What's Hot, What's Not

The annual Orchid and Onion Parade issues forth from Chaos Manor

Jerry Pournelle

It's January. Because I stubbornly insist that a year ends on 31 December, not when the deadline for the January issue comes around, it's now time for the annual User's Choice Awards, and the Chaos Manor Orchid and Onion Parade. Usual warning: although BYTE distributes the award certificates, the Chaos Manor User's Choice Awards are entirely my responsibility. My ground rules are that, with very rare exceptions, I won't endorse a product I haven't used; and since it's impossible for any person or committee to look at everything going on in this industry, I can't guarantee there aren't better products. I can guarantee that the ones I give awards to are good enough because I've used them to do productive work.

Let's start with video boards. Provided that you have a reasonably fast system, nothing will speed up Windows operations like a good video board. Top honors this year go to the Hercules Dynamite VL Pro (for the VESA Local Bus, alias VL-Bus): in SuperCow, the Gateway 2000 486DX2/66, we got an astounding score of 58.49 with the Win Tachometer benchmark.

Moreover, installation was simple and easy, and so far we have found no incompatibilities: SuperCow has the Maximum Storage Duette optical drive and a Creative Labs Digital Edge Multimedia Kit with CD-ROM, all buffered by Norton Speedrive. It all works splendidly.

The Dynamite VL Pro board makes Microsoft Video for Windows tolerable. We're getting quite acceptable full-screen, full-motion video off a CD-ROM, along with other miracles. Blazing speed, great color, sharp images: this is where the video world is headed, and we're pleased to give the Hercules Dynamite VL Pro a User's Choice Award as the Video Board of 1993.

The previous speed record (see last month's column) was held by the Number Nine #9GXE Professional Graphics Accelerator in exactly the same slot in SuperCow that the Hercules Dynamite VL Pro now occupies; but the #9GXE is not a VL-Bus board, so it used only the (16-bit) ISA portion of the slot. The #9GXE had a Win Tachometer benchmark score of 42.57, which earned it a "Wow!" when we first saw it; prior to that we thought a Win Tachometer score of 30 or more was impressive.

We couldn't test the #9GXE's performance with externally supplied video because the model we have doesn't have a VGA feature connector (as used by Creative Labs' Video Spigot, Sigma Design's ReelMagic, and the like). Future models of the #9GXE will, and you should be sure that the one you get has that feature; you may not think you'll need it, but chances are good that one day you will. If you don't have local-bus video and you need superspeed performance from your 486, the #9GXE is the way to go. It gets a User's Choice Award in the ISA video board category.

I mentioned Norton Speedrive: this is one great program, and unlike many cache programs it will work not only with CD-ROM drives, but with external hard drives working through the parallel port. It speeds up disk operations something fierce, it's easy to install, and it just plain works. We're happy to give Symantec's Norton Speedrive a User's Choice Award.

I can't give it an award because I don't use it, but one of the most important computer programs of the year was Integrated's Matrix X, a "connect the boxes" CASE tool that allowed the McDonnell Douglas team to write the flight-control software for the DC/X rocket ship on time and within budget. The resulting program had enough flexibility to allow the flight controllers to recover from a near disaster when one of the engines didn't perform properly on takeoff.

The DC/X is a one-third-scale model of the SSX spaceship that Max Hunter, General Daniel O. Graham, and I proposed to National Space Council Chairman Dan Quayle back in 1989; Mr. Quayle caused the ship to be built and tested. Bureaucratic hassles delayed the program's start for a couple of years, but then it rolled out in March, flew in August, and so far has done everything expected of it. I truly believe that if we can get funding for the full-scale SSX we'll revolutionize access to space. A large Chaos Manor Orchid to the McDonnell Douglas DC/X team headed by Dr. William Gaubatz, another to the USAF management team of Peter Worden and Jess Sponable, and one to Integrated's Matrix X.

The Onion of the Year goes to the Novell-versus-Microsoft wars, in which each company seems determined to outdo the other in making things difficult for users. Alex suggests I call this the "Get a Life Award," and I'm tempted. I really, truly wish both companies would stop this nonsense, which does neither of them any good and harms the growth of the industry.

The Crystal Ball Award goes to Sigma Designs for their ReelMagic video board. This thing works extremely well, and it shows just what MPEG c ompression can accomplish when fed into a really good video board. Since the ReelMagic runs through the VGA feature connector, it works well with any VGA card; since the decompression happens on the ReelMagic board, it's not I/O bound by an ISA machine.

