From: system@fallout.lonestar.org
Newsgroups: dfw.general,tx.general,comp.org.decus,comp.os.vms,comp.sys.dec
Subject: DECUS DFWLUG Sept 8th Meeting notice/Newsletter
Date: 3 Sep 92 04:44:56 GMT
Organization: DECUS DFWLUG BBS *Dallas*TX*

===========================================================================
= __________                                                              =
=|  ______  | THE DFWLUG                                                  =
=| / ---- \ | 10th Anniversary(*1982-1992*)                               =
=|  |    |  | Celebrating 10 Years of DECUS                               =
=| \ ____ / | in Dallas/Ft. Worth Texas                                   =
=|  ------  |                                                             =
= ----------  dfwlug@fallout.lonestar.org           BBS: (214) 270-3313   =
= D E C U S                                                               =
=                                                                         =
=             The DFWLUG is the Local Users Group for the                 =
=           Digital Equipment Computer Users Society (DECUS)              =
=                                                                         =
=                 *DECUS*    DFWLUG  NET/Newsletter                       =
=                                                                         =
=Volume 2 Number 9                                    September 2nd, 1992 =
===========================================================================
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOLUME 2 NUMBER 9    INDEX (in this issue)
   
PAGE 1   * The next DFWLUG meeting Info and Map (September 8th, 1992)
PAGE 2   * Greeting from the DFWLUG.
PAGE 3   * DFWLUG/DECUS Event Calendar for the rest of 1992
PAGE 4   * Digital delivers over 1.4 million DECnet licenses!
PAGE 5   * Digital delivers a new low cost line of PCs
PAGE 6   * Digital - Signs 100 million dollar agreement with Hughes Aircraft
PAGE 7   * Press release on Digital's transition from current PC suppliers
PAGE 8   * X/OPEN and OSF agree to work together on DCE technology
PAGE 9   * Byte Article -- Reprint Sept 1992  "Is Unix Dead?"
PAGE 10  * DFWLUG Contact list
PAGE 11  * DFWLUG BBS Info
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VOLUME 2 NUMBER 9
PAGE 1
 
9/8/92  -- >>>>>> The September  meeting agenda is as follows:

John Wisniewski from Digital Equipment Corporation will present 

" The DFWLUG BBS: Internetworking with DECUS UUCP"

Abstract:

Ever wonder how E-mail gets across from system to system on the 
Internet and it's gateways?  

Wish you knew how to extract and use binaries posted to one of the 
USEnet newsgroups? 

How would you go about connecting your computer to a UUCP network
and the Internet?

Did you ever wonder why John keeps so many versions of KERMIT on 
the DFWLUG BBS? :-)

Well, these mysteries and many more will be revealed during
John's September Talk.

John will cover how to use the DFWLUG BBS effectively and the 
ways to go on-line for yourself or your company to the Internet.

John's session notes will contain contact and logistics information
for full Internet connectivity for companies as UUCP connections for
companies and individuals.

--

Chris Simon has two more Freeware CDs from Digital Europe!  
These CDroms will be given away as doorprizes this month so
you must be present to win!  

600 MBytes of Freeware in an ISO 9660 format!  

Each CDrom is jammed full of sources, games, (Emacs, g++,ghostscript, 
and more) software from GNU, GIF and JPG tools, C++ examples, Ckermit, 
multimedia, security papers on the internet worm and other technical 
topics, the complete text for "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll, 
The King James Version of the Bible, and even the complete text to the 
Magna Carta!

"Not sold in ANY store!", this CD is a "MUST HAVE" for UNIX and VMS 
folks alike and the DFWLUG is giving them away at our next meeting!

Be sure to get your doorprize ticket at the meeting, you must be present
to win!

  Note we even have the Hardcopy list of what's on these CDs this month
  Good Luck in the drawing!

--

Robert Eden will also have the Spring/Fall 91 DECUS Symposia Software on 
9-track reel tapes.  Please Don't bring your 9 Tracks to trade, Robert 
says he has enough to just give away. (but if you would like to donate 
1 TK50 in trade...;-)

--

Lon Crozier will have membership forms and DFWLUG BBS membership forms
available at the meeting.  LUG membership and meeting attendance is always
free but your $10.00/year contribution gets you a personal/private account 
on the DFWLUG BBS and helps keep the LUG moving.

Help us to help you, a little bit goes a long way.

--

Digital will provide a Technology demonstration of PCs and Workstations.

The library area will have copies of technical reference and update books 
for DECUS members to take home.  *Thanks DEC*

POPCORN and Soft drinks will also be be furnished courtesy of Digital. 

--

John Wisniewski will be providing copies of PC Kermit (V3.11.7 VT320 
emulation, DEC multinational char support and more) and PC "Network"
starter kits at the meeting.
 
           -- Bring your 3 1/2" crunchies for a copy....


John will also have DEC Polycenter information and live software CDroms 
will be available with instant temporary PAKS from Digital's 1-800 support 
number.  

These CDs contain all the DEC Polycenter softwares, documentation and
1-800 service for software evaluation on your systems, free from Digital.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meeting Location:
7:00pm                                   This meeting will be at the 
               - - -                     Digital's Application Center   
              |Park |       |            for Technology (214) 702-4400.
              |    \|/      |
              | |----||----|| |-----|    9th floor of the Digital Building
              | |DEC ||OXY || |     |    in North Dallas.
              | |----||----|| |_____|Galleria
               - - -        |  
           _________________|________________________
                            |   LBJ Freeway I-635      
                           D|T                       
                           A|O                       ^
                           L|L                      /|\
                           L|L                       |
                           A|W                       |North
                           S|A
                            |Y

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VOLUME 2 NUMBER 9
PAGE 2

*Greetings from the DFWLUG*

September is true start of the business year.  The summer is over,
vacations have passed, students are back in school, and the DFWLUG 
ramps up a notch for the Fall/Winter season of information exchanges
and our Fall calendar of Technical presentations.

During the September meeting the Candidates for our offices
will say a few words about how they would impact the LUG

At our October meeting we will be voting for our new Chair and
Vice-Chair of the DFWLUG -- You must be present to vote.

Our 10th anniversary Picnic is next Month on October 10th with
many surprises and celebrations.  Watch for the specifics of 
where and when!

Digital is holding an ISV "ALPHA" software porting seminar in 
Dallas the week of September 15th.  

If you are an ISV from Dallas contact your ISV representative 
if you need some "ALPHA" porting time this should be a good
interactive session.


Changes happen every year during the Fall but you should be watching for 
it this Fall; the DFWLUG will be providing new and exciting services for 
it's members, changing and keeping pace with an ever changing industry.


*The DFWLUG Staff*  

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VOLUME 2 NUMBER 9
PAGE 3
-----------------------8<----Cut and Save--------------------------------------

             THE DFWLUG FALL/WINTER SCHEDULE OF SPEAKERS

Sep. 8  - John Wisniewski - Digital Equipment Corporation (Dallas)
	  The DFWLUG BBS Tutorial/Intro to DECUS UUCP and Internetworking
Oct. 13 - Todd Whiting - Raxco (Utah)
	  "Policy: The Foundation of a Secure System"
Nov. 10 - Lloyd Uhler - DFWLUG member    (Dallas)
	  ICON portable string processing language (available for free)
Dec. 15 - Bill Hancock - Network-1 (New York)
	  Networking Topic 


         THE 1992 DECUS SUMMER/FALL/WINTER CALENDAR OF EVENTS
             (for Dallas/FT Worth and surrounding Areas)



Sep    8th, 1992  DFWLUG Meeting -- 
                    Speaker:  John Wisniewski
                       From:  Digital Equipment Dallas, TX
                      Topic:  DFWLUG BBS usage, Internet E-Mail, VMS UUCP,
                              and VMS ANU news.

Sep    9th, 1992  Fall Symposium Registration program sent to mailing
                    house.

Sep   28th, 1992  DFWLUG submission deadline for October issue.
                  

Oct 10th, 1992    DFWLUG will celebrate it's 10th anniversary
                  at a Picnic Site in the Dallas Area.  Food
                  drinks, music, prizes and fun for the DFWLUG 
                  members and their families will begin the next 
                  10 year of DECUS in North Texas. 


Oct 10-13th,1992  Local Seminars - El Passo, TX

Oct 13th, 1992    DFWLUG Meeting --
                    Speaker: Todd Whiting 
                       From: Raxco (Utah)
                      Topic: Policy: The Foundation of a Secure System

                  Special Note:  This meeting will also host elections
                                 for two DFWLUG offices (Chair and a
                                 staff position). You must be present
                                 to vote. 
                                  
