It`s been a few weeks since COMDEX left town, but many who attended the Computer Dealer`s Expo at McCormick Place are still abuzz over one of the most exciting conventions in recent memory.
For lovers of high drama, the convention featured two heavyweight contenders slugging it out toe-to-toe: Microsoft Windows Version 3.1 vs. IBM`s OS/2 Version 2.0. Both products were released at the convention with so much hoopla that even Don King would have been embarrassed by all the hype.
Both products perform the same function: they offer a graphical user interface for IBM and compatible computers. Moreover, they look and feel similar. But each claims important advantages over its competitor, and the infighting at the convention was hard-hitting.
OS/2, its proponents claim, ”out-Windows Windows.” It handles memory conflicts better than Windows, and allows users to run more applications at the same time. But Windows adherents say that their program requires less expensive hardware to run than OS/2 and that OS/2 has so many bugs it`s unworkable.
There was no knockout punch delivered at the convention, but most industry observers feel that Windows has won the first round. Evidence of this is the success of Windows World, a convention that ran simultaneously with COMDEX, took up the other half of McCormick Place and featured 300 exhibitors. Indeed, many convention goers felt that Windows World was much more interesting than COMDEX itself.
And it`s telling, Windows lovers sneer, that there wasn`t any OS/2 World at COMDEX. On the contrary, apart from the IBM booth itself, OS/2 was seldom seen at the convention. Windows, however, was everywhere.
The OS/2 vs. Windows drama was just part of the excitement of COMDEX, which brought a slew of new hardware and software announcements and demonstrations. Industry interest in the convention was so strong that it became the best attended spring COMDEX of all time, bringing in close to 70,000 attendees to view almost 1,000 exhibits.
Of course, I didn`t get to visit anywhere near 1,000 booths, but I did wear out more than my share of shoe leather during the week of the convention. At times I was amazed by what I saw; at times I was appalled. Here, then, is my list of the Best and Worst of Comdex 1991.
The Big Winner: Microsoft. Not only was it buoyed by the success of Windows 3.1, but it also had a string of other great looking new releases, such as Microsoft Excel 4.0, the latest version of its acclaimed spreadsheet for IBM and Macintosh computers.
The Big Loser: Apple, for not even making an appearance at COMDEX.
Man of the Week: It was a wild five days for Michael Dell. First his company, Dell Computers, made the Fortune 500 list, and Dell, at age 27, became the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company. At the convention Dell made more news with his rousing keynote address. Instead of offering the usual dull platitudes the occasion generally elicits, Dell gave a stirring indictment of the computer industry for failing to focus more on the wants and needs of its customers.
Most Bizarre Parody: Bill Gates, the billionaire CEO of Microsoft, kicked off Windows World with an elaborate running gag based on ”Wayne`s World.” There was something deliciously surrealistic in watching Gates, the quintessential nerd, parody a movie that is itself a spoof on geeks. Gates also showed himself to be a master of comedic timing and delivery. Not!
Most Amazing Device: The various pen computers never failed to astound conventioneers with their ability to recognize handwriting. For example, the MicroSlate, which sort of resembles an Etch-a-Sketch, reads characters you print on the screen using a stylus. The device isn`t perfect (at times you have to print a character two or three times before it recognizes it), but they were able to decipher an impressive amount of even the sloppiest handwriting (mine).
Second Most Amazing Device: The add-on boards that let full-motion video-including television transmissions-appear on your computer screen. Gates joked that he doesn`t own a television set, but if he ever wants to watch a Microsoft commercial, he just turns on his computer.
Most Sexist Promotion: Computer Associates, a software publishing company, touted its new line of products at a ”fashion show” that featured some young female models dressed in black leather and others wrapped up in see-through dollar bills. What`s on tap for next year, guys, a wet T-shirt contest?
Most Politically Correct Promotion: Cathy Guisewite, the artist whose eponymous comic strip appears daily in the Tribune, appeared at a cocktail party at Ed Debevic`s to offer her wisdom about achieving meaningful relationships in the `90s. She was sponsored by Amaze! Software, which, on the heels of its successful calendar program featuring Gary Larson`s Far Side cartoons, is planning a similar product featuring Cathy.
Software That`s Best for Business: PaperWorks (Xerox) lets users retrieve, store, distribute and organize files on their computer without having to be anywhere near their computer. All they need is access to a fax machine. The program should be an especial boon to business travelers.
Best Game: Global Conquest (Microprose Software) is the spectacular follow-up to the wildly successful Command HQ. Designed by programming legend Dan Bunten, this is an addictive game of military strategy that can be played with up to four human or computer players.
Best Lineup of CD/ROM Products: Software Toolworks demo`ed a sparkling array of software for computer compact disc players, including a World Atlas, a Desk Reference, and CD versions of four popular computer games: Loom, The Secret of Monkey Island, Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe and Casino Pack I.
Best Idea: IBM`s Test Drive Center was a grouping of 40 computers running OS/2 that IBM set up to let conventions goers try out at will, away from the pressure of public relations flacks or salespersons.
Goofiest Name: ICOM Simulations of Wheeling demonstrated a new program called Squeegee that-you guessed it-does Windows.
Most Colorful New Hardware: The Toshiba T4400SXC is a 7-pound notebook computer with Super VGA graphics featuring 256 simultaneous colors. It produces the best-looking color you`ll see on a laptop computer. But the price will bring color to your cheeks: a whopping $7,500.
Most Colorful New Software: Painter (Fractal Design; 408-688-8800) is simply the best paint program available for Macintosh or Windows users. It lets you create artwork on the computer that looks like it was created on traditional media such as canvas or watercolor paper. The program can also simulate strokes from more than 60 artist tools and brushes, including colored pencils, soft charcoal and Japanese brushes. But even a thousand words here couldn`t convey how striking a single Painter picture art can be.
Best Niche Product: You wouldn`t think there would be much of a market for programs that generate forms, but according to the Software Publishing Association, forms software was the fastest-growing genre of software in 1991. Of the many forms products on display at the convention, the one combining the most power with ease of use was FormWorx for Windows, from Power Up! Software. Most Ergonomically Sound Peripheral: Logitech`s new Trackman, a trackball substitute for a mouse, looks good and feels even better. Too bad it comes only in a version for right-handers.
Most Ubiquitous New Acronym: At Windows World it seemed as if every other application was touting its OLE features. OLE stands for Object Linking and Embedding, and its a buzzword you`ll be hearing a lot more of from now on.
Best Writer`s Aid: Grammatik 5 for Windows (Reference Software) lets you check your grammar not only in documents created on a word processor, but also in desktop publishing, database, spreadsheet and electronic mail applications. Worst Timing: Coming fast after the debut of the new versions of Windows and OS/2, XSoft released Rooms, a program geared for simplifying Windows. But many of the problems the program addresses are answered by Windows 3.1. Moreover, at $99 the program costs more that most users will pay for Windows itself.
Most Extravagant-and Intriguing-Claims: Modelware (Teranet; 604-754-4223) supposedly uses sophisticated expert system techniques and neural networks to do everything from diagnosing diseases to discovering flaws in the space shuttle. A companion program, Neural$, claims to be able to recognize major turning points in the stock market. Its marketers want you to believe that the program is essential for anyone who needs to try to predict outcomes, but I can`t predict if this program will actually work for you.
