Trends in word processing Improved word processing packages have meant that microcomputers have

begun to rival dedicated word

processors as a suitable tool for word processing. More ‘user friendly’

screen commands and menu driven software mean that nondata proces-

sing personnel are able to perform word processing on micros without wasting time getting to grips with complicated keying sequences.

In the late 197Os, companies that wished to automate their typing

function could choose from a range of relatively expensive but extremely ‘user friendly’ screen-based word

processors. Now the market has

diversified. As Andrea Wharton’s article on page 13 discusses, at the bottom end, electronic typewriters offer a suitable alternative to the earlier more cumbersome forms of memory typewriter. At the middle

and top end of the market the choice is between the increasingly sophisti- cated microcomputers, with sufficient memory to handle WP packages, and standalone or shared-resource word processors.

With only 40000 screen-based word processors in use in the UK out of a total of Ii/zM typewriters, it is

clear that the potential for growth is there. But what has the diversification in types of word processing equip- ment meant for the manufacturers?

Today, the trend among word

processing suppliers is toward

multifunctional machines (see article

by Paul Dunford, pp 19-20) and office automation systems. Wordplex is one manufacturer that is now

beginning to branch out into local area networks and personal com- puting.

Wordplex, formed in 1976 from Ventek, a UK company which was marketing Datapoint equipment, became known in the late 1970s for its shared-logic word processing system.

In 1978, Wordplex was bought by the Canadian Development Corporation, which also bought 55% shares in AES, another WP manufacturer. The

two companies were merged in the UK. However, after two years the companies were demerged. Wordplex has since moved from selling shared- logic systems to selling standalones, cluster systems and now offers Racal’s Planet local area network. Planet is

a token ring passing LAN, using

coaxial cable, which can link up to

500 terminals. Wordplex has also launched a ‘multilink’ system de- signed to link together electronic

typewriters and Wordplex’s WI’ sys- tems, and it will soon be launching a

personal computer. Wang is another word processing

supplier that has merged its word

processing and office automation systems. As David Casey points out in his article on page 16, there are no longer any technical reasons why business computers should not be able to function as efficient word processing devices and this fact brings the integration of text and data

processing one step closer. Word processors provided a ‘bridge’ for the business community to adapt to microcomputers and although

demand for dedicated word pro- cessors will remain in some sectors,

the general purpose micro will satisfy the word processing requirements of many small and medium-sized com- panies. -__.-.

IS0 endorses Ethernet The International Standards Organi- zation (ISO), meeting in China at the beginning of October, endorsed Ethernet as a standard for local area networks. A draft international stan- dard is expected to be produced early in 1984. The revised CSMACD pro-

posals already had the backing of the US IEEE 802 committee and the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA).

Although the IS0 decision is a boost to those companies, including Xerox, Intel, DEC and ICL, that have clubbed together to support Ethernet, the long-term relevance of

the standard depends on which type of network is ultimately adopted by IBM.

IBM, which as yet has no LAN

product, voted for Ethernet at a

meeting of ECMA in May 1982 but

has since declared its preference for token passing networks. Industry

sources have suggested that IBM will eventually produce a SNA local area network.

Meanwhile, the argument over ‘paper’ versus de facto standards con- tinues. Companies like Datapoint and Corvus both have substantial num- bers of networks installed. Wang still maintains that baseband networks,

such as Ethernet, will not be able to handle voice and image traffic and that the future lies in broadband networks carrying all forms of infor- mation traffic. In the end, however, the most important considerations for users are performance, cost and openess, i.e. the capability to connect a wide range of equipment to the network.

2 data processing

monitor

Selection of software packages: a ‘systematic process’

Software selection should be a demonstrated how adding the final Americans, who tend to be much

systematic process, says US con- figures together for all the essential more pragmatic and therefore less

sultant Jerry Weinberg. Hidden soft- attributes will yield a quantifiable interested in the theory behind some ware costs, such as ‘converting it for measure of competing packages. of these developments. use, training, maintenance and out- A user group is a far more When questioned about the impact conversion’, may drive the ultimate important place for services and of fourth generation languages, Orr expense of owning a package to over useful help than the vendor. ‘The said that although( they had a major

100 times the original cost. According vendor interest is small, even before it place in our industry, they did have to Weinberg, ‘out-conversion’, or the is sold, it is much smaller than some significant drawbacks. ‘You cost of replacing software, may cost a the typical user’s interest’, says cannot use them on large-scale great deal more than the package’s Weinberg. ‘What is happening in our industrial produc1.s without some initial value. industry now is that software vendors care, and a great many people are

