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Bar codes are starting to be used in the office environment to automate clerical tasks. Bar coding documents helps keep track of them. Every time a document changes hands, it gets wanded, thereby updating its location. Bar codes can be put on with a dot-matrix printer and read by machines costing as little as $600 per site. A bar code system is now used by the American Legion. Workers simply wave a light pen over a document's bar code instead of keying in an eight-digit number. The Legion expects to encode and scan over 830,000 of the 4.5 million member registration forms it will process in 1990., Bar codes offer office automation benefits; help users track data NEW YORK--Bar codes, denizens of supermarkets shelves for more than a decade, are starting to thrive in office environments. New [...]

Personnel privacy poses problems for MIS CAMBRIDGE, MASS.--MIS professionals who do not properly protect the privacy of employees' personal data should be fired. At the very least, information systems managers […]

Planning ahead, persistence key to negotiating with vendors NEW YORK--Circle the wagons! You just put out the request-for-proposals (RFP) for the new network. The vendors have picked up the scent. […]

Wireless networks have advantages and disadvantages. The main reason for using wireless networks is the absence of the wires themselves. Vendors claim that there is no loss of performance. O'Neill Communications Inc manufacturers LAWN, a radio transceiver for workstations. The product is a local area wireless network that provides low-end networking capabilities for a limited number of users without using wires. However, radio operates at speeds below 20K-bps, making radio incompatible with most LANs. Some networking consultants consider wireless networks inappropriate for outdoor applications exposed to inclement environmental conditions., Wireless networks connect at the end of the line NEW YORK--The first question that comes to mind when you contemplate wireless networks is, why? Wiring solutions run the gamut from [...]

Communications Management Information Protocol (CMIP) promises to allow network managers to assume more control over their networks. CMIP is the transfer mechanism for the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) networking scheme, defined by the International Standards Organization (ISO). The greatest challenge to CMIP's greater functionality is the almost universal support of the already installed Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). SNMP's drawbacks center around its lack of security, inconsistent quality of documentation, and its ability to be modified into nonstandard configurations. Industry support for it continues to grow, despite this., CMIP: the next phase in network protocols, eventually NEW YORK--At first glance, CMIP (Communications Management Information Protocol) and SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) appear quite similar. Both provide a standard [...]

SNMP eliminates the need for network management gurus NEW YORK--SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) has changed network management from a guru-centric operation to an automated, software-driven MIS function. Before development […]

Kemper uncovers network performance information in Tariff 12 CHICAGO--While virtual tariffs, like AT&T's Virtual Telecommunication Network Service (VTNS), popularly known as Tariff 12, provide large users with the option of […]

Decentralization trend mirrors societal changes CHICAGO--Managers who are resisting the decentralization of MIS authority should consider the idea that aligning MIS with users is an extension of the larger sociological […]

Integrating multimedia challenges developers, users NEW YORK--What is now called "multimedia" is one more aspect of the historical problem of integrating one application with another. According to Daniel Gross, chairman […]

United Technologies puts insurance costs on-line HARTFORD, CONN.--United Technologies Corp. had a lot of valuable information it could not use. Locked away in volumes of books were claims data and […]

Managers find multimedia useful training tool NEW YORK--Managers are discovering the hidden talents of multimedia as a corporate training tool. The integration of print, sound, graphics and motion into a […]

'Centers of competence' can keep MIS informed NEW YORK--Among the new demands on MIS professionals as they are increasingly looked to as the matchmakers of a company's strategic goals and […]

East German telecom needs major overhaul NEW YORK--When the conservative Christian Democrats unexpectedly won th first free elections in East Germany last week, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl might have […]

Veterans Department gets major system overhaul WASHINGTON--The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs operates the largest health network in the world. Yet the information system that manages logistics for the 172 […]

Financial community getting micro power NEW YORK--Purveyors of information and information systems to the financial community are breathing new life into their products with microcomputer power. Traditionally host-based vendors are […]

Thorough cost analysis can help tame budget beast NEW YORK--Although overall increases in MIS budgets are slowing somewhat, budget allocations for data and telecommunications continue to rise, prompting a reevaluation […]

CASE, 4GLs define new programming environment NEW YORK--As computer-aided software engineering and fourth-generation programming languages become more widely used in applications development, the distinction between them is likely to blur, […]

