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July 4, 1998
News
- Five copies of Windows 98 to give away this week.
- Have problems installing Windows 98 on your machine? Well,
you’re not alone. Several manufacturers, including Compaq, Dell, Toshiba and IBM
reported problems that some of their users were having in upgrading their existing Windows
95 installs to Windows 98. In fact, some are even recommending not upgrading until some
driver and BIOS updates are made available. Many of the cases involve notebook computers
and power management support, which is typically a BIOS-related issue—meaning you
need to get a BIOS upgrade to deal with any problems you may run across—but others
involve driver upgrades for other types of devices, including video cards, modems and
more. The bottom line is, before you upgrade, be prepared with the latest drivers and BIOS
updates you can find from either the computer company’s web site or the specific
peripheral vendor. Also, look at my "Plugged In" forum on InfoWorld Electric for
more reports from other users.
- Speaking of Windows 98, Insignia Solutions this week
announced that SoftWindows 98 for the Macintosh will be available in August for $199. The
new version of the Windows emulation software includes a full version of Windows 98 and
emulates all the instructions of a typical Pentium MMX computer. Free upgrades will be
available to SoftWindows 95 5.0 and RealPC customers who purchase their own copy of
Windows 98 to install over their existing Mac-based DOS/Windows installation.
- In other Mac news, there were reports this week of a
Microsoft Office bug that first surfaced on the PC side several years re-appearing on Mac.
Apparently the bug, which is present in the new Word 98 for the Mac as well as other Mac
Office apps, can end up leaving extra information previously deleted from a document still
visible. A bug fix is expected on Microsoft’s web site next week. For more
information about the problem, see the link I’ve provided on This Week’s Links.
- Epson recently reduced prices on some of its popular line of
Stylus Color printers and added two new photo printers to the lineup. The 1,440 dpi Stylus
Color 800 is now down to $299 and the StylusColor 850, which features 20% faster printing
and even smaller ink drops for higher color resolution is $399. $279 is the retail price
of the 1,440 dpi 6-color StylusPhoto 700 photo printer, which is optimized for printing
color digital photographs. The Stylus Photo EX, for $499, includes the ability to print 11
½" x 17" or even 11 ½" x 44" color images and offers optional
support for Adobe PostScript, as well as a more complete software bundle.
- Look for lower prices on notebooks in the near future as
Intel announced a number of relatively big price cuts in their mobile Pentium MMX and
Pentium II processors designed for the portable market. At the high end, 266 MHz Pentium
IIs dropped from $637 to $444 and at the low end, the 200 MHz Pentium MMX is now less than
$100 for the raw processor. This could translate to some more sub-$1,000 notebooks in the
not-to-distant future.
- Some new notebooks that you won’t be able to get for
that cheap are Micron’s new line of GoBook II portables, which feature 233 and 266
MHz mobile Pentium II processors. Like the original GoBooks, the GoBook IIs weigh just 4.4
pounds, are 1.35" thick and feature 12.1" active matrix screens, built-in 24x
CD-ROMs, and standard USB ports. A 266 MHz Pentium II-based unit with 32 MB of RAM and a
2.1 GB drive lists for $3,299.
- Windows 98 users looking for a clean way to add un-installer
features to their Disk Cleanup Wizard can look forward to the upcoming version 5.1 of
CyberMedia’s $49 Uninstaller. The new version of the product works almost like a
plug-in to the Windows 98 system utility, allowing you to access the program’s
PowerClean and QuickClean features directly through the Disk Cleanup Wizard.
- Yet another company has entered into the flat-panel display
market. This time it’s Toshiba and the product is their TekBright 50D digital
display, which features a 15" active matrix screen and a resolution of 1,024 x 768.
Like many other new flat panels, the Toshiba comes with its own digital display card that
you’ll need to plug into one of your computer’s PCI slots—that is, unless
you have a new video card that features the new 20-pin DFP connector. The TekBright 50D,
which retails for $1,599, also features built-in stereo speakers to provide basic sound
and, best of all, lets you pivot the screen between landscape and portrait mode.
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