There is still a dearth of MPEG images available; while the ReelMagic board can decompress video images on the fly, the compression still takes quite a lot of computing power as well as time. That, too, will change as really powerful systems become more common and MPEG is used in more consumer-oriented systems. The ReelMagic board is out there at the edge of video technology, and it gets a User's Choice Award for video enhancement.

If you have an older 386 system that you want to upgrade, there are several possible routes, including using one of Texas Instruments' new replacement motherboards, but about the simplest is to get the less-than-$300 Cyrix CX486SRX2 chip, which converts a 20- or 25-MHz 386 to a 40- or 50-MHz 486SX. The chip is simplici ty to install, and it really works. I haven't tried a Number Nine #9GXE board in a Cyrix-upgraded 386, but I suspect it will fly; then, later, when you get a real 486 system, you can keep the upgraded 386 as a net asset (that's what we've done with our old Cheetah 386) and put the #9GXE board in your new machine. The CX486SRX2 conversion chip from Cyrix gets a User's Choice Award; it really works.

This was the year that video hardware became good enough that multimedia could go from potential to reality. There's still a little fear, uncertainty, and doubt in the video standards, although they're settling out. Alas, there's far more FUD, etc., on the sound side of multimedia: things are really up in the air, there are almost no agreed-upon (as opposed to de facto) standards, and there are a number of competing products, many good, and some excellent.

I can offer some guidelines. First, most games are written in DOS, and while you may not be interested in games, you need to know the reason most are in DOS: Windows is a very discouraging (and slow) environment for game programmers--and the game programmers are the leading edge in multimedia effects. What gamers do this year becomes the technology for other multimedia in the future, and this is especially true for educational software.

This means that for the next couple of years, DOS multimedia software will be at the leading edge; that means your sound-board equipment had better be able to handle DOS sound standards. On the other hand, there is some Windows multimedia software, and the best of it is pretty good. You'll want to run that, too.

You will also want a good CD-ROM player. The big sellers are double-speed (300-Kbps) CD-ROM devices. Triple- and quad-speed systems are just coming out; the only one I have is the new Pioneer DRM-604X, the six-pack CD-ROM player. Double-speed systems can throw out video images faster than most video boards--especially if there is a lot of processing required. We did note that, with the Hercules Dynami te VL Pro, the limiting factor seemed to be how fast we could get data off the double-speed CD-ROM drive.

Get a triple-speed device if you don't have to pay too much, but understand that for most applications double-speed devices will be good enough for the equipment you have.

There are two major companies making multimedia upgrade kits: Creative Labs, with their Sound Blaster line, and Media Vision, with their Pro 16 series. Each offers a number of choices: Creative Labs offers a bewildering variety of kits and boards. The basic components of the kits are a double-speed CD-ROM drive; a sound board, which will also run the CD-ROM drive; and a lot of software. Some of the bundled-in third-party software is spectacular, with combined list prices that are nearly as much as the street price of the upgrade kit.

Some of the older kits have single-speed CD-ROM drives. I don't recommend single-speed drives unless you have an older, slow computer and don't intend to upgrade it. Some of the multime dia kits offer "full standard SCSI," which includes the ability to run your computer's hard disk. There was a time when I thought that that would be a good thing, but I no longer believe it. My advice is not to get one of the "full standard SCSI" kits unless special circumstances dictate it. Instead, figure that your multimedia upgrade kit is for that job and that one alone, and if you need additional standard SCSI devices, get an Adaptec or Future Domain SCSI board, or a DPT SCSI drive controller.

Be sure to get a 16-bit sound card, and be sure it has a Wave Blaster connector. Wave Blaster is Creative Labs' wave-sound add-on, but the connector has become standard; nearly the same add-in board is available for The One-Stop Music Shop on an Amiga. Wave input greatly enhances music performance: think of this as an upgrade path like the VGA feature connector on your video board. With a Wave Blaster connector, you'll be able to buy the best sound libraries (in ROM) for at least the next year, and probably longer.

Both Creative Labs and Media Vision offer kits with surprisingly good small speakers. If you care about sound at all, you'll find these worthwhile: I'm partly deaf, and I can very much hear the difference between those and the inexpensive Radio Shack speakers I used to use. The kits offer good speakers at a fair price.

