1997 06 canadian computer wholesaler

JUNE 3997 Vol.3 No,6

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Letters To The Editor

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SMALLOFFICE/HOMEOFFICE There'sNoPlaceLikeHome.

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E DIT O R ' S D E S K

Kudos and Criticisms Kasparov Versus

Deep Blue The chess world took something of a blow last m onth w h e n wo r l d champion Garry Kasparov was defeated in a six-game high-publicity match against IBM's pride-and-joy: D eep Blue, a RS/6000 SP-based computer system. Until now a chessGrandmaster could always hiumph over a mere computer — due to the strategic, intuitive demands of the game.

Deep Blue boasts massive programming power, capable of calculating 200 million positions per second, applied against an extensive database of chess moves and strategies.

"Man enjoys competition with his tools, and there's no more exciting tool than the computer," said Monty Newborn, a professor at McGill University, and chairman of t h e A C M C o m puter Chess Committee. In fact, Newborn said he remembers the days when people would watch races 4' between horses and cars.

And while some people were no doubt saddened when the fastest horse could no longer keep up with the newfangled automobile, it was not such a tragic event as to cause humanity to pass on thechance for faster,more meaningful travel opportunities.

Deep Blue is an example of significant research that will be applied to other calculation-intensive applications such as drug research, to allow rapid calculation of various reactionsand scenarios, before even initial drug testing begins, explained Murray Campbell, a research scientist at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center (and a University of Alberta graduate).

Innovation rushes onwards. This issue,be sure to check out some of the current technologies highlighted in Canadian Computer Wholesaler, s u ch a s "The Graphics Game — How To Play, How to Win," page 22; and our special I.ab Test report on powerful desktop replacement notebooks, starting on page 32.

Looking to the f uture, fascinating research is going on at IBM called the Human Modem, or the Personal Area Network — the PAN. At a recent demonstration, one person stepped onto a small 6

device. A second person stood on another device. They joined hands, and immediately a message flashed on the screen, as the data was carried through their bodies, by a minute electrical current (one nanoamp).

According to I B M s p okesperson David Yaun,the research may someday be adapted towards allowing a consumer to authorize a transaction by touch (assuming their credit card or device was on their body); or to transfer other pertinent information via touch. (Patient records could be immediately accessed by medical professionals, by touching that person.) Yaun also suggested that perhaps instead of complicated security systems and passes; security-conscious buildings could recognize employees and unlock the appropriate doors as they walked through the building and touched the handles.

Not All Innovative Comdex/Canada's new age restrictions can hardly be called forward-thinking, as now attendees of less than 21 years will no longer be allowed on the tradeshow floor, in the stated goal to "„,, raise the " quality o f attendees." (Please see "Comdex/Canada raises the bar," page 14.)

And this from an industry which saw Bill Gates start up t hat heavyweight Microsoft Corp. at the tender age of 19.

And with the prevalence of Web development, increasing numbers of keen young people have been playing significant technology roles for corporations.

Do you have at least one sub-21-yearold working on your premises? How do you feel about the fact that those members of your staff wouldn't be welcome on Comdex's show floor?

This is short-sighted. Many of the young people who are being snubbed and perhaps humiliated by this exclusion will in a short year or two hold responsible positions in this industry; make significant product purchases,further as-yet-unconceived technological innovations, and even book floor space at computer tradeshows.

Who will have the last laugh? IIOII Grace Casselman Editor

CA N ADIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER June 1997 cnp//vvwwccwmag.corn

Bee~ ~ C omputer

Wholesaler Publisher Douglas Alder Associate Publisbers Judy Prange Hari Singh Khalsa Editor Grace Casselman (gracec@netcom.ca) Associate Editor Jeff Evans (jeff 1 tcpon.corn) Contributing Writers Graeme Bennett Tim Bingham-Wallis Jazz Bhooi Douglas Gray Paul Lima Steve Halinda Stephen Ibaraki David Tanaka Alan Thwaits Alan Zisman

Production Staff Sherly Ho Karin Hattwig Megan Johnston

Key Account Monnger (Eeet) Tino Wong (tino La tcpon.corn) Key Account Manager (West) Jamie Leighton (jamieO tcp.ca) Account Managers Marsha Miller (marsha Qtcpon.corn) Frank Houston

(frank Otcpon.corn) Controller Christine McPhie Accounting Farida Aini Circulation Farida Aini Esther Palivoda Founders Kent Liqin Chen Li Ding

Canadian Computer Wholesaler is published 12 times a year by Canada Computer Paper Inc. Toronto Office Suite 408 - 99 Atlantic Ave. Toronto, Out. Canada M6K 3J8

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L ETT E R S T O T H E E D I T O R

E-mail in your ear It was bound to happen. In a world where you can receive your E-mail on your computer, on your fax and even read over the phone by a machine, it is now possible to receive your E-mail on your cell phone screen.

Recently, Cantel AT&T introduced its Digital Personal Communications Services or PCS. Digital PCS is simply the marriage of a cell phone and an alphanumeric pager — plus a whole lo t m o re. Th e f e ature which impressed me the most about PCS phones was the E-mail. As anyone who keeps up with these gadgets can tell you, E-mail-to-pagers isn't new technology. Real Estate professionals have already discoveredthe value of receiving timely requests while never having to touch a computer. PCS phones continue this advantage while at the same time continue to present the disadvantage of limited message space. Messages must be kept within 150 characters.That's characters not words.

This equals about two to three sentences. If the message reads, "Urgent. Call back Bill Smith 555-!234. Wants to make big purchase!," there's no problem. If the message reads, "Hi John! How are the sales calls going today? Too bad it's raining. Guess what?! You will never guess who just called the office! It was that guy who," you are left helpless as the little green screen mocks you.

To receive E-mail on a PCS phone, the sender simply sends a message to the cell Correction: In our April i ssue, CCW listed Latin America among markets served by subsidiaries of distributor Globelle. In fact, Globelle addresses that market through a partnership with NetSol International Inc.

Canadian ComputerWholesalerwelcomes your opinions on current issues in the market, plus your feedback on ourpublication.

Please write: The Editor; CanadianComputer Wholesaler 408 - 99 Atlantic Ave., Toronto, Ontario M6K 3J8 Fax: (416)588-8574 E-mail:ccwetcp.ca

We'd like to hear your feedbackandsuggestions on our Test Labsreviews section.

Contact: Steve Halinda Call: (416) 535-8404 Fax: (416) 588-8574 E-mail:steve@tcpon.corn

8

number plus the domain@pcs.cantelatt.corn, e O e for example, 6044311400@pcs.cantelatt. corn. A second method is to visit the Cantel System upgrader seeks AT&T Web site at http: //www.cantelatt.corn. software supplier The advantage to this method is that it will I have been upgrading computers for two keep the 150-character limit in check (unlike years now, and would like to add software your E-mail software). The final method, sales to my business. I am having trouble which is also new and interesting, is you can finding wholesale software suppliers. I have now send a message from the modem in your searched on the Web, but get specialized softcomputer without an Internet account. Cantel ware suppliers. I need an up-to-date variety AT&T has made software available where a like Education, 0/S, Games, etc. computer can connect locally (in major areas Can you point me in the right direction? such as Vancouver) to send the message to a Preferably (that would be) a Canadian wholePCS phone. saler software supplier from which you don' t The cost for all this new technology? have to order in bulk, as I am home-based and Less than you would think but not cheap. don't have a lot of storage space. I order as First of all, you will need to throw out that old the customer needs it. analog cell and purchase a spanking new Digital Nokia 2160 or Ericsson DH318 with Wanda Torey the larger screens.

Fax: (250) 338-7266 The real kicker is the number of messages you can receive. Only 100 E-mail, Editor's Note: You can find a number of numeric OR voice messages! Well that potential p- artners via our on line sourcing should last us about three days! Further rdrat echitotp:y//wwtw.ccwmag.

And com E-mail/messagesare charged at $.10 each. please t a n ha r esooun~ kcet ee;pas eye' ll we Forget about forwarding mailing list mesbe working ofurtther r mtp o iove t s v ailrouue sages or any other usual message. The system readersover the n m o h cso.mitng should probably be left as a "page-me" E-mail address only, Cantel AT&T is now running a TV spot promoting this service with a young guy telling people at a party he just got E-mail on his cell. He doesn't seem to care what it says, he just thinks it's cool. Well, maybe that's the i whole point here. CCW WW e welcome youi lette>s on indttsnyissues and concerns, as well as ryouco r unnte s no otn m i agaiz e . n rR n Soaezablo etn lÃeieserve tire right to editor vour n Vacouve r contribution.s for length and clarity Pito Tlewatseehe Edrior, at E t v-i maa li Internet instructor and consultant rr k ® p 8 8 (604) 0 g e nik@ tgen n e c wr i t c ao a x:6f 26 6 .

We welcomeyour ideas regarding news and feature topics for Canadian Computer Wholesaler.

Feelfree to contactthe editors directly with your suggestions Editor: GraceCasselman Call: (403) 262-7890 Fax: (403) 262-7892 E-mail:gracec@netcom.ca Associate Editor: Jeff Evans Call: (416) 535-8404 Fax: (416) 588-8574 E-mail: jeff@tcpon.corn

CA N A D IAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER June 1997 ht t p//wwwccwmag.cpm

I NDU S T R Y F L A S H

Gateway 2000 said 'no' to Compaq merger (NB) — Gateway 2000 just said no to a merger with Compaq Computer, according to a report in the May 19 issue of Time Magazine.

The issue claims the two companies almost completed a US$7 billion merger, but Gateway founder Ted Waitt pulled out of the deal as the last minute.

The Time Magazine report notes that Waitt halted the negotiations "possibly hours before it was to be announced." Quoting an unnamed source, Waitt reportedly canceled the merger because Compaq executives would be subordinate to Compaq execs after the merger.

Although rumors of the proposed merger have been circulating through the computer indusny, Compaq's chief financial officer, Earl Mason, declined comment on the merger.

Micron Electronics Inc. announced last month that it was in talks with Compaq to sell its personalcomputer business.

Neither Compaq nor Gateway 2000 were available for comment.

IBM debuts Bluebird technology (NB) — IBM Corp. gave the first press demonstration of a new technology = = = ' = code-named Bluebird, which is aimed at simplifying OS/2 management while extending the built-in Java, integrated World Wide Web browser, and Remote IPL (initial program load) technology features of OS/2 across additional environments.

John Soyring, vice-president of IBM's Personal Software Products Business, said IBM will step away from its previous approach of trying to make OS/2 "a better Windows than Windows." with Bluebird. Instead, the company will use OS/2 and Java to deliver integrated services and server-based applications to multiple client environments.

Soyring said desktop environments supported by Bluebird will include OS/2 Warp; Windows; DOS; network computers (NCs) with and without hard disk drives; and Web browsers.

IBM plans to launch the new environment in beta this summer, and that a commercial release date will be announced after IBM has started to work with customers.

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Intel debuts Pentium II (NB) — With the New York debut of Pentium H, Intel Corp. introduced a radically new microprocessor design. Priced from US$636 to almost US$2,000 each, Pentium II systems in early use will be confined to businesses and scientific uses requiring powerful computer resources.

Today, Intel announced Pentium II microprocessors running a t 2 3 3 M Hz, 266MHz and 300MHz. Listed at US$636 and US$775 per thousand, respectively, the 233MHz and 266MHz versionsare currently available. According Intel, a 3 0 0 M Hz Pentium II priced at US$1,198 will ship sometime during the third calendar quarter.

Intel has left behind the standard ceramic, square microprocessor with metal pins for insertion into a socket on a motherboard.

Pentium II is a rectangular metal and plasticencased cartridge which plugs into a socket, smaller, but similar to an expansion slot for add-on cards. Called Single Edge Contact (SEC), the new technology contributes to the speed of data processing.

Penfium II now leads Intel's family of Pentium microprocessors. For the time being, the company will continue manufacturing standard Pentiums, Pentiums with MMX technology and Pentium Pro microprocessors. Company officials, however, have said there will be no further improvements to these three microprocessors. Moving into 1998 and 1999, Intel plans to manufacture the new Pentium in record volumes as it becomes the power inside most home desktop to top business and scientific computers.

'The new design of our Pentium II means we will be able to produce these microprocessors affordably and in large volume," said Intel spokesperson Manny Vara."We are changing the way the industry looks at microprocessors.

It is no longer fair to judge a microprocessor from one company against one from another by clock speed (such as 266MHz) alone."

Vara referred to part of a Pentium II innov ation called D u a l I n d ependent B u s Architecture which incorporates Level 2 Cache into the microprocessor.

Intel's MMX technology is also built into Pentium II as a standard feature. The Pentium II processor core consists of 7.5 million nansistors and is manufactured on Intel's P6 architecture with .35 micron technology.

Intel's PentiumII

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Ju l le 1 997 CANADIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER 9

I NDU S T RY F L A S H

Digital Equipment sues Intel over Pentium technology Digital Equipment Corp. has filed a lawsuit against Intel Corp., charging "willful infringement of 10 Digital patents in making, using and selling microprocessor products, including its Pentium, Pentium Pro and Pentium II microprocessor families."

Digital is alleging patent infringement is causing "economic injury and, if not stopped, would cause irreparable harm, the company seeks both an injunction and monetary damages, including triple damages for Intel's willful violation of the patents."

"Over the years, Digital has made substantial investments in developing computing architectures and microprocessor technology," said Digital chairman Robert B. Palmer. "It is our duty to our shareholders, customers, partners and employees to protect our intellectual property rights and the benefits of our industry-leading research and development efforts."

Chuck Mulloy, spokesperson for Intel, said: "This was really a total surprise to us. We will rigorously defend ourselves but it's too early to give specifics."

The news followed on the heels of reports of a bug in the Pentium Pro and Pentium II processors involving the conversion of certain floating point numbers to integers. Intel has said it will fix this "errata" in future products, and will "work with software manufacturers as needed to integrate workarounds into their future product releases."

Cotta get Tamagotchl~ Now in Canada, Tamagotchis feature a builtin little LCD screen with a digital 'life form' cavorting, eating, sulking and going to the bathroom. These little gadgets are a new interactive electronic toy that has become a sizable craze in Japan.

A Tamagotchi has a microprocessor built in, along with a simple user interface and a 'decision tree' logic engine which allows the i„

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Borland sues Microsoft, charges unfair competition (NB) — Borland International has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft Corp. alleging unfair competition.

The lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court in Santa Clara County, charges that Microsoft is "recruiting and hiring Borland employees for the specific purpose of damaging Borland's ability to compete with Microsoft in the development tools market and to slow the company's financial turnaround."

Borland claims it is Microsoft's largest and "most acclaimed" competitor in the development tools market, and that Microsoft has hired at least 34 of Borland's top software architects, engineers, and marketing managers. Borland is asking the court for unspecified financial damages, as well as an injunction against Microsoft so it can't target Borland employees for hiring.

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CANAD A I / A T C H manager of IBM Canada's Client Systems division, 'The IntelliStation M Pro provides our customers with Intel's latest microprocessor technology in a standards-based platform while integrating advanced manageability and security features unmatched in the market today. The IntelliStation M Pro complements the recently announced IntelliStation Z Pro, which featuresPentium Pro processors providing maximum scalability and support for applications that require a second processor or m aximum memory u sage." T h e n e w IntelliStation M Pro systems utilize either 266MHz or 300MHz Pentium II CPUs, and Canadian vendors quick estimated retail pricing varies from $5,950 to with Pentium II products $10,900, depending on configuration. The sysSimultaneously with the official launch of the tems come with a three-year parts-and-labor new Intel Pentium II processor, many of warranty and one-year on-site limited warranCanada's largest PC makers announced new ty. IBM also announced a PC 300XL series of models of desktop and server computers Pentium II based high-end commercial deskbased on the new chip. top PCs, ranging in price from $3,900 to IBM Canada Ltd. announced the latest in $4,750, depending on configuration. the IBM PC Co.'s line of professional workAdobe Systems announced that some of stations â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the IntelliStation M Pro, targeted its key applications will be optimized for the at high-end professional applications such as Pentium II processor, including Adobe Photodigital media content creation, software shop, Adobe After Effects, Adobe PhotoDeluxe.

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Wang Canada has joined Computers for Schools W ang CanadaLtd.of Scarborough, Ont.,has joined Industry Canada's Computers For Schools program. Participating corporations sponsorincreased access to information tech nology by directing surplus computers and software to elementary and secondary schools across Canada. "Our agreement is unique

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The Eurocom 6200 was the first notebook to support the Intel Pentium MMX technology, and the first notebook to ship with a 200MHz MMX processor. The recently announced Eurocom 7200's feature list includes a 14.1-inch XGA active matrix screen (with a view able area equivalent to a 15-inch desktop monitor), up to 4MB of Video RAM, and up to 256MB of RAM, 512Kbps of cache, 6GB of hard drive capacity, a 200MHz MMX Pentium, two Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports, a DVD-ROM drive, 3D Audio, a MO drive, and four PC Card slots. This configuration would constitute a real dream machine as a desktop system: the fact that Eurocom can suggest packing this much capability into a mobile PC has attracted a good deal of attennon A great many computer users, of course, don't need anywhere near this sort of power to write letters or catalog recipes, but Eurocom rep resentative Steve Robbins claims that Eurocom has become the only Canadian notebook maker in the top 10 notebook suppliers in Canada on the basis of its high-end features. "The outstanding feature set has definitely attracted attention, and has resulted in strong sales of the Eurocom 6200," Robbins stated. "We expect a similarly positive response to the Eurocom 7200." Eurocom is actively seeking qualified new resellers. Call: (613) 224-6122. LCC W

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by Alan Thwaits

Novell Canada Ltd.recently announced 16-year-old Cory Janssen has become Canada's youngest Novell Certified Internet Professional.

He is an honours student at Harry Ainlay Composite High School in Edmonton, and is also employed as Webmaster at ExcelNet Computers Limited in Edmonton. By all accounts, Janssen is typical of a growing cadre ofyoung, bright, and capable people who may drive the computer industry of the future.

But Janssen, and others like him, will be barred from attending the Comdex/Canada '97 show, scheduled to take place in Toronto, from July 9 to 11.

That's because SoftBank Comdex, the organizationthat produces Comdex/Canada, has chosen to exclude them. In material sent to show potential exhibitors, SoftBank Comdex announced that "no one under the age of 21 will be permitted on the show floor or in the conference." The previous age limit for both show and conference was 16.

(For the Comdex Canada '97 show, the admissionfee has also been raised — from $50 to $75. This, as SoftBank Comdex tells potential exhibitors, "means raising the quality of attendees you will see on the show floor. *')

What's up at Comdex?

Bob Berkovitz, spokesperson for SoftBank Comdex, says: 'The reason that the age limit was increased to 21 is that our exhibitors over the past few years have wanted to see a more qualified attendee. They feel anyone over the age of 21 is better qualified to make a buying decision than those who are younger."

Cory Janssenmight not agree.Nor does Jonathan Strauss, who's the show director of the Winnipeg Computer Expo. He's also 17 years old. Strauss says, "I' ve been attending Comdex and many other industry trade shows

With this new ruling, I feel I'm being shut out by Comdex,and notgiven the same opportu nity as someone just a few years older.

— Omar Asfour

usiness community."

Strauss says that, at previous Comdex hows, "I' ve seen professional and mature eenagers carded at the door. Individuals who ave fallen under this age (16) have been orced to leave — usually taking their entire party of 'qualified' Comdex goers with them.

I think that leaves a bad taste in everyone' s foryears,and I've neverwitnessed any issues mouth — and it certainly doesn't help out the or difficulties with y o unger attendees. exhibitors. This will become even more eviComdex isn't a consumer show, so the only dent now that the age of admission has been young people who a ttend are usually raised by five years." involved in the industry already, and thereAlso looking to the future is Jared fore an excellent target for exhibitors. I think Simon. He's 15 years old, and in Grade 9 at Comdex is doing a disservice to its exhibitors Westmount Co l l e giate Ins t i tut e i n by eliminating this audience segment from Mississauga, Ont., where he takes a solid set of computer subjects. He's one of many teens the show floor."

People like Omar Asfour attend Comdex who has designed his own Web site, and plans — and other computer shows — because to continue his studies of HTML programthey' re looking to the future. Asfour, 17 years ming and Internet applications, with a view to eventual employment in the computer indusold, and Webmaster at ip Systems Inc., an Internet services provider based in Brampton, try. "I think this a very poor move on Ont., says: "Being employed in the Internet Comdex's behalf. We' re the next generation industry, I feel it's very important that I keep to go into the workplace and use computers. up to speed with what's new and happening The rule's pathetic. I really don't believe you can judge someone's expertise in any field by in the world of computers. With this new ruling, I feel I'm being shut out by Comdex, and their age or wallet size." not given the same opportunity as someone Jonathan Strauss,Omar Asfour, and just a few years older. Why should we be J ared Simon will no t b e g oing t o t h e Comdex/Canada '97 show, simply because denied the chance to learn?"

Philosophical issues aside, Comdex they were born too late. faces some pracfi cal consequences of its Strauss says: "The under-21 'industry "over 21" ruling — will potential attendees insiders' of today will be tomorrow's industry be checked at the door to see if they measure leaders — they should be a key target group up on the age front? for any technology company." Itttgl SoftBank Comdex's Berkovitz says: 'There won't be any age police at the event.

Alan Thwaits is a freelance journalist who However, we will make sure that those indispecializes in on-line and mobile computing viduals who do attend or exhibit at this event technologies. He can be reached at keep the look-and-feel of the event for the praxcomm@idirect.corn.

14 C A NADIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER June 1997

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preae¹nl Notes To The Converted For several years, I' ve admired Lotus Notes from afar.

Isay from afar,because while I've never worked in an organization that actually used Notes, I' ve been intrigued by its mission in life. Before the Internet and intranets picked up terms like collaborative computing, there was Notes, the seminal groupware product.

But I'm also puzzled that Notes isn't even more popular or widely used than it is.

That's not to say the product hasn't seen success. Notes installations in some corporations measure in the multiple thousands of seats.

For example, one ofthe more impressive cases of a Notes implementation is Industry Canada's Strategis Web site, which was launched in March 1996. With 28GB of data on-line, it claims to be Canada's largest Web site.

Industry Canada's business is to create and distribute reports on international trade, which business can then use to identify new markets, and gather other global trade intelligence. Industry Canada worked with a Lotus business partner to implement a Notes-based electronic publishing system. Using the publishing system, various Industry Canada workers spread across the country can create, approve and publish the reports. The final reportsare formatted in HTML, so they are then accessible through a standard Web browser. I' ve read that Industry Canada could be working on as many as 350,000 documents at any given time. The site itself has more than 750,000 pages of information.

During the Lotus Symposium 97, held in Vancouverin May, a few other case studies were presented. These included presentations by representatives from the Loewen Group (funeral homes), North Shore Credit Union (finance) and the City of Port Moody (municipal government).

And, sharing the keynote stage with Lotus DevelopmentCanada general manager, Lorna Rosenstein, speaker Gordon Buttolph of Weldwood of Canada described how Weldwood andits U.S.-based parent company deployedNotes across severallocations spanning the globe. But beyond the testimonial, Buttolph also revealed one of the keys to a successful Notes implementation. He said 18

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= desktop, above all ,Notes requires a change in cor.@ ',,~~ ', ' ,i , users would have porate culture. Unless there's a will within ~~ an organization to adopt a new way of doing a stream oftheir corporation's news and information. things, Notes won't happen.

Neat product, but the unwashed That is certainly one barrier, but I think anotherproblemisalongstandingconfusion w i l l r emain clued out, because Lotus is about what Notes is or does, exactly. Word p r eaching primarily to the converted. In one processors and spreadsheets are easy for of t h e L otusSymposiumsessions,thepresenpeople to grasp because they know about t e r asked the Notes users in the audience to typewriters and columnar pads. But what's s h o w their hands. Most members of the audithe real-worldreferent for Notes — a corn- ence raised theirhands. mittee meeting? Group problem solving?

During her keynote address, Lorna E-mail? The routing slip? Each of these R o senstein underscored the growing imporhints at what Notes is about, but an analogy t a nce of the Internet and intranets to business, that snaps the essence of Notes into sharp a n d the role Notes could have in the new focusremains elusive. landscape. She said the communications '

,

"But what's the real-world referent for Notes — a committee meeting? Group problem solving? E-mail? The routing slip?

Each of these hints at what Notes is about, but an analogy that snaps the essence of Notes into sharp focus remains elusive."

And Lotus isn't helping to sharpen the conception of Notes with its current naming convention. What exactly is Domino? Is it a new name forNotes 4.5? Or perhaps it's a superset of Notes. Officially, it's called "Lotus Domino 4.5, Powered by Notes," and I think it is Notes Server that's been Internet-enabled.

Then there's the Domino-dot-whatever line of products. We have Domino.Applicanons (and within that a set of modules called D o m ino. Action), D o m ino.Doc, Domino. Merchant and Domino. Broadcast.

This naming silliness is more an indictment of groupthink than a testimonial to groupware.

And that's a pity, because there are some interesting and potentially useful products here. For example, Domino.

Broadcast for PointCast looks like a cool way for a human resources department to distribute internal news. Essentially, the product integrates a Domino server and a Pointcast I-server so that the corporation can add a custom channel to the PointCast window. Then, along with the Weather Network, the Globe and Mail and other feeds that PointCast pushes to the

CA NADIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER June 1997 http/twwwccwmag.corn

infrastructure of the corporation was being transformed from a staff-facing to a marketfacing system, and responding to this new public requires a new set of rules.

In a market facing system "surfing through" isn't good enough, she said. "Business doesn't say 'I want to build a Web site.' They say 'I want to get closer to the customer or I want to stay ahead of the competition.'

Given the upstart groupware startups aggressively pursuing Lotus's flank, propelled by the explosion of interest in all things 'Net-related, that last statement rings especially true for Lotus itself. L'M

Industry Canada Strategis: http: //strategis.ic.gc.ca Notes: http://net.lotus.corn Lotus Development Canada: www.lotus.corn/canada David Tanakaisa Vancouver-basedjournalist specializing in high technology, andis News Editor of The Computer Paper. He can be reached at david® tcp.ca.

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by Leslie Arrand and Margery Leach The Canadian systems integration (Sl) industry has enjoyed consistent, steady and strong growth over the past few years, despite shakeupsthatsaw some ofCanada's top playerstaken over by multinationals. These conclusions are based on a recent Branham Group Inc. study of trends in the Canadian SI industry. Employing theBranham500 database ofCanadian independent software and services companies, Branham analysedthe revenue growth of the top 50 SI firms from fiscal year 1993-94 to 1995-96. The study showed average growth overthe previous year forthe top 50 companies hoveringaround the 30 percentm ark each year.

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Branham also found that, despite their lower overall revenue figures, the smaller companies have traditionally experienced slightly stronger growth than the top revenue generators. This was particularly notable in

1994-95, where the smaller companies enjoyed more than double the growth of the top 10 revenue generators. This finding may have resulted in part from the fact that some of the country's most profitable SI firms, such as SHL Systemhouse and DMR Group were swallowed into major multinationals.

Branham has observed that, until recently, the larger companies have tended to operate within established markets, and were not always as quick to respond to changes in the technology and business environment. These external factors can often be translated into growth niches for fast-acting system integrators. The larger systems integration companies seem to now be looking at ways to become more responsive to a changing marketplace, by developing more competitive rate structures, and assisting clients to implement systems that proactively take advantage of trends.

Despite, or perhaps because of technological advancements, customers are finding it more and more difficult to maximize the benefits of their information systems without external assistance. Some of the trends which are driving customer demand for SI services include the speed of technology change; the related difficulty associated with maintaining up-to-date technology skills in-house; the

increasing importance of the Internet; the need to implement new networking technologies; and increasing competition.

Key growth areas in 1997 are expected to include network and facilines management; network implementation, with special focus on t he PC ; e d ucation an d t r a ining; t h e Internet/Intranet; and support to mobile users.

A s well, demand forYear2000 conversion support will continue strong for the next few years.

LeslieArrand and Margery Leach are consultants at The Branham Group Inc., in Ottawaan international marketing and management consulting firm with a stated commitment to: "Delivering Competitive Advantage to the IT Industry. " Phone: (613) 720-2955, ext. 215; or

fax: 613-720-0318.

