Conference 7.286::digital

    ...and they even mentioned Alpha several times (rather favorably)
    during the technical part of the broadcast. Sequent was mentioned (they
    showed a Sequent roadshow truck) but only once...

    I saw it too. Is this really possible ? If this really works
    it's a very clever way, since no extra hw is needed, except the
    super special clock. 
    
    I wonder when this clock will be available on the market and at what
    price ?  It should be nice to have the API for the clock. Imagine the
    fun things that could be done with peoples watches !!!
    
    
    /KB

    .1
    
    Many nice things for Digital and Alpha. For example when demonstrated
    Microsoft Word, they said they run it native on Digitals risc
    microprocessor Alpha. They even had a VAX running RDB on stage.
    
    /KB 

    re .0:
    
    I assume that's a Timex "Digital" watch. If we (apparently) can't make
    "Digital" a household word, maybe Bill will do it for us.

    I wonder if the watch Bill displayed was a ...digital watch?  We've
    come full circle!

    I don't understand what .0 is trying to say. I guess you had to be there.
    
      John

    re .6: I don't think he was there, he just watched it on the TV, like
    I did.
    
    Bill Gates demoed how they could download s acshedule (from Micrososft
    Schedule+, I assume) to a Timex digital (!) watch without additional
    hardware on the PC, by running some software which flashes (as .0 said)
    patterns somewhat resembling barcodes on the PC screen. the watch
    (which apparently has a photocell or some such) 'reads' the data and
    stores it.
    
    BTW, the Microsoft DevCast is broadcast on the Astra satellite in
    Europe. Several million homes in Europe have an Astra satellite dish (a
    60cm / 2 foot dish is sufficient in most of Europe).

    Does the watch show you the time as well ???
    Wooow!!! :-)
    
    Ronald

    	Having seen nothing at all, I would be inclined to assume that the
    watch was an authentication device that permitted the host to recognise
    Bill as someone who was permitted to read his schedule. After that the
    host and PC hardware and software would have seen to all the other
    details. Similar function to the chip on my Visa card, except that it
    was an optical rather than electrical connection.

I'm still trying to figure this out, being no technodweeb.

Do you mean that the wristwatch had some sort of means of "reading" barcodes
and using the input for storage in an onboard (onwatch?) scheduler which
can then be accessed at will by the wearer through some sort of button
interface?

How is one expected to normally "download" said watch if one hasn't the
fancy peecee? Seems like a somewhat limited interface.

-Jack

    Still does not make any sense to me:
    
    Why would I download my watch to give me an alarm for the next meeting.
    Is there something wrong with an agenda and pencil (or printout of your
    PIM) and a watch with an optional alarm? Why would I automate things
    like this? I cannot see any advantage, nor can I see solutions for
    different things based on this technology.
    But out of the technological point of view: yes, nice gadget.
    
    Ronald
    

    They didn't go into too much detail, so I may be guessing.
    
    The interface is one-way only, of course, so you must first log into
    your scheduler to be able to download the stuff.
    
    And no fancy PC needed, though I suspect how well it works depends on
    the display etc.
    
    And yes, I think the watch shows the time too... in fact they said you
    can set alarms for meetings etc.

    	Think of the watch as a slightly smaller than usual remote TV
    control with a light detector and a small amount of electronics and
    computing power. Some watches have silicon cells to recharge their
    batteries, and the remote TV control is only as large as it is to allow
    for fumble-fingered human beings.
    
    	The host machine sends a challenge "who are you" to the PC, which
    transparently transmits this as a flicker on the screen. The photocel
    on the watch sees this challenge, and uses its TV control transmitter
    to reply "I am Bill Gates' watch". The PC has a receiver, just like
    must TVs which can detect this, and sends it back to the host. The host
    can now assume that Bill Gates is standing in front of the PC at that
    moment, and can therefore send to the PC any information Bill Gates is
    allowed to access. It is an alternative to a password. If they have
    correctly used encryption technology in the challenge and response it
    could be much more secure than a password.

    >And yes, I think the watch shows the time too... in fact they said you   
    >can set alarms for meetings etc.
    
    A watch is to look at, an alarm triggers you for.... yeah, for what??
    There is a difference.
    
