The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia • Page 21

Page 21 The Sydney Morning Herald; Monday, June 20, 1988 Legal song and dance becomes routine I (cvt Williams. Nov, jusf let -ftem uue; ii iwTHFwnnnsHFn ply of lines contained all the -waivers that could be squeezed in, this still looks as if it will be a lawyer's bonanza because the switch was out for over two weeks arid there was no back-up system and no fire control equipment. The new Texas computer sabotage law is being tested by the trial of Donald Gene Burleson, who is charged with having introduced programs "designed to interfere with the normal use of the computer" and of acts "that resulted in records being deleted" in his ex-employer's computer system. He is accused of wiping some 160,000 records of sales commissions. Burleson was employed as a computer security officer.

A slightly different crime comes up with the European Community effectively fining 15 Japanese manufacturers of printers with punitive tariffs for having "dumped" machines on to the European market. The 15 were found to be selling their machines cheaper for export than they did at home, which is apparently a heinous crime. The only printers currently involved are dot matrix machines but investigations continue. Japanese printers have. about 75 per cent of the market in Europe.

The Apple vs Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft follies have developed a new twist. Microsoft has been, granted a request to divide Apple's suit into two-parts. Part one is concerned with "look and feel" does the Microsoft Windows program "look and feel" like a Macintosh? The second is the question of licensing. Apple concedes it licensed Microsoft to copy the user interface what you see when you are working the computer but says Microsoft went too far. The "look and feel" part of the suit may well be dropped if Apple falls at the first licensing fence.

If it does go ahead, the "look and feel" part of the trial will probably not be heard until the end of next year. This is not the only drama Hewlett-Packard is involved in. Wiltron in California has come up with a 1 28 million suit saying that Hewlett-Packard has been indulging in unfair practices to monopolise the microwave test equipment market. Hewlett-Packard is considering countersuing for breach of patent. and thus be exempt from paying licence fees to IBM.

Gordon A. Campbell, boss of Chips and Technologies, said in a statement plainly carefully prepared by lawyers: "Based on our discussions with IBM, we understand that IBM seeks to license those personal computer manufacturers who use IBM patents. To the extent our customers use our products to practice inventions covered by IBM patents, we anticipate they would require a licence, and we will continue to urge them to seek such licences. "We have committed to IBM that we will work with our customers for IBM-compatible products, to focus them on the subject, and to facilitate the licensing process." There should be a prize for anyone who clearly understands that little lot. Western Digital is being sued by Quantum over copyright infringement on a piece of exotic sake control the disc.

One of -the interactive video discs is based on the collection in the Louvre the disc holds 6,000 paintings with 35,000 images and the other on the National Gallery in Washington 1,600 images. There is also a disc concerned solely with the works of Vincent van Gogh. The system uses video disc players that connect to the Mac through the serial port, so the only additional hardware required is a cable. Price for the software is something under $400 a set. An even more exciting use for HyperCard has been developed at the Stanford Medical Centre all of hyped art 01) huh mm Trv uw wont inii Software operates i 4v HE VEXATIOUS liti gants of the computer world continue to maul and claw at each other.

There are only a few bright spots in an overall gloomy picture. It appears that Chips and Technologies is not going to be savaged by IBM over the PS2 line. Chips and Technologies is a leading designer of proprietary VLSI (very large scale integration) circuits for high-performance microcomputer systems, including a recently-announced new line of chip sets designed specifically to be compatible with IBM's new PS2 line of personal computers. According to Chips and Technologies, IBM has promised only to attack makers of complete Clones and systems rather than the makers of the semiconductors. If true, this seems passing strange.

Chips and Technologies says it does not, under a new agreement with IBM, have to pay licence fees to continue manufacturing components basically chip sets that can be used in IBM PC clones. This agreement does not, however, mean clone makers using Chips and Technologies' components will have this legal safety blanket extended over them Gtettin for the INTERESTING use of the Macintosh Hyper Card method of accessing information has come from a group of seven art museums in the United States, headed by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. There are two parts to the software. One is a public access program that helps museum visitors to understand the paintings and sculptures they are looking at. This is provided using a Macintosh, HyperCard software and video discs.

With this set-up you can look at a painting by a given artist, then check the historical background, a biography of the artist concerned, technical information on how the art work was put together and a reference to other works by the same artist. Which makes viewing any given work of art a more complete and rewarding experience. The other is a visual reference library program designed for researchers and people who would normally use a slide library for reference works. In a separate but related development, the Voyager Company has demonstrated two video disc-based art history references and a tool kit for creating interactive video discs, using HyperCard on the Macintosh to Dear IBM, we love you anon DLEASANT to realise that the computer trade is not all back-biting and litigation. According to Infor mation Week magazine, computer executives generally have nice things to say about IBM.

The magazine surveyed a collection of 50 corporate information managers, ho we would know better as data processing managers. Of those surveyed, 93 per cent said that IBM was a positive influence on the marketplace. But of the 50 executives the magazine asked for views of IBM, 19 refused to participate, even though they were guaranteed anonymity. Odd, that. But the ones who responded plainly thought that Big Blue was ace.

Not everyone agrees. Steve Gibson is the head of Gibson Research and regularly writes in the magazine Info-World. He is against the new Micro Channel architecture in the IBM PS2 series he says the MCA stands for "mostly conceptual and Gibson says: "Let's show IBM that we don't need it. Let's show 1 BM that we value the cost-effective solutions technology inherently creates and that we're not going to tolerate its FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt)-based totalitarianism." Even within IBM there are the odd moments of self doubt. In London recently, IBM chairman John Akers told the press that IBM's product line can still be dramatically improved.