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vide graphics cards to Wintel and Apple Mac owners. End-users show no signs of slowing down in their rising expectanons for personal computer graphics, the flood of multimedia software continues to whet users' appetites and the technology to meet those demands is developing rapidly, so new opportunities for resellers, despite fierce competition and slim margins, are constantly emerging

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When IBM originally conceived the PC back in the late 1970s, it had very modest visions of what kind of graphics would be needed to perform businessdata processing Most computer terminals hooked up to mainframes had monochrome displays, so, it was reasoned, most PCs wouldn't need graphics capability much more ambitious than that A rudimentary four-color palette was offered in some early PCs, and a lavish 16-color palette was actually offered on the PC Jr. to entice the home computing crowd The original Mac, perhaps paraphrasing Henry Ford's attitude towards color, allowed usersany color of graphics display they wanted, 'as long as it is black, and white.' However, computer users mostly see the world in color, and they have consistently demanded, and to some extent been ready to pay for, better graphics technology for their PCs over the last 20 years. The result of this natural human desire for computer displays to more accurately simulate the real world (or, at least, the TV version of it) has spawned an industry that has made billions of dollars for resellers who pro

Historically, there has been a pyramidal shape to the PC graphics hardware market. At the bottom are the graphics chipsets included on PC moth er boards,and 'commodity' graphics cards whatever is the cheapest (and lowest performing) graphics hardware currently available, for the undemanding or budget-conscious user.

In the early days of the PC, this meant graphicscards thatcreated monochrome dis plays, or displays with a handful of colors (four or 16 colors at a time, with a total palette of up to afew hundred orafew thousand colorchoices), atCGA (320 by 200 pixels) resolution In today's version of the graphic card food chain, even a 'commodity' graphics card sell ing for under $200 has a formidable feature set at least 2MB of video RAM, and the ability to display accelerated two-dimensional graphics with 'true color' (16.7 million color palette) display at 600 by 800 pixels, and 256 color display at 1024 by 768 resolution or higher. A higher-end mainstream graphics card, in order to justify a price of $250 to $600 dollars, has to offer something special — typically, extra video RAM (4MB, 6MB or even 8MB), and hardwaresupportform ore exoti c graphicsformats such as 3D rendering or digital video playback or video capture. At the highest end of the graphicsfood chain are the professional level video and 3D cards, which typically for a few thousand dollars offer commercial produc tion capabilities toCAD engineers, 3D animators, and video or multimedia producers

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PCI Triumphant?

When the PC in dustry adopted the PCI (peripheral component interconnect) high speed bus standard, the stage was setforan all out assault by the PC against the Mac's former

G RA P H I C S C A R D S stronghold, the graphics market. Even considering the deficiencies of the Windows operating system and the messy state of the PC hardware plat form, which combined to offerma ny more compatibility problems and unintuitive hassles to users than the more elegant Mac, PCI graphics cards offered huge graphicsbang for the buck. When Apple finally, a couple of years late, got around to incorporating the PCI bus intoits Macs, PC graphics card makers such as ATI and Number Nine were quick to offer Mac versions of their graphics cards which blew away the plodding Mac graphics card developers such as Radius.

As Apple belatedly began to allow other manufacturers to build Mac compatibles under license, the Mac cloners opted for the PCI bus and PC graphics cards without a second thought.

Digital Video For The Masses: TV On Your PC Desktop In many ways, the battle for cheap, excellent quality graphics has been won in the retail computer market. Resellers can supply end-users with graphics cards that will output high-resolution two-dimensional displays to any current monitor, for a relatively trivial price. However, end-users now demand that the PC's graphics look more and more like the imagery from a TV.

This requires the capability to display fullscreen (at least 640 by 480 resolution), fullspeed (30 frames per second), animation or liveacfion video. This is a tough task for the typical PC. If the video is playing off a hard drive or a CD-ROM, it typically involves huge file sizes and data streams of more than 1MB/sec., plus high-speed video data decompression. In the last few years, graphicscardswith hardware support for MPEG 1 videoplayback have entered the market, but the inherently low quality of the MPEG I video format has limited their appeaL As well, companies such as Canada's ATI and Matrox have added products that allow PC users to capture, view and manipulate TV-frequency video, for a low extra cost. In early 1997, Creative Labs introduced a DVD (Digital Video Disk) upgrade kit that included an MPEG II

decoder board as well as a 4.5GB DVD-ROM drive. The MPEG II digital video format is capable of very high- quality video imagery — much higherthan MPEG I, regularbroadcastor cable TV signals, or even laserdisk video.

3D display at fairly high frame rates. The precision, however, is far too low to be suitable for computer-aided design or commercial 3D animation.

That, however, may change. There are continuingrumors that high-end 3D card technology may filter down to the consumer level in 1997/1998. This would mean a 'onecard-fits-all' scenario, with moderately priced cardsthat can offer a w ide range of functions for business software users, garners, multimedia CD-ROM users, Web surfers, and graphics,CAD and software professionals.

Lowest Common Denominator

The 3D Maze One of the hottest, but most confusing, areas of thegraphics card market isin 3D playback hardware.Video games consoles such as the Nintendo 64 offer amazing real-time 3D rendering for a very low price, creating a pressure on the PC to somehow offer similar performance. Thenew generation of video games consolesare based on custom graphics chips, but as discussed, it's difficult for retail PC vendors to get customers interested in motherboard-based, non-upgradeable graphics. As well, there is not a real, single standard for 3D hardware or software on the PC. So, in responseto a perceived demand, a wave of proprietary 3D cards appeared on the market, from vendors such as ATI and Diamond multimedia. The proprietary 3D cards are a kludgey response to the video games console challenge, since they present all kinds of incompatibility issues that will probably never actually be solved until obsolescence makes them irrelevant. In the meantime, though, the substantial number of hardcore garners in the PC market presents resellers with a considerable opportunity to sell 3D acceleration cards.

Justbe warned — they may have a shortshelf life, so you may not want to invest in large inventories of these products. As with so many other areas in the PC industry, order may end up being imposed on the chaotic proprietary 3D world by Microsoft, whose Direct 3D API is being touted as the solution that hardwareand software developers may end up being forced to live with, whatever its technical merits or deficiencies.

It's also worth noting that there has historically been a big gap, technically and in terms ofprices and margins, between consumer-level3D playback cards and precision professional level 3D animation and CAD cards.The consumer cards slop textures onto polygonal shapes to provide a 'quick and dirty' http//wwwccwmag.corn

One factor to keep in mind is that in a PC market-place where many consumers are not overly knowledgeable about what's inside the PC box they are buying, there will always be a large m arketshare for 'no-name' graphic cards that are 'good enough' — cheap and not offensively bad. This means that for every sale where a leading-edge, brand-name graphics cards is a sales feature, there will be at least one other sale where it's irrelevant to the customer. As always, resellers must qualify each customer' s needs, and offer what matches the customer' s budget and intended applications.

The Contenders A wide array of graphics hardware suppliers are competing for the different sectors of the PC graphics market. Some of the more significant or more interesting include: ATI: One of the leading makers of graphics cards worldwide, ATI Technologies Inc. is based north of Toronto, and like Matrox, the other major Canadian graphics card maker, has benefited from a history ofaggressive research and development resulting in a proprietary family of high-powered custom graphics chips that give it a competitive edge over the competition. ATI stumbled slightly a few years ago, when a perhaps premature and overly ambitious attempt to create digital video products failed, and a number of products were delayed. Also, ATI's modem line languished under the fierce competition of the marketplace, and was discontinued. However, a refocusing on thecompany's core business of affordable,high-powered graphics cards has been hugelysuccessful,both in terms ofproduct quality and sales.

ATI's recent offerings include the 3D Xpression and PC2TV board, a general purpose 3D and 2D accelerator, the 3D Proturbo PC2TV, a professional 3D and CAD accelerator, and the Xclaim line of PCI cards for computers running the Apple Mac 0/S. ATI has even returned to the digital video market that it had so much trouble in several years ago, with the All-In-Wonder card, a

seven-in-one graphics and multimedia upgrade

June 1997 CANADIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER 23

G RA P H I C S C A R D S card which incorporates a 'smart' TV Tuner, leader in digind video cards for the PC for several years. It first caught attention in one of 2D Graphics Acceleration, fast MPEG-1 playback, Video Capture, Video Output and The Computer Paper's Test Lab surveys of Display, 3D Graphics Acceleration, and a bun- graphics cards with its DC10, a combination dle of software optimized for use with the graphics card and digital video kit, which card. The All-In-Wonder is aimed at the gamer, offeredimpressive price and performance for hobbyist and videophile market, and repre- its time (1994). The current state-of-the-art sents a good entry-level solution for those Miro DC30 system is available for both Mac wanting to merge computer and television and Windows, and offers excellent quality Motion-JPEG video capture, editing and outgraphics at a low price.

Matrox: Montreal-based Matrox is one of the put. At a Canadian retail price of over $1,000, most innovative graphics card developers in the DC30 is probably above most consumer the world, and gains much of its market advan- PC users' budget, but according to Toronto's tage from designing its own powerful custom Forefront Graphics, a specialist graphics and chips. Originally a premium, high-priced ven- video VAR, it has been exceedingly popular dor of specialist cards for the professional with PC users who need midrange digital graphics market, Matrox deliberately re-engi- video capability on a moderate budget. It will neered its product line in the early 1990s to be interesting to see how Miro fares against offer affordable high performance products to competitionfrom mainstream graphics card the mainstream PC market, with a very high makers such as ATI and Matrox, who are offerdegree of success. The company's current hit ing somewhat lower quality, but far lowerproducts include the Matrox Mystique, billed priced, digital video options to their products. as "The Complete 3D Entertainment and Number Nine:This company is another 'oldMultimedia Accelerator" â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an inexpensive timer' in the graphics card industry, dating aback 64-bit PCI graphics card with hardware sup- over a decade, from its beginnings as a relativeport for 3D texture mapping, and either 2MB ly high end 2D graphics card maker. The comor 4MB of video memory. The Mystique, as is pany has weathered the storm of low-priced common with many proprietary 3D cards, competition well, and is regularly a contender comes bundled with an assortment of compat- for awardsin computer industry product surible 3D games to give an appealing 'out-ofveys. At various times, its 128-bit graphics cards box' experience to games enthusiasts. For have beenranked the fastest in the indusny. example, the Mystique featured a bundled ver- Number Nine has flourished in the Mac PCI sion of the Destruction Derby 2 in time for the market, regularly 'blowing away' long-time Christmas 1996 sales season.

Mac graphics leader Radius in terms of A largepartof a 3D card's success relies price/performance, according to company repreon the manufacturer successfully politicking in sentatives. Radius is a progressive company the software developer community to bring from an R&D perspecflve. It's rumored to be games developers on-side with versions of bringing professional CAD and 3D animation popular titles that support the graphics card precision to an upcoming generation of modermaker's proprietary hardware. Matrox has been ately priced graphics cards. If the actual products quite effective in this effort, enlisting major liveup to the advancebuzz,Number Nine could software developers such as Mindscape, put some severe pressure on high-end CAD and Activision, Psygnosis and Virgin/Criterion.

3D graphicscard manufacturers. On the other Matrox's other hit over the last 18 months has hand, it could at the same time greatly expand been the Matrox Millennium card, billed as a the market for professional level graphics cards. "high-perforinance professional graphics Targa: Once a subsidiary of AT&T, Targa was accelerator," optimized for Windows accelera- dominant in the PC-based video and animation tion, and upgradeable with a full range of video market in the mid- to late-1980s. The company add-ons. The new Rainbow Runner product went through some hard umes after being spun line consists of video upgrade modules for the off Rom AT&T, but is still a player in certain Matrox Mystique. The Rainbow Runner Video parts of the graphics card market, with its Targa moduleallows a high degreeof 'convergence' 1000 Pro/Diaquest 3D/AV Digital Video Suite between PC graphics and television, with PC- (a bundle of hardware and software that proto-TV output, hardware MPEG 1 playback, vides a complete 3D graphics and video editing video input from external video sources such as solutions), and the Bravado 1000, a somewhat camcorders, and bundled video editing softsimpler, less pricey desktop video solution. ware. The Rainbow Runner TV module is an Unlike Matrox and Number Nine, which reISA TV tuner upgrade board for the Matrox engineered themselves to compete in the mainMystique and Rainbow Runner Video module, stream PC graphicsmarket,Targa has decided enabling high quality TV viewing on thePC. to bet on the digital video niche.

MIRO: A German company, Miro has been a Tekram: This company, more widely known in 24

CA N A DIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER June 1997 ht tp/twwwccwmag.corn

Canada for its PC motherboard products, also produces a bundled kit which includes either a model C-210 video capture card or a VC264VT2 combo capture and graphics card as partofa video conferencing system.

The package is named the How-R-U kit, and includes a digital camera and microphone, web browser and VDOPhone software, all as part of a complete Internet videophone solution.

The Future The combination of a pparently endless increases in product performance, affordability, and end-user demand offers resellers a constant stream of business, but at the same time suggests some risks that should be avoided.

The graphics card market is so sensitive to competitive changes in price and performance that once dominant players can find their products outpaced by the competition almost overnight.

Unless resellers are offered progressive price protection by manufacturers, they should be very wary about carrying much inventory of graphics cards. Because a substantial part of the computer-buying public doesn't 'need' leading-edge graphics, there is also an opportunity for resellers to offer attractive PC system prices by relying on 'last year' s model,' or commodity graphics cards where those will meet budget minded users' needs.

Above all, be prepared to see PC graphics technology makesudden advances in unexpected directions. Real 3D, a L o ckheedMartin Aircraft subsidiary, is an example of a chipmaker that is aiming to provide highspeed graphic engines at a low cost to bring real-time, precision 3D rendering to the desktop. Other companies, including Silicon Graphics and Hitachi, have 3D and video chip technology that may make its way from the workstation or the video games market over to the PC graphics field with considerable effect.

And, waiting in the wings, as ever, are Microsoft and Intel, with their own dreams of dominating the market by setting technology standardsfor the convergence of computer graphics, video, and telecommunications. 1'N For more information, contact: ATI: http: //www.atitech.ca, (905) 882-2600 Matrox: http: //www.matrox.corn (514) 969-6300 Real 3D: http: //www.rea13d.corn 1-800-393-7730 or (407) 306-7302 Targa: http: //www.truevision.corn 1-800-522-8783 Tekram: http: //www.tekram.corn JeJ)"Evans is Associate Editor of Canadian Computer Wholesaler. He can be reached at j egÂŽrcpon.corn.

