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Founded with more than $14 million in venture capital in 1982, Xyvision, Inc., was one of four pioneers in wysiwyg page composition and batch pagination of long documents early in […]

Nearly anyone who works in an operation in service to publishing and printing will agree that the last few years have been a period of massive change in the prepress […]

In our in-depth look at PageMaker this month, we examine how well PageMaker handles a variety of page makeup tasks. But PageMaker by itself is not a complete editorial/production solution […]

CD-ROM PUBLISHING has received a lot of attention recently, including two articles in The Seybold Report on Desktop Publishing. In one (Vol. 6, No. 12), we discussed how print publishers […]

ON OUR WAY BACK from the IFRA show in Geneva, we stopped in Brazil to see the Brazilian newspaper Estado de Minas, located in Belo Horizonte, an hour north of […]

SGML Editors, Document Management and Production, Structured Graphics THERE IS A TREMENDOUS amount of change happening among vendors that supply the in-plant market with computer tools for creating and producing […]

It has been more than a year since we published an article devoted to the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) in December 1990. At that time, we noted that although […]

A FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE in book production technology appears to be starting: the change to printing books electronically from computer files. For now, this change is limited to a few very […]

LAST YEAR, prior to our newspaper tutorial in the Boston area, we did a case study of a few medium-sized dailies--papers that were on the leading edge of technology. This […]

Visit to a North Atlantic User THE PREDEDING STORY may sound great in thory, but how does it work in practice? We always try to visit a customer site to […]

Anaya Systems and El Sol: Innovation in a Spanish Newspaper THE IMPACT OF desktop publishing tools on the newspaper market continues to escalate. Among the signs pointing in this direction […]

Diwan and Broadcast Printing: Arabic Papers for 10 Cities IN OUR CONTINUING SEARCH for interesting applications of new technology, we recently came across a system integrator that is tackling many […]

Imagine being a major European newspaper publisher that for years has been Planning to move into full newspaper pagination with the incorporation of full color. You have been through a […]

Companies are discovering that multimedia technology can improve efficiency and help businesses expand off-site operations, including manufacturing and production. Lucas Digital Ltd uses multimedia to create special movie effects and sends the images to film production crews in distant locales. Caterpillar Inc is employing virtual reality techniques to design backhoes and other heavy equipment. Eastman Kodak Co has reduced staffing and production time by connecting its engineers and designers on a network. Boeing is using Catia CAD software from Dassault Aviation SA to model and design complex aircraft more efficiently. Silicon Graphics Inc's 4,000 employees can send multimedia missives to each other over an interactive, fiber-optic network. Boeing Co engineers use multimedia presentations to teach co-workers.

Software vendors and business officials disagree on the effects of computer gaming in the workplace. Some studies suggest computer games cost US businesses between $750 million and $10 billion annually in lost worker productivity. Companies such as Sears and Intel have removed all computer games from corporate networks. Software vendors, however, argue that games can be useful tools in corporate settings. They report that games teach novice users how to use pointing devices and relieve stress in the workplace. Government agencies and telecommunications companies are using computer game technology to teach valuable job skills. The Department of Justice is employing a game to teach department workers about new Federal Ethics Regulations. Regional Bell companies Nynex and Pacific Telesis are using games that simulate the complexities of the telecommunications sector including intricate compliance standards.

Many companies have invested large sums on voice mail systems only to discover that their employees are not using all the advanced features of such systems. Industry analysts report that the typical corporate voice mail system costs between $10,000 and $300,000. In addition to routine message recording functions, such systems can be used to broadcast standard messages to a pre-set group of workers, forward messages to other recipients or annotate messages that require further distribution. Some systems even allow users to to have faxes forwarded to other locations. Unfortunately, employees are often not trained on how to use these voice mail features. Some companies such as American Cyanamid are launching extensive training programs to show workers how voice mail technology can be used to boost productivity levels and improve customer satisfaction.

IBM's HelpCenter located in Research Triangle Park, NC, processes calls from approximately 8,000 confused IBM microcomputer users a day. The center's staffers help users resolve problems with their IBM PC hardware and software and even provide social support for lonely people who call the center at odd hours. One worker goes so far as to describe the job as part technician, part psychologist. A large portion of the callers are not novice users. Often callers use PCs at work, but have yet to master core functions. HelpCenter workers believe that many of these users could resolve their problems independently had they been given adequate computer training in the workplace. HelpCenter first began in 1992 and was part of a company effort to become more responsive to customer needs. In 1993, more phone lines and technical support were added to the center to ensure that calls were quickly processed. In 1994, callers spend an average of 30 seconds on hold before they reached a center staffer.

DataTec Industries grew from nine employees and $500,000 in revenue in 1976 to 300 employees and $31 million in revenue in 1991 and greatly overtaxed its corporate computer system in the process. The company provides equipment and services to retailers to connect electronic cash registers and coupon machines. Ironically, while providing technical advice to customers, the company itself was using outdated systems and technologies to process billing and invoicing data. After losing a major account due to repeated billing errors, DataTec Pres Christopher Carey decided to overhaul the company's data processing system. The new $1 million system will feature an IBM AS/400 minicomputer linked with LANs in each of DataTec's eight field offices. The company hopes to decrease job-costing and inventory time with the new system and expects to exceed $60 million in revenue in 1995.

The Currier household of Anaheim, CA, is one of many families that are increasingly using interactive computer technology. This family is following a path that will be taken by countless others as multimedia and related offerings become ubiquitous in the coming years. Mr. Currier, 45, first became interested in computers in the mid-1980s, and joined a users group. His first system is now in his 13-year-old son's bedroom, while he uses a newer Intel 80486-based microcomputer with a CD-ROM drive. The $280 drive allows the family to run all types of educational multimedia software, such as an electronic encyclopedia. Colleen, the Curriers' 15-year-old daughter, frequently calls electronic bulletin board services to talk with friends over the terminal, and has become much more interested in computers. The family spends about $500 per year on software.