    Then again, I do not believe in such a system. If you look on your
    watch it tells you time (provided that you understand reading a watch)
    and you can anticipate on it. You do not start a BIG discussion 5
    minutes before the meeting ends (at least I don't). To me it would
    sound quite stupid if anyones alarm goes, the person stands up, and
    says he has to go to another meeting. It sounds more reasonable when he
    says he (or she of course) has another 10 minutes before leaving the
    meeting.
    BTW I have never met a person who can tell how long 10 minutes is
    without a watch. 10 minutes however could be from one BEEP to another
    BEEP.
    
    Ronald

re:      <<< Note 3191.13 by PASTIS::MONAHAN "humanity is a trojan horse" >>>

That isn't the sense I got from .0. It sounded like the PC was downloading
to the watch, not a host downloading to the PC. Note that .0 says he scanned
his Timex agenda, not on the PC. Also, what would be the point of the
bar codes on the screen if the download is to the peecee? It doesn't need
to "challenge" the watch - it could simply passively wait for the watch
to "identify" (makes for a much simpler watch if it only needs to communicate
in oine direction).

So I'm still confused. Who knows the real answer?

-Jack

    Yesterday I penciled in an entry into my day-timer for an appointment
    I have on the 23rd.    On the 23rd I will open up the day-timer and
    look at my appointments.   
    
    Probably for a whole lot less money...  
    
    And get this - my system works fine...

    I saw the demo and laughed at the whole thing.  

    They were demoing some new Microsoft product that included a group wide
    scheduler.  An option was for an individual to load their schedule to a
    special Timex watch.  When they said this I thought maybe via a wire or
    even better a wireless method.  But no, the way you do this is to hold the 
    watch in front of the screen while it was displaying some pattern of
    lines. It took about 20 seconds to load what they said was one days
    schedule.  When Gates first put his wrist in front of the screen the
    host of the demo had to tell the people in the audience who were
    laughing that this was for real.  Once he loaded the watch, Gates scrolled 
    through his schedule, although you couldn't read anything.  They also
    said that you could set alarms.

    -Bruce 

re:.12

>    And no fancy PC needed

They're all "fancy" when you haven't any, Ora. :^)

-Jack

    I think quite a few people have learnt not to laugh at gates.

	   Timex to offer watch with Microsoft<MSFT.O>program

RTf  6/21/94 12:11 PM 

    SEATTLE, June 21 (Reuter) - Timex Corp said it plans to launch a
    wristwatch that can download calendar  information  from  a  new
    Microsoft Corp personal computer program.

    Middlebury,  Conn.-based  Timex  said  the  Data Link wristwatch
    would go on sale at computer stores in the fall for a  suggested
    retail price of about $130.

    Microsoft chairman Bill Gates demonstrated the product here at a
    company event.

    Scheduling information from the software system is sent directly
    into  the wristwatch through a barcode system, when the watch is
    held up to the computer screen. Privately-held  Timex  said  the
    watch  would  work  exclusively  with  Microsoft's Schedule Plus
    software system.

    By pushing buttons on the wristwatch a wearer will  be  able  to
    scroll  through  the calendar information. The watch is the same
    size as a typical sports wristwatch and looks like  an  ordinary
    digital watch.

 REUTER

    Just to confuse everyone with facts, there was _no_ feedback from the
    watch to the PC, i.e. no special hardware (like an infrared receiver)
    required. As I said, to download the schedule, you must be able to log
    into the PC as Bill Gates (or with enough privileges) to start the
    download (assuming it's Bill Gates' schedule you want in your watch).
    
    Maybe they have an option of downloading data from your old-fashioned
    paper organizer, if you can draw bar codes manually... :-)
    
    Surely, the utility of this gadget may be questioned (I for one
    wouldn't buy one). Anyway, it was presented more as a gag than a
    serious alternative (I think it might be called a technoloy
    demonstration at DEC).
    
    And FWIW, and what is probably more important, the scheduler can print
    output in the format that fits most of those (paper) time managers.

For those of you going "Who would *ever* want something like that???"

Me.

I guess I qualify as a techno-dweeb :-)

Most of my work requires me to sit in my office or run around (often
electronically) consulting with other people.  Very occasionally I have
meetings.  I have a paper&pencil calendar for my few meetings.  I can
easily get so involved in my work that I completely lose track of time.
I really wish my paper & pencil system would beep me.  

I like DECwindows calendar because it has an alarm.  But it's not too
portable and I don't always have it with me.  I also now have 2 calendar
systems -- my notebook which is portable, and my workstation which beeps
but isn't portable.

