Personal Systems Magazine - September/October 1996 - What's New?

RemoteWare Enhances Lotus Notes
XcelleNet, Inc. has enhanced its RemoteWare product to boost performance and reduce operating costs of Lotus Notes systems supporting large numbers of dial-in users. XcelleNet's 'RemoteWare Agent for Lotus Notes Replication' promises to reduce the duration of dial- in replication sessions by 50 percent or more while adding powerful systems management options for Notes administrators.

Using RemoteWare Agent for Lotus Notes Replication lets you service the messaging and data transfer needs of non-Notes applications during the same dial-in session, thus reducing overall connection times and simplifying your users' working environment.

RemoteWare Agent for Lotus Notes Replication delivers many systems management benefits for Notes systems administrators, including:
 * Cost-effective scalability for Notes implementation through reduced server hardware requirements
 * Reduced training costs for novice Notes users
 * Ability to "force" replication to Notes clients
 * Ability to launch outbound as well as inbound sessions, including wireless mail delivery
 * Centralized delivery and management of Notes database applications as well as other general software updates

IBM Gets Ready for Year 2000
Are your applications and data files ready for the year 2000? Can they handle dates with the years 1999, 2000, and beyond? Avoid costly problems by asking IBM to help you update your applications to ensure they are year-2000-ready.

IBM recognizes that the year 2000 poses a significant challenge for the information technology industry. Businesses need to update programs and data fields that do not handle century markers or dates beyond the current century. To help you prepare for the new century, IBM's Integrated Systems Solution Corporation (ISSC) offers a broad range of services called TRANSFORMATION 2000 Solutions that help you develop solutions for applications, system software, and hardware in the following areas:
 * Assessment and strategy--Provides you with a documented strategy, cost estimates, time frames, and resources required to implement year 2000 changes
 * Detailed analysis and planning--Provides an in-depth analysis of the year-2000-affected areas of your business
 * Implementation and testing--Automates the changes required to source code and data
 * Year 2000 clean management--Protects your investments in application modifications

Get Control of Your Network Desktops
If you need a powerful and easy-to-use tool to control your network desktops without REXX, 'Desktop Commander' from Pinnacle Technology is for you. Designed specifically for the OS/2 operating system, Desktop Commander helps reduce network support costs by delivering consistent and protected desktops.

Once installed on a server or host, Desktop Commander lets you "snap" a picture of an ideal workstation for a group of workers. You can then apply restrictions for this group, such as Move, Rename, Copy, and Delete, or even completely hide applications. The completed desktop profile is centrally stored to a small configuration file, and you can associate the desktop with specific LAN user identifications. Users can then log into any system on the LAN and see their assigned desktops. Moreover, with Desktop Commander's Machine Independent Desktops (MID) function, users can make changes to their personal desktops that follow them around as they log into different machines.

Desktop Commander is fully compatible with many popular LANs, including LAN Server, Novell NetWare, Banyan Vines, and TCP/IP. It includes the following features:
 * Instant restoration of lost or changed desktops
 * Support for an unlimited number of desktop objects and configurations
 * Standardized mobile desktops, updated as mobile users log in
 * Small (20 KB average) configuration files

Book for Busy PC Users
Busy users who are increasingly dependent upon their PCs, but have neither the time--nor the interest--in becoming fluent in high-tech computer jargon can benefit from PCs for Busy People, published by Osborne/McGraw-Hill. Author David Einstein responds to this growing, time-strapped audience by focusing on the essentials to ensure that readers will make the smartest use of their time at the computer.

PCs for Busy People is a one-stop guide to purchasing, owning, and making the most of a PC, whether for business or home use. Written for both the beginner who needs to get up to speed quickly, as well as the more experienced user seeking to stay abreast of significant advancements, PCs for Busy People begins with the basic hardware and software options. It discusses the advantages of plug-and-play for integrating printers, modems, and other add-ons, and gives full consideration to the important issues of connecting to the online community.

