DECUS DFWLUG Sept 14th, Meeting Notice/Netnewsletter
sys...@fallout.lonestar.org
= __________ =
=| ______ | THE DFWLUG =
=| / ---- \ | 10th Anniversary(*1982-1992*) =
=| | | | Celebrating over 10 Years of DECUS =
=| \ ____ / | in Dallas/Ft. Worth Texas =
=| ------ | =
= ---------- dfw...@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 =
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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)
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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 "infor...@DECUS.ORG" with your
full name and full USPO mailing address.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
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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:
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: dfw...@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
dav...@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
| ------ |
---------- dfw...@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: "dfw...@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 <><><><><><><><>
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