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Considers how Intel Corp.'s powerful 80486 chip has been dropping in price just as users are moving to power-hungry applications. Various companies who are making a move to PCs based on the 486; Users' buying intentions; Confusion over Int el's myriad chip offerings.

Offers results of a survey of information systems (IS) managers' plans to purchase mini and microcomputers. 1992 budgets; Surge in desktop systems; Workstations; Networks; UNIX DBMS, Windows. INSET: Survey methods..

Reports that one year after the introduction of its new workstation, the RS/6000, it's clear that IBM has finally scored big. Why mixed signals regarding product positioning and Systems Application Architecture compatibility have some users confused. INSET: What RS/6000 users have in common..

Reports that today's powerful portable computers, with horsepower fast approaching yesterday's minicomputer, are rapidly becoming indispensable tools. Improved pen-based systems are coming, and speech recognition may be just a few years away. Includes a listing of suppliers of MS-DOS-based portable PCs. INSET: 2001: A portable PC odyssey, by A.M. Seybold..

Discusses how Novell Inc., king of the stand-alone departmental local area network, is working to make NetWare 386 more of a team player on large, mixed internetworks. Comments by Raymond J. Noorda, President and CEO of Novell; Novell's approach to connectivity; Specifics on NetWare 386, Release 3.1. INSET: Giving IS more LAN support..

Reports how Compaq Computer Corp. is applying big-system hardware concepts to a local area network server that aces network-busting jobs. Full performance depends on other factors; Software and systems implementation; Features and benefits of theCompaq SystemPRO, probably the best known of an emerging class of specialized local area network (LAN) servers. INSET: What about support?.

Reports that IBM's impressive new RS/6000 workstation bred for speed and compatibility, is stirring widespread interest across the computing spectrum. Examines why not all IS managers are convinced that IBM's latest reduced-instruction set computing (RISC) product is a sure bet. INSET: IBM's POWER family.;Choosing a user interface..

Discusses the steps Apple Computer Inc. is taking to insure IS integration, relying on third party suppliers for the tools needed to connect Apple systems to corporate systems. Direct integration services; Alliances with Digital and other manufacturers; IS integration initiatives; Risks of Macintosh connections.

Interviews Covia Partnership's CIO Mark Teflian and Burlington Coat Factory's director of IS Mike Prince, who discuss the definition of open systems and their use in the respective companies.

Reports how users are rushing headlong to develop new styles of managing information with a model of computing that exploits the power of desktop systems and leverages host-system assets.

Discusses how the personal computer industry is back in shape: The workstation world is exploding, networks are multiplying, and UNIX is taking off. All are propelling desktop systems into the realm of minicomputers. INSET: PC software: The added dimension, by J. McMullen..

Describes the increased willingness of corporate buyers to purchase Macintosh computers. Examples of corporate use of the Macintosh; Technology wishlist for Apple. INSET: Taming the MacMaverick..

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues, including a reply to a letter by Kevin A. Capps in the February 27, 2012 issue, an article about Mooney Aircraft by William Garvey in the February 6, 2012 issue, and "Looking East" in the February 6, 2012 issue.

Looks at a variety of pen-based computers including PenPoint, a 32-bit operating system from Go Corp. and Windows For Pen Computing, Microsoft's Corp.'s extension to Windows 3.1. Features; Comparisons. INSET: The tools for pens..

Discusses how redundant disk array products, once only for the mainframe elite, are now turning up on mission-critical PC networks. Details on a variety of PC RAID (redundant arrays of inexpensive disks); Benefits of RAID; Use of products at a variety of companies. INSET: A quick RAID rundown..

Explains how Digital Equipment Corp. is gambling that users will flock to the new Personal DECstations, low-cost, entry-level workstations. Features; Price ACE (Advanced Computing Environment compatibility); Benefits for information system s; Digital's challenges.

Explains how companies such as American Airlines Inc. and Transamerica Life Cos. are increasing their help desk services. Details on various technology and available products; Capabilities of new systems; Listing of PC products that use case-based reasoning, text retrieval and hypertext. INSET: Going outside for help desk services..

Reports that X terminals, once linked exclusively to high-end technical shops, are moving fast into the front office with more low-priced offerings. Specifics on products manufactured by Network Computing Devices Inc., Tektronix Inc., Visual Technology Inc. and others.

Reports that super chips at super prices are making 3-D workstations surprisingly affordable. Continuing problems of software interoperability; Market dimensions; Commercial uses; Listing of 3-D workstation suppliers. INSET: 3-D graphics get personal..

Discusses how RISC (reduced instruction set computing) chips designed by Mips Computer Systems Inc. now power systems from a number of computer companies. Mips decision to sell both chips and systems; Mip's archrival Sun Microsystems Inc.; New Mip R4000 64-bit RISC microprocessor. INSET: Mips moves into the mainstream..

Reports that with some relatively simple hardware and software, information systems managers can send portable users on the road without disconnecting them from their networks. Looks at various networking portables that are currently available.

Reports that Sun Microsystems Inc.'s SPARC system has been licensed to other vendors in an attempt to broaden the appeal of the company's UNIX platform. But, so far, few machines are actually shipping, and the competition is getting stronger.

Examines how today's IS managers are responsible for billions of dollars worth of equipment and software, but many managers don't know who is using what or where. Benefits of taking a periodic census of PC equipment; Inventory control strategies; Listing of software that tracks PC resources.

Looks at Frito-Lay Inc., a classic hierarchically structured company that has always had a computer system to match. Details how the company is creating a corporate network computer system that is broad yet centrally managed. Specifics on key technologies being implemented.

