sunflash-Distributed to mailing list sunflash@suntri sunflash-Send requests and problem reports to owner-sunflash@suntri.east.sun.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Florida SunFlash Third Party Announcements SunFLASH Vol 53 #34 May 1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Summary 53.34.A Book: X11 R5 User's Guide Released This book orients the new user to window system concepts and provides detailed tutorials for many client programs. 53.34.B Du Pont Pixel enables IRIS GL application on to SPARCstations Silicon Graphics based applications that use GL can be ported to Sun without rewriting source code. 53.34.C Performance Technologies Offers High Reliability SBus SCSI-2 Includes Forced Perfect Termination (FPT) 53.34.D Watchdog FMS (Failover Management Software) FMS is a software product that allows a Solaris system to take over from a failed Solaris system, for example, to provided uninterupted NFS service 53.34.E O'Reilly & Associates Publishes "ora.com" Newsletter The first edition of this free newsletter is excellent. A number of feature articles and departments are included as are descriptions of O'Reilly's books. 53.34.F Prime Time Freeware, Volume 2, Number 1 semi-annual collection of UNIX-related freeware has 3Gb of source code and documentation on a 2 CD set for $60 53.34.G Artecon Agreement for SAIC's Visual User Environment 3.0 SAIC has ported HP's Visual User Environment (HP VUE) to Sun SPARC and IBM RS/6000 workstations. SAIC has appointed Artecon as exclusive marketer for SAIC VUE on Sun and IBM Platforms 53.34.H SIREN FAX DELIVERS SECURE, HIGH-VOLUME FAX SOLUTION Comprehensive fax solution with both Motif and command-line client interfaces. Siren Fax can send multiple documents to many fax numbers simultaneously. 53.34.I Sys Admin Magazine 1 Year Old Sys Admin, the magazine for UNIX systems administrators, is 1 year old. The bi-monthly's subscription base has grown from 5k to 14k UNIX professionals. 53.34.J CMS, the practical solution for Product Information Management (PIM) With CMS/Pro, an add-on module Pro/ENGINEER, users can be sure that designers, approvers and viewers always find the right version of files and configurations to perform the tasks at hand. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Details -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Book: X11 R5 User's Guide Released From: Brian Erwin Org: O'Reilly & Associates Address: 103A Morris Street, Sebastopol CA 95472 Phone: 707-829-0515 Fax: 707-829-0104 Volume 3, X Window System User's Guide, for X11 Release 5 by Valerie Quercia and Tim O'Reilly 835 pages, ISBN 1-56592-014-7, $34.95 This book orients the new user to window system concepts and provides detailed tutorials for many client programs, including xterm terminal emulator and the twm window manager. "A Quick Start Approach to X" in the Preface guides the reader through the most fundamental topics, with the later chapters explaining how to customize the X environment and providing sample configurations. _The X Window System User's Guide_ reflects X11 Release 5: * Starting the system and opening the first client windows * Using the xterm terminal emulator and the twm window manager * Most standard release clients, including programs for graphics, printing, font manipulation, window/display information, and removing windows, as well as several "desktop" utilities * New R5 features including scalable fonts, the font server program, and device-independent color * Customizing the window manager, keyboard, display, and certain basic features of any client program ------------------------------------------------------------------- This and other O'Reilly books are available through bookstores or directly from the publisher. For a list of overseas distributors or US bookstores, or to order direct, FAX (707/829-0104), phone (800/998-9938 in US or Canada; 707/829-0515), e-mail (order@ora.com), or write O'Reilly & Associates, 103 Morris St., Sebastopol, CA 95472. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Du Pont Pixel enables IRIS GL application on to SPARCstations From: 70672,474@compuserve.com (Mike King) Org: Du Pont Pixel Contact: Mike King Marketing Phone: (703) 264-8750 DU PONT PIXEL'S PX/IRIS GL ENABLES DYNAMIC GRAPHICS TO PORT EARTHVISION TO THE SPARC PLATFORM New Orleans -- April 26th, 1993 Du Pont Pixel and Dynamic Graphics Inc., announced at AAPG '93 today that Dynamic Graphics has ported its Silicon Graphics based application EarthVision to the SPARC platform using Du Pont Pixel's PX/IRIS GL 3D graphics library. EarthVision, which allows users to build, visualize and analyze geology data and models in an intuitive 3D environment, takes advantage of PX/IRIS GL's seamless integration with Sun to realize its full 3D potential on the SPARC platform. "Until now, the time investment required