TOPS furthers its commitment to integrate Apple Mac into all networked environments Things may be a little strained at Sun Microsystems as the company tries to bed down its new management information system and find out just what it does have and where, and whether its stocks are of the right machines, and whether they are just adequate or spilling out of the warehouse. But there is one often overlooked part of the company that is bubbling, and has been spending a fortune on the US Business Wire press release propagation service to get the message across that it has been working overtime all summer to improve the lot of networked computer systems users in a variety of environments. That part of the company is of course the Alameda, California-based TOPS, which used to like to be called TOPS, a Sun Microsystems company, but has now settled for the soubriquet The TOPS Division of Sun Microsystems.
TOPS, InBox for Microsoft Windows 3.0 The 3.0 release of Windows is on its way from Microsoft Corp, and TOPS is ready with two products for use with it. TOPS for Windows and Inbox for Windows are promised for the first quarter of next year and TOPS is touting the ease-of-use, peer-to-peer connectivity and heterogeneous connectivity that TOPS and InBox are known for being extended into the Windows environment, giving Windows 3.0 users full support for filing, messaging and printing services. The new Windows implementations are promised to bring user-implementable, distributed file sharing into the MS-DOS Windows environment, with support for a complete range of print services, with direct printing from MS-DOS micros to any local or networked printer. Printing features include print spooling and PostScript output to AppleTalk-compatible printers. The InBox electronic mail package, will provide Windows users with the facility to exchange messages with Apple Macintosh machines on an AppleTalk network. InBox will also have gateways to IBM’s Profs mainframe office automation system – the bought-in one that is supported only under VM – and the SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. Prices will be announced later.
TOPS, InBox for OS/2 in 18 months Much to the impatience of IBM and Microsoft, not too many software developers take the OS/2 operating system terribly seriously these days, squeezed as it is between MS-DOS still coming up and Unix coming down, so TOPS will get a pat on the head for promising an implementation that will enable OS/2 users to connect to TOPS networks and InBox electronic mail sites – but don’t hold your breath, anybody: TOPS for OS/2 and InBox for OS/2 will be available in the fourth quarter 1990, which rather makes it sound as if work has not even begun on them yet. The TOPS OS/2 products will remain user-implementable and will offer OS/2 users low-cost, peer-to-peer file sharing and electronic messaging compatible with heterogeneous networks, including users working in the MS-DOS, Windows 3.0, Macintosh and Unix environments. The planned products will run under Presentation Manager and will take full advantage of OS/2’s multi-tasking ability, and offer the usual TOPS print services.
InBox gateways to Profs, Unix Mail The gateway facility to Profs is to be made generally available in the InBox electronic mail product, whether under Windows or no, and TOPS also promises gateways to the Unix Mail electronic messaging system. The new gateways are promised for the fourth quarter of this year. TOPS has gone to StarNine Technologies in Berkeley, California for its implementation of the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, and the gateway to SMTP will direct messages between InBox and Unix mail systems so that Macintosh and MS-DOS users with InBox on AppleTalk or Ethernetworks will be able to send and receive electronic mail with users of Unix systems. TOPS says it decided on StarNine because of its experience in developing and marketing Macintosh-to-Unix communications products. The link to IBM’s Profs will be made via a gateway under development with Soft-Switch Inc. The gateway will enable InBox users to exchange
notes, documents and binary files transparently with Profs users. The Soft-Switch gateway will also provide links to public electronic mail services such as British Telecom’s Dialcom, Maxcom, CompuServe and Western Union. The company says that it plans links to other mail and proprietary office automation systems, but says that it decided to implement the ones named first because research with customers indicates that SMTP and Profs were high on most of their priority lists.
FlashCard/MC board for Micro Channel Also on the way from TOPS – again in the first quarter of 1990, is FlashCard/MC for users of IBM’s PS/2 models using Micro Channel Architecture. The new board will provide a network interface for Micro Channel boxes to communicate with computers on an AppleTalk, and is being introduced because TOPS believes that there are large numbers of Apple Macintoshes in the kinds of major companies that are IBM’s principal customers for high-end PS/2s. TOPS claims that FlashCard/MC will offer an alternative to higher cost-higher speed connections such as Token Ring and Ethernet. There is a large pent-up demand among PS/2 users for a user-implementable networking solution for AppleTalk networks, TOPS believes, promising that FlashCard/MC will eliminate the cost and complexity of installing Ethernet or Token Ring solutions for these users, and claiming that the thing can be installed in any Micro Channel box in less than 15 minutes. As to speed, AppleTalk transfers data over LocalTalk cabling at 230Kbps and FlashTalk transfers data at up to 770Kbps. Again, no prices yet. No delay for AppleTalk 2, TokenTalk TOPS has also put dates on putting its products up under Apple’s AppleTalk 2.0, TokenTalk and system 7.0 operating software, saying that all producst will be supported by the second quarter of 1990 – it hopes to have versions InBox and TOPS ready for MS DOS and Unix systems as soon as AppleTalk 2.0 and TokenTalk are available. Support for system 7.0 will follow within a month of Apple’s delivery schedule, the company promises. AppleTalk 2.0 will enable users to expand their network beyond the current 254 node limit and assign logical zones.
