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Vol. 1/No. 1
04/20/1998
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Archive of
volume 1, number 1 dated 04/20/1998. Back to current issue.
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FEATURE
Software Development Cycles
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In the software development cycle, there are various stages a program
(or operating system) goes through before it is released to the
general public.
A good example is the upcoming version of Microsoft Windows 98. Typically,
a program goes through the following cycles:
Alpha or developer version
Beta version
Release candidate (RC)
Release To Manufacturing (RTM)
Service Release or Service Pack
The alpha or developer version is for in-house testing only.
In most cases, this version is not very stable and is for "proof
of concept" testing; just to see if a feature functions or not.
The beta version is relatively stable and should be release
to as many testers as possible. Beta testers will try to test every
aspect of the program and reports any bugs back to the developers.
Win 98 went through three different beta versions.
Release candidates are almost complete programs. There may be
a few minor bugs, but otherwise the program is stable and useable.
RCs are feature complete, or very close to it. This means the addition
of any major function is not possible at this stage. Every version
after the RC is for bug fixes only. Win 98 is, as of 04/20/1998, on
RC1.
Release to Manufacturing means the code is now gold and is
ready to be mass produced by manufacturing. Microsoft plans to have
a RTM version of Win 98 by May 1st. The official release date will
be June 25th.
Service release or pack is for bug fixes after RTM. In addition,
SR or SP can add additional features to a version of a program. Examples
are SP3 for NT and SR2.5 for Win 95.
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GRAPHICS
State of the Art 3D Chipsets/Boards
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Here's a rundown of the current (04/20/1998) 3D chipsets/boards available on the
market today. Remember, some cards will sacrifice speed for quality:
ATI Rage II+ - good low-end/entry level 2D/3D accelerator. It's
definitely not the fastest 3D card available, but you can't beat the price.
ATI Rage PRO - mid-range performance and good 3D quality. 2D
performance is also good.
S3 ViRGE series - Forget about them altogether for 3D. Poor
quality and performance. They make decent 2D accelerator, but that's about
it.
nVidia Riva128 - Excellent 2D/3D performance. One of the top
performer available. 3D quality may not be as good.
Premedia 2 - Good 2D/3D performance. Really intended for
OpenGL machines.
Rendition V2100 - Good 2D/3D performer with good 3D quality graphics.
Matrox Mystique/Millennium - Good for 2D business graphics, but
not for 3D gaming; poor performance and quality.
Matrox Productiva G100 - Excellent 2D performance and good
3D performance. 3D quality may be somewhat compromised, but you get an 8MB
SGRAM AGP card for retail $90!
Intel i740 - The newcomer developed by juggernaut Intel.
Excellent 3D performance and outstanding quality. The i740 was aiming for
high quality 3D graphics and it's right on target.
3Dfx Voodoo - This is for 3D only; you'll need another video
card for 2D. In the gaming realm, the Voodoo is the de facto standard for
3D speed and quality.
3Dfx Voodoo2 - Currently the king of the hill. Screaming
3D performance and excellent 3D quality. You can even double your performance
by using two Voodoo2 cards in SLI (scanline interleave) mode.
3D performance doubles roughly every 12 months. So by X'mas of 1998, a rash
of newer and faster boards will out.
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HARDWARE
Chipsets 101
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If the processor is the brain of a system, then the chipset is the heart
of a system. In the past, third-party vendors (OPTi, VIA, SiS, etc) created
the chipset for Intel-based processors. Today, Intel dominates the
chipset market, while other vendors are constantly playing catchup with Intel.
Click here for a complete listing of each chipsets' features and specifications.
Notice that Intel chipsets are at the 100MHz bus, Pentium II class, while
other vendors are mostly doing the socket 7 class. This is not by design; the
slot 1 architecture is patented and heavily protected by Intel.
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HINTS & TIPS
Backing up Win 95's Registry
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One of the most common problem in Win 95 is the dreaded corrupted registry
error. You start Win 95 and a window pops up stating: "Your register
is corrupted; please restore from a backup registry and restart."
At this point, most users are stuck. The only choice they have is doing
a reinstall of Win 95. But if you have a backup of your registry, then you
can avoid doing a reinstall.
The registry in Win 95 comprise of two individual files: system.dat and
user.dat. These two files are located in \windows as HIDDEN files.
To see them, type "attrib -r -a -s -h system.dat" and "attrib -r -a -s -h user.dat"
at the C: prompt. This command will unhide the two files. Then you can
simply make a backup by copying them: "copy system.dat system.bak" and
"copy user.dat user.bak". I'd recommend storing these *.bak files in
a location other than \windows.
If your registry becomes corrupted, restore the backup registry.
Remember, you must use the "attrib -r -a -s -h" command first to unhide
the current registry. Also, keep in mind that every time you install
a program or add new devices, your registry will be updated. So be sure
to make backup on a regular basis.
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Copyright © 1998 PREMIO Computer, Inc.
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