to take EarthVision from the SGI to Sun platform was not viable," commented Glenn Hansen, Dynamic Graphics' marketing manager. "Du Pont Pixel's GL implementation has enabled us to port to SPARC without rewriting our source code. Users will now be able to run EarthVision on their platform of choice." "Essential to the successful port of EarthVision was the completeness of PX/IRIS GL, which includes full support for GL overlays and GL fonts" commented Mike King, Du Pont Pixel's marketing manager. "These and a number of other commonly used GL features, are only available on the Sun platform through PX/IRIS GL". "The number of commercial GL based applications that have used PX/IRIS GL to reach the Sun market is growing fast and EarthVision is a very welcome addition," commented Neil Trevett, Du Pont Pixel's marketing director. "We will be working hard alongside Dynamic Graphics to continue to provide excellent value and performance for EarthVision users on SPARC workstations." Dynamic Graphics are demonstrating EarthVision on the Sun Sparcstation at their booth #852. Product shipment will commence within 45 days. PX/IRIS GL is a full function, high performance implementation of Silicon Graphic's IRIS GL 4.0. Providing five times the performance of Sun's XGL 3D graphics library, it runs on standard SPARC workstations including Sun's CG3, GX and GX+ framestores. Users can realize even greater levels of GL performance by upgrading to PowerGL with a Du Pont Pixel accelerator. EarthVision utilizes the SBus based PX15 PowerGL accelerator. EarthVision is a family of software used by earth scientists for better understanding and communication of complex geological data. EarthVision develops representational models, surfaces, volumes and geological structures from the user's scattered data points. Data typically comes from geographic surveys, well borings or sampling wells. The models can be integrated with data of other types, such as site plans, aerial photography and well logs to provide a comprehensive view of a study area. The models are interactively viewed and manipulated using graphics workstations. EarthVision generates several kinds of graphic output of the user's spatial data and resultant models, including contour maps, cross sections, fence diagrams and shaded volume models. Dynamic Graphics, founded in 1969, develops spatial modeling, analysis and visualization software for the petroleum and environmental markets as well as other earth science disciplines. The company distributes its software and supports its customers from offices throughout the USA, London and Beijing, with headquarters in Alameda, California. Du Pont Pixel is a founder member of Sun's Open Graphics Initiative, and develops hardware and software for accelerating 3D graphics, image processing and numerical processing on SUN SPARCstations. Du Pont Pixel is a subsidiary of Du Pont - the diversified $40 billion chemicals, fibers and electronics company and is a member of SPARC International, the Sun Catalyst Program, the X Consortium and is an IRIS Geometry Partner. Du Pont Pixel products enhance the SUN platform in applications such as visualization, medical imaging, earth sciences and electronic publishing. Du Pont Pixel is the worldwide trading name of Du Pont Pixel Systems Limited. PX/15 PowerGL and PX/IRIS GL are trademarks of Du Pont Pixel Systems Limited. EarthVision is a trademark of Dynamic Graphics Inc. IRIS GL is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. SPARCstation, XGL, CG3, GX and GX are trademarks of Sun Microsystems. For further information please contact: Mike King Glenn Hansen Du Pont Pixel Dynamic Graphics Tel: 703 264 8750 Tel: 510 522 0700 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Performance Technologies Offers High Reliability SBus SCSI-2 From: dlt@pt.com(Don Turrell) Contact: Marty McFadden Org: Performance Computer, A Performance Technologies Company Tel: 716-256-0200 Fax: 716-256-0791 Email: wpg@pt.com ------------------------------- Performance Computer Increases SCSI-2 Reliability with New SCSI-2 Narrow/FAST SBus Adapter Design ------------------------------- The Performance Computer Group of Performance Technologies, Incorporated has announced the release of their latest SCSI-2 Narrow/FAST SBus Adapter product. Performance Computer, which offered the FIRST SCSI-2 Narrow/ FAST SBus Adapter product for Sun and Sun compatible workstations over a year ago, has updated its line to include the PT-SBS430A Single-ended Adapter with Forced Perfect Termination (FPT). In operating SCSI-2 FAST devices, the signal timing and quality on the SCSIbus becomes much more crucial than on older SCSI-1 systems. SCSI termination, cable fabrication and cable length have been issues that have caused some users who have upgraded from SCSI-1 to SCSI-2 to experience reliability