There are kits with and without microphones, kits with more and less MIDI connector cables, and a bewildering amount of software. The microphones are pretty good, and if you don't have one you may want one, although just now there isn't a lot of use for them.

You do want to pay attention to the bundled-in software. You'll want a good multimedia encyclopedia. Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia for Windows (also available for the Mac) is quite good, and it comes with some Media Vision kits. You'll also want a good dictionary and thesaurus. Microsoft Bookshelf, one of the original CD-ROMs and still one of the best (it includes The American Heritage Dictionary, Roget's T hesaurus, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, and more), is bundled with many Creative Labs packages and runs seamlessly with many Microsoft products, including Word.

We have both the Creative Labs and Media Vision kits installed on a variety of machines, and we've had no problems with either; and in my judgment you won't go wrong with either company. Media Vision has a chip deal with Logitech, ensuring support from that fine company; Media Vision also has aggressive marketing and is doing some very innovative things in multimedia (see below). On the other hand, everyone supports Creative Labs and their Sound Blaster line; you're extremely unlikely to encounter a program you can't run in a Creative Labs multimedia system.

Look at both and think about what you want to do; be sure to get 16-bit, dual-speed CD-ROM and a Wave Blaster connector, and make your own decision. Me, I'm tickled pink that there are two good competing product lines in this critical area, and I'm happy to give User's Choice Awar ds to both Creative Labs and Media Vision.

One reason for this dual award has been Media Vision's innovative efforts in multimedia. In particular, their Critical Path game, while in a genre I'm not fond of, breaks considerable new ground: live actors, real scripts, and smooth transitions within story lines. If you haven't seen this, you certainly should: it's more than just a game--it's a good indicator of things to come.

While we're discussing sound, let me renew the User's Choice Award for The Software Toolworks' Miracle Piano Teaching System. This is a no-nonsense, very good keyboard that will play through your computer system, and it comes with some really excellent software for teaching piano. Every music teacher we know who has seen this product has recommended it. With that, and a Wave Blaster, you can buy all kinds of music sounds and control them with the Miracle Piano Teaching System's keyboard; some of the wave-sound recordings are really splendid. Highly recommended. While you're look ing at this, get The Software Toolworks' CD-ROM catalog: they publish a line of really good educational and reference CD-ROMs.

I have several useful peripherals on my network, but the most useful one I've acquired this year is the Pioneer DRM-604X six-pack CD-ROM player. It's very fast, speedy at changing from one disk to another, and really fast in peeling data off the CD-ROM; it works on the network just fine; and it has given me very little trouble.

CD-ROM has become an absolutely vital part of the modern computer world, and it's extremely convenient to have more than one on-line. My usual practice is to keep Microsoft Bookshelf, Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia, DeLorme Mapping's Street Atlas USA, and a couple of other reference CD-ROMs on the DRM-604X and thus available at all times, leaving the CD-ROM player on my local machine for whatever I'm doing at the moment. The time saved by having all those resources instantly available is considerable: moreover, like most authors, I work in spu rts, and when I'm really turning out the text, any glitch in the flow can be hideously expensive. At those times, anything that lets me keep working without interruption is worth a very great deal.

Pioneer has another winner in the DRM-604X player, and it gets the User's Choice Award for the most useful CD-ROM player of the year.

Microsoft has two "networks" that issue periodic CD-ROMs containing vital information: TechNet ((800) 344-2121 ext. 160, 24 hours a day, $295 per year for monthly CD-ROMs), which is the technical information network, and the Microsoft Developer CD network. If you're at all involved in developing applications for Windows, or enhancements or tools for any Microsoft application, you should run to enroll in the Developer CD network. It gives vital information about interfacing with Microsoft programs, and it's often the only source of such information. Whether you write Microsoft applications or write applications in competition with Microsoft, you need this bad.

In a ddition, if you install or maintain Microsoft products, you really can't afford not to be enrolled in TechNet. The TechNet CD-ROMs contain an organized database of technical-support information on all Microsoft products, from DOS to Windows NT to FoxPro and Word. Updated monthly, they contain all the information developed by the Microsoft technical-support people: answers to questions users ask. Now that Microsoft charges product managers for technical-support costs, it's much in the product manager's interest to see that the TechNet database is complete; and knowing what problems users have can't hurt either support or development people.

TechNet isn't for every casual user, but it's a natural for computer clubs and users groups, as well as those who install and maintain computer systems; and Microsoft deserves a User's Choice Award for this innovative addition to technical support.

