SYSTEMS INC., Westboro, Mass. CIRCLE 269
Micro to Mainframe Simware's package provides diverse communication.
A micro-to-mainframe communications package that works over a variety of media and protocols has been released by

96 DATAMATION Li DECEMBER 15, 1987

Real lime
-~

.
-
' '
' ....
. "'

Simware Inc. The SimPC Master con-

nects standalone and networked person-

al computers to IBM mainframes via syn-

chronous or asynchronous communica-

tions. The package employs a common

interface and full-screen transfer wheth-

er running over a 3270 communications

card, an LAN, or an X.25 network. It also

supports error-free file transfer between

WKS and DIF files and TSO, CICS, and CMS

mainframe applications. For the pc, the

software is priced at $325 or $420 (Cana-

dian) for a single copy. Site licenses are

available, beginning at $10,000 for up to

50 copies. Mainframe file transfer mod-

ules are priced between $5,000 and

$10,000, depending on the system. SIM-

WARE INC., Ottawa.

CIRCLE 200

Fourth Generation language
Data Language makes Progress available on the DEC VAX.

Data Language Corp. has introduced a

new version of its Progress fourth gener-

ation language and database manage-

ment system for Digital Equipment

Corp.'s VAX / VMS computers. The VAX /

VMS version joins Unix and PC/ DOS ver-

sions currently available. The software

enables developers to build applications

on a pc that can be recompiled and run on

any of the three operating environments.

Progress's relational database manage-

ment system supports roll-forward and

roll-back recovery and variable length re-

cords. Progress for the VAX is priced

from $3,000, for the single-user VAXsta-

tion 2000, to $60,000, for the multiuser

VAX 8800. DATA LANGUAGE CORP., Billeri-

ca, Mass.

CIRCLE 20 1

Business Applications
Paperback Software upgrades VP-Planner program.
VP-Planner Plus, recently introduced by Paperback Software International (PS I), is a spreadsheet, database, and reportgenerating program that is compatible with Lotus 1-2-3 release 2 worksheets. PSI also announced that it has removed copy protection from its entire product line.
Enhancements over the original VPPlanner include pull-down menus; a document processor for writing, editing, and formatting text within the worksheet; report generation capabilities, including worksheet ranges and scaled graphs within text printouts; and streamlined access to multidimensional database struc-

tures via a worksheet template. A new

"autosave" feature allows users to select

the time intervals for automatically sav-

ing worksheets on disk; a tools applica-

tion command allows users to run exter-

nal programs while executing macro

sequences.

VP-Planner Plus requires an IBM PC,

XT, AT, PS/2, or compatible with at least

384K of RAM, one diskette drive, and MS/

-.DOS or PC/DOS 2.0 or higher. The price is CllTE'411V !WIES - li.eHlo· Z

Short · 111 Lo"'

IPllCEPU lu·tete4 Price Pu C·llH

ICSOU fl t ..49ete4 '·lion Soll

ISlllts 11 1¥·tete4S·ln$

KCOS'T I ldtetdC·lloeCo.t

IPIOFITll "'41etdCrou Profit

'·II··· PllCl~ · PrluPerC·llu

r;sot1 11

sou

SllLES II S.tn $

"OST · '·ILo·Coat PIOFIT 11 Cron Profit

SllUSlll I S·IH $Fk:tul v1 ldret

PJOrfill I Prorltlk:tulv1 h·1et

$179.95. PAPERBACK SOFTWARE INTERNATIO AL. Berkeley, Calif. CIRCLE 202

Lotus 1-2-3 Add-Ins

Lotus provides faster recalcula-

tion, and help in writing macros.

Lotus Speedup and Lotus Learn are two

add-ins for Lotus 1-2-3 release 2.01 that

have recently been made available.

Speedup allows users to select a

faster recalculation mode. With it, 1-2-3

will recalculate only those cells whose

values have changed since the last re-

calculation. Learn provides an automatic

keystroke recorder that makes it easier

to write 1-2-3 macros, according to Lo-

tus. Learn also works with 1-2-3 release

2.0.

Both add-ins, which are not copy

protected, are available for $20 each to

current 1-2-3 release 2.01 users. They

both require an IBM PC, XT, AT, P. /2, or

compatible. LOTU DEVELOPMENT CORP.,

Cambridge, Mass.

CIRCLE 203

Mainframe Productivity
Trax Softworks brings pc-like productivity tools to IBM mainframes.
TopNotch is what the vendor is calling a desktop productivity tool for IBM mainframes. The package contains five accessories. The spreadsheet has over 50 functions and is similar to the calculator found on pc-based desktop programs. The appointment calendar is a personal timekeeper that beeps and displays a reminder al a specified time without dis-

turbing the current display on the screen,

says the vendor. The index file cards can

be used for address fi les, project lists,

and small databases and can be created

and sorted by any key on the top lines of

the cards. The notepad allows users to

write, print, and send notes; data from

other applications can be pasted into a

note. The tool box provides for printing

and transferring of data displayed on the

screen.

TopNotch operates on IBM main-

frames running VM/CMS. The product's

price ranges between $8,000 and

$15,000. TRAX SOFTWORKS INC., Los An-

geles.

