1990 16.01 1992

Vol.16 n°1 january 1991

Vol.16 n°1 january 1991

(byte_1991_01.jpg)

p.4 Contents

p.4 Contents

COVER STORY

COVER STORY

p.147 The BYTE Awards

p.147 The BYTE Awards

BYTE editors choose 67 of the most significant products from the past year.

NEWS

NEWS

p.19 MICROBYTES

p.19 MICROBYTES

AMD shows its 386 clone, and Bellcore researchers make a breakthrough in holographic memory technology.

p.44 WHAT'S NEW

p.44 WHAT'S NEW

EISA and SPARC systems, along with a trio of mouse substitutes, take the hardware spotlight. On the software side, dBASE takes to the Sun, and EZCosmos watches the stars.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

p.126 SHORT TAKES

p.126 SHORT TAKES

Turbo Pascal 6.0, Borland almost adds Windows

Volante AT1000, inexpensive high-end graphics from National Design

Toshiba T1000LE, a slimmer T1000

Word 5.5 and Word for OS/2, updated versions from Microsoft

Taste, Delta Point's composite package for the Mac

p.134 Citrix's New Multiuser OS/2

p.134 Citrix's New Multiuser OS/2

OS/2-based workgroup computing without a LAN.

REVIEWS

REVIEWS

p.168 PRODUCT FOCUS Caching Cards Speed Data Access

p.168 PRODUCT FOCUS Caching Cards Speed Data Access

The BYTE Lab evaluates eight caching controller cards that help relieve hard disk drive bottlenecks.

p.186 LAN Remote-Control Software: Better Than Being There

p.186 LAN Remote-Control Software: Better Than Being There

The BYTE Lab examines eight communications programs that let you use workstations on a LAN via remote control.

p.201 "Ultra" VGA Debuts on the MicroPaq

p.201 "Ultra" VGA Debuts on the MicroPaq

Monolithic's MicroPaq 452 Ultra uses the new Edsun chip to make VGA screens shine.

p.204 TARGA + Lowers Cost of High-End Graphics

p.204 TARGA + Lowers Cost of High-End Graphics

Truevision's new 32-bit TARGA + board makes raster graphics more affordable.

p.210 The Compaq SLT: A Laptop Fit for the Desktop

p.210 The Compaq SLT: A Laptop Fit for the Desktop

The BYTE Lab tests how well the Compaq SLT laptop performs with its new 386SX engine and other enhancements.

p.213 A Workstation in a Mac's Clothing

p.213 A Workstation in a Mac's Clothing

A/UX and the X Window System turn a Macintosh into a workstation in a near-seamless way.

p.218 User Interfaces, C++ Style

p.218 User Interfaces, C++ Style

Zinc's class library brings text and graphical interfaces to your C++ applications.

p.223 Photo-Realism for Those with Time (and RAM) to Spare

p.223 Photo-Realism for Those with Time (and RAM) to Spare

Pixar's MacRenderMan brings photorealistic rendering to the Mac.

p.227 A New Angle on OS/2 and Windows

p.227 A New Angle on OS/2 and Windows

Wide Angle makes the virtual desktop a physical reality.

p.228 Two Bumbling Detectives

p.228 Two Bumbling Detectives

Dariana Technology Group's WinSleuth and MacSleuth miss the mark.

p.230 Reviewer's Notebook

p.230 Reviewer's Notebook

New versions of Lotus Agenda and Folio Views make much-needed improvements that address user concerns.

STATE OF THE ART

STATE OF THE ART

p.236 AI: METAMORPHOSIS OR DEATH? Introduction

p.236 AI: METAMORPHOSIS OR DEATH? Introduction

p.239 AI's Identity Crisis

p.239 AI's Identity Crisis

Can AI provide the kind of intelligent systems that will make all the work, and all the introspection, worthwhile?

p.249 Overturning the Category Bucket

p.249 Overturning the Category Bucket

Categorizing knowledge is one of the primary ways that an AI system can acquire "understanding."

p.259 The Real-Time Expert

p.259 The Real-Time Expert

Expert systems designed to work in real-time environments can make complex systems easier to handle.

p.267 AI in Practice

p.267 AI in Practice

A real company's real-world use of AI techniques and methods.

p.281 Putting the Experts to Work

p.281 Putting the Experts to Work

The 1990s will see the walls between intelligent applications and conventional applications crumble.

p.289 Real Artificial Life

p.289 Real Artificial Life

Nature's skill and craftsmanship, when harnessed toward the creation of artificial life, presents a virtually unlimited reservoir of possibilities for engineering solutions.

p.300 Resource Guide: Intelligent Software

p.300 Resource Guide: Intelligent Software

A guide to expert systems and neural-network simulators.

