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By Beverly Rosenbaum |
Microsoft has announced a new mouse that will allow faster scrolling through documents. Scheduled for a November release, the IntelliMouse can only be used with a limited number of applications at first, including Microsoft Office 97 and Internet Explorer 3.0 software on the Windows 95 platform.
However, third-party software applications and additional Microsoft applications that support the input device are expected to be announced in November. The IntelliMouse will include a wheel that can be rolled to accelerate scrolling within applications or Web Sites, eliminating the need to manipulate the scroll bar.
Certain key combinations used with the wheel will allow users to zoom on or move between Web sites and documents.
The suggested retail price will be $84.95.
DR DOS Lives?
DR DOS, a PC operating system that died quietly about two years ago, may be reincarnated in the next few months by Caldera Inc., a Utah-based software developer.
Caldera has announced that it has acquired all rights and assets and intends "to reintroduce the full line of DR DOS products to the market and to offer additional product features." DR DOS will be bundled with low-priced PCs or game software that require a DOS operating system. Aimed at niche markets, it could also be bundled with utility products such as disk defragmenters, disk partitoners, and hardware diagnostics, said Caldera CEO Bryan Sparks.
In addition, the company filed an antitrust lawsuit on July 24, 1996 against Microsoft, alleging that Microsoft shut DR DOS out of the market and seeking unspecified treble damages. The unfair pricing and licensing charges date back to 1988 when Digital Research Inc. introduced DR DOS as a competitor to MS DOS. Novell bought Digital Research in 1991 when Raymond Noorda was CEO of Novell, but development of DR DOS ceased in September 1994. Noorda is now the majority owner of Caldera.
Portable MO Drive
Olympus Image Systems, Inc. of Melville, NY, is shipping an inexpensive external magneto optical (MO) disc drive that can be used with notebook computers. The media costs $10 per disc, stores up to 230 MB of data, and has a guaranteed shelf life of 30 years, according to company officials.
The portable external SYS.230 Universal Personal Storage System measures 8 by 6 by 2 inches, weighs 2 pounds, and has a transfer rate of 2.4 MBps and a seek time of less than 17 seconds. The internal PC SCSI version is $299, the external SCSI model is $359, and an external model with both SCSI and parallel port connections is $389. The device is useful for archiving and backup, data exchange, video editing, and collecting Internet files.
Web Surfers Blown Away
So many Internet users tried to access the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Web site at http://www.fema.gov to get updates on tropical storm Bertha in early July that many got locked out.
According to FEMA, the agency's website received nearly 1.3 million hits at peak time during the storm _ a 500% increase over normal usage. The agency is addressing the problem by installing server hardware that can handle three times the current load. Since hurricane season stretches well into the fall, officials expect that usage figure to be surpassed if another major storm hits the United States.
Corel for MAC
The August issue of Macworld reports that CorelDraw, for many years the best in Windows illustration software, has ventured into the Macintosh market. CorelDraw 6 for the Power Mac is reportedly easy to use, offers professional-level capabilities, and offers cross-platform compatibility for those who work with both PCs and Macs.
The software includes the flagship drawing program, texture generator, 3-D modeler, and bitmap editor. Functions are grouped in roll-up palettes, and illustration tools match the capabilities of those in the latest releases of Freehand and Illustrator. The list price is $695. (http://www.corel.com)
NEC ChromaClear
NEC has introduced a new series of MultiSync monitors, the M500 (15") and M700 (17"), which incorporate ChromaClear, a patented new CRT technology similar in design to that found in televisions. NEC boasts that text, graphics and video can be viewed with enhanced focus, greater color saturation, better contrast and increased depth and dimension.
The new M Series monitors support resolutions up to 1152 by 870 and refresh rates up to 120 Hz. There are built-in speakers and microphone, on-screen Manager Controls, a three-year warranty, and support for PCs and Macintosh. Phosphors of the ChromaClear CRT appear elliptical and are grouped into separate bundles of three in a vertical alignment, providing improved clarity and focus. A special window, adjustable in 25 percent increments (25, 50, 75 and 100 percent of the screen), appears in the center of the screen to view video.
The estimated street price for the M500 is $599, and the M700 is $899. More information is available at 800/NEC-INFO, or at their website, http://www.nec.com.
Also available for free download from the NEC website is their NetMC multimedia authoring tool. It requires a "Fast" 486 or Pentium Computer with 256k on-board cache, 16 MB RAM, Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows NT V. 3.51 or later, VGA or SVGA graphics, 50 MB hard disk space, 16-bit sound card and speakers or headphones and double-speed CD-ROM drive.
IBM ThinkPad Bug
This may be a case where the cure is as bad as the ailment. Keyboard problems have been reported when using an IBM ThinkPad 760 notebook with an IBM Dock II docking station.
A bug possibly related to the notebook's BIOS or driver software can produce error messages or missing letters onscreen when the notebook is docked and a full-size keyboard is attached. IBM is developing a permanent fix, but a preliminary software fix has been available in the ThinkPad forum of IBM's bulletin board system (file YPFT#034.SYS).
The software fix temporarily disables the ThinkPad's TrackPoint pointing device while docked, but it becomes active again when the notebook is removed from the dock. The bug is not present if the newer SelectaDock docking station is used. Call IBM toll free at 1-800-IBM-3333 for more information.
Beverly Rosenbaum is a HAL-PC member and can be reached via e-mail through the User Journal section of HALNet.
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