Rival PC operating systems fight to set the standard

Article Abstract:

The market battle over operating system software, the underlying software that controls a computer's operation, is heating up with IBM, Microsoft Corp and Apple in separate corners. Microsoft is the creator of MS-DOS, the operating system that has traditionally run on millions of IBM PC-compatible microcomputers around the world. Several years ago it became apparent that MS-DOS could not keep up with advances in the hardware end of the computer industry, so IBM and Microsoft teamed up to create OS/2, a more advanced operating system. However, Microsoft seems to have lost faith in OS/2 and has instead decided to back the Windows graphical user interface, an add-on to the MS-DOS operating system that sports many of the same features as OS/2. Apple's operating system has long provided the same easy-to-use features now found on Windows and OS/2, and the company is suing Microsoft and others for infringing on the 'look and feel' of its operating system.

Prepackaged software, Operating systems (Software), Standard, Standardization, Operating systems, Market share, MSFT, GUI, Graphical user interfaces, Operating System, Industry Analysis, Competition, Vendor Relations, MS-DOS, Apple Macintosh (680X0-based system), OS/2, OS/2 (Operating system), Microsoft Windows 3.0 (GUI)

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IBM finds a possible key to greater data capacity

Article Abstract:

IBM scientists claim to have discovered a new photorefractive substance that could allow extremely high-density data storage using polymers instead of crystals to react to a laser beam. Polymers are complex molecules with repeating patterns that can be produced faster and at far less cost than crystals, which take weeks to grow. A photorefractive material could store huge amounts of data as three-dimensional images by taking advantage of the distorting effect created by a laser. IBM says such a material could store approximately 100 million bits of data in a piece the size of a pinhead and allow extremely fast retrieval.

Office machines, not elsewhere classified, Research, Computer industry, International Business Machines Corp., IBM, Industrial research, Computer storage devices, Chemical engineering, Memory management, Research and Development, Storage Capacity

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