Discusses how more and more IS managers, stung by data disaster stories and charged with responsibility for network security, are seeking the sanctuary of diskless workstations. Not every user will want to go diskless anytime soon. Listing of terminal and PC manufacturers who are getting into the diskless workstation act. INSET: Three types of diskless devices.;Other reasons to go diskless..

Discusses how few vertical market software packages have actually been shipped, despite all the talk about client/server computing. But the selection is growing wider as more users rethink their future systems strategies. INSET: What qualifies as client/server, anyway?.

Discusses how manufacturing resource planning (MRP) II, once a mainframe exclusive, is beginning to migrate to distributed minicomputer- and PC-based systems. Questions whether decentralized manufacturing can really compete with mainframe muscle. INSET: The manufacturing side of perestroika..

Reports how more information systems managers are calling on today's PCs to monitor the routine wants and needs of mainframes. How future PCs are likely to assume even more responsibility as the automated data center moves closer to reality. INSET: A distribution of power..

Discusses how the Four Seasons Hotels Ltd. chain is committed to continually improving customer service. How the chain's use of UNIX-based systems computing helps to do just that.

Reports that US companies' use of machine vision systems is evolving. The trend is to monitor the efficiency of the manufacturing process rather than to spot product defects. INSET: Inspection for incoming materials..

Reports how users of electronic publishing systems, which were first implemented in companies as islands of automated publishing, are now looking at the activity on an enterprise wide basis.

Reports how most RISC (reduced instruction set computing) systems, until now, have found their way into user organizations via compute-intensive, autonomous business units. The reason: lack of commercial applications software to attract IS attention. Now that's changing, as RISC's ally, UNIX, catches on.

Examines how few technical differences separate Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) and Micro Channel Architecture computers. Discusses how some users are choosing MCA, because it has more add-on boards and peripheral support. INSET: A striking similarity..

Discusses how price is still the final arbiter of most personal computer purchase decisions, but many IS managers have realized that they cannot prosper by penny pinching alone. INSET: Once priced, where are they bought?.

Reports how major corporations are investing millions of dollars to back Product Data Exchange Specification (PDES), a software standard that's at best a few years away. They're also counting on IS executives to use the Standard to integrate their engineering and manufacturing operations. INSET: A sequel to IGES (Initial Graphic Exchange Specification)..

Reports that information systems management (IS) in large corporations are pushing 386-based personal computers to plan for growth. Advantages of 386-based machines include 32-bit processing, multitasking, networking and access to mainframes; Opinions. INSET: The next generation; Start evaluating OS/3.;Some better known....

International Business Machines Corp. is relying on third-party software developers and resellers to help it move its wares. Questions whether IBM can really support indirect sales. INSET: Who'll pay the price for IBM's protection?;Network partners....

Considers how portable personal computers deliver unprecedented convenience and efficiency, but also introduces a heightened risk to data security. How PC manufacturers are slowly beginning to address the unique security needs of portable PCs; PC security products available.

Gives details on Popkin Software And Systems Inc.'s System Architect, one of the computer-aided software engineering (CASE) industry's most affordable offerings which also happens to be among the first with true Windows support. Features; Capabilities; Key benefits for information systems (IS).

Presents an interview with Eckhard Pfeiffer, the new CEO of Compaq Computer Corp. He discusses his company's performance last year, whether PCs have become a commodity market, future products and more.

Reports that conventional wisdom suggests that what PC managers want most during a recession is low price, but they also crave service and support. Traditional PC retailers; Discounters; Problems with lingering recession.

Reports that dependable multiuser PC systems can be used for downsizing, thanks to new hardware, operating systems, and enterprise connectivity. Looks at a multiuser solution in use at Taylor Medical, a Beaumont Texas-based medical and surgical supplier. INSET: The multiuser-to-LAN connection, by P. Pinella..

Discusses how PC managers are trying to squeeze the most from their budgets while vendors are rushing to adopt modular architecture. Specifics on Compaq Computer Corp.'s new DeskPRO 386/M; Factors that are driving this evolution in PC architecture; Listing of module PC makers. INSET: The many ways to go modular..

Considers how today's pen-based computers are not likely to convince many office workers to abandon their keyboards. But for millions of field workers, the technology is well suited to specialized applications. Entering the pen-based systems market; Finding a niche; Real customer benefits. INSET: Clearing the slate for development..

Considers how the quality of optical character recognition (OCR) software, which converts text scanned from hard copy into data files, has improved while prices have plummeted. Basic and advanced OCR packages; Benefits of OCR; Listing of OCR vendors. INSET: $695 OCR for people who hate to type..

Examines how voice, image and video on the local area network (LAN) will unlock a wave of new applications. Why successful integration depends on today's design decisions; Pioneers who are exploiting the mix of computer-based data and video, sound and image.

Examines how many companies, tired of updating hundreds of PCs for every new software upgrade, are using LANs to centralize software distribution. Why not all companies view centralized software upgrades as desirable; What customers really want.

Looks at Autodeck's AutoCAD computer-aided design package, a winning product which has captured a majority of the PC marketplace. How the company now faces customer demands for connectivity and interoperability with other systems; System requirements and key benefits of AutoCAD Release 11.

Discusses NetFrame Systems Inc., one of the most established start-up computer companies that specializes in storage and processing capabilities that can handle mission-critical applications. Capabilities of NetFrame servers; System specifications; Key benefits for IS: Potential drawbacks.

Gives details on Portable NetWare, which lets Novell Inc. clients access applications on a variety of midrange computers, from proprietary minis to UNIX-based RISC machines.