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S MAL L O F F I C E / H O M E O F F I C E

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People who run small businesses

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are their own marketing, accounting, purchasing, manufacturing, quality control, distribution, human resources, While Canada's overall job creation record has been dismal the last few years, there is a silver lining in the dark unemployment figures Statistics Canada rains down on a regular basis. Since July, selfemployment figures have surged by 11 per cent. That represents an increase of 250,000 jobs, according to StatsCan. Often working from home or small offices, over two million Canadians are now self-employed.

Downsized — laid off by companies seeking to maximize profits by doing morewith fewer human resources, or cut by government agencies that have had budgets slashed — many of the new businesspersons consider themselves "reluctant entrepreneurs." Instead of mastering businesses designed for growth and expansion, businesses that create jobs for others — small office, home office (SOHO) entrepreneursconduct business to earn what federal government's SelfEmployment Assistance (SEA) program describes as "replacement income."

This new business niche has implications for computer resellers.

The implications are two-fold: one, a number of resellers are now workingfrom home-based offices; two, resellers are discovering the SOHO market.

Derek Keoughan isan authorized Hewlett-Packard dealer and a computer value-added reseller who is targeting the SOHO market. And he's busy. The owner of Scarborough, Ont.-based Finnegan Software Inc., a two-year old home-based business, has hired two employees and business is booming. Even so, the 28-year-old entrepreneur has taken a contract with IBM where he works on contract as a network engineer.

"All I earn gets pumped back into the business," says Keoughan who hopes to get the business out of the house and into an office within six months. It seems an achievable goal considering the business grossed $82,000 in its first year and almost $200,000 last year.

"I guess I'm doing okay," says Keoughan who focuses on computer and networking sales, service and support for small businesses.

"The company pays its bills and allows me to pay my debts," accumulated after he was laid off from his job as information technology manager at a now-bankrupt construction company.

People who run small businesses are their own marketing, 26

and IT departments.

This can be overwhelming for a person runninga new business who may lack advanced computer skills. accounting, purchasing, manufacturing, quality control, distribution, human resources, and IT departments. This can be overwhelming for a person running a new business who may lack advanced computer skills.

Instead of shopping at a Computer City or Future Shop, a SOHO entrepreneur is likely to rely on a company like Finnegan Software for a variety of value-added computer services — including building a computer system, installing software, getting the company on-line, and troubleshooting hardware and software technical problems.

"You can't always afford the time it takes to run back to a shop with your computer if something goes wrong," says Marsha Mandel who runs a Toronto-based desktop publishing company. "I'd rather have help come to my office, even if I have to pay a premium. It' s worth it because I get the problem solved here and don't have to leave my office so I can still service my clients."

All the major computer players acknowledge the existence of the home and small business market and are producing software and/or hardware aimed at this market. Apple Computer Inc. recently unveiled a small business Macintosh to complement its Power Macintosh series. In conjunction with the Power Macintosh 6500 and 4400 systems announced in early April, Apple Canada Inc. unveiled the Apple Small Business Macintosh Series of computers.

"This configuration of the new 6500 and 4400 systems provides users with a comprehensive small business solution right out of the box," said an Apple spokesperson. The systems are bundled with industry-standard software, and feature a built-in fax modem,

C A N ADIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER June 1997 ht tpttwwwccwmag.corn

S MA L L O F F I C E/ H O M E O F F I C E 12X-speed CD-ROM drive, digital answering system, and speakerphone.

'The Small Business Macintosh Series focuses on the needs of the small business market-place and provides tailored solutions for this market," said Donna Church, product manager, Apple Canada Inc. Apple worked with groups such as the Apple Business Consortium to take the guesswork out of selecting what's necessary to run a start-up business.

Philips Electronics Ltd. claims its new Brilliance 105 high-performance monitor places SOHOs in the spotlight. The 15-inch model, with its compact design, is ideal for general use as well as graphic and multimedia applications for the small and home office, says lain Burns, vice-president and general manager, Philips' professional products and systems division. He describes the Brilliance 105 as "Philips' Value Monitor" and says its "competitive price-performance ratio will completely satisfy even the most cost-conscious consumer."

But what makes it ideal for the SOHO market? Standard 14-inch monitors have a round cathode ray tube (CRT) which makes their screens appear rounded, and creates distorted images. The Philips 15-inch monitor has a flat square screen, offering users a larger viewing area, sharper images, and a "what-you-see-is-what-you-get" quality with little distortion. It's also flicker-free which will ease the eyes of any SOHOer who spends hours and hours in front of his or her computer.

Many computer companies are forging partnerships or altering channel plans to find ways reach the small business market.

"Our business partners will be our primary way to deliver solutions to medium and small enterprises,*' said Richard Thoman, IBM Corp.'s chief financial officer. "We' re putting this into place worldwide. You' re going to see our spending in channels and promotions increase."

While IBM has used soft dollars to gain share in large commercial accounts, resellers say a similar initiative in small business is needed to jumpstart that market. "IBM is saying here's money to help you make it happen and to motivate you to make it happen. But I think everybody is in that boat. That's how you reach that market-place," said one analyst.

Ross admits the company is looking at soft dollars to support marketing, education and sales, however, the emphasis will be on generating leads for dealers and providing them with greatly increased support. To demonstrate IBM's reseller commitment, she cites the company's Business Partner Charter that provides IBM's salesforce with higher commissions for closing deals with resellers rather than end-users, and emphasizes dealer lead generation. IBM has also said it will take hardware and software products, including PCs and midrange systems, to create special bundles targeted for small and medium enterprises.

So where does all this leave today's reseller? It leaves those like Derek Keoughan working from home and selling to the home-based business market.

And loving it. IttWI Paul Lima (tiko@idirect.corn) is a freelance writer specializing in high-tech and communication issues.

Novell, IBM Do Small Business Application software partners are lining up behind IntranetWare For Small Business from Novell which has received support from leading independent software vendors (ISVs), allowing small business customers to obtain affordable applications and tools for running networked businesses more efficiently.

IntranetWare for Small Business offers businesses with fewer than 25 networked users a networking solution that is easy to install, manage and maintain, according to Novell. It offers user-based pricing so customerscan cost-effectively add more network users as their businesses expand.

"Small businesses want complete solutions that work," said Jeff Vogan, product manager for Novell Canada. "We are seeing strong commitment for IntranetWare For Small Business, not only from hardware partners but from application solution providers as well."

3Com, Cheyenne, Exact, Great Plains, NetPhone, Sagesoft, SBT Accounting Systems and STAC are partnering with Novell to build business applications that rely on Novell's network environment, furthering Novell's efforts to meet the specific needs of small businesses.

These partnerships will provide mission-critical applications including accounting, telephony, backup and disaster recovery software, along with networking routers and hubs, offering customers complete and integrated business solutions, said Vogan.

IBM is motivating its reseller channels to boldly pursue the small and medium-sized business market. "We' ve based our moves on what the market is doing," says Heather Ross, small business executive at Markham, Ont.-based IBM Canada Ltd. Having computerized its basic business functions, what the market is doing getting connected. Medium-sized businesses see networking and the Internet as the next step in their maturation — a strategy that requires solution-oriented vendors, says Ross.

To ensure its vendors provide this market with appropriate solutions, IBM is placing its emphasis on second-tier dealers "because that's where small business typically shops," says Ross.

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V IRU S

P R O T E C T IO N

,"S o f t vir a: r'e

The Low-DownOnViruses Your customersare under regular attack by marauding computer viruses.

What can you do about it?

by Dan McLean They' re as contagious as common colds and just about as impossible to avoid.

Computer viruses, like colds, come in millions of strains and types and there's literally no medicine which can protect systems from being exposed. Computer viruses are insidious and often go undetected until the damage has already been done.And they're rampant.

According to the National Computer Security Association, in 1996, more than 98 per cent of U.S. corporations experienced a computer virus-related problem, resulting in an average of 44.3 hours recovery time from a virus incident.

Most everyone is familiar with computer viruses these daysthose troublesome pieces of software designed to spread undetected and written to wreak havoc on your computer by altering the way it works.

Viruses are segments of program code that implant themselves to an executable file, then spread systematically from one file to another.

The initial symptoms are usually non-existent, but the damage they case can be devastating — erasing of disks, corruption of programs and all manner of software destruction.

Viruses Come In Various Types: • File Iufectors — are viruses which attach themselves to or replace .COM and .EXE files. With this type of virus, uninfected programs usually become infected when they are executed with the virus in memory. Inother cases,they are infected when they are opened (such as using the DOS DIR command).

$$45&:.::,4®,, ~ I'4®4545 ~ File lrifectore-:,,@i,

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'Multi4aartite Wiruse@".-: A malicious virus might alter one or more of your programs causing it not to work the way it should, in the best case scenario. In the worst case, the infected program might terminate abnormally, write incorrect information into your documents or the virus may alter the directory information of one of your systems. You just never know.

Unfortunately, these malignant forms constitute the highest percentageofcomputer viruses.

What can you do to absolutely prevent your computer systems and the systems you sell from being exposed to a virus? Anton Aylward, a computer security specialist with Toronto-based consultants Strahn and Strachan, says the architectures of most operating systems make it impossible to prevent virus attacks.

DOS and Windows,forinstance,don'thave adequate code/data separation and can't distinguish between the two. That limitation is the key to how viruses strike,

If IT administrators canno

Shp~ they haVe dpne

ywar d said, explaining that, in

attacking modes, viruses attempt to feed in data and make systems believe it is code.

andfloppydiskettes,contain apro- the beSt jpb POSSible tO Protect against attacks gram which loads Dos systems thrpugh the purChaSe pf apprppriate ViruS files. You getabootsectorvirusby deteCtipn tpplS then a iness couldbe deemed blue beliefs (at one time) was leaving an infected diskette in a drive and rebooting a machine. at fault fOr SuCh an attaCk. that you couldn't execute a text When the boot sector program is file. Well, DOS doesn't know read and executed, the virus goes into memory and infects a hard drive. a bout text files," Aylward said. "Under Unix, VMS and Macintosh • Master Boot Iufectors —a similar attack to boot sector infectors only 0 S, a file has a type — a signature inherent in what it is. In DOS [a the invasion takes place in the first physical sector of a hard drive where f ile type] is just a file name. So, if I come along and create a text file the disk's master boot record and partition table is contained. This virus t hat has just the right characters and I rename it — instead of .TXT is spread the same way that boot sector infectors spread, by leaving an t o .COM (for example) — it becomes an executable as far as DOS is infected diskette in a drive and rebooting the machine. concerned. There is nothing inherent (in DOS) that says, 'This is • Multi-Partite Viruses — are a combination of the viruses listed c ode and this is data.'" above. They infect both files and master boot records or both files and He offered the example of sending an E-mail that has a Word b oot sectors. These virus types are currently rare, but the number of attachment that contains elaborate scripts or a PowerPoint slide. It may not be pure text, but it is still text that you display and read, cases is steadily growing.

V iruses come in benign or malignant forms. A benign virus won't rather than code the user executes. There can be what are called d o any real damage. It conceals itself until a predetermined date or macro "bugs" contained in Word and Excel documents that allow the time, then when activated, will do nothing more than display some sort u ser to send what is really text that fools a machine into executing it, Ayl ward said. of message. It is the malignant intruders that do the real damage.

28

CA N ADIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER June 1997 hrtpttwwwccwmag.corn

V I R U S P R OT E C T I 0 N

So What's Your Customer To Dol "Don't use Windows or DOS," is Aylward's curt response. Admittedly, he agreed, such an option is neither practical nor viable for the vast majority of computer users.

"Don't download stuff," is his second suggestion and, also, not a realistic option. So accept the risk of infection and apply the principles of "due diligence" to minimize the damage, he recommends. Due diligence is the golden rule to be applied when determining how much virus protection you need and to what lengths you should go to in order to combat infection. There are vast differences in application, depending on whether you are a business or simply a casual home user.

At a business level, computer users should approach the task of virus prevention similar to how you might peel an onion skin. "At a business level, the idea of connecting to the Internet by just letting people have dial-up access on their desktops is total irresponsibility, from a security point of view. It means you have no control, no monitoring — you really have no idea of what's really going on in your organizations," said Aylward.

The first layer of the onion skin should be a single point of contact to the Internet through a firewall. There are tools which can be added to the firewall which represent a second layer of the skin. These might include E-mail filters which ensure any E-mail that enters a network doesn't contain macro viruses.

Firewall proxies might also be used. A proxy might buffer all data download then send it out through a store-and-forward fashion after examining each data packet in a search for viruses.

Exercising due diligence is especially critical for business. It's a question of liability in the most extreme cases and if IT administrators cannot show they have done the best job possible to protect against attacks through the purchase of appropriate virus detection tools, then a business could be deemed at fault for such an attack.

Due diligencemeans making purchases of adequate anti-virus weapons that are appropriate to the risks involved and the protection mechanisms available. "It is an onion skin and you have to think in terms of risk, exposure and accountability," Aylward said. "We know realistically, you can never have 100 per cent protecnon against anything. It (comes down to) risk management — the cost of security versus the cost of exposure. "Somewhere along the line you have to accept the risk. Then you assign the risk and that's what insurance companies are for. But, insurance companies are not going to cover you unless you exercise due diligence. You' ve got to put these costs into balance," he continued. 'The balance point for corporations, which have more valuable assets, and the balance point for individuals are completely different."

For home computer users, the task is much simpler. Individuals are benefiting these days from the wealth of comprehensive anti-virus tools originally built for business.

Symantec Corp. (http: //www.symantec.corn), and its Norton antivirus tools, and McAfee Associates Inc. (http: //www.mcafee.corn) are among the leading retailers of anti-virus tools for stand-alone and networked computers. McAfee's VirusScan includes versions for Windows 95, 3.1, NT, plus Macintosh and various flavours of Unix.

McAfee has announced VirusScan 3.0for Windows 95 and VirusScan Deluxe 3.0. According to the company, VirusScan 3.0 has been enhanced to provide higher virus detection rates, Office 97 application protection, automated updating via Internet "push" technology, and freeelectronic upgrades to new versions.

"VirusScan 3.0raises the bar on virus detection rates, ease of updating and worldwide support for our customers," said Bill Larson, McAfee's president, chairman and CEO, in a statement. "We' re investing aggressively in both development and virus research to maintain the best detection rates available."

Syrnantec offers its Norton AntiVirus in a variety of flavors, including versions for Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows 3.1/DOS and NetWare. And Symantec has just announced its Norton Multi-Tier Strategy for anti-virus protection in the corporate enterprise environment. The strategy integrates the Norton AntiVirus product line at the desktop, and server, as weII as the Internet gateway and firewall levels.

