Pick Systems Inc, Irvine, California, is preparing a release of its Pick database for the end of the year, with a bunch of features it hopes will lend its particular brand of technology more acceptance in the mainstream client-server world. The release, which currently goes by the name Project Ninja, has the standard multi-dimensional Pick Data Model at its core and will include Open Database Connectivity support and gateways to other relational and non-relational data and transaction processing environments. Ninja will also include applications for storing and manipulating speech, image, data and video information. It will run current Pick applications. Programs developed using PowerBuilder, Access, Forest & Trees and other C/C++ front-end tools will run in the extended Pick model. Pick will release an interim version 6.2 of its standard Advanced Pick database in October which addresses requirements such as Q pointers which enable Pick users to share files across remote systems. Advanced Pick 6.2 (and Ninja) will be up under HP-UX, Santa Cruz Unix, AIX and DG-UX. Meantime the PIX 100 handheld liquid crystal display CD memory and keyboard gadget for nomadic users that Pick had planned to have Sony Corp build for it has been ditched by Sony because it was a niche looking for a market. Pick says it is talking to other manufacturers. It expects the ownership issues created by the death of founder Dick Pick to take at least another year to resolve.
