Special preview: Microsoft opens a new Window - Windows 95 operating system - Software Review - Evaluation

Home Office Computing, Jan, 1995 by John R. Quain

Windows 95 Price: None set

Publisher: Microsoft, (206) 882-8080, (800) 426-9400

It's touted as the panacea for all your PC ills, and many people expect it to be the biggest software introduction ever. The new version of Microsoft Windows-previously known by its code name Chicago and now officially dubbed Windows 95--will not only replace earlier versions of Windows, it will do away with DOS itself. But exactly what's so great about Windows 95, and where is it anyway (it was originally due last spring)?

Windows 95 is more than another version of Windows, it's a full-fledged operating system. A DOS interpreter and support for Windows 3.1 is being built into the new operating system, so your favorite applications will still run, but the rest of the system won't look the same.

A quick glance at Windows 95 is all you need to know that things have changed. A simple onscreen Start button allows you to look at what's in your PC, open a file, or launch a program. The dilapidated and clunky Program Manager and File Manager are gone; in their place you'll find individual icons and a Task Bar that allows you to switch among currently opened programs. The icons can represent anything you choose: an individual file, a separate program, or your system configuration. And with long file name support, you can call files practically anything you want (no more cryptic eight-character DOS limitations).

Based on the prerelease version of Windows 95 we tested, it is a much slicker, sexier, and more flexible approach to computing. Most people will find that the overall interface borrows much of its design from Apple's System 7. Explorer, for example, is a soupedup Maclike version of File Manager. It offers so many different views that if you find the new icon-oriented interface unpalatable, you can change it back to look like Windows 3.1's Program Manager.

Behind its pretty face, however, Windows 95 offers some solid technical improvements. Most of the operating system uses 32-bit--as opposed to DOS's 16-bit---code, which means it is more efficient, better suited to 486-based PCs, and should perform more tasks faster. Microsoft has also beefed up support for sophisticated three-dimensional graphics, so new programs written for Windows 95 will be able to offer more realistic images without slowing down your system. Built-in video compression support also means improved video playback for new CDROM titles and players.

One significant feature of the system is pre-emptive multitasking. Simply put, you'll have the ability do such things as print a file, download e-mail, and format a floppy disk--all at the same time. To take full advantage of pre-emptive multitasking, however, you'll need 32-bit programs written specifically for Windows 95.

Finally, Windows 95's most pragmatic--and perhaps most welcome--new feature is plug-and-play support. Microsoft hopes to support more peripherals by requiring them to identify themselves to the system and thus automatically resolve conflicts between competing components. Of course, that means buying new peripherals--and for owners of older PCs, entirely new systems. In the long run, however, that may mean that the PC will finally become as easy to operate as a Mac.

But the ultimate question is: Will Windows 95 be your kind of operating system? If Microsoft delivers half of what it has promised, the answer is yes. Though Windows 95 is expected to mn on a 386DX-based PC with 4MB of RAM, taking up 15 to 20MB of hard-disk space, it will run better on a 486 machine with 8MB of RAM. But to receive most of its benefits, you'll need to upgrade your applications.

After setting several missed deadlines, Microsoft now says that Windows 95 will arrive "sometime in the first half of 1995 ." But even then, given the thousands of programs already written for DOS and Windows 3.1, there are bound to be hiccups and false starts on some systems.

Whether you like it or not, you will have to upgrade to Windows 95. But it doesn't look like you'll have to switch anytime soon.

Moderns for the Masses

Motorola is tailoring portable communications to your needs with the introduction of its Power ($339) and Lifstyle ($279) series of 14.4K bps PCMCIA Type H modems. High-powered executives on the go should check out the Power cellularready moderns, which are designed to work with any data-capable Motorola cellular phone. The Lifstyle models, on the other hand, use standard telephone lines for data and fax communications. Modems in both series come with a Communications Toolkit, which includes Delrina's WinFax and WinCom software. Motorola, (800) 631-4869.

Farewell Fax Machine?

Could Umax Technologies's Page Office scanner be the missing link between your computer and the rest of your office? Stick up to seven sheets in this scanner's sheet feeder, press the copier button, and PageOffice scans the document and automatically prints out a copy. Press the fax button and PageOffice brings up your fax software after completing its scan. If you already have a good printer and a fax/modem, PageOffice's 300dpi quality and $499 price tag allow you to say good-bye to your small copier and fax machine. Umax Technologies Inc., (510) 651-8883, (800) 562-0311.