problems. Operating more than 2 disk drives, and/ or using cables greater than one meter on a Narrow/FAST single-ended SCSIbus could not be done reliably. The new PT-SBS430A Adapter addresses these issues with Forced Perfect Termination. This emerging technique, developed by IBM, allows reliable operation of four or more disk drives on one SCSIbus using the economical single-ended interface. The PT-SBS430A has replaced the PT-SBS430 single-ended SBus adapter which recently has been available with an "add- on" FPT module. The PT-SBS430A now incorporates both active termination and Forced Perfect Termination on the module at no additional cost over the previous PT-SBS430 without add-on FPT. The PT-SBS430A also includes the newly released driver support for Solaris(tm) 2.X OS environments allowing it to be used across ALL Sun platforms. In addition, the 'plug and play' software drivers supplied with the Performance Computer SBus SCSI Adapter(s) now include an enhanced version of Adaptive Synchronous Negotiation [ASN(tm)]. This PTI developed feature allows the SCSI Adapter software to tune the SCSI transfer rate, maximizing performance for each operating configuration. The PT-SBS430A Single-ended Adapter is priced at $695 each. Delivery of the new PT-SBS430A will begin in June 1993. Performance Computer designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of products for SBus, VMEbus, VERSAbus(tm), Qbus and Multibus(tm). The Company has sales offices and distributors across North America and is represented by agents and distributors throughout the world. Performance Computer A Performance Technologies Company 315 Science Parkway Rochester, NY 14620 Contact: Martin McFadden Tel: (716) 256-0200 Fax: (716) 256-0791 wpg@pt.com ASN is a trademark of Performance Technologies, Incorporated. Performance Technologies acknowledges that the product and company names mentioned in this document are the trademarks or registered tradenames of their respective holders. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Watchdog FMS Failover Management Software From: joe@tidalwave.com (Joseph Visse) Vice President Org: Tidalwave Technologies, Inc. Phone: (415) 441-0985 Watchdog FMS Failover Management Software Bringing Affordable High Availability to both Solaris 1.x and Solaris 2.x SAN FRANCISCO (June 1, 1993) -- TIDALWAVE TECHNOLOGIES, INC., developer and marketer of innovative high availability software solutions, introduces and announces the availability of WATCHDOG FMS. (Failover Management Software). WATCHDOG FMS is a software product which allows users of Solaris based servers to make their information more available by allowing them to connect two servers together, each server acting as a backup to the other. In the event of a system failure, the back up server automatically takes control of the failed server's disks and through the stateless NFS file system, seemlessly impersonates the failed server, thus allowing the users to continue uninterupted with their work. Watchdog FMS is a response to customer requests for an easy to use, fully-redundant affordable product that provides high availability features not found in the standard Sun Product set. Developed by a former Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation Systems Engineer, Watchdog FMS was then made available to Tidalwave Technologies, Inc., with the understanding that it would be affordable, accessable and supported. Versatility - Watchdog FMS provides automated one-way or two-way failover. Saves Time - Watchdog FMS can be installed in less than an hour and configured in less than a day. Flexibility - Watchdog FMS gives the administrator complete control of the sequence of events that take place during a failover. All scripts can be completely customized. Fewer Interruptions - Watchdog FMS allows the administrator to manually control both servers, so that Operating System upgrades and software installations occur without NFS interruption. Able to be customized/tailored - Watchdog FMS includes a generic agent (source code provided) that allows a customer to implement software based failovers. These are most common with RDBMS's. Solaris 1.x & Solaris 2.x - Watchdog FMS supports Solaris 1.1, Solaris 2.2 and later releases. Completely Automated - Watchdog FMS is a completed automated solution that includes a console program where an administrator can monitor and control both hosts. Load balanced - Watchdog FMS is a flexible and vigilant product. It allows the NFS load to be shared between the two CPUs. Only in the event of a CPU failure are all NFS resources supported by a single CPU. Watchdog FMS is currently available for Solaris 1.x (SunOs 4.1.2 and 4.1.3). Watchdog FMS for Solaris 2.2 is presently available for beta testing, with FCS scheduled for July 1, 1993. MORE INFORMATION: Pricing: $10,500/PAIR for Solaris 