Ibm Pc

ARMONK, N.Y. -- International Business Machines Corp. said yesterday that it had formed a unit to spearhead efforts to sell its stripped-down personal computers.Creating the independent unit underscores the importance IBM is placing on so-called network computers, which are targeted at customers who need specific functions -- such as hooking into the Internet -- instead of the broader capabilities of regular PCs."Customer interest in our NC initiatives has been extremely high," IBM Chairman Louis V. Gerstner Jr. said in a statement.

With Maryland's primary election less than two weeks off, voters who suddenly want more information about candidates can get it - even at 2 a.m. The national Democracy Net project of the League of Women Voters is available via computer for Maryland's state and county elections for the first time this year, and it provides more than just the basics. Without spending money, candidates can display their pictures, resumes, goals and positions on issues in one place where voters can bone up without having to search newspapers daily or wait for a printed voters' guide.

Here are summaries of some recent Computing product reviews. Each product is rated on a scale of one to four, with one computer indicating poor and four indicating excellent:MenuWorks Advanced and PC-IQ MenuWorks Advanced, for IBM PC, PS-2 or compatible with at least 512K RAM, a hard disk drive and DOS 2.0 or later. $119.95. From PC Dynamics, 31332 Via Colinas No. 102, Westlake Village, Calif. 91362. (800) 888-1741.PC-IQ, for IBM PC, PS-2 or compatible with at least 640K RAM, a hard disk drive and DOS 2.0 or later.

IBM Corp. announced last week that it will stop selling its money-losing Aptiva home computers through U.S. retail stores and will sell them exclusively over the Internet. The PCs will be pulled from stores Jan. 1, while the company's profitable ThinkPad laptops will continue to be available on shelves.IBM fell from the consistent first or second spot in the consumer market in the early to mid-1990s to fourth this year, with a market share of about 10 percent. The company's consumer and corporate PC group lost $69 million in the third quarter and nearly $1 billion last year.

There so many computer publications on the market, you almost need a computer to keep track of them all. They range from magazines for the novice, casual user and expert to publications that specialize in a particular area of computing, such as telecommunications or desktop publishing.Start with the general topics magazines. As your expertise grows, sample others to see which talk about the subjects you are interested in. Here's a listing of some of the most popular computer publications.

Not long after IBM introduced its original personal computer, my friend Sid bought one.By the standards of the day, it was a real pimpmobile -- two floppy disk drives, a graphics display and an incredible 128K of memory. Sid told me it was a bargain at $4,000.I couldn't imagine what Sid was going to do with all that horsepower, since all he did was write articles and letters. I couldn't imagine what anyone would do with it. You couldn't even play any decent games on the darn thing.I figured IBM knew a lot about making big computers, but would never figure out how to make a small one that the average person would be able to use.Which is why anyone who reads my columns should take anything I say with a large tablet of salt.

When Microsoft Corp. introduces a new version of MS-DOS tomorrow, it will be a welcome upgrade that goes a long way toward lifting the decade-long curse on the operating system software that controls tens of millions of IBM PC and compatible computers worldwide.The curse, which limits the main working memory of MS-DOS to 640 kilobytes, was created by Microsoft and IBM when they collaborated on the original IBM PC in 1981. Back then, 640 kilobytes seemed like more memory than anyone would ever use, since it was 10 times the amount available for the original PC.Most personal computers sold today use microprocessors capable of working with megabytes (millions of bytes, or characters)

Boston -- A couple of blocks from the Old South Meeting House, where the colonists met to plan the Boston Tea Party, Alex Randall is spreading another revolution to those who thought they couldn't afford to join.Bearded and beefy, Alex Randall may be an anthropologist by training -- he was Margaret Mead's last student -- but he is a businessman by trade. Today he is the king of the used-computer business. His monthly price lists on various models of used computers have become a Blue Book for the industry.

Robert Noyce, the co-inventor of the semiconductor chip, was boasting to an electronics industry conference 20 years ago of the day when a room-sized $5 million mainframe computer might be squeezed onto a single sliver of silicon, perhaps the size of a dime.A questioner who couldn't accept Mr. Noyce's stunning prophecy asked how he would feel if he accidentally dropped his tiny computer and lost it through a crack in the floor.Mr. Noyce replied that he wouldn't care because it would cost only $1 or so.The electronics industry still has not been able to produce the disposable $1 computer envisioned by Mr. Noyce.

* Second of two parts on home computers.The immense drop in the price of personal computers means that you now can get more computer for less money than ever before.But the decline in computer prices can lead to confusion. If you are a newcomer to computer science, you need to sort it out.A couple of years ago, most people couldn't afford (nor had they any real reason to buy) much more than a compatible equivalent of the IBM personal computer. Such machines, devoid of bells and whistles, commonly were called "plain vanilla clones."

