Not too long ago, I received the most peculiar note with my bank statement. It was a glossy slip of paper advertising the bank's latest time-saving idea: bank by mail. It took me a minute to register what this meant, and another minute to believe the bank was serious. And yet it was -- I could even send away for a Bank by Mail Starter Kit containing, among other things, a packet of pre-addressed but non-postage-paid envelopes. Why in the world would a bank think that I'd be willing to go back to using the U.S. Postal Service when I could walk to the corner ATM, pick up the phone, or use my PC at home? It was like receiving a letter from Microsoft trying to sell me on switching back to a Radio Shack TRS-80 for my personal computing.
For those who are wondering, I do have a point here. And my point is that we don't realize how far we've come until someone suggests that we go backward. We are in a constant state of forward motion, seeking the next product, technique, tool, or architecture that will make our lives and jobs easier. Once we find it, there is no going back -- no matter who suggests it. The database, client/server, and now Internet industry is a fine example of this progress. Companies release new products and upgrades at a dizzying pace. Keeping track of this technology is no simple task, but it's what we try to do at DBMS. Every month we bring you articles, tutorials, and columns by industry experts on topics that are relevant to anyone working in the industry. We also review two to three products each month. If you do the math, you can see why we need to devote one entire issue per year to nothing but product reviews. Just like restaurant-goers in New York, we could easily review one product each day for a year without ever retracing our steps.
In selecting which products to review in this issue, we tried to get a diverse sampling of the products that you may encounter in your work. The Internet figures prominently throughout this issue, with reviews of Allaire Cold Fusion, Speedware Autobahn, and Spider 1.5. We also review new versions of trusted standbys including Powersoft PowerBuilder 5.0, Arbor Essbase 4.0, Centura Team Developer, and Borland InterBase 4.0.
Sometimes in-depth reviews aren't enough, however, particularly if you're in the process of shopping around for a tool. To give method to our product review madness and to help you best apply the information in this magazine to your everyday life, we have included two special articles: "Selecting a DBMS" and "Selecting a Client/Server Application Development Tool." Each offers guidelines to help you evaluate DBMSs and client/server application development tools, as well as lists of features and functions to look for in these product areas.
In other news, I have a fairly exciting announcement. I often get phone calls from people requesting faxed copies of articles from past issues. Because we don't have the staff to handle such requests, I've had to send people away from the inn empty-handed. By the time you read this, however, the full text of our articles beginning with the May issue and our Internet Systems supplement should be available for free download from a new service called inquiry.com. If you haven't checked it out, I recommend you do. The address is http://www.inquiry.com. We also have the complete text of the new 1996 DBMS Buyer's Guide and Client/Server Sourcebook on the DBMS Web site at http://www.dbmsmag.com, and we update this regularly.
So technology has given you yet another way to make your life easier, this time by letting you download articles straight off the Web. And now that you have this possibility, my bet is that if I told you to go to the corner library and photocopy the article out of a back issue, you'd be as outraged as I was by that Bank by Mail scheme. Of course, they still haven't figured out a way for you to download the entire magazine from cover to cover and print and bind it in the comfort of your own home. Although we'd save a bundle on paper, printing, and shipping costs (hmm, don't let my publisher see this), much of the soul of the magazine would be lost in transition. I once heard a cartoonist say that no matter how great electronic publishing and the Internet are, when it comes right down to it you still can't cut out your computer screen and stick it up on the fridge; you will always need to print things out. And so technology may have its limits -- for the moment, at least.
On that note, I would like to smash the champagne bottle on the hull of this issue and send it on its way. After having had the honor of heading up the magazine this month, I now return to my regular tasks as Features Editor and let Maurice Frank get back to what he does best -- running the show.
