From: SMTP%"RELAY-INFO-VAX@CRVAX.SRI.COM" 12-SEP-1993 16:49:48.12 To: EVERHART CC: Subj: DECUS DFWLUG Sept 14th, Meeting Notice/Netnewsletter X-Newsgroups: biz.dec,comp.org.decus,comp.os.vms,comp.sys.dec Subject: DECUS DFWLUG Sept 14th, Meeting Notice/Netnewsletter Message-Id: <1993Sep6.235607.11865@fallout.lonestar.org> From: system@fallout.lonestar.org Date: 6 Sep 93 23:56:07 CST Organization: DECUS DFWLUG BBS *Dallas*TX* Lines: 1520 To: Info-VAX@kl.sri.com X-Gateway-Source-Info: USENET =========================================================================== = __________ = =| ______ | THE DFWLUG = =| / ---- \ | 10th Anniversary(*1982-1992*) = =| | | | Celebrating over 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 3 Number 9 September 7th, 1993 = =========================================================================== -------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLUME 3 NUMBER 9 INDEX (in this issue) PAGE 1 * The next DFWLUG meeting Info and Map (September 14th, 1993) PAGE 2 * DFWLUG/DECUS Speakers and Calendar of Events for 1993/1994 PAGE 3 * Wall Street Jrnl: Digital's Recovery - looking to tap new growth PAGE 4 * NEW DEC 486 PCs, with 3 Year Warranty Starting at $1,049 PAGE 5 * Carrera Computers launches a New Series of Alpha AXP PCs PAGE 6 * The Global Network Navigator: Internet based Info Center PAGE 7 * Technology Watch - Controlling computers via brain waves PAGE 8 * OpenVMS AXP is FIRST in the industry to achieve NIST FIPS 151-2 PAGE 9 * TI Will develop Information Engineering Facilities for OpenVMS PAGE 10 * Introducing OpenVMS VAX Version 6.0 New Features PAGE 11 * DFWLUG Staff members and contact list PAGE 12 * DFWLUG BBS Info PAGE 13 * Digital's 1-800 Service Phone Numbers (Consulting and Sales) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOT TIP: Lost or Forgot your DECUS number? Moved and want DECUS to find you again;-) There are two ways you can obtain your DECUS membership number: 1) Call 1-800-DECUS55 and ask for it. 2) Send a mail message to "information@DECUS.ORG" with your full name and full USPO mailing address. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLUME 3 NUMBER 9 PAGE 1 9/14/93 -- >>>>>> The DFWLUG September meeting agenda is as follows: "Velocitor Disk Drives with Alpha AXP -- Highperformance I/O for your Highperformance CPU" "WARP I/O Cache Overview" Presented by Brendan Eagan, Consultant, OpenVMS Partner, Digital Equipment Dallas Texas Dennis Staines, Consultant United Kingdom -- Robert Eden will also have the Fall 92 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 2 TK50 in trade...;-) -- Chris Simon Has filled up the Fall Schedule of Speakers for the DFWLUG regular meetings. Thanks for all those who are going to speak (see the calendar) it looks like a great fall line-up. (now about Winter 1994...;-) -- David Cathey (The DFWLUG Membership coordinator) can help you join DECUS and the DFWLUG. Membership for both is free of charge and will put you on our mailing list for our technical newsletter. Membership forms for DECUS and the DFWLUG are available at our regular meetings or log-on to our Electronic BBS system INFO account at 214-270-3313 and request our information package. You'll receive the membership forms and LUG information via regular mail. -- The DFWLUG staff will have information on the new DECUS Class-Pass Program that discounts Digital ED Service Classes and the Free DECUServe accounts for new members. And the LUG is looking for a volunteer coordinator who would like to participate by scheduling and promoting DFWLUG sponsored Classes from any of Digital's Educational Service offerings. This would be an opportunity for anyone interested in joining the LUG steering committee as our Class-Pass Coordinator. Please contact anyone on the current steering committee for a list of the responsibilities and light duties required;-) -- The DFWLUG BBS DFWLUG BBS has just celebrated it's third anniversary of continuous service and growth! Check out what all the excitement is about and learn more about USEnet, Internet, Email and Open Systems. Thanks to everyone for the support and success of the BBS! Special thanks to David Cathey for our User Management(and Newsfeed!) and Robert Eden for all the help on UUCP and MX! Onward to our fourth year;-) Since January 1993 TOTAL CALLS TO THE DECUS DFWLUG BBS SYSTEM 3429 DAILY DISTRIBUTION OF CALLS MONDAY = 561 TUESDAY = 560 WEDNESDAY = 551 THURSDAY = 557 FRIDAY = 546 SATURDAY = 325 SUNDAY = 329 Since September 1990 TOTAL CALLS TO THE DECUS DFWLUG BBS SYSTEM 10500 DAILY DISTRIBUTION OF CALLS MONDAY = 1812 TUESDAY = 1773 WEDNESDAY = 1760 THURSDAY = 1794 FRIDAY = 1533 SATURDAY = 879 SUNDAY = 949 The DFWLUG charges a modest $10/Year for private accounts to cover the costs of phone lines and supplies. Join the LUG and the BBS! Plug into the best connected and most diverse Computer users group in the DFW metroplex -- The DFWLUG. -- Refreshments will be served courtesy of Digital Equipment. -----------ASCII MAP TO THE MEETING----------------------------------------- Meeting Location: 7:00pm This meeting will be at the - - - Digital's Application Center |Enter| | for Technology (214) 702-4400. | \|/ | |-------| | |----|----|----|| |-----| 9th floor of the Digital Building | Hilton| | |DEC |Bank|OXY || | | in North Dallas. |-------| | |----|----|----|| |_____|Galleria - - - - - - - - -| ______________________________|________________________ | LBJ Freeway I-635 D|T A|O ^ L|L /|\ L|L | A|W |North S|A |Y -------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLUME 3 NUMBER 9 PAGE 2 THE DFWLUG 1993/1994 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Aug. 30th DECUS 93/San Francisco Session Submission Deadline Sep. 6-10th DECUS Symposia - Europe Sep. 14th Brendan Eagan Consultant Digital Equipment Genroco's Velocitor 20Mbyte/sec Disk Subsystem for Digital Systems Sep. 18th Computer Council of Dallas Super Saturday Program at the Infomart 214-234-2667 Multiple User groups Apple/PC/Amiga/ Commodore/Tandy/Atari and others... (held every third Saturday) (DFWLUG hopes to participate at time of writing) Oct 12th John Wisniewski Consultant Digital Equipment *Major Digital Hardware and Software Announcement in October* Nov 9th DFWLUG Meeting Dec. 4-10th DECUS 93/San Francisco Event Dec. 14th DFWLUG Meeting 1994 Jan. 11th DFWLUG Meeting (>Open< *Got a Topic Contact Chris Simon*) Feb. 8th DFWLUG Meeting (>Open< *Got a Topic Contact Chris Simon*) Mar. 19-22 DECUS University Comes to Dallas, TX -- 40 Seminars in 4 days on Streamed Topics ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1993/1994 DECUS/COMPUTER GROUPS CALENDAR OF EVENTS September 1993 6 week DECUS Europe, Montreux Switzerland 18-21 DECUS Local Seminars/Charlotte, NC 22-25 Minnesota Regional Conference/Minneapolis, MN 25-28 DECUS Local Seminars/Nashville, TN 27 DECUS Japan OCTOBER 1993 15-17 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference & Seminars @ Univ.Maryland 16-19 DECUS Local Seminars/Newport, RI 21 Western Reserve Regional Conference/Mayfield, OH 23-25 DECUS PATHWORKS Roadshow/Orlando, FL 30-11/2 DECUS Local Seminars/Newark, NJ NOVEMBER 1993 6-9 DECUS Local Seminars/Salt Lake City, UT DECEMBER 1993 4-10 DECUS National Event/San Francisco, CA JANUARY 1994 5-8 MACworld Exposition/San Francisco, CA 6-9 Consumer Electronics Show/Las Vegas, NV 17-21 USENIX, San Francisco, CA 20-27 Communication Networks/Washington, DC FEBRUARY 1994 4-7 DECUS UNIX Roadshow/Washington, DC 4-7 DECUS NT Roadshow/Boston, MA 4-7 DECUS OpenVMS/Networks Roadshow/Seattle, WA 19-21 DECUS PATHWORKS Roadshow/San Diego, CA 25-28 DECUS OpenVMS/Networks Roadshow/Atlanta, GA 25-28 DECUS NT Roadshow/Ann Arbor, MI MARCH 1994 4-7 DECUS UNIX Roadshow/Cincinnati, OH 7-9 ASAE/Washington, DC 19-22 DECUS University Dallas Texas 22-24 Federal Office Systems Expo/Washington, DC 23-25 UniForum/San Francisco, CA APRIL 1994 8-11 DECUS NT Roadshow/Portland, OR 9-10 CASE World/San Francisco, CA 10-13 SAS Users Group Int'l