Organized for a quick orientation to all aspects of PC use, PCs for Busy People presents time-saving features including: PCs for Busy People - ISBN 0-07-882210-6
 * Fast Forwards--Quick reference sections that list all the essential tasks and features
 * Shortcuts--Accelerated routes to completing a task or solving a problem
 * Habits and strategies--Time-saving tips and convenient techniques
 * Definitions--Fast, clever ways to learn and remember the jargon
 * Cautions--Known pitfalls and problems to avoid, saving readers time and headaches

Link Web Pages to Host Systems
Telegenisys Inc. has announced WEB-Alive, a toolkit to build Web pages with real-time access to host applications. It enables you to create dynamic windows or complete sites that interface with existing applications running on hosts or third-party systems. Replacing static displays, the information appearing on each site using WEB-Alive is retrieved live from the host company's own application for each query. Users can look up current account records, shop for discounted prices, and complete live transactions, all in a secure, restricted-access environment.

WEB-Alive, a middleware server providing a simple development process for performing dynamic Web page applications, allows you to mix internal and external third party systems applications. Using the WEB-Alive server, you can deploy platform independent (OS/2, Mac, UNIX, and Windows) applications on clients with a Web browser and TCP/IP support.

WEB-Alive can reduce transaction-capable Web server development time by 70 to 80 percent. It performs the transactions on the application using a terminal-emulation subsystem to access and interact with the in-house application while serving Internet users through the Web server.

Internet Navigating and Charting Tool
CLEAR Software has announced CLEARweb, a software utility that collects URLs, FTPs, and e-mail addresses and organizes them into manageable CLEARweb maps and/or outlines, which you can save, edit, share, and link to each other. CLEARweb helps you manage and publish custom Internet information maps for direct access to frequently-visited Web sites.

Its key features include:
 * Bookmark/outline editor
 * Map editor
 * FTP librarian
 * Collection of shapes Map viewer
 * CLEAR Image clip art viewer and a collection of clip art

Enhanced Customer Service and Support
Repository Technologies Inc. (RTI) has announced major new capabilities for its comprehensive customer support software package, CustomerFirst. Version 2.6 includes the ability to automatically escalate incidents based upon a variety of conditions, create new CustomerFirst incidents via e-mail and the Internet, and break incidents into multiple tasks.

CustomerFirst provides complete control of the support process from the time a user calls with a question until a fix is ultimately incorporated into the product. The product's new escalation facility enables organizations to set individual, departmental, and global rules for escalating incidents based upon a number of conditions, including priority, maintenance type, status, customer type, problem type, and elapsed time.

Because of the Internet's ever-increasing importance as a vehicle for day-to-day information exchange within businesses, and because many (if not most) large organizations have implemented e-mail software for internal communication, RTI has enabled CustomerFirst to automatically create incidents based upon e-mail and Internet messages. The messages are sent to a user-defined address and are assigned to a department designated by the user.

CustomerFirst 2.6 includes a task facility that enables users to define one or more tasks required to resolve a given problem and to assign a person or department to each task. This facility is particularly useful in development organizations where several developers may be assigned to the same project.

OS/2 Disk and File Utilities
SofTouch Systems has made available a corporate version of GammaTech Utilities, its award-winning set of disk and file utilities for OS/2. The GammaTech Utilities Corporate Version consists of two components: GammaTech Utilities Server Edition and GammaTech Utilities Client Edition.

The GammaTech Utilities Server Edition includes all the functionality of the current GammaTech Utilities product, including the ability to graphically display disk fragmentation and optimize High-Performance File System (HPFS)- and File Allocation Table (FAT)-formatted drives, undelete files, recover HPFS-formatted volumes and files, and repair and write-protect partition boot sector records. Other functions in the suite of 22 disk and file utilities include the ability to identify and mark bad sectors, recover damaged FAT files, back up and restore user desktops, back up and restore boot sectors, wipe free space to accommodate US Department of Defense security requirements.