CIRCLE 204

Data Communications
MessageNet provides pc-to-VAX message transfer.
S&H Computer Systems Inc. has made available MessageNet PC, which allows microcomputer users to transfer messages and files directly to DEC VAX minicomputers and to pcs running MessageNet and also automates the use of Western Union Easylink and MCI Mail electronic mail services. S&H says the software automates and consolidates the process of transmitting messages and files .
MessageNet PC sends and receives files using one menu-driven interface for all datacom tasks. Sending a message or file entails specifying the recipient's name, the type of transmission route, and the time the message is to be sent. The vendor says the software handles everything else. All transmission routes included in the offerings of e-mail services can be used, including Telex, mailgram, telegram, regular mail, overnight letter, and cablegram.
Receipt of messages is automatic, says the vendor. Message et logs on to e-mail services to check for messages at times specified by the user and alerts users when files or messages are received.
Other features of MessageNet PC are a word processor, split-screen editing with cut-and-paste, a file folder system, an address book, mailing lists, and a
calendarI reminder function.
Message et PC is available now. Including user interface, direct computerto-computer file transfer, and gateways to MCI Mail and Western Union Easylink, the price is $185. Required are a pc with 5121<B of memory, a hard disk, and a Hayes-compatible modem. S&H COMPUTER SYSTEMS I C., Nashville. CIRCLE 209

DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987 97

Real Time

·

PEOPLE

He's Not Bound

mer. Later, he became head of market planning and directed Cincom's education division and new channels marketing

By Conventional Images

program. He was then named vp of marketing and sales, with responsibility for domestic and international sales and

Dennis Yablonsky may not fit the traditional mold service. Yablonsky feels that he is work-
of the corporate ceo , but one of his chief goals for ing with a different type of customer at

the Carnegie Group does: make a profit.

Carnegie than he did at Cincom. There, he dealt with MIS executives or small

BY KAREN GULLO

groups of software experts within MIS. "Here," he says,

T he typical chief executive of-

"there's a little less MIS inter-

ficer, as described in a recent

action. There's more interac-

B usiness Wee!< article, is in his

tion with groups of technical

mid-50s, probably has an MBA

people in the manufacturing

from an Ivy League school,

and engineering depart-

and plays golf.

ments. MIS still plays a role in

Dennis Yablonsky,

some cases to give a technical

the new ceo and president of

perspective.

artificial intelligence software

"The peop le who

maker Carnegie Group Inc.,

have bought expert systems

just doesn't fit the mold. "I

in the last three years were in

never have, so it doesn't both-

highly technical research and

er me," quips the 35-year-old

development groups within

Yablonsky, who prefers rac-

companies. Now we're see-

quetball to golf.