Call me "chronologically challenged"....

    It sounds kinda nice to me too.  As -1 says, I often find myself
    talking on the phone to a customer or so involved in a project that an
    alarm feature is nice.  I have one on my PC scheduler (ACT!), but it's
    only good when I'm near the PC and its turned on.
    
    The only problem I have with the watch is that I don't aesthetically
    like plastic digital Timex watches.  ;(
    
    ..Larry

    If I had a bank account like Gates, I wouldn't mind people laughing at
    me.
    
    I remember many traditionally hdw companies laugh at Gates just a few
    years ago when he launched MS Dos.  Well, the rest is history.  I
    imagine Gates is really laffing at those since he must realize that
    only the jealous deride him.

    I saw that part of the DevCast, and it was the punchline to a product
    preview, not a stand-alone gimmick.
    
    The product is a part of Microsoft Exchange, originally named EMS, 
    Enterprise Mail Server.  This part is the scheduler, and EMS has a much
    wider scope.  EMS is a product that is a superset of Lotus Notes. 
    Think of mail-enabling anything you do...We're porting it to Alpha NT.
    
    It's a client-server app, and the PC on your desk is the client.  You call 
    up your schedule, and when you choose to output to the Timex choice (it is
    said to support 1500 output formats, like Daytimer, FiloFax, etc.) 
    Then it generates the barcode information that the Timex watch reads.
    
    My reaction to a few of the notes here is that one reason that Digital
    has fallen on our hard times is our lack of vision.  Sure, downloading
    to your watch is sort of a gimmick.  But, the vision of EMS is not.  It
    should eat Lotus' lunch, and could have a huge impact on the industry. 
    All from having a vision of how people do work, and how technology can
    enable that work.  Sure, MS is handicapped by its PC orientation, but
    they are learning fast about enterprise systems.  What they have going
    for them is the vision, and the optimism to try to execute on that
    vision.  
    
    Where's ours???  Too often, we've fallen into the Luddite pattern -
    it'll never work, who wants it?  The stock market shows that it's a
    powerful thing, to have a vision, and then to unify a company to
    execute on the vision.
    
    Just my opinion.
    
    Don Randall

��                    <<< Note 3191.16 by CSC32::C_BENNETT >>>
��                      -< johnny quest would be proud... >-

��    Yesterday I penciled in an entry into my day-timer for an appointment
��    I have on the 23rd.    On the 23rd I will open up the day-timer and
��    look at my appointments.   
��    
��    Probably for a whole lot less money...  
��    
��    And get this - my system works fine...

    Wow, you have a pencil?!?!?  Here, we just scratch on the
    side of our cave with a stone.

    We'd probably be jealous of all the money Bill Gates has made
    selling people things they don't need, but we don't
    understand the concept of money.

    re: .-all
    
    			"Gates has it Now!"
    
    What??? jealous???

What a 'neato' father's day gift that watch would make!~ 

I agree with .25 completely.  Neat gadgets DO sell.  It won't really matter 
how many if this is only a tiny part of the whole package...it's just one 
more accessory to those that have to collect every little option...

I liked the idea.

Sherrin

    Instead of a VAX in a Watch is this
    
    ALPHA Watch

I hope it can do more than calendar stuff. For me to buy it would have to
do downloads (and watch support) of standard fare such as phone numbers,
credit card numbers, etc.

Lee

re: .16, others

>    Yesterday I penciled in an entry into my day-timer for an appointment
>    I have on the 23rd.    On the 23rd I will open up the day-timer and
>    look at my appointments.   
>    
>    Probably for a whole lot less money...  
>    
>    And get this - my system works fine...

No doubt, that's similar to what average people said around the turn 
of the century, when they saw their first horseless carriage.  

I use a Sharp YO-610 for recording my appointments.  I got it at a great
price, so it will have paid for itself (compared to DayTimer brand 
calendars) in about five years, which is reasonable; there are certainly
cheaper models that will pay for themselves in a year or two, even
compared against paper calendars.

The system isn't perfect, yet, but it will be.  Such experimentation with
innovation is necessary to perfect a product.  Even today, it has some
superior features: the ability to set multiple alarms (which I use, whether
or not you find useful), the ability to search for data (How long ago did
we have that meeting?  How can I find a phone number if I only remember
a person's job, and not their name?), the ability, at a glance, to see
what my schedule is like for an entire year, the ability to record 
birthdays and anniversaries without having to copy them into new calandars
every January.  If I wanted to (and I probably will, at some point), I
could upload my data and have the computer calculate how much time I 
spent in meetings with respect to a specific project.  

