Mobile technology does not exist in a vacuum. There are
alternative competing technologies and events that affect
mobile technologies indirectly. One eye must be kept on the
larger context. (See Also "Pervasive Issues: Alternative Technologies")
[1997/05/26]
May 13, 1997, Canada NewsWire reports that a study commissioned
by Pitney Bowes shows growing complexity of business information
channels caused by addition of new methods on top of older
methods rather than replacement of old methods.
[1997/05/19]
Aug. 14, 1997, Semiconductor Business News reports that according to
Dataquest, PC shipments in Latin America grew 19.8% in the 2nd quarter
from 666,895 units in 1996 to 799,131 units in 1997. Mobile computer
unit sales in particular grew 64% and PC servers grew 221%. Brazil
led with "288,000 PC systems shipped" in the quarter with Mexico next
with "164,000 PC units shipped."
[1997/08/19]
Aug. 14, 1997, Computer Retail Week reports that according to NPD Group
audited sales figures, sales of notebook computers rose overall in
dollar volume by 88.5% from June 96 to June 97, with unit sales up
104.8%. Notebook computers priced under $1,500.00 (US) tripled their
share of sales during the period from 7.3% up to 24.2% while notebook
computers over $3,000 (US) rose from 11.6% to 15.5%. [These are presumably
percentages of the total sale of all "personal computer" sales -- not
specified in the article.]
[1997/08/19]
July 31, 1997, Newsbytes reports that Motorola has successfully tested
mobile page and radio communications using Iridium low orbit satellites.
I didn't include this report before because I prefer reporting things
that are currently usable instead of what amounts to beta tests, but on
reconsideration, it's an important enough event to include.
[1997/08/06]
July 21, 1997, Electronic Engineering Times reports that Microsoft
is working with manufacturers to define a Windows CE's future
as a Network Computer OS including Java support. NEC Electronics
will publicly discuss using their new 170-MIPS VR4300 series chips
for Windows CE set-top boxes. Windows CE 2.0 due in October
will include support for high resolution displays, Java and networking.
Some people in the industry are forecasting a war between Windows CE
and Windows 95 marketshare, first in areas such as subnotebooks
and thin clients.
[1997/07/26]
May 20, 1997, PR Newswire reports that IDC has projected growth
of smart handheld devices of 77.1% in unit volume (5.5 million units).
http://www.ideresearch.com
[1997/05/25]
Aug. 5, 1997, Business Wire reports that Digital Semiconductor, IBM,
NCI, Oracle and Sun Microsystem have signed an agreement with The
Open Group for The Open Group to manage the Network Computer Reference
Profile. This reference model has been extended with the Mobile Network
Computer Reference Specification in June.
[1997/08/12]
August 18, 1997, Business Wire reports that Motorola has been awarded
a contract to develop and make 148 "stand-alone Combat Identification -
Dismounted Soldier (CIDDS) system over the next two years. The system
will be used to identify freindly soldiers from potential enemies in
combat.
[1997/08/22]
June 23, 1997, Business Wire reports that a group of companies have announced a set of standards for mobile network computers. These are devices ranging from smart cellular phones to handheld internet and corporate network computers. The Mobile Network Computer Reference Specification (MNCRS) is an extension of the Network Computer Reference Profile (May 1996) adopted by the Open Group. A key point will be the "disconnected" mode which is effectively an "off line" mode.
Companies involved were Apple Computer Co., Fujitsu, Hitachi, Lotus
Development Corp., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., Netscape Communications
Corp., Nokia Mobile Phones, Network Computer Inc. (NCI -- an Oracle
sub), Sun Microsystems and Toshiba. Further endorsements of the
specification came from Digital Equipment Corp., Funai Electric,
Hugh Symons of the UK, Institute for Information Industry Taiwan,
Japan Telecom Co., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., NEC, PeopleSoft,
Psion, Secom Information of Tokyo, Telxon Inc., CSF and Tokyo Internet
Corp.
http://www.ibm.com/nc/
[1997/06/28]
May 22, 1997, TechWire reports that Marc Benioff, senior VP of
Oracle says that network computer laptops will be available
"in a year." He also predicts they will overtake PCs in the
home market.
[1997/05/31]
Mar. 27, 1997 Business Wire reports that Intels praised
the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) at the World
Trade Organization (WTO) Meeting in Geneva aimed at
elminating tariffs on high tech products such as semiconductors,
software, computers and telecom equipment by Jan. 1, 2000.
[1997/04/04]
Aug. 5, 1997, Communications Week reports that Intel has formed
the North American Mobile Data Initiative with IBM, Toshiba,
Compaq, Nokia, Ericsson, Aerial Communications, BellSouth
Mobility, Microcell Telecommunications, Omnipoint, Pacific Bell
Mobile Services, Powertel, Western Wireless and Microsoft.
[Notably absent are Motorola, Sharp, Psion, Apple and except for
Compaq, any of the Windows CE manufacturers, or industrial mobile
companies like Telxon, Epson, Symbol or Norand. -- JO]
[1997/08/06]
All news concerning wireless technologies is to some extent important to
the world of mobile information technology. First, mobile and non-mobile
uses have to compete for frequency bands (overall regulation of
frequencies), individual frequency assignments (licences) or time
allocation on a frequency (mixed use), so any use that is stationary
is one that reduces the resources available for mobile. Or does it?
Another consideration is that if you are a developer, you can look at
what's currently a "stationary" application, and look for a way to offer
a mobile extension. In other words, some of the "stationary applications"
developmented will be the "mobile applications" or "mixed mobile and
stationary applications" of the future. The third possibility is
that in some cases, the radio distribution will simply make a "mobile"
solution unnecessary. For example, if there are enough "pay telephones"
around, do you really get that much value out of a cellular telephone?