ing a much higher level of

If Yablonsky fits any mold, it's that of the consum-

~~~~~ business applications being

~·

addressed, and that's right.

mate Silicon Valley high-tech

The technology is moving

executive-young, aggres-

down to the business level. "

sive, and moving up fast. The

As Yablonsky settles

only difference is that instead

into his new surroundings at

of the Valley's infamous

Carnegie Group, he's having

Route 128, Yablonsky, the

no trouble feeling right at

son of Ukranian and Italian

home in Pittsburgh. His ex-

parents, first made his name

tended family lives in the

in working-class Cincinnati as

area, and he says he's happy

president and chief operating

that he, his wife, and their two

officer of mainframe software

small daughters, ages five and

maker Cincom Systems. He

seven, are close to them

now resides in Pittsburgh,

again. "I had always hoped to

which is not only headquar-

get our children back into the

ters of the Carnegie Group,

city near the family," he says.

but is his hometown as well.

The Yablonskys had

The chance to be back

been involved in a parent ad-

on his home turf was one of

vocacy progam in Cincinnati,

the attractions his new posi- YABLONSKY: Not your typical chief executive officer.

devoting some of their free

tion offered. "There's a high-

time to a child abuse preven-

tech renaissance going on here [in Pitts- says the company is breaking even now, tion project. He hopes to find a similar ac-

burgh]," says Yablonsky, "with lots of and he expects it will turn its first profit tivity in Pittsburgh.

new companies starting up. I was in- next year. "When I joined Cincom, it was

Meanwhile, in addition to rac-

trigued to come back and be a part of about the same size as Carnegie Group is quetball and softball in the summers,

that."

now," says Yablonsky. (Carnegie has Yablonsky says he likes to work out

Yablonsky's first orders of busi- 140 employees; Cincom has over 1,500.) three days a week, as he views exercise

ness at Carnegie are to determine the

Yablonsky resembles the tradi- and sports as forms of stress manage-

firm's focus and to make a profit. Cincom tional ceo profile in at least one re- ment. And what about golf? Isn't that ex-

has sales of about $100 million; the three- spect-his career path was marketing. ercise fit for a ceo? Yablonsky laughs . Ap-

year-old Carnegie Group has a fraction of After graduating with a BS in Industrial parently he's in no hurry for that country

that-$10 million to be exact-and it lost Management from the University of Cin- club membership. "Maybe one of these

money in its first few years. Yablonsky cinnati, he joined Cincom as a program- days I'll take it up, but not yet."

·

98 DATAMATION DECEMBER 15, 1987

., . ·
·
·..
....

..
.. .
- .....
. -
-- ~
.>
··
- ....

CALENDAR
JANUARY
Computer Graphics '88. Jan. 13-15, San Diego. Contact Carol Every, Frost & Sullivan Inc., 106 Fulton St., New York, NY 10038, (212) 2331080.
Image Processing and Optical Disk Storage Conference. Jan. 20-22, Phoenix. Contact]ean O'Toole, CAP International, 1 Snow Rd., Marshfield, MA 02050, (617) 837-1341.
CN '88 (Communications Networks Conference and Exposition). Jan. 25-28, Washington, D.C. Contact Nancy Thayer, IDG Conference Management Group, P.O. Box 9171 , 375 Cochituate Rd., Framingham, MA 01701-9171, (6 17) 879-0700.
FEB RUARY
IFIP Conference on Computers and law. Feb. 8-10, Santa Monica, Calif. Contact Michael Krieger, P.O. Box 24619, Los Angeles, CA 90024, (213) 208-2461.
Mexico ComExpo '88. Feb. 9-12, Mexico City. Contact Bill Warnes, Marketing International Corp., P.O. Box 4749, Arlington, VA 22204, (703) 685-0600.
Usenix Winter 1988 Unix Technical Conference. Feb. 9-12, Dallas. Contact Usenix Conference Office, P.O. Box 385, Sunset Beach, CA 90742, (213) 592-1381.
PTC '88 (10th Annual Pacific Telecommunications Conference). Feb. 15-18, Honolulu. Contact PCT '88, 1110 University Ave., Suite 308, Honolulu, HI 96826, (808) 941-3789.
MA RCH
FOSE '88 (Federal Office Systems Expo). March 7-10, Washington, D.C. Contact National Trade Productions Inc., 2111 Eisenhower Ave., Suite 400, Alexandria, VA 22314, (800) 638-8510 or (703) 6838500.
Connect '88 (Conference and Exposition for MIS/ Dp Professionals). March 8-10, New York. Contact Frank Palumbo, Cahners Exposition Group, 99 Summer St., Stamford, CT 06905, (203) 964-0000.

ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES

Publisher Don Fagan
Associate Publisher William Segal/is
Production Manager Eric Jorgensen
EASTERN REGION
Eastern Regional Sales Manager Frances E. Bolger
w. 249 17TH St.
New York, NY 10011 (2 12) 463-6552
Tom Carey 487 Devon Park Dr. Suite 206 Wayne, PA 19087 (2 15) 293- 1212
Northeast Edward Rappaport 199 Wells Avenue Newton, MA 02159 (6 17) 964-3730
Southeast Larry Pullman 6520 Powers Ferry Road Suite 395 Atlanta, GA 30339 (404) 955-6500
Middle Atlantic Kathleen A. Murray 8 Stamford Forum PO Box 10277 Stamford, CT 06904 (203) 328-2547
Midwest John Stellwagen 1350 E. Touhy Avenue Des Plaines, IL 60018 (312) 390-2967
WESTERN REGION
Western Regional Sales Manager James E. Filiatrault 3031 Tisch Way Suite 100 San Jose. CA 951 28 (408) 243-8838

West Janet Engelbrecht 582 Market St. Room 1007 San Francisco, CA 94104 (415) 981-2594
William M. Wilshire 1881 8 Teller Avenue Suite 170 Irvine, CA 92715 (714) 851-9422
Texas Richard W. Sheehan 9330 LBJ Freeway Suite 1060 Dallas, TX 75243 (2 14) 644-3683
INTERNATIONAL
Cahners Publishing Company 27 Paul !Street London, EC2A 4JU, England Tel : 44 1 628-7030 Telex: 914911 TECPUB G Fax: 44 1 839-6626
Managing Director-Europe Edward Reuteler Jr.
U.K., Benelux Jan Dawson Tracey Lehane
Scandinavia Martin Sutcliffe
France, Italy, Spain Alasdair Melville
W. Germany, Austria, Switzerland , E. Europe Uwe Kretzschmar
Israel Roseline Lewin-Wainberg Cahners Publishing Company 68 Sokolov St. Ramat Hasharon 47 235 Israel Tel. : 03-49 12 69

Japan KaoruHara Dynaco lnt'I Inc. Suite 1003, Sun-Palace
Shinjuku 8-12-1 Nishishinjuku ,
Shi njuku-ka Tokyo, 160, Japan Tel (03) 366-8301 Telex: J2322609 Fax: 03-366-8302
Taiwan Parson Lee Acteam International
Marketing Corp. 6F, No. 43, Lane 13 Kwang-Fu South Road Mailbox 18-91 Taipei , 10594, Taiwan R.O.C. Tel (02) 760-6209 Telex: 29809 ACTEAM
