A Report From the Front Lines

During the past two years, John Savageau has gone from being a Tokyo-based manager with regional interests and respon sibilities to being an Asia-Pacific roving manager with occasional visits to Tokyo. In addition to accumulating lots of frequent flyer miles, he has gained some unique insights on the different trends in telecommunications throughout the Asia-Pacific region. This month, he shares some of his experiences with Computing Japan readers through edited excerpts based on his October 1994 travel log.

by John Savageau

The Computer Year 1994: Change, Challenge, and Growth

Janus, the Roman god of gates and doorways, had two faces:one looking forward and one looking back. For our January issue, Computing Japan technology writer John Boyd looks back at significant events of 1994 and makes some conjectures about what lies in store for 1995.

by John Boyd

Akihabara: Computer Shopping in the Neon City

In our first look at Akihabara, Computing Japan gathers together a selection of stores that may be of interest to the average shopper for computer systems and peripherals.

by R.A. Lemos

Buying by Mail: It's Your Deal

Thinking about buying a computer or software by mail order because of the great exchange rate? Don't be too hasty in parting with your yen. When the vendor is several thousand miles distant, the caveat &quEot;buyer beware" is especially applicable. If you're a novice mail-order buyer, here are some things to consider.

by Wm. Auckerman

The Oracle of Development: Allen Miner

Arguably the most successful foreign software company in Japan, in terms of sales growth, has been Oracle Japan. Working behind the scenes for over eight years to build Oracle Japan into a ·10.7 billion ($100 million) company has been Mr. Allen Miner ó a man little known outside his circle of acquaintances, but highly respected within it. Computing Japan interviewed Miner to probe his views on today's RDBMS market trends, and some of the politics behind the players.

interviewed by Terrie Lloyd

Picasso of the Computer

Like the great Spanish artist Picasso, who could paint like Rembrandt before he reached his teens, Shinichi Honda got bored with the tradition of his art and went on to exploring the abstract.

by Thomas Caldwell