Radio technology can make remote "pay telephones" cheaper. That's not
one of the reports, but it's the type of thinking that has to be done.
[1997/02/02], revised [1997/06/18] and [1997/09/25]
Aug. 15, 1997, PR Newswire reports that CTIA's 7th annual Wireless
Fraud '97 Workshop and Product Showcase will run Sept. 30 - Oct. 2,
1997 in Orlando. Exhibitors call Jana Drummond, (202) 736-3210.
http://www.wow-com/
[1997/08/19]
Mar. 17, 1997, Newsbytes reports that a gigabit Ethernet standard is
nearing completion. According to Bob Grow of XLNT Designs it looks
like the standard will be voted on later this year.
[1997/03/21]
Aug. 1, 1997, New York Times reports that Sun Microsystems will buy
Diba Inc., a startup company for production of embedded chips for
consumer goods. Sun will form a new "Consumer Technology Group."
[1997/08/06]
June 30, 1997, PR Newswire reports that The Low-Voltage Alliance
made up of Fairchild Semiconductor, Motorola Semiconductor Products
Sector and Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. have announced
the VCX series of 2.5V (variable 1.8 - 3.6V range) high performance
devices.
[1997/07/04]
May 5, 1997, Semiconductor Business News reports that worldwide
chips sales revenues of $10.91 billion US, which is down 9.9%
from 1996, but up 4.9% from February 1997.
[1997/05/10]
Apr. 2, 1997, Semiconductor Business News reports that global sales
of chips fel 2.4% to $10.40 (US) billion in February compared to $10.65
(US) billion in January. However, record low inventories may indicate
stronger sales coming soon.
[1997/04/10]
Any development in CPU technology impacts the rest of the computer field. The desktop MMX CPUs eventually are redeveloped into low power units. Low power "controller" chips are sometimes used in dedicated technology like pagers, or sometimes they simply demonstrate better packaging or lower power usage that will be used in mobile data products.
See also "Key Technologies: CPUs" for technical notes on current CPUs
used in mobile products.
[1997/08/16]
Aug. 4, 1997, Semiconductor Business News reports that IBM and
Motorola have unveiled the new 740 and 750 PowerPC RISC CPUs.
The PowerPC 750 will run at 266 MHz using 5 Watts. The 740/750
series are designed on 0.25 micron technology and fit within
67 sq. mm. of chip space. A new 0.25 micron version 604e will
also be available at 350MHz.
[1997/08/06]
July 29, 1997, Newsbytes reports that AMD is dropping K6 prices
by 46%. This seems to be the announcement that I noted about
a week ago. AMD stated that they would maintain a 25% price
advantage over Intel. In this version of the report, the
AMD-K6/200 will sell for $189 (US) in quantities of 1,000
units.
[1997/08/02]
July 29, 1997, TechWire reports that researchers at the University
of Southern California Information Sciences Institute have patented
a new microprocessor (AC-1) which uses as little as 1/5 the power
of "normal" chips, by reusing power used to regulate the chip's clock.
[1997/08/02]
July 21, 1997, Electronic Buyers News reports that AMD will cut
K6 prices almost in half to maintain price advantage over Intel.
A 200 MHz K6 will drop from $340 (US) in July down to $175 (US).
[1997/07/26]
July 21, 1997, Electronic Buyers News reports that Intel has announced
further price cuts in an attempt to keep pace with AMD K2 and Cyrix M2
MMX enhanced chips. OEM prices for Pentium 200-MHz MMX will be $331 (US)
down from $378 in August and $583 in May. Pentium Pro will not change.
[1997/07/26]
June 30, 1997, PR Newswire reports that Motorola has announced
250 MHz 604e PowerPC CPUs. These are the first PowerPC devices
produced using 0.25 micron technology. Using a 1.8V core the
chips are $395 (US) list in quantities of 1,000.
[1997/07/04]
June 30, 1997, Business Wire reports that Motorola has added
a new variant of their 16 bit Microcontroller (
June 23, 1997, PR Newswire reports that Motorola has announced extended
temperature range versions of the PowerPC 603e RISC CPU and MPC
106 PCI Bridge/Memory Controller chips. The "industrial" chips
operate in temperature ranges of -40 to +85 degrees Celsius and
the military versions operate in temperatures from -55 to +125
degrees Celsius.
http://www.mot.com/PowerPC/
[1997/06/28]
June 18, 1997, Computer Retail Week reports that AMD will
respond to recent announcements by Intel to cut Pentium
prices by cutting their prices further on K6 products.
[1997/06/23]
June 13, 1997, Business Wire reports that AMD has signed Compaq,
Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba for K6 CPUs as well as recent a
recent contract with DEC. AMD also supplies to Siemens Information
Systems an Acer.
Electronic Buyer's News
[1997/06/18]
June 12, 1997, Computer Reseller News reports that Intel is expected
to drop prices of MMX by up to 50% due to competition from AMD and
Cyrix.
[1997/06/18]
June 2, 1997, Business Wire reports that Intel has introduced
further variations of the Pentium CPU with MMX extensions for
consumer desktop computer use. I/O pins are 3.3 V. while internal
voltages are 2.8 V. dissipating 17 Watts. In units of 1,000
prices are 233 MHz in ceramic or plastic pin grid array (PPGA)
$594 (US).
[1997/06/08]
May 30, 1997, Business Wire reports that Intel and Cyrix have
introduced MMX compatible processes that about 25% less and
run cooler than Intel equivalent processors. The IBM
6x86MX and Cyrix 6x86MX chips are superscalar chips that run
at lower clock speeds with reduced power consumption (19 watts
compared to Pentium II 34 watts). In a similar report, Newsbytes
notes that according to IBM, Cyrix designed the chip and
IBM manufactured it.