1.x $11,500/PAIR for Solaris 2.x For product information, OEM/Reseller pricing and evaluation copies please contact Joe Visse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Brian Erwin Subject: O'Reilly & Associates Publishes "ora.com" Newsletter <> O'Reilly & Associates Publishes "ora.com" Newsletter edited by Linda Lamb, et.al. 46 pages; free We have released the first issue of magazine-plus-catalog entitled "ora.com." It presents a behind-the-scenes look at why certain books were published, what books we're working on, and other issues we found of interest. Table of Contents: *Features* UNIX Power Tools -- Tim O'Reilly writes about the decisions that led to our first book/CD package. The Low Down on High Performance Computing -- Kevin Dowd writes about how to sort through the hype to structure code to "play" to new and different architectures and to evaluate benchmarks. PEXlib Cover Story -- How the cover for the PEXlib Programming Manual evolved. Do You Love Your Job? -- Management psychologist Paul Powers writes about the importance of what really makes you happy -- on and off the job. *DEPARTMENTS* The Internet -- A discussion by Tim O'Reilly and Carl Malamud of the Internet and Internet Talk Radio. SysAdmin -- Eric Pearce writes about repairing and replacing backplanes. Online Program Guide -- Dale Dougherty provides a step- by-step account of O'Reilly's online services. X Window System -- Adrian Nye provides the latest information on Release 5 updates of O'Reilly's X Window System series. ------------------------------------------------------- To receive a free copy of "ora.com," phone (800/998-9938 or 707/829-0515), e-mail (awilda@ora.com), or write O'Reilly & Associates, 103 Morris St., Sebastopol, CA 95472. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Prime Time Freeware, Volume 2, Number 1 From: rdm@cfcl.com (Rich Morin) Newsgroups: comp.newprod Prime Time Freeware, Volume 2, Number 1 (PTF 2-1) PTF is a semi-annual collection of UNIX-related freeware source code and documentation. Each issue consists of two ISO-9660 CD-ROMs, bound into a 50+ page booklet. PTF is particularly useful for programmers who do not have FTP access, but many of our customers use PTF to save disk space and avoid annoying FTP searches and retrievals. PTF 2-1 contains 1200 MB of compressed archives, unpacking to more than 3000 MB of source code and documentation, current as of January 15, 1993. Here are some of the larger items, prefaced by compressed sizes: KB (C) PTF Directory Name Package Name ====== ================== ============ 299508 docprep/format/tex/uk UK TeX Archive 82198 language/modula_3/src SRC Modula-3 81650 math/netlib NetLib Archive (math and sim.) 78792 icot ICOT (5th Gen. AI Code) 36548 window/i_views InterViews (UI dev. system) 36540 language/lisp/scheme/scheme Scheme Language 34040 cad/ee/ptolemy Ptolemy (HW CAD and sim. system) 26964 math/stat/statlib StatLib Archive (statistics.) 26206 gnu/cygnus/progress Cygnus Progressive Release 19773 database/postgres/postgres POSTGRES RDBMS 18046 language/lisp/cmucl CMU Common Lisp 15752 desktop/s_sheet/analy AnalytiCalc 15457 language/icon/icon Icon Language 12748 language/tcl/barkley Barkley Tcl/Tk Archive 12478 language/self Self Language 12070 gnu/djgpp G++ (etc.) for DOS 11710 docprep/edit/emacs/lucid Lucid Emacs 11672 window/x11/gopath GoPATH (UI Dev. System) 11137 language/c/gcc GCC (C++ compiler, etc.) 11134 language/ml/smlnj Std. ML of New Jersey Price: $60 US, plus shipping, handling, and applicable taxes. SUG and USENIX members may purchase the issue for $50. Contact us for unusual cases, quantity discounts, etc. Please note: California orders must include 7% to help with sales tax. Shipping and handling Item 1 Items 2-N Domestic (USA) $5 $1 Foreign $10 $4 We accept Mastercard and Visa, postal money orders in US funds, and checks in US funds THAT ARE PAYABLE THROUGH A US BANK. Inquiries and orders may be sent (no email orders, please) to: Prime Time Freeware 370 Altair Way, Suite 150 Tel: +1 408-738-4832 ptf@cfcl.com Sunnyvale, CA 94086 USA Fax: +1 408-432-6149 ____ copies ________ each = ________ + tax = ________ + S/H = ________ Visa/MC ____________________________ Exp. __________ Buying Plan _____ Purchaser _______________________________________________________ Organization _______________________________________________________ Street Address _______________________________________________________ City,State,Zip _______________________________________________________ Country _______________________________________________________ Phone, Email _______________________________________________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Artecon Agreement for SAIC's Visual User Environment 3.0 From: Gerry.MacDonald@artecon.com (Gerry MacDonald) Contact: Mark Reifler (Artecon) 619/931-5500 Contact: Jim