Oct 20th, 1992    Session Notes submission deadline for Fall 1992
                  Symposium (in Las Vegas)

Oct 26th, 1992    DFWLUG submission deadline for November issue.
                  
Nov  4th, 1992    Early-bird Seminar/Symposium registration deadline.
Nov  4th, 1992    Fall 1992 symposium housing reservation deadline.

Nov 10th, 1992    DFWLUG Meeting -- 
                    Speaker: Lloyd Uhler
                       From: DFWLUG member
                      Topic: ICON portable string processing language

Nov 30th, 1992    DFWLUG submission deadline for December issue.
                  
Dec 5-6th, 1992   Pre-symposium seminars Las Vegas, NV

Dec 7-11th,1992   National DECUS symposium Las Vegas, NV
Dec 15th, 1992    DFWLUG meeting --
                    Speaker: Bill Hancock
                       From: Network-1 (New York)
                      Topic: Networking

Dec 28th, 1992    DFWLUG submission deadline for January issue.
                  

-----------------------8<----Cut and Save--------------------------------------

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VOLUME 2 NUMBER 9
PAGE 4

	 _______________________________________________________
	|							|
	|	MAJOR MILESTONES REACHED Q4/92:			|
	|							|
	|	o  1.4 million DECnet licenses	        	|
	|	o  1.8 million 802.3/Ethernet nodes		|
	|	o  5.5 million 802.3/Ethernet terminal ports	|
	|							|
	|		SPREAD THE WORD!!!			|
	|_______________________________________________________|




	  DIGITAL'S WORLDWIDE NETWORK CUSTOMER INSTALLED BASE		
	
        Through June 1992, Digital has shipped worldwide:
	______________________________________________________	

	      1,363,000 DECnet licenses			 

	      1,269,000 802.3/Ethernet CPU nodes*			
		526,000 802.3/Ethernet communications servers		
              =========						
	      1,795,000 Total 802.3/Ethernet nodes		

	      5,517,000 802.3/Ethernet terminal ports			

	    to	105,119 Ethernet customer locations worldwide




	* NOTE:  Beginning with the June 1991 release, 802.3/Ethernet 
                 CPU nodes has been modified to include integral system 
                 Ethernet controller shipments since July 1989.


		DIGITAL'S INTERNAL "EASYnet" NODE CENSUS

		Through May 1992 Digital's **internal**
		EASYnet network comprised:
	__________________________________________________________


		77,696 CPU nodes

	    at	   542 sites

	    in	    37 countries around the world
	
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VOLUME 2 NUMBER 9
PAGE 5


New Digital Manufactured PCs 

    CONTACT DESKTOP DIRECT 1-800-722-9332

HIGHLIGHTS

o  In July 1992, PC Magazine described "the Perfect PC"

o  In September 1992, Digital manufactures it

o  Full line of industry standard, low profile desktop PCs:  386SX, 386DX, 
   486SX, 486DX and 486DX2 processors -- with upgradability in the 386DX and 
   486-based models

o  Aggressive low prices

o  Upgradable models offer outstanding video performance -- Windows runs up 
   to four times faster than on ordinary PCs!

o  Available off-the-shelf from the DESKTOP DIRECT catalog now

OVERVIEW

Digital announces a new family of "Built Better. Priced Right." personal 
computers that are designed, engineered, and manufactured by Digital.  With 
this new family of DECpc products, we now provide our customers with the power 
and reliability they need, at a truly competitive price.

The new products will be identified as the LP (Low Profile) family.  They 
are as follows:

Product Name			Processor	CPU Speed

DECpc 333sx LP			386SX		33 MHz
DECpc 340dx LP			386DX		40 MHz
DECpc 425sx LP			486SX		25 MHz
DECpc 433dx LP			486DX		33 MHz
DECpc 450d2 LP			486DX2		50 MHz
DECpc 466d2 LP			486DX2		66 MHz

The DECpc 333sx LP is the low-priced, high-quality desktop product in the 
Digital manufactured family of products. 

The 386DX and 486-based systems are the upgradables, featuring upgradable 
CPU power.

The major features of the entire DECpc LP product family are as follows:

o  Fully industry standard.  The DECpc LP family of products have been 
   tested by the independent National Software Testing Lab (NSTL) to ensure 
   that off-the-shelf software works reliably and consistently.  Third-party 
   industry standard hardware, such as disk drives and option cards, will 
   work as well.  This means that customers can buy the new DECpc products 
   with confidence.

o  Three available full-size 8- or 16-bit ISA slots for option cards.

o  Highly integrated.  The on-board FDD/IDE controller supports up to four 
   disk drives (two floppies and two IDE hard disks), and there are two 
   serial ports, one parallel port, mouse port, video port and keyboard 
   port.  (You do not use a slot for these features.)

o  Small size.  Only 90mm H x 410mm W x 396mm D (3.5" H x 16.1" W x 
   15.6 "D).

o  Temperature-sensing, variable-speed fan for operating in a quiet office 
   environment.  In fact, the noise level is so low that it meets the 
   strictest worldwide requirements for noise levels in home or office 
   settings.

o  145 Watt auto-sensing power supply for use worldwide.  The power supply 
   automatically adjusts to voltage ranges from 100 to 240 volts, making it 
   ideal for international use.  Competitive systems often require setting a 
   switch manually, if they have any controls at all.

o  Power-on password and key lock on system case enhances security.

o  Up to 72 Hz refresh rate.  The standard system supports up to 72 Hz 
   monitors, which reduce eye strain and discomfort.  Most competitive 
   systems support only 60 Hz monitors.

o  Customers can purchase packaged configurations that include keyboard, 
   mouse, MS-DOS V5 and Microsoft Windows V3.1 (installed).

o  Quality assured.

   -  High standards of design and engineering.  Use of highly integrated 
      components (ASICs), secure metal SIMM clips (rather than the plastic 
      clips that many vendors use, which tend to break), extra supportive 
      metal design to protect the contents of the PC (rather than flimsy 
      angle brackets).

   -  ISO 9000 certification.  ISO 9000 is the foundation for Digital's 
      quality system program to ensure that we deliver products that have 
      been created in a controlled environment certified to International 
      Standards Organization standards.  The Taiwan plant, where 


 with DECUS UUCP and ANUnews
(both softwares are available free from DECUS!)


 with DECUS UUCP and ANUnews
(both softwares are available free from DECUS!)
      manufacturing up to the final integration level takes place, is one of 
      75 of Digital's sites with ISO 9000 certification.  Digital is among 
      the first to recognize the value of having their quality system 
      recognized internationally.  It is also an MRP II Class A facility, 
      the premiere rating for integrated manufacturing processes and 
      materials handling.

   -  Torture tested.  The testing of these Digital manufactured PCs meets, 
      or in many cases exceeds, the most demanding DEC Standard 
      requirements.  Tests include striking test systems with 10 Gs of force 
      (our "shake test"), and thermal cycling through temperatures from 80oC 
      to -20oC (the "bake test").

o  Catalog price includes shipping, handling, and sales tax.  This is an 
   extra charge in most other vendor's products.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q. Why is Digital starting to manufacture its own PCs?

A. At this point in time Digital has achieved a volume of PC sales worldwide 
   that makes it reasonable for us to manufacture our own PCs.  By doing so 
   we are capable of providing a superior-quality PC at a highly competitive 
   price, which is exactly what customers are looking for.  We see 
   tremendous market opportunity and are vigorously pursuing it.

Q. With so many PCs already available, why would customers choose Digital 
   PCs?

A. We believe that customers want quality, reliability, service, support, 
   and the right price -- all from a stable worldwide supplier.  We can 
   deliver all that and more.

Q. What are some of the tactics we'll be using to achieve our worldwide 
   goals?

A. The underlying strategy is in a new business model designed to make our 
   PC operation more streamlined and efficient.  Digital can increase 
   profitability by taking advantage of the cost efficiencies of controlling 
   all aspects of the product cycle, from concept and design through 
   sourcing of components, final assembly and test, distribution, sales, 
   service and support.   Also, local integration of components in 
   geographies allows shipment of finished product to customers faster as 
   well as making it possible to respond quickly to changes in local market 
   demand.  In the U.S., local integration will be done in Springfield, MA.

Q. How will our relationship with Tandy change with the introduction of 
   these new Digital manufactured desktop PCs?

A. Digital's relationship with Tandy remains strong and will evolve as our 
   business model evolves.  Tandy will no longer manufacture desktop PCs for 
   Digital to sell.  They will, however, continue to manufacture Notebooks 
   and Portables for Digital.