[1997/06/05]
May 22, 1997, Business Wire reports that Motorola has expanded
their range of 68HC11 compatible microcontrollers with the
68HC916R1 variation including 46 Kbytes of Flash EEPROM and 2
Kbytes of block-eraseable Flash EEPROM. Running at 16.78 MHz
at 5 volts a 132-pin Plastic Quad Flat Pack will cost $27.40
in units of 10,000. A ROM version 68HC16R1 in the same package
costs $16.92 in units of 10,000.
[1997/05/31]
May 19, 1997, Business Wire reports that Intel has
introduced a 133 MHz Pentium with MMX extensions for
mobile use. With 16KB of on chip cache, based on 0.35
micron CMOS technology, Intel claims low power consumption.
In units of 1,000 the processor costs $284 (US).
[1997/05/25]
May 19, 1997, Electronic Engineering Times reports that IBM
engineers are researching a Java processor based on Very
Long Instruction Word architecture but with PowerPC
compatibility.
[1997/05/25]
May 12, 1997, PR Newswire reports that Silicon Graphics announced
their plans for future MIPS RISC processors. Projects described
were the R12000(TM) code-named H1 and H2.
[1997/05/19]
May 9, 1997, Newsbytes reports that Intel has acknowledged the
"Dan-0411" floating point bug and posted it as an erratum.
[1997/05/13]
May 7, 1997 Business Wire reports that Intel has formally introduced
the Pentium II processor despite but reports.
[1997/05/13]
May 5, 1997, PR Newswire reports that Robert Collins is
reporting a bug in the Floating Point Unit of the Pentium Pro
and Pentium II CPUs. FPU problems have been found in Intel
processors back as far as the 486 series.
[1997/05/10]
Apr. 22, 1997, Business Wire reports that Motorola has announced
the two new variations of 68HC05 8-bit microcontrollers supporting
the Universal Serial Bus (USB). The 68HC05JB2 (ROM version) and
68HC705JB2 (EPROM version) are intended for low speed mouse
applications. The EPROM version will sell for about $3.50 US
in "pilot production" volumes and the ROM version will sell for
$1.40 in high volumes.
[1997/05/01]
Apr. 18, 1997, PR Newswire reports that Intel has announced that they
will begin selling Pentium II on May 7 at speeds of 233, 266 and 300MHz.
Initial cost of the 300MHz version will be $1,980.00 US.
[1997/04/25]
Apr. 14, 1997, Electronic Buyers News reports that the joint Intel
H-P 64 bit P7 CPU will not arrive till 1999.
[1997/04/21]
Apr. 9 1997, Business Wire reports that Intel has announced the
"Dual Independent Bus" (DIB) to improve Pentium II data exchange
with memory subsystems. The two busses are the L2 cache buss
and the processor to main memory buss. DIB supports current
66 MHz system buss and 100 MHz system buss speeds coming within
the next year.
www.intel.com/pressroom/
[1997/04/15]
Apr. 1, 1997, Infomation Week reports that AMD will introduce its
Pentium Pro class processor called K6 MMX this week.
[1997/04/04]
Mar. 8, 1997, Computer Reseller News reports that in order to accelerate
adoption of MMX, Intel is cutting prices by up to 50%.
[1997/03/11]
Mar. 3, 1997, Business Wire reports that IBM announced the PowerPC 403GCX
embedded controller. This low power, high permformance chip includes
memory management. Also PwerPC 400 series embedded controller prices
including the PowerPC 403GA, 403GB, 403GC and 401GF dropped 20%. The
403GCX costs $37 (50MHz) or $44.50 (66MHz) in quantities of 10,000.
Performance is rated at 143Kdhrystones using 0.42 watts at 66MHz.
PowerPC 4xx Products
[1997/03/06]
Mar. 3, 1997, Business Wire reported Intel's new Pentium MMX overdrive
processors for desktop computers. This is a problem for me, because really
these aren't for use in portables, but there may be some portables around
that actually can use them. The speeds are as follows:
166MHz MMX for 100MHz Pentium socket
150MHz MMX for 90MHz Pentium socket
125MHz MMX for 75MHz Pentium socket
[1997/03/06]
Mar 3. 1997, Business Wire reports that Motorola has expanded its line
of 68HC12 microcontrollers. The "B32" is a 16 bit step up from the
68HC11 series that includes Flash EEPROM and byte eraseable EEPROM and
fuzzy logic intructions.
Motorola HC12 Info
[1997/02/06]
July 21, 1997, Tom Davey wrote in Information Week that due to dropping
RAM prices and software and computer usage trends, PC's will come
with more RAM next year. The current average shipped configuration
will probably rise from about 30MB this year up to around 41MB next
year.
[1997/07/26]
July 1, 1997, Business Wire reports that Motorola will phase out
production of DRAM and will reallocate resources to other work
including Fast Static Random Access Memory (FSRAM), Flash and
EEPROM.
[1997/07/04]
May 26, 1997, Electronic Buyers News reports that 64-MBit
DRAM prices have fallen to "mid- to upper- $40.00 range"
forcing manufacturers to cap production.
[1997/05/31]
May 19, 1997, Electronic Engineering Times reports that
Samsung, NEC, TI, Fujitsu and Hyundai will introduce 128
Mbit DRAM in order to fill a price gap between 64 and
256 Mbit devices. Other Mfrs. may join in.
[1997/05/25]
Apr. 28, 1997, Electronics Buyers News reports that Contract
prices for 64Mb DRAMS fell 40% in the last two weeks to under
$40 US.