Richardson (SAIC) 619/546-6422 Contact: Alex Dunnette (Hewlett Packard) 503-750-3886 SAIC Appoints Artecon as Exclusive Marketer for SAIC VUE on Sun and IBM Platforms SAIC and Artecon today announced an agreement that makes Artecon the exclusive worldwide marketing agent for SAIC's Visual User Environment (SAIC VUE) 3.0. SAIC, under license from Hewlett Packard, has ported HP's Visual User Environment (HP VUE) desktop interface to both the Sun SPARC and IBM RS/6000 workstations. SAIC VUE 3.0 is visually and functionally identical to HP VUE 3.0 which is bundled with every HP 9000 Series 700 workstation. "SAIC VUE 3.0 is today's gateway to the recently announced Common Open Software Environment (COSE) common desktop environment", stated Dana W. Kammersgard, Vice President Marketing and Sales, Artecon. "The common desktop environment will be based largely on HP VUE 3.0. Users can achieve a completely consistent desktop interface today across Sun, IBM, and HP workstations while at the same time positioning themselves to transition to the unified Unix desktop coming in mid-1994." SAIC VUE 3.0 is based on and includes the OSF Motif window manager. It provides user access to workstation power without requiring the user to have any knowledge of UNIX. The primary goal of SAIC VUE is to provide the same interface on multiple hardware platforms. A secondary goal is to increase Sun SPARC and IBM RS/6000 workstation value by significantly improving workstation ease of use and customer productivity. SAIC VUE 3.0 focuses on usability improvements from SAIC VUE 2.01, as well as improved login/logout performance and decreased RAM usage. SAIC VUE 3.0 is OSF/Motif Style Guide compliant, including full support of keyboard traversal. SAIC VUE components adhere to POSIX and ANSI C standards. Key new features of SAIC VUE 3.0 include: Visuals - multicolor icons, backdrops and front panel images, and slide-up subpanels from the front panel. New User Interface Clients - a bitmap/pixmap editor, an easy to use text editor targeted for novice users, and a file annotator for attaching audio and textual annotations to files and directories. Desktop - Desktop capability for placing files, directories and executables directly on the root window. This gives users immediate access to frequently used files and applications. Help Manager - Online help built on the HP Help System. Help content is task oriented so users can more easily find and use the information they need. Key features include: o Graphics o Hypertext Links o Multiple Fonts o Dynamic Resizing Artecon's technical expertise was a key factor in SAIC's decision to partner with Artecon. "We selected Artecon on the basis of their technical ability, the quality of their marketing, and the strength of their strategic partnerships," said Jim Richardson, Assistant Vice President, SAIC. "We expect to leverage this relationship to significantly greater worldwide exposure for SAIC VUE in the Sun and IBM markets." "We are rolling SAIC VUE 3.0 out through both direct sales and our strategic partners, including Sun Federal, SunExpress, GTSI and our resellers in the United States, and our 50 international distributors." explained Mark Reifler, SAIC VUE Product Manager for Artecon. "SAIC VUE 3.0 is a 'shrinkwrap GUI' type of software product that lends itself well to this type of distribution." SAIC VUE is now shipping on SPARC Solaris 1.X as well as RS 6000 AIX 3.2.X. A Solaris 2.X version will be available June, 1993. A single user license of SAIC VUE including media and manuals is priced at $350. Right to use quantity pricing is also available, ranging from $280 per copy for 2-25 users to $175 per copy for 251-500 user environments. SAIC is a $1.5-billion, systems integration, software development, and high technology firm. SAIC puts open software products to work in heterogeneous environments. SAIC also provides X and Motif software application development services. Artecon is a leading UNIX systems integrator and manufacturer of value-added hardware and software products for Sun, HP, and IBM workstations. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: SIREN FAX DELIVERS SECURE, HIGH-VOLUME FAX SOLUTION From: morrison@siren.com (Jeff Morrison) Org: Siren Software Phone: 415-322-0600 Address: 750 Menlo Avenue Suite 200 Menllo Park, CA 94025 Contact: Diane McGary Niehaus Ryan Haller Public Relations 415-615-7911 e-mail: dmcgary@well.sf.ca.us Motif and Command-Line Interfaces Let Users Access Networked Fax Servers MENLO PARK, CA May 17, 1993 - Siren Software Corporation today announced Siren Fax, a comprehensive fax solution for UNIX systems that combines a networked fax server with both Motif and command-line client interfaces. Siren Fax combines unparalleled point-and-click power with mission-critical security, capacity, reliability and configurability. With