DATAMATION CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Roberta Renard National Sales Manager (201) 228-8602 JanetOPenn Eastern Sales Manager (201) 228-8610 Maria Cubas Production Assistant (201) 228-8608 103 Eisenhower Parkway Roseland , NJ 07068 Don Brink Western Sales Manager 18818 Teller Ave. Suite 170 Irvine, CA 92715 (7 14) 85 1-9422
INFORMATION CARD DECKS
Liz Mullen Department Supervisor 1305 E. Touhy Ave . Des Plaines, IL 60018 (3 12) 390-2762

CAHNERS MAGAZINE DIVISION
William M. Platt Chief Executive Officer
Terrence M. McDermott President
Frank Sibley Group Vice President
Jerry D. Neth Vice President Publishing Operations
Tom Dellamaria VP/Production & Manufacturing

Cahners Publishing Company A Division of Reed Publishing USA
Specialized Business and Consumer Magazines for Building &Construction, Interior Design, Electronics &Computers, Foodservice & Lodging, Manufacturing, Book Publishing &Libraries, Medical/Health Care, Child Care &Development.
DATAMATION 0 DEC EMBE R 15, 1987 99

ANNOUNCING THE BIRTH ..... ~

OF A NEW CONNECTION.
The singular eventfor computer and communications professionals.
Finally, an event that fits the times. Focused on the single topic that is impacting the present and helping to shape the future. Connectivity.
Only Connect '88 is dedicated to give you a first hand look at the latest connectivity options and integration solutions. Our unparalleled three day schedule includes comprehensive conference sessions and invaluable technical seminars.
In addition, a landmark strategic symposium, presented by THE GARTNER GROUP, will cover such important issues as the futures oflocal area communications, software management strategy, office information systems, enterprise networks, mid-range systems and personal computers.
You can't afford to miss the singular event everyone is already talking about. Connect '88. Plan now to be a part ofthe excitement and learn what the emerging technologies can mean for your business today and tomorrow. For more information about Connect '88, call (203) 964-0000.

March 8-10, 1988

Jacob K. Javits Convention

Center

. New York, N. Y. -----------,

I Mail to:

I

I Ca hncrs Exposition Group D Yes, I'm interested in attending the

999 Summer Street

"Connect '88" conference and

I P.O. Box3833 Stamford, CT 06905-0833

technical showcase . Please send me full details.

I N:imc I Comp:my I Address
I Cuy

Pos1 11o n

Z op

Tdcphonc

Circle 40 on Reader Card

Career Opportunities

Cl=ITl=IMRTICN

·

1988 Editorial Calendar and Planning Guide

Issue Date

Recruitment Deadline

Editorial Emphasis

Jan. 15

Dec. 28

Technology Forecast

Feb.

Jan . 14

DEC

.

Feb. 15

Jan . 27

Parallel and Multi Processing

Mar.

Feb. 11

Managing IS at Multinationals

Mar. 15

Feb. 26

On-Line Transaction Processing

' "11

Apr. I

Mar. 11

Cutting Over New Systems

Apr. 15

Mar. 25

1st Quarter Update

May I

Apr. 13

Supercomputers and Minisupercomputers

Call today for information :

East Coast Janet 0 . Penn (201) 228-8610

West Coast Dan Brink (714) 851-9422

National Roberta Renard (201) 228-8602

MINDPOWER... OUR GREATEST RESOURCE

Nowhl'r{' in the \vorld wilt you find greater collertive mindpower than at Computer Sciences Corporation. The power to discover . Tlw power to innovate Th e power l o apply our resources in communications and infor·

· Systems Administration · Project Management

mation syst 1.~ms technologies to a broad range of specia li zed servires for business. government and industry.

We"re seek ing Compu ter Professionals with a degree in rnmpu tt>r science or related disciplines or eq ui vale nt experience. h1 addition.

Ifs easy to understand why W(' maintain the leading technical staff in our

thesr posit ions require proficiency in:

ind ustry. Our achievements rultiva te a stimulating personal and profession<tl

t' ll\'ironmrnt of sun:css. And our technical assignments require the highest

· UNIX & C

....

standard of excPlil'ncP.

· UNlX OS Internals

If your career goals include makinK the most of your technical talents If you're prepared to join some of the best minds in the software services industry .. .We"d like to consider you for the CSC l earn and invite you lo con tribut l' to leading ec1ge projects. including:

· 4GLs & UNIX Re lational DBMS ·ISO / OSI Networking Protoco ls · Local Area Networks

· Advanced Commun ic ations and Distribut e d Database Systems Deve lopme nt
· Inte grated Voice and Data Network De sign
· Operating Syste m , Utility, and Compiler Development.

· BAL, PL/I , COBOL · OS/ MVS, VM · IBM IMS or DB2

Our technical staffing requirements offer you positions in :

For immediate consideration. call fol l Free (800) 345-9419. In New

· Operating System Software and Communications Soft·

Jersey. (201) 981-9119. Use your Personal Comput er to reac h us

ware Development · Systems and Network Engineering

anyt ime day or night, on our OPPORTUN ITY Nl·TWORK. Dial (201) 981-9325 and log-in as '"guest"". Or. mail you r resum e to: Paul

·~

·Systems Analysis/ Data Analysis

Orvos, COMPUTER SCIENCES CORPORATION ,

· Applications Software Development

Communications Industry Services, 371 Hoes Lane,

· Systems Test Engineering

Piscataway, NJ 08854 . Equal Opportunity Employer.

csc
CO M PUTER SCIENCES CORPORATION

10 2 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987

When we wanted to create anew standardfor

.

totalsystems integration,Wangpeople
we~~~~WANG PEOPLE

H o \\ d o ~ o u h uild a fram e\\ o rk

·

fo r procc.,sin g a nd co mmun i-

ca tin g info rma ti o n . t~ in g

pro du ct., toge th er in a hro a d

EIT Technical Services Senior Systems Programmers

ran gr of multi -' l' ndor enviro n-

We are looking for VMor MVS/ CICS Senior

-..

m r nt '>? T ha t " a' the cha ll enge hl'l'o rr LI '> a l Wa ng. Large srn lr s~ slr m., in trgra ti o n. Within de1rn rtm ents . lkhH·rn dh i.,i om. Ac ro ss o rga ni ta li om. l'IHou gho ul lh r \\ o rlcl. At Wa ng. 1>r oplc

WORK ·

Systems Programme rs to join our Data Center in Burlington. You will provide IBM mainframe installation and support fo r a nationwide network of corporate marketing demonstration centers. The successful can-

a rr " o rk in g 10 l'fl'al l' inncnaii vr so iu -

didate will interface with Corporate

tio n'>. A nd right ncm . \\ l'' d lik e mon·

Marketing, R&Dand IBM Systems Program-

Jll'Op lr to '' or k a t \\'a ng.

Customer Service

mers. Candidates should have 3-5 years of programming background. Familiarity with

CORPORATE