Turn your lights off and on by remote control. Computerize your dimmer switches. Hook the computers into a local-area network to share an Internet connection. Adjust your furnace thermostat over the phone.Plug your TV into the satellite/cable/Internet feed in any room of the house. Have the burglar alarm turn on the lights, call you at work and notify the police. Monitor the nursery on your Web page.Talk to your house? Maybe.If IBM and other computer builders have their way, home automation is going to be as ubiquitous as home computers, which are now in some 40 percent of U.S. homes.

ARMONK, N.Y. -- International Business Machines Corp. said yesterday that it had formed a unit to spearhead efforts to sell its stripped-down personal computers.Creating the independent unit underscores the importance IBM is placing on so-called network computers, which are targeted at customers who need specific functions -- such as hooking into the Internet -- instead of the broader capabilities of regular PCs."Customer interest in our NC initiatives has been extremely high," IBM Chairman Louis V. Gerstner Jr. said in a statement.

Compaq Computer Corp. will ship more personal computers in 1994 than the company that coined the term "PC," knocking International Business Machines Corp. from the top spot for the first time.Compaq may widen its lead in 1995, partly because of its popular line of "multimedia" personal computers and lively demand from consumers who want a PC at home.For the first time, the PC is truly "personal": About half of all IBM-clone PCs sold in the fourth quarter were for home use, analysts said.And Compaq is in a position to build on its hold in the thriving home-computer segment, whereas IBM's traditional PC strength is among business customers, analysts said.

The recovery of IBM's troubled personal computer business had been regarded a year ago as a model for the kind of transformation that IBM's new management team hoped to emulate across the company.Streamlined, nimble and quick to market with flashy new products, the IBM Personal Computer Co. had come back with a vengeance.But yesterday, International Business Machines Corp. announced that Robert J. Corrigan, the personal computer unit's president, had resigned and that the management had been reorganized, amid signs that the business has recently stumbled somewhat.

Boston -- A couple of blocks from the Old South Meeting House, where the colonists met to plan the Boston Tea Party, Alex Randall is spreading another revolution to those who thought they couldn't afford to join.Bearded and beefy, Alex Randall may be an anthropologist by training -- he was Margaret Mead's last student -- but he is a businessman by trade. Today he is the king of the used-computer business. His monthly price lists on various models of used computers have become a Blue Book for the industry.

There so many computer publications on the market, you almost need a computer to keep track of them all. They range from magazines for the novice, casual user and expert to publications that specialize in a particular area of computing, such as telecommunications or desktop publishing.Start with the general topics magazines. As your expertise grows, sample others to see which talk about the subjects you are interested in. Here's a listing of some of the most popular computer publications.

I don't often review IBM compatible computers. There are so many on the market and, in many cases, it's almost impossible to tell them apart. But once in a while I come across a machine that distinguishes itself. Positive Corp.'s 486-25 qualifies because it delivers high performance at a modest price.At $2,999, the 486-25 isn't inexpensive. It is an excellent value for people who need a high-performance PC. The machine is equipped with an Intel i486 central processing unit (CPU) that runs at 25 megahertz (Mhz)

With Maryland's primary election less than two weeks off, voters who suddenly want more information about candidates can get it - even at 2 a.m. The national Democracy Net project of the League of Women Voters is available via computer for Maryland's state and county elections for the first time this year, and it provides more than just the basics. Without spending money, candidates can display their pictures, resumes, goals and positions on issues in one place where voters can bone up without having to search newspapers daily or wait for a printed voters' guide.

Not long after IBM introduced its original personal computer, my friend Sid bought one.By the standards of the day, it was a real pimpmobile -- two floppy disk drives, a graphics display and an incredible 128K of memory. Sid told me it was a bargain at $4,000.I couldn't imagine what Sid was going to do with all that horsepower, since all he did was write articles and letters. I couldn't imagine what anyone would do with it. You couldn't even play any decent games on the darn thing.I figured IBM knew a lot about making big computers, but would never figure out how to make a small one that the average person would be able to use.Which is why anyone who reads my columns should take anything I say with a large tablet of salt.

Robert Noyce, the co-inventor of the semiconductor chip, was boasting to an electronics industry conference 20 years ago of the day when a room-sized $5 million mainframe computer might be squeezed onto a single sliver of silicon, perhaps the size of a dime.A questioner who couldn't accept Mr. Noyce's stunning prophecy asked how he would feel if he accidentally dropped his tiny computer and lost it through a crack in the floor.Mr. Noyce replied that he wouldn't care because it would cost only $1 or so.The electronics industry still has not been able to produce the disposable $1 computer envisioned by Mr. Noyce.