Conf/Dallas, TX 16-18 DECUS UNIX Roadshow/San Francisco, CA 16-18 DECUS PATHWORKS Roadshow/Chicago, IL 16-18 DECUS OpenVMS/Networks Roadshow/St. Louis, MO MAY 1994 2-6 Networld+INTEROP94/Las Vegas, NV 9-13 DECUS National Event/New Orleans, LA 21-23 DB Expo/San Francisco, CA 23-26 American Society of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology/Washington, DC JUNE 1994 6-10 USENIX, Boston, MA 7-9 Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Assoc/Washington, DC 13-16 SUN World Expo/San Francisco, CA JULY 1994 11-18 SEMICON/San Francisco, CA SEPTEMBER 1994 12-16 Networld+INTEROP94/Atlanta, GA 13-16 SEYBOLD/San Francisco, CA 20-22 NETWORKS/Dallas, TX 25-29 ORACLE/San Francisco, CA OCTOBER 1994 23-27 ACM OOPSLA/Portland, OR NOVEMBER 1994 2-4 North American Telecommunications/Washington, DC 10-16 DECUS National Event/Anaheim, CA 14-18 COMDEX/Las Vegas, NV 15-17 Supercomputing Show '94/Washington, DC 30-12/2 Int Biotechnology Ex/San Francisco, CA DECEMBER 1994 11-13 ASAE -------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLUME 3 NUMBER 9 PAGE 3 Digital - Is looking to tap new growth {The Wall Street Journal, 19-Aug-93, p. B4} Analysts See Turnaround, but finding revenue could be a challenge Digital Equipment proved it can become profitable again by slashing costs. But igniting new revenue growth will be even harder. Digital's $113 million profit for the 4th quarter ended July 3, its first in two years, rose from draconian cutting in which the company fired its founder, shed one in five jobs, shuttered factories, and replaced much of top management. Yet analysts see a roller-coaster comeback for Digital, including a loss this quarter as the recession saps results in Europe, the source of half the company's revenue. For the long haul, the No. 2 U.S. computer maker is counting on a reorganized sales force, motivated by new incentives, to push more products out the door. It's also broadening its services business into such areas as advising companies how to build computer networks - even if Digital products aren't involved. After a long dependency on its VAX minicomputers with proprietary software, Digital hopes than new chip technology will hold its corporate customers while giving it an edge in fast-growing personal computer, workstation and networking businesses. Building Revenue Finding new revenue, however, could be a bigger challenge. Competition is more intense than ever, as computers become more of a commodity and profit margins shrivel. Digital's challenge is to build revenue in new areas faster than minicomputers decline. While it has installed a huge base of these machines, priced from $10,000 to as much as $1 million, most of the demand today is for smaller systems. Another challenge is to recharge Digital's demoralized sales force - now under Edward E. Lucente, a former top IBM executive who is sales and marketing chief. "We've stopped the bleeding," says Robert B. Palmer, who ran Digital's chipmaking operation before being thrust into the chief executive officer's job last fall. "But that's not a turnaround. We need to show a few quarters of consistent, profitable growth." Mr. Palmer adds that "We're done with the major downsizing" if sales hold steady. Indeed, Digital seems better off now than the industry's wounded leader, IBM, which has announced further deep cuts. Digital's strategy reaches beyond cost cutting, and is tied to Alpha, a new microchip design that analysts is the most powerful in the industry. "In my 30 years at IBM, we had trailing technology and products, and we masked it with a world-class sales force," says Mr. Lucente. "Now I have world-class technology to sell." Sales Force Is Reorganized Mr. Lucente is trying to fix the problems of the sales force by reorganizing it into groups that sell to specific industries, such as health care and banking. An incentive pay structure took effect on July 4. Digital had been the only major computer maker that didn't pay its salespeople commissions. Shortly after Mr. Lucente was hired in April, his new boss, Mr. Palmer, said the sales force was "probably the least productive in the world." In the field, where the pain of layoffs is still fresh, some Digital people say mid-level managers were spared while front-line workers were axed. Mr. Lucente acknowledges that "there are still too many managers." Indeed, analysts think Mr. Palmer will keep cutting the payroll, which stood at 94,200 on July 3. "They'll work it down to 90,000 by December," says Barry F. Willman, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Once costs are under control, Digital has several prospects for revenue growth. Its service business, including network design and maintenance, has expanded sharply and now accounts for nearly half of revenue. Personal computer sales have jumped to almost $900 million last year from next to nothing two years ago, while sales of high-capacity disk drives have surged as well. And Digital claims the most powerful computer workstations and servers on the market, thanks to the Alpha chip. No. 7 in Personal Computers Personal computers, which Digital ignored for years, are now its fastest-growing products. Market researcher Computer Intelligence puts Digital at No. 7 in personal computers, ahead of better known makers like Zenith Data Systems, and just behind AST Research Corp. Digital executives say personal-computer sales in fiscal 1994 should double. Up to now, Digital has been nearly invisible in personal computers, because most sales are direct - by mail, through a toll-free number - and its customers are mostly corporate buyers who already own bigger Digital computers. To broaden sales, Digital has struck agreements with MicroAge Inc. and other distributors. But it is still an unprofitable business, as personal-computer pricing is intensely competitive. Digital has so far kept pace with every bruising markdown, analysts say. And the company is about to spend more than $50 million on a big personal-computer advertising blitz, according to insiders. Enrico Pesatori, chief of Digital's personal-computer unit, says it should break even this year as volume climbs, lowering unit costs. By contrast, data-storage - disk drives and components - is making money. "Storage is a sleeper, an unexpected jewel," says Shao Wang, a Smith Barney analyst. The unit's manager, former Xerox Charles F. Christ, is credited by analysts with turning around the business and aiming beyond captive Digital markets to sell to other computer makers. These sales rose from zero two years ago to about 20% of the unit's total sales of $1 billion last year. In workstations - powerful desktop machines used by engineers and scientists - Digital still lags in third place behind Hewlett-Packard C. and Sun Microsystems Inc. Yet analysts say it has a chance to recapture lost ground with the Alpha design, which was unveiled last year and is intended to power Digital's computers for a decade. 