Having said that, I'm still worried about technical-support trends. Software is getting more complicated, the inte ractions among programs can produce obscure and incomprehensible problems, and a lot of software doesn't know how to uninstall itself; nor does Windows know what has gone wrong. I have great sympathy for Microsoft when someone attempts to install some new Windows application, lets it write all over WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI, and then panics when Windows won't come up.

On the other hand, I have a lot less sympathy for Microsoft when people try to install Windows for Workgroups and discover that at disk 3, the SETUP program has forgotten how to read a floppy disk, so the only workaround is to boot up in DOS and copy all the installation disks to a temporary subdirectory on your hard disk and install from there; and yes, not only can that happen, but it happened to me.

I don't know of a really elegant solution to the technical-support problem, but I do have a suggestion: Microsoft ought to give a very deep discount on their TechNet subscription to every establishment that sells and installs Microsoft software. While I don't think $295 a year is an excessive fee for TechNet, it's enough to discourage some small companies--and those are often the ones who need it most. Novell has a similar technical-support CD-ROM service that they give free to their Gold and Platinum dealers and make available to others on a subscription basis. My guess is that offering TechNet discounts to Microsoft dealers would be a cost-effective, competitive move.

I also wish mightily that Microsoft would develop a good AI program to examine WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI and make suggestions. Some of the TechNet information deals with INI problems, but not enough. WIN.INI and SYSTEM.INI can get cluttered with needless and even contradictory stuff, and few users understand them well enough to hack into them. My major wish for 1994 is a good user-level Windows debugger.

It's a bit like kicking them while they're down, but I have no choice: a large Chaos Manor Onion to Borland, who still hasn't published dBase for Windows. Microsof t shifted attention to Access and then fumbled that, giving Borland a splendid opportunity to catch up: but they've just about blown that. Down but not out, Borland gets a Chaos Manor Orchid for Paradox. It doesn't excuse them for not getting dBase for Windows out, but they do deserve the Orchid.

There were two important operating-system product releases last year: Windows for Workgroups 3.11, which is a better Windows, not merely an upgrade of W4WG; and OS/2 2.1, which is more than just an upgrade of OS/2.

There was also a dark horse: It's called OS/2 for Windows, but it ought to be called OS/2 for Windows Users; and if it has been done right, as I am told it has been, it's even more significant than OS/2 2.1 itself.

I am a fan of W4WG, especially the 3.11 release. I like the 32-bit file and disk access. I very much like the improved File Manager. I find W4WG a painless way to solve my rather simple networking needs: with it I can transfer files from one machine to another; Niven and I c an work on different parts of the same document and get quick access to each other's changes; and I have access to the new and improved Pioneer DRM-604X CD-ROM drive. It has other features as well, but those are vital and easy to set up and use.

On the other hand, while W4WG has some 32-bit features, it's not really a 32-bit operating system; and while it's not too bad at task switching, it's not really a multitasking system. It knows about objects, but it's not truly an object-oriented system. It will run some DOS programs well enough, but it's really awful with others. It's a bad gaming environment. Most DOS games lose a lot when they're ported to Windows--and the DOS versions won't play well under Windows, no matter how careful you are in constructing a PIF (program information file).

The plain truth is that if you're running a lot of DOS programs, you'll really be better off with OS/2. On the other hand, while OS/2 is a better DOS than DOS, and is a darned good 32-bit object-oriented operati ng system in its own right, it's not a better Windows than W4WG 3.11; and IBM took its own sweet time developing a networking system that would let you tie an OS/2 machine to anything but another one. Artisoft LANtastic would let you link Windows and OS/2 machines, but it didn't work with W4WG either, and the setup requires more work than W4WG.

Thus, I was dithering over which operating system: OS/2 2.1 or W4WG 3.11, would get the User's Choice Award.

I finally decided that OS/2 2.1 was the more significant development. There's no doubt of its technical excellence, and while IBM still hasn't demonstrated that they know much about marketing--as I write this, John Patrick and Lucy Baney, the two IBM people who convinced me that it was worth giving IBM one more chance, are no longer part of Team OS/2--they did manage to do some things right. OS/2 2.1 works, for some users it's the right choice, and Microsoft needs the competition.

Then came OS/2 for Windows. This highly significant developme nt allows you to install OS/2 right over your existing Windows system; the result is that you have your old Windows desktop and installed applications, and OS/2 as well.