Weinberg was delivering the are hooking people into their product going to get into significant difficulties

keynote address on the ‘Health of line and then adding on compatible by assuming they can avoid Software’ at SoftwareiExpo ‘83 in products that are incompatible with systematic requirements definition Chicago. His advice on software other vendors, so making a decision and design by simply going directly purchase is to ‘spend 2% of the final for one product is really a decision for into prototyping or using fourth

cost of a piece of software in advance many products for a long future’. generation languages . . . vou don’t of deciding which one to buy - look In another session at the want to prototype the building of a

at functions and define the attributes conference, Ken Orr, president of 747 aeroplane because you want to

of the software in a metric manner Ken Orr Associates, Topeka, KS, make sure that you (do systematic and then attach importance to each - discussed CAD/CAP (computer-aided engineering and simulation before the real importance of doing that is design/computer-aided programming) you try to fly it’. not so much the numbers you come which describes the technology for Also addressing the conference was

up with but the process you go automating the systems development William H Allen, Jr, vp MIS, Jacobs

through which forces you to bring out process. Eng., Pasadena, CA, who presented his

in the open things that were hidden in ‘If we are going to build industrial views on ‘Managin,g the Multi-Vendor

your mind’. Weinberg’s method is grade information systems, large-scale Software Environment’. Allen called

influenced by the work of software online applications and embedded upon MIS managers to deliver their

consultant Tom Gilb and Kenn Orr, systems, we are going to need new services economically and warned that

the CAD/CAP systems development kinds of tools just in the same sense as to simply provide the service at any cost

expert. hardware manufacturers have had to is no longer acceptable.

Weinberg expounded on the build CAE tools to assist them in Allen also called upon MIS managers metrics method by creating a chart building more complex hardware’, to establish the credibility of their with the essential attributes, the said Orr, as he demonstrated how this software staff in a multivendor organization’s goals. For example, whole approach has been built on a environment. ‘When things go badly, reliability can be quantified in terms series of new programmingisoftware the right way is to’ solve problems at of number of errors per 1000 invoices engineering technologies and, in the lowest possible level. One good generated and if you divide that figure particular, the data structured management technique is to get to by the figures supplied by the vendor approaches of Michael Jackson and know key people in your vendor’s and users, you will get some idea of Jean-Dominique Warnier, and Orr organization and work hard to how the product measures up relative himself. develop that rapport because I think it to your goals. You then assign a Orr feels that CAD/CAP ideas are is foolish to av’uid the vendor’s percentage to that figure according to going to be easier 10 communicate to experience and (:riticrsm of youl’ that attribute’s importance to your Europeans, because they have been organization’. organization and multiply it by the more interested in formal software product’s performance. Weinberg engineering approaches than the MARLENE BROWN

~0125 no 10 december 1983 3

European design centre For Fujitsu

Pate arrays from Fujitsu.

Fujitsu has opened its first European VLSI design centre in Manchester, UK, following the formation of a new company, Fujitsu Microelectronics

Ltd.

The centre is to provide compre- hensive support for Fujitsu gate

arrays to companies throughout Europe. Equipment at the centre includes a Computervision Designer IV system and a remote job entry

Northern Telecom Data Systems

model 74. A communications system will be

used to transfer data to and from

Japan and also to provide design rule checks and simulation facilities to

computers in both the USA and

Europe.

P&n Ehner Data Syarems has sooR he building p&Ned circuit apened its &st computer rnank&ctur- hoards for the 32 bit range. The ing facility outside &e USA, The workf~ce is expected to grow four- W&y, which is In Cark9 Ireland, is f&d from 100 to over 400 as f&lscale zpected to supply aH of Perk& mamxfacturing gets underway. Elmer’s 3200 series processor require- * Another US company, system ments for both the UK and interna- Industries, is also setting up manufac- rional markets, as w& as the corn- turing facilities in Ireland. A f3M pany’s CADICAM work station. subsidiary nesr Dublin airport will

Currently, the factory is perform- make memory storage systems, in- ng subassembly testing but it will eluding disc and tape controllers.

;rOMh far sperrfr in baakigs lWWl&~

Iperry, together with Ericsson In- The financial industry is proving a ormaGon Systems, is launching a major growth area and one which lew attack on the banking market. Sperry is determined to take advan- +erry’s latest joint ventire is an tage of. The announcement follows greement covering the marketing of Sperry’s poor 1982/83 results, which he Ericsson branch automation sys- some industry analysts have seen as em in Canada, Europe, SOL& Africa stemming from an over strong dollar. nd South East Asia. Ericsson will The UFTS 600 banking system etain the right to market in the will, according to Joseph Kroger, Nordic countries. Nwotiations are president of computer systems, com- till in progress concerning the US pIement the Sperry networking narket. system.