Look, it's easier, cheaper, and more reliable to do dishes by hand
than to use a dishwasher.  If that's your preference, fine; if it's
your mentality, don't expect to be successful in those segments of our
industry that thrive on innovation -- and sooner or later, that means
all segments.

  Gary

A technology question -

   For those of you who have the portable schedulers (Timex or otherwise,
   but not onboard a multi-purpose PC) -

     What happens to the database when the batteries die or are replaced?

     I assume there's no AC converter option to keep the RAM intact. I
   know my multibrand remotes always need to be "reminded" what they are
   after a battery change.

-Jack

Well, I use a Casio data bank watch and an old Psion II organizer.
The watch does forget everything when the batteries die (about 1.5-2 years)
but it only stores 50 schedule entries and phone numbers, total.
The Psion gives two minutes to change batteries, or you can back up contents
into RAM pack (with its own battery) or EPROM pack beforehand. (It warns you
when the batteries are low; the two minutes is from removing the old one.)

I assume the better schedulers have some form of backup or otherwise give you
time to change batteries. The cheap ones don't.

I'd like to get a Psion series 3 but they are expensive (the ones I've seen run
$450; there is a cheaper model around $250, but I haven't seen it in stores. And
that is still more than I want to pay.)

    NVRAM, memory cards, backup battery that holds memory until new
    batteries are replaced. My remote control has that feature. A litte
    capacitor that holds the remote's programming while I pop the cover,
    remove the batteries and put in fresh ones. (You get a little 'bat low'
    icon on the LCD display).
    
    FOr a watch situation, I'd just d/l a fresh DB from my PC.
    
    --- Gavin

    I use a NEWTON and it has two sets of batteries - One for normal usage
    and one for battery backup.  It is designed so that you only remove one
    set of batteries at a time.  Of course, if you do remove both sets then
    everything is erased.

    With all these neat computer based aids around to help make people more
    productive, why have studies shown that productivity of the average
    office work gone down over the last few years?
    
    A serious question - dealing with the way we work.
    
    Any thoughts?
    
    rww

    
    	:-1
    
    	That's what everybody's been saying - we don't have the Bill's
    neat new watch.
    
    		the Greyhawk

    
    I thought American productivity was up?  Is that only in manufacturing?

re: .36

>    why have studies shown that productivity of the average
>    office work gone down over the last few years?

Maybe they did the studies at DIGITAL?
:^)
-Jack

    well... it only cost me $38 about four years ago... and the one I had
    before that cost $35 (inflation, I guess)...
    
    But, I have a Casio Data Bank digital watch which has enuf memory to
    program in 50 different "calendar events" ... on the set date/time the
    watch will beep me and display a small reminder of the event.
    
    by the way, it also contains the names and telephone numbers of up to
    50 folks... I'd be lost without it.1
    
    
    tony

    re: .36
    
    When I got my first word processor several years ago, my productivity
    in my personal writing (fiction) plummeted.  And I've seen it happen
    to several other writers since.  They've got this really neat tool that
    lets them rewrite sentences, blow away entire paragraphs, and undo
    mistakes to their hearts' content, and still come out with perfect
    final pages.  
    
    What seems to happen a lot is because they know mistakes are so easy to
    fix, they don't think about what they're going to write as much as they
    used to.  They just sit down, so it takes longer to get started.  Then
    they spend more time revising, they spend time diddling the format and
    playing with the fonts, they spend time just trying to get things to
    work together.  By the time they're done, they've spent twice as much
    time on a memo or a report as they used to when they had to write it
    down by hand and give it to a secretary, or type it themselves.  
    
    --bonnie

    Yes, I understand that manufacturing productivity is up, but office
    productivity is down.  I am not really sure what 'office productivity'
    comprises, but suspect it refers to administrative and, possibly
    management, functions.
    
    Greyhawk, I do not understand your reply or is this one of the few
    replies from you I should ignore?
    
    rww

    re: .41 bonnie
    
    I thank you for your response.  In engineering (so I have been told)
    much the same thing happened when people moved to work stations.  Much
    time was spent in customizing and setting up the workstation.  Also, I
    suspect, there was a decrease in focus.
    