Then, just yesterday, I learned that IBM has a way to use OS/2 for Windows and their new networking program to allow you to link an OS/2 system to W4WG. I haven't done this, but the source has been reliable in the past. We'll see, because I don't really believe anything that I haven't got running at Chaos Manor; but if it holds up, that will really be the development of the year, posthumously.

For all these reasons, Microsoft gets a Chaos Manor Orchid for W4WG 3.11, but the Chaos Manor User's Choice Award for Operating System of the Year goes to IBM's OS/2 for Windows.

I don't have any awards for printers, because we didn't get any new printers this year: no one sent any. I am quite content with our Hewlett-Packard LaserJet III, and Roberta is ecstatic over getting the Kyocera Ecosys when her ancient Mannesmann Tally died after seven years of faithful service. Both the LaserJet III and the Ecosys are, you may recall, previous recipients of the User's Choice Award.

There are many exciting developments in printer technologies, with increased speeds and resolutions. HP continues to dominate, but that 800-pound gorilla is hotly pursued by outfits such as Kyocera and Lexmark; and for printer add-ons, it's hard to beat LaserMaster.

We did get one color printer this year, the Fargo Primera Color Printer; this uses two cartridges, so it can print in low-cost thermal transformation for proof copies, and then in dye-sublimation when you're ready for the more expensive copies. Ours is for Windows; there are versions for the Mac and the Amiga, and for the money, the Primera is a pretty good deal. Installation for Windows consisted of plugging it in and installing the drivers: no problems at all, and it works over the W4WG network. Fargo gets a big Chaos Manor Orchid for the Primera Color Printer.

On the laptop scene, t he best new machine this year was the HP OmniBook 425, a very lightweight, full-width laptop that runs Windows. It has no hard disk; rather, there are four PCMCIA slots. There is no floppy drive (although a third-party external floppy drive is said to be available). The mouse is built in and swings out on an arm; it's a bit awkward to use, but you get used to it, or at least I have. There is no backlit screen.

The advantages are its considerable power and light weight. Prior to getting the OmniBook 425, it was my practice to carry an ancient Zenith Mastersport with a Microsoft BallPoint mouse; I used this on airplanes if I needed Windows--the batteries will last just long enough for a trip across the country--and then installed in my hotel room. Then I carried a Gateway HandBook to meetings. The HandBook is smaller than the Mastersport and the OmniBook, and it weighs about the same as the OmniBook.

This dual system was made possible because I've acquired one of those carry-on bags with wheels, t he kind that flight crews have. Thus, so long as it's not so heavy as to leave ruts in the sidewalk, I don't really care what my two portables and their battery chargers weigh, and I very much like the convenience of a hard disk and a backlit screen. On the other hand, this means that I don't have Franklin Ascend with me outside my hotel room, because Ascend is a Windows program and the Gateway HandBook doesn't do Windows. [Editor's note: The new Gateway HandBook 486 does support Windows.]

I find now that I still carry the Mastersport to use in hotel rooms, and I carry the OmniBook where the Gateway HandBook used to go. This works very well, since I don't do a lot of writing or computing out on field trips, and when I come back to the hotel room where I do write a lot, I have the Mastersport with its nifty keyboard and backlit screen. It's the work of a moment to use LapLink to transfer any files I may have changed during the day.

Some friends really like the OmniBook 425, and others really hate it; it seems more a matter of temperament and ability to use that strange little mouse than anything else. Me, I like it just fine, and it gets a User's Choice Award in the portable category.

This year saw some important developments in computer languages. Most of my readers know that I am no great fan of the C programming language; and while C++ corrects some of C's deficiencies, it doesn't do anything about the worst problem of all--namely that C will compile nonsense, including unwanted type changes and pointers to nothing at all. C programmers have to simulate the compiler in their heads when they code; me, I prefer to have the computer catch my mistakes for me, meaning that I want a highly structured language with a compiler that complains when I do something stupid.

For years I thought that Modula-2 would evolve into the most important of the computer languages; then Turbo Pascal incorporated most of Modula-2's features. Alas, while Turbo Pascal still lives, even at Borland it takes a back seat to C++. Now-adays the only real rival to C++ is one or another form of compiled BASIC and/or Visual Basic.