[1997/05/06]
There are a few RAM related articles that I decided not to
summarize and simply replace them with this note that in the wake
of Samsung's announced decrease of DRAM production there has been
a stabilizing of DRAM prices. It's artificial, and it's really
"price fixing", but the effect is that for the time being, DRAM
will rise a bit and flatten, for "a while."
[1997/03/02]
Mar. 17, BusinessWire reports that IBM has introduced new digital video
chips for MPEG-2 support. The MPEG-CD01M and MPEG-CD1V decoder chips
will cost $27 US in quantities of 50,000 or more. The MPEG-ME31 encoder
will cost $2,000 in quantities of 1,000 or more and the MPEG-MM30 will
cost $1,500 per modules in quantities of 1,000 or more.
[1997/03/21]
Mar. 10, 1997, BusinessWire reports that Motorola has introduced its
"Oncore Global Positioning System Chipset" for OEMs. The chipset
including the GT Oncore support software licence is $39.95 in large
quantities.
[1997/03/15]
Mar. 3, 1997, Rick Boyd-Merritt wrote in Electronic Engineering Times
about Compaq, Intel and Microsoft, and now Cirrus Logic forming an
"invitation only" committee to develop a new "device bay" standard.
PCMCIA wants to have some input but the "group" is resisting. The
implications of this method of organizing the development is interesting
because if the "group" really upsets the rest of the industry, they
may develop a standard that will be rejected no matter how good it
is theoretically. This has happened often in "modern technologies."
It's the old Betamax problem.
[1997/03/02]
There has been a slow but fairly steady drop in the prices for LCD screens. Or conversely, screen prices have probably been stable but screens have been getting better. Both are true to some extent. One reason why prices have dropped slowly for a given screen is that the market broadens rapidly with each price drop. Take for example LCD computer monitors. These have been feasible for a few years now, but prices have kept them out of offices. I have contended for years now that these are more affordable than most people understand because in reality, one is selling "real estate" rather than a computer part. The size of even a 14" monitor is actually considerable. My Apple 14" monitor is about 16" from front to back. In laying out a cubical style office, of say 20 seats, one might find space for as many as 5 extra seats, or simply have larger, more comfortable workspace for each seat, simply by replacing CRT monitors with flat screen monitors.
Similarly, for apartment dwellers, one can live more comfortably with
a small wall mounted flat screen TV in a kitchen or small bedroom. This
is cheaper than finding new, larger apartment. Even at a cost of
over $1,000 Cdn, this is a considerable saving over moving. As people
realize this "total cost of living" factor, the demand for flat screen
TVs and monitors will increase even without further price reductions.
So price reductions, even very slow ones will have an amplified effect
on demand. One effect of this should be that prices for flat screens
will probably not drop rapidly in the near future. Instead, market
expansion will take up the supply.
[1997/12/02]
June 2, 1997 Business Wire reports that Compaq has announced the
TFT500, a 15.1" active matrix flat panel screen with Universal
Serial Bus and direct VGA port $3,799 (US), available in July.
Developed with Mitsubishi flat-panel technology research and
development and Advanced Display Inc's motherboard glass, the
TFT500 was developed for investment banking and healthcare markets.
Resolution is 1024 * 768 at 75 Hz. The viewing area is equivalent
to a 17" CRT but uses 60% less desk space, having a 120 degree
side to side viewing angle.
[1997/06/08]
Aug. 11, 1997, Electronic Buyer's News reports that the National
Semiconductor purchase of Cyrix may shorten IBM's production of
X86 chips.
[1997/08/15]
Aug. 8, 1997, The Globe and Mail News Wire reports that Gandalf Technologies has sold its technical assets and name to Mitel Corp. leaving a computer services business.
Aug. 6, 1997, The Globe and Mail News Wire reports that AlphaStar
Canada Inc., ceased providing service in August. AlphaStar's assets
are being liquidated under US bankrupcy law.
[1997/08/12]
Aug. 6, 1997, The Globe and Mail News Wire reports that Microsoft
and Apple have come to a series of agreements to work together, ending
their past rivalries. Microsoft is buying $150 Million (US) in non-voting
Apple shares.
[1997/08/12]
July 28, 1997, TechInvestor reports that National Semiconductor has
annouced it will acquire Cyrix in a stock-swap where each Cyrix
share will be valued at 0.825 shares of Nat Semi.
[1997/08/02]
July 28, Newsbytes reports that Intel will acquire Chips &
Technologies for a reported $384 Million (US).
[1997/08/02]
July 7, 1997, Semiconductor Business News reports that IBM and Toshiba
have launched a $1.7 billion (US) DRAM fab for 64-Mbit and possibly
300-mm wafer technologies. The new company "Dominion Semiconductor
Co." will produce 0.35 micron, and later 0.25 micron process chips.
Production targets should be around 1 million units per month.
[1997/07/30]
July 9, 1997, Globe and Mail Newswire reports Gil Amelio resigned
from Apple Computer Inc. Ellen Hancock has announced her resignation
also, but will remain with the company a bit longer. Steve Jobs
will has an "expanded role" in running the company. A new CEO
will be chosen.
[1997/07/14]
July 9, 1997, Globe and Mail Newswire reports that at Comdex Canada
Michael Cowpland said that he did not believe Microsoft was working on
a Java version of their "Office" software line. Dale Burger of
International Data Corp. (Canada) Ltd. said that he believed the
rumours that they are. According to the report, Microsoft currently
holds over 80% of the $1.8 (US) billion market.