   In addition, Intel will continue to manufacture high-performance systems 
   based on the collaborative design effort between our two companies. 



Q. What is the strategy for migrating our current desktop PC products to the 
   new Digital manufactured PC products?

A. The migration looks like this:

Current Products			New Products

					DECpc 466d2 LP

DECpc 450dx2           ------------->	DECpc 450d2 LP

DECstation 425c \
DECstation 333c  >     ------------->	DECpc 433dx LP
DECstation 325c /

DECpc420sx             ------------->	DECpc 425sx LP


DECstation 320sx \      ------------->  DECpc 340dx LP
DECpc 316sx      /			DECpc 333sx LP


Q. What is the DESKTOP DIRECT strategy for these products?

A. The entire line will be carried by DESKTOP DIRECT.  We will also sell 
   through our other channels and our direct sales force.

Q. Are upgrades from 386 to 486 systems possible?

A. The DECpc 333sx LP is not upgradable.  Its motherboard is completely 
   different.  The DECpc 340d LP is upgradable to 486 by changing the daughter
   card.  This upgrade should be performed by Digital Services.

Q. Will the LP family be upgradable to the new Intel P5 chip?

A. No.  The P5 will have a new base motherboard.

Q. Will the LP family be compatible with Windows NT?

A. Yes.  The LP family is designed to run Windows NT.


The DECpc 333sx LP: Windows Power at the Entry Level

HIGHLIGHTS

o  The fastest 386SX processor on the market today

o  A PC price/performance winner in a great package

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

The lowest priced model in the family of new "Built Better. Priced Right." 
personal computers designed, engineered and manufactured by Digital is the 
DECpc 333sx LP.  The DECpc 333sx LP gives customers the power and 
reliability they need at a truly competitive price.

The most popular desktop systems on the market today are the 386SX systems. 
They have all the power needed to run advanced business applications, such 
as those that run under Microsoft Windows.  This product runs at 33 MHz. 
Most other vendors offer 386SX systems running at 25 MHz or even slower 
speeds.

Additional features of the DECpc 333sx LP (beyond the family features): 

o  Uses a 386SX microprocessor running at 33 MHz.

o  On-board video controller, Super VGA (SVGA), supports resolutions up to 
   1024-by-768 (video has 512 KB of memory.  The controller does not use a 
   bus slot).  Video memory is expandable up to 1 MB for "true color" 
   applications.   The standard system supports up to 72 Hz monitors, which 
   reduces eye strain and discomfort.  Most competitive systems support only 
   60 Hz monitors.

o  Packaged configurations are available in 2 MB or 4 MB, expandable to 14 
   MB on the motherboard.  Memory is 70ns, faster than the 80ns memory often 
   used by other vendors.

o  64 KB Cache for better performance.  Competitive 386SX models usually 
   have no cache at all.

o  Optional -- the fastest 387 math coprocessor for additional performance.

o  Aggressively priced, starting at $899 for a fully configured 2 MB system, 
   (including MS-DOS V5.0 and Windows V3.1 installed) plus $350 for a 
   14-inch color monitor.



The Upgradable Systems: Power with the Future in Mind



PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

For high performance and fast graphics in business-critical applications, 
the new upgradable DECpc LP family is the answer.  These systems are based 
on 386DX and 486 technology and include many features right on the 
motherboard, such as the SVGA video running on a fast local bus.  A modular 
daughter card supports a variety of 386DX and 486 processors for upgrading 
as needs change or grow.  All this, yet the upgradable systems are very 
competitively priced.

Additional features of the upgradable systems (beyond the family features):

o  Upgradable from 386DX and 486SX through 486DX to 486DX2.

   The DECpc 340dx LP has a dedicated socket for installation of the fastest 
   math coprocessor available.  This is an easy and economical way of 
   speeding floating point calculations, enhancing the performance of 
   spreadsheets, CAD, and other math-intensive applications.

   The DECpc 425sx LP, 433dx LP, 450d2 LP, and 466d2 LP all have a dedicated 
   Vacancy Socket that provides an industry standard path for processor 
   upgrades.  For example, a 486SX can be upgraded to a 486DX or 486DX2; a 
   486DX can be upgraded to a 486DX2.

   
   All models have a modular, snap-in daughter card for replacement of 
   microprocessor and cache, allowing the entire system to be upgraded with 
   more powerful processors and cache.  A Daughter Card Upgrade can convert 
   a 340DX to a 466DX2 (or anything in between) in one step by Digital 
   Services.

o  Memory -- fast and lots of it.

   Unlike many competitors that require additional memory to be added on a 
   memory card inserted into an ISA slot or onto some other optional board, 
   the entire LP family has room for memory expansion right on the 
   motherboard.  There is room for up to 64 MB of system RAM (4 MB is 
   standard).

   The memory is 70 nanosecond, unlike that of many competitors that use 
   ordinary, slower 80 nanosecond memory.  The 70ns memory can substantially 
   increase the performance of memory-intensive applications.

o  Cache makes the upgradables even better performing.

   These systems include the most effective caching strategy, 128 KB of 
   Writeback Cache, which significantly boosts performance.  The 
   cache is optionally expandable to 256 KB.


o  Ultra fast local bus SVGA video performance with GUI acceleration.

   The DECpc SVGA video has been optimized to run graphical applications 
   like Microsoft Windows up to four times faster than before.  Windows 
   screens will appear to "snap open," and switching from one application to 
   another will seem instantaneous.  This is accomplished by the following 
   features:

   -  Local Bus SVGA Video -- The video controller runs faster because a 
      dedicated local bus directly connects the video to the processor.  
      This means that information travels on a fast, 32-bit data path 
      running at the speed of the system clock (currently up to 33 MHz), 
      instead of the standard 16-bit data path running at the 8 MHz speed of 
      the ISA bus, which is where most video is run on other vendors' PCs.

      Another advantage of local bus video is that the ISA bus is freed from 
      carrying video information so that peripherals and options already on 
      the ISA bus access the ISA bus faster.  The net result is that the 
      whole system gains performance.

   -  Graphical User Interface (GUI) Accelerator -- The dedicated video 
      accelerator chip on the motherboard is optimized to perform the 
      graphics functions identified by Microsoft as critical for Windows.  
      This means that the GUI, with its windows and pull-down menus, runs 
      substantially faster.  The result is that functions like scrolling, 
      which can take up to 15 seconds per page with ordinary SVGA, is 
      processed in one or two seconds.

      Another advantage is that the system processor (the 486 chip) does not 
      need to calculate the process-intensive GUI information.  Therefore, 
      it is freed to perform other calculations at the same time that the 
      video chip performs video calculations.  The result is that the whole 
      system performs even faster still.

   -  High Resolution -- The systems come with 512 KB of video VRAM, more 
      than many competitors.  Our standard configuration is capable of 
      resolutions of up to 1024-by-768.  Or, at lower resolutions, the 
      system is capable of reproducing hundreds of colors.  With the 
      optional video VRAM, the DECpc is capable of both 1024-by-768 high 
      resolution and 256 colors.  VRAM is used instead of DRAM for 
      additional performance.


PRICING/ORDERING INFORMATION

CONTACT DESKTOP DIRECT 1-800-722-9332


SPECIFICATIONS
Model                  	    333sx      340dx   425sx    433dx  	  450/466d2

External Bus Speed (MHz)    33	       40      25	33	  25/33
Internal Clock Speed (MHz)33	       40      25	33	  50/66
Vacancy Socket		    No	       No      Yes	Yes	  Yes
Coprocessor Socket	    Yes	       Yes     No	No	  No

Ext. Instr. Cache (KB)	    64	       128 (expandable to 256)
  Type			 Direct-mapped Direct-Mapped
			 posted write  WriteBack Cache

Max. RAM 		    14 MB      64 MB
  Speed			    70 ns
  Mode			 Interleaved   Interleaved
			    page       block   
  Configuration		    8 30-pin   4 72-pin
			    sockets    sockets

BIOS			    Phoenix with password protector and shadow 
function
  ROM Architecture	    Shadow RAM for BIOS and/or Video ROM

Integrated Video	    SVGA       SVGA with local bus and GUI accelerator
  Video Memory		 512 KB DRAM   512 KB VRAM
  Expandable to		    1 MB       1 MB
  Refresh rate        Up to 72 Hz @640 x 480 or 600 x 800, 70 Hz @ 1024 x 768