As National Westminster grows, its network grows up MELVILLE, N.Y.--The business of banking requires its strategies to create new banking products all the time. Data communications are the conduits of […]

Bridging FDDI: two options NEW YORK--MIS managers who are attracted to the high-band-width of fiber but want to protect their investment in existing networks can turn to FDDI bridges for […]

Venture capital outlays can guide buying plans NEW YORK--Managers who wish to avoid sinking money into sinking technologies can find help from an unexpected quarter. Tracking investment dollars can reveal […]

Dispersed data processing facilities can be a problem for MIS managers who are responsible for the costs associated with downtime. Distributed facilities management is necessary for distributed computer processing. Between 1980 and 1990 computer downtime incurred through facilities mismanagement grew from 3 percent of total processing downtime to 28 percent of total processing downtime, according to Computersite Engineering in Cambridge, MA. Increased power outages associated with summer temperatures and the use of air conditioners compound the MIS managers' problem of too much downtime, especially in situations where essential services such as water and power are handled by disinterested parties. Written service-level agreements that specify required power levels can help the situation., MIS must play bigger role in facilities management NEW YORK--The distribution of computer processing throughout an organization requires a corresponding distribution of facilities management, and MIS managers are accountable for [...]

Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) requires a high level of experience among those who attempt to put together the fragmented elements of the standard. An FDDI bridge or routing device is necessary in order to integrate FDDI into an existing network. The preferred bridging solution is a protocol-independent method of re-addressing data for FDDI. Another method, encapsulation, tends to be faster; translating bridges permits more open networks. An optimum bridging solution will not be available until the Station Management (SMT) layer of the FDDI standard is decided by the IEEE SMT committee. Delay of SMT is cited as the reason why the emergence of a coherent FDDI network management strategy has not been formulated. Sun Microsystems presently incorporates FDDI components into attachments for CAD/CAM workstations., Fitting the pieces of the FDDI puzzle NEW YORK--The 100-Mbit FDDI fiber optic data ring is the successor-designate to 10-Mbyte and 16-Mbyte coaxial cable networks, but, while the pieces of [...]

StarWAN Brouter 450, from AT and T, is the company's high end Information System Network (ISN) FDDI networking device. The Brouter is designed to connect 802.3 Ethernet LANs with 100M-bps fiber optic cable. The price for the Model 450 base unit is $15,250. Model 450 can route all standard communications protocols and their routing and applications protocols. StarWAN Brouter 200 is a similar device designed for smaller sites. It supports a single Ethernet port and has features similar to the 450. Base price for the Model 200 is $5,000; a LAN/WAN connection module can cost up to $4,700. AT and T also introduces the StarWAN Multi-bridge priced at $4,000 for the base unit, $5,750 for an Ethernet access unit and $11,500 for an FDDI attachment., AT&T debuts wide-ranging series of FDDI networking devices PHILADELPHIA--AT&T widened the FDDI options available to users last week as it introduced a series of Ethernet-to-FDDI networking devices. AT&T chose the [...]

Some states are looking at the information services industry as a possible new source of tax revenue. Most states already collect taxes on packaged software through state sales taxes. The Massachusetts legislature is debating whether or not to tax software development and computer maintenance and repair. Data processing groups, such as ADAPSO, are lobbying hard against the tax. An Alabama state court lifted the taxes on all computer-related services, but the state of Washington imposed a tax on most software and data processing services. The line between packaged and custom-designed software is blurring as states look for more sources of income., Computer services becoming a favorite tax target NEW YORK--Cash-strapped state governments are increasingly looking to the booming information services industry as a new source of tax revenue to help fill [...]

NASA awarded two contracts in late May 1990 for studying the feasibility of launching unmanned, free-flying satellite service stations. The contracts for the Satellite Servicer System (SSS) were won by TRW Inc's Space & Technology Group and Martin Marietta Corp's Space Systems division. The SSS workhorse will be TRW's 19,000-lb Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV). One of the main objectives of the program is to perfect automated docking procedures., NASA planning free-flying service stations HOUSTON--It is generally a good idea to check out the infrastructure of a place before doing business there. One must make sure that communications facilities, [...]

