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- CONTINUING ITS ASSAULT on the enterprise, Microsoft signed
a major deal with MCI and Digital Equipment to provide networking
solutions to large customers. The three come to the table with
very different strengths: Microsoft brings Windows NT and Exchange,
Digital brings its experience building servers (not to mention
its high-end Alpha processor), and MCI supplies the network connectivity.
- In another case of companies offering comunications bundles,
MCI offered MCIOne, a service that packages everything from Internet
connectivity to home security.
- Netscape and Borland joined forces to step up the performance
of Java applications running inside Navigator. Netscape plans
to incorporate AppAccelerator technology, which enables Java apps
and applets to run five to 10 times faster than unenhanced versions,
into future versions of Navigator.
- Desktop publishing giant Adobe Systems announced a deal with
Microsoft to collaborate on a new universal font format. Called
OpenType, the effort will streamline the management of existing
fonts and provide a format to handle the next generation of type
for PCs and the Internet. The plan is to incorporate OpenType
into future versions of Windows.
- Some companies are realizing that most people still use Windows
3.1x. For example, Borland announced a 16-bit version of Paradox
for Win 3.1x and Windows for Workgroups (it released the 32-bit
product in December). And Microsoft finally customized its Internet
Explorer 2.0 for Windows 3.1x.
- In an interview, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates indicated that the
company will release products for the hand-held market in 1997.
The company also acquired Aha Software, best known for its handwriting
recognition package, which is used in some hand-helds.
By Jim Forbes
If you pace the floor while waiting to download material from
the Web, you're not alone. And you'll likely wear out a lot more
shoe leather before things get better; many users still connect
at speeds of only 14.4Kbps or 28.8Kbps. According to at least
one key observer, the situation isn't about to change anytime
soon. "For the next four to five years, 28.8[Kbps] will be
the upper limit for most people," Microsoft chairman and
CEO Bill Gates said in a recent speech.
Although devices such as ISDN modems are now available even in
discount stores, many users find that hooking them up isn't easy.
And not all phone companies have the technology or skill to offer
ISDN.
However, companies such as Microsoft, US West, GTE and Bell Atlantic
are looking at innovations that could facilitate high-speed connections.
One of Microsoft's favorites is asymmetrical digital subscriber
lines (ADSLs), a new class of phone service that sends data to
your computer over packet-switched phone lines and common twisted-pair
wires at a blazing 6.144Mbps (outbound, it's still 640Kbps). ADSL,
however, is still a year or two away.
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Time was when when school districts never thought of buying anything
but Apple computers. But over time, Intel-based PCs have made
huge inroads, and other companies are chasing this
market with a slew of new products and services. Compaq hopes
to enhance its server technology, while Microsoft has struck deals
with K-12 software developers and is offering Windows 95 upgrades
at big discounts to school districts.