Storage Bay Configuration
  Front-accessible bays	    One 3.5" & 1 5.25"; or 2 3.5"
  Internal bays		    Two low-profile 3.5" (or one 3.5" full height)
Ports
  Serial		    Two ports with 9-pin D Type male connectors
  Parallel		    One port with 25-pin D Type female connector
  Mouse			    One port with PS/2 compatible 6-pin Mini-DIN
  Video			    One port with 16-pin 3-row D Type
  Keyboard		    One port with PS/2 compatible 6-pin Mini-DIN

Front Panel Indicators	    Power, hard drive, floppy drive, turbo
Front Panel Switches	    Power, CPU reset
EMI/Safety		    FCC-B, UL, CSA, VDE-B, GS

Microprocessor:
Type			    386SX      386DX   486SX	486DX	  486DX2
Operating Speed (MHz)	    33 	       40      25 	33	  50 & 66
Internal Architecture	    32-bit     32-bit  32-bit	32-bit	  32-bit
Address Bus		    16-bit     32-bit  32-bit	32-bit	  32-bit
Data Bus		    16-bit     32-bit  32-bit	32-bit	  32-bit
Internal Cache		    None       None    8K	8K	  8K
Physical Address Space	    4 GB       4 GB    4 GB	4 GB	  4 GB
Virtual Address Space	    64 TB      64 TB   64 TB	64 TB     64 TB
Protected Mode		    Yes	       Yes     Yes	Yes	  Yes
Virtual 8086 Mode	    Yes	       Yes     Yes	Yes	  Yes
Packaging`		    PQFP       PGA     PQFP	PGA	  PGA

Coprocessor:
For Model:		    333sx      340dx
Operating Speed		    33 MHz      40 MHz
Internal Architecture	    64-bit      32-bit
Packaging		    PLCC        PGA




SERVICES

The new Digital manufactured PCs are supported and serviced by Digital's 
extensive worldwide support organization.  Integrated support strategy is 
available for hardware and software through a comprehensive portfolio of 
service offerings.

One-year on-site warranty service on parts and labor is standard.  Many other 
vendors offer only carry-in or mail-back service.

And, of course, Digital offers a 30-day moneyback guarantee.

RESOURCES

The following resources on the new Digital manufactured PCs are available in
Northboro.

Part No.      Title

EC-N0971-88   DECpc 333sx LP Information and Specifications (Information 
              Sheet)

EC-N0970-88   DECpc Upgradables Information and Specifications (Information 
              Sheet)

EC-E2004-88   DECpc Family Brochure (portables, desktop, deskside PCs)

EC-N0974-88   DECpc 333sx LP and DECpc4xx Upgradables Sales Guide

EC-N0975-88   DECpc 333sx LP and DECpc4xx Upgradables Configuration Guide

Additional new literature on DECpcs:

EC-N0976-88   DECpc 325P Notebook Information and Specifications 
              (Information Sheet)

EC-N0977-88   DECpc 400ST Family Information and Specifications (Information 
              Sheet)


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VOLUME 2 NUMBER 9
PAGE 6

 Digital - Signs agreement with Hughes Aircraft
	{The Wall Street Journal, 13-Aug-92, p. ?}
	{Contributed by: Mary Mistovich}
   Hughes Aircraft Co. signed a milestone pact in its costly bid to take the
 lead in the market for direct satellite-to-home TV service, hiring Digital
 Equipment Corp. and Network Computing Corp. to provide billing services.
   The deal, to be announced today by the Direc-Tv unit of Hughes, has a value
 of as much as $100 million over 10 years to the contracting companies.
 Digital, based in Maynard, Mass., will serve as prime contractor and provide
 hardware. Network Computing, based in Charlotte, N.C., will provide software 
 services.
   The agreement, however, has a greater significance for Hughes. The aerospace
 unit of General Motors Corp., which is investing about $500 million in the
 project, now has put in place all the system hardware needed for a service
 that it hopes will attract 10 million subscribers to the 150-channel operation
 by the end of the decade and eventually compete with cable-TV systems....
   For Digital, the nation's second-largest computer maker, the agreement opens
 a new systems-integration market. Digital is looking at this area to broaden
 its business base, said John O'Keefe, vice president of Digital's U.S.
 Complementary Solutions Organizations group. He said that while the size of
 the new business is being valued at $100 million, that represents a
 conservative estimate, and "we think the contract is almost unlimited" in
 revenue potential.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOLUME 2 NUMBER 9
PAGE 7

 Marketing Message On Digital's Transition from Current PC Suppliers
 
 Digital is a World-Wide Manufacturer of computer systems and has the 
 technology and capability to manufacturer quality products. We have 
 been selling our new PC products since February of this year in Canada, 
 Asia, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand with great market acceptance.   
 In the US, our recent introduction of the Desktop Direct Program has 
 been very well received in the market and has lead to Digital being 
 cited by Computer Intelligence as the fastest growing PC Vendor 
 in the US.

 We have conducted a buiness review of the PC Business looking
 at both fixed and variable costs and revisited our make/buy analysis
 based on the anticipated projection of higher volumes of our PC products  
 in FY 93. At this time, the analysis supports a decision that we 
 believe that at this point in our PC program we should bring the 
 manufacturing of our PC Products in house where we can achieve the 
 economies of scale in mass manufacturing and distribution of these 
 products. Our Engineering effort has allowed us to design a Quality 
 Product with a high amount of Integration on the motherboard that will 
 provide products with high reliability. In addition we have 
 manufacturing facilities that are MRP II Class A and are ISO 9000 
 Certified. So we have the talent and technology to produce these 
 quality products in high volume to meet market demands. 

 We value our relationship with Tandy, Olivetti and Intel and appreciate 
 their support to help us be successful with our initial phase of 
 the program. The relationship with these suppliers remains strong and 
 will evolve as the PC Business model rolls out. The relationship will 
 remain; however, the content of the relationship with each supplier may 
 change. Intel manufactures high performance systems based on the 
 collaborative design effort between the two companies. Olivetti 
 supplies Desktop PCs for Digital to sell in Europe and Tandy will 
 provide selected notebook products for the US and Canada. We will work 
 with them in the future on selected opportunities. We will continue 
 to support the existing PC product line in the future and will work with our 
 customers to continue to provide a high level of service and support to 
 address their needs as we move forward with increased emphasis on personal 
 computing.

 The move to client server computing and the market acceptance of the 
 Windows environment is opening Personal Computing to many new  
 applications in Today's complex business environment. Digital is 
 making the investments to allow us to meet the needs of our customers
 in providing leadership products for the dynamic market of Desktop 
 Computing.  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOLUME 2 NUMBER 9
PAGE 8
 
 X/OPEN AND OSF AGREE TO WORK TOGETHER TO INCORPORATE 
 DCE INTO COMMON APPLICATIONS ENVIRONMENT
 
 Landmark Agreement Establishes the Base for Open Systems 
 Interoperability
 
 
 Reading, UK, 11 August 1992 - X/Open and the Open Software Foundation 
 today announced a joint initiative to integrate the OSF Distributed 
 Computing Environment (DCE) specifications into X/Open's Common 
 Applications Environment. 
 
 The X/Open CAE is X/Open's specification set for open systems. A sub-set 
 of these specifications, XPG (the X/Open Portability Guide), represents the 
 basis for identifying open systems platforms and components through 
 X/Open's test and verification program. The X/Open brand symbol, widely 
 recognised by the technology industry, by governments and commercial 
 users of information technology from around the world, is licensed for 
 use in conjunction with products which are registered as compliant.
 
 The integration of the DCE interface specifications into the Common 
 Applications Environment will expand the scope of the CAE to encompass 
 a full distributed framework, with DCE as the base for open systems 
 interoperability. OSF will continue to include DCE in its Application 
 Environment Specification (AES) which covers all of OSF's technologies.
 
 "This agreement demonstrates how X/Open can work together with a 
 complementary consortium to provide the industry with a fast response to 
 user needs. It  ensures that X/Open's distributed computing system 
 interfaces describes a comprehensive environment which will not only 
 support full open systems computing, but also supports interworking with 
 existing PC and mainframe systems " said Mike Lambert, X/Open vice-
 president and chief technical officer.
 
 "Since its inception, OSF has worked closely with X/Open, and we're 
 pleased that our effective working relationship has resulted in this 
 significant agreement," commented Jon Gossels, business area manager 
 for OSF's Distributed Computing Environment. "The marketplace has 
 recognised that our DCE technology is the most effective solution to the 
 difficult problem of creating, using and maintaining applications in 
 distributed, multi-vendor environments. Our joint commitment with 
 X/Open will help further the progress of open systems initiatives."
 