FEATURES

FEATURES

304 Micro, Micro: Who Made the Micro? Is Gilbert Hyatt the father of the microprocessor, or just the most tenacious inventor in the U.S.?

p.315 Ethernet: Ten Years After

p.315 Ethernet: Ten Years After

Rich Seifert, one of Ethernet's designers, talks about its first 10 years.

p.323 Alternative Operating Systems, Part 6: FIexOS's Muscle

p.323 Alternative Operating Systems, Part 6: FIexOS's Muscle

Digital Research's FlexOS closes out our series.

p.329 The Object-Oriented Amiga Exec

p.329 The Object-Oriented Amiga Exec

The design of the Amiga operating-system kernel follows the rules of object-oriented programming.

p.339 Putting Waveforms to Paper

p.339 Putting Waveforms to Paper

Here's how to get data from a Mac screen into a file or printout.

HANDS ON

HANDS ON

p.347 UNDER THE HOOD Personal Supercomputing with the Intel i860

p.347 UNDER THE HOOD Personal Supercomputing with the Intel i860

Crunching numbers with the i860.

p.361 SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED Genetic Algorithms

p.361 SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED Genetic Algorithms

A novel technique crossbreeds algorithms to find the best programming solution.

DEPARTMENTS

DEPARTMENTS

p.6 Spotlight

p.6 Spotlight

Inventors and developers highlight this month's feature articles.

p.10 Editorial

p.10 Editorial

The End of Intel's Monopoly?

p.33 Letters, Ask BYTE, and Fixes

p.33 Letters, Ask BYTE, and Fixes

Some object lessons learned.

PERSPECTIVES

PERSPECTIVES

p.412 CHAOS MANOR MAIL

p.412 CHAOS MANOR MAIL

p.414 PRINT QUEUE Math Reconstructed

p.414 PRINT QUEUE Math Reconstructed

Stealing glimpses at the numbers upon which the universe is built.

p.416 STOP BIT Amateur Systems

p.416 STOP BIT Amateur Systems

Senior editor Ken Sheldon discusses the next step in AI.

READER SERVICE

READER SERVICE

p.402 Editorial Index by Company

p.402 Editorial Index by Company

p.404 Alphabetical Index to Advertisers

p.404 Alphabetical Index to Advertisers

p.406 Index to Advertisers by Product Category

p.406 Index to Advertisers by Product Category

Inquiry Reply Cards: after 408

Inquiry Reply Cards: after 408

PROGRAM LISTINGS

PROGRAM LISTINGS

From BIX: Call (800) 227-2985

From BIX: Call (800) 227-2985

From BYTEnet: Call (617) 861-9764

From BYTEnet: Call (617) 861-9764

On disk: See card after 160

On disk: See card after 160

REGIONAL SECTION

REGIONAL SECTION

begins after page 72

begins after page 72

EXPERT ADVICE

EXPERT ADVICE

p.73 COMPUTING AT CHAOS MANOR Jukebox Computing

p.73 COMPUTING AT CHAOS MANOR Jukebox Computing

Jerry looks at new CD-ROMs and a CD-ROM drive, a brick of a computer, and a new trackball.

[author : Jerry Pournelle]

p.89 DOWN TO BUSINESS The Power Man Cometh

p.89 DOWN TO BUSINESS The Power Man Cometh

The big orange power truck pulls up again, but this time Wayne's ready.

[author : Wayne Rash Jr.]

p.95 BEYOND DOS: WINDOWS AND OS/2 Embarrassment of Riches

p.95 BEYOND DOS: WINDOWS AND OS/2 Embarrassment of Riches

A report from the future: living with OS/2 2.0 and Windows 3.0.

[author : Mark J. Minasi]

p.101 THE UNIX /bin SCO Hot

p.101 THE UNIX /bin SCO Hot

A brief look at the new SCO Unix and using PCs as X terminals.

[author : David Fiedler]

p.107 (p.105) MACINATIONS The Mac and Personal Programming

p.107 (p.105) MACINATIONS The Mac and Personal Programming

Don shows how the Mac's oldest true personal programming system gets even better.

[author : Don Crabb]

p.119 NETWORKS NetWare Troubles

p.119 NETWORKS NetWare Troubles

Whom do you call when NetWare acts up? With the right tools, you can do the job yourself.

[author : Barry Nance]