There are two of these: Microsoft Visual Basic and Computer Associates' CA-Realizer. Both have strong points. Microsoft Visual Basic is compatible with their DOS Basic Compiler language, and their secret weapon is Crescent Tools, a line of assembly language routines that can be called in Visual Basic programs. CA-Realizer, on the other hand, comes with compilers for both Windows and OS/2--something you're unlikely to see in a Microsoft program for a while, and it has a wonderful programming environment. Both are surprisingly easy to learn.

I have dithered over this for a week, and it's time to make a choice: it's a pure judgment call, but I give the Chaos Manor Orchid to CA-Realizer, and the User's Choice Award for Language of the Year to Microsoft Visual Basic, largely because Visual Basic with Crescent Tools lets you write bigger and faster programs. Both are excellent, and I encour age readers to look into one or the other. Get your hands dirty: programming can be fun, it's a lot easier to learn than you think, and a competent compiled BASIC programmer can turn out large programs that work much faster than C++ programmers can.

Every year I get bribes: chocolate, T-shirts, sweatshirts, coffee mugs, fruitcakes: but the oddest this year comes from Quanta Press, who publish a good line of CD-ROMs, often winning my CD-ROM of the month category; it's worth being on their mailing list. Anyway, these madmen (they must be mad: why else would their symbol be the Cow Ouroborous, which, like the Midgard Serpent, encircles the world holding its own tail in its mouth) sent me a hand-carved wooden plaque sporting a cut-out model guernsey cow and the legend "THIS HOUSE IS UDDER CHAOS."

Longtime readers may recall that BYTE headquarters in Peterborough occupies the building that was once the headquarters of the American Guernsey Cattle Club; for years, the editorial offices were decorated w ith pictures of cows, and I still have mine hanging on the office wall here in Chaos Manor, making Quanta's plaque the bribe of the year.

Which brings us to the Game of the Year: Masters of Orion, usually called MOO in on-line discussions. MOO is the best space strategy game I have ever encountered. It has some weaknesses. In particular, the battles (which, thank heaven, have no arcade elements whatever) tend to be limited, with little reward for tactical skill; but overall this is an excellent game, one that can be played over and over. If you like strategy games at all, you will love this one. MOO gets the User's Choice Award as Game of the Year.

Did you ever see Castle Wolfenstein? Originally done in assembly language on the Apple II, and ported amazingly well to the PC, it's a search-the-castle-and-kill-the-Nazis-in-real-time game, and with its follow-ons has an addicted throng. The same people have now produced Doom, a game that is so startlingly real and does such wonderful visual effects t hat you won't believe it.

Doom, like Castle Wolfenstein, is shareware, sort of: that is, you can download the first installment from most BBSes and run it for free. Register that, and you'll get more episodes. (Call it "heroinware"--the first dose is free....) Doom is dark and eerie, and realistic, and Rick Heimlich, who tests games for a living, reports that of all the thousands of games that have passed through his house, this is the first one his wife Cheryl has become addicted to. That should tell you something. Doom receives the User's Choice Award for Shareware of the Year.

I'm out of space, so next month more User's Choice Awards, including drive controllers, word processors, suites, and books; and the Orchid and Onion parade will continue.

For More Information

We're pleased to give the Hercules Dynamite VL Pro (1 MB of DRAM, $249; 2 MB of DRAM, $299) a User's Choice Award. Contact Hercules Computer Technology, Inc., 3839 Spinnaker Court, Fremont, CA 94538, (800) 532-0600 or ( 510) 623-6030; fax (510) 623-1112.

If you don't have local-bus video and you need superspeed performance from your 486, the #9GXE Professional Graphics Accelerator ($345 to $1095) is the way to go. Contact Number Nine Computer Corp., 18 Hartwell Ave., Lexington, MA 02137, (800) 438-6463 or (617) 674-0009; fax (617) 674-2919.

Norton Speedrive ($99) speeds up disk operations something fierce. Contact Symantec Corp., 10201 Torre Ave., Cupertino, CA 95014, (800) 441-7234 or (408) 253-9600; fax (408) 252-4696.

The ReelMagic board ($499) is out there at the edge of video technology. Contact Sigma Designs, Inc., 47900 Bayside Pkwy., Fremont, CA 94538, (800) 845-8086 or (510) 770-0100; fax (510) 770-2640.