In a move to improve IBM's performance, Akers said, several thousand employees are to be moved from managerial posts to the front-line work of developing, making, selling or servicing computers and related products. "We're not satisfied with where we are," said Akers. But he is satisfied with the progress of IBM's war against the clone makers who are being asked to cough for past transgressions of IBM's copyright. When asked how much compensation the company will win, Akers replied that he was talking in terms of millions of dollars. fa 1 A JL JL I I 1 mm yn fvc'ufc yv LA ti- disc drive architecture.

Western says the claim is ithout merit. Electronic Arts is being sued by Bethesda Softworks for suppressing its Gridiron game which Electronic Arts had agreed to distribute in favour of its own John Madden Football. Electronic Arts says the suit is without merit. Mediagenic Activision, as was has been found guilty of patent infringement in a video game cartridge dispute filed by North American Philips back in 1982. Mediagenic has asked for an appeal.

Clinto Digital says piracy charges filed against it by Digital, the big American computer company, are "completely unfounded and Which is a change from "without A fire broke out and melted an optical fibre switching station run in Illinois by the telephone company Illinois Bell. Although the contracts for sup- up in the United States where, in effect. Gray's Anatomy has been put on to HyperCard. That this will be of great benefit to generations of medical students as yet unborn there is no doubt. This tremendous program is called The Electric Cadaver.

The two medicos responsible are Dr Robert Chase, a specialist in anatomy, and Dr Steven Freed-man, who is heavily into electronic medical publications. Images are displayed in two ways. First, in digitised form on the Macintosh screen. Secondly, in an analog and more detailed form on a video disc player. The anatomy is represented in both x-ray and bone structure form, with the muscles shown in layers.

Interestingly, it was a much earlier technology that provided the basis for the images shown. In the main, they come from some 1,600 images of the anatomy developed in the 1940s and 1950s by a Stanford anatomy professor, Dr David Bassett, and a photographer named William Gruber. It was William Gruber who invented the ViewMaster Stereo Slide system which is still to be seen on sale. The Electronic Cadaver is only the beginning. It is hoped in the near future to digitise the images into three-dimensional form.

standard Novell local area network not create such a network from scratch. Should be available in Australia before the end of the year. Apple has bought Orion Network Systems to get access to the technology that links software on IBM's Systems Network Architecture (SNA). Undoubtedly a Macintosh to IBM mainframe connection will be made available soon. Apple is about to release a new update for the Macintosh operating system version 6.0.

It contains a swag of new features, including a much-improved MultiFinder system the program that controls what application operates where, hen and how. There is also a sub-routine called Macro.Maker, which can be used to assign keyboard commands, make automatic the opening and closing of relevant folders, start applications and other good things. Another sub-routine is Close View, which allows a portion of the screen to be magnified from two to 16 times its normal size. What practical use this will' be is something else again. to handle elements as diverse as processing data and colour animation at a rate of knots.

This does not make Professor, Mamoru Maekawa a popular lad. In fact, far from it. It puts him on collision course with his university colleague Professor Sakamura, who is the head of the Tron project. Both of them are on the same faculty and attend the same faculty meetings. No doubt these are carried out with utmost Japanese politeness.

However, a Tron software tool kit comprising an assemblercompilerdebugger for GMicro will be shipped by Microtec Research of the US later this year. GMicro is a 32-bit processing unit for Tron. This is the first time that a non-Japanese company has produced anything for Tron, although there have been strong expressions of interest especially in Europe. mm; -mzrp awm -KPr- What a simply Novell idea ,:4 i I HE MOVES to get the Macintosh totally integrated into the world of bis business continue unabated. Novell, one of the major players in the world of local area networks, has announced that it is bringing its NetWare to the Macintosh.

It has created a new version of this local area network software which supports the Apple Talk filing protocol. So important is this move that the announcement was made by the head of Apple, John Sculley, who said that Novell's NetWare "gives us an entry point into the MS-Dos and token-ring world. We now can connect to some 220,000 file servers and the installed base of networked PC users." There are currently an estimated two million NetWare users. Eighteen software companies have already announced support for NetWare for the Macintosh. Note that this does not mean that Novell is migrating its hardware over to the Macintosh.

Novell is firmly committed to using PCs as file servers. This new move allows the Macintosh to link in effortlessly with a 1 J' A 1 it. r.r rs A 'asm 1 7 Tron meets Galaxy wmh SgddBEBd s0 on all IBM PC's, AT's and true compatibles. ILL THE NEW Jap anese operating system Tron ever make it? No bets either way but the energy is there, the activity is there. There is much noise and furore.

But now, within the ranks, we have a defector. Professor Mamoru Maekawa, who teaches at the University of Tokyo (roughly Japan's Oxford and Cambridge, plus Harvard and Princeton), has said he prefers another operating system, Galaxy, over Tron. And the infidel has recruited scholars from 16 laboratories and 12 universities as well as IBM in Japan to 'say that he is right. As far as can be ascertained. Galaxy is something more than just an operating system, being based on Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN, which is about to become a biggie with Telecom) techniques.

Its proponents say that when it is completed it should be able NSW Albury 21 8399 Banksiown Square 707 4888 Blacktown 671 7722 U4L (Warringah Mall, 93 04 SImpbelltown (i)272l9JL ChtswoodChajer 1955 Cbullora 642 8922 Gore HM 439 S3 11 nznl 7e6 Nrth Ryde 883655. Parr.matta 6892188 Penrith (047)32 3400 'Railway Square 211 3777 Sydney City 267 9111 7UU b-J I ORDER nvuviiyviiy jouu au i hysnwiCK 80 4944 BY PHONE TOLL FREE (COS) 22 6610 FOR 24 HOUR DESPATCH..