We are looking for ProgrammerI Analysts and Senior Information System Analysts to sup-

Wang VS, remote telecommunications, DISOSS, or PROFS is desired.

INFORMATION SERVICES

port our Worldwide Customer Services Organization from various Merrimack Valley locations. You will develop applications for field service operations and support, service

Systems Programmers
We are lookin g for experienced professionals to support Wang VS Data Centers in the

Applications Programmer Analysts
Sales and Marketing

F&A and decision support. To qualify as a Programmer/ Analyst, you should have at least 2 years of experience. Senior Informa-
tion System Analysts must have 4-10 years of MIS/ business ex pertise. A working knowledge

Merrimack Valley. From analysis to test, you will solve complex OS and Networking software problems. Your skills will also aid with improvements to functionality and efficiency of OS and etworking software support for

.,,

We are looking for experienced professionals to assist Marketing MIS in the development of a worldwide Marketing Information System, as well as a Corporate Information Center.

of Wang VS product line and/ or IBM MYS with IDMS/ CICS experience would be a plus.
Distribution

WANGNET and Wang Systems Networking. Fam iliarity with Wang operating systems, Wang Systems Networking and the 7000 series architectu re would be a plus.

Your technical expertise is needed in the creation of applications on Wang VS and PC

We are looking for qualified individuals to develop applications for Wang distribution

Technical Support

hardware. You will use state-of-the-art hardware like the Wang relational database ap-

business worldwide. You should have experience establishing systems that control

Documentation Specialist

plication builder. PACE. and the Wang In-

multi-site environments from logistics to

We are looking for a specialist to analyze,

tegrated Imaging System. Extensive

customer order management. A minimum of

design and develop techn ical end-user

knowledge of MS/ DOS and industry standard

2 years of COBOL experience is required .

documentation for internal Wang applications.

decision support tools is required. A background in COBOL. SAS, FOCUS. IBM and

Manufacturing

The successful candidate wi ll also be involved with end-user training. 1-2 years of technical

MYS is helpful.

We are seeking individuals to maintain the

documentation experience preferred .

't
_.,.

Finance and Administration

manufacturing applications portfolio for Wang facilities worldwide. Usi ng the entire Wang VS

Wang offers one of the best benefit programs in the industry, includ ing pension ,

Working with Wang VS. IBM MYS and the

product line. you will perform system

profit sharing, stock bonus, stock pur·

't

most advanced software systems. you will develop financial. human resource. order pro·

analysis, design, and programming. Your technical leadership and fam iliarity wit h SDM

chase and incentive savings plans, company- paid dental, medical and life in·

~

cessing. and admi nistration app lications. To

methodology will help us maintai n good

surance, tuition reimbursement and

qualify. you must have at least 2 years of ex· business relatio nships throughout the

adoption assistance.

...
~
...

perience. as well as a proficiency in COBOL. :\ wor kin g knowledge of financial reporti ng. the Wang \'S product line and/ or IBM \'MS wou ld be a plus.

worldwide network . The ideal candidate hould have 3-6 years of design and development experience including a background in COBOL. PACE. or AMAPS.

Please send yo ur resume, or a letter detailing your experience, to Robert Awkward, M/ S 019 -93A, Wang Laboratories, Inc., One Industrial Ave., Lowell, MA 01 85 1.

..

\\'e are an affirmative action employer.

~·

t- P -
....

WANG

;.

People make it work .

DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987 103

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
OPPORTUNITIES
The future of the Network Support Systems Division of Northern Telecom Inc. can be found in helping telecommunications providers adapt to changing operations environments. NTI's Digital Facility Management Systems (DFMS) offers cost effective, forward-looking solutions for endto-end control of today's complex digital transport networks. All current opportunities listed below require a BS in a technical area and 2-5 years' experience.
SYSTEMS ENGINEER
· Develop commercial specifications into technical requirements working with marketing, customers and development groups
SYSTEMS ENGINEER/MODELING
· Systems software modeling using SLAM
SOFTWARE ENGINEERS
· Requires experience designing and programming in "C" for\VMS or UNIX environment · RDBMS lexperience\desired
SOFTWARE QUALITY ENGINEER
· Involvement in entire software development cycle from design through beta tests · Commercial experience required
FIRMWARE ENGINEERS
· Requires design experience using structured methodologies with "C" in a real-time environment · VRTX, Intel and X.25 packet switching experience desired The world's largest supplier of fully digital telecommunications systems has more to offer than a competitive salary and excellent benefits. Experience how much more. Send your resume to: Manager, Human Resources Administration, Northern Telecom Inc., Dept. BT 196, P.O. Box 649, Concord, NH 03301. An equal opportunity employer, m/f/h/v. Permanent resident or U.S. citizen required.
Build Your Career in Communications.
11utthat11 talacu111
104 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987

Computer Network Design & Protocol Professionals

The Devon Engineering facility of the

·

Unisys Corporation , located near historic

Valley Forge , is responsible for the

design and development of sophisticated

communication network products for

local and wide area networks. We have

immediate career opportunities for

Software Professionals with minimum

5 years' experience in one or more of

the following areas:

· Software Product Assurance

· Software Test

· Pascal Systems Programming

· UNIX/" C"

· Internetwork Connectivity

· Protocol Definition/Conversion

.,

X.21 , X.25 , S.N.A.

· Network Management

· Network Measurement Tools

· Network Requirements Analysis

· BTOS

If you need challenge and thrive on accomplishment , forward your resume to: Phil DiPietro, Unisys Corporation, Devon Engineering Labs, 445 Devon Park Drive, Wayne PA 19087. An affirmative action employer.