 At the X/Open Xtra Congress, held in Washington, DC, in November 
 1991, DCE specifications were highlighted as being important to the open 
 systems community. One of the users of open systems working on the 
 issue is Terry Barrett of Bellcore who is also a member of the X/Open User 
 Council Executive Committee. He said, "This agreement shows how 
 effective the user community can be in asking for action on key issues. We 
 are very pleased that OSF and X/Open have reached agreement on this 
 critical issue."
 
 The specifications for DCE will be published by X/Open in the same way as 
 other CAE specifications. X/Open's goal is to make the DCE interfaces 
 components of its the formal XPG specifications, with the XPG brand being 
 applied to implementations registered as compliant.
 
 
 Note to editors:
 
 X/Open, founded in 1984, is a worldwide, independent open systems 
 organisation dedicated to developing an open, multi-vendor Common 
 Applications Environment (CAE) based on de facto and international 
 standards. Specification of the Common Applications Environment is 
 achieved through close cooperation between users, vendors and standards 
 organisations worldwide.
 
 For more information:
 
 Michael Spring
 X/Open Co
 Apex Plaza
 Forbury Road
 Reading RG1 1AX
 UK
 
 Tel +44 734 508311
 Fax +44 734 500110	
 
 Jeff Hansen
 X/Open Co
 1010 el Camino Real, Suite 380
 Menlo Park
 CA 94025
 USA
 
 +1 415 323 7992
 +1 415 323 8204
 
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Michael Spring                                        X/Open Company Limited
 European Communications Mgr                         Apex Plaza, Forbury Road
 EMail: m.spring@xopen.co.uk                  Reading, England, RG1 1AX
 Tel: +(44) (0)734 508311                            FAX: +(44) (0)734 500110 
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
VOLUME 2 NUMBER 9
PAGE 9


	"Dataquest projects that NT will claim 37 percent of the desktop
	market by 1996; DOS will retain 40 percent, and Unix will be a
	distant third with 7 percent."

BYTE, September 1992

Is Unix Dead?

As Unix faces the stiffest competition of its long life 
  -- Windows NT -- can it survive?

Tom Yager and Ben Smith

Among operating systems, Unix is the grand old man. Over its long life,
it has garnered respect and ridicule, awe and animosity. Never before
has computer code managed to so passionately galvanize and divide, anger
and excite otherwise level-headed technologists. Unix stories transcend
reality. Wizards and demons abound. Gatherings of the faithful generate
the kind of excitement usually reserved for evangelists' tents. 

Today, however, Unix's seniority and mystique hold little sway. At least 25
different Unixes exist now, and committees dispassionately choose from among
various Unix versions, but six providers dominate: Sun Microsystems, The Santa
Cruz Operation, Hewlett-Packard, Unix Software Laboratories, DEC, and IBM. The
entry of Next, Univel (the joint venture between USL and Novell), Solaris (from
SunSoft, Sun Microsystems' software subsidiary), and other new multiplatform
Unix players will, odd as it may seem, help consolidate a confusing field of
choices. But in the midst of that consolidation, Unix will face what may be its
most powerful adversary to date: Microsoft Windows NT.

At this crossroads, it is appropriate to examine some key aspects of Unix: What
makes it unique? How has it changed over the years? What are the threats to its
survival, and how might it overcome them? And, most important, will it survive?

Reports Greatly Exaggerated

Despite its problems, Unix is not dead; in fact, it's surprisingly healthy. Unix
remains compelling because it is the only operating system to offer
multitasking, graphics, and cross-platform compatibility in one package. Market
researcher Dataquest estimates that, for 1991, Unix sales (including both
systems and operating systems) totaled 1.2 million units, for $18.2 billion in
revenue. Unix revenue will climb to $44.7 billion in 1996 on unit sales of 4.1
million, according to Rikki Kirzner, a senior industry analyst in Dataquest's
software group (see figure 1).

Other analysts believe that Windows NT will slow Unix's growth. NT is a
legitimate threat to Unix's domination of the workstation market and to its
chances for success on the desktop. NT may be the strongest stimulus to date for
inducing Unix providers to stop arguing and start cooperating in an endeavor to
give software applications developers a standard software base. The Unix
industry has answered that call with new versions aimed at the Intel-based
desktop: USL's Unix System V release 4.2 (also known as Destiny), Next's
NextStep, and SunSoft's Solaris.

Understanding the Unix Community

There are two distinct branches of the Unix user community. The first group
could just as well be running VM, VMS, or any other operating system; it just so
happens that its chosen applications run on Unix. These unwitting people may be
the fastest growing segment of Unix users. Participants in many information
services (AT&T Easy Link, for instance) are Unix users and not even aware of it.
Many retailers run their businesses on Unix. What these users have in common is
that some technically knowledgeable person or firm set up and maintains their
systems. For this group, Unix is an invisible tool.

The other, better known, Unix community comprises technically adept users, for
the most part. They may be using workstations now, but they are the people who
were running serial terminals not long ago. In contrast to the first group,
these users understand the inner workings of the operating system. This uniquely
dedicated group forms the core of the "Unix community," a near-cult with a
strict hierarchy based on technical knowledge (see the text box "Unix: A Child
of a Thousand Parents" on page 137). The people involved in the creation of Unix
built it for people like these. But now that Unix is falling into the hands of
the uninitiated, its role (and its shape) are beginning to change.

Those blissfully unaware users of the first group are Unix' s future. In fact,
they're the future for all multitasking operating systems. Ask today's user what
he or she needs, and you'll hear multitasking, graphics, and cross-platform
compatibility. These needs are keeping Unix alive, because it's the only
operating system that delivers them all.

Unix users have come to take seamless file sharing, network printer services,
remote application execution, client/server program support, and multiuser
access for granted. MIT's efforts with the X Window System have made graphics
part of the mix, providing a network-integrated graphical application
environment that's still unmatched by any other popular system. These and other
services make Unix a perfect choice for networked applications, and Unix is
presently the only operating system that integrates these elements.

Thomas Giammo, assistant commissioner of information systems at the U.S.
Department of Commerce's Patent and Trademark Office, agrees: "In the next year
or two, there's no other player that can give us what we need," he says.

In spite of that commitment, Giammo echoes the sentiments of both large- and
small-scale users who feel stuck with Unix: It solves their short-term problems,
but it creates other problems that make it an unlikely long-term solution.
Giammo predicts that, as a result, Unix will be effectively wiped out in the
mid-1990s; his money's on Windows NT. And he's not alone.

Once Unix became a commercial property, it lost its unity of purpose. In the
hands of vendors who knowingly built cross-version incompatibility into their
offerings (partly to lock customers into a particular flavor), Unix has
generally failed to track user demands adequately. While it meets needs like
multitasking and networking well enough, it leaves lesser issues unaddressed.
For example, it's still too hard to use and administer, not compatible enough
across implementations, and, for the most part, too married to its old
character-based, command-line, serial-terminal traditions. "[Unix] is a hacker's
version of an operating system that has grown respectable over time," says
Giammo.

Overcoming the Problems

Improving Unix is much on the minds of Unix vendors. "If you have an X-based
desktop with Mac-like features, the end user won't care that Unix is
underneath," says Ken Arnold, an engineer at HP's Distributed Object Computing
Program. As base-level machines get more powerful, they can better run the
larger Unix operating systems. Then, to the end user, it is simply a matter of
what off-the-shelf applications are available.

Avadis Tevanian, director of System Software at Next, agrees. He envisions a GUI
that can run productivity applications side-by-side with user-made custom
applications. "To get up to millions of units, you have to get rid of [the Unix
shell]," he says.

But a GUI has not been an original, fully integrated part of Unix. Instead, it
is usually a distinct layer poured over Unix' s command line. In contrast,
everything on the Mac is handled graphically, and the operating system is tuned
for it. Even when the system crashes, a graphical dialog box tells you what went
wrong. Most Unix systems boot and shut down in full-screen text mode, and when
you need to jump into single-user mode for maintenance, you don't get graphical
pull-down menus and radio buttonsQyou get a prompt. For graphics to contribute
adequately to ease of use, it must be an integrated part of the system.

The Next machine provides a shining example of Unix with highly integrated
graphics. Unless something goes terribly wrong, or unless you request otherwise,
you'll always have graphics insulating you from the operating system (see screen
a). Even the most experienced usersQthe programmersQwork inside a cozy graphical
environment with visual tools that make it easy to develop NextStep
applications. There's almost nothing the command line offers that the graphical
environment does not.