British Telecom orders accounts system

British Telecom has ordered &1.25N of ICL distributed resource system: to provide office accounts facilities.

Initially, 400 DRS 20 workstation:

will be divided across 67 DRS LAh systems which will provide a ful

range of accounting information helc on various ICL 2900 series mainframe computers sited at eight regional B1 data centres. The DRS 20s will also perform direct cheque printing fron

these mainframes. In addition, the ICL office systen

will support online data capture facili ties and enable concurrent access tc

the ICL mainframe and regional IBA,

mainframes. The order is a result of the impend

ing privatization of BT, one effect o which will be to decentralize the accounting function. Each of the 6 telephone areas is becoming a profi

centre, producing accounts whicl were previously done on a corporate

basis.

Data General to market Rapport

Data General and Logica are to joint11 market Logica’s Rapport databast management system. The agreemen forms part of Data General’s inde pendent software vendor programme in which Data General markets inde. pendently-produced software. Other

DBMS marketed by Data General arc Total from Cincom and Oracle frorr

CACI. Rapport has already been availabk

on Data General’s MV family of 32 bil machines for over a year. It can bc used for a range of application:

stock covering project management, Eontrol and financial planning.

data processing

monitor

Motorola sets up European operation Motorola Information Systems Group

(ISG), manufacturer of electronic

equipment systems and components, is to establish a direct sales and service organization in seven European

countries for Four-Phase Systems products.

Up till now, Philips has been the exclusive distributor of Four-Phase products in Europe. However, following the takeover of Four-Phase by Motorola in 1983, Philips will

become a nonexclusive distributor until the end of 1987.

The new sales and service organization will handle both Four-Phase data processing products and Codex data communications products in the UK, West Germany, Belgium, Sweden, France, Italy and

the Netherlands. Art Carr, ISG general manager, says that Motorola’s objective is to become one of the major participants in the information industry in Europe.

Motorola, headquartered in Illi- nois, was founded in I928 and now employs over 80000 people and has major facilities in 1S countries.

Marine container system to be developed by MA1

An international container monitoring system which will keep track of over 220000 marine containers for more than 4000 customers is to be developed by MA1 UK Ltd. The system is for Sea Containers, one of the largest lessors of containerships containers and container cranes and will be produced for &750000.

When completed, the system will run on a network of 17 MA1 2 10s and 310s at locations in the UK, Europe,

USA and the Far East. It will function as an intelligent front end to Sea Containers’ Burroughs machines, and

will perform data processing in its own right.

The system will comprise four elements: depot control, repair control, leasing control and accounting. According to Geoff Doubleday, Sea Containers’ group

computer manager, the system will reduce administrative overheads. ‘We

shall be able to answer customer queries more quickly. The system will also improve cash flow, by faster billing and more efficient debt collection, and boost stock control’, he said.

based on Unix More products

System III The announcement that Philips Infor-

mation Systems Ltd has signed a three-year OEM contract with Plexus

Computer Inc, the US manufacturer

of 16 and 32 bit microcomputers, indicates Philips’ intention to base its

office automation products on the Unix System III operating system.

Under the terms of the agreement,

Philips will purchase Plexus micro- computers for use as shared resource and network processors in their future

office automation Iproducts. The Plexus P/60 supermicro

supports up to 40 ‘users and is based on a multiprocessor architecture with

a 12.5 MHz 68000 CPU and multiple intelligent I/O processors.

‘Many other manufacturers of

Unix-based systems e:mploy “look alike” versions of Unix that do not provide the vendor independence of

“true” Unix’, says a Philips spokesperson. Plexus president Bill Jobe sees the agreement as a major step forward for the Plexus system.

Honeywell and NEC announce product agreement Honeywell Inc and NEC Corporation have announced an agreement grant-

ing Honeywell (distribution and manufacturing righ.t s for NEC’s large- scale computers. Also included in the agreement is Honeywell’s plan to integrate the NEC S-1000 mainframe with Honeywell’s GCOS-8 operating

system to reach performance levels higher than the existing Honeywell DPS 8 and DPS 88 products.

Negotiations are to follow concern- ing Honeywell Bull’s right to market the same products.

~0125 no 10 december 1983 5