"Today, with more virus threats resulting from increased communications via the Internet, it is critically important for our customers to be protected. The current computer epidemic includes Internet viruses that are fueling a rapid spread of macro viruses transmitted via E-mail attachments and file downloads," said Enrique Salem, vice-president of Symantec's Securities and Assistance Business Unit, in a statement.

Renowned ThunderByte (http: //www.thunderbyte.nl) — the product that detected a virus in on-line copies of the federal budget a couple of years ago — offers an intriguing solution which incorporates five different virus detection routines as well as an anti-virus scanner which can be set to wake periodically and perform a scan of all drives.

Of course the key to using any of these solutions is to keep up with the virus makers by continuing to download the updates as they become available, Aylward said. "There are good virus scanners out there, so we then get back to the issue of due diligence. If you' re going to be downloading software, then you'd better be running an up-to-date virus scanner from a reputable company and get the updates regularly.

"But you still can't be 100 per cent sure — ever." tC1W Dan McLean is a Toronto-based journalist who specializes in high technology reporting.

Sl Business* 'Best Overall Notebook Volue" dealer survey ratings: E urocom 8 . 9 IBM 8.2 NEC 7.8 A Sr i/ Compaq 7.6 T oshlba 7 . 6 'May 1995

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httpllwwwccwmagcom June 1997 C ANADIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER 2 9

V IRU S

P R O T E C T IO N C ol U m n

Ijndevstand The Dang ebs Of IVlacvo Viruses!

by Sean Elrington

The recent discovery of the first Office 97 virus (on Microsoft's Web site, no less) has illustrated the speed at which new viruses, particularly macro viruses are being created and spreading. Some experts suggest that thereare more than 200 macro viruses alone 'in the wild' circulating around the world, with more being discovered every week. And eradicating them is not cheap â&#x20AC;&#x201D; one recent study put the cost of eliminating a virus attack at $8,000 per incident!

ward it on to the recipient, notify the administrator or end-user, or keep the document safely isolated for further study.

E-mail is the most popular use of the Internet and, because a lot of viruses are spread via E-mail attachments, gateway protection is a good way to ensure that strong, centralized anti-virus measures are in place rather than simply relying on end-users to scan documents. Although specific message formatssuch asMi crosoftExchange, cc:Mail

"Some experts suggest that there are more than 200 macro viruses alone 'in the wild' circulating around the world, with more being discovered every week."

This proliferation of macro viruses, which

are frequentlyspread as E-mail attachments,

poses a real problem for MIS managers.

Realizing that no one vendor can catch everything, many users want to use two or more anti-virus products to ensure that they catch as many viruses as possible before they wreck havoc on their network. The problem is that loading two or more anti-virus products on every desktop can be a nightmare since they may conflict with each other and cause confusion to end-users.

In this situation, adding anti-virus protection to an E-mail or gateway server may be a good option.

Of course, relying on gateway anti-virus protection alone probably doesn't make sense, since you should have desktop antivirus software in place anyway, but it can provide a strong second line of defense and reduce thereliance on one vendor for protection. Gateway anti-virus software usually runs on E-mail or proxy servers and intercepts inbound E-mail and E-mail attachments, but they can also be configured to scan inbound Web traffic to check for viruses or block hostile Java applets. Upon detecting a virus, they can clean the document and for30

and others are supported by some vendors, the easiest way is to scan the attachments while they are still in native SMTP format and then forward them on to departmental mail servers which may be running a variety of different mail programs.

big problem forstore-and-forward systems like E-mail since the additional time required to scan the attachments is not likely to be noticed by end-users, but it can affect Web and ftp traffic. Since the bulk of Web traffic is simply downloading pages there is little impact, but for large file transfers, perform ance could be decreased by anywhere from 10 per cent to 30 per cent depending on the exact network configuration involved.

The increased costs associated with virus infections has meant that companies are willing to pay more for protection and a medium-sized company might expect to pay $25,000 or more for a gateway site licence â&#x20AC;&#x201D; in addition to the costs of buying a server and operating system. Centralized virus protection is relatively cost effective, however, if the alternative is buying a new set of desktop anti-virus licences from another vendor and loading the software onto every PC. As with any anti-virus software, you should budget for maintenance and virus pattern

"Of course, relying on gateway anti-virus protection alone probablydoesn't make sense, since you should have desktop anti-virus software in place anyway, but it can provide a strong second line of defense and reduce the reliance on one vendor for protection."

This centralized control does add some complexity to configuring the products, although they get easier to administer with every new release. To scan E-mail, for example, you need to configure port settings and IP addresses on the server, but this is fairly straightforward. To scan Web or ftp traffic is a bit more difficult since you may need to reroute Internet traffic so that it first passes through the virus scanner.

There issome concern that scanning software can form a bottleneck on the network by slowing performance. This is not a

CA N A DIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER June 1997 ht tpttwwwccwmag.corn

updates since virus protection is a very dynamic problem.

For more information on gateway antivirus products you can check out Trend Micro (http: //www.trendmicro.corn), McAfee (http: //www.mcafee.corn) or most leading anti-virus vendors. IKN Sean Elrington specializes in network security and is the western region sales systems engineer with Chorea Systems. He can be r e ached a t (60 4 ) 73 7 - 3993 o r seane@choreo. ca.

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by Jazz Bhooi, Tim Bingham-If/allis and Steve Halinda

The promise of p ortable computers as replacements for desktop systems may have evolved into fact.

As far back as 1994, industry pundits predicted the rise of portables as potential supplanters of desktop PCs. Now, reality may be ready to catch up.

Our tests show today, it's really possible to pack a lot of power into a portable system while keeping it relatively small and light enough (relatively is the operative word), so that your customers can take the notebooks with them when they need to travel.

Such deployments are becoming necessities as corporations put more and more of their knowledge-based workforce on the road. In the pursuit of interaction with customers and suppliers, we all are conducting businessat some distance or another these days. Tie that in with the growing push to telecommuting; and it's clear; many users now need to have one machine that will serve multiple purposes, in multiple locations.

Intel's MMX Desktops continue to out-sell notebooks by a large margin, but notebooks are in the midst of a growth spurt. Intel's escalating influence over thenotebook market has spurred many major manufacturers to add notebooks to their product lines. Intel's swift introduction of the notebook version of MMX Pentium closed traditional lag time that existed 32

between the desktop processors and their laptop versions. Actually, Intel released a 200MHz MMX Pentium processor for the desktops and a 166MHz chip for notebooks on the same day.

Grab And Go Pentium processors running at 166MHz to 200MHz in today's notebooks may not be fast as similar desktops, but they make great multimedia and business machines both on the road and the office.These high-end machines are expensive when compared to their desktop counterparts but packed with large active-matrix color displays, CD-ROM drives, and gigabytes of storage, they provide complete and comprehensive computing power for the professional on the go.

Highly optimized notebooks packing powerful CPUs, pipelined-burst L2 cache, EDO main memory, and fast graphics accelerators are the essential ingredients of today' s notebooks. In the lab, of all the submissions, the primary functionality of the laptops was multimedia. Built-in CD-ROM drives sound capabilities complemented with quality speakers and control software was quite an impressive feature, especially in Compaq's Presario 1070. Furthermore, we were especially taken by the slick executive style of this notebook.

F or ma n y note b oo k own e r s expandability/upgradeability is always an

CA N ADIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER June 1997 htfp//wwwccwmag.corn

issue. Notebooks today have intuitive component integration that addresses expandability and upgradeability issues. Most notebooks offer removable hard drives, CD-ROM drives, and floppy drives. Built-in modems provide instant connectivity and provide for an unused PCMCIA slot. PCMCIA slots act as perhaps the most important windows to a laptop's expandability. It is through these slots that notebooks connect to SCSI devices, faster modems, network cards and RAM cards. Although most expandability and upgradeability issues are being addressed, display technology remains a rigid linear component â&#x20AC;&#x201D; meaning that for the most part, your customers' best option to upgrade a screen is to buy a whole new system.

The Tests We asked the manufacturers to send us their current "top-of-the-line" notebook. To some, this meant a 133MHz machine, while others quickly jumped at the chance to send their latest 200MHz MMX systems loaded with 64MB of RAM and enormous hard drives.

Our Lab Test benchmark suite was run on each notebook computer at a resolution of 800 by 600 with a 16-bit color depth, or 65,536 colors. To minimize the possibility of system crashes and inconsistencies,each notebook's power savings features were disabled, and all of the systems were tested using their AC adapters.

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System Strengths: "We believe our strongest point is full upgradeability including the CPU. Our units can be upgraded to 200MHz MMX with regular desktop CPUs and ZIF sockets. RAM and hard drives are also upgradeable," says Sam Sadie of Angel.

Editors' Notes: New to our Lab Test, this June 97 notebook from Angel wasted no time making its presence known. With its configuration, it was the IsJg/rI;. second fastest system in I• the survey, coming in at a s core of 1 4 5 o n o u r benchmark suite. It w as configured with a 200MHz MMX processor, 64MB of RAM, a 2.1GB hard drive and a * 33.6Kbps fax modem. Inside the ., unit is an 8X CD-ROM drive and a 16-bit sound system for multimedia applications. Overall, this machine offersgreatperformance forjustunder $6,000.

Toshiba Tecra 740CDT Suggested Retail Price: $9,269 Toshiba's View Of The Market: "This system is a high-performance notebook targeted at end-userswho require a high performance desktop replacement unit," says the company.

Editors' Notes: Toshiba's new 740CDT is only one of two notebooks in this month's survey to make use of the new 13.3-inch displays. The unit is powered by a 166MHz MMX processor, 256Kbps of Level-2 cache and 16MB of RAM expandable to a total of 144MB. Storage components include a removable 10X CD-ROM

and floppy drive, and a 2.1GB hard drive. Built into the system is a 2 8 .8Kbps fax modem to get your customer on-line right out of the box. The 740CDT achieved a score of 123 on our benchmark suite, but had it been equipped with more RAM, t h at number would no doubt be higher.

s

, ra!siss)rIr„' . !.

Com~atLPresario 'l070 Suggested Retail Price: $7,375to $9,250 (Armada 7700)

notable features of the Presario 1070 is its sound system, Ihi)sr„ which Compaq has termed Support For Rasellers: the PremierSound Audio Reseller referrals.

System. With Compaq's POP displays.

Phone Centre, you get Three-year warranty includes parts and labor. arise"sgs complete telephony at Toll-free tech support for resellers. your fingertips. With all Dedicated technical BBS. its features aed good Volume Discounts: Available. looks, we were surprised when we discovered that Demo Vnit Availability: No. the machine does not have Comparf's View Of The Market: 'The Armada 7700 is aimed at power users needing advanced a Level-2 cache. Because of applications and desktop performance on the road and in the this, it achieved an overall score of 62 on our benchmark office," says lohn Challinor, spokesperson for Compaq. tests, much less than it would have Editors ' Notes: with the aid of the much needed 256Kbps external cache. If you If this were a competition where awards were handed out for best aren't all that bothered by this and want a machine that will have looking notebook, the Presario 1070 is a no-brainer. Under its your friends and coworkers grinding their teeth in envy, the hood lies a 133MHz Pentium processor, 16MB of EDO RAM Presario 1070 is still a great notebook. Compaq will cover you which can be expanded to 48MB, a 1.08GB hard drive, a 10X CD- with its one year warranty on parts and carry-in labor, with the ROM and a built-in 33.6Kbps voice/faxmodem. One of the most first 90 days being on-site.

Reseller Authorization: Yes.

34 C ANADIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER June 1997 httpv/wwwccwmagccm

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1-888-322-6435 1-800-263-5868 (905)415-7290 www.angelcomputer.com www,compaq.com www,daewoo,corn $5,776 $4,039 $3,575 N/A $3,349 $5,242 N/A 1 year 3 years 3 years

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122 165 133 123 141 101 128

118 200 130 125 144 102 130

L905 )712-200 0 (613 )224-6122 1 - 8 00-387-3867 www.serviceworks.com www.eurocom.ca wwwhawlet-pack rd.caorn $5,999 $5,500 $8,846 $4,500

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Forbenchmark figures where numbers are measured in ms,the lower numbers represent betterscores.

Figureswhere numbers are measuredin KB orMB/sec, the higher numbers representbetterscores.

All prices shown are average street pricesin Canadian dollars, unless otherwiseindicated.

36

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C A NADIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER June 1997 httpvwwwccwmegccm

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Touchpad Touchpad T o uchpad Touchpad 11.7x9.3x1.8 11. 9 x9.2x2.3 11.0x9.0x2.0 11.75x 9.25x 1.8 3.3 3.5 3.2 3.4 6.6 (3.0) 8.1 (3.7) 6.9 (3.2) 6.4 (2.9) NiMH NiMH Lithium lon NiMH Windows 95 Windows 95 Win d ows 95 W i ndows 95 No Yes Yes Yes Internal 33.6modem Video-to-TVport .

159 99 117 112 &6 108

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1-800-668-1111 www.impulse.ca $6,449 5,999 N/A 3 years

1-888-446-4472 1-800-538-8212 www.ipc.ca $2,89 9 $6,1 00 ESP N/A $2,750 2 years 1year

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Pentium133 Pentium 166 MMX Pentium 166 256Kbps 256Kbps 256Kbps 16/72 16/144 32/12 12.1 TFT 13.3 TFT 12.1 TFT 1,024x768 1,024x768 800 x600 2MB 2MB 2MB 1.3GB 2.1GB 2GB Internal 8X Internal CD/PD R emovable 10X Removable Internal Removable ESS 8888 S Pro Com eribie ESS 1788 S~ 2 3 .3 Touchpad Trackpoint Touchpad 11.8 x9.1x 2.0 11.8 x9.3x 2.4 1 1 .9 x 9.2 x 2.3 3,75 2.75 3.15 1.1 (3.2) (9.2) 4.2 7.9 (3.6) NiMH Lithium lon NiMH Windows 95 Windows 95 Windows 95 Yes Yes No Internal 28.8modem 33.6 PCMCIA Built-in microphone Video-to-TVport

92 135 105 103 86 79 94

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(905) 948-0000 www.edge.net.au $3,765 $3,650 $3,550 2 years

1-800-366-0476 www.nac-computers.corn $9,359 N/A N/A 3 year

1-800-742-8086 1 - 800-387-5645 www.panasonic.ca wwwtoshiba.corn $8,130 $9,269 $7,000 N/A N/A N/A 3 years 3 years

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Im ulse Suggested Retail Price: $6,449 Street Price: $5,999 Support For Resellers: Co-op advertising.