[1997/07/14]
June 30, 1997, Globe and Mail News Wire reports that Gandalf Technologies
Inc., one of the oldest network hardware makers, has exhausted its
line of credit. It is no secret that Gandalf is close to bankruptcy.
If this happens, it will further narrow the range of data communications
products available in the market.
[1997/07/04]
June 30, 1997, Globe and Mail News Wire reports that Microsoft has
bought up LinkAge Software Inc., and will incorporate their software
which links Microsoft Exchange to other non-Microsoft E-Mail systems
into Exchange.
[1997/07/04]
June 16, 1997, PR Newswire reports that Newton, Inc. made
its first official appearance as a separate business
entity at PC Expo. Twenty "volunteers" were on the show
floor with MP-2000's with conference information to assist
trade show attendees.
[1997/06/23]
June 3, 1997. In a videoconference organized as part of the
activities of the Queen's University's School of Business
alumni Queen's Business Clubs, Corel announced the formation
of a new hardware company Corel Computer Corporation which
will produce and sell Network Computers and more specifically
"Video Network Computers." Corel believes that practical,
affordable, videoconferencing will be a strong market and
has software immediately available, and the new video network
computers projected for delivery in the Fall. Preliminary
specifications are as follows:
110MHz StrongARM RISC CPU, to be upgraded to 180MHz,
32MB RAM expandable to 64MB, Java OS software,
Ethernet and V34 Modem
video camera extra
[1997/06/03]
May 23, 1997, Business Wire reports that Intel and Samsung
have signed an agreement to work together "on future computer
and consumer electronics projects." No specific projects
were mentioned.
[1997/05/31]
May 22, 1997, Apple Computer, Inc. announced that it will spin
off the Newton group into a new company whose name has yet to
be chosen. The new subsidiary will be formed to develop market
and support the Newton product line. Apple will continue to
distribute and support the eMate 300 as an educational product,
but the MP-2000 and other Newton products will be the responsibility
of the new company. The subsidiary has been compared to Claris.
Apple expects that the change to be completed by June 30.
[1997/05/26] and [1997/05/31]
May 14, 1997, PR Newswire reports that Silicon Graphics bought out
ParaGraph International. I put off noting this in the last set
of summaries because I believe this company ParaGraph International
was the company that created the main handwriting recognition
for the Newton handheld computers and I wanted to give them a
call and discuss it with them. But time has not permitted me to
make the call.
[1997/05/25]
Apr. 29, 1997, Computer Reseller News reports that Sun has
started their Java Systems Desktop corporate unit to produce
Java devices or stations. Some of the devices they are
planning will be portable.
[1997/05/06]
Apr. 21, 1997, TechInvestor reports that AST lost $110 million US
for the first quarter of fiscal 1997 and fired about 1,000 people
representing about 25% of their workforce worldwide. On Apr. 15
AST and Samsung announced a merger agreement commencing with a
tender of $5.40 per share Apr. 21 and ending May 19.
[1997/04/25]
January 31, 1997, TechWire reports that in the face of recent AST
losses, Samsung has announced intentions to take over AST Research for
$469 million (US). Samsung currently holds 49% of AST. The report
says that regulatory agencies in the US and Korea must still give approval.
[1997/02/02]
July 14, 1997, Alexander Wolfe writes in Electronic Engineering Times
that Flash technology used within recent Pentium Pro and Pentium II
CPUs gives reason for concern for problems created by hackers rewriting
the internal microcode. Intel denies reason for concern because the
microcode is not documented and updates are encrypted.
[1997/07/18]
Due to the number of security problems regarding Web browsers lately I was confused about the Newbytes July 9 item about the Java security bug reported by CERT. It seemed to me that I'd heard about this bug before, perhaps months ago and I was wondering whether it had already been dealt with. As I write this, my Win95 laptop is still running Navigator 3.01. On my Mac LC630 (20MB RAM, MacOS 7.5.5, Open Transport 1.1.2, OT/PPP 1.0). I've been moving more rapidly. On May 16, I installed Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.01, and within the last month I moved from Netscape Navigator 3.01 to Communicator 4.01 -- mainly to correct a security bug. The situation as of today is this:
Navigator 3.02 was released on about July 3, 1997 and claims to fix
a security bug reported by Bell Labs. which apparently fixes a bug
which allowed rogue Website operators to collect data from subsequent
site visits and "steal" cookie information. This problem was acknowledged
to exist even on Communicator 4.01, which itself contained a fix for
another security problem reported earlier.
On July 8, 1997, CERT released their first warning about the "new"
Java security problem which was reported to exist on "2.x, 3.x and 4.x".
The report has been updated as far as July 11, 1997. I don't like this
report. It is unclear whether they actually tested Communicator 4.01,
or Navigator 3.02, or whether there may be operating system version
specific variations.
As of July 15, I looked through the Netscape Website as best as I could
and found no mention of the CERT report, and downloaded Navigator 3.02.
I have not yet installed Navigator 3.02, but I probably will use it
at least until there is a response by Netscape regarding the latest
CERT report.
It seems to me that the best advice I can give people is to treat all
Java and other executable systems as potential security problems and
generally shut them off when browsing public Websites. I would consider
them safe only on private "Intranets". I have shut off Java (and ActiveX)
execution on all my browsers for a while now and though I've found
sites that seem to require them, it's best to simply not access those
sites. I also generally refuse cookies, and when I accept a cookie, I
delete it immediately after the session.
