Connectix Readies VPC Update, Surf Express -- As usual, Connectix Corporation will show some of the snazziest products at this week's Macworld Expo. The company will demonstrate Virtual PC 2.0, an update to its popular Pentium emulator, and Surf Express, a new Web accelerator. According to Connectix, Virtual PC 2.0 will ship in February and improve Windows performance 25 to 40 percent over the previous version, as well as add enhanced DirectX support, sound input capability, and better integration of Mac and Windows environments (including drag & drop between the two operating systems).

Surf Express uses a combination of technologies to display graphics and text of Web pages up to 36 times faster than a browser alone, providing you use Netscape Navigator 3.0 or later, or Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or later. One approach is the software's internal proxy server, which keeps a local cache the company says is more efficient than the browser's caching. The software also keeps your most-visited Web sites up to date on your local cache, so when you visit, the information is ready. We'll be interested to see how Surf Express compares with WebDoubler from Clearway Technologies, which sounds like a similar product. [MHA]

<http://www.connectix.com/html/VPC2pr.html>
<http://www.clearway.com/>