The Cyrix CX486SRX2 conversion chip (20-MHz 386 to 40-MHz 486SX, $269; 25-MHz 386 to 50-MHz 486SX, $299) is simplicity to install, and it really works. Contact Cyrix, 2703 North Central Expy., Richardson, TX 75080, (214) 994-8388; fax (214) 994-8764.

You're extremely unlikely to encou nter a program you can't run in a Creative Labs multimedia system (Discovery CD16 Multimedia Kit, $649.95; Edutainment CD16 Multimedia Kit, $749.95; Digital Edge CD Multimedia Kit, $999). Contact Creative Labs, 1901 McCarthy Blvd., Milpitas, CA 95035, (800) 998-5227 or (408) 428-6600; fax (408) 428-6611.

We have the Media Vision Pro 16 Multimedia System upgrade kit (System 1, $1049; System 2, $1195) installed in a variety of machines, and we've had no problems. Media Vision's Critical Path ($79.95) game breaks considerable new ground: live actors, real scripts, and smooth transitions within story lines. Contact Media Vision, 47300 Bayside Pkwy., Fremont, CA 94538, (800) 348-7116 or (510) 770-8600; fax (510) 770-9146.

The Miracle Piano Teaching System (IBM, $479.95; Mac, $499.94; software only, $149.95) is a no-nonsense, very good keyboard that will play through your computer system, and it comes with some really excellent software for teaching piano. Highly recommended. Contact The Software Tool works, 60 Leveroni Court, Novato, CA 94949, (800) 234-3088 or (415) 883-3000; fax (415) 883-3303.

Pioneer has another winner in the DRM-604X ($1795), and it gets the User's Choice Award for the most useful CD-ROM player of the year. Contact Pioneer New Media Technologies, Inc., 2265 East 220th St., Long Beach, CA 90810, (800) 527-3766 or (310) 952-2111; fax (310) 952-2990.

I am a fan of Windows for Workgroups 3.11 ($249.95). I like the 32-bit file and disk access. I very much like the improved File Manager. With Crescent Tools, the Microsoft Visual Basic Programming System 3.0 (Standard Edition, $199; Professional Edition, $495) lets you write bigger and faster programs. Contact Microsoft Corp., 1 Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052, (800) 426-9400 or (206) 882-8080; fax (206) 883-8101.

OS/2 2.1 (disk version, $179; CD-ROM version, $152) works, and for some users it's clearly the right choice. With OS/2 for Windows (disk version, $49; CD-ROM version, $39), you have your old Windows desktop a nd installed applications, and OS/2 as well. Contact IBM Corp., 1 Old Orchard Dr., Armonk, NY 10504, (800) 342-6672 or (914) 765-1900; fax (313) 225-4020.

Fargo gets a big Chaos Manor Orchid for the Primera Color Printer ($995). Contact Fargo Electronic Services, Inc., 7901 Flying Cloud Dr., Eden Prairie, MN 55344, (800) 327-4622 or (612) 941-9470; fax (612) 941-7836.

The advantages of the OmniBook 425 (with 40-MB hard drive, $1795; with 10-MB flash disk, $2095) are its considerable power and light weight. Contact Hewlett-Packard Co., 1000 Northeast Circle Blvd., Corvallis, OR 97330, (800) 433-1254 or (503) 757-2004; fax (800) 333-1917.

CA-Realizer ($99) comes with compilers for both Windows and OS/2. Contact Computer Associates International, Inc., 1 Computer Associates Plaza, Islandia, NY 11788, (800) 225-5224 or (516) 342-5224; fax (516) 342-5734.

Masters of Orion ($59.95) is the best space strategy game I have ever encountered. Contact Microprose, 180 Lakefront Dr., Hunt Valley , MD 21030, (410) 771-1151; fax (410) 771-1174.

Doom ($40) is so startlingly real and does such wonderful visual effects that you won't believe it. Contact id Software, Inc., 18601 LBJ Frwy., Suite 615, Mesquite, TX 75150, (800) 434-2637 or (214) 613-3589; fax (214) 686-9288.

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Jerry Pournelle holds a doctorate in psychology and is a science fiction writer who also earns a comfortable living writing about computers present and future. Jerry welcomes readers' comments and opinions. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Jerry Pournelle, c/o BYTE, One Phoenix Mill Lane, Peterborough, NH 03458. Please put your address on the letter as well as on the envelope. Due to the high volume of letters, Jerry cannot guarantee a personal reply. You can also contact him on the Internet or BIX at jerryp@bix.com .