a single user request, Siren Fax can send multiple documents to many fax numbers simultaneously. Its smart scheduler prioritizes jobs, takes advantage of discount phone rates, retries unsuccessful calls, restarts terminated calls, and manages fax modem loads. Siren Fax also maintains the confidentiality of incoming faxes and delivers them to users' desktop displays. In addition, its open architecture and configurability let organizations integrate Siren Fax easily with third-party products and internally developed applications. Powerful, Point-and-Click Fax Management ---------------------------------------- Siren Fax's Motif interface lets users send, receive, view, delete, print, distribute, save and show the status of faxes. Siren Fax also allows users to build business letters, memos, coversheets and other documents by clicking on buttons and entering text using its built-in editor. The Siren Fax phone book keeps track of system-wide and personal contact names, addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers and other information. In a few seconds, Siren Fax users can select names of recipients and build a list of documents to include in an outgoing fax. "Siren Fax's interface is far superior to other fax products I've evaluated," said Nick Weston, Systems Engineering Manager at a large workstation manufacturer. "You can assemble faxes quickly by choosing names from the phone book and double-clicking on the documents you want to send. And distributing faxes is just as easy. You just click on users' names and Siren Fax forwards the documents to them." Power and Reliability for Mission-Critical Applications ------------------------------------------------------- The Siren Fax Server offers unequaled throughput and reliability, making it ideal for mission-critical applications. For example, Siren Fax Servers are used by Wall Street firms to fax real-time trade confirmations from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, as well as to distribute equity analysis reports simultaneously to remote offices. Bruce Mitchell, president and CEO of Siren commented, "The fax market is littered with products that claim to support a network of users, but are really dead-ends that run out of steam after you add a few modems. By comparison, Siren Fax is an industrial-strength solution." Mitchell continued, "We have Siren Fax installations running 48 modems on machines as small as the Sun SPARCstation 1+. A Siren Fax Server of that size can transmit and receive over 4,000 pages per hour." High Security for Fax Documents ------------------------------- Siren Fax goes far beyond other fax offerings in protecting the confidentiality of fax documents. Siren Fax begins by placing all faxes in a secure directory where fax administrators can see only their coversheets. After an administrator forwards an incoming fax to its intended recipient, Siren Fax places security on the document so only that person can access it. Smart Scheduler Saves Time and Money ------------------------------------ The Siren Fax Server's smart job scheduler makes an organization's fax activities more efficient and can save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in fax phone bills. Customers can configure the Siren Fax scheduler to: o Take appropriate actions when Siren Fax detects that a remote fax machine is busy, unanswered or in an error state, o Restart interrupted or incomplete jobs, sending only their remaining pages, o Enforce system-wide time periods for various job-priority levels, o Prioritize fax jobs by size, number of calls, department or individual user, o Add special dialing codes and prefixes depending on the phone number specified, and o Defer calls to cost-effective long-distance toll periods based on job priority, area code or country code, or to a specific time requested by their senders. Support for Broadcasting to Multiple Remote Fax Machines -------------------------------------------------------- Siren Fax users can create a broadcast fax job that sends the same group of documents to a number of remote fax machines. Each phone call in a broadcast can have its own priority, reporting and confirmation options, and each call can be cancelled individually. Siren Fax's broadcast capability is particularly helpful for faxing on a repetitive basis to the same group of people, as well as for batching large, one-time fax requests. Configurability to Adapt to Specific Customer Needs --------------------------------------------------- Siren Fax provides a wealth of user-settable options that allow organizations to adapt Siren Fax to their specific needs. Administrators can specify dialing conventions, long-distance carriers, priority periods, security, modem management and other vital activities. In addition, Siren Fax provides a number of modifiable scripts that allow