'Strong Products' Are Seen With its Alpha-equipped workstations, "they don't have to apologize any more - they're coming to the table with strong products at great prices," says Mr. Willman, the analyst. Regaining momentum in desktops, both personal computers and workstations, "is absolutely critical to any recovery," he adds. As far Digital's larger Alpha-based computers, sales have been slow so far. Some owners of older models with the VAX operating system have been reluctant to move to the new line, because industrial-strength operating software for Alpha won't be available until next year. "We've been happy with the VAX and we're interested in Alpha, but we'll look at everything out there before we buy next year," says Peggy Kaye, systems manager for a unit of U S West Inc., the regional telephone company. Still, for many analysts, a turnaround is in view. "Bob Palmer saved a sinking ship," says Jay Stevens of Dean Witter Reynolds Inc. "Now he's got to get it sailing again." [Charts accompanying the article - TT]: Digital Equipment by the Numbers: The Profit Picture [Estimated by me from a bar chart - TT]: Quarterly net income (loss), in billions 1992 4Q: - $1.855 1993 1Q: - 0.26 2Q: - 0.8 3Q: - 0.1 4Q: 0.1 Note; Data for fiscal year ended June The Fundamentals: 1993 1992 Revenue (billions) $14.37 $13.93 Net Income (Loss) (billions) ($0.25) ($2.79)* Earnings per share ($1.93) ($22.39) * After $1.5 billion restructuring charge an $485 million charge for accounting change. Note: Figures for fiscal years ended June 30, 1992 and July 3, 1992. Major Businesses: Computer systems and networks, data storage devices and printers, services. Major Competitors: IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, Compaq Computer -------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLUME 3 NUMBER 9 PAGE 4 DIGITAL INTRODUCES NEW PC FAMILIES, THREE-YEAR WARRANTY, PACKAGED SYSTEMS WORLDWIDE MAYNARD, Mass. -- August 30, 1993 -- As the first step in the company's dramatic expansion of its PC product line, Digital Equipment Corporation today introduced nine DECpc LPv and DECpc LPx systems, making up the two families in its new value line of personal computers, starting at just $1,049. The company also announced its new line of easy-to-order packaged and pre-loaded Windows NT systems, aimed at filling the needs of specific PC users. "Today's announcements are part of the company's strategy to provide a full range of personal computer products designed to meet the differing needs of various customer segments," said Enrico Pesatori, vice president and general manager, Personal Computer Business Unit. "All the products in our Value, Performance, Server, Mobile, and PC Solutions lines will be aggressively-priced, and will be available through the channels where users prefer to buy." At the same time, Digital announced a three-year, worldwide warranty on its personal computers sold after August 31, 1993. Unlike other vendors, Digital's warranty is available on all of the company's PC products. "Our PC products have a proven track record for quality and reliability, and are backed by Digital's worldwide service and support," said Harry Copperman, vice president of US Sales and Marketing, Personal Computer Business Unit. "We are therefore extending our warranty on all PC products to three years, while delivering a level of service that many other vendors do not offer, or do not deliver directly." The new warranty features hardware call-screening available 12 hours per day, five days per week, and call-logging, available 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The company will provide on-site desktop, deskside and server hardware service for the first year, with Return-to-Digital service for the second and third years, including 48-hour turnaround. Customers can also upgrade to on-site service for their second and third years by calling their Digital sales representative, authorized reseller, or Desktop Direct for more information. For portable products, Digital provides a Return-to-Digital three-year warranty (excluding batteries and other consumables), with 48-hour turnaround where available. Telephone support for software purchased with the system on desktop, deskside, server and portable PCs is provided for one full year on operating systems, and 90 days for PC applications. Digital also has a variety of extended services to meet customers' unique needs. Digital announced its new DECpc value line, consisting of two low-priced families of products: the slimline DECpc LPv and the more expandable DECpc LPx. The new systems replace most of the company's best-selling DECpc LP line, introduced in August, 1992. The DECpc LPv family, consisting of five low-profile models ranging in processor speed from 425sx to 466d2, offers local-bus graphics with GUI acceleration, processor upgradeability, and is an excellent value for budget-conscious buyers. Digital offers users faster scrolling, filing, and cursor movement through the use of S3's 805 video processor, and simple upgradeability via a LIF (Low Insertion Force) processor socket. The value-priced system uses the same low-profile enclosure as the existing DECpc LP series and is designed for users who need today's best technology to meet immediate business needs. The DECpc LPv base system, available in 425sx, 433sx, 433dx, 450d2, and 466d2 variants, includes three ISA expansion slots, two front-accessible and two internal drive bays for easy expansion and customization, 145 watt power supply, and is Ready-to-Run Microsoft Windows 3.1 and DOS 6.0 software -- all in a low-profile case. The DECpc LPv 425sx with the above configuration, 170 MB IDE hard drive, and four MB RAM is priced at $1,049 without monitor. The DECpc LPx family, consisting of four full-profile desktop models ranging in processor speed from 433sx to 466d2, offers a choice of graphics performance and is designed for users who want to take advantage of quickly-changing technology and protect their investments, but don't have a large budget. Digital offers users faster scrolling, filing, and cursor movement through a choice of three VL-bus GUI-accelerated video cards using S3 and Weitek microprocessors, with performance ranging from 17 to 62M Winmarks, and simple upgradeability via ZIF (zero insertion force) processor socket. The system's modular design also enables users to upgrade to Intel's next generation of Pentium Overdrive processors, as well as upgrade video cards as new technologies become available. The DECpc LPx base system, available in 433sx, 433dx, 450d2, and 466d2 variants, includes the user's choice of video up to 1280x1024 resolution, six 16-bit ISA slots, two VESA VL slots, four front bays, one internal bay, 200 watt power supply, and is available in a full-profile case. The DECpc LPx 433sx with the above configuration, 170 MB IDE hard drive, and four MB RAM is priced at $1,299 without monitor. Both systems include two serial ports, one parallel port, mouse, keyboard, and video ports, from four to 64 MB RAM, 128 or 256K of optional external cache, and are tested to run Microsoft DOS 6.0, Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups, Windows NT, Novell NetWare, OS/2, and SCO UNIX software. Digital also offers a wide range of disks and other options. The systems are available immediately through the company's Desktop Direct catalog at 800-722-9332, through Digital's direct sales force, and authorized resellers. Packaged and Pre-Loaded Systems to Meet Users' Needs "A growing number of customers want to buy complete PC solutions tailored to their business or industry needs," said Jesse Parker, director of product management, Personal Computer Business Unit. "By providing these packaged and pre-loaded systems, we are offering target customers hardware and software configured the way they want them, at a discounted price." Today, Digital is announcing the first four of these PC Solutions packaged systems aimed at small business users, business professionals in larger corporations, and networked PC users. The company also announced pre-loaded Windows NT systems based on popular DECpc models. The Small Business and Business Professional systems are optimized for general-purpose computing, including integrated office software and a modem. The systems include a DECpc LPv 433dx or DECpc LPx 433dx, four or eight MB RAM, S3-805/S3-805 VESA VL video, 245 MB IDE hard drive, keyboard, mouse, 15" SVGA non-interlaced monitor, 128K cache, Lotus SmartSuite software, 14.4K data/fax modem, are Ready-to-Run Microsoft Windows 3.1 and DOS 6.0, and are priced at $2,423 and $2,693, respectively. The Network Client and Network Client Pro systems are designed for networked PC business environments, and feature convenient setup and operation. The systems include a DECpc LPv 425sx or DECpc LPx 433sx respectively, four or eight MB RAM, 170 MB IDE, S3-805/S3-805 VESA VL-bus video, keyboard, mouse, 14" SVGA non-interlaced monitor, 128K cache, EtherWORKS Turbo ethernet card, and are Ready-to-Run Microsoft