    I know it can (and still does) happen to me if I am not carefull.  I
    have gone back to include the 'desk checking' step in my code
    production (as much as possible) that was omitted when systems when
    from batch to interactive.  A tedious, but *very* effective debugging
    method.
    
    Still writting code after all these years.
    
    rww

Just to add to the list of electronic toys, I saw an advertisement over the
weekend of a dive watch that recorded depth over time.  The watch would then
be pluged into your PC when back at home (on deck?) and an analysis would be
run on the dive and compute new tables for your next dive.  
$139 I believe...PC not included.

Al

    re: .41
    
    It seems that using the technology rather than futzing with it may be
    the key to productivity.  My wife is a writer (fiction, non-fiction,
    screenplays) and moving her from Selectric to WordPerfect seems to have
    just about doubled the number of final pages per year.  Note that she
    still proofs and edits from hardcopy, the corrects on the PC.  As a
    confirmed technophobe she spends no time "playing" with the PC, its
    just a typewriter that doesn't require her to re-type those hunks of
    words that she got right in the last draft.
    
    - Evan

    There is a word for the software which people use that makes it take
    longer to do a task than before, because it provides them with so many
    options that they can spend lots of time playing with the software.
    The most obvious examples are the desktop publishing tools, though word
    processors in general are getting that way.
    
    It's "Fritterware".  This stuff lets you fritter your time away
    pretending to be doing useful stuff.
    
    (I learned this from Clem Cole at Locus, so don't blame me.)

	I just bought a watch for hiking that records temp/altitude/time
	over a 12 hour period. I wish it had what .44 had, a way to load
	that info into a PC, but maybe next year they'll have it.

	As for the Timex/Bill Gates watch, I'd probably purchase one too.
	I'm a techospender. If it was as simple as holding the watch up
	to the screen for a few moments to download my calender, that
	would be great. I suspect what you'll find afterwards is other
	electronic gadgets that will also use the barcode system to
	download info. It wouldn't surprise me if the upcoming WinPad
	will use it.

	Bill Gates is a shrewd dweeb. This watch is timed (pun intended)
	to come out when Chicago does. It won't surprise me that alot of
	folks will purchase the watch downstairs in Lechmeres and the
	upgrade to Chicago upstairs. Who knows, maybe you'll see a 
	promotional gimmick where you can get the watch bundled with
	Chicago for $199. Nothing surprises me with Bill Gates.

							mike

Frequently, it takes time before a technology innovation
will pay off.  It's not unusual for there to be learning
curves and other startup costs.  You need to have a long
time frame (sometimes several years), you need to take some
risks, and you need to manage those risks.  If Microsoft
made a decision on Windows based on the results of its
first version, we'd all be running Unix, and the word
Windows would always be prefixed by an X.  Gates understands
the long term.

  Gary

re: .48
    > If Microsoft
    > made a decision on Windows based on the results of its
    > first version, we'd all be running Unix, and the word
    > Windows would always be prefixed by an X.
    
    Aaaaahhhh, at least we can still dream of such a wonderful world...
    
    Actually, maybe we'd all be using Macintoshes.  Also a nice thought.  I
    believe there are more Macs out there than X-windows workstations and
    terminals.
    
    	Steve
    

>   There is a word for the software which people use that makes it take
>   longer to do a task than before, because it provides them with so many
>   options that they can spend lots of time playing with the software.

ALL-IN-1 (tm)?

re: Gates' timing

Also, perhaps coincidentally, the Consumer Electronics Show opens in Chicago
tomorrow AM. You don't suppose this gadget might be showing there, do you?

-Jack

RE: .36 (and others)

>    With all these neat computer based aids around to help make people more
>    productive, why have studies shown that productivity of the average
>    office work gone down over the last few years?
    
I think the "fritter-ware" factor (I *like* that phrase!) is a big part of
it.  I noticed that type of thing during the conversion from straight ASCII
text (using tools like EDT or TECO) to VAX Document to DECwrite in Software
Engineering.  (These documents and presentations were strictly from one
Digital group to another Digital group: no customers anywhere).

People would put up slides, or pass around reports, that contained nothing
but very simply formatted text (in the EDT/TECO phase).  After a while, 
some people got hooked on VAX Document, and started showing off documents
that had tables-of-contents, numbered section headers and nicely formatted
text with bolding and underlining.  Later still, we got dozens of fonts and 
sizes of text, complete with italics and some simple diagrams (and later, 
complex diagrams) as people got access to DECwrite on workstations.

