Fresh momentum for Unix, but still hurdles to clear: can any application be done better with Unix? Microsoft insists that the answer is no

Article Abstract:

Some have thought that Unix would dominate the desktop computing market in the 1990's as MS-DOS has done previously, but Unix's progress has been slow. This is partly because Unix is a complex program that is difficult to use, but Unix is evolving. For example, Nextstep, a graphics program used to control Next workstations, conceals Unix's complexity behind a simple and elegant facade. William Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corp - probably the person with the most to lose if Unix establishes dominance - says there is no reasonable applications software market for computers that run Unix. A great strength of Unix is its availability: Unix is available on virtually every major type of computer hardware, and the Santa Cruz Operation has started selling a Unix version called Open Desk, which turns 80386 and 80486 microcomputers into Unix workstations. Unix is particularly strong in communications. Those who believe that Unix will eventually win say that growth in the PC industry is slowing, but growth in the market for workstations, which use Unix, is accelerating.

Officials and employees, Microsoft Corp., Operating systems (Software), Operating systems, Beliefs, opinions and attitudes, Gates, Bill, MSFT, UNIX, column, Operating System, Computer Industry

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Shifting role in technology; smaller and nimbler are taking the lead

Article Abstract:

Continuing difficulties encountered by IBM are evidence that the giant computer company no longer sets the pace for national innovation and progress. Technological developments have redefined IBM's role in the industry, and IBM has responded slowly and ineffectively to changes. Industry observers foresee the emergence of a new model for technological development, envisioning flexible alliances of small, innovative companies, sometimes working with government support. An unforeseen benefit of IBM's attempts to shrink and reorganize involves an overall increase in innovation that has come about as a consequence of IBM spinning off thousands of engineers and programmers. George Gilder, an economist, cites 'the law of the microcosm' as an underlying reason for IBM's decline. Gilder points out that every three years, semiconductor manufacturers are able to put four times as many transistors on each silicon chip. Over time, this translates into huge increases in power and miniaturization.

International Business Machines Corp., Outlook, Economics of Computing, Miniaturization

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The paperless office looms on the horizon. Again

Article Abstract:

Despite a number of false starts, the paperless office that was envisioned in the 1960s could become a reality in the 1990s. Among the technology trends that pave the way for the realization of the paperless office include: Xerox Corp's portable flat-panel display with laser-printed paper quality; the electronic edition of the San Jose Mercury News; the new electronic office standard developed by Microsoft and its allies; and the introduction of Adobe Systems' Acrobat which allows users to create a document that can be viewed on various microcomputer- and workstation plaforms. The dawning of the age of the paperless office is also being ushered in by the changing role of paper. Whereas paper used to be a medium for storing and displaying information, it is now used only for display. Microcomputers are better at information storage and retrieval.

Product introduction, Forecasting, Office automation, Paper Media, New Technique

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