Windows 3.1 and DOS 6.0. The Network Client system with DECpc LPv 425sx, is priced at $1,599. The DECpc LPx 433sx Network Ready Client system includes an extra four MB of RAM, and is priced at $1,999. For users moving to the Microsoft Windows NT environment, Digital also introduced cost-saving, pre-loaded Windows NT systems based on popular DECpc models. The systems include the DECpc 466d2 MT, DECpc 433dx MTE, DECpc 466d2 MTE, DECpc 450ST, DECpc 466ST, and the DECpc 560ST Pentium-based PC. The Windows NT client kit included with the systems offers all the features of Windows NT including peer-to-peer networking, application portability, and multitasking. All packaged systems include 16 MB RAM, a 245 MB SCSI drive, maximum external cache available, CD-ROM drive, 1.44M floppy disk drive, keyboard, mouse, and are Ready-to-Run Microsoft Windows NT, Version 3.1. Package prices range from $3,939 to $7,234. Customers can purchase other DECpc systems with Windows NT separately. All of the above packaged systems are available immediately through Digital's Desktop Direct catalog, direct sales force, and resellers. Digital's is ranked as one of the fastest-growing personal computer suppliers in the U.S. by market research firm Computer Intelligence, and the largest U.S. direct-mail computer supplier by Catalog Age magazine. The company markets a complete family of technologically-advanced and competitively-priced PCs -- including portables, desktops and deskside systems. Digital Equipment Corporation, headquartered in Maynard, Massachusetts, is the leading worldwide supplier of networked computer systems, software and services. Digital pioneered and leads the industry in interactive, distributed and multivendor computing. Digital and its business partners deliver the power to use the best integrated solutions - from desktop to data center - in open information environments. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLUME 3 NUMBER 9 PAGE 5 LAGUNA HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Carrera Computers Inc. Monday announced it has formed an alliance with Digital Equipment Corp. and is launching a new series of personal computer workstations based on DEC's new powerful Alpha 150 microprocessor and designed for Windows NT applications. Prices for the Hercules 150, first of the Carrera systems using the DEC chip, rated the fastest in the world by The Guinness Book of World Records, will be in the $4,500 range. "Carrera is proud to be one of only four of DEC's `T-OEMs,' " said Brad Frye, president of the Laguna Hills-based company. The others are CRAY, Olivetti and Kaboda. Designed as a system building block for PC users looking for a cost-efficient way to move up to Microsoft Windows NT performance, the Hercules 150 will be configured in a tower enclosure. It will contain the DEC Alpha AXP 150MHz chip and motherboard, power supply, 512 kilobytes of cache memory, Windows NT operating system license, a 3.5-inch 2.88MB floppy drive, three-button mouse and documentation. "Our new Hercules personal workstation eliminates problems resulting when PC performance fails to meet the increasing demands of intensive applications," Frye said. "It is aimed at PC users who want more speed, more applications, more power for the local area network-based desktop, and for those who are downsizing to distributed client/server environments." Carrera is one of a handful of new PC manufacturers that are building systems specifically for the 64-bit RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) environment which is ideally suited for multiuser, multitasking applications running under Windows NT. The Hercules systems are available now directly from Carrera and through the company's network of distributors, value-added resellers and original equipment manufacturers. Carrera Computers Inc., 23181 Verdugo Drive, Suite 105A, Laguna Hills, Calif. 92653; 714/707-5051. CONTACT: Les Goldberg Public Relations, Santa Ana, Calif. Les Goldberg, 714/545-3117 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLUME 3 NUMBER 9 PAGE 6 VNS TECHNOLOGY WATCH: [Mike Taylor, VNS Correspondent] ===================== [Littleton, MA, USA ] THE GLOBAL NETWORK NAVIGATOR An Internet-based Information Center O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. Next month, we will launch a new experiment in online publishing, _The Global Network Navigator_ (GNN), a free Internet- based information center that will initially be available as a quarterly. GNN will consist of a regular news service, an online magazine, The Whole Internet Interactive Catalog, and a global marketplace containing information about products and services. Keep Up with News of the Global Network The Global Network News provides a continuously updated listing of interesting news items by and about the users of the Internet, including announcements of new information services. Discover New Interests in GNN Magazine Each issue will present articles developed around a common theme, such as government or education. Regular columns will cover such topics as how to provide information services on the Internet or help for new Internet users. It will have several innovative departments, such as Off The Wall Gallery, that exhibits in digital form the works of new artists, and Go Find Out, a section containing reviews of the Internet's most interesting resources. How to find resources on a particular subject One of the most popular features of O'Reilly's _The Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog, by Ed Krol, is the catalog of information resources on the Internet. GNN features an expanded, interactive version of this resource catalog that can be used online to navigate to the Internet servers containing those resources. The Online Whole Internet Catalog organizes Internet resources in the following categories: - The Internet - Arts - Current Affairs - Libraries, Reference & Education - Science - Government and Politics - Technology - Business - Humanities - Work and Play In the Online Whole Internet Catalog, subscribers can not only read about these resources, they can actually connect to them with a click of the button. Participate in the GNN Marketplace Getting good information from a company about their products or services is almost as valuable as the product or service itself. The Global Marketplace provides referrals to companies providing this kind of information online through the Internet. The Global Marketplace also contains commercial resource centers in which subscribers may find white papers, product brochures or catalogs, demo software or press releases for the companies advertising in GNN Marketplace. GNN and The World Wide Web Global Network Navigator is an application of the World Wide Web (WWW), developed at CERN in Switzerland. Users can choose any WWW browser, such as Mosaic (available for UNIX, Windows, and the Mac) from the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. In addition, O'Reilly & Associates will make available Viola, an X-based hypermedia software environment in which we've developed a sophisticated WWW graphical browser. Viola makes it possible to distribute object-oriented documents that use formatted text, graphics, icons, and scripts. All World Wide Web browsers can be used to access network services such as gopher and WAIS, independent of the Global Network Navigator. How To Subscribe The Global Network Navigator is available over the Internet as a free subscription service during its launch. GNN will be funded by sponsors who provide commercial information of interest to our readers in GNN Marketplace and through advertising in GNN News, GNN Magazine and the Online Whole Internet Catalog. To get information on subscribing to Global Network Navigator, send e-mail to info@gnn.com Brian Erwin, brian@ora.com O'Reilly & Associates 103A Morris Street, Sebastopol CA 95472 707-829-0515, Fax 707-829-0104 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLUME 3 NUMBER 9 PAGE 7 