The Next computer, though not a best-seller, has proved that the concept of
invisible Unix is a viable one and that graphical workstations can be safely
placed on the desks of general users. Jerry Marger, president of the law firm
Marger, Johnson, McCollom & Stolowitz of Portland, Oregon, is a believer. He
converted his firm's DOS network to a Next system because of the latter's ease
of use and performance. "NextStep is awesome. Operating a Next is like operating
a Mac, except that it's got a truck engine instead of a four-banger," Marger
says.

PC Unix: Waiting for Standards

Plagued by bugs, incompatibilities (particularly in graphical and networking
applications), and a lack of cohesive standards, PC Unix never made serious
inroads on the desktop. Developers who were once excited about the prospect of a
stable multitasking PC operating system quickly discovered the volume of
problems to be worked around. Unlike DOS and Windows, which seem to run on every
PC, PC Unix was fussy: You had to have the right processor, bus, drive
controller, tape drive, and display card. Software developers also found that
they had to create a separate version of their applications for each flavor of
PC Unix. While one version of a program can run on every SPARC-based system in
the world, the same was never true for PC Unix.

Having so many different PC Unixes is hurting the Unix market. The solution,
oddly enough, is to fill the market with a new batch of incompatible PC Unixes
from the likes of Univel, Next, and SunSoft. There's some hope that, with the
new high-profile players, some de facto standards can be struck. They'll be
largely proprietary standards, but the success of Apple and Microsoft proves
that those are the standards that stick.

Public standards can't easily be enforced. When every Unix provider can alter
the source code to suit its individual needs, how do you keep providers from
creating incompatible versions? By making binary licenses easier and less
expensive to obtain, the keepers of Unix ensure that a broad set of functions
known to be stable, including graphics and networking, will be part of most
copies of the operating system. USL's deal with Novell, for example, gives USL a
distributor it can keep a close eye on. There will, no doubt, be those who feel
compelled to tinker with this stable code, but USL hopes they'll be so
overwhelmed by competitors doing fully compatible releases that they' 11 get
back in line.

USL spokesperson Ray Schwark says maintaining compatibility is not the only
reason to leave the source code alone. "One of the reasons we have driven
development down to the binary level is to off-load as much development
responsibility as possible from the OEMs," he notes. Those OEMs will have to
pass on the cost of customizing Unix to their customersQa painful choice in a
market of shrinking margins.

Of the PC Unix players, SCO and Next are in the minority. Most of the others are
lining up behind USL's SVR4.2 (see screen b). Unlike its predecessor release
3.2, SVR4.2 makes networking and graphics more or less standard elements of the
distribution. Some vendors will probably choose to unbundle portions of it, but
graphical applications built for SunSoft's PC Unix should recompile for Univel's
version without changes.

It's not important that these vendors will ship different sets of standard
applications. What matters is that developers will have a predictable standard
software base on which to rest their code. There will be no more rewriting
applications to make them run on variants of PC-based SVR4.2, if it lives up to
its promise.

Next doesn't mind striking out on its own. It's bringing NextStep, based on
Carnegie Mellon University's Mach kernel, to Intel-based systems in an attempt
to capitalize more on the fervor over Windows than on any renewed interest in
Unix. Obviously, it can't deliver binary application compatibility with its own
Motorola-based workstations, but if Next can reduce porting of applications to a
simple recompile, it has a chance.

Pencom (Austin, TX) has ported its X server Co-Xist from NextStep 2.1 to
NextStep 486 2.1, a version that Next never released as a product. "We probably
had more problems than some developers," says Chris Chauvin, product manager and
principal developer of Co-Xist. He adds that the difficulties had more to do
with the fact that Co-Xist has a dependence on the CPU. Pencom succeeded in
doing the port by rewriting specific chunks of code that were optimized for the
68020 microprocessor. The rewritten code was optimized for the 486 within a
week; the actual code rewrite took only a couple of days, Chauvin adds.

"Other people were having one- and two-day turnarounds" in porting Next
applications over to the 486 platform, says Chauvin. This lends support to
Next's claim of simple recompilation. Pencom will need to port the application
again under NextStep 3.0 when Next makes it available in late summer. "Nobody's
port will be considered complete until then," Chauvin notes.

Solaris 2.0, a derivative of SVR4, is going to be the acid test for Sun spin-off
SunSoft. It remains to be seen whether the software arm of a hardware vendor is
truly willing to create a level playing field. Sun is trying to set itself up
with a virtual monopoly on SPARC operating systems and, through SunSoft and
Solaris 2.(), is planning to extend its reach into the realm of high-end PCs.

The dicey part of this deal is that Sun's hardware side will still be developing
its own software. Along with countless SPARC and Intel vendors, it will be
licensing its own operating system from its own subsidiary, SunSoft. But Sun
will have a unique advantage in the added-value department. As new technologies
are born, managers at Sun get to choose whether to keep the jewels locked in
Sun's safe or share them with the world through SunSoft. In any case, Sun freely
confesses its intention of using proprietary enhancements to keep Sun-brand
SPARC systems leading the market.

Through all this, SCO is claiming the high ground for its decision to pretty
much stay put. Open Desktop 2.0, SCO's flagship Unix bundle, offers little more
than previous versions and is still based on SVR3.2. SCO's approach seems to
depend on SVR4's failing to catch on. "The conventional wisdom says that Sun,
Univel, and so on are going to eat [SCOUs] lunch," says Maureen O'Gara, editor
of the Unigram-X newsletter.

Nina Lytton, president of consulting group Open Systems Advisors (Boston),
thinks that developers will be attracted to Open Desktop 2.0 because it is
proven and stable. "That strategy sounds like a yawn, but [SCO's] is the
low-worry approach for Unix," Lytton says. She also notes that Open Desktop 2.0
will run applications written for SVR4.

The NT Factor

Windows NT is the wild card in Unix's future. Microsoft has a talent for
whipping up public support for its products while they're still on the drawing
board. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, under Giammo's guidance, is
pre-sold, but he expects to wait a year or two after N T is available before
adopting it, to ensure that it lives up to its promise. He's not interested in
Windows: "From what I've seen," he says, "Windows is a kludge. It's even worse
than Unix." He blames the "DOS baggage" Windows carries.

Microsoft claims NT will run DOS, Windows, new 32-bit applications, OS/2
applications, and X applications within an NT window (see screen c). Dwayne
Walker, Microsoft's director of Windows NT and networking products, says, "If
you had to summarize NT, you'd say it is powerful, scalable, easy to use, and
compatible. And it offers multitasking and multiprocessing."

In addition, Microsoft says that NT will have built-in networking, including
TCP/IP, and C2-level security. NT is portable from 386 and 486 PCs to RISC
environments, supporting the Mips R4000 as well as DEC's Alpha RISC chips.
Microsoft claims an advantage for developers, too: The 32-bit Intel-based
applications they develop for NT will run native under Microsoft's Win32Us
extension for 16-bit Windows. With all that, Windows NT is clearly targeted at
Unix, becoming what Walker calls "a high-end operating system for desktops and
servers just as Unix is a high-end operating system for desktops and servers"
(see "Unix vs. Windows NT" on page 140).

Microsoft clout alone could make NT a success. Next's Tevanian concedes that
Microsoft's market presence is a big advantage, and according to O'Gara, at
least one other Unix provider is worried: "Even the street fighters over at Sun
are concerned when they look at what's happening with Windows. They see the way
the market works: The users are a bunch of sheep, and Billy [Gates, Microsoft
CEO] is the shepherd," says O'Gara.

For Giammo and others, Windows NT sounds like a dream come true, solving all
compatibility headaches in one swoop. But with the end-user version at least
three months away from shipping, NT is still a question mark. O'Gara calls NT
"the unhardened operating .system. You can't tell me that this thing is going to
be ready to run mission-critical applications anytime soon." And the strength of
Windows 3.1 on the desktop might not help Microsoft in promoting NT on
workstations.

Open Systems Advisors' Lytton says Unix users are not impressed by the quality
of Windows 3.1. "People thought that Windows would be the path of least
resistance, but now that they've had a chance to really assess 3.1, the vision
isn't as rosy as it was," she says.

Dataquest's Kirzner sees a bright future for NT: "We believe Windows NT will be
the winner, because you can't stop the power of Microsoft, but Unix will do
well," she says. Today, Unix has about 86 percent of the workstation market. By
1996, that figure will drop to 47 percent, due largely to NT. Dataquest projects
that NT will claim 37 percent of the desktop market by 1996; DOS will retain 40
percent, and Unix will be a distant third with 7 percent (see figure 2).