A modified subset of the full version, the GammaTech Utilities Client Edition is specifically designed for deployment on client desktops. The desktop utilities include disk analysis/bad sector marking, DiskMap, HPFS optimization, desktop backup and restore, system information, and undelete. A file management utility is also included to copy, move, or delete one or a group of files which meet several search criteria. The command-line utilities include HPFS optimization, list directory, and beep utility.

Book Unlocks Secrets to C++
Osborne/McGraw-Hill has published Schildt's Expert C++, an advanced sourcebook designed for C++ programmers who want to venture beyond the basics to master the most powerful and intricate C++ features. Herbert Schildt, best-selling author and leading authority on C and C++ programming, has written a no-nonsense, powerful programming book that promises to turn C++ programmers into C++ experts.

In Schildt's Expert C++, Schildt demonstrates how to apply this cutting-edge programming language to a wide variety of real-world, practical programming tasks, enabling both the new and experienced C++ programmer to put the power of C++ to work instantly. Each chapter contains numerous, ready-torun programs that fully comply with the current draft of the ANSI C++ standard. These solid code examples are compatible with virtually all C++ compilers.

Throughout the book, Schildt combines theory, background, and code in a balanced mix as he describes each new topic. You'll discover how to: Schildt's Expert C++ - ISBN 0-07-882209-2
 * Unlock the power of generic functions
 * Create general purpose container classes, including stacks, queues, linked lists, binary trees, and safe arrays
 * Implement sparse arrays
 * Take advantage of run time type identification (RTTI)
 * Supercharge string handling using the new ANSI-defined string class
 * Interface C++ with assembly code
 * Use C++ to create encryption and data compression functions
 * Implement language interpreters using C++

File Server Switches and Splitters
Network Technologies Inc. offers a line of splitters and improved switches for your file servers. The splitters allow multiple keyboards, monitors, and mice to control one computer. The switches have added features to control multiple PCs from one keyboard, monitor, and mouse.

Choose the switches to consolidate PCs and end clutter caused by excess keyboards, monitors, and mice to save space and money. Use the splitters to access one PC from multiple locations. Combine switches and splitters to create dual access to multiple servers or to provide local and common access to multiple computers, with a manager having access to all individual computers.

These file server switches and splitters are easy to use and require no special software. They are ideal for use in network control centers, applications where monitoring multiple file servers is essential, and when several users need access to one or many computers.

Manufacturing Software
Tangible Vision, Inc., a worldwide provider of manufacturing software and solutions, offers Imprimis 1.5, its objectoriented, graphical user interface (GUI)-based, client/server manufacturing software product.

Imprimis is an enterprise resource planning/manufacturing execution system that supports multi-country, multi facility, multi-currency, and multi-language environments, while it addresses make-to-stock, make-to-order manufacturing operations. Imprimis provides management with timely information to make key decisions in areas such as improving customer service, improving on-time delivery, increasing productivity, enhancing quality, reducing inventory and work-in-process, reducing costs, and increasing profitability.

Imprimis is portable across a wide choice of client/server hardware platforms (HP9000, IBM RS/6000, Compaq Proliant, etc.), ODBC-compliant RDBMSs (Oracle, Sybase, etc.) network operating systems (Novell NetWare, UNIX, Windows NT, etc.), client operating systems (OS/2, Windows 3.1, Windows NT 3.51, MacOS 7.x, and UNIX), and graphical user interfaces (OS/2 Presentation Manager, Windows 3.1, Windows NT, and MOTIF).

Book about OpenDoc
OpenDoc is touted as the wave of the future for programmers. Promoted by a consortium of computer and software companies, OpenDoc is a set of standards for developing cross-platform, object-oriented applications. Authors Andrew MacBride and Joshua Susser explain the ins and outs of this new technology in BYTE Guide to OpenDoc.

Published by Osborne/McGraw-Hill and written for software developers, system administrators, and information managers, BYTE Guide to OpenDoc explains what OpenDoc is, how it works, how to program for it, and why people need to know about it. This book examines in depth all aspects of OpenDoc, including where it stands today and where it will be tomorrow.