Computers - Controlling computers via brain waves {The Boston Globe, 16-Aug-93, p. 25} The small group of scientists doing this research - in Japan and Austria as well as in the U.S. - are trying a variety of methods by which humans can make their wishes known to a computer. In some systems, the human must learn to alter the voltage of a particular set of brain waves to give a command. In others, the computer is programmed to recognize a particular pattern of brain activity as a thought command. All of the "interfaces" rely on the monitoring of the brain's electrical signals by electroencephalography, or EEG, a technique that involves placing electrodes on the scalp. The human brain produces a noisy cascade of electrical signals, and the scientists try to isolate one particular signal from that ruckus. They can then use this isolated signal, in one manner or another, to act as a brain-to-computer messenger. Perhaps the most promising - and yet the most difficult - approach is one being pursued by scientists in Austria and Japan. They are seeking to identify signature brain patterns, or neural networks, the instant before the subject performs an action, such as moving a hand, or silently voicing a word. Such patterns could then be harnessed to serve as though commands. A Japanese researcher reportedly has identified a pattern that occurs the instant before a subject says the sound "ah" in his or her mind, but in the experiment the computer needed hours to make that recognition. The big unknown in this field of research is Andrew Junker's work. In late spring, Junker, who has a PhD in engineering, sat on the deck of his 35-foot yacht, carving turns around buoys and maneuvering past other boats in a crowded Virgin Islands harbor. Three electrodes attached to his forehead ferried a series of "brain-body" signals to an onboard computer, and the vessel heeded his mental commands. No hand controls were necessary. Junker was steering with his thoughts. He says he has made a breakthrough since he left the Air Force, and, as evidence, he can cite his boat-steering feat. He is, in fact, doing something radically different from the others, but he won't be explicit on the details. Junker does not try to isolate an individual signal from the complex web produced by the brain. Instead, he places electrodes on his forehead and simply analyzes the whole messy "brain-body" signal present. The electrical activity comes both from brain waves and, more likely, nearby facial muscle. His breakthrough, he says, resulted from his invention of an algorithm for quickly analyzing this complex signal. With this feedback, a user can learn to alter the complex signal in a way that makes it possible to send multiple commands to the computer, he said. "We are taking the whole mess, or at least a lot (of the complex signal), and then letting the person make some sense out of it. But they are not going to do it at the conscious level, but at the feeling level, and that is the important level," Junker said. With his system, he added, people have been able to use thought commands (he calls them "brain fingers") to play video games like Pong and Mario Brothers, perform computer music, and steer a wheelchair - or a yacht. He believes that people will be amazed when they discover the power of their own minds as they use this technology. "It gives people another view of themselves," he said. "That is the transformative part." [The 3/4 page article describes a variety of work by several researchers - TT]. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLUME 3 NUMBER 9 PAGE 8 OpenVMS AXP V1.5 with POSIX for OpenVMS AXP V1.0 is FIRST in the industry to achieve NIST FIPS 151-2 validation! We are pleased to announce that OpenVMS AXP V1.5 with POSIX for OpenVMS V1.0 is the first operating system in the industry to achieve FIPS 151-2 validation. No other vendor's UNIX or non-UNIX operating system has yet achieved 151-2 validation. Once again, Digital has demonstrated its strong commitment to delivering an open systems environment with OpenVMS. Certificate of Validation ------------------------- The certificate of validation verifies that OpenVMS AXP V1.5 with POSIX for OpenVMS V1.0 has been tested using the official National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) POSIX Conformance Test Suite for the Federal Informations Processing Standards Publications 151-2 (FIPS PUB 151-2) and that the results obtained have been validated by NIST. Differences between FIPS 151-1 and 151-2 ----------------------------------------- The 151-1 test suite was based on a draft version of the POSIX 1003.3.1 Test Methods specification, which measures conformance to POSIX. The 151-1 test suite had approximately 2,600 test assertions. The more rigorous 151-2 test suite is based on the final POSIX 2003.1 Test Methods specification, requires the presence of an ANSI C certified compiler, and has approximately 3,000 test assertions. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate and thank the entire OpenVMS POSIX project team for their first-in-the-industry achievement. **** CONGRATULATIONS **** TWO XPG3 BASE BRANDS FOR DIGITAL On 23 July Digital obtained two XPG3 BASE brands for:- OpenVMS AXP(TM) V1.5 or greater with POSIX for OpenVMS AXP(TM) V1.0 or greater & DEC C(TM) V1.3 running on Digital's AXP(TM) family of processors and OpenVMS VAX(TM) V6.0 or greater with POSIX for OpenVMS VAX(TM) V1.2 or greater & VAX C(TM) V3.2 running on Digital's VAX(TM) family of processors -------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLUME 3 NUMBER 9 PAGE 9 PLANO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Advanced Information Management software division of Texas Instruments today announced it will develop two new Information Engineering Facility products for Digital Equipment Corp.'s VAX and Alpha AXP Systems as part of TI's Systems Alliance Partner program. These products will further extend TI's flagship IEF integrated, model-driven application development software tools to Digital's worldwide customer base. The companies are working cooperatively to deliver these products to customers as part of a renewed and strengthened commitment to the alliance. "Our relationship with Digital has always been a significant component of our IEF strategy," said Duncan McClain, director of worldwide marketing for the Texas Instruments AIM software division. "The strong interest of Digital customers in the IEF illustrates a natural fit between one of the world's leading computing platforms and the robust capabilities of an integrated software solution designed for enterprise-wide application development," McClain said. "Add to that the large installed base of VMS and the strong industry response to Digital's Alpha AXP systems, and we have an opportunity to jointly create substantial new markets." TI and Digital first formed a relationship in 1989 when Digital began to participate in TI's Hardware Alliance Partner program and TI became a Complementary Solution House for Digital. The renewed cooperation includes: o Pooling technical resources o On-site engineering from Digital at TI's AIM headquarters o Hardware and software from Digital to support development for both VAX and Alpha AXP systems o Continued joint marketing and sales programs TI and Digital are currently beta testing the IEF Encyclopedia for OpenVMS VAX systems. TI's Encyclopedia coordinates large-scale development activities across the enterprise with features such as code generation, subsetting, access control, and model management. The product is targeted for commercial availability in Q4 of this year. TI will also develop the Encyclopedia for Digital's OpenVMS Alpha AXP systems. This work is already underway, with beta release scheduled for early 1994. The two encyclopedias will be compatible, allowing users to share relevant files. "We are pleased that TI will be delivering the Encyclopedia on both Digital platforms. The extension of this offering allows us to