administrators to specify what actions they want Siren Fax to take when it finishes transmitting or receiving faxes. These scripts allow administrators to specify automatic printing, forwarding, notification and clean-up activities. With Siren Fax, administrators can specify system-wide coversheet templates and individuals can define their own as well. Every time Siren Fax makes a new phone call, it uses the templates to merge information provided by the sender with system-generated information to create a custom coversheet for that specific fax transmission attempt. Integration with E-Mail, Third-Party Products and Custom Applications --------------------------------------------------------------------- Siren Fax optionally sends e-mail messages to inform users and administrators when new faxes arrive, when queued faxes finish transmitting, and when fax requests terminate unsuccessfully. In addition, the Siren Fax Server includes a software gateway that allows users to fax e-mail messages from within their favorite e-mail programs to traveling users or to others who do not use e-mail. Siren Fax integrates easily with third-party products and internally developed applications. Most programs create text, PostScript, TIFF or other file formats that Siren Fax automatically converts to faxable TIFF/F format when users select the documents for transmission. In addition, Siren and third-party vendors provide scripts that enable users to send documents via Siren Fax from products such as FrameMaker, Applix, Uniplex, and others. Organizations can also use Siren Fax's command-line interface or its e-mail gateway to fax-enable internal applications such as sales, purchasing, invoicing, collections, financial reporting, legal, customer service and technical support systems. "Siren Fax's ability to integrate with our internal systems and electronic mail made it the obvious fax solution for our everyday plant and office operations," commented David Earley, MIS Manager at Intalco, the largest U.S. aluminum smelter. Earley continued, "Siren Fax documentation is excellent and has simplified our integration and customization efforts substantially." Comprehensive Management and Cost Controls ------------------------------------------ The Siren Fax Server optionally maintains complete, secured logs of all incoming and outgoing faxes. The logs enable organizations to track fax usage by several categories including user, department, cost center, account code and phone line. Administrators can also read the files to produce reports or post accounting transactions to charge cost centers or projects for their fax usage. Support for a Variety of Industry Standards ------------------------------------------- Siren Fax converts text, PostScript, TIFF and other files into TIFF/F fax format so users can send a variety of documents to more than 100 million fax machines throughout the world. In addition, Siren Fax works with open systems computing equipment and peripherals including a variety of UNIX hardware platforms, X terminals, ASCII terminals and Class 2 fax modems, as well as PostScript and HP LaserJet-compatible printers. Pricing, Support and Availability --------------------------------- Siren Fax is available immediately and runs on a variety of UNIX platforms including Sun SPARC, HP 9000, IBM RS 6000, Silicon Graphics, DG AViiON, Motorola 88K and SCO. Other ports will made available according to customer demand. A single-user license for Siren Fax is priced at $995 and includes the Motif and command-line interfaces and Siren Fax Server with support for several file formats including PostScript. In multi-user configurations, the Siren Fax Server is priced at $1,995 and includes a line license. The Siren Fax Motif user agent is priced at $149 per user or $695 for a one-user floating license. Siren Fax includes an administrator's guide, a user's guide, magnetic media, installation instructions, 30 days of phone support and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Siren offers technical support, upgrade and maintenance contracts as well as a premium support plan that includes firmware upgrades for fax modems. Customers can place orders or get additional information about Siren Fax by calling Siren at 800-45-SIREN or 415-322-0600, or by sending e-mail to info@siren.com. About Siren Software Corporation -------------------------------- Siren Software Corporation develops and markets open-systems messaging software that enables organizations to efficiently exchange and manage electronic information. Siren Software was founded in 1990 and is a privately held corporation headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Siren and Siren Fax are trademarks of Siren Software Corporation. Other companies mentioned own numerous registered trademarks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Sys