[1997/07/15]
July 9, 1997, Newsbytes reports that the Computer Emergency Response
Team (CERT) has found security problems in Java implimentations and
recommends shutting off Java execution pending patches. See details
of the problems at:
ftp://info.cert.org/pub/cert_advisories/CA-97.20.javascript
http://www.cert.org/
[1997/07/14]
June 18, 1997, Computer Reseller News reports that Netscape has
posted the first of a series of bug fixes for the security bug
announced about a week ago. The patched version of Netscape
Communicator 4.0 has been posted. Netscape recommends enabling
warnings for submitting data unencrypted or insecure data to sites
and presumably refusing to send data.
[1997/06/23]
June 13, 1997, Newsbytes reports that a Danish programmer has discovered a security bug in versions of Netscape Navigator. Netscape has confirmed the bug. The programmer claims that it has been present since version 2.0. The bug allows access to the disk drives on the client user system.
In a related story, on June 13, 1997, TechInvestor reported
that Netscape expected to release a fix for Communicator for
Windows 95 and NT within a week and fixes for other versions of
Navigator to follow.
[1997/06/18]
Apr. 28, 1997, Canada NewsWire reports that Symantec has announced
a virus detection and repair kit for the Weed.5850 virus. From the
article, this appears to be a fairly straight forward virus that
attaches to MS-DOS executables. For some reason they are labelling
this an "online virus."
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter
[1997/05/06]
Apr. 24, 1997, Computer Reseller News reports that Microsoft has
posted fixes for two security bugs in NT 4.0 instead of waiting
for NT 5.0. There is still one hack that has been claimed but
not demonstrated.
[1997/05/01]
Apr. 16, 1997, PR Newswire reports that "The LOft" has made available programs that they claim allow the stealing of passwords from Windows NT systems.
EE Times
[1997/04/21]
Apr. 8, 1997, Information Week reports that Computer Emergency
Response Team (CERT), affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University
in Pittsburg has issued an alert that mail servers using IMAP d,
IPOP 2d and IPOP 3d are vulnerable to hacking. They recommend
obtaining a security patch or upgrading to IMAP 4.0 revision 1,
or disabling IMAP or POP services.
[1997/04/15]
Apr. 3, 1997, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft Windows NT
security is even weaker due to recent discovery of another
route through the ActiveX language in the Internet Explorer
browser.
EE Times Online
[1997/04/10]
Mar. 31, 1997, PR Newswire reports that a major security hole has
been found in Microsoft Windows NT which could allow a remote
dial in to unencrypt information, including the password file.
The original exclusive report is found in EE Times Online. The
security hole was found by Jeremy Allison and Yobie Benjamin,
Senior Consultant Emerging Technologies at Cambridge Technology
Partners.
EE Times Online
[1997/04/04]
This past month should be remembered as The Month of the Security
Bugs. After downloading new versions of Netscape Navigator recently and
Macromedia Shockwave, and making plans for new versions of Internet
Explorer, I now find that the EMail MAPI bug is currently without
real defence. Microsoft's recent attempt to cure the problem for
Windows systems probably has no real merit. In effect, for full
security, one has to either shut down MAPI (assuming your mailer
allows this) or fall back to a pre-MAPI version of an EMailer, if
you have one, or give up on EMail until a fix is found. None of
these are acceptable.
[1997/03/31]
Mar. 26, 1997, Newsbytes reports that Portcullis Computer Security
has discovered a serious security hole in the Messaging Application
Programming Interface (MAPI) which is common to all modern EMail
systems. The problem is related known as a "covert channel" which
is created by an attached document containing a macro. According to
the article "the simple act of opening a document containing
hidden macro code could result in the . . . [creation of covert
channels]." There is no current defence.
Portcullis Computer
Security
[1997/03/30]
Mar. 25, 1997, Information Week reports that Microsoft has posted
a patch intended to provide a solution to the MAPI EMail attachment
security hole noted above. [Reading the description of the utility
I don't see how it helps at all. It apparently only warns you that
an attachment might be dangerous. It has no way of testing for
a problem. If you already know that attachments may be dangerous,
you already know everything it's capable of telling you. -- Jim O]
The "protection" module can be downloaded from Microsoft's Website.
[1997/03/30]
Mar. 20, 1997, TechWire reports that Bruce Schneier of Counterpane
Systems, John Kelsey and David Wagner have proved mathematically
that the encryption used for Cellular systems can be broken "in a
few minutes". The report is in their paper "Cryptanalysis of the
Cellular Message Encryption Algorithm."
[1997/03/30]
Mar. 14, 1997, TechWire reports that there is a serious security hole
when using Macromedia Shockwave for Director 4.0 or 5.0 with Netscape
Navigator releases 2.0 and 3.0 for Windows 95, Windows NT and Macintosh
systems. The plug-in allows accessing EMail files by guessing the
file names. This plug-in should be removed completely and 6.0 used
when it becomes available.
[1997/03/21]
Mar. 7, 1997, Newbytes reports that Microsoft has confirmed a bug
in Internet Explorer that makes it vulnerable "to remote breaks-in
by hackers, and virus infiltration. The bug is related to the
"floating frames" feature and is confirmed on Windows NT and Windows
95 systems. There's no mention in the article of Windows 3.1 or
MacOS systems. Microsoft intends to fix it in the upcoming Internet
Explorer 4.0 beta release in mid March (around now).
http://www.microsoft.com/ie
http://dec.dorm.umd.edu
[1997/03/11]
Mar. 17, 1997, Canadian Corporate News reports that Infinitron, Inc.
announced "Lightining Strike Compressor 3.0" claimed to be 5 times more
efficient than JPEG using "wavelet" compression. (604) 688-9789.
[1997/03/21]
July 25, 1997, TechWire reports that Systems Technology Networking
and Communications Enterprises has raised about $1.6 US to write
a reduced size Java compatible interpreter for for mobile devices
such as mobile phones and PDAs. This will be a "clean room" effort.
