Redmond, Washingtonbased Microsoft Corp has introduced three new products for Apple Computer Inc’s Macintosh, the Gateway for AppleLink, the HyperCard and the Gateway Software Development Kit. With the Gateway for AppleLink, a Microsoft Mail user can send and receive messages on AppleLink without leaving the Mail environment. It provides up and down loading of mail for multiple users so the system does not need to make individual calls. Direct mapping between accounts means that AppleLink senders do not have to include extra address lines. The AppleLink Gateway costs $300 from Microsoft. Third party developers have also announced Microsoft gateways. Touch Communications’ X400 Gateway for Microsoft Mail X400 enables Mail users to exchange messages transparently with most electronic mail systems that support the X400 standard. This message exchange includes local area network mail systems, host-based mail systems and public mail services. The X400 costs $2,000 from Touch Communications. The Faxgate gateway server, which connects Microsoft Mail to Solutions Inc’s BackFax program, is also now available. When a fax modem is attached to the Mail server, users with Faxgate can send and receive messages from their Macintosh. Faxgate costs $340 from Solutions Inc. Microsoft offers a Gateway Software Development Kit for third parties to develop gateways. Gateways currently being developed include those for IBM Profs, VMS Mail, DEC Message Router/Mailbus, MCI MailSM, Unix Simplified Message Transfer Protocol, Wang Office and others. The kit costs $445 from Microsoft. The Software Development Kit for Hypercard provides tools to build Microsoft Mail’s server configuration. It includes software and documentation for one Macintosh server and one Macintosh workstation, plus a network administrator’s guide. Workstation clients include software and documentation for one workstation, Macintosh or personal computer. Also available are 20-unit workstation clients for the Macintosh. Retail prices are $400 for the server starter kit, for a single Macintosh or personal computer workstation client $125; and for 20 Macintosh workstation clients $1500. System requirements for Macintosh servers and clients are a Macintosh computer with 1Mb RAM; System version 6.0.2 or higher; and an AppleTalk, EtherTalk or compatible local area network. The server also requires a Macintosh-compatible SCSI or serial hard disk that boots the system file at start-up. Microsoft Mail is compatible with MultiFinder. And Microsoft has announced the integration of voice messaging capabilities into Microsoft Mail for AppleTalk and claims it is the first business application to incorporate sound recording, compression and playback technology. Developed by Farallon Computing Inc, the voice messaging capability enables Mail users’ to send spoken messages or to annotate a written message by speaking, using the new Mail Voice Form. But voice messaging is memory-intensive; a simple voice message of 15 to 20 seconds can require 60Kb of memory. Microsoft says its single copy storage ensures that these memory demands do not degrade the performance of the network. First delivered on the Macintosh with Microsoft Mail, it guarantees that each message sent on the network, up to 100 people, will be copied and stored only once. Other electronic mail packages use file-based storage, where each message constitutes a separate file. Microsoft claims that the file-based storage approach is inefficient – not only in its use of server resources but also in the amount of CPU time and disk space it takes up. It cites the example, of a user sending the same message to 50 people. The server must copy, and then store, 50 messages. Without single copy storage, a single voice announcement of the meeting to 50 people would require 3MB of memory storage. The Mail also offers a choice of voice compression ratios. The network manager can either choose 4:1 compression, which delivers higher quality sound but takes up more memory, or the 8:1 ratio, which requires less memory but reduces sound quality. To enh
ance Microsoft Mail with voice messaging capabilities, a user has to install a Voice Form on the Mail server. To send voice messages, the Microsoft Mail user must have a Farallon Mac Recorder as well as the Farallon Sound Driver installed in the System Folder. If a voice message is sent to a user who has not installed a Sound Driver, the system will recognise this, and a dialogue box will appear asking for permission to install the Sound Driver. The messages can be sent on customised forms. Each screen the Mail client displays is a form that can be customised or replaced using the Form utility which includes the Voice Form. The Farallon Sound Digitiser bundle, which includes the MacRecorder Voice Digitiser and the Sound Driver, is $150. Included in the bundle is a HyperCard utility that allows users to record directly into HyperCard.