UNI·SYS

T
DID YOU KNOW? .
· 77% of over 160,000 of the most qualified Computer Systems/Operations/Data Processing/and Software Engineering Professionals read DATAMATION regularly; at least 3 out of 4 issues.
· The DATAMATION reader spends 1 hour 14 minutes reading each issue, and has been doing so for 8 years.
·More than 64% of these readers go through each issue page-by-page, and pass the magazine along to an additional 5 people.
NOW, the DATAMATION CAREER OPPORTUNITIES section will bring you the latest in current job opportunities!

For more information, and to reserve your ad in our

·~

next issue cal I:

Roberta Renard

201/228-8602

National Recruitment Sales Manager

Janet 0. Penn

201/228-8610

East Coast Recruitment Manager

Dan Brink

714/851-9422

West Coast Recruitment Manager

·
"YOU
· CAN'T
· DO
THAT"

Build a large scale mainframe computer that will outperform the competition 's leading model?

"IMPOSSIBLE!" they said.

But Amdahl did it back in the early 1970 's. And today we are a leader

in the development, manufacturing, marketing and support of general pu rpose

and scientific computer systems, storage products, communications systems

uou CAN and software.

put your mind to new challenges in the computer systems

I 1

industry and join the creative team environment that

developed the most powerful commercial processors in the world and is

now developing software tools for the largest mainframes of the 1990's.

MANAGE!, SYSTEMS SOFTWARE

uDoEuVECLAONPmENT use your 7+ years ' experience in systems software

I I

development to manage a group of 6-1 0 systems pro-

grammers developing software which has aspects of firmware and the

kernel of an operating system Your background should include expertise

with 370 architecture, Assembler and success in 'managing systems software

development projects

SENIOR SYSTEMS PROGRAMMERS

MACROCODE DEVELOPMENT

uou CAN use your 3+ years' systems development experience

11

using Assembler language and VM or MVS internals

to develop Macrocode (firmware support) for our current and future processors

VALIDATION AND CERTIFICATION

uou CAN use your 3+ years' MVS and / or VM experience with

I 1

370 or 370 / XA architecture and Assembler language

to participate in the validation and certification of operating systems of

current and future processors. Hands -on experience testing in an engineering

environment highly desirable.

uou CAN enj oy th e benefit s and co mpetiti ve salary

11

you would expect from an industry leader. To apply ,

send your res ume to G. Albrigh t, Amdah l Corpo ration , Employment

Department, Dept.12- 10, P.O. Box 3470, M/ S 300, Sun nyvale, CA 94088-

3470. Princ ipal s on ly, please.

_,__ _ _ _amYOUdCANaAThl

Amdahl Corporation is proud to be an equal opportunity employer through affirmative action.

DAT AM AT IO N 0 DECL.vl BER 15, 1987 10 5

0 Datamation Databank 0

0

Professional Profile

0

0 Announcing a new placement service for data processing professionals! 0

Datamation feels an obligation to help its
readers advance their ca reers. So. Datamation has affiliated itself with Placement
0 Services. Ltd. to form the Datamation Databank . What are the advantages of this new service?

0

· Your qualifications and career goals are entered into PSL 's computer system. And the

computer never forgets. When your type of

job comes up, it remembers you 're qualified.

0 · It's absolutely free . There are no cha rges.

fees or obligations to you as a Datamation reader .
· Service is nationwide. You 'll be considered for openings across the U.S. by PSL and their affiliated offices.
· Your identity is protected. Your resume is carefully screened to be sure it will not be sent to your company or parent organ ization.
· Your background ar.d ca reer objectives will period ically be reviewed with you by a

PSL professional placement person to ensure current information.

We hope you 're happy in your current position. At the same time. chances are there

a

is an ideal job you 'd prefer if you knew about

it.

0 That's why it makes sense for you to register
with the Datamation Databank. To

do so. just mail the completed form below

(with a copy of your resume) to

Placement Services, Ltd., Inc.

0

-f

I 0 !IDENTITY

IPR ES ENT O R MOST R EC ENT EMPLOYERj 0

Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Parent Compa n y - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

. ~

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0

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r
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O !PREVIOUS POS ITION :

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JobTitle: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ __ _ _ __

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Employer: _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ From : _ _ _ To: _ _ _ City: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ State: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

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106 DATAMATION 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987

.

Quality Assurance

Software and Hardware

Unisys Corporation , a major vendor of computer mainframes and associated products, is looking for a FEW GOOD PEOPLE with SOFTWARE and HARDWAR E QUALITY ASSURANCE BACKGROU NDS and disciplines. The Pasadena Development Center is responsible for the design , development and qualification of future generation hardware and software for Unisys V series computer mainframe
systems.

·

Product Assurance Depa rtment

Proven professionals with 2 or more years ex-

perience in SOFTWARE or HARDWARE QU ALITY

ASSURANCE (or related activity) with a solid

awareness of industry accepted standards for

operating systems, compilers and communication

protocols. Participate in the evaluation and qual -

ification of hardware and software products

developed in Pasadena , including product design

,..

reviews , product assessments, design and execu tion of product acceptance tests , and statistical

analysis. Bachelor 's degree in Electrical Engineer-

ing, Computer Science, Quality Assurance or related

discipline. Unisys V series experience helpful.

We offer a positive , supportive work environment,

highly competitive compensation and an outstand-

ing comprehensive benefits package. For con-