[1997/07/30]
July 16, 1997, Business Wire reports that IBM has developed
"Global Sign-On" which stores user passwords in a single centralized
server allowing a single sign-on procedure to clear access for
multiple protected purposes. The AIX V1.1 system supports OS/2
and Windows NT 4.0 clients, mainframe, OS/2 Lan Server, OS/2
Warp Server, Novell NetWare, Microsoft NT Server, DB2/6000, Informix,
Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and Sybase targets. Further planned
support includes Windows 95 and Lotus Notes. Costs are $1999 (US)
for the server and $99 per user.
[1997/07/23]
June 27, 1997, CommunicationsWeek reports that Sun Microsystems
added support for Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (IIOP) to its
Remote Method Invocation (RMI) API and is working with
the Object Management Group (OMG) to unify the systems.
[1997/07/01]
June 17, 1997, PR Newswire reports that Apple will show the
new Powerbook 2400c subnotebook at PC Expo as well as
demonstrate MacOS 8.0 and Rhapsody. MacOS 8 will include
PointCast Network and Marimba Castanet Tuner push clients
and Apple is beginning an Apple(R) Channel on the PointCast
network.
[1997/06/23]
June 17, 1997, Canadian Corporate News reports that Intrinsyc
Software has announced what they believe is the world's first
Windows CE based Web server. It is being demonstrated at:
http://www.intrinsyc.com/rainbow/
[1997/06/23] revised [1997/08/31]
June 13, 1997, Business Wire reports that Microsoft is considering
a substantial increase in fees for Windows NT for enterprise servers.
The licences will be for 25 user licences.
[1997/06/18]
Apr. 2, 1997, Business Wire reports that Motorola announced
JavaOS 1.0 is now running on the MPC821 PowerPC microprocessor.
It was ported by Hugh Symon Group plc and is available from
JavaSoft.
[1997/04/10]
Mar. 31, 1997, Reuters reports that Alan Baratz of Sun's Java unit will announce, among other things, "sharply scaled-down varieties of Java -- PersonalJava and EmbeddedJava" for small devices such as Apple's Newton, copiers and smart cards. [1997/04/04]
Mar. 6, 1997, Computer Reseller News reports that Sun has shipped
JavaOS version1.0. Available now on SPARC and Intel x86 platforms
it will be available on ARM StrongARM later this month.
[1997/03/11]
Mar. 18, 1997, Information Week reports that Sun has submitted
an application to the International Standards Committee (ISO)
to begin the standardization process.
1997/03/30]
Mar. 7, 1997 CommunicationsWeek reports that Microsoft will release
Exchange 5.0 at the Spring Internet World in Los Angeles this week.
[1997/03/11]
May 1, 1997, Computer Reseller News reports that Caldera has
begun marketing OpenDOS 7.01 in binary and source packages
for as little as $20.00 for kernel sources (an introductory
special price). OpenDOS is based on DOS 7, bought from
Novell and is fully compatible with Windows 3.1, 3.11,
Windows for Workgroups, Novell NetWare and LANtastic.
[1997/05/06]
Mar. 21, 1997, PR Newswire and Computer Reseller News report that
Microsoft having put back Windows NT to 1998 is not delaying Windows
'97 back to 1998 as well. See Mary Jo Foley's article of Mar. 21, 1997.
This delay puts back the likelihood of "Plug N Play" hardware and
a "FAT32" file system till that time.
Computer Reseller News
[1997/03/30]
The failure of Microsoft to promote Windows NT beyond Intel processors looks like a repeat of the MSX failure roughly ten years ago. The only CPU still being supported for Windows NT other than the Intel '86 is DEC Alpha. While Microsoft tries to save face and DEC crows, the fact is that the DEC Alpha is simply not a major player in the RISC field. Effectively, Microsoft has failed again to spread beyond Intel. For now, Microsoft's future is still tied to Intel's apron strings.
There are direct implications in the "portable" world. The WinCE manufacturers have to be weak in the knees on hearing of the collapse of support for non-Intel based Windows NT. Even though WinCE handhelds probably don't represent huge investment in R&D for companies of this size, the possibility of a similar failure with so many big names involved would be very embarrassing. If Microsoft were to bring out a version for WinCE on an '86 platform, some or all of the current manufacturers could walk away from it over night rather than face the possibility of losing to Intel after a lengthy or costly battle to survive.
This is why I have emphasized keeping an eye on the whole industry and
not just the mobile niche. If you narrow your vision too much, you can
be "blind-sided."
[1997/02/26]
Feb. 18, 1997, Responsive Database Services from Newsbytes FEb. 11, 1997
reported a comment from DEC about The Alpha being the last of the
non-'86 family processors supported with Windows NT. The only reason
I'm posting this is because I've already noted that the PowerPC and
SPARC are no longer supported. I can't find a similar announcement
for MIPS, but I think I saw one.
[1997/02/20]
"Recently" Sun and Motorola are pulling out from Windows NT on
SPARC and PowerPC technology bases. I don't have information on Sun, but
but Motorola noted that few apps had been ported to the PowerPC version
of Windows NT.
[1997/01/25]
Feb. 19, 1997, BusinessWire reports that Motorola has licenced the BeOS to
sell with its Mac-compatible computer line. This report adds information
that indicates a close relationship between Be and Motorola, and that
the intention is not just limited to the StarMax 3000 and 4000 computers
but also the posibility of support on the PowerStack server and workstation
lines.
[1997/02/25]
Feb. 28, 1997, Reuter reports that NYNEX plans another area code
for Manhattan in 1998, splitting off from 212.
