1990 16.02 1992

Vol.16 n°2 february 1991

Vol.16 n°2 february 1991

(byte_1991_02.jpg)

p.4 Contents

p.4 Contents

COVER STORY

COVER STORY

p.211 The Point of the Pen

p.211 The Point of the Pen

GO's new PenPoint operating system brings handwriting recognition to the laptop.

NEWS

NEWS

p.19 MICROBYTES

p.19 MICROBYTES

The new MS-DOS 5.0 is almost ready, and fractal compression technology comes to market.

p.44 WHAT'S NEW

p.44 WHAT'S NEW

Kodak prints computer color, a look at the most miniature modem, Smalltalk does Windows, and more.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

p.127 SHORT TAKES

p.127 SHORT TAKES

Fax-O-Matic and FaxConnection, fax machines that use a laser printer for output from Tall Tree Systems and Extended Systems

Mathematica for Windows 3.0, Wolfram Research's great addition

Storyboard Live!, IBM's multimedia software

FileMaker Pro, Claris gives a face-lift ro its darabase

Stacker, Stac Electronics lets you double your hard disk space instantly

p.136 New Extras for Excel

p.136 New Extras for Excel

Microsoft's new version can do spreadsheet outlining.

p.143 OS/2 Goes on a Diet

p.143 OS/2 Goes on a Diet

OS/2 1.3 : leaner, meaner, faster.

REVIEWS

REVIEWS

p.148 PRODUCT FOCUS Perfectly Portable

p.148 PRODUCT FOCUS Perfectly Portable

These 15 notebook-size computers mix PC power with state-of-the-art portability.

p.164 Libraries with Class

p.164 Libraries with Class

A handful of C++ libraries.

p.169 The Littlest SPARC

p.169 The Littlest SPARC

Sun's Sparcstation IPC squeezes RISC power onto even the smallest desk.

p.176 PS/2 Blues Disappear with First 16.7-Million-Color MCA Adapter

p.176 PS/2 Blues Disappear with First 16.7-Million-Color MCA Adapter

RasterOps releases the first true-color, 24-bit display adapter for PS/2s.

p.178 An Artist's Old Tool Learns New Tricks

p.178 An Artist's Old Tool Learns New Tricks

Adobe's Illustrator 3.0 offers improved text handling and a new graphing capability.

p.183 Statistical Analysis for the Executive

p.183 Statistical Analysis for the Executive

KnowledgeSeeker provides an analytical statistical tool for executive decision making that nearly works like magic.

p.186 Concern for the Editing Environment

p.186 Concern for the Editing Environment

The Iliad Group's PIEdit creates an integrated development environment for cross-platform programmers.

p.190 Reviewer's Notebook

p.190 Reviewer's Notebook

Arche and Club 386s performed admirably during a six-month stint in the BYTE lab.

STATE OF THE ART

STATE OF THE ART

p.200 LAPTOP TECHNOLOGIES Introduction

p.200 LAPTOP TECHNOLOGIES Introduction

p.203 Dynabook Revisited with Alan Kay

p.203 Dynabook Revisited with Alan Kay

From Xerox PARC to Apple, Alan Kay's most enduring contribution may be a machine that has not yet been built.

p.223 Touch-and-Feel Interfaces

p.223 Touch-and-Feel Interfaces

Laptops of the near future will have to include built-in pointing devices to support GUIs.

p.229 LCDs and Beyond

p.229 LCDs and Beyond

Nick Baran reviews the state of the art of display technologies and describes some fascinating alternatives.

p.239 Destination Laptop

p.239 Destination Laptop

Squeezing the components of an AT-class machine onto a single chip will have a great impact on the portable computers of the future.

p.251 Memories in My Pocket

p.251 Memories in My Pocket

Solid-state memory cards provide the size, weight, and capacity necessary to be practical in a notebook computer.

p.260 Resource Guide: Portable Sources

p.260 Resource Guide: Portable Sources

A who's who in portable computers.

FEATURES

FEATURES

p.268 The Future of Network Operating Systems

p.268 The Future of Network Operating Systems

What lies ahead for network operating systems? Major players in the field make their prediction.

p.277 An Easier Interface

p.277 An Easier Interface

An innovative new user interface from Xerox's Palo Alto Research makes use of color and 3-D graphics.

p.285 XGA: A New Graphics Standard

p.285 XGA: A New Graphics Standard

The Extended Graphics Array offers full graphics functionality as well as bus mastering.

HANDS ON

HANDS ON

p.293 Making Windows Work

p.293 Making Windows Work

Here's help if you're experiencing pains with Windows 3.0.

p.301 UNDER THE HOOD Fax Facts

p.301 UNDER THE HOOD Fax Facts

The little-known digital secrets tucked inside every fax device.

p.309 SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED A Practical Guide to Queuing Analysis

p.309 SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED A Practical Guide to Queuing Analysis

William Stallings, an authority on data communications, presents some simple tools for analyzing many kinds of problems.

DEPARTMENTS

DEPARTMENTS

p.6 Spotlight

p.6 Spotlight

Your answers and comments help shape our test procedures.

p.10 Editorial

p.10 Editorial

Facing Hard Times?

p.33 Letters, Ask BYTE, and Fixes

p.33 Letters, Ask BYTE, and Fixes

Readers debate DTP.

PERSPECTIVES

PERSPECTIVES

p.356 CHAOS MANOR MAIL

p.356 CHAOS MANOR MAIL

p.358 PRINT QUEUE Never-Never Land

p.358 PRINT QUEUE Never-Never Land

Science and lunacy collide in a fascinating book about experiments over the edge.

p.360 STOP BIT Great Expectations

p.360 STOP BIT Great Expectations

Advice on how not to get burned the next time you buy a system for your business.

READER SERVICE

READER SERVICE

p.346 Editorial Index by Company

p.346 Editorial Index by Company

p.348 Alphabetical Index to Advertisers

p.348 Alphabetical Index to Advertisers

p.350 Index to Advertisers by Product Category

p.350 Index to Advertisers by Product Category

Inquiry Reply Cards: after 352

Inquiry Reply Cards: after 352

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 280

On disk: See card after 280

REGIONAL SECTION

REGIONAL SECTION

begins after page 72

begins after page 72

EXPERT ADVICE

EXPERT ADVICE

p.73 COMPUTING AT CHAOS MANOR A Pack of Laptops

p.73 COMPUTING AT CHAOS MANOR A Pack of Laptops

Jerry picks the ideal portable computer.

[author : Jerry Pournelle]

p.89 DOWN TO BUSINESS Corporate Style

p.89 DOWN TO BUSINESS Corporate Style

How consistent is the language of your business documents?

[author : Wayne Rash Jr.]

p.95 BEYOND DOS: WINDOWS AND OS/2 Whither Windows?

p.95 BEYOND DOS: WINDOWS AND OS/2 Whither Windows?

Putting Windows 3.0 and OS/2 2.0 on the scales.

[author : Jon Udell]

p.101 MACINATIONS Macintosh: The Next Generation

p.101 MACINATIONS Macintosh: The Next Generation

Don converses with MacFolk to determine new directions for Mac evolution.

[author : Don Crabb]

p.107 THE UNIX /bin Heed the Standards

p.107 THE UNIX /bin Heed the Standards

A look at some current standards battles and how they could affect Unix users.

[author : David Fiedler]

p.119 NETWORKS The Return of ARCnet

p.119 NETWORKS The Return of ARCnet

ARCnet Plus is a fast alternative to Ethernet and Token Ring hardware, and it's downwardcompatible with ARCnet.

[author : Brett Glass]