A major section is devoted to enabling OLE and OpenDoc applications so they can work together on the same system. Finally, the authors expose the potential problems of OpenDoc and provide thoughtful, realistic solutions.

BYTE Guide to OpenDoc - ISBN 0-07-882118-5

New Bar Code Printers
Kroy has released two new bar code printers, the K4200 and K4300 thermal-transfer and direct-thermal printers, which feature fast and powerful bar code, graphic, and text printing at an affordable price.

With one of the industry's smallest footprints, the Kroy K4200 is the economical choice for printing high-resolution bar code and text labels. Designed for a wide array of medium to low volume applications, it prints up to two inches per second at 203 dpi with a maximum print width of four inches; features advanced memory management, allowing users to store and retrieve table formats, graphics, and smooth scaleable fonts; and prints on a variety of media, including roll-fed, die-cut, continuous, or fan-fold labels, tags, and tickets.

For medium to high volume users, the K4300 offers an economical alternative. It prints up to six inches per second in widths of one to four inches. Offering features found only in printers costing far more, the K4300 prints crisp 203 dpi bar codes, text, and graphics on both plain and thermal-sensitive labels, tags, and tickets, as well as on a broad range of Kroy specialty media. Both units print on polyolefin shrink tubing.

Flexibility and Security for OS/2
With DeskMan/2 2.0, Development Technologies, Inc. (DevTech) has taken the next step in desktop management by creating this feature-rich, easy to use software package that enables users to customize, manage, enhance, protect, and distribute the OS/2 desktop environment to each user's exact requirements and specifications.

LAN managers, administrators, and executives need desktop management tools that are powerful, flexible, and secure. DeskMan/2 2.0 incorporates powerful new and enhanced features, including the following:
 * PM Image - Provides full access to the DM/2 Image component.
 * Configuration Image Facility - Lets you take a complete snapshot of the OS/2 configuration. Snapshot definitions even include commands to run automatically before making and/or after restoring the configuration.
 * Workspace Facility - An expanded VUEMan/2 lets you define separate, named, PM workspaces or "rooms," each with its own windows, task list, desktop, and context sensitive tools.
 * MultiDesk Personal Desktop Facility - Lets you have your own completely separate, personal Workplace Shell desktop while the enhanced Workplace Shell extensions give you complete fingertip control over all operational characteristics, including object styles, menus, and IDs.
 * Live desktop synchronization--Lets you save and restore objects "on the fly." Changes to an object are automatically saved when its folder is closed and updated automatically the next time that folder is opened.
 * Access Control Facility - Addresses an area of increasing importance: whether mobile- or LAN-based, corporate- or home-based users require a suitable means of access control. DevTech has developed a modular, plug-and-play architecture that makes it possible to deliver tailored access control for desktop resources that satisfies each user's specific requirements.

New Oracle Book
Oracle Developer/2000 Handbook, by veteran programmer Robert J. Muller, is for experienced client/server programmers who are ready to move to the "suite" life of Oracle Developer/2000. This comprehensive handbook provides an authoritative view of Oracle's latest suite of application development tools. Clearly organized and filled with step-bystep lessons, this book shows experienced programmers how to build clean, accurate, and efficient Oracle applications with Oracle Developer/2000.

From Osborne/McGraw-Hill, this book guides readers through an application development cycle using Oracle Developer/2000's robust tools, including Oracle Forms (the suite's database access application development program), Reports (its report generator), and Graphics (its graphing utility). The handbook is divided into four sections for thorough coverage and easy reference: Oracle Developer/2000 Handbook - ISBN 0-07-882180-0
 * Part I begins with the nuts and bolts of building applications, including a discussion of the application development life cycle and tips on how to organize work for optimal success.
 * Part II focuses on designing and prototyping, as well as code reusability and security techniques.
 * Part III explains implementing, testing, and debugging.
 * Part IV covers deploying applications and integration with other tools.