sideration send your resume to: Unisys Corpora-

t ion , Attn: A. Tipton, Pasadena Development

>

Center, 460 Sierr a Madre Villa, Pasadena, CA

91109. An Affirmative Action Employer.

UNI·SYS

KING FAHD UNIVERSITY

OF PETROLEUM

& MINERALS

DHAHRAN-

,

SAU DI ARABIA

COLLEGE OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Information & Computer Science Department

...

Computer Engineering Department

Applications for facu lty positions are invited. A Ph.D., or an M.S. for the lecturer positions is req uired. Evidence of research accomplishment or potential is essential.

Faculty will interact with undergraduate and graduate programs, and will have free access to extensive lab, computer and library facilities.

The University offers attractive salary and benefits which are tax-free.

.·'

Send resume with supporting documents to:

KING FAHD UN IVERSITY OF PETROLEUM & MINERALS

HOUSTON OFFICE, DEPARTM ENT 605

5718 WESTHEIMER , SUITE 1550

HOUSTON, TEXAS 77057

True Vision
Generates Success.

On-li(le rransacr ion processing. Applicarions de,·elopmenr. Computing and comm unication s se n ·ices . Fidelit\· Srsrems Com pany \rnrks \\'ilh ,·ision ro pro,·ide qualir\· compurer and telephone net\\' ork sen ·ices ro Fidelitr lm·esrmenrs America 's mosr innorarire im·estmeni firm .

True ,·ision generares success . Share rhe rision ar Fidelil\·

s,·srems Com panr .

·

Technical Services

MVS/XA Systems Programmer

\X'e are see king a key person for rhe Operaring Sysrems Supporr Group in our Technical Services Deparrmenr. Responsibiliries will include support for MVS/XA and JES2 .
running in a shared multi -C PL' IBM 3090 mainframe environmenr. The successful ca ndidare will have 5 + rears '
experience mainraining MVS/XA and relared program· producrs . Strong problem determinarion skills . VSAM. ALC and configurarion management knowledge are essenrial. Familiariry wirh UCCE L Products and experience with remote data ce nter support is a plus .

Communication Services

Senior Data Communications Analyst

This is a ke y position responsible for planning, designing and implementing data communication nerwork components on a projecr basis . As a Data Cu mmunicarions Analysr , you will confer with users ro derermine requiremenrs , coordinare vendor acriviries, develop project schedules , pe rform acceptance resrs and provide technical supporr. Qualificarions :
related degree or equivalent experience, 6 years ' dara
communicarions experience and a working knowledge of TI tec hnology . SNA. SDLC. asynch and bisynch prorocols .

Senior Voice Communications Analyst

An opporrunirv exists for an individual who possesses a srrong understanding of rraffic engineering principles . The successful candidare should have experience wirh the prepararion and naluarion of RFP 's for voice telecommunicarions s1·stems . Projecr management experitnce and ACD experience preferred .

Fidelity offers excellent salaries and a comp rehensive benefi t s pack age including pe r fo rmance b o nu s, pro fi t
sh aring, t h rift savings p l an and I 00 % t uiti o n
reimburse m ent. We al so en co urage p arti ci p ati o n i n o ur generous Employee Referr al Program.

For prompt consideratio n , please se nd you r r es um e to Caroline McG r ail at Fi d eli t y Sy~ t e m s Com p any . D ept. DM 12 1S, 82 Devonshire St ree t , Mail Zone E l I B , Boston ,
MA 02109. An equal opport unit y empl oyer , M/F/H /V.

A Fidelity

Investments

Share the Vision

DATAMATIO N 0 DECEMBER 15, 1987 107

Marketplace

Advertisers' Index

....

IT'S NOT 29¢ PLUS

Circle

Page

9 ...... Adobe ................................ 14-15

26 Alcatel Business Systems ..... 50-51

Apple Computer Corp.......... 22-23

AST Research, Inc........................1

Circle

Pa ge

Oracle Corp............................... 13

15 .... Overland Data ..........................32

THIS AND THAT, IT'S

19 Attachmate Corp.......................37

AT&T 3B Computers ............ 28-29

18 .... Prime Computer, Inc. .................35

--

¢

11 .... Bull Peripherals Corp. ................21

SAS Institute, Inc.......................C2

,.

2 ...... Software Link ...........................C3 5 ...... Sorbus, Inc................................49

·

21 .... Systems Center .........................40

40 Cahners Expo Group ......... 100-l 01

24 Catalyst, A Peat Marwick

With sleeves, tabs, labels

51/4" 5'14' DS1DD Min.100

EACH

39e Min. 50 .. .. .. .

.. . 29e

Coklr 5'/4 DS/DDMin. 50 .... 49e

5V.." IBM-AT HDMin. 50 ..... 79e

Boxof 10 Min.10boxes

5V4 DSIDD ............... $4.29 Boxof 1O Min.5Boxes

Color 51/4 DSIDD

Free Plastic Case ........... $5.99

Company ..................................47 Codex Corp...............................61

..

13 Computer Associates .................25 4 ...... Tandem Computer Corp...............5

Cullinet .......................................8 20 .... TeleVideo ........................... 38-39

3112" 3'12' SSIDD
Min. 25 Sub1ect to availability . . 99e
3W DSIDD
Min. 25 Sub1ect to availability . $1.09

25 Data/Ware Development ...........48 28 .... Unisys ......................................57 Digital Equipment Corp. ....... 94-95

Data 205' 40MB Mini Cartndge

3m/DEI Compatible Min. 5 ... $15.90

600' 120MB DataCartridge

Min. 5 .

.. ........ $19.20

Immediateshipping-Guaranteed satisfaction Call for greater discounts on larger orders

33 .... VM Software, Inc......................76

Equinox Systems, Inc................. C4 22 Expoconsul International, Inc. .....41

,...

100% Lifetime Warranty

Shipping: $3.50 per min. order/$1.50 each addtl. lot MCNISA accepted
1·800·537·1600

16 .... Xerox .......................................31 r

Operator No. 39

14 .... Facit .........................................27

Dept. No.1523 P.O. Bo· 61000 San Francisco,Ca.94161

32 Harris Computer Corp................65 27 Hayes Microcomputer .......... 58-59 35 31 Hall-Mark/UDS .........................69 36 7 ...... Hewlett Packard .......................11 37

READER VOTE CONTEST WINNERS AST Research ...................... 78-79 Compaq Ct>mputer Corp. ...... 80-81 Emulex ............................... 82-83 Control Data Corp. .............. 84-85 Hewlett-Packard ................. 86-87

CIRCLE 200 ON READER CARD

As American as
39 23 30 17
Th e Consum er In fo rm at io n Ca talog is fi ll ed with ove r 200 red eral cons um er-ori ented publ ica ti o ns. Many are free and all are helprul. Ge t yo ur free copy by wri t in g-