New York State to tax sales of customized software ALBANY, N.Y.--Customized software, systems integration and management consulting will soon be taxable in New York state, increasing the cost of those […]

Computers for the high frontier NEW YORK--Space is not a computer-friendly environment. It's either too hot or too cold. There's hard-core radiation. And when something breaks down, it's probably too […]

Photonics ligts the way with wireless LANs CAMPBELL, CALIF.--The idea of using infrared light instead of cabling to hook up a local area network might sound absurd, or at least […]

Frye offering alternative to NetWare utilities BOSTON--The Frye Utilities for Network Management is designed to pick up where Novell's inherent NetWare utilities leave off. According to users familiar with the […]

Univac-to-IBM connectivity an issue with government data processing NEW YORK--At a time when some forward-looking thinkers are trying to solve the networking problems of the next millennium, others are addressing […]

Winter Partners software helps foreign banks integrate services, operate U.S. facilities NEW YORK--International banking covers a broad range of banking functions. Ever-expanding networks and round-the-clock trading are turning formerly local […]

Tron computing architecture is just like starting over TOKYO--The videocassette recorder is undoubtedly the most complicated piece of household equipment most laymen have yet come in contact with. First-time users […]

NTT building American outsourcing facility JERSEY CITY, N.J.--Hoping to capture a share of the current movement to outsourcing, NTT Data Communications Systems Corp., the Tokyo-based datacom subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph […]

AT&T boosts Tuxedo for networks MORRISTOWN, N.J.--AT&T's Unix Software Operation has upgraded its OLTP (on-line transaction processing) software for Unix System V to work more effectively in a distributed environment. […]

NASA network plundered for a decade WASHINGTON--A NASA network for vital scientific information has been repeatedly violated by unauthorized users, according to a report released earlier this month by the […]

Neural networks will learn on the job NEW YORK--Designers of neural networks are attempting to reverse engineer natural brains or at least be inspired by their structure. The belief is […]

Disasters of '90s will need network recovery NEW YORK--Disasters promise to create greater networking headaches in the '90s than they have in the '80s and will require more spectacular recovery […]

Companies must decide when decentralization is important NEW YORK--The arguments in favor of decentralization are oft-repeated: It moves processing closer to the business, it puts responsibility in the hands of […]

D&B picks up MSA NEW YORK--Dun & Bradstreet Corp. (D&B) will create a $425 million company commanding 70 to 75 percent of the mainframe finance and accounting software market as […]

TCP/IP remains in Unix future NEW YORK--Though few argue that Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) protocol under development by the International Standards Organization will eventually prevail, TCP/IP, with all of its […]

Meteors make uncommon carriers NEW YORK--"Look to the sky." The slogan of Meteor Communications Corp. of Kent, Wash., is not a warning against squid-faced alien fiends. It calls attention to […]

Terminal servers challenge PC LANs, each other NEW YORK--Functionality is beginning to creep up on terminal servers. Although the intelligent workstation is the prince of local area networks, not everybody […]

Upgrades promised for AT&T's ISN NEW YORK--The advent of AT&T's Datakit II virtual circuit switch for enterprise wide area networking threatened to displace the campus-oriented ISN local area network. It […]

Business strategies misaligned with MIS resources NEW YORK--Gaps persist between corporate management's perceptions of the alignment of MIS resources with the company business plan and MIS's view of the situation, […]

Future of open systems depends on ability to solve problems SAN FRANCISCO--At the Open Systems Initiative conference held here earlier this month, users, vendors, consultants and standards organizations met to […]

Check-processing system touted as the future of banking PLYMOUTH, MICH.--Unisys Corp., in a major statement of its commitment to image processing, will unveil an image-based check-processing system for large banks […]

How to avoid the classic blunders of networking NEW YORK--Fans of Rob Reiner movies might surmise that getting involved in a land war in Asia is one of the Classic […]

At Interop 89, OSI beckons; TCP/IP reigns SAN JOSE, CALIF.--Vendors paid homage to the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) protocol, but TCP/IP was the here-and-now standard for many companies debuting products […]

AS/400 lacks software for networking NEW YORK--IBM Corp.'s AS/400 has tremendous networking potential, but its relatively young age has meant a lack of the networking software that is in abundance […]

Integrators chafe under FTS bypass WASHINGTON--As the federal government prepares to turn up the first services available under FTS 2000, the 10-year, multibillion-dollar telecom/datacom services contract, there is one group […]