provide additional computer-aided software engineering (CASE) solutions to our customers on a worldwide basis," said Terry Condon, business development manager for COHESION. "As part of Digital's COHESION strategy for Application Development, TI is instrumental in offering an integrated software solution on OpenVMS Alpha AXP systems." The IEF product is being used by more than 750 sites worldwide, including 50 percent of the Fortune 100. Many organizations rely on TI and Digital's integrated technologies to build and operate core business applications. Texas Instruments Inc., headquartered in Dallas, Texas is a high-technology company with sales or manufacturing operations in more than 30 countries. TI products and services include semiconductors, defense electronics systems, software productivity tools, computers and peripheral products, custom engineering and manufacturing services, electrical controls, metallurgical materials, and consumer electronics products. Digital Equipment Corp., headquartered in Maynard, Mass., is the leading worldwide supplier of networked computer systems, software and services. Digital pioneered and leads the industry in interactive, distributed and multivendor computing. Digital and its business partners deliver the power to use the best integrated solutions -- from desktop to data center -- in open information environments. CONTACT: Texas Instruments, Dallas Luanne Kruse, 214/575-5729 or Rourke & Company, Boston Dana Pantos, 617/267-0042 or Digital Equipment Corp., Maynard, Massachusetts Richard Young, 508/467-546 (END) FEDERAL FILINGS-DOW JONES NEWS 08-30-93 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLUME 3 NUMBER 9 PAGE 10 Introducing OpenVMS VAX Version 6.0 As a part of Digital's strong commitment to OpenVMS VAX, a major new functional version was released in June, 1993 - OpenVMS VAX Version 6.0. OpenVMS VAX is the new title for the operating system software that runs on Digital's VAX processors. This name change initially took place with the introduction of OpenVMS VAX Version 5.5, in order to emphasize Digital's commitment to open software standards. This article describes some of the major features and changes users can expect to see with the installation of this upcoming release. It also describes the new measures that have been implemented in order to minimize the impact of a new functionality release. OpenVMS VAX customers, users, software developers, and business partners will find this release much easier to install or upgrade than previous major releases. Version 6.0 Capabilities The functionality in OpenVMS VAX V6.0 is being provided as a direct result of requests from OpenVMS VAX customers. Digital is strongly committed to OpenVMS VAX and will continue to provide major new functionality that will fulfill the needs of OpenVMS VAX customers well into the future. C2 Security Many government and defense contract customers require operating systems to meet the Department of Defense (DoD) Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria "Orange Book" C2 ranking. This ranking is measured by the National Computer Security Center (NCSC) evaluation process, which evaluates the features and assurances of the operating system. While the Orange Book is a U.S. Government specification, it describes security capabilities, such as auditing, authentication, and access controls, which are also required by many commercial customers. Operating systems that obtain a C2 ranking are capable of enforcing finely grained discretionary access control, making users individually accountable for their actions through logging procedures, auditing of security-related events, and resource isolation. Extended Physical Addressing (XPA) Certain applications and workloads work best when they have access to vast amounts of physical memory. Prior to Version 6.0, physical memory was limited to 512 MB of memory (30 bit addresses). OpenVMS Version 6.0 extends the address space from 30 to 32 bits. The OpenVMS VAX operating system the ability to provide 3.5 GB of physical memory, and .5 GB of I/O and adapter space. This capability enables large applications and workloads access to the huge amounts of physical memory that they require. The VAX 6000-600, VAX 7000 series, and VAX 10000 series systems will be the initial VAX family members to support extended physical addressing. Older VAX family members will continue to support a 30-bit physical address space and will not be impacted by these changes. It is expected that future members of the VAX family will also support the 32-bit physical address space. Extended Virtual Addressing (XVA) OpenVMS VAX Version 6.0 also allows large applications access to 2 GB of system virtual address space. This feature supports a recently introduced change to the VAX architecture and will be supported on the VAX 6000-600, VAX 7000 series, and VAX 10000 series systems as well as future VAX family CPUs. Virtual Balance Slots (VBS) Prior to OpenVMS VAX Version 6.0 the number of memory- resident processes in one VAX CPU was limited by the size of the system virtual address space and the way the space was allocated. When this limit was exceeded, processes would be swapped out. Excessive swapping negatively affects the overall performance of a system. VBS offers a mechanism to give the appearance of a virtually unlimited quantity of balance slots by timesharing the set of memory-resident processes through the limited set of real balance slots. This new feature particularly benefits systems that have a large number of processes resident in memory, either because of a large number of users (for example, ALL-IN-1), or because of a large number of processes per user (for example, Xterminals running DECwindows Motif). Adaptive Pool Management OpenVMS VAX Version 6.0 provides a new autotuning algorithm that reduces the probability of system outages due to exhaustion of memory allocated for system data structures (pool) and that virtually eliminates the need for customers to actively manage their allocation of pool resources. Under the new structure, the nonpaged pool area and lookaside lists are combined into one region, allowing memory packets to migrate from lookaside lists to general pool and back again based on demand. As a result, the system is capable of tuning itself according to the current demand for pool, optimizing its use of these resources, and reducing the risk of running out of these resources. Virtual I/O Cache Users of OpenVMS VAX Version 6.0 can expect performance improvements due to the implementation of a new standalone or cluster-wide, file-oriented disk cache. Applications automatically benefit from the advantages of the Virtual I/O Cache (VIOC) without any special coding. The VIOC file-caching algorithm is dynamically chosen based on the type of cluster-wide access currently in progress. VIOC has been shown to reduce current and potential I/O bottlenecks within OpenVMS systems. It reduces the number of I/Os to the disk subsystem, thereby reducing a system wide bottleneck, and it reduces the user perceived average disk I/O latency. MSCP Dynamic Load Balancing The new Dynamic Load Balancing feature in OpenVMS VAX Version 6.0 enhances the ability of VAXclusters to efficiently load balance served disk I/O among systems within a cluster. As a result, satellite systems are able to dynamically load balance disk I/O across multiple MSCP servers. Dynamic Load Balancing allows workloads to shift to another path or system in a VAXcluster, if the current serving cluster member's I/O becomes excessive. Server activity is checked every five seconds. If a server finds its activity is excessive, it will invoke the new Dynamic Load Balancing algorithm to offload a portion of its work to a server node in the cluster with less MSCP activity. ISO 9660 OpenVMS support for Open Standards is enhanced with the support for the ISO 9660 standard in Version 6.0. Using this new capability, OpenVMS users and application programs can