IBM ....................................... 6-7 IBM ................................... 74-75 Information Builders, Inc............93 lnformix Software, Inc...............42 The Interface Group, Inc. ...........67 ITT/CSG .................................... 33

Recruitment Advertising

Amdahl .............. .................... 105

Computer Sciences Corp. .......... l 02

Fidelity Investments ................ 107

King Fahad University .............107

Northern Telecom ........ ............ 104

Unisys Corp............................ 107

Unisys Devon Engineering ........ 104

.. "

Con sumer Inform ation Cent er Department AP. Pueblo, Co lorado 8 1009
Us Ge n eral Serv1u:~ Atlm1111~t rat1on

10 .... McDonald Douglas/ Tymnet ........ 16 200 .. Micro Electronic Products * ....... 108 38 .... Multitech/Acer ..........................90 *Marketplace

108 DATAM ATION 0 DEC EM BER 15, 1987

.,

M aking the right connections. The decision is yours. Now that most companies have multiple levels of computing

DOS Program Compatibility... Complete Connectivity. dBASE III , WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, and

power, you need more than just a short-term answer to your net- Symphony, are among the thousands of DOS-programs that are

working demands.

LANLinkTMcompatible. The network enables security-cleared

You know what you need ... DOS program compatibility,

users to access and share everything from programs and data-

multi-tasking, expandability, file/record locking with password-

bases to high-speed laser printers and large-capacity hard disks.

protected security, remote access, and ease of use. In short, you

R-LAN;" or Remote-LA , gives you the ability to access the

need LANLinkTM... the complete networking solution.

LANLink"' system, via modem, whether you're across the street

Network Board Free .. .Network Operating System or across the country.

Complete. In 1985, LANLinkTMwas the first network to be free

A Platform for YOUR Future. The choice is clear. You

of network boards. All of the network logic was on Server and

can pay more than you want, for a stack of network boards. You

Satellite diskettes. To this day, all it takes to set up a LANLink"'

can get less than you need with a CheapLAN-that's file

network is inexpensive cable, network software, and the very

transfer software which masquerades as a network. Or, you can

same communications ports most PCs & PS/2s already have.

get LANLink"'." And install a SOLUTIO that will take you far

And now, LANLinkTMcomes with its own network operat-

into the future. Its price of $495 includes a server and a satellite

ing system ... PC-MOS/386"'." So you're no longer dependent on a

module plus the network operating system. For complete details

system designed for single users and stand-alone computers.

and the authorized dealer nearest you, call The Software Link

The First Network You Buy...The Last Network

1DDAY at the toll-free number listed below.

You'll Need. Designed to take full advantage of the newest

..-

80386 machines, LANLinkTMprovides a true multi-user system which supports the complete line of PCs, PS/2s, and PCcompatibles.

In Georgia : 404/441-2580

CA LL: 800/4 51-LIN K

International/OEM Sales: 404/263- 1006

ResellersNA Rs: 404/4 48·5465

Canada: 800/387-0453

It lets you expand as your office networking needs grow.

Each user gets multi-tasking capabilities, and you can network

different types of computers. If desired, you can have multiple

servers. And with the terminal support upgrade, you're able to

use terminals, or PCs, as satellites in multi-user "work groups'.'

LA~Lmk'." PC - ~10Sl38fi'." and R·LAN'." are trademarks of The Software Lmk . Inc PSI::!. dBASE Ill. \\'ordPerft'\'I. Lvtu!\ 1·2·3 and S> mphony are trademark!> of IB~ ! Corp. Ashton-Thte WordPerfect Corp.. :rnd Lotus Development Corp.. rt'!<peruve!}: Pncei; and tcchmc11l ~pet·ifications !lubien to chan)(e Copyrii;ht ©l!-187. All Right s Re..erved.
Circle 2 on Reader Card

Introducing Eql)inox's New Data PBXs.
More for Less.

Since 1984 our first generation Data

Less$

PBXs have provided reliable data

Reduced manufacturing costs, due

switching and connectivity solutions . to VLSI technology allowed us to

After shipping over 1000 systems

lower prices on our second genera-

we learned what was good and

tion Data PBXs. More fea-

what could

tures for less money means

be made even

maximum value for your data

better. Then

switching dollar.

we set about

designing our

More of the Same

second gener-

We kept the Equinox hall-

ation . Here's

marks of reliability, easy instal-

what we came up with :

lation , comprehensive wiring solutions and user friendly operation.

-

More Throughput
Our new Data PBXs each provide 25 Mbps throughput for 660 simultaneous full duplex connections at 19.2 kbps. With double the throughput of our first generation , and more than any other comparable Data PBX; that's enough for all the terminals, PCs, computer ports and peripherals you can throw at them .

We based our second generation on the same architec-
ture as our first generation DS-5 and DS-15 Data PBXs. They look the same, configure the same, even the names have stayed the same.

T 1 N e t war k i ng

More Connectivity
T1 links join individual Data PBXs to form large multi-node Local or Wide

So if you already own an Equinox

-.

Area Networks supporting many

Data PBX, all the

thousands of lines. You can use

features of our

twisted-pair, telco, microwave or

new generation

fiber optic links to solve virtually any

can easily be added to your network.

connectivity problem .

If you need the most advanced

Data PBX available, don't wait a

minute more.

More Network Security
Dialback Security available as an option shields your network from unauthorized access by dial-in users . This feature lets you restrict dial-up access to designated users at pre-defined locations during specified time periods.

Call 1-800-DATA-PBX In Florida: (305) 255-3500 Equinox Systems Inc. 14260 S.W. 119th Avenue Miami, FL 33186

EQUINOX

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Smart Connections For Dumb Terminals

11111111111111111111111111111IIIIIIIII 11111111111111111111111111111IIIllllII
'- .,

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