I noticed 2 things about this progression:

1) There was definite pressure to "keep up with the Jones's".  Presenting 
   a document done on a terminal, after the previous person presented a
   document done in DECwrite, made you look really shabby.  And people 
   often "judged a book by its cover", and gave more credibility to the
   fancy document.  Even engineers, who should know better, did this.

2) Often, as the quality of presentation went up, the quality of content
   went down.  Since it was so easy to put in fancy headers and footers,
   nicely formatted section headers, and very graphic cover pages, people
   spent more time making it *look* good than *be* good.  Not always, but
   the trend was certainly evident.

So from my point of view, the fancy graphics formatting tools caused a
decrease in product quality, while at the same time giving the *appearance*
of improved product quality.

I have since moved from Engineering to Sales Support, and recognize that
the fancy graphics formatting tools (such as Word for Windows and PowerPoint)
are *necessary* for presentations to customers.  But I still think we spend
far too much time on them for presentations to internal Digital groups.


On another note...

When I first started in the field, I used the Compass (paper-based) system.
It worked, but I spent quite a bit of time searching through multiple pages
of notes, telephone messages, contact lists, and random pieces of paper for
a reference to something that happened a few days/weeks/months ago.  About
2 years ago I switched to a 320p notebook PC.  

Every meeting I have attended, every phone call I have made or received, every 
voice-mail message I have received, every note I have taken and every person I 
have met in the past 2 years is in my notebook (and it weighs the same as it 
did 2 years ago :-)).  I can search the entire database in under 15 seconds, 
for any phrase or keyword I can imagine.

In my experience, that makes me more productive.  I can tell you *exactly*
what I was doing at any time in the past 2 years, details of every time I
met a certain person or talked about a certain topic, and look up the phone
number of anyone I have called or who has called me.  I can't tell you the
number of times I have been in conversations with Sales, Sales Managers, 
customers, or other Digital people and found the information quickly and
easily while they were either wracking their brains or telling me that 
that piece of information was "back at the office".  It also lets me appear
more knowledgeable in front of customers, since I can accurately recall
details of past conversations including dates and times.

So from my point of view, office automation equipment (my notebook PC) makes
me *more* productive.  But as always, your mileage may vary...

-- Ken Moreau

    
    I am very surprised that people in the audience laughed at Bill Gates.
    
    You would have thought by now they would have realised that people
    who laugh at him tend to be out of a job in 5 years time....
    
    Like most products, it will start off 'toylike' but given time,
    technology and investment it could grow into something big.
    
    Remember the Altair 100, the IBM PC (cassette drive, 16K memeory) etc...
    
    
    I can't think of a use for it now, but i'm not as rich as Bill  :-(
    
    
    Nigel

    re: time for technology to "pay off"
    
    In a random business magazine I read a couple of weeks ago, there was
    an article on the payoff from "information technology", asserting that
    the productivity payoff for business investment in computers for
    general purposes (rather than specific individual tasks) was just
    starting to show up, as some companies start to realize that there is
    no overall productivity gain from simply automating "business as usual".
    
    In an interesting contrast, the article compared the productivity curve
    for information technology investment to the productivity curve for
    investment in electric motors in industry - which, according to the
    article, took 50 years to actually start creating productivity gains.
    
    /Butch

    Seems to me that the phrase criminals and secret agent men use...
    
    	"Gentlemen syncronize your watches" 
    
    ...is taking on new meaning...
    
    	"Gentlemen download the plan to your watches"???  Then if you land
    	in enemy hands you'll have to eat your watch???  I hope they make
    	those watches cherry flavored.
    
    Also last night there was a commercial on TV for a watch that was a
    beeper.  Can't remember the name of it though.
    
    
    I think there is really cool stuff potential for this technology.  I'll
    buy it when I can get it for $10.
    
    --Gina (...remembering the $200 4 function calculator)
    
    

    Wouldn't it be a whole lot more practical to use audio technology
    for this purpose?  I mean there are telephones everywhere and the
    chip technology for high speed modems is getting pretty mature -
    just hold your watch up to the handset of the phone and go.

	Mike

    	Would you laugh at a man that had founded and was president of the
    fastest growing company the world has ever seen?  That was Ken Olsen 7
    years ago. In 3 years from now Bill Gates could be in the same
    position. Fortune is ephemeral.

    wonder if the WINDOWS LOGO was on the watch's face...
    
    y'know... BG has stated he wants Windows everywhere?
    
    
    lesseee here... how do i double-click the timex-mouse?

