In the endlessly shifting tides of industry alliances and rivalries, Digital Equipment Corp remains a pivotal player, and yesterday came two developments, one reflecting the newly emerging relationships, the other a somewhat surprising harking back to the past. DEC is a critical player in the Advanced Computing Environment initiative and has few weeks been expected to get much closer to Microsoft Corp and Compaq Computer Corp: now comes news that next week it will announce that it is developing a version of its All-In-1 office software for Microsoft Corp’s Windows, while Microsoft will take networking products and expertise from DEC. In a rather more surprising move DEC yesterday revived its four-year-old alliance with the new apple of IBM Corp’s eye – Apple Computer Inc – for the European market only, signing a letter of intent to market Macintoshes to its own customers and to put its interconnect products, VAX and RISC-based servers and Apple-related desk-top services through Apple’s reseller net.