Reseller referrals.

POP displays.

Three-year warranty. Firstyear includes parts and labor.

Toll-free tech support for resellers.

Demo Unit Availability And Restrictions: Discount priced units are available from EMJ, Merisel and Supercom. impulse's View Of The Market: "Our target market is small- to mid-sized corporate, presentation and desktop replacement," says Peter Bright of Impulse. "We position our product through an all-in-one format, with prices lower than the prices from the top four vendors."

Editors' Notes: T he Powerlite 6 00 0 i s equipped with a 166MHz MMX processor, 32MB of RAM and a 2.1GB hard drive. Both the 10X CD-ROM and fl oppy drives in this unit are internal, saving the user from having to swap back and forth between the two.

The Powerlite 6000 makes use of the ESS 1888 chipset, capable of delivering 16-bit digital and 3D surround sound for multimedia appl ications.Priced at just under $6,000, this machine comes with a three-year "I-Care" limited warranty.

Hewlett-Packard OmniBook 5700CTX Suggested Retail Price: $8,846 Reseller Authorization: Yes.

SupportforResellers: Co-op advertising.

Reseller referrals.

POP displays.

Three-year warranty includes parts and labor.

Demo Unit Availability: The HP demo pool is available for established channel partners.

HP's View Df The Market: "Over the next few years much of the corporate desktop market will switch to notebooks. HP is positioning its notebooks to take advantage of this shift. One of the major concerns for corporate purchasers is manageability â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a feature HP has integrated into its corporate notebooks," said Danny Savard of HP. Editors' Notes: The new 5700CTX uses a more common casing found on many

other notebooks, rather than the ultra-slim design found on t h e Omn i B ook 800CT w h i c h we reviewed in January.

Gone is the pop-out m ouse fancied b y m any on t h e o l d design. And the 10.4inch display has now been replaced by a larger 12.1-inch model. Our test unit came equipped with a P entium 166MMX processor, 512Kbps of Level-2 cache, 32MB of RA M e xpandable to 64MB, a large 3GB hard drive and a 10X CD-ROM. The 5700CTX has asuggested list price of $8,846 and comes with a standard three-year parts and labor warranty.

Panasonic CF-62 Suggested Retail Price: $8,130 Street Price: $7,000 Support For Resellers: Co-op advertising.

Reseller referrals.

POP displays.

Three-year warranty includes parts and labor.

Toll-free tech support for resellers.

Dedicated technical BBS. Demo Unit Availability And Restrictions: Demo units are usually reserved for corporate sales opportunities System Strengths: 'Panasonic offers durability and quality (with a magnesium alloy top cover). It is the only notebook with a PD/CD drive and large battery capacity. It's MPEG-1 capable via a cartridge on the ZV card," according to company spokesperson Anesa Khan.

38

ttittttUBW Editors' Notes; Equipped with a 133MHz June 97 processor, 16MB of RAM and 1.3GB hard drive, the CF-62 delivers plenty of power for the road.

The combination PD/CD drive offers CD-ROM reading at 4X speeds, and rewriteable c apabilities with its PD (phase change) technology. A standard PD disc can hold 650MB of information; identical to a CD, but it' s rewriteable. The sharp 12.1-inch TFT screen is capable of delivering sharp text and graphics at up to 1,024x768 pixels in 16-bit color. The machine is priced around the $7,000 mark and comes with a three-year warranty.

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Com utron H erdata Suggested Retail Price: $5,638 Street Price: $5,500 Reseller Price: $5,074 Reseller Authorization:No. Support For Resellers: Co-op advertising.

Reseller referrals.

POP displays.

Three-year warranty includes parts and labor.

Demo Unit Availability AndRestrictions: One unit per store, with discount available if used for demonstration purposes. The unit has to be in-store for four weeks.

System Strengths: "We feature a built-in CD-ROM floppy drive and battery, an infrared mouse, and a while-you-wait service centre," says the company.

Editors' Notes: Perhaps the most "loaded" machine in the lab test, the Hyperdata Hyperbook 759MX brings all the components normally found in high-end desktop machines. The unit we tested was configured with a 2 0 0MHz

MMX processor, 64MB of RAM, a 10X CD-ROM and a huge 3.1GB hard drive.

If you' ve got a power-hungry user looking for the ultimate in portable power, this notebook should easily fit the bill.

Sarviceworks DataTrain Ex ress DEX-120 Editors' Notes: Distributed by Serviceworks, DataTrain systems are well Reseller Authorization:Yes. known to us for their desktop line of computers. This Support For Resellers: Co-op advertising. month, we had the chance Reseller referrals. to review a D ata Train "' POP displays. notebook, the DEX-I20.

Three-yearwarranty. (The first year warranty includes parts and This unit was configured labor. The balance is parts only.) with a 150MHz processor with 32MB of RAM and a Volume Discounts: Yes. 2.1GB hard drive. The display Demo Unit Availability And Restrictions: is a standard 12. 1-inch TFT with a Units are available, but must not be sold for forty five days. maximum resolution of 800 by 600.

Also, the 150MHz processor may be ideal for System Strengths: "Custom configuration. The dealer can select the size of the hard someone looking to buy a machine with enough processing power drive and the speed of the processor. You are able to sell what the to get most applications running adequately, without having to spend more money on 166MHZ or 200MHz processors. customer needs," said Micheal Woullette of Serviceworks.

Suggested Retail Price: $5,999 Street Price: $4,500

MobilTach JatBook Suggested Retail Price: $6,100 ResellerPrice: $4,000 -$5,800 depending on volume and configuration.

Reseller Authorization: Yes. Support For Resellers: Co-op advertising.

Reseller referrals.

Limited three-year warranty, (one year parts, three years labor.)

Toll-free tech support for resellers.

Volume Discounts:Yes. Demo Unit Availability And Restrictions: The demo pool requires a payment upfront, which is refunded when the unit is returned. Demo units can be held (generally) for two weeks.

MobilTech'sView Of The Market: "(We) do well in the high end where personal service and aggressive pricing are key strengths," says Alan Kwoo of MobilTech.

42

Editors' Notes: The Jetbook 7000 configuration resembled that of some of its competitors which f eature f a st processors and plenty o f installed RAM .

The Jetbook 7000 is powered by a Pentium 200 M M X processor a n d is equippedwith 64MB of RAM. With a 2.1GB hard drive and 10X CD-ROM, the machine easily qualifies as a desktop replacement notebook, bearing plenty of processing power, RAM and storagespace. As far as performance goes,the machine achieved a scoreof 109 on our benchmark suite.

CA N A DIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER June 1997 hvpltwwwccwmag.corn

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Daewoo CPC-1550 Suggested Retail Price: $3,575

will be introduced in May.

'4

Editors' Notes: Another new entry into Support For Resellers: our lab i s t hi s model Marketing funds.

I . : : —:" CPC-7550 from Daewoo. .: Reseller referrals.

The machine consists of POP displays. a 133MHz p rocessor, Three-year warranty, includes parts and labor.

16MB of RAM and a Demo Um't Availability And Restrictions: 1 .44GB h a r d dri v e .

Key resellers are eligible for demo units. Short-term demos may Weiglung in at just be arrangedforother resellers. five pounds makes this noteb ook th e l i g htest i n t h i s Systems Strengths: "We offer excellent system configurations versus price, (with an) month's survey. Priced at just over $3,000, this machine offers both good emphasis on ease-of-use," says Patricia Ardianto of Comtronic.

Models featuring 150MHz MMX and 166MHz MMX processors value and portability.

Street Price: $3,349

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Reseller Price:$4,650 Reseller Authorization:None.

Support For Resellers: Co-op advertising.

Reseller referrals.

One-year warranty, includes parts and labor.

Dedicated technical BBS. Volume Discounts:Yes. Demo Unit Availability And Restrictions:There must be 60 days before resale.

Eurocom'sVievv Of The Market: "We position our product as a 'true' desktop replacement notebook computer. The notebook market is expanding rapidly and because our notebooks are modular and 'desktop upgradeable,' have concurrent operation of CD-ROM, floppy and hard drive, and customized configurations our notebooks are more valuable

and have a longer practical life," says Alain Bard of Eurocom.

Editors" Notes: Eurocom has recently made the headlines by being one of the very first manufacturers to put out a notebook which u ses I n tel' s 2 0 0 M Hz

processor. For a notebook to replace the desktop computer, see the 6200T. The unit consists of a 2 0 0MHz M M X p r o cessor, 256Kbps of Level-2 cache, 64MB of RAM, a 1GB hard drive and both an internal 8X CD-ROM and floppy drive. On the back of the unit, you' ll also find an RCA video-to-TV port; perfect for playing games on a TV or to make presentations all that much easier to see. As can be expected from a machine with such a configuration, the 6200T scored very well on our benchmark suite.

NEC Versa 6200MX *

Suggested Retail Price: $9,359

0

Editors' Notes: Equipped with a 166MHz "„;;„,„,,„...r',,""V',,;,,: :,,"..",',,„i 'g Ju 97 MMX processor, 32MB of RAM and a 2.1GB hard ,;,,;„f' . <~,,':!,„'~ii,t ',,~ drive, the Versa 6200MX managed to outperform all of i t s c ompetitors, even those m achines equipped with 200MHz processors. It achieved a final score of 146 on our benchmark su i t e . The 6200MX uses the latest in display technology, with its 13.3-inch active matrix TFT screen, easily comparable to most 15-inch desktop monitors. With a maximum resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels, you get 64 per cent more pixels on the screen than you would at a resolution of 800x600. '

Support For Reseffers: Co-op advertising.

Reseller referrals.

Three-year warranty includes parts and labor.

Toll-free tech support for resellers.

Dedicated technical BBS. Volume Discounts: Yes. Demo Unit Availability And Restrictions: One unit per reseller location.

NEC's View Df The Market: "The Versa 6200 is a true desktop replacement notebook PC with outstanding performance and features such as 13.3-inch screen, MMX processor and dual battery capabilities. The system is geared towards the mobile professional," according to a company spokesperson.

44

CA N A DIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER June 1997 ht tp//wwwccwmag.cpm

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Ed e Wholesale KTX 880 Suggested Retail Price: $3,765

System Strengths: "We offer: worldwide support and service, large screens with good color, light-weight and affordable multimedia systems," says the company.

Street Price: $3,650 Reseller Price: $3,550 Support For Resellers: Co-op advertising.

Reseller referrals.

Two-year warranty includes parts and labor.

Editors' Notes: The KTX 880 consists of a 133MHz processor, 40MB of RAM which can beexpanded to 80MB, a 1.3GB hard drive and a removable 6X CD-ROM. KTX notebooks and desktop systems are distributed worldwide by Edge Wholesale. This is one of few machines in this survey to come in at around the $4,000 mark.

Volume Discounts:Yes. Demo Unit Availability: Yes.

30 Microcom uters IPC NB2000 Suggested Retail Price: $2,899

IPC's View Of The Market: "We market this as our high-end notebook," says John Favot of IPC. "We offergreat quality for a reasonably inexpensive price."

Reseller Price: $2,750

Reseller Authorization:Yes.

I

June97 Editors' Notes: The latest in the IPC line of notebooks is the NB2000. Our evaluation unit was equipped with a 200MHz processor, 32MB of RAM and a 1.08GB hard drive. Both the 8X CD-ROM and floppy drives are internal on this machine. Although the machine uses a smaller 10.4-inch display, it still has an unbeatable price tag coming in at just under $2,900.

Support For Resellers: Co-op advertising.

Reseller referrals.

POP displays.

Two-year warranty includes parts and labor.

Dedicated technical BBS. Demo Unit Availabi%ty:Yes.

Ultinet • •

Suggested Retail Price: $5,130 Street Price: $4,451 Reseller Price: $4,193 Reseller Authorization:Yes. Maintenance And Technical Relationship With Resellers: One-year warranty includes parts and labor.

Toll-free tech support for resellers.

Dealer-specific space on Web site.

Demo Unit Availability And Restrictions."

Demo units are available with a one-week return policy.

Ulti net's View Of The Market: According to a company spokesperson: "Ultinet foresees high growth in notebooks. Ultinet's product is a very competitive notebook with high end features."

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Editors' Notes: This month, Ultinet sent us the only notebook computer <, with a non-MMX 166MHz ."' processor. This model was '. equipped with 32MB of .

R AM e x p andable t o 72MB, a 2GB hard drive and an internal 8X CDROM. Also included with this machine is a 33.6Kbps PCMCIA fax modem and videoto-TV port found on the back of the ..\ unit. Priced at just over $4,000 and backed by a one-year warranty, this machine offers good performance at a competitive price.

Performance As always, our performance award goes to the fastest system. This month, to our surprise, the fastest system was not a 200MHz MMX system, but NEC's Versa 6200MX with a 166MHz MMX processor. This machine managed to outperform all of its competitors with an overall score of 146 on our benchmarks, thanks to its excellent design and engineering.

Price/Performance Without a doubt, this month's award for the highest performance at the lowest price goes to IPC's NB2000 notebook. The machine has everything you need for working on the go, at an amazingly low price.

Overall Our award for best overall notebook this month goes to one of our newcomers, the Angel 5800 Performer Plus. This machine came ever-so-close to matching NEC's Versa 6200MX for first place in the performance category. The 5800 Performer Plus is a real performer, equipped with all the bells and whistles. And at under $6,000, it offers excellent performance at a competitive price. ~ Steve Halinda, Tim Binghnm-8'allis and Jazz Bhooi are CCS's Lab Test Editors. They can be reached at(416) 535-8404. siiplmw .ccwmav.corn June 1997 C ANADIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER 4 5

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F or Pentium I I P C s , 486SX. Complaints that it was deliberately crippled were probably justifieil, but when portables, or anything the DX chips and OverDrive strategy fell into else you are selling, you place so quickly, the complaints couldn't be need to have the latest ers. info to be able to earn the heard overthe din of the cash regist Similarly, all those shareholder lawsuits over business of the net-savvy the original Pentium bug had to be dropped customers.

For example, will the when Intel's stock went up (!) in the afterinevitable headlines screaming about the just- math of that debacle.