    >I am very surprised that people in the audience laughed at Bill Gates.
    >
    >You would have thought by now they would have realised that people
    >who laugh at him tend to be out of a job in 5 years time....
    
      5 years?  
    
      Heck, nowadays, moving from one company to another every 5 years or so
      seems sensible and prudent, from the employee's point of view.
    
      Besides, I wouldn't want to work for anyone who was "humor challenged."
    
    					andrew
                                                           

From reading the report in this note, I don't think they were
laughing at Bill-the-Gates in a malicious way -- they misinterpreted
what he was doing was making a joke.

	"Look, I'm downloading my wristwatch"

	"Ho ho ho"

I mean, who'd expect anyone to seriously download a wristwatch?
It sounds like something you'd see in the comics.

    The reason I laughed was with the technology available today, holding
    your watch up to the screen is a joke.  People that are away from there
    PC's are not going to find this very useful.  If I have to carry my
    laptop around to update my watch, what is the point of the watch?  

    A few years ago a watch company in Europe came out with a watch that set 
    itself from some radio signal.  When you can update my schedule this
    way send me a brochure for the watch.


    -Bruce

    RE .54
    The article is in the latest issue of Fortune. This issues also
    contains other intresting articles of relevence to all. A good read.
    
    		Ed
    

    re: 54 Butch
    
    Thank you for that input.  You have, if I read correctly, highlighted
    something very dear to me, you *must* first re-org your business
    practices and procedures to (with the goal to minimize them) to gain
    productivity.  This should be an on-going process that everybody
    contributes to across the company.  This produces the largest (by far)
    gain in productivity.  Implementing the new, improved processes into an
    electronic evironment should be done after the inital re-org will will
    produce modest, by comparison, gains.
    
    I have been part of this at a customer site in a manufacturing area
    which was very successful.  I also understand that Digital
    manufacturing is a world leader in this approach.  I believe the recent
    gains in manaufacturing across the U.S. are a result of this type of
    effort.  Unfortunately, I also believe that in most of the cases,
    companies only do this when their backs are against the wall, not as a
    normal course of doing buisness.
    
    I have not seen this done with other internal, largely administrative
    systems either in Digital or at customer sites.  Considering the
    situation we are in and the gains to be made, is this being done at
    Digital and, if so, what systems and how?
    
    rww
    

    re .62
    
    Was it only the latest issue?  But my personal time has been flowing
    strangely of late...
    
    re .63
    
    Sigh - I started in Engineering Information Systems 20 years ago, and
    sometimes I wonder if any real progress has been made in all that time. 
    Every so often I hear of wondrous developments that will improve our
    systems and actually take us from the mid 70's to possibly as recent as
    the mid 80's ;-).  But they always seem to fade away.  I suspect
    largely because none of the highly independent pieces of Digital have
    ever managed to agree on a common method of doing anything.
    
    /Butch

    
    :-1
    
    	Wherein lies the absolute core of our problem. Highly independent
    operations that are totally interdependent on each other in order to
    satisfy the paying customer.
    	That is what needs to be fixed. Period. The rest of us will
    survive. Where it true the SLT reads this stuff. But our VP of Notes
    just left. I hope our landlord gets his act together pretty soon, or
    the power company is whats going to turn off the lights.
    
                the Greyhawk
    		
    		

The Fortune issue with the "The Productivity Payoff Arrives"
article is the June 27, 1994 Vol 129, No 13 issue.

The July 11, 1994 Vol 130, No. 1 issue has as it front cover
the following lead banner "Managing in a WIRED WORLD". I haven't read
it yet the the topic list looks very good. One is Fortune checks out
25 COOL COMPANIES" The first up MOSAIC COMMUNICATIONS these are the people
who created the Mosaic software (xmosaic) to help navigate the internet.

My fear is that just when the "network is the system" idea is starting
to take that hockey stick shape we Digital, who have invested so much, seem to
be running away from the software and service business (all very people
and competency based) and putting all our eggs (whats left of them) into
hardware which, no matter how good our Alpha AXP chips, are commodity
products. You can surely make money in the hardware space but the required
cost structure I fear will not support even a company of 65K.

I don't really know all these "happy/Sad face symbols but I think
this is the one that applies		(:-(

				Ed