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June 13, 1998
News
- Lots more free stuff to give away this week, including a
Connectix USB Video Camera, Logitech USB Scanner and more.
- Monday marks the "unofficial" release date of
Windows 98—that’s the first day you’ll be able to buy new computer systems
with the OS pre-installed. You may also be able to get it with new hard drives or
motherboard upgrades, as you could with later OEM releases of Windows 95. So, if
you’re dying to get it, that’s your chance. The shrink-wrapped retail versions
are still scheduled to be released on June 25. Of course, there’s not a whole lot of
overly compelling reasons to get it that fast. It certainly offers several nice
improvements over Windows 95, but they are pretty miniscule and really only impact people
with fairly specific needs. If you have Windows 95B or C and are running Internet Explorer
4.0, for example, there is very little there to justify the upgrade because Windows 95B
gives you support for the FAT32 file system and Internet Explorer 4.0 gives you the
integrated web—two of the biggest features in Windows 98. Even most USB peripherals
and DVD-ROM drives work just fine under Windows 95, although there are some USB devices
that will only work with Windows 98. For example, Microsoft’s new USB-based
keyboard—the Natural Keyboard Elite—and the USB version of their Intellimouse
only come with Windows 98 drivers which means they force you to upgrade if you want to use
them as USB devices. According to articles I’ve read with performance benchmarks of
the final shipping Windows 98 code, you won’t get any major performance benefits with
the new OS either—although some applications can be launched more quickly under
Windows 98.
- And no sooner is a new OS with IE 4.0 out the door when
Microsoft announces that there’s a beta available of version 5.0 of Internet
Explorer. Anyone can download the beta, but Microsoft has made it pretty clear that this
version is really for developers only. It’s still buggy and prone to crashing,
according to reports I’ve read, and it overwrites your existing IE 4.0 install. So, I
don’t recommend that you download and use it yet, but you may want to find out more
about what it has to offer. Unless you’re a developer, however, you may be somewhat
disappointed because the vast majority of changes in the new version are "under the
covers" and designed primarily to help developers create more sophisticated web-based
applications. The user interface is virtually identical to IE 4.0 and there are very few
changes that most users will notice. Apparently the new version will offer speedier
browsing through the use of a more efficient "rendering engine," which is the
part of the software that reads the HTML of a particular web page and translates it into
graphic form. In addition, IE 5.0 will support the XML standard. But the bottom line is,
IE 5.0 is the first of many steps towards turning browsers into more sophisticated
development environments that will programmers create more compelling internet and
intranet applications. In other words, initially it will be more of an enabling technology
than something we can all immediately enjoy.
- One of a slew of new product introductions expected at this
coming week’s PC Expo show in New York is an updated version of Lotus’
SmartSuite office application suite for Windows 95/98. Called SmartSuite Millenium
Edition, the new $399 package includes updated versions of the WordPro word processor,
Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet, Freelance Graphics presentation program, Approach database, as
well as a new application called FastSite that’s designed to let groups of people
easily create content for a web site. One of the biggest new additions to the suite is the
inclusion of IBM’s ViaVoice Gold voice recognition software, which requires a 166 MHz
Pentium or better to function. The ViaVoice package works in conjunction with both the
updated versions of WordPro and Lotus 1-2-3, letting users dictate directly into their
word processor or enter numbers into spreadsheets. The new version of the suite also
offers seamless file translations back and forth with Microsoft Office file formats and
can save files in HTML or XML formats. Upgrades are available for $149.
- Well, to no one’s surprise, it was Intel’s turn
last week to get hit with a governmental suit, this time from the Federal Trade
Commission. The FTC’s suit essentially claims that the company took unfair advantage
of its monopoly position to force potential competitors to license their technology. The
suite also argues that Intel withheld important information from competitors who refused
to enter into licensing agreements.
- In other Intel news, the company quickly added to its Celeron
family of processors with the introduction of a 300 MHz version of the Celeron, about six
weeks after its debut at 266 MHz version. Like the first version, this generation of
Celeron chips is essentially a Pentium II minus the onboard L2 cache. While that may not
sound like that big a deal, it actually has a significant impact on the chip’s
performance, particularly on bread-and-butter productivity applications. In other words, a
300 MHz Celeron is generally much slower than a 300 MHz Pentium II, although the
performance gap is smaller on games and other applications that take advantage of floating
point instructions.
- Compaq introduced a slew of new home-based products this
week, including the new laptop line I mentioned last week, as well as lots new Presario
desktop systems. One of the more interesting parts of the new Presarios is a new keyboard
that includes quick Internet access and search keys that let you easily connect to the
Internet or start an Internet search by simply hitting a button on the keyboard. The new
keyboard also includes controls for manipulating the onboard CD and DVD-ROM drives.
Starting at $799, including a $100 rebate, the low end of the new Presario line is the
2254 which features a 266 MHz AMD K6, 32 MB of RAM, 4 GB drive, and a 32x Max CD-ROM. The
new mini-tower 5000 line ranges from $1,599 to $1,999 and includes machines with 300 MHz
Celerons and 300 MHz Pentium IIs, 48 or 64 MB of RAM, 32x Max CD-ROMs, 56k modems and a
built in Ethernet port. At the high end, the new 5600 line, which starts at $1,999, is
based on 350 and 400 MHz Pentium IIs and includes front-mounted USB and IEEE 1394 ports,
as well as a 2X DVD-ROM, 64 or 128 MB of RAM, 8 GB hard drives, 56K modems and built-in
Ethernet. The company is also unveiling a 14.1" $999 flat-panel display called the
fp500 that takes advantage of the new digital flat panel display connector—also found
on these new Presarios—to have a direct digital connection between your
computer’s video card and monitor.
- Another company expected to unveil several new lower cost
flat-panel displays at PC Expo is Samsung. Their new 13.3" model is expected to
retail for $799 and their 15" model is priced at $1,399. Look for more of these from
lots of different companies as the year rolls on.
- A Seattle startup company called The Pixel Company announced
an intriguing sounding new utility called MySpace that claims to offer access to an unused
area of your Windows 95/98 desktop. Initially, MySpace will only be available on new
Packard Bell computers, but the company plans to offer a free downloadable version to
Windows 95/98 users in September, and a Mac and Unix version some time in 1999. What
MySpace does is loads a small control bar in the overscan area of your monitor—you
know, the black part around your computer’s display—that lets you quickly access
files, launch web sites, control your CD-ROM drive and more. The company’s PR implies
some fairly lofty goals for the product, but the reality is a bit more sobering, as I
describe in my weekly "Plugged In" column for InfoWorld Electric. Basically, in
its current iteration at least, it’s a Windows launch utility that’s always
available to you—as long as you’re in Windows that is—and lets you quickly
jump to web sites, open files and more. If you want to find out more, check out my link to
the product on This Week Links and read This Week’s Column.
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