Next came the fears that the CISC archirevealed floating point bug in the Intel Pentium II (you know, the one that affects a measly 140 tecturewas reaching the end ofitsperformance possibilities. This, as you may recall, was the trillion or so possible numerical results) affect its success in the market-place? Probably not as rallying cry of the PowerPC party. In fact, the PowerPC has not performed as well as early much asit s lacklustre performance compared to an AMD K6 does. And nobody wants to bet predictions had held, while the Pentium and its have outperformed nestly allexpecon the wrong horse. What about Single Edge successors tations. Concerns about MMX voltage-compatContact (SEC)? Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP)? Your better-informed customers were ibility of motherboards fell like patsies when wondering about these issues even before the MMX OverDrive quickly gddressed the Intel's marketing machine geared up for anoth- issue. But, despite Intel's FUD marketing er round of CPU wars. prowess, AMD's K6 is a thorn in its side.

No matter which side of the battlefield I see tremendous marketabi:.ity in the K6 you' re on, to arm yourself, I'd recommend on the desktop in the near term. The market checking out the latest info about the bug at has not yet grown tired of high-performance http: //www.x86.org, Intel's r esponse at desktop PCs and the K6, in a word, rocks. And http: //www.intel.corn/design/news/flag/, or the latest Alpha and PowerPC chips are going the benchmarks at http: //sysdoc.pair.corn/. attract their share of powermongers, too. But (This "new" bug also affects the Pentium Pro, whether it's an Intel, AMD, Alpha or PowerPC as well.) Frankly, I think the PII bug will have chip in the next monster tower on Joe an insignificant impact on the marketability Poweruser's desktop, there are plenty of indiof the new chip, and will very likely receive a cators to suggest that things are just getting great deal less negative press than the muchrolling. The growth in the PC's credibilityballyhooed bug in the original Pentiums did. and the Mac's continued strength — as a pubAfter all, that bug produced results that were lishing and production graphics platform, as much more tangible and Intel was then not so evidencedby the announcements and product expert at spin-doctoring. releases at the recent Seybold publishing conThere's a very real chance the market ference in NYC, makes even greater growth in will perceive Intel's move away from the the high end a very strong likelihood. I expect Socket 7 to the SEC connector as more of a industrial-strength production tools like Adobe marketing ploy than a technological advance. Illustrator 7, After Effects and QuarkXpress 4 If, however, Intel does what it has done so to be strong sellers on the PC, as they have often in the past and moves quickly to exceed been overthe lastfew years on the Mac. 3D the performance of its competitors, then we Studio Max, Lightwave 5 and SoftImage are are likely to see a repeat of the company's already turning the high-end 3D graphics mar'95-'96 performance. Frequently, Intel has ket'sideas ofw hata PC can do on its ear. done an end-run around its competitors by W hen NT 5 is released anclgains credimoving quickly to address the issues that the bility as a robust production platform — as it others sought to capitalize upon. Recall the likely will — I expect the DTP, 3D and digital 46

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C ol u m n ~

"e your customers; '.keep up with the

em ergingfea st'es dhd quandaries

, surrounding processor and p rtable technologies.

video market opportunities on the PC to blossom as they never have before.

Let's say that everyone who wants a PC already has one or is going to wait for the 1998 models. Another area I see a huge potential in is the portable market. I'm p articularly pumped on the possibility that lightweight notebooks will finally make a decent showing.

People are paranoid. Do you leave your $5,000 notebook in the car when you park it? I sure don' t, after hearing one too many tales of break-in thefts. A growing number of professionals rely on that data to the level that they are not going to leave it in the car, at the table when they get up for a coffee refill, nor are they going to leave it in the conference room when theygo outfor a break.The need foror at least your ability to sell to the perception of — portability grows stronger in a paranoid society. Security issues are strong motivators.

Do portables need to have CD-ROMs, floppies, 13-inch screens and the other goodies that are de rigeur in today's big fat multimedia portables? For some yes; others will favor portability, desktop connectivity and battery life more than multimedia geegaws. Presumably, we' ll continue to see customers willing to pay a premium for both extremes. (I personally want to carry a PC that resembles a Toshiba Libretto — a 2.2-pound Pendum portable with a decent keyboard and an active-matrix screen,) I see a lot of interested customers around the portable PC sections of all the retailers I visit. I see the mainstream user who already has a desktop computer will make his or her next convincing business case for a portable.

I see the sales professionals looking for a portable as a solution for the too-crowded desk, and teleworkers looking for a more manageable replacement for the old desktop PC. This trend is already in full force in Japan. Like a massive Tsunami wave, it's due to hit these shores any time now. ICCW I Graeme Bennett is Managing Editor at The Computer Paper, and is a former computer reseller. Based in Vancouver, he c an b e reached atgraeme@tcp.ca.

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The Rules OfTheLitigation Game

by Douglas Gray You have undoubtedly heard of the litigation processreferred to as a game. That refers to the strategic tactics, moves, ploys and feints that are involved in the process. As in any game, and litigation is inherently an adversarial process, if you don' t know how to play it well, or retain a lawyer who does, the odds of "winning" are not in your favor.

At some point in your business career, it is very likely that either you will be suing someone or someone will be suing you. Litigation normally has a mystique to many people, and the process can be very frustrating, intimidating, stressful, uncertain and expensive. However, by avoiding the classic mistakes that many business owners make, you will be better able to deal with the litigation process from a position of perspective and insight.

Lawsuit Based On Emotion?

You might feel that you have been wronged for whatever reason and you are naturally very upset. Your decision to sue though, should be based on hard-nosed business realities.

UnrealisticExpectations?

Many people assume that they are in the right and that they will "win" at the end of the day. However, the interpretation of the facts can vary and very few issues in law are black and white. The litigation process is inherently unpredictable. In addition, when you factor in your legal feesfrom any judgement in your favor,maybe you are notahead of the game at all.

Assessing The D e f e ndants Assets You could "win" at trial, but still be a big-time loser. The reason is that the personal or corporate defendant could have no assets in their name or have all their assets levered up with debt at the time you commence an action or by the time you get a judgement.

Doing an objective risk assessment of the realistic potential of collecting on a judgement at the outset is key. You could be throwing good money after bad. You might conclude that the negative learning experience was a cost of business insight; not sue, and commit to changing your business policies and practices to pre-empt a recurrence.

Get Expert Legal Advice You want to have a lawyer experienced in litigation matters review your case. Better still, have a minimum of three lawyers give you candid and objective feedback on your chances at trial, how long it will take and how much it will cost. You need a benchmark for comparison.

Before youdecide on any lawsuits,consider each of the above points and then sleep on it for a few weeks or months. See if you have the same opinion at the end of that time. Remember the axiom, "act in haste, repent at leisure." IL'W1 Douglas Gray, L.LB., has had extensive experience as a lawyer specializing in small business. He is also a speaker and author of 15 bestselling business books, as well as an investment software program. His books include The Complete Canadian Small Business Guide and Raising Money (both published by McGraw-Hill Ryerson) and Start and Run a Profitable Consulting Business and Marketing your Product (both published by Self-Counsel Press).

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Considering A Settlement Settlements save a lot of court time. You have heard of people settling the case on the court house steps? The reason is the uncertainty of the trial process outcome. Settling for 20, 30, 50 or 70 per cent of the original claim is better than the risk of getting nothing and being out legal fees as well.

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icr oso, n e i etwov om I II The industry giants have aligned to make PCs cheaper and easier to use sometimes.

by Alan Zisman Do you know how much a PC really costs?

No, not the purchase price; that's too easy.

How much has it cost after t h e pu r c hase?

Consider not only the cost of buying and updating software and hardware devices, but the cost in learning to use it, and lost productivity constantly fiddling with it.

Inevitably, estimates vary widely, but some estimates put the Total Cost of Ownership (now yet another three letter acronym — TOC) as high as $40,000 over the five-year useful life of a $3,000 PC. Some experts suggest that these figures are exaggerated. If employees weren' t fiddling with their screensavers — would they be doing productive work or just hanging around at the water cooler?

One response to these figures hasbeen the Network Computer. First proposed by Oracle Software's Larry Ellison, the NC is a small, cheapcomputerlacking any hard drivesorfloppy drives — it would get all its software across a network. As such, upgrading the software on the network would upgrade all these network terminals. Critics have suggested that this would simply move costs from the individual computers to the network and its server, and that the real motivation behind theNC is to get away from a perceived stranglehold on the computing industry by 'Wintel' — Microsoft Windows software running on computers with Intel processors.

Microsoft and Intel have felt a need to respond to the Network Computer initiatives.

They' re proposing a number of new standards, designed to allow users to continue to use Windows/Intel computers and software, while simplifying the machines and their administration, to reduce overall costs.

The first of these is the so-called Network PC — a three letter acronym, NPC, not to be confused with NC. In essence, a Net PC is a standard PC, complete with hard drive, connect48

ed to a network. The NPC side suggests that even if users are running sofnvare and stor- future at the April WinHEC: the draft PC98 ing their data across the network — that a local design guide. In it, we find a vision of next hard drive is still a useful accessory, as it allows year's Basic PC — a 200MHz MMX Pentium disk caching, reducing calls to the network and with 32MB of RAM, a USB port, OnNow increases performance. So far, it simply sounds power management,and no ISA bus. like a standard PC with an Ethernet card.

Intel and Microsoft recognize that many manufacturers will continue to include the soIn order to reduce costs, however, the NPC would be slotless. As with many new called Industry Standard Bus, which first PCs, standard input and output ports would be appeared on IBM's 286-powered AT models in built into the motherboard. Unlike these PCs, 1984. They strongly want to encourage the however, there would be no expansion slotsindustry to finally dump ISA, feeling that this is no reason to open the box. There would be no the major obstacle holding back successful fussing with switches or IRQ numbers, and no Plug and Play. Instead, they want vendors to focus on the PCI bus, along with USB and problems with Plug and Play that, welldoesn' t. The standard calls for a Universal Firewire (a.k.a. 1394) as the methods for Serial Bus port, allowing for some expansion expanding their hardware. using USB devices, but otherwise, no chance The draft PC98 document also describes a for the user to upgrade, break, or waste time basic portable specification — a 166MHz MMX adding to their system.

Pentium, with advanced power management, a The next proposal is OnNow — a plan to standardized docking stafion, and again, a USB eliminate the typical moment or two of bootup. port. Specifications of four levels of servers are Like many oftoday's notebooks, an OnNow being released in a separate document. computer need not be shut down. Instead, it For information on these visions of the would be put into a suspended mode, waiting near future, check out http: //www.microsoft. for akeytouch or mouse movement to awaken. corn/hwdev/.

Also aimed at the network administrator In this column, we' ve been looking at a is the Zero Administration Initiative. Full of seriesofchanges in the design ofPCs,m any of noble, money-saving intentions, it proposes a which, such as MMX processors, Universal PC where operating systems car. be automati- Serial Bus, and Firewire, are part of the plans cally updated across the network without user Microsoft and Intel are spelling out in the PC98 involvement, and software appli<:ations can be proposals. When I started this series, I proautomatically installed or updated as needed. claimed we'd being seeing these changes this This means, for example, if a user who doesn' t year. Except for Intel's MMX processors howhave Microsoft Word installed tried to open a ever, it's going to take longer than that before DOC Word file, the system will automatically many of these improvements have any real respond by installing Word across the network. impact on the market.

An extension of Plug and Play would Next month, we' re going to look at the ins&1 and update hardware driv:rs as needed, reasons for the holdup — why it's taking longer again, automatically. Extensive network manthan expected to see products from DVD disks agement tools would make it simpler to admin- to USB on our desks and in our stores. CCrti ister multiple clients from a single server. To help jumpstart all these various and overlap- Alan Zisman is a computer journalist and ping specifications, Microsor't and Intel teacherliving in Vancouver.He can be reached released an outline of their model of the near- ar a zisman@cyberstore.ca.

CA N ADIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER June 1997 http/twwwccwmag.corn

A S IA S C A P E the use of genuine software. In fact, 1995 figures indicated the piracy rate in Singapore had declined by eight per cent.

"These figures suggest that more than halfofthe software used on PCs in Singapore are unlicensed. This is worrying," said Stuart Ong, BSA vice-president.

Hong Kong is seen as a major channel for illegal CD-ROMs into the region. The rate therefor 1996 has been pegged at64 percent, against 62 per cent the previous year, with Malaysia seeing a rise from 77 to 80 per cent.

There was no improvement in China, which from Newsbytes stayed level at a whopping 96 per cent.

Piracy rates have surged Cheering news comes from Australi a, in Singapore, Hong Kong which continued to maintain its position as It's almost back to square one for software the country with the lowest piracy rate, dipindustry watchdog Business Software Alliance ping from 35 percent to 32 per cent. New (BSA) in Asia, including Singapore and Hong Zealand and Japan also saw declines, from 40 Kong, with piracy levels during 1996 giving per centand 55 per cent to 35 percent and 41 cause for despair and bringing to naught all per cent respectively. efforts to keep the crime under check.

Thailand (80 per cent), Korea (70 per According to a BSA survey, the piracy cent) and Taiwan (66 per cent) also reported rate in Singapore surged from 53 per cent in lower ratesfrom the previous year. Also, 1995 to 59 per cent in 1996. This is deemed a worldwide losses fell from US$13.3 billion in setback as Singapore was seen as a country 1995 to US$11.2 billion in 1996. Asia-Pacific that was responding to campaigns promoting accounted for US$3.7 billion in losses.

Toshiba upgrades DVD player Toshiba Corp. has announced a new DVD-Video player, its first since it launched the DVD-Video system in November 1996 and the first second-generation machine of any manufacturer.

The newplayeroffersusersan even clearer picture and better sound for those with a stereo television set through the use of technology from Spatializer Audio Laboratories Inc. Toshiba spokesperson Keisuke Ohmori said: "The new encoder-IC enhances the clarity of the video image by reducing the noise level." The company has improved video by using a 10-bit video digital to analog (D/A) converter to process the eight-bit video information, ensuring losses are at a minimum.

The new video encoder IC is used for the high signal to noise ratio of 75dB and the wide frequency response of up to 6MHz means better images and color.

In addition to DVD-Video disks, the player will also accept audio CDs and video CDs thanks to the use of a dual-lens pickup.

The Toshiba SD-K310 will be available in Japan from June 1 and carries a list price of US$748.