Admin Magazine 1 Year Old From: Jeff Dickey-Chasins Newsgroups: comp.newprod email: sasub@rdpub.com phone: 913-841-1631 FAX: 913-841-2624 Address: 1601 W. 23rd St., Suite 200 Lawrence, KS 66046 Lawrence, KS: Sys Admin, the magazine for UNIX systems administrators, is one year old! The magazine, which appears bi-monthly, was launched May 1992 with an initial circulation of 5,000. The May/June 1993 issue will reach over 14,000 UNIX professionals. Sys Admin provides practical technical information for system administrators seeking to improve the performance or extend the capabilities of their system. Articles cover all major hardware platforms (include SUN, IBM, Intel & clones, H/P, and others) and all popular flavors of UNIX, such as System V, SUN OS, and SCO UNIX. Recent articles include: "A Form Letter Utility for UNIX" "Two Handy AIX Tools: The Failed Login Report and lptran" "Configuring UUCP" "maxtab: Automatic File Pruning" "Automatically Cleaning Temporary Directories" "Mail and Sendmail Administration" "UNIX Security in a Networked Environment" "The Filesystem Activity Monitor" "Setting Up a Printer's terminfo Definition" "sukill: Stopping Unruly Processes" Sys Admin is published by R&D Publications, publishers of The C Users Journal & Windows/DOS Developer's Journal. Please direct all information, author, and subscription queries to address above. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: CMS, the practical solution for Product Information Management (PIM) From: eric@workgroup.com (Eric Sall) Org: Workgroup Technology Corporation Contact: Theresa Delfino Address: 81 Hartwell Avenue Lexington, MA 02173 Phone: (617) 674-7655 Fax: (617) 674-0034 Email: tdelfino@workgroup.com Have you ever used the wrong version of a CAD drawing in production? Do you spend too much time searching for information and not enough time using it? Have you been searching for a successful solution to managing complex Pro/ENGINEER files? If you answered YES to any of these questions, Workgroup Technology has the solution you need: CMS, the practical solution for Product Information Management (PIM). Whether you manufacture products or provide services, successful Product Information Management can substantially decrease your product development time and improve your time to market. In fact, payback for CMS and CMS/Workflow software has consistently averaged between four and six months. This fast payback results from CMS being easy to install and use, with a low consulting component relative to the competition. CMS controls all of the documentation (CAD files, technical publications, images, spreadsheets, product structures, etc.) related to the development and manufacturing of products, regardless of the information's original source. CMS is used for mission critical applications such as engineering change control, product modeling, ISO 9000 regulatory compliance and on-line file access for remote locations. CMS/Pro is Workgroup Technology's newest add-on module. CMS/Pro provides Pro/ENGINEER users with a comprehensive data management system directly from the Pro/ENGINEER environment. With CMS/Pro, Pro/ENGINEER users can be sure that designers, approvers and viewers always find the right version of files and configurations to perform the tasks at hand, while also ensuring that all designs are protected from unauthorized access or modification. And, through CMS, Pro/ENGINEER designs can be associated with related information generated by other applications. CMS is currently available on Sun workstations with OpenLook, and will shortly be available with Motif on Sun, HP and IBM platforms. CMS Modules Include: CMS/Core, a comprehensive networked PIM software package; CMS/Workflow, to automate processes for faster throughput; CMS/Pro, enabling Pro/ENGINEER users to access CMS directly from the Pro/ENGINEER environment; CMS/Viewer Interface, to recognize file types and launch associated viewers; CMS/API, for C language programmatic access to CMS functions. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For information send mail to info-sunflash@Sun.COM. Subscription requests should be sent to sunflash-request@Sun.COM. Archives are on solar.nova.edu, ftp.uu.net, sunsite.unc.edu, src.doc.ic.ac.uk and ftp.adelaide.edu.au All prices, availability, and other statements relating to Sun or third party products are valid in the U.S. only. Please contact your local Sales Representative for details of pricing and product availability in your region. Descriptions of, or references to products or publications within SunFlash does not imply an endorsement of that product or publication by Sun Microsystems. Send brief articles (e.g. third party announcements) and include contact information (non-800#, fax #, email, etc) to: John McLaughlin, SunFlash editor, flash@Sun.COM. +1 305 351 4909