mount, dismount, and read information from ISO 9660 formatted compact disks in exactly the same ways as traditional OpenVMS Files-11 volumes. OpenVMS System Snapshot Over the years, Digital has received numerous requests from OpenVMS customers to reduce the time required to boot a VAX system at startup. OpenVMS VAX Version 6.0 has a new facility called OpenVMS System Snapshot which allows a system manager to significantly decrease the time required to boot OpenVMS VAX by booting the system from a saved system image disk file. The facility provides procedures which the system manager can execute in order to create the system image disk file specific to that VAX system. The system image disk file contains the state of VAX physical memory and the page and swap files, as well as saved SYSGEN parameters, logical names, device configuration, and key OpenVMS processes. This new facility is initially be available for VAX workstations that are booting in a standalone environment. DECwindows Support DECwindows Motif is now available exclusively as a separate layered product and will no longer be tied to the OpenVMS operating system. By decoupling DECwindows Motif from OpenVMS VAX releases we can provide updated standards, such as OSF/Motif[TM] and the MIT X Window System display server, and new features for DECwindows more frequently. Digital believes that customers should pay only for the features they need. Separate packaging lets customers purchase DECwindows software only if needed. DECwindows Motif supports both the Motif and X User Interface (XUI) environments. Users may run their applications and programmers may develop applications using either the OSF/Motif or XUI window managers and toolkits. Existing DECwindows XUI applications run without changes under the DECwindows Motif layered product. Volume Shadowing for OpenVMS VAX V6.0 The new release of Volume Shadowing runs on OpenVMS VAX V6.0 and expands the supported number of shadow sets to 130. With this new version, customers can create up to 130 Phase II shadow sets, each comprised of 1-3 disks, on a standalone or VAXcluster system. This brings the data availability features of Volume Shadowing to even larger configurations. This new feature, along with the performance assists introduced in OpenVMS VAX Version 5.5-2, make Volume Shadowing a key product for production system customers with large disk farms of critical data. V6.0 of Volume Shadowing also contains a number of quality enhancements and a revised manual. As in the past, the binary kit for Volume Shadowing ships with the OpenVMS VAX kit. To run the software, your customer needs only to purchase a license and documentation. RMS Journaling for OpenVMS VAX V6.0 This new release of RMS Journaling contains a number of quality enhancements. As in the past, the binary kit for RMS Journaling ships with the OpenVMS VAX kit. To run the software, your customer needs only to purchase a license and documentation. Modular Executive Under OpenVMS, applications and programs generally fall into two distinct categories: User-mode programs with no dependencies on the internals of the OpenVMS operating system, and Privileged programs with at least one dependency on the OpenVMS executive internals. User-mode programs make up the vast majority of programs available and running on OpenVMS. These applications always continue to work, without any modifications, in new releases of OpenVMS. OpenVMS contains a version checking system that ensures that privileged programs only run against those versions of the operating system internals for which they were designed. When a new OpenVMS release delivers significant changes to the internal operating system interfaces, OpenVMS increments the version numbers on these interfaces and thereby ensures that old privileged software does not run against fundamentally changed internal interfaces. This mechanism allows end users, system managers, and corporate organizations to be secure in the knowledge that the integrity of their data, applications, and systems are not compromised by old privileged software that does not know how to interact correctly with a new release of OpenVMS. Prior to VMS Version 5.0, this version checking system treated all the VMS internals monolithically. If a significant change was made to any VMS internal interface, then every privileged program on the system would be prevented from running until that program was checked and rebuilt against the new release. While this guaranteed the system's integrity, it made major VMS upgrades time and labor intensive. To reduce this impact, VMS Version 5.0 introduced a VMS executive that was modularized into a set of 18 different images, each containing its own individual version number. This decomposition made it possible for subsequent VMS releases to change a portion of the executive, and impact only those privileged programs that used internal interfaces defined by that part of the executive. Other privileged programs would be unaffected. OpenVMS VAX Version 6.0 takes advantage of this capability to minimize the impact that internal changes to OpenVMS memory management, security, and the file system will have on privileged programs. Because only 3 out of 18 components of the OpenVMS executive are being changed, the majority of privileged programs are unaffected. Only those programs that interact with the internals of these 3 components of the OpenVMS executive need to be checked and possibly rebuilt before executing on Version 6.0. However, Version 6.0 goes even further to minimize its impact on layered software. In addition to taking advantage of the modularization of the OpenVMS executive, Version 6.0 introduces a new facility - an Image Registry - to help minimize layered product impact. Because privileged programs frequently do not use all the internal interfaces provided by a OpenVMS executive component, and because OpenVMS changes the version number on an executive component even if just one internal interface in that component changes, sometimes the version checking mechanism prevents privileged programs from being run even when the program is still correct and could be safely run without modification. Such programs cannot be easily recognized by end users, but they can be identified by their developers. The Version 6.0 Image Registry allows engineers to identify these special cases and make them known to the system. The system then can override the version checks in these specific cases and allow the programs to run without modification. As an example of how these combined changes have reduced the impact of the OpenVMS VAX Version 6.0 release, Digital conducted a study of several hundred OpenVMS layered products. The study showed that less than ten percent of the layered products will have to be modified to support Version 6.0. In contrast, previous major releases of OpenVMS would have impacted up to two-thirds of those layered products. As a result of these efforts, the release of OpenVMS VAX Version 6.0 will be the easiest upgrade of a major release since the original release of VMS in 1977. Digital and the OpenVMS organization are committed to implementing these time and labor saving enhancements to the OpenVMS operating system in order to provide our customers with a less complex yet more productive software environment. Other enhancements for OpenVMS VAX Version 6.0 Many other new features, enhancements, quality improvements, and hardware support are included in OpenVMS VAX Version 6.0. Some of the new features include Class Scheduler services, the Crash Log Utility Extractor, and the Help Message Utility. New enhancements being offered will include a set of new DCL capabilities, support for Multiple Queue Managers, and a number of new programming enhancements. A set of software quality improvements will provide customers with a very stable operating system environment, while support for new peripherals and adapters will allow customers to take advantage of the most current hardware technology. As you can see, Digital is offering customers a wealth of new capabilities in this release. The new features, enhancements, quality improvements and hardware support in OpenVMS VAX Version 6.0 will provide customers with the reliability and functionality needed to excel in today's competitive market. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLUME 3 NUMBER 9 PAGE 11 DFWLUG Contact list The DFWLUG Steering Committee: Chairman: Lon Crozier Meeting Chris Simon Snelling & Snelling Coordinator: FMC Corporation 12801 N. Central Expwy 1460 Round Table Dallas, TX 75243 Dallas, TX 75247 (214) 239-7575 (214) 689-7127 Membership David Cathey Secretary/ Jim Rodgers Coordinator: Montagar Software Concepts Treasurer: SSC Laboratory P.O. BOX 260772 2550 Beckley Meade Plano, TX 75026 MS 1011 (214) 618-2117 Dallas, TX 75237 (214) 708-6134 SW/Tape Robert Eden NEWSLETTER Jo Ann Catcott Librarian: JCS Consulting Services CO-EDITOR: Computer Education & Design 5905 Beverly Dr. West #3133 750 Hammon Dr. Bldg #9 Fort Worth, TX 76132 Atlanta, GA 30328 (817) 897-0491 (214) 733-4318 NEWSLETTER Alan Bruns DIGITAL John Wisniewski CO-EDITOR: Allied Electronics COUNTERPART: Digital Equipment Corp 7410 Pebble Drive 14131 Midway Road Fort Worth, TX 76118 Dallas, TX 75244 (817) 595-3500 (214) 404-6412 DECUS Membership Processing NATIONAL: DECUS US Chapter 333 South Street, SHR1-4/D33 Shrewsbury, MA 01545-4195 (508) 841-3341 EMAIL TO THE DFWLUG STAFF SEND TO: dfwlug@fallout.lonestar.org The entire DFWLUG staff will receive a copy of the E-Mail message. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ VOLUME 3 NUMBER 9 PAGE 12 THE DFWLUG DECUS ORIENTED BBS __________ | ______ | THE DFWLUG BBS: (214) 270-3313 | / ---- \ | Chartered since 1982 (214) 270-5383 | | | | Celebrating Over 11 Years of DECUS | \ ____ / | in Dallas/Ft. Worth Texas | ------ | ---------- E-mail: dfwlug@fallout.lonestar.org D E C U S The DFWLUG is the Local Users Group for the Digital Equipment Computer Users Society (DECUS) THE DFWLUG DECUS ORIENTED BBS | NEWS | DECUS | E-MAIL | FREEWARE | DIGITAL | SHAREWARE | ALPHA AXP | We've upgraded to the VAXstation 4000/90 72MHz Processor! "The Fastest BBS in Dallas" The NEW AT&T Paradyne "Dataport" 14400 Baud Modem is in too! The DFWLUG hosts a semiprivate OpenVMS BBS for use by it's membership, we currently are using VMS 5.5-2, POSIX or DCL shells, DECUS FREEWARE, CDROMS and have over three GIGAbytes of storage dedicated to industry information, OpenVMS, Unix-OSF/1, MSDOS/Windows/Windows NT and providing net access for our members. The DFWLUG BBS also hosts multiple phone lines and currently supports V.32 and V.42bis (9600 and 14400 baud) modems. The DFWLUG BBS has been in continuous operation since 1991 and is one of the few DECUS oriented BBS's in the United States. We provide a menu-driven environment that features: *Individual Private Accounts and directories *VAXnotes Local Conferencing *USEnetNEWS 1300+NEWSgroups Internet Distributed Conferencing *DECUS UUCP For E-Mail communications anywhere on the Internet *Files Upload and Download with Kermit X/Y Modem, or Reflections *Indexes And locations of all the DECUS Software Libraries *Internet Network Fileservers access (via E-mail) *DFWLUG Local Fileserver (100MBs and growing) *Access to DCL and/or the Posix/krn Shell *Editors We provide EDT, TPU, TECO, and vi editor choices Programs, source code and binary files for all models of computer systems are distributed world wide via USEnet NEWS in a variety of standard encoding formats (Primarily UUENCODED). Sources for UUENCODE and UUDECODE are available on our local Fileserver. The USEnet NEWS expiration on source and binary file NEWSgroups on the DFWLUG BBS is 12 months. This assures capture and the ability to extract all of the posted program parts even if they take several days/weeks to be posted from the source. The DFWLUG BBS offers the news readers selected Newsgroups from alt, austin, comp, dfw, news, rec, sci,tx and vmsnet news hierarchies for over 1300+ choices and over 800MBytes of online news, programs and tools (you just can't read it all;-) C-Kermit, X/Y modem, and Reflections protocols are supported for upload and download. In addition to 1300+ Newsgroups and extended archives, the DFWLUG BBS has set up a permanent Fileserver for many files of interest to our members. Membership in the DFWLUG and attending our User Group meetings has always been free but a private account for the BBS is a modest $10.00 per year and available to students and professionals in the DFW area. Accounts may be obtained at one of the monthly meetings that take place every second Tuesday of the month, 7:00pm at the Digital ACT (702-4400) in Dallas TX. Or contact the DFWLUG Membership Coordinator David Cathey davidc@montagar.com (214)618-2117. For more information and brief access to USEnet NEWS via DECUS's ANUnews Newsreader, you may dial-in into our public account: (214) 270-3313 1200 - 9600 Baud 8/n/1 V.32 (Digital DF296 Modem) (214) 270-5383 300 - 14400 Baud 8/n/1 V.42/V.42bis (AT&T Dataport Modem) Use account name INFO. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- VOLUME 3 NUMBER 9 PAGE 13 TELEPHONE NUMBERS FOR DIGITAL SUPPORT AND ORDERING PC DESKTOP Direct (to purchase a PC or for PC configuration questions) 1-800-722-9332 1-800-SOFTWARE (to purchase any of 12,000 PC software products) 1-800-763-8927 DECdirect (to purchase any non-PC product computers, network, supplies 1-800-344-4825 or for DECdirect Prepurchasing Technical questions.) DECdirect Modem Line 1200-2400 Baud 1-800-234-1998 Education Services hotline (For information on upcoming DEC classes and locations) 1-800-332-5656 --------------------- The above service numbers are free. The following requires a valid Digital support Contract and are available 24 hours per day. --------------------- Colorado Customer Support Software support under contract 1-800-354-9000 Master Champs 24x7 Mission Critical Support under special contract. 1-800-345-3746 24 hour each day Customer Support to log a call with Field service and have something repaired 1-800-354-9000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- MASTHEAD/DISCLAIMERS/LEGAL STUFF __________ | ______ | THE DFWLUG | / ---- \ | 10th Anniversary(*1982-1992*) | | | | Celebrating over 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 3 Number 9 September 7th, 1993 The DFWLUG is an affiliated and licensed Local Users Group of the U.S. DECUS Chapter. The DFWLUG Net/Newsletter is published as a monthly service in electronic form Copyright (c) DFWLUG, DECUS, and Digital Equipment Corporation 1993. All rights reserved. This information in this document is subject to change and should not be construed as a commitment by Digital Equipment Corporation, DECUS, or the DFWLUG. Digital Equipment, DECUS and the DFWLUG assume no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this document. It is assumed that all material submitted for publication in this newsletter is with the author's permission to publish in any DECUS publication. Content is the responsibility of the author and DECUS, Digital Equipment, the DFWLUG, the Editors and Staff assume no responsibility or liability for information appearing in this document. Views expressed are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of DECUS, the DFWLUG or Digital Equipment Corporation. Address correspondence to the editors: "dfwlug@fallout.lonestar.org" <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> For information on how to subscribe to VNS, ordering backissues, contacting VNS staff members, etc, send a mail to EXPAT::EXPAT with a subject of HELP. Permission to copy material from this VNS is granted (per DIGITAL PP&P) provided that the message header for the issue and credit lines for the VNS correspondent and original source are retained in the copy. <><><><><><><><> VNS Edition : 2906 -1993 <><><><><><><><> ---------------------------------end-------------------------------------------