Yamaha announces new CD-R drive

0

Yamaha Corp. has announced a new CD-Recordable (CD-R) drive that will go on sale in Japan this month. The drive will write at doublespeed and can playback discs at up to six-times standard speed.

CD-R is a write-once version of the Compact Disc system widely used for limited distribution of large amounts of data and pre-release versions of software. The drive has a IMB data buffer, has a 4.2MB/sec. burst data transfer rate and transmission rates of 900Kbps in 6X mode.

The drive is available in internal (CDR200t) or external (CDR200tx) versions and carries a list price of US$630 and US$715 respectively. It will be available from June 21 in Japan.

Pioneer announces first DVD car navigation system There's no doubt that many cars in Japan are high-tech, with entertainment systems that rival many living rooms, and now Pioneer Electronic Corp. has announced the DVD system will soon take its place alongside the televisions, videos, CD players and MD players that adorn many dash-boards in the nation's cars. The DVD system won't be used to entert ain passengers though, the company has integrated a DVDROM player with a car navigation system.

It comes as no surprise that, just six months after DVD-Video players first launched, the system is already making its way into car navigation units. The„great' . @DVNQ;.;j4~all, is its capacity. ' paact 5lsc"„'can hold 4.7GB A single-sided disc, tlirt! , ' ' ' "' f a CD-R of data, or m ore than se I , can. tt~ .:orQ6y', , with Global Car iiavigatiott s@te' p' e o n the market Posgjning Systems. The new pioneer'sys this~ t h ;I't is avajlablj,j@ Neo ~ It, "b ' 09 (US$1,829) or D707(U~ 5 7 5~ d " Ajg Qudes a large eight-inch screen liquid "' -ROM player and other optional units. crystal dt@hiy~ The two computeis ak' t r o l led by a 32-bit RISC (reduced instruction set) microprocessor. '

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The complete text is on-line. Visual Basic on-line experts personally answer questions. And if your customers miss the free exchange of ideas with fellow students; they can join a virtual community, share the latest information, and obtain the latest tips, read the up-to-the-minute FAQs and the course newsletter. Users looking to check their progresscan take on-line quizzes and exams to get immediate feedback. In addition, they can receive continuing education credits (CEUs) from Marquette University and download a certificate of achievement.

The content of the book will appeal to both new and professional programmers. The coverage is superior to others that I have reviewed and builds a comprehensive foundation. Visual Basic 5 Interactive Course offers a unique hands-on approach to learning, with its easily digestible lessons, on-line capabilities, and object-oriented training.

Tutorial in nature, each chapter breaks into smaller sessions that cover one major topic.Exercises and a quiz complete each session providing excellent reinforcement. In attempt to make the language less intimidating, the early sessions are quick and easily mastered with lessons increasing in complexity asthe reader progresses.Your customers can complete each one of the 132 sessions in less than 60 minutes. An interesting and unique

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dialog amongst fictitious programmers provides summaries — very effective, and innovative. They help to illustrate essential points and answerquestions. Any reader willreact favorably to this book, since it heightens interest. This is a rare attribute in programming books with substantive content.

In summary, Visual Basic 5 Interactive Course is perfect for those who want an indepth introduction to Visual Basic 5 programming. The book includes many sample programs, whichcould form the core for much more complex offerings. As an added bonus, the coverage goes way beyond the standard for introductory books. I highly recommend this Visual Basic offering for both new and experiencedprogrammers in your customer base; and as a v alued addition to any reseller's bookshelf. ICCW Stephen Ibaraki, ISP, is a lecturer, writer and advisor; and co-convenor for the BADM Computing Program at Capilano College. He is Novell/Microsoft-certified, and can be reached atsibaraki@capcollege.bc.ca.

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and specially formulated QuickDry inks. f g j it s g a d d s n e w p r o d g c t S With a probable street price of about $699, Fujitsu Canada Inc. recently announced a including a Digital Darkroom software bunplethora of new products in the printer and dle, the Photo Stylus is a strong contender for mass storage fields, indicating that the comthe attention of the serious PC or Mac graphpany intends to compete strongly in the corics user. porate market.

Simultaneously, L e x m ark The three new unveiled the Lexmark 7000, a 1200 PrintPartner lasers are dpi color printer that has a feature I fj aimed at high-volume set and technology innovation set s tand-alone or n e t Ink-jet printer wars continue that closely parallels that of the worked w o r kgroup Competition in the already hotly contested Epson Photo Stylus, for a Canadian ink-jet printer market heated up further in late street price of about $599. The markets. Announced were the models 10V, May, with the announcement of two new sixLexmark 7000 is intended to procolor ink-jet models: the Epson Photo Stylus 14V, and 14ADV. All vide superior black-and-white text three models are aimed to meet monthly duty and the Lexmark 7000. output (the closest to true 600 dpi laser qualThe Photo Stylus becomes the latest in cyclesof up to 35,000 pages per month, and ity that we have seen from an ink-jet so far), the popular Stylus line of color printers, include a Fujitsu flavor or Lexmark's popular as well as 'photo-quality' images. aimed at a fairly specialized market for 'true' MarkVision printer administration software.

It remains to be see if the other main photo-realistic color printing. The Photo players in the ink-jet printer field, Canon and The printers offer 600 dpi resolution and Stylus offers 1,440 dots per inch, nearly con- Hewlett-Packard, have similar ultra-high res'1200 dpi-class' output at prices ranging tinuous tone image output on special coated olution printers up their sleeves. It is hard to from $895 to$1,495, depending on model ColorJe stock. The Photo Stylus incor- Lexmerk and configuration. imagine the price performance of porates a wide array of Epson's Fujitsu has also continued to develop its these two new models being beaten latest p r i nting t e chnology: Stylistic handheld PC line, including the anytime soon — the challenge will Micro Piezo Head, a six-color Stylistic 1000 product, and has released a '~ be for their competitors to match cartridge, AcuPhoto Halftoning, ' what Epson and Lexmark have 630MB Magneto-Optical (MO) recorder for Super Micro Dot technology, the PC, as well as a miniaturized 230MB MO sprung on the market this spring. drive for notebook computers.

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Hewlett-Packarci enters CE palmtop PC market Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Ltd., one of the world's major makers of handheld computers and electronic organizers, announced on May 15 that the company is launching two new handheld computers based on the Microsoft Windows CE operating system.

The HP 300LX and 320LX models HP CEPalmtop PC featurea four-greyscale 640 by 240 screen, and have suggested prices of $690 and $967, respectively.

According to Paul Patterson, the Canadian product manager for HP handheld computing products, "HP has delivered the best, most featurerich palmtop PC in the handheld market. Demand from the reseller channel is high, due to strong industry feedback and tremendous praise from out corporate customers. HP is focused on making palmtop PCs easy for enterprise managers to integrate and deploy to their mobile workforces." Among the exclusive advantages claimed by HP for its new palmtop PCs are a dedicated slot for CompactFlash memory cards, whichleavesthe PC Card slotfree fora m odem, energy-efficientbacklit screen, larger, better laid out keyboard, HP printer driver, integrated Pocket Internet Explorer in ROM, and better screen fonts for a more readable display.

In a special preview to Canadian Computer W'holesaler, Patterson also commented that HP's reputation as a solution provider to a large number of corporations and government agencies has been a valuable competitive advantage, and has helped validate the CE platform as an option to many potential clients.

F or more i n formation, visit h t tp: //www.hp.corn or c a l l : 1 800 387 3867 ICCWI

CA N ADIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER June 1997 /t ttpywwwccwmag.corn

P EO P L E I»

including sales administration and finance.

Stratus delivers a range of "continuously available" computer platforms.

Simware adds management Ottawa'sSimware Inc.has appointed Richard Crutchlow as vice-president of North American Mark George now leads operations for informaBay Networks Canada tion access projects.

Bay Networks Inc. has appointed Mark Crutchlow will manage George as the president of Bay Networks t he sales t hrust f o r Canada.

Simware's server-based According to the company, he will Salvo Internet/intranet spearhead a focus on adaptive networking.

RichardCrulchlow p r oduct and the compaGeorge brings more than 13 years of ny's A2B client-based management and sales experience in the techcommunications engine. nology industry to his new position. He was He joins Simware from most recently director of the network product executive positions at division for Digital Equipment Corp.

Appian Interactive Corp. a nd Oracle Corp. of Sharon Spring joins Keatlng Canada.

Keating Technologies Inc. David Desjardins of Markham, Ont., has joins Simware as direcappointed Sharon Spring tor, technical services. to the position of viceHe assumes responsibilipresident, marketing. ty for the professional Her primary role will services, pre-sales supbe to lead the marketing port and education functeam in developing and tions in North America.

SharonSPrin9 executing brand, conS am Morcos i s sumer and channel marketing plans on behalf Simware'snew director of Keating's vendors, says the company. of channels. He comes Spring was most recently vice-president, from the position of SamMorcos marketing, for Merisel Canada Inc., and she Internet d e velopment has 17 years in the industry at the reseller, manager for Digital Equipment of Canada manufacturer and distributor levels.

Ltd. Keating is the exclusive representative And Marshall Sangster was promoted to of Norton-Lambert; Storm Technology; U.S. director and general manager of the network Robotics, P e r sonal Co m munications automation business unit.

Division; and Xircom.

Simware provides Internet, information access and network automation software Compaq adds product manager intended to reduce the complexity and cost of Compaq Canada Inc.has appointed Bryan enterprise systems.

Wray as product manager, consumer products.

In the position, Wray will be responsible Informix names director Informix Soft w are for all aspects of Compaq's consumer (Canada) Inc. has named personal computers, including forecasting, Tim McDermid director, product launches, pricing and promotion. client services. He is Wray joinedCompaq after seven years r esponsible f o r the at Apple Canada Inc. where he served as delivery and implemenproduct manager responsible for Apple's tation of national mainMacintosh Performa consumer PCs. tenance, consulting and Tim Mcoermid training strategies for Stratus makes appointments Stratus Computer Corp. in Canada has the database technologies company.

He has held senior management posiappointed Karl Kennie director, sales. He is responsible for marketing solutions to the tions with AmeriData, Control Data, Canada financial, government and commercial sector. Systems Group and Multiple Access, and has Myrna Esposito has been named country more than25 years experience in technology W administrator, Canada, with responsibilities services. ItCU

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ignoring everyone standing there, some man- store changed to: Once upon a time, in a "It was the place, the people, the friendager-type was screaming at some employee, a country where snow liness and the general fun attitude that this comes in great quantities dozenpeople returned their systems because every winter and floods of missingldefective parts and when I had my store provided. Wewere genuinely smiled at system brought out they didn't have all the and welcomed when we came in, Cokes were and elections come in the spring, a computer software drivers and manuals for my compo- free,as were thej ellybeans,Cu stomer history is stored on a database and quickly retrieved, ~ p ~ resellernamed Joe sat nents."

Computers are treated like members of an pondering his business. extended family, and machine-owners are He was sitting in front of his computer Time For A Change Then Joe read a business book that had a big treated like aging relatives with big wills." reading a newsgroup off the Internet. One impact the way he did business. The book Advertising does work, it just has to be posting said: the right kind in the right place, In the end, "Why,then, in the name of Zeus, can 't a was called "Marketing Without Advertising."

This book suggested that the best mar- the authors of Joe's favorite book don't really computer retailer adopt these principles? keting plan encourages customer loyalty and suggest that businesses abandon all their Why must we beconstantly bombarded personal recommendation over many advertising. They acknowledge that certain with bitch sessions about lousy retailers, N a ~ in g traditional advertising approaches. It kinds ofadvertising can be very cost effecbrain-dead sales staff, poor inventory Adveitlsin contained a number of practical steps to tive. What they define as listing-type advers election and r u de "sales" staff? building a strong small business without tising does work, such as the Yellow Pages, Please, SOMEONE set up a decent store spending huge amounts on advertising. that 's "fun ~ togo to? " business directory listings, and notificationAccording to the book, there are no type ads placed in the places where shoppers shortcuts to achieving this. A marketing expect to find them, such as The Computer Word Of Mouth Joe was sad, because he knew that the writer strategy built on personal referral is built on Paper, The book actually makes specific was referring to his company. It used to be if trust, and treating others as you would like to exception t o co m p uter p u b lications. a customer was disappointed by a store's be treated. It is based on the principle of Discussing types of places that they do product or services, that they would tell twice "don't do to others what you would not want endorse advertising in, they state: "Similarly, as many people as they would if they were done to you." This part really hit home with in the computer software business, a great happy with it. Now, with the Internet, the sit- Joe, because his returns policy was based on deal of software is sold at discount prices by uation is much worse. An unsatisfied cus- the law of retribution â&#x20AC;&#x201D; "an eye for an eye." companies that regularly advertise their tomer can tell literally tell thousands of peo- The main thing the book suggested was that if wares in computer magazines, The ads feaple within minutes of being disappointed at a a business is going to go to all the trouble and ture, in very small print, long lists of availcompany's bad service. Next time someone expense of getting customers to call or visit, able software." goes shopping, they do a quick search on Alta they might as well treat customers well when Ask yourself, are you like Joe? Would Vista or Yahoo, simply typing in a company's they get there â&#x20AC;&#x201D; so they will keep coming you like to be treated like the way your cusname, andthey come up with a few dozen let- back. tomersarebeing treated? Ifthe answer is no, So Joe set about implementing many of ters complaining about what bad service they then it might be time to make some changes got. Those would-be customers never show the changes advocated inthe book. He around your business. up. changed his advertising to include only prodMarketing Without Ad vertising b y The types of complaints Joe's company ucts he knew he could supply at the prices Michael Phillips & Salli Rasberry is available was blamed forwere slow delivery,false promised. He retrained his sales staff to deal from Nolo Press, ISBN: 0-87337-019-8. Call: advertising, bait-and-switch tactics and poor with customers honestly and to be up front 1-800-728-3555. http: //www.nolopress.corn. service. He also knew that his store was not a about the limitations of the technology that Price: US$19. IK5I they were selling. Joe was soon pleased to see happy place to work for his staff.

'While I was at the store to pick-up my that his store was starting to illicit enthusias- Douglas Alder is Publisher of Canadian system, no one wanted to assist me (waited tic responsesfrom customers instead of Computer Wholesaler. He can be reached at probably 30 minutes), the receptionist was gripes. The word on the Internet about his publisher@tcp.ca.

54 C A NADIAN COMPUTER WHOLESALER June 1997 htrp!Iwwwccwmag.corn

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