Depending on the model of Mac being upgraded, DayStar promises machine speed will be five to 14 times faster when running PowerPC native applications. Programs running in emulation mode also will be faster, DayStar says.

The upgrades, priced at $1499, cost less than half the price of a comparably fast Power Macintosh. The speed boost from the DayStar upgrade equals that of a PowerMac 8100/100.

DayStar's 100MHz PowerPro 601 supports the Centris and Quadra 610, 650, 700, 800, 900 and 950 models. Its plug-and-play design permits rapid installation. The card's performance comes from a 100MHz version of the PowerPC 601 microprocessor and a built-in 1 megabyte secondary cache.

Available for Mac IIci users is DayStar's Turbo 601, which installs in the processor direct slot on the IIci. Also priced at $1,499, the Turbo 601 boosts IIci performance to equal that of a Power Mac 8100/100.

Featuring PostScript Level 2-compatible software RIPs, the ScriptSetter line of color imagesetters includes either laser diode or visible red laser recorders.

The line of ECRM-approved Mac platforms now includes the Quadra 950, 900, 800 and 700; Power Mac 8100/110, 8100/100, 8100/80 and 7100/66; and some Quadra models that have been upgraded to PowerMacs with the Apple PDS upgrade.

A stand-alone ECRM PowerMac RIP costs $7,500 U.S., plus $1,750 for an interface kit, which includes the interface board, cable and software driver.

The RIP, ScriptWorks MicroRIP, is a PostScript Level 2 interpreter targeted for the low-resolution digital color and large-format printing markets.

Available only directly from Harlequin, ScriptWorks MicroRIP enables printer manufacturers to package a software interpreter with a range of low-resolution color or black-and-white output devices.

Highest quality output at optimal speed is achieved with Harlequin Dispersed Screening, a second-generation "FM" screening method, which allows selection of the screening setting best suited to the user's system and output capabilities.

Harlequin now supports Kanji PostScript fonts from Morisawa & Co. Ltd. Morisawa has developed a digitized set of Kanji fonts for low- and high-resolution output which may be licensed directly from Morisawa for incorporation by Harlequin OEMs in their ScriptWorks-based products.

The addition of this 18-font library will allow manufacturers of PostScript-language based typesetters to compete in the heretofore proprietary Japanese typesetting market.

The new IBM PowerPC platform now will run Harlequin's ScriptWorks under the Microsoft Windows NT operating system, expanding the ScriptWorks series of platform options -- Apple Macintosh, Power Macintosh, IBM PC and compatibles supporting Windows and Windows NT, Digital's Alpha NT workstations and a variety of UNIX workstations.

Version 2.20 includes new features customers have requested, including the ability to conduct a single search over several NewsBank databases, or to conduct the same search over different years of a database.

Users now can mark portions of articles for printing or downloading, eliminating the need to download an entire, perhaps lengthy document. Also, a user can tab his or her way from one occurrence of a search term to the next, rather than having to scroll through lengthy articles.

Bibliographic citations are included automatically in all printed and downloaded portions of text.

Getting Version 2.20 up and running has been made easier, too -- all installation software is included on the CD-ROM disc. Customizable features include setting the maximum number of pages that can be printed, a prompt for tips on improving search techniques and setting passwords.

Enhanced Mosaic is the commercial version of Mosaic, the popular browsing software many people use to access the World-Wide Web.

SoftQuad HoTMetaL is a free, unsupported tool for editing in HyperText Markup Language (HTML), the set of markup codes that gives the Web its display and linking capabilities.

HoTMetaL 1.0+ has three new features: full support for the newly defined HTML 2.0, easy incorporation of accents and special characters in HTML documents, and a software filter called TIDY that permits users to import and convert previously invalid HTML documents for editing with HoTMetaL.

Panorama is the first freeware Web browser for SGML -- the Standardized Generalized Markup Language, the international standard for information exchange. Panorama opens up the Web to on-line documents that use SGML.

Commercial versions of these two freeware applications are available directly from SoftQuad or its resellers. Supported platforms include Windows, Macintosh, Solaris, Alpha and UNIX.

The 3000 and 4000 models, which sell for less than $40,000, feature the UltreFine* transport design, which significantly increases the output quality of a capstan imagesetter. These models also include an intelligible touch-pad user control panel and larger, bulk-load input cassettes.

The modular assembles in the 3000/4000 permit quick replacement of major components in the field, without requiring time-consuming alignment or assembly.

Addressable up to 3000 rasters per inch, the 3000 outputs up to 12.2 inches at imaging speeds of up to 26 inches per minute. With equal resolution, the 4000 can output film widths up to 15.75 inches at speeds up to 25 inches a minute.

Both models afford accuracy of 0.05 percent, using an infrared laser diode light source. Compatible interfaces include standard serial video, Macintosh II, PC/AT and SCSI.

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COLE'S NEWSWIRE is written by Pete Wetmore and distributed by The Cole Group, publishers of THE COLE PAPERS and COLE'S GUIDE TO PUBLISHING SYSTEMS and consultants to newspapers and magazines world-wide. To receive more information about The Cole Group, send e-mail to: info@colegroup.com.

Copyright (c) 1995, The Cole Group. All Rights Reserved. This transmission may not be copied, archived or retransmitted without the express written permission of The Cole Group. If you are not subscribed to COLE'S NEWSWIRE, you have received this transmission illegally.

The Cole Group, 2590 Greenwich, Suite 9, San Francisco USA 94123-3333. V: (415) 673-2424; F: (415) 673-2449; I: eds@colegroup.com.