Promises, Promises, Promises

While NextStep will be one of the contenders for the high-end multitasking
desktop, it appears that the fiercest salvo fired at NT will come from an
unlikely alliance: Univel. USL, looking to get serious about marketing and
distribution, and Novell, hoping to shed some of its proprietary image in the
newly competitive climate, have joined forces to offer a new shrink-wrapped Unix
operating system that may be available as early as this fall.

Sold as SVR4.2 by USL and as UnixWare by Univel, it has a list of promises at
least as long as NT's. What's surprising is that USL doesn't plan to stake out
only the high end Microsoft has targeted for NT: SVR4.2's minimum configuration
is a 1 6-MHz 386SX with 4 MB of memory. USL's literature talks about running the
operating system comfortably on systems with 60-MB hard drives and even dares to
suggest that SVR4.2 would run nicely on a notebook computer.

For standards, SVR4.2 hits a grand slam. The U.S. government and other large
corporate customers will appreciate the Posix, FIPS, X/Open, B1/B2 security, OSF
AES (Application Environment Specification), and IBCS (Intel Binary
Compatibility Specification) compliance. Users of the Intel port will be able to
run SVR3.2 and earlier SVR4 applications without hassle. And non-U.S. users get
their share of attention, thanks to multibyte characters, alternative date and
time formats, message tables, and an internationalized version of the Curses
text interface library.

Difficulty with hard disk file systems has caused a lot of people to turn away
from previous PC Unix implementations. SVR4.2 proposes to solve this by
introducing a journaling file system. Journaling protects data by first writing
it quickly to a reserved area on disk. Then, when the system has time, the
journal is flushed and the real file updating is done. At that time, the various
Unix file-system data structures on disk are updated as well. Once it has
written the data and updated the structures, the operating system deletes that
journal entry and moves to the next one.

In the past, data was transferred from the memory buffers directly to its final
destination on disk. If you turned off the power or reset a running system,
chances were there would be several files in various states of incompleteness,
where either the data or the file-system structure would be out of sync.

Modern Unix file systems write disk information in a predictable order that lets
a utility called fsck comb through the file system and make sense of it again.
But with journaling, that, presumably, won't be necessary. To bring the system
up to date, you just play back the entries remaining in the journal. Eliminating
the need for frequent file-system cleaning also greatly reduces the time
required to reboot a system.

Univel is slimming SVR4.2's size and price by unbundling, breaking with the
"everything in one box" tradition. But SVR4.2 is hardly stripped down; both the
client and server versions include X and graphical shell support, source-level
compatibility with seven common Unix implementations, DOS and Windows support,
and networking. USL's role in this is to break with its own tradition of leaving
most of the porting job up to licensees. USL will develop targeted binary
versions of SVR4.2 (Intel, SPARC, Mips, RISC System/6000, and HP PA RISC
versions are promised) and license them to packagers ready-to-run.

Those packagers, with Univel among them, can focus on adding value rather than
on doing the basic port. The Intel version will ship from USL with drivers for a
variety of display, disk, and SCSI devices. One frequent gripe about XQits
dependence on bit-mapped fontsQwill be answered by Adobe Type Manager, which
will be a standard part of SVR4.2. And SVR4.2's desktop manager will include
productivity applications and point-and-click shells for common system
administration tasks.

Novell's involvement will get SVR4.2 into the company's authorized dealers, who
will provide the added value of NetWare integration. Novell's dealers are an
important channel, since it's largely the same one Microsoft is targeting with
both LAN Manager and Windows NT. Novell is using SVR4.2 to get its share of the
"open systems" pie and keep Microsoft out of Novell's stronghold.

Dataquest's Kirzner believes SVR4.2 will allay the fears of some Unix vendors.
"It's a pure, unadulterated version of B I -level secure Unix, but for the PC,"
she says. "You buy as much or as little as you need." Kirzner says SVR4.2 will
be priced to compete against Windows and OS/2, ostensibly in the $100-to-$150
range. USL declines to give a price for SVR4.2, preferring to leave it up to its
licensees.

Not everyone is convinced that SVR4.2 will be successful on Windows' and
MS-DOS's turf. "It would be stupid to put Unix on people's desktops," says
Andrew Toller, a principal with DMR Group, a Toronto market research and
consulting firm. He notes that DMR consultants usually use Unix as a back-end
system fronted by Windows on the desktop in all but the most technical
environments, particularly in software development applications.

Open Systems Advisors' Lytton expects a rough beginning for SVR4.2. "[SVR4.2] is
having the same honeymoon [as NT] right now with the press," she says. "But any
major new release always has problems that need to be worked out." She cites
MOOLIT (the Motif/Open Look Interface Toolkit) as an example, claiming that it
won't support any application that uses superset features of Motif.

In spite of the doubts, Toller says that many DMR clients have begun asking
about SVR4.2. "These are people that until a year ago didn't even know what Unix
was," he says.

When SVR4.2 hits the streets, if it's everything that's promised, it will mark a
new era in PC Unix. USL's doing the binary work will help ensure cross-platform
application compatibility. USL is straddling the Open Look/Motif fence by
offering both GUIs, and it's also committing to technologies like ANDF
(Architecture Neutral Distribution Format) and DCE (Distributed Computing
Environment). DCE adds functionality to existing networks by allowing you to
share applications as well as data. You can transparently allocate CPU power to
networked applications, running pieces of a program on several machines at
once.

The goal is to develop these and other new technologies at USL and then get them
to packagers in a ready-to-run state, complete with documentation. That's a
major shift for USL, and one that more closely parallels Microsoft's strategy
than the arcane Unix channels of old.

It's Just Starting

Unix isn't dead, but certainly the next few years will mark a period of intense
change. Users and developers will be faced with important decisions. As the Unix
market consolidates, the query "Which Unix?" may change to a less confusing
question: "Unix or NT?"

To answer that question, Unix vendors, previously content to focus purely on
technical issues, will have to spend more time solving ease-of-use concerns. And
they will have to counter Microsoft' s marketing might head-on.

Unix has a rich history. If the new pack of Unix vendors can keep from bickering
among themselves, Microsoft will face a strong competitor of N T.

           ####

Editor's note: West Coast bureau chief Andy Reinhardt, news editor Patrick
Waurzyniak, and senior technical editor at large Jon Udell also contributed to
this story.

Tom Yager is a BYTE technical editor and author of Unix Program Design and
Development for IBM PCs (Addison-Wesley, 1991). Ben Smith is a testing editor in
the BYTE Lab and author of UNIX Step-by-Step (Howard W. Sams, 1990). You can
reach them on BIX as "tyager" and "bensmith, " respectively, and on the Internet
at tyager@bytepb.byte.com and ben@bytepb.byte.com, respectively.

==========================================

[Below is a sidebar to the story above]


UNIX VS. WINDOWS NT Technical issues that are a toss-up between Unix and Windows
NT

o Advanced hierarchical file system with long descriptive names

o 32-bit linear memory model

o Preemptive multitasking

o Memory-mapped files

o Shared libraries

o Integral peer networking

o Distributed global naming (assuming LAN Manager NT)

Areas in which NT looks better than Unix

o Threaded SMP (symmetric multiprocessing). Some flavors of Unix (e.g.,
NextStep) are threaded but lack SMP, while others (e.g., SVR4) are SMP-capable
but not threaded. Solaris 2.0 claims threaded SMP.

o Layered device-driver architecture. NT will provide generic disk, display,
network, and printer drivers that will allow driver writers to specialize
relatively easily to create specific device drivers. Unix drivers are more
monolithic and, hence, more difficult to create and maintain.

o Interapplication communication. NT provides well-defined services (e.g., OLE,
or Object Linking and Embedding); Unix does not.

o A well-integrated scalable-font subsystem. While SVR4.2 will offer Adobe Type
Manager and NextStep has Display PostScript, the dominant Unix GUI, X Window
System, still relies heavily on bit-mapped fonts.

o DOS/1 6-bit Windows support (unproven, but likely to equal or exceed that of
OS/2 2.0 and far exceed that of any Unix).

o Source code-compatible applications, with a hugely successful Windows 3.x
installed base.

