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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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time
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073189
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07318900.011
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1990-09-17
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BUSINESS, Page 39O.K. to Log On, ComradesThe U.S. relaxes controls on computer sales to the Soviets
George Bush returned from his first presidential trip to
Eastern Europe last week eager to bring a little glasnost of his
own to East-West relations. In that spirit, the Commerce Department
announced a decision that cleared the way for the sale of a broad
range of desktop computers to the Soviet Union and its allies.
Under the plan, such companies as IBM and Apple Computer will be
able to export machines ten times as powerful as older units that
may now be shipped without special approval. But the sale of
top-of-the-line models, notably the Macintosh II and IBM models
equipped with the high-speed Intel 80386 microprocessor, will still
be subject to strict controls.
The plan exposed a rift within the Administration over trade
policy. Commerce Department officials argued that easing export
controls would allow U.S. companies to compete with computer makers
in such countries as Taiwan and Singapore, which already sell
relatively advanced machines to Soviet-bloc buyers. But Defense
Secretary Richard Cheney, who advocates strict controls on the
transfer of American technology to Moscow, warned that the Soviets
would use the U.S. computers for military purposes. Nonetheless,
a Cheney aide said the Defense Secretary would not ask Bush to
reverse the Commerce Department decision.
U.S. computer executives greeted the plan with mild interest.
While a spokesman for Apple noted that "we are pleased with the
decision," he added that Soviet-bloc countries lack the marketing
skills and hard currencies necessary to produce strong sales
volume. Even so, hackers in Moscow were excited by the prospect of
more American computers. "This is very important to us," said a
Soviet computer importer. "Almost every day we have customers who
come to our office ready to do business."