[1997/03/02]
Mar. 15, 1997, PR Newswire reports that PageNet will provide services
for PageStar's StarTrak satellite based automotive vehicle tracking and
recovery service.
[1997/03/21]
Aug. 18, 1997, PR Newswire reports that Motorola has filed new Patent infringement claims against Qualcomm in Fed DC, San Diego. The new claims involve seven Patents (4,412,217, 4,385,295, 5,157,391, 5,075,684, 4,701,759, 5,258,751, and 4,851,829) not previously raised in other prior lawsuits. The new claims are against the all Qualcomm CDMA phone products including the "Q" Phone, QCP-800, QCP-820, QCP-1900, QCP-1920 and QCP-2700.
Aug. 18, 1997, Canada NewsWire in a similar article reports that
Qualcomm denies infringement.
[1997/08/22]
Aug. 12, 1997, Business Wire reports that Intel has filed a countersuit
against DEC for infringement of 14 patents covering microprocessor
architecture and design, semiconductor manufacturing, video encoding/
decoding, thermal management for portable systems, system architecture
and design and system service and management.
In a separate article DEC responded by noting that this is the typical
response in a Patent lawsuit case.
[1997/08/15]
July 25, 1997, Newsbytes reports that DEC contends that Intel
is abusing monopoly power in their contract suit forcing DEC to
return documents related to Intel chips, raising "anti-trust"
issues in that action. They will return "Merced" related documents.
I'm taking the Patent law suit by DEC against Intel (re Pentiums)
very seriously. I hope to look into the details of the law suit
in the coming month.
[1997/07/30]
July 10, 1997, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft has begun actions
against vendors at computer "shows" sponsored by MarketPro and
Tri-State Fairs. 12 vendors at these "swap meets" were identified
as distributing Micorsoft software illegally.
[1997/07/14]
July 2, 1997, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft has begun law suits
against Computers Under Retail for loading illegal copies of Windows NT
Server onto systems. A similar suit was filed against Future Information
Design. Both companies are in Tucson, Az., however, Microsoft will be
taking similar action elsewhere.
[1997/07/08]
June 13, 1997, Globe and Mail reports that Rogers Cantel is being
sued by dealers.
[1997/06/18]
June 5, 1997, PR Newswire reports that Motorola has filed new
Patent infringement lawsuits against Qualcomm for infringing
US Patents 4,523,155, 5,193,223 and 5,459,774. The action filed
in the Federal District Court in San Diego alleges infringement
by Qualcomm products QCP-800, QCP-820, QCP-1900, QCP-1920 and
QCP-2700.
[1997/06/08]
May 29, 1997, Newsbytes reports that Microsoft is suing PC Village
Company Ltd. in Richmond Hill, Ontario, for selling unauthorized
copies of Microsoft Windows 95 and Office 95.
[1997/06/05]
Apr. 29, 1997, Newsbytes reports that Ticketmaster is suing
Microsoft because Microsoft has links in their "Seattle Sidewalk"
city guide to Ticketmaster pages. They are suing for use of
"proprietary content . . . without permission."
[1997/05/06]
Apr. 4, 1997, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft has brought
a Copyright infringement action against CompuFacts Canada, Inc.,
doing business as Akran Systems of Ottawa, Canada for allegedly
selling computer systems with unlicenced copies of MS-DOS
6.22.
[1997/04/10]
Mar. 18, 1997, PR Newswire reports that Microsoft has filed a
Copyright infringement suit against a Web site operator based on
distribution of a program that circumvents the time limit of a
demo version of Microsoft Office 97.
[1997/03/21]
May 28, 1997, Business Wire reports that Intel is suing
DEC for failure to return documents as required by contract.
The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court in San Jose,
California.
[1997/06/05]
May 14, 1997, Business Wire reports that based on preliminary
analysis, Intel does not believe that they have infringed DEC
patents.
http://www.intel.com/pressroom
[1997/05/19]
May 13, 1997, PR Newswire reports that DEC has sued Intel for
violation of 10 patents in Pentium, Pentium Pro, and Pentium II
microprocessors. DEC has filed in USDC District of Massachusetts
asking for injunctive relief, monetary damages including triple
damages for willful breach. The Patents relate to cache management,
branch prediction and high-speed instruction processing.
[1997/05/19]
I am embarrassed to admit that I had more information to
post in this item but I seem to have misplaced it. Maybe later.
There is a lot of mobile technology involved with the Pathfinder
effort. Business Wire reports (July 8, 1997) that flight computers
was a IBM RS/6000 technology RAD 6000 supplied by Lockheed Martin
Federal Systems containing a "radiation-hardened single chip"
RS/6000 processor based on a PowerPC chip.
[1997/07/14]
May 5, 1997, PR Newswire reports that Apple is assisting the
rebuilding of Grand Forks North D. with a donation of computers.
Included were 10 PowerBook laptops, 10 eMate 300 laptops and
2 QuickTake 200 digital cameras, making this a highly mobile
set package.
[1997/05/10]
Mar. 19, 1997, PR Newswire reported the formal announcement of the
20th Anniversary Mac. Though it is advertised as a "desktop" Mac
it is based largely on portable technologies. 12,000 units will be
built and they will sell for about $7,500 US each.
[1997/03/30]
Mar. 20, 1997, PR Newswire reports that the Alpine Ascents
International team's climb will be covered on the Web using
mobile technologies.
http://www.mountainzone.com/
[1997/03/30]
Mar. 20, 1997, Business Wire reports that Professor Stephen Hawkings
demonstrated his Intel MMX based laptop computer which he uses to
access the internet via a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM)
wireless connection. [The brand of the laptop was not given.]
[1997/03/30]