Areas in which Unix looks better than NT

o Multiuser capabilities.

o Distributable GUI (X)Qgraphical applications are intrinsically client/server.

o Well-standardized basic network services (TCP/IP, sockets, RPC [remote
procedure calls]) that work reliably across wildly different hardware platforms
and operating system versions. NT offers a lot of options (named pipes, mail
slots, NetBlOS, sockets, RPC, and even, potentially, DDE/OLE, if and when they
are made network-aware), but the danger is that there may be no clear path for
developers to write distributed NT applications.

o Well-standardized wide-area E-mail.

o Availability for more platforms than are likely, at least in the short term,
for NT.

=======================================

[Below is another sidebar to the story above]


What USL/Univel Promises with SVR4.2/UnixWare

o Compatibility with seven leading Unix implementations, including
SunOS/Solaris, SVR3.2, BSD, and Xenix.

o Inclusion of the X Window System, with both OSF/Motif and Open Look
interfaces, and development tools that allow users to switch applications'
look-and-feel between them at run time. Adobe Type Manager will provide scalable
fonts.

o Inclusion of TCP/IP networking in the base offering. UnixWare will offer
NetWare capability as well, delivered by Portable NetWare.

o A minimum configuration of a 16MHz 386SX with 4 MB of memory and a 60-MB hard
drive.

o Graphical tools for common system administration functions, and a group of
user productivity applications.

========================================

[Below is another sidebar to the story above]


Unix: A Child of a Thousand Parents

In the view of many, Unix is a living, evolving child with thousands of parents.
If some Harvard M.B.A. had seen the plan for Unix in advance, the project never
would have got off the ground. But for a time at least, Unix soared, and the
concept of development not by committee but by community became a model for
other large projects.

Not long after a small group of AT&T engineers created the earliest Unix in
1969, the work was taken up by an unaffiliated group: students. The best thing
that ever happened to Unix was the handing of its source code to a bunch of
kids.

Ken Arnold, now an engineer at Hewlett-Packard's Distributed Object Computing
Program, was one of those students. Back in the early 1980s, he was part of the
pack at the University of California-Berkeley that created BSD 4.0 Unix. BSD
spawned a number of cornerstone technologies and went on to become a foundation
for several successful commercial operating systems (including SunOS and
NextStep).

"We basically took a lot of people's neat stuff Land] added it to the new things
required to make the project go," says Arnold. It was this "neat stuff" that
made Unix rich. "Frankly, I suspect most people didn't give a wet ball of lint
for its educational value. It was fun, it was central, and we got to do it,"
Arnold adds.

Networking, the full-screen editor, the fast file system, and countless other
necessities were all born at Berkeley. AT&T and its agents rolled pieces of
Berkeley's work into its own product, and some vendors (e.g., Sun Microsystems
and DEC) opted to use Berkeley's output directly rather than AT&T's adaptation
of it. Even though BSD included AT&T code, that code was part of an older, less
expensive version of Unix.

Before long, Unix source code found its way to universities all over the world,
and, under the banner of "research," commercial Unix took shape. Students and
corporate engineers worked (virtually speaking) side-by-side in what remains the
largest and most fruitful collective technical project of all time.

As AT&T raised license fees and imposed increasingly restrictive terms, it
forced commercial implementers to look for alternatives. That's how the Open
Software Foundation was born. The key OSF members, including HP, DEC, and
Apollo, intended to get out from under AT&T's thumb by creating a Unix-like
operating system that didn't require paying the latest (and most expensive) AT&T
license fees.

The OSF' s first product, Motif, took on a quick following as the first
commercial toolkit for building professional-looking X Window System
applications. OSF/I, a mix of Carnegie Mellon University's Mach kernel (as used
on the Next) and IBM's AIX, is off to a shaky start, thanks to vendors who got
tired of waiting for it. Other planned OSF technologies, like DCE (Distributed
Computing Environment) and ANDF (Architecture-Neutral Distribution Format), have
a brighter future.

On the operating-system side, the OSF served its purpose, putting the fear of
failure into the giant AT&T, whose Unix Software Laboratories subsidiary now has
responsibility for selling Unix. Shortly after the OSF was formed, AT&T spun
around and completely revamped its licensing policies.

A Tough Act to Follow

Unix's golden age gave way to an era of commercialization. Instead of getting
Unix from AT&T or Berkeley, consumers began getting it from thirdparty packagers
like Sun and Microsoft. The earliest Intel-based PCs ran a derivative of Unix
called Xenix, made by the same upstart Microsoft that had created PC-DOS. While
Sun and others established beachheads in scientific and technical shops,
Microsoft turned Xenix into a vertical-market powerhouse. The workstation market
grew by emphasizing single-user performance and graphics. Xenix and other early
PC Unix derivatives grew by making it possible to give multiple users access to
shared programs and data for the cost of cheap terminals and serial cables.

Once it became possible for ordinary people to run Unix on their desktop PCs,
companies sprang up to push the idea. The Santa Cruz Operation was born, the
contract-programming shop Interactive Systems went public, and Microport carved
out the low end. On the face of it, Unix was everywhere. You could run it on
workstations, mainframes, minicomputers, and PCs. And now, a number of hungry
vendors were adding their value to Unix.

The value each commercial player added increased Unix's girth but also chipped
away at its benefits. As the system grew bigger, it got slower, and the sheer
volume of code and number of contributors to it fostered bugs and
incompatibilities. The flood of new features meant more for users to learn,
making the system easy to use had never been a priority. Stories of Unix's
unwieldy and unreliable nature set the stage for vendors of proprietary
multitasking operating systems.

That was the first big mistake: If early commercial adopters of Unix had focused
more on reliability and ease of use than on heaping features helter skelter into
the environment, proprietary competitors like DEC's VMS and IBM's OS/2 would
have had no reason to exist. The openness that generated such excitement in the
early days fermented into separatism. Each vendor created its own flavor of
Unix, incompatible with all the others. Details were getting overlooked, and
things seemed to get out of control.

How out of control? In 1989, DMR Group, a Montreal-based computer software
consulting and services company that has done studies for UniForum and X/Open on
the Unix and open systems markets, found about 25 brands as the result of a
survey of about 6000 sites. That number was whittled down to six top Unix
versions. According to Andrew Toller, a principal at DMR. the top six were
SunOS; SCO Xenix and SCO V/386 (combined tally); HPUX; Ultrix; AT&T System V
release 4.0; and IBM's AIX, which was just beginning to make an appearance.


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VOLUME 2 NUMBER 9
PAGE 10


                       DFWLUG Contact list

The DFWLUG Steering Committee:
  
      Chairman: Stuart Renes          Meeting      Chris Simon
                DSC COMM Corp         Coordinator: FMC Corporation
                1000 Coit Road                     1460 Round Table
                MS 131                             Dallas, TX 75247
                Plano, TX 75075                    (214) 689-7127
                (214) 519-4411

    Membership Lon Crozier              Secretary/ Jim Rodgers
  Coordinator: ARMS Inc.                Treasurer: SSC Laboratory
               5757 Alpha Road                     2550 Beckley Meade
               Dallas, Texas 75240                 MS 1011
               (214) 385-3090                      Dallas, TX 75237
                                                   (214) 708-6134
            
 DECUS Hdqtrs: Membership Processing    SW/Tape    Robert Eden
               DECUS US Chapter         Librarian: JCS Consulting Services
               333 South Street, SHR1-4/D33        5905 Beverly Dr. West #3133 
               Shrewsbury, MA 01545-4195           Fort Worth, Tx 76132        
               (508) 841-3341                      (817) 897-0491




+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------------+
| John Wisniewski |         Consultant/DFW DECUS LUG Counterpart           |
| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |   Voice:             214-404-6412                      |
| |d|i|g|i|t|a|l| |    UUCP:  wisniewski@fallout.lonestar.org  (DFWLUG BBS)| 
| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | At Work:  wisniewski@dpdmai.enet.dec.com               |
| Dallas, TX  USA |                                                        |
+-----------------+--------------------------------------------------------+

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VOLUME 2 NUMBER 9
PAGE 11

                        THE DFWLUG BBS SYSTEM

The DFWLUG hosts a semiprivate VAX BBS for use by it's membership, we
currently are using VMS 5.5-2, POSIX, have over a GIGbyte of storage, 
and multiple phone-lines with V.32 modem links.

The DFWLUG BBS has been in operation for over a year and hosts VAXnotes, 
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programs) available from our LUG Librarian.

Membership and private accounts for the BBS are available to computer 
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Private accounts may be granted by joining the DFWLUG and donating 
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Accounts are granted during the monthly meetings